CH 9.3

The two people who came to the bell tower in a carriage got off on the way.

“The beauty of the Northern Festival is in the commoner’s district.”

Michael told her last time that the commoner’s district is on the other side of the aristocratic district based on the bell tower.

“Michael said that the common people were also fun. It would have been nice to come together. ”

“You make me so jealous…”

With a small grumble, Lucas took her hand and led her away.

“The Duke seems to be very jealous of his nephew.”

When Lila heard that he was jealous, her heart beat uncontrollably.

Why do you feel that way? It’s like confirming the appearance of a lover who is a bit obsessed and interfering rather than a lover who’s neglectful…

“But why do you call Michael by his first name while I’m just ‘Duke’?”

Lila protested as Lucas poked at something he’d been complaining about before.

“Because Michael and I are friends who have shared a secret, and it goes much deeper than the Duke.”

“Huh, shared a secret…?”

At her words, Lucas leaned in close and whispered.

“We’ve even spent the night together, and yet you say you have a deeper connection with my nephew than with me…”

“No, that’s not what I meant!”

Lila’s face was like a ripe apple as she screamed before he could finish his sentence.

“If that’s not what you meant, then what does it mean? That you shared a secret.”

“Th, that!”

“If it’s your secret, doesn’t that mean I know it by now?”

Lucas said, peering closely at her face hidden by her bonnet. At his words, Lila only blinked rapidly, her eyelids in a daze.

The nightmare was lightly over, but now he knew her bare face.

So isn’t it like Michael? While thinking, she added a word as if something came to mind.

“No. It’s one thing to share a secret, it’s another to recognize it.”

Lila moved as if to poke him in the nose with her finger, the two of them were so close they were oblivious to their surroundings.

“You said you shared… If that’s true, that means Michael told you his secret… That’s interesting. Did he tell you that much?”

His nephew’s biggest secret was something he knew, so her words were enough for him to make the connection.

“…No! It’s not that…”

Lila winced, realizing that she had inadvertently given away Michael’s secret.

She stopped in her tracks and bit her lip in embarrassment.

It felt strangely discouraging to talk to him.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Lucas squinted at Lila, who narrowed her eyes.

“I really can’t handle your personality, Duke, and how have you been hiding it. Your personality has changed to the point where I’m starting to wonder.”

“I told you we should be honest with each other. Ah, now that you mention it, we’ve already shared a secret.”

“Why is that?”

Lucas smiled deeply at her question. The brown freckles that dotted his pure white face seemed to glow with the sunlight.

“You got to know a side of me that only Owen and Michael knew, and I got to know your face. If that’s not sharing a secret, I don’t know what is.”

Lucas sounded a little condescending, with a slight smirk on his face. Lila pulled her bonnet down unnecessarily and started to walk away.

It would be better if he didn’t see her face.

“I like a straightforward lady. I’ve seen enough humility.”

Lucas said, taking her hand and walking with her. Lila pushed her troubled thoughts aside and admired the northern summer festivities in front of her.

Summer in the Vassium Empire came later and was shorter than in other parts of the world. The summer festivals will be held in about two weeks from now, in the early summer.

Lila let out an exclamation as she looked at the purple flowering trees that filled the streets.

“Wow… It’s so beautiful.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Lucas smiled in satisfaction as he watched her head turn this way and that.

“But these petals… I think I saw it in the duchy’s greenhouse…”

Lucas echoed Lila’s words.

“Oh, you saw it in the greenhouse. It’s a flowering tree called a jacaranda. It’s a flower tree that represents the northern summer. ”

Lucas took Lila’s hand and led her away. Lucas plucked a jacaranda from a cluster of tiny flowers and placed it in Lila’s hand.

“I personally like jacarandas better than hydrangeas. We grow them in the greenhouse so I can see them earlier and longer.”

“I see.”

Lila replied, looking at the jacaranda flower in her palm.

The jacaranda was a bell-shaped plant with mocking purple flowers. It looked like an acacia.

Lila looked at the jacaranda, which she had never seen before, and smelled it. The delicate scent lifted her spirits.

“What’s the flower language for a jacaranda?”

Lila asked, looking up. The purple flowers were exotic, beginning to bloom against a crisp blue sky.

It seemed to be the same color as her eyes and hair, and Lila felt a sense of familiarity.

“Bright happiness.”

Lucas replied in a low voice.

Lila turned her head from staring at the sky. A pair of mint-colored eyes met hers, softly curved.

He stared into her cobalt eyes, and spoke.

“I thought it was a distant meaning from me… But now that I’m looking at my wife, I think it’s coming to me soon. Jacaranda’s flower language. ”

Lucas said sweetly as he placed a small purple flower on her bonnet.

“Shall we take a look at other areas?”

“…Yes.”

Lila bowed her head as her heart threatened to leap out of her mouth. Her face was burning, and she couldn’t bring herself to look up.

With her other hand, the one he wasn’t holding, she tried to cool her face, but it was no use.

Trying to cool her increasingly hot face, Lila pushed through the crowd with Lucas.

“Try some jacaranda skewers! It’s a very rare skewer that can only be tasted during the summer festival! And they’re very affordable!”

“Take a look at these jacaranda bracelets which delivers bright happiness like the flower language of jacaranda! It’s a must item for lovers!”

The noisy bustle of the street was awkward for a moment, but Lila quickly adjusted.

She lived in more complicated places than this back in the day, so it was only natural.

“What, you want to try that?”

Lucas asked with a smirk, noticing that Lila’s eyes were blatantly glued to the skewer.

“…Yes.”

“Hmmm, good for you for being so honest. I love it when you’re like that, it’s cute.”

The owner greeted the two as they approached the front of the skewer shop.

“Welcome, we have two flavors of jacaranda skewers, sweet and salty. You can choose one or the other!”

It was made of chicken, shaped in a way to look similar to a jacaranda flower, with a purple food pigment extracted from jacaranda petals in the sauce.

You could tell the difference between the sweet and salty flavors by how slightly lighter or darker the purple color is.

“I want the sweet one.”

“Here, give me two, sweet and salty.”

“Yes, I see!”

The owner said as she slathers marinade sauce over the raw meat and holding out the golden-browned skewers.

“Two rhenias.”

“Here you go.”

Worried that she was holding rhenia, the highest denomination amongst the currencies, Lila looked curiously at Lucas, who casually paid.

Holding out the sweetened skewer to her, Lucas smiled gently.

“Wife, have some.”

“Thank you.”

Moving to sit on a nearby bench, they savored the skewers in silence. It tasted better than she had expected.

“It’s delicious.”

“Would you like to try this one too?”

Lila let out a small laugh as Lucas held out a salty skewer. She could see the corner of his mouth smeared with purple condiment.

Though he spoke in jest, his demeanor was always graceful. You could tell he was a duke by looking at him.

The fact that he wore the relish on the corner of his mouth made her feel more comfortable with him, despite the unfamiliarity.

“Duke, here…”

Lila pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the corner of his mouth.

“Mmm… It’s embarrassing, but it feels good.”

The bemused look on his face was that of a young man his age. Lila tasted the skewer Lucas held out and her eyes wrinkled.

“I like the salty ones better.”

“I like it sweeter.”

As they swapped skewers after tasting each other’s, they looked up at the jacaranda trees.

Soap bubbles flew in from nowhere, tangling with the blossoms. A cool breeze blew in and enveloped them both. The sun was bright, and they sat on the bench for a while, conscious of each other’s scents.