by Y. R. Shin
Whether or not Elhien’s face stiffened, Jacalrin mumbled with his chin on his hand like he didn’t have a single care in the world. “Wait, isn’t that the fundamental problem? His taste is…”
“I don’t want to hear it. To be frank, Jacalrin, you’re just aging without even a proper woman to marry. Why don’t you worry about yourself before you start worrying about me? And start acting like an adult a little.”
“It’s not that I can’t get married; I just don’t want to.”
“Huh?”
“I have someone I like.”
“Who?”
“She has hair as black as a raven…and a killer body. Her breasts are so big that I just feel like I’m going to suffocate when I bury my head in them…and you don’t even know how sexy she is…when she’s nakey-nakey…I just melt…”
“Jacalrin! Stop saying such vulgar things!”
Elhien plainly revealed how flustered she was. She regretted giving him any attention at all much too late. But Jacalrin started guffawing at Elhien’s cheeks that were as red as red could be. She was only sixteen, so no wonder she was so innocent.
“That’s your problem right there. Of course, Paseid thinks you’re just a child. You’ll probably call the guards in shock when he unbuttons your top.”
“Paseid is not some scoundrel and strumpet like you.”
“I honestly cannot deny that I’m a scoundrel, but I’m not a strumpet, thank you very much. Oh, poor Paseid. How hard it would be to lead his house all by himself for years because he’s bound to some silly child like you.”
For she was still young, despite her acting like an adult. Elhien pretended to be just fine but failed to hide her sneaking sadness; it was written all over her face, as her cheeks scrunched up a bit and her eyes looked like they might be about to water.
Jacalrin didn’t feel all that guilty, even though he’d just spewed out cruel stings. They were true. And it wasn’t like a couple of his words were going to destroy their relationship.
One thing even Jacalrin, who was not interested in politics at all, knew was the balance between Prime Minister Laperovahan, the head of the Bant party, and Duke Brionake, the head of the Palan party. Elhien and Paseid’s arranged marriage in the midst of the polarity between the two parties was, in short, a symbol of the firm political union of the royalists and the nobilities.
Paseid might be the object of love for Elhien, but at least to Paseid, this most likely held more of a meaning as a political relationship than anything else. Because she was not unaware of this, Elhien was fussing around and trying to get his attention. Well, if this was her effort to live at least a little more happily when her life was already all set for her, then it sure was commendable.
“You, you, you…”
But once Elhien’s face went beyond becoming stiff and started to contort, he started to feel uneasy. Jacalrin tried to amend all the things he’d said. “Well, the fact that he won’t care at all about you no matter how hard you try won’t change, but you’re still getting married to him, right? I mean…I should probably try harder to seem likable to the noble lady who will be a duchess in the future.”
Her eyes welled up with tears at last.
Jacalrin stood up. “Hey…hey…?”
“You’ll be doomed because of that mouth of yours. You will be doomed!” she cried.
“Come on, what did I say that was so bad? If you cry, all your powder’s going to be ruined and you’ll look like a monster.”
Elhien clamped her lips shut. “Jacalrin…I never want to see you again!”
“Hey, that’s too harsh to someone who doesn’t have anyone else to play with but you. All right, I’ll speak to Paseid on your behalf. Hmm? So, don’t get mad at me. You’re not going to cry, are you?”
But Elhien’s face didn’t seem to brighten up at all. Jacalrin twitched his fingers.
He didn’t know what to do, for he’d only hung out with male siblings and women who were rough tomboys at best since he was a child. Jacalrin was a man who had learned by experience that it was easier to skedaddle as fast as he could with the excuse that he was giving them time to be alone than to carefully caress them, like caressing a glass that could shatter at any moment. But he couldn’t just abandon someone of such importance and run away.
“I take it back! I take it back! You’re perfectly his type! Yup! His type indeed!”
“Are you kidding me right now…?” Elhien’s voice trailed off and her head dropped. Her tears dropped as well. It seemed like she was ailing on the inside even though she was pretending not to. To be fair, though, people said they were the perfect groom and bride, short of nothing, but those were just words. Their relationship was only a relationship tied by an arrangement in a stranger’s eyes, nothing more.
“Pa—Paseid should be coming soon. If your eyes look like the carps’ eyes in Lake Ryuga, he’s gonna completely stop liking…”
Jacalrin stopped vomiting out any words that came to mind at last and tussled his hair. He didn’t mean to make her cry like this, but alas, his filterless mouth had to go rogue and ruin everything.
Jacalrin contemplated whether he should wipe Elhien’s tears or not. But that only ended as a thought. Instead, he felt an overwhelming surge of the desire to flee and started to back away.
“Why on earth do you just say whatever…!”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
“What’s saying sorry going to do? Why can’t you stand not irritating me for a second?”
“It’s not that I’m trying to irritate you; it’s just true… Oh, I take that back. I take that back too!”
Jacalrin slapped his own mouth with his hand. Finding that Elhien’s eyes were becoming vicious, he glanced at the closed door.
Then, a savior appeared.
“Little Sir Chesa, are you here? Big Sir Chesa is looking for you, sir.”
