CH 66

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Canaren found a new hobby. It was to create a small garden and flower bed that fully reflected her taste.

The castle was large and the internal structure was a little complicated, so even Roana did not know the castle in detail. It was purely coincidental that they stumbled upon a garden in a remote location while wandering around.

Perhaps Roana was truly unaware of its existence, as it was a place overgrown with weeds. It was a bit embarrassing to even call it a garden.

A place Roana didn’t even know was abandoned. A place completely forgotten by people. Even in such a place, if there was soil, sunlight, and water, anything could grow. Roana believed there was nothing to see so she thought to leave and pulled Canaren’s hand, but Canaren gazed intently at the weedy garden for a while.

Wouldn’t a flower bloom if one takes their time and cares for it with all their heart? It would be difficult to create a colorful flower garden that immediately catches the eye. There were many such flowers in large gardens managed by skilled gardeners.

Canaren decided she should plant flowers that people wouldn’t usually plant here. Even flowers that were neglected for reasons such as small size, unsightly blooms, or lack of fragrance have their own charm if one looks at them closely.

Above all, Canaren had nothing to do. Thanks to Yulif having people in the right place, the castle was always in perfect condition. It was like a gigantic clock tower with cog wheels interlocking and spinning. Even if she offered to help with her clumsy skills, it would have been a hindrance.

Canaren wanted to do what she could, while not bothering people.

“Roana, how many other places were there? Do you remember where they were?”

Roana sat facing Canaren, brought her hand to her head and pondered. They were not far from Canaren’s room, and if an emergency arose, there were three places where she could quickly call for help.

Canaren went to touch the soil herself, gauged how much sunlight was coming in, and such. Then she nodded her head.

“Can you get me some seeds and seedlings?”

Taking the location of her room as the center, the gardens were on the north, east, and south sides, respectively. She decided to plant trees in the largest northern garden, flowers in the south, where there was plenty of sunlight, and a mix of flowers and trees in the east.

Roana had managed to get what Canaren wanted. Canaren, who shone her eyes saying that Roana was amazing, would probably never know. The fact that Roana stormed into the gardener’s quarters from dawn and made a fuss to get seeds and seedlings. The fact that it was not just Roana who was competent, but also the gardener who offered all kinds of rare seeds.

For that reason, Canaren spent more time in the garden than in her room. Gardening took a lot more work than she had expected. The first thing she did was pull the weeds that had taken over the garden.

Today, Canaren was out in the garden early in the morning and was pulling weeds. Because Roana kept complaining that she wanted to remove everything by magic, Canaren decided to send Roana back to the gardener to get more seeds. As she squatted down, her small body was obscured by the tall grass.

Then someone entered the garden. It was Yulif. In his eyes, the small space seemed more like a courtyard than a decorated garden. It didn’t take long to find the Canaren busy working down in the grass.

Did she say she was pulling weeds? The sun seemed so strong. If she would just order Roana or someone else, she wouldn’t have to do this.

He approached Canaren with a slight hint of presence on purpose, in case she was surprised. But Canaren was so absorbed in pulling weeds that she never noticed. She was quite good at pulling out the roots at once.

Yulif watched her determined behavior with interest. Whatever Canaren did, it was hard for him to take his eyes off her. He could watch her happily all day long, even if she was only breathing. Suddenly, a faint smile appeared on his lips, which he was not even aware of.

“Roana? You came back quickly. Oh, it’s harder than I thought to uproot the roots. But he said it’s the only way to prevent the weeds from growing back… ”

“Who?”

“Uncle Bill, the gardener… Yulif?”

Only then did Canaren raise her head. Her large golden eyes captured Yulif who was bent above her.

In the face of such a brilliant smile, Yulif stopped breathing for a moment. ‘I’m glad I met Yulif.’  She couldn’t hide her joy, while he realized he really missed her. It shouldn’t be like this. His heart for her kept overflowing. Even though he swallowed it dozens of times a day.

“When did you come?”

“Just now.”

“You didn’t wait long, did you? Pulling weeds is fun…”

Canaren got up quickly and faced Yulif. It was their first meeting after their last conversation in his office.

He rarely showed his emotions on his face, but on the other hand, she felt sorry for him. She didn’t have the confidence to treat Yulif casually.

She clasped her hands and waited for Yulif to speak first. But Yulif was quiet. She rolled her eyes and looked up. Calm purple eyes matched exactly with golden ones.

Yulif’s eyes was a mysterious and beautiful color reminiscent of night even in the daytime. She wanted to touch them. Before she knew it, her hand raised. She was surprised with her own greed.

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing. I heard you are busy preparing for the wedding. How is it going?”

