Late at night.
For some reason I couldn’t sleep, so for the first time, I went out for a walk in the garden.
Mm. The night air is nice and cool.
I hadn’t been at the ducal residence long at all, and already so many things seemed to be happening at once that my head was spinning.
Like Melody earlier.
Around evening, Melody had come running to me in a huff and thrown herself into my arms.
“Melody. What happened? Are you all right?”
When I asked in a worried voice, the child planted her hands on her hips and snorted.
“Hmph! Uu-uu! (I won!)”
She seemed to be bragging about some victory, and when I tilted my head, not understanding, Marie and Becky, who had followed her in, explained the whole story.
That on the way here, they’d run into Lady Dorn—Celia, that is.
“It almost got a little difficult, but thankfully Sir Conrad helped us. You don’t need to worry!”
“Really? Thank goodness.”
It was a relief for now, but it bothered me.
Never mind me—I didn’t think she’d go after Melody, too.
My worry must have shown on my face, because Becky hurriedly added:
That from now on, they’d be even more careful not to run into Celia.
“Thank you. If something like that ever happens again, could you let me know?”
“Of course!”
And so the matter was settled for the time being, but Melody herself was still so worked up that she bounced around for ages.
I played with the child for a while as she burned through all that energy, and she tired herself out and fell asleep earlier than usual.
Which meant that tonight, for the first time in a long while, I had some time to myself.
It seemed a shame to waste the chance, so I came straight out to the quiet garden, and only now did I feel a little more at peace.
I stood still and looked all around the garden.
The garden I’d seen by day from Cain’s study the other day had definitely been dazzlingly vivid.
Maybe because it was night. Tonight, I especially liked how quiet and calm it felt.
I was strolling along leisurely when—
“You’re awake even at this hour.”
At the low voice behind me, I stopped. The owner of such a sweet voice could be none other than Cain.
Sure enough, when I turned around, I saw him walking toward me.
“Oh, yes! For some reason I just couldn’t fall asleep tonight.”
Hiding my slight surprise, I smiled awkwardly.
“More importantly, I never imagined I’d see you out here.”
“I could say the same.”
“Do you usually take walks at this hour?”
“Well, now and then.”
I was about to ask him something else, naturally, when I stopped myself.
Am I disturbing him while he’s taking a quiet walk?
As if to make that worry pointless, Cain came to my side and began walking alongside me.
“How are you finding life in the residence?”
“It’s wonderful. Everyone’s so kind, the food is delicious, the beds are comfortable…”
I could go on forever if I listed everything one by one. But I meant it.
My original goal had only been to protect Melody. And yet I loved life here more than I deserved.
But the thing I liked best, of course, was this.
“Actually, I’ve gotten pretty close with Young Master Jayden, too!”
I bragged about it proudly at first, then regretted it a little a beat later.
That’s right, isn’t it? I’m not the only one who thinks we’ve gotten close, am I?
Mm-hm, surely not. He’d even let me pinch his cheeks.
He was a man who was mostly expressionless, but this seemed to catch him off guard, because Cain’s eyes widened slightly.
“With that boy?”
“Yes! Young Master Jayden. He’s so sweet. He even apologized first about what happened the other day!”
Ha. Cain let out a small, disbelieving laugh, as if he’d heard something amusing.
“That’s the first time I’ve heard anyone say that about that prickly boy. Usually people are too busy being afraid of him.”
“The young master said something similar. I don’t understand it. To me, he’s just so, so cute.”
“Cute?”
“Yes! Like a little kitten, sort of.”
Cain seemed to picture his nephew for a moment, but then he looked at me and murmured quietly:
“Well. For you… that’s more than possible, I suppose.”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
I tilted my head, not understanding, but Cain didn’t explain any further. He only gave a slight, indifferent shrug.
With the soft moonlight for a lamp, we walked slowly through the garden.
Is this the first time I’ve ever taken a late-night walk alone with someone?
A pleasant night breeze stirred, tickling my skin.
Neither of us said anything, but strangely, the silence didn’t feel awkward. If anything, it only felt comfortable.
Probably because I could tell he was deliberately matching his stride to mine.
Pretending to admire the garden, I slyly turned my gaze to the side.
Under the dim moonlight, only Cain’s face was strangely clear.
…The world really is unfair.
Even in the dark shadows, his looks lost none of their shine.