“Kalajesh?”
“Yes, sir. He is at the entrance of the Laperovahan mansion right now.”
Darn it. Jacalrin pouted at the pressure. He was supposed to participate in a guard training with Kalajesh. He had snuck out, and he wondered how Kalajesh knew that he was headed here. If he was seen wandering about like a lazy ne’er-do-well, Kalajesh would give him a lecture again.
Jacalrin contemplated for a minute, then sharply inhaled when he locked eyes with Elhien, who’d stopped crying at once and was glaring at him. The look of struggle soon changed to that of relief.
Before Elhien could reproach him again, he shouted, “Sorry! Kalajesh is looking for me, so I’d better go!” and ran out like the wind.
Paseid finally returned to his mansion at sundown.
The large, elegant mansion had been neatly cleaned and was in good order, despite withstanding years without its master. He looked at his mansion with tired eyes and moved his feet forward.
He didn’t even have the energy to individually respond to all those who’d rushed out to greet their master who had suddenly returned. He went straight to his bedchamber to change out of his uncomfortable clothes, then listened to Halman’s report of what had happened at the mansion since he’d been gone.
“Master, I have assigned the recently arrived knights and the servants in the east wing and the west wing, respectively. I will organize the list of guests who visited the mansion during your absence and present it as well. I have not changed anything while you were not here, Master, but if there are any grievances, please tell me straight away. You must have not eaten yet. I will prepare your dinner first.”
“No need for a meal.”
Halman looked disappointed for a moment at his stern answer, then bowed his head. “Also, I sent the document about the budget for the mansion to Rokland five days ago. Forgive me for not anticipating your visit and properly preparing for it.”
“Halman, you have done well.”
Halman’s face soon brightened up by his expression of appreciation. But Paseid was not in a state of mind to engage in a conversation, for he
was overwhelmed by complicated thoughts.
Now that Terendoke was firm on starting a war with Morgana, he blamed himself for not gladly agreeing, even though he was just as furious as him. They must have reached a decision on that matter far before his arrival. What Rarke needed to justify this war was royal blood, a chess piece with a considerable amount of experience that would increase the likelihood of winning.
The grudge between Rarke and Morgana had never changed since the old days. The animosity between them had existed since the foundation of the Brionake Dynasty, and every patriot of Rarke did not forget the shame.
But a war.
He had to spend his days with his sword never out of reach due to the frequent breakouts of fights at Rokland, the land of the Brionakes, and had inevitably grown up seeing more blood than anyone else in the capital, but that word was a word he’d never liked nor gotten used to. The people of the border had already bled enough.
The nobles of Muiyadro wanted a Brionake to be dispatched. Since Terendoke couldn’t fight himself, their expectations naturally directed toward the Noble House Brionake.
If one tried to give an excuse to justify it, one could come up with hundreds of them. Paseid thought about his deceased father for the first time in a while.
The man who was called Palan Sholgo was someone who had devoted his life to the Royal House Brionake by establishing a sharp opposition against the Bant party with the help of Marquis Jafein. He had not been wise, as everyone knew, but he had been a good man at heart.
Son. You may consider yourself rather wise in worldly matters. I will not deny that. I should rather be proud of you, for you have grown up just the way your grandfather wished you would. But I do have one concern. Your clear understanding of good and bad will easily turn others into enemies, no matter your convictions or desires. If you cannot tame that nature, do not set foot in the mud.
The father who spoke so had established his legacy of a half-completed union of the two parties by arranging a marriage between Paseid and Elhien. He had passed away when Paseid was around seventeen years of age. It was right after Paseid returned from Sichin.
Though it was not entirely because of his last words, Paseid had slowly stepped back from politics as his father had wished. Paseid protected Rarke not with tongue and pen like the politicians, but with a sword at the borders. Though he had not intended this, Muiyadro naturally became a distant name to him, and the title Palan Sholgo, his by inheritance, became only a name. The ring of the Brionake and the ring of a Palan Sholgo had both become keepsakes in the drawer because he often had to wield a sword, but now the time had come when he needed them both.
Paseid gathered his disordered thoughts and stood by the bedchamber window with his back turned to Halman. Then, he opened the window. The fresh fragrance of the plants flowed in through the northern window. Paseid’s seething mind naturally calmed down the moment he smelled that dizzying aroma.
“If there is anything else you need…”
“How are you maintaining the place?”
Halman stopped at his sudden voice. The place was the second-most beautiful in the capital city, but also the most secretive. “The gardeners have taken great care to organize it. Should I prepare it for you?”
The only place more beautiful than there in the barren north was the rose garden in the palace.
“Yes.”
Halman, who had been longing for his master’s return while he kept the empty house in order, bowed his head down deep and went outside.
There were two strict rules regarding the only house of their dukedom in Muiyadro.
First, the title of the duke. Since the first King Brionake had founded a new dynasty in Rarke, the royal family and the noble family had come to share one root. And yet, the difference between the royal family and the noble family was very apparent even today. So, at least in the capital where the king’s ears were everywhere, addressing Duke Brionake as lord duke was to show respect to the royal family.
