Chapter 28

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 28

Chapter Title: A Kind Soul

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Lisa couldn't stay still for even a moment and paced the street behind the mansion. It was almost time for the viscount couple and the two young masters, who had gone to visit relatives, to return, but there was no sign of the young lady coming back.

What if something unfortunate happened to her at the palace?

No matter how hard she tried, Lisa couldn't shake off the ominous thoughts that kept creeping in. She even regretted not telling the young lady, but deceiving her about a direct summons from the queen would have landed them in even greater trouble.

When she heard that someone looking for Lady Hardy's maid was waiting in the back alley, Lisa had assumed it was just another one of those pathetic suitors circling the young lady. Fools who showed up with flowers and gifts at the drop of a hat were a dime a dozen in Schwerin.

But the figure who appeared before Lisa as she trudged there was, unexpectedly, a stern-faced maid from the Schwerin Palace. Any suspicion that she might be a fraud vanished the moment Lisa spotted the carriage behind her. The gleaming golden wolf emblem was unmistakably the royal family's.

The royal maid whisked the young lady away quietly and swiftly, as if staging a kidnapping. Lisa wasn't permitted to accompany them.

If she'd known she'd be stewing like this, she should have at least insisted on going along.

Just as that regret escaped as a sigh, a carriage appeared from down the road. It was the very same royal carriage that had taken Erna away.

The snip-snip of scissors cutting fabric seeped into the silence of the bedroom. The rhythmic sound continued until deep into the night.

Erna set down the scissors and stared blankly at the desk covered in petals she'd made herself. It took her a little while to remember what flower she had planned to make.

"Roses."

Whispering the name she'd finally recalled, Erna massaged her swollen, aching fingers.

The image of a pergola blanketed in blooming vine roses sprang vividly to life, along with the distant sound of gentle waves and seagulls. Then came memories of the table covered in white lace, the beautiful porcelain, and beyond them, that unreal face.

What expression would Grandmother make if she learned her granddaughter had met privately with Her Majesty the Queen?

The impulse to write to her grandmother right away faded quickly. If she found out the reason her granddaughter had met the queen was a scandal with the queen's son—Prince Biern, who had divorced amid the scorn of the entire kingdom—she might faint on the spot.

As the pain in her hands refused to subside, Erna set her work aside and stood. She opened the window to the garden, letting in a soft night breeze. Clutching the lace shawl over her nightgown, she leaned against the windowsill and gazed down at the darkened garden.

It felt just like a dream.

Not so long ago, just at the start of spring, she had been living ordinary days in a remote rural village. Then, in the blink of an eye, she lost her grandfather, faced the threat of losing her home, and struck a deal with her father that led her here. Erna still couldn't quite believe that all these monumental events had unfolded in just one season.

And today's unbelievable afternoon, no less.

Recalling her conversation with the queen brought a deep sigh unbidden.

Erna had explained everything in as much detail as possible, from the day she first met Prince Biern to today. Her mind had gone blank, cold sweat dripping, but she neither embellished nor twisted the truth. That was the only way to clear the misunderstanding.

"Biern truly wanted that?"

The queen, who had listened silently until then, first voiced her doubt when Erna confessed to compensating for the lost deer antler trophy.

Feeling accused, Erna desperately tried to prove her innocence. That's how she ended up confessing her promise to sell flower arrangements to pay off the debt. She realized too late how a nobleman's daughter doing such a thing might be received, but the words were already out.

"So, to clarify, Lady Hardy made the flower arrangements herself, sold them, used the money to repay the value of the lost trophy, and Biern accepted all of this willingly... Is that what you're saying?"

The queen's voice betrayed undisguised bewilderment as she asked again.

"Biern—my son—really did that?"

With her final question, the queen let out a hollow laugh. Thankfully, there were no further interrogations.

The rest of the time passed like an ordinary tea party.

The queen skillfully guided the mundane conversation, and Erna responded politely. The prince's name was never mentioned again, not even as Erna left the annex.

Had she truly cleared things up?

She pondered and pondered, but it was hard to reach a clear conclusion. The queen had been kind yet stern, cool yet affectionate. Traits reminiscent of the prince. Her pale golden hair and delicate yet sharp features were similar, too.

Erna shut the window to banish the suddenly vivid memory of him and hurried back to her desk. Her hands still throbbed, but not enough to stop working.