“It’s not a big deal. I’ll watch while you finish what you are doing.”

“Well… all right.”

Canaren meekly turned her body. From the moment Yulif appeared, the desire of pulling the weeds disappeared as if washed away. However, if she kept looking at Yulif, she felt like she would not be able to hold back and touch him.

‘Why am I doing this? I’m sure Yulif would be angry.’

Just imagining his cold eyes and cool voice made her heart flutter. Canaren cleared her head and moved her hands. But the weeds were not uprooted as neatly as before Yulif appeared. It was because all her mind and nerves were focused on Yulif.

‘If you’re not too busy, should I ask you to have a cup of tea?’

A shadow covered the troubled Canaren as if hugging her. It was Yulif’s shadow.

“The wedding has changed.”

Canaren’s hand froze and grabbed the weeds. She nodded.

“Yes.”

“Do you have any questions?”

“Well, I don’t know much about weddings anyway. Since Yulif is a member of the imperial family, it must be much more complicated and difficult than an ordinary wedding. I don’t want to bother you for no reason because I might not understand even if I hear your answer.”

Canaren would be lying if she said she wasn’t curious at all. However, Canaren chose to be helpful to Yulif rather than to solve her immediate curiosity.  If she couldn’t be of any help, she hoped not to be a disturbance. He was a person with a lot of work to do, even if she didn’t add anything.

From the moment she and she decided to marry Yulif, it was as if she had decided to give up the Hwira customs and follow the human customs. That’s why she asked Roana to prepare it instead. Because she doesn’t know anything about human weddings, she would only annoy many people if she did it on her own.

“Just tell me what I have to do. I will do my best not to make a mistake. It’s my first time, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it well.”

Canaren laughed bashfully. First. The word ‘first’ was deeply embedded in Yulif.

‘Yes, it’s the first time. This is the first wedding in this and his previous life.’

Yulif did not consider this marriage to be real. Nothing more or less than a means to protect Canaren from Deltinus.

After three months, Yulif Rubius will disappear from the world. If Canaren wanted, he would give her all his estate, his property, and even his titles, but he knew she probably doesn’t want any of it. All she wanted was complete freedom. So before he dies, he will also take care of removing the shackles of the duchess title that he forced on her.

It’s not necessary for Canaren to attend the fake wedding for the show. She was the reason that Derek and Roana were assigned as the doubles of the two.

Canaren’s first wedding had to be a real one with someone who cared for her and loved her. Not a wedding to him, who was waiting for the day to die.

It was the first and last fake wedding for him, but Yulif was not bothered. He was rather happy. To be able to share these precious moments with Canaren.

“Is that why you didn’t say anything to Ocard?”

“I didn’t need anything special. There are still a lot of dresses and jewels that Yulif bought. It’s a waste to buy new ones.”

For Yulif, the word ‘waste’ was the most difficult to understand in the world. If it was money, there was enough money to be buried in the ground.

“It’s nothing for you to worry about. Tell me if you want anything. I’ll try to listen to it if I can.”

“Will you listen to anything, wizard?”

Canaren looked back and asked playfully. Despite the many things that had happened, even though he trampled on his heart, Canaren uttered a once-sweet nickname as if she had forgotten everything.

Yulif held himself back with his arms and struggled to resist his desire to kiss her on her plump lips.

“I’ll listen.”

“Well then, I want to be alone with Yulif in a quiet, high place. I don’t need anything else.”

A quiet and high place. Yulif nodded his head, mentally picking out the places that met the conditions one by one. Canaren smiled broadly.

“Are you really going to listen?”

“It’s not a difficult condition.”

“Then one more while you’re listening. Drink tea with me.”

“That would be difficult. I’ll be on my way.”

“I told you to tell me everything you wanted. There’s also the condition that you will show your face once a day.”

Canaren pursed her lips. Her hands were rough, plucking at the weeds.

“We’re not married yet.”

“I know.”

Because she was cute enough to soothe his nerves by only ripping weeds, Yulif added unknowingly.

“When we get married, I’ll show you everything.”

“…Yes?”

‘Damn it. I’ll have to shut my mouth with magic or something.’

Yulif swore inwardly and suddenly used magic to run away.

Canaren, who was staring blankly at where he was standing, leaned over her back and landed on her butt.

“Ouch.”

Strangely, as soon as Yulif disappeared, the scorching sunlight poured down on Canaren. Under the bright sunlight, Canaren’s face grew redder. She rubbed her cheek with the back of her hand.

“You’re not going to show me as much as you want, but you’re making me look forward to it for no reason…”

Still, hope was always willing. A smile slowly appeared on Canaren’s face.