The second rule was to not rashly set foot in the secret garden in Brionake’s mansion. It was not known why finding the entrance to the garden was difficult. But many had learned from hearsay that there remained an inheritance from the first king.
There was an old wall covered in winter ivy if one followed it along the road leading behind the mansion. If one did not stop and kept walking in on the path, a sight of the utmost artificial beauty revealed itself beyond the glass greenhouse surrounded by countless bushes and flowers.
People called the glass greenhouse behind the north wing of the mansion the Garden of Hydrangea. After a long time, that name had become its own idiom and settled as a sort of a pronoun of Muiyadro. The Garden of Hydrangea was also known as a place where only those of the direct bloodline of the Noble House Brionake could enter.
But now, the only direct bloodline of the Noble House Brionake was Paseid Calandok Brionake, the current duke. Even so, he spent more time in the country, essentially leaving the mansion’s hydrangea garden only to the butler and gardeners of House Brionake. So, the ones who were hoarding the beautiful sight they could not show to anyone else, much to their shame, were extremely delighted by its owner’s return.
Halman reported the preparations were finished. Paseid passed the north wing of the mansion and headed to the hydrangea garden located behind the wall. The sight of the hydrangea that bloomed in blue all year long was dizzying from the entrance. Coarse plants that had withstood the cold winter were spreading their roots outside the greenhouse, but inside there were only a white wall, a platform, and true-blue hydrangeas.
The lonely flowers of the garden that bloomed regardless of the season wafted in their fragrance like they were excited to see a visitor at long last.
The greenhouse was completely silent, without even a slight breeze. It was peaceful, cut off from the rest of the world. Feeling more at ease, Paseid sat down at the table. He pushed the tea Halman had already poured to one side. There was not only tea, but also a couple books on a subject he might like. Ignoring the books as well, Paseid lowered his head and closed his eyes.
After meditating to calm his mind, Paseid raised his head by the time the tea had cooled to room temperature. Then, he gazed at the snow-white wall standing straight on the flat, low platform located in a more inner part of the greenhouse.
Its white shine that the tattered years polished elegantly lingered in his sight. It was a sight he had not seen in a long while, and yet it was familiar, as though it were something he saw every day. It was more disparate because it was in the middle of a garden where nature of a truer blue than the sky bloomed. The shine felt more like something foreign.
Paseid gazed at the solitary frame hung on the wall, covered with a clean fabric.
The hydrangea garden had been founded by the first Brionake, so its preservation was the descendants’ responsibility. But that painting that had been passed down was something Paseid could not accept, so covering it with a fabric was sort of a compromise.
After spending some time gazing at the wall, Paseid turned his head and opened a book.
Darkness soon veiled the garden to the point that he could no longer make out the letters without a lamp. The candle on the table melted down to a thin, flat shape and shined its last light. When he was about to close the book, Halman carefully came into the garden.
“Master, the lady of House Laperovahan has come to visit.”
Laperovahan.
He recalled the girl.
The small girl who still somewhat looked like a child was standing quietly by the entrance to the greenhouse and waiting for him. She frowned every passing moment, then brightened up once Paseid came out of the greenhouse. Spring in Muiyadro was always bleakly chilly like this, most likely because of the north wind from the Galiau Mountains where the snow never melted.
“How is it that you have come all the way here without even a notice?” Paseid asked.
“It’s not odd for me to come see you, now, is it, Your Gr
ace?” Her voice sank down dejectedly toward the end, disheartened by Paseid’s reproach.
“That was not how I meant it. How have you been, my lady?” Paseid gave a soft smile without looking like he was annoyed and looked into her eyes.
Elhien rolled her eyes, trying to figure out what he was thinking, then changed the subject. “Oh, oh, I forgot to say hello. I’m glad to see you after such a long time. I know you may not be delighted by me visiting you first like this, but…I was afraid you might return only for a short while this time too.”
“I am planning on staying for a longer time. I should have contacted you beforehand.”
“I know very well that you are a busy person.”
Paseid’s lips arched spontaneously into a smile at the small, mumbling voice. Elhien soon blushed and lowered her head.
The feathered fedora pulled down over the flowing brown hair was loose and crooked on one side. Paseid wordlessly looked down at that, then reached out to fix it. He gazed at Elhien’s dress that exposed half of her shoulders despite the cold weather and took off his coat to put it around her shoulders. Elhien’s round, orange-coral eyes widened, then fell to her feet.
“Is there time for me in your planned schedule during your stay here, this time?”
It seemed as though she was rather disappointed by him coming without saying so and leaving without saying goodbye whenever he visited Muiyadro.
Instead of an answer, Paseid looked around at the scenery after the sun set. “I did not know you would visit at such a late hour.”
“The thing is, I did get permission. I actually planned on coming a little earlier, but something happened in the morning…”
She rubbed her eyes. Paseid slowly put his arm around her shoulders and started walking. “The hour is very late today, so I will take you back for now.”
She walked a couple steps, following his lead, then suddenly raised her head like she’d just snapped to reality and looked up at him. “But I just came.”