Episode 82

Chapter 82. The Wizard Who Makes Flowers Bloom (1)

Meanwhile, news that Jerome had attended the couples’ gathering spread like wildfire.

“His Majesty attended the gathering?”

The news soon reached the ears of the imperial concubine, Fay.

Upon seeing Fay’s displeased expression, the maid tried to frame it in the best possible light.

“H-He didn’t arrive right when it started… His meeting ran late, so—”

“It doesn’t matter whether he arrived late or early! The point is that he never shows up to these things—so why now, all of a sudden…!”

Ah.

Realizing her mistake, Fay pressed her lips tightly together.

She had lost control of her temper and raised her voice.

‘I shouldn’t be like this.’

She quickly softened her gaze.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to shout. I was just so surprised.”

“Oh, no, of course. I know you didn’t mean to—really, I completely understand.”

The maid shook her head emphatically.

Though she had reassured the maid, Fay’s anxiety only deepened.

Her hand clenched tighter around the hem of her dress.

‘I should’ve said something when he first sent his guards to the Empress.’

She had already heard about Jerome assigning his personal guards to the Empress.

Truthfully, even then she’d been deeply unsettled.

Why would he suddenly take an interest in the Empress’s security when he’d never cared before?

Although the number of guards assigned was smaller than the ones stationed around her, that wasn’t the issue. This wasn’t about numbers.

They were the Emperor’s personal guard, no less!

Still, she had let it go when the Empress declined them…

‘I can’t let this slide any longer.’

Fay abruptly rose from her seat.

“The new dress I had tailored—has it arrived?”

“Are you planning to attend the gathering?”

“Of course.”

Fay responded with a radiant smile to the maid’s question.

“It is a couples’ gathering, after all.”

Her cheeks flushed as if she were bashful.

“If His Majesty is there, then of course I should be, too.”

I quietly watched Jerome.

—Don’t you think it’s a little late to change your mind now?

“……”

He didn’t answer right away.

‘No, it’s not that he can’t answer…’

Was that… surprise? He seemed momentarily flustered.

No way. Must be my imagination.

Look at that expressionless face. Maybe not as icy as before, but still frosty enough.

Hey.

Do you remember you owe me something?

Right. If he actually remembered what happened on the night of the Founding Festival, I probably wouldn’t be so curious.

If he’d realized I helped retrieve the thing he was so desperately looking for, I’d have just assumed he wanted to repay me.

But right now?

If it’s not that, then what?

I waited for an answer, but Jerome remained silent. His eyes looked far away, as if his mind was elsewhere, unreadable.

Fine. I don’t care anymore.

I was the first to lower my guard and turn away.

“I haven’t changed my mind. I just…”

“…?”

I heard a faint murmur.

“What did you just say?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”

He definitely said something important just now.

I opened my mouth to ask what he meant when—

“Your Majesty!”

A sharp voice cut between us.

Jerome and I turned our heads in the same direction.

‘Fay?’

What was she doing here?

Ah.

I glanced at Jerome beside me.

‘So she came because Jerome’s here.’

Fay approached with a bright smile. The light green chiffon dress—matching her green eyes—looked stunning on her. She really did resemble a forest fairy.

A bit extravagant for just a casual gathering, though.

“Oh my, not enough chairs?”

She motioned to an attendant to bring another chair—right next to Jerome.

The servant quickly placed a cup and utensils in front of her.

Once seated, Fay puffed her cheeks like someone sulking.

“I’m hurt, Your Majesty. If you were planning to attend, you could’ve told me.”

She subtly linked her arm with Jerome’s.

“We are husband and wife, after all.”

Her unabashed display of affection prompted the nearby nobles to look away in discomfort. A few awkward coughs echoed through the air.

Apparently, Jerome noticed the attention too. He firmly removed her arm.

But Fay didn’t give up and clung to him again.

I sighed inwardly at the sight.

‘Looks like this gathering is going to last longer than I thought.’

In the distance, I could almost see the cozy bed fading away like a mirage.

Deep within the Empress’s palace.

“Is everyone here?”

While Helena attended her official meeting, a secret gathering was underway in that secluded place.

“As you all know, our ‘Support the Empress’ group is currently facing an emergency.”

Countess Chloe opened the meeting with a solemn voice.

“You’ve prepared the report, I trust?”

“Yes, of course.”

At her prompt, one of the maids stood up. She was holding a rather thick stack of papers. Carefully, she began reading aloud from the report.

“Lately, Her Majesty the Empress appears to be in rather poor spirits. To begin with, the frequency of her sighing while gazing out the window has increased from twice a day to five times…”—

The report went on to detail all manner of Helena’s subtle behavioral changes: the number of times she tossed and turned in bed, how often she skipped breakfast, and more.

“And the cause?”

“We don’t know for certain, but it seems related to Sir Leonard. The timing of Her Majesty’s change in mood coincides with his disappearance.”

“Have we determined why Sir Leonard vanished?”

“Apologies, my lady. We’ve deployed as many personnel as possible to investigate, but his whereabouts remain unknown.”

“He’s an exceptional man; I expected he wouldn’t be easy to track. Keep searching.”