Dwelling on needless sentiment would only deepen her melancholy, but work could reduce her debt.

Clinging to that simple conviction, Erna moved her hands.

She knew full well that even if the arrangements fetched good prices, the amount was paltry compared to the massive debt. With the prince's trophy value and now Pavel's loan added, she might have to make enough flowers to adorn every lady's hat in the city. Imagining how long it would take made her head spin.

But this was the only solution Erna could find, so she intended to give it her all. The realities she had to face were always overwhelmingly large and daunting anyway.

Life hadn't been particularly kind to her, but Erna was used to it by now. Of course, moments of despair and sorrow would come, making her feel small. But she knew that as long as she didn't give up on herself, life wouldn't flow only in a negative direction.

By the time she'd used up all the petals she'd made, it was deep into the night, past midnight. Excluding the time spent with the queen, she'd devoted the entire day to crafting flowers.

After tidying up, Erna washed her hands thoroughly and lay down in bed. Exhaustion let her fall asleep without tormenting thoughts.

That night, Erna made flower arrangements even in her dreams. Enormous ones, the size of a palace.

"Look! There she is!"

Peter, who had been scanning the crowd with wide eyes, let out a triumphant shout. The Hardy family was just entering the spectator stands. At least to them, today's festival star, Erna Hardy, was with them.

"Knew she'd show up eventually."

Leonard smirked at the fidgety group, inwardly relieved himself. If Erna hadn't appeared, they'd have been the fools who'd wasted their efforts on nothing.

"My Lady Hardy looks fit as a fiddle for boating. Lucky her."

"Oh? Confident you can get her on your boat?"

"Naturally."

Even amid the barrage of mocking glances, Peter stood firm.

Among the bet participants, he had sent Erna the most letters and gifts. Naturally, he'd received the most replies. To letters expressing concern for her health, she'd sent grateful responses—though laced with rejection, the noticeably larger, bolder script clearly left some room.

"You think you can seduce a woman tangled in a scandal with Biern Dynister?"

"That was just Biern using her to provoke his ex-wife. I'm different. We're emotionally connected."

Thinking of the stack of replies, Peter already felt like he was in the same boat as Erna. Of course, one big variable remained.

"Heads up, your rival's here."

Leonard, chuckling, pointed to the path connected to the Schwerin Palace gardens. The king and queen, escorting all princes and princesses except Crown Prince Leonit who was competing, were entering the VIP seats. The crowd rose as one, their applause and cheers amplifying the festive riverside atmosphere.

"See? He's here, Biern."

Peter sidled up to Biern, now seated in the royal box at the highest point of the platform, and whispered. Ignoring Princess Luise's sharp glare, he plopped down right beside him.

Biern, legs casually crossed, turned his gaze to the far right end of the lower spectator stands as Peter indicated. He recognized the woman in white at a glance. Erna. His straight flush.

Ignoring Peter's silly jest, Biern gazed steadily at her. Lowering his eyes cast a sharper shadow from his long lashes. The soft curve of his smiling lips did the same.

"Whoa! He's looking! Right at us!"

Erna, glancing around, turned her head, and Peter fidgeted excitedly.

Spotting them moments later, Erna startled and offered an awkward curtsy. They returned polite nods. Her pallor suggested the rumors of poor health weren't entirely false, but she was still beautiful—beautiful enough that it felt a pity she was something to be used up and discarded by night's end.

Erna, unsure where to direct her gaze, turned rigidly forward. Though quite distant, Biern could tell her cheeks had flushed.

"Biern, if I seriously asked Lady Hardy to court her..."

Peter, eyeing Erna's back with lingering regret, chuckled and shook his head.

"You'd die."

His gaze shifted to his father, Count Bergen, laughing heartily nearby. The burly man had been a famed boxer in his youth and, just years ago, proved his prime prowess by thrashing his eldest son half to death for losing his senses over a maid.

"My father would kill me."

As Peter sighed in resignation, an announcement signaled the race was about to begin.

Biern removed his gloves and leaned back against the chair. Erna, head bowed, cautiously glanced back just as an excited hush overtook the stands.

In the taut silence like a drawn bowstring, their eyes met.

Unlike startled Erna, Biern's eyes holding her were deep and serene. By then, the race had started.

The crowd's deafening roars shook the summer riverside. Even then, their gazes remained locked. Quiet, oblivious to the world's clamor.