Below his smoothly sloping forehead, the bridge of his nose was sharp enough to cut. His firmly set jaw was masculine and elegant at the same time.
Before I knew it, I was secretly admiring his face for a long while, as if spellbound.
But did I sneak looks for too long?
Ahem. There was no way that sharp-sensed man hadn’t noticed me staring.
Maybe it was the embarrassment catching up with me, but for some reason it felt awkward now.
I didn’t even have anything to say to break the mood, but I was about to open my mouth anyway when—
“More importantly—”
“Is the child settling—”
Our words collided in midair. As if we’d agreed on it, we both stopped where we were and looked at each other.
I’d spoken up because it felt awkward, and it had only made things more awkward. It seemed to be the same for Cain; I could read faint bewilderment in his red eyes.
What have the two of us been doing this whole time?
A little laugh burst out of me, and the tension eased all at once.
“Ahaha! Our timing overlapped. Please, go ahead.”
“You speak first.”
Cain gestured with his chin, yielding his turn to me, but I shook my head.
“No, I want to hear what you were going to say, Your Grace. I’m curious.”
Then I looked up at him steadily with sparkling eyes. Cain hesitated for a moment, his lips moving slightly.
Then he looked away a little and spoke slowly.
“…Is the child settling in well? Melody, I mean.”
At the unexpected topic, I clapped lightly, careful not to make a sound.
“Of course! She’s having the time of her life!”
“Is she.”
“Yes, and it’s all thanks to how well everyone here looks after us.”
Thrilled, I chattered on about everything that had happened.
“There are these maids, Marie and Becky, and they take such good care of Melody. She really loves them.”
“Mm.”
“And Sir Conrad dotes on Melody so much, too…”
I’d been talking for quite a while when Cain murmured quietly:
“I’m glad.”
“Me too. I’m really glad.”
On the day I realized I’d been reborn, I never would have thought we could find peace again so soon.
I’d put on a brave face and smiled, but inside, I’d been very anxious.
But the reason I could smile from the heart like this now was surely…
I’d been walking a little ahead, and I turned around lightly.
Then, with my back to the fountain, I smiled up at him, my heart full of gratitude.
“You know, meeting you that day was the biggest stroke of luck in my life.”
Looking at Viola’s beaming smile, Cain felt a strange emotion.
How could this woman say something like that as if it were nothing?
So this is why even Jayden couldn’t hold out against her.
Neither Cain nor Jayden had any immunity to kindness like this. They’d simply never encountered it.
Having set off ripples as if she’d thrown a stone into a still lake, the woman went on ahead with light, cheerful steps as if nothing had happened.
Cain quietly watched her hair drifting like cherry blossoms under the moonlight.
It’s strange, after all.
He’d always preferred walks at night, but only on the premise that he was alone.
The time when his body and mind, worn out by all the day’s stimulation, finally found peace again. Anyone at his side would only be a disturbance.
But tonight was different.
That squirrel was chattering away beside him, and yet, far from finding it noisy…
He seemed to actually welcome it, because before he knew it, he was walking beside her as if it were only natural.
Why is it only you who’s different?
“Viola.”
Without meaning to, Cain tried her name on his lips.
“Yes?”
She smiled brightly, her eyes curving. Cain felt a strange resonance. For some reason, something near his chest was pounding.
His throat worked as he swallowed.
Why did I call her name?
The experience of impulse getting ahead of thought was unfamiliar. Cain was confused, searching for something to say, when—
“Gasp!”
Like a squirrel that had spotted an acorn, she started, then headed for a flower bed. He even had the illusion of seeing twitching ears.
“Wow! This is a really rare flower!”
Her light-green eyes sparkled.
“There’s a Bosines flower here! I’ve never seen one before!”
Cain took two steps toward her and stood right beside her.
“This one, this one! This is a Bosines flower.”
What she pointed at, thoroughly excited, was a small, deep purple flower.
It was a residence he’d lived in for a long time, but Cain hadn’t even known such a thing existed.
To him, it was nothing but a trivial little flower. And yet something so small made Viola this happy.
“You know the names of flowers well. Do you like flowers?”
Viola, who had been gently stroking the petals, slowly got to her feet. Then she looked into his eyes and answered.
“Yes, I love them.”
Her eyes curved softly as she smiled, utterly lovely.