“Yes, we’ll do our utmost!”

A grand operation to support Helena was now underway.

But not everyone agreed on the urgency of the matter.

“I don’t know… To me, Her Majesty seems to be going about her days as usual.”

“Right. She didn’t look especially grief-stricken. Maybe she’s just tired—”

Smack!

“You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Mary slammed her hands on the table and stood up. Her eyes were puffy from a sleepless night, spent worrying about Helena.

“She even refused her favorite chocolate macarons! Not once, but three times!”

The room erupted in shocked murmurs.

“That’s… truly serious.”

“Chocolate macarons are Her Majesty’s favorite dessert, aren’t they?”

“Oh no… As her chef, I feel utterly ashamed!”

Max, the very chef they’d once met at the restaurant while chasing after Leonard, wiped tears from his eyes—his heart broken by her rejection of his dessert.

Mary gently comforted him.

“It’s not your fault, Max. If anyone is to blame, it’s all of us—for failing to notice Her Majesty’s distress.”

“That’s right. You did your best, Max!”

“Don’t be discouraged! You’re the best chef we have!”

The encouragement poured in.

“Thank you, everyone. Truly, thank you.”

Moved by their warmth, Max dabbed his tears with his sleeve.

“This time, I’ll make a special dish that’s sure to lift Her Majesty’s spirits!”

He pounded his chest with determination.

But Mary shook her head.

“No… Of course, your cooking is amazing, Max. But right now, we need a different kind of plan.”

“A plan, you say…?”

“Yes. In times like this, there’s only one person who can help: that person.”

That person.

The moment Mary uttered the words, everyone’s expression grew grave.

An elderly gardener spoke up.

“You mean… that person will intervene directly?”

“That’s how urgent the situation is. We can only place our hopes in the captain’s skill.” Countess Chloe’s voice was serious.

A middle-aged gardener gave a solemn nod.

“Indeed… if anyone can resolve this, it’s her.”

“Then I’ll take your silence as agreement. Let’s begin the operation immediately.”

This was madness, Cedric thought to himself.

Just moments ago, he had received an unexpected mission from Mary.

“What? You want me to… ask Her Majesty the Empress out on a date?”

“Yes, exactly! You’re supposed to ask her out on a date!”

It was a proposal too frightening to even say out loud.

‘No, how could I possibly… ask the Empress out?’

Of course, his feet had already carried him to the doorstep of the Empress’s chambers.

And in his hands, he was clutching a bouquet of flowers…!

‘This is absolutely crazy!’

Cedric reconsidered.

‘Should I turn back now?’

He’d already turned back more than twenty times in his hesitation.

‘No. Remember what Mary said.’

He recalled the conversation with Mary carefully.

Sure enough, the Empress had seemed unusually down lately.

And as Mary had said, sometimes a change of pace was exactly what was needed.

Yes. This was all for Her Majesty’s sake.

Cedric steeled his resolve.

Though, admittedly, a little selfish hope was mixed in there too.

After waiting a while longer—

“Oh? Cedric?”

From afar, he finally spotted the face he had longed to see.

“What is it? Have you been waiting for me?”

The moment he saw her, Cedric was glad he’d come.

A faint smile had already begun to bloom at the corners of his mouth.

“Yes, I have.”

“Don’t just stand out there—come in and talk.”

He followed Helena inside her room.

“So? What did you want to say?”

“Ah, well…”

Remembering why he had come, his nerves began to spike again.

Hoo. Cedric took a deep breath.

Calm down. You can do this.

Right. Start with something natural—like small talk.

“I—I think the weather is really nice today, don’t you?”

“…It’s raining.”

Damn.

He’d been completely oblivious to the rain pouring from the sky.

“I—I like the rain.”

“Oh. I see.”

Like he could actually mean that.

Was that really the best I could come up with? Cedric scolded himself.

Just then, as he wrestled with himself—

“I like it too.”

“You like it…?”

The meaningful words whispered in his ear made his eyes widen.

What did she like?

Could it be… me?

His heart raced uncontrollably.

Though he didn’t check the mirror, his ears must have been burning red.

“Yes. The sound of raindrops falling is pleasant to hear. It calms the mind.”

“Ah…”

Right, they’d been talking about the rain.

“Yes. I like the rain.”

No, actually, he didn’t like it at all.

“Did you come here just to talk about the weather?”

“No!”

Cedric shook his head quickly.

“W-well, what I really wanted to say was…”

He kept darting his eyes around, unsure where to look.

“You’ve been really busy lately, so it’s important to take care of your health. And also…”

“Cedric.”

“How can someone live by work alone? You have to rest sometimes…”

“Cedric!”

“Y-Yes?!”

“Will you go out with me?”

“…!”

“It’s raining today, so that might be difficult. How about tomorrow?”

Plop.

“Uh, Cedric? Your flower just fell.”

No sound came from him.

Had he just heard what he thought he heard?

His mind was more confused than ever.

Helena would never know this, of course—

That already, in his mind, she was dressed in a pure white gown.

A moment later—

“Did you really just…?”

Cedric finally gathered himself and said in disbelief,

“Are you really asking me out on a date, Your Majesty?”