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"I could not accept
you as part of my family."
Sienna found herself
constantly repeating the words he had said in her dream as if they were an
afterimage lingering in her mind. Recalling the two people in the dream who
were married yet never became a true family left her feeling stifled.
There was a knock on the
door from outside.
"Your Highness, may I
come in?"
The door opened, and Beth
entered. She was carrying a large bouquet that was overflowing from her arms.
Emma wheeled Beth's chair toward the sofa. Beth handed the bouquet to Sienna.
Light pink roses were mixed with baby’s breath dyed a deep red.
"The Marquis of Raad
has sent this gift to Your Highness. He brought it personally."
"Is the Marquis of
Raad here?"
"He left after
delivering the gift. He said he would have announced his visit to Your
Highness, but leaving suddenly to see you would be impolite, so he took his
leave."
Beth was quite pleased with
the romantic gift. She loved flowers; they were the gifts she always hoped to
receive from her husband on special occasions. Although Kuhn did not intend
this, it greatly improved the Marquis of Raad’s standing in Beth’s eyes.
Sienna stared blankly at
the bouquet in her hands.
On the day she debuted in
society, people praised her beauty and presented her with flowers, composed
poems, and sang serenades. She received so many flowers that day that they had
to be carried away in carriages. Even after decorating her bedroom and
reception room with colorful flowers, there were still enough left to send to
the Red Palace.
But since then, she had
rarely received such gifts. People believed the cold image of the princess did
not suit dainty gifts.
To win the favor of the
princess, they competed to present her with expensive jewelry or valuable
treasures.
Sienna was not someone who
would sigh over a single flower, a woman with delicate feelings. Moreover, the
world's finest garden, filled with every kind of flower from spring to fall,
was nearby.
However, there’s a saying
that no one dislikes receiving flowers, and she was no exception. She felt
quite good.
“Such lovely roses in this
season. Truly beautiful, Your Highness.”
“They must be from the
Celine Greenhouse.”
Emma chimed in.
“The Celine Greenhouse?”
“The largest greenhouse in
the capital, Your Highness,” Beth explained.
The people of the empire
loved flowers. Even the windowsills of the shabbiest homes had flower pots.
Flowers were a highly popular gift. The freshness of live flowers had an
irresistible charm, and they were affordable.
But when winter arrived,
flowers turned into a luxury item. Flowers cultivated in greenhouses equipped
with special facilities were so expensive they were called "fading
jewels."
“Celine Greenhouse grows
their flowers using a special cultivation method. They are known for their
large blooms and flowers that don’t wilt for a long time. The vivid colors of
their petals are unmatched by other greenhouses. They cultivate the widest
variety of roses, and I doubt this pink rose is available anywhere else. Oh,
come to think of it, Celine Greenhouse is run by the Raad Merchant Guild.”
That afternoon, Beth
brought news of the Marquis of Raad, even though Sienna hadn’t asked.
“The Marquis of Raad met
with His Majesty today and reported that he had established an investigative
bureau at the guest palace. It seems he’s preparing to fully carry out His
Majesty’s orders.”
After finishing her work,
Sienna went into her bedroom, but instead of heading to her bed, she went to
the table.
Beth had unwrapped the
bouquet and arranged the flowers in a vase on the bedside table. Sienna touched
the rose petals with her fingertips. She liked the soft feel of the petals. She
bent over and brought her nose close to the flowers. The fragrance was strong.
The smile on her lips
didn’t fade even when she lay down in bed and closed her eyes to sleep.
The bouquet gift wasn’t a
one-time thing. That day was just the beginning.
Having established the
investigative bureau at the guest palace and been appointed as the chief
officer, the Marquis of Raad entered the palace every morning.
Everyone’s attention was on
the Marquis of Raad, to the point where even a few coughs from him would spark
rumors of him being struck with a fever. In such an atmosphere, it was only
natural that his daily routine would attract attention.
Every morning, at the same
time, the marquis’s carriage would enter the royal palace. He would step out of
the carriage, holding a bouquet. He would then walk to the Silver Palace with
the flowers in hand. Many palace courtiers witnessed this scene as they passed
by.
“Oh my, look over there.
It’s the Marquis.”
“Just like they said. Today
it’s purple tulips. Oh, how pretty.”
“How many days has it been
now?”
The marquis never entered
the Silver Palace. He would hand over the bouquet to a lady-in-waiting at the
entrance and then turn back. After a few days, it became customary for Countess
Pope to come out and wait at that time, which became yet another topic of
gossip.
By the fifth day, the
marquis’s eccentric behavior was the talk of the town. People began to
speculate about his intentions.
“What could the Marquis of
Raad be planning by drawing so much attention?”
“They say he’s hiring the
staff for the investigative bureau based on strange criteria. I heard he even
hired some commoners.”
“He’s so hard to read. He
doesn’t respond to any invitations, does he?”
Around the tenth day,
someone mustered the courage to ask a bold question. Why was he delivering
flowers to the Silver Palace? Surprisingly, the marquis answered readily.
“Surely everyone knows the
meaning behind giving flowers to a lady?”
The Marquis’s response
changed the atmosphere. Members of high society, who were always eager for a
scandal, reacted enthusiastically.
“The Marquis of Raad and
Her Highness the Silver King?”
“Could it be true?”
“Of course it is. The
marquis is courting Her Highness the Silver King. Do you think it’s easy to buy
and deliver flowers every day?”
No matter where two people
met, they would bring up the topic. The pairing of the Silver King and the
Marquis of Rad was unimaginable, which only fueled people’s intrigue.
“But is it possible for
them to be together?”
“Her Highness will be
engaged again soon. She may have broken off with Sir Rouk, but there are still
several candidates the Red King has in mind. The Marquis of Raad would never be
among them.”
“The Marquis of Raad is a
close aide of His Majesty the Iron King. The idea of the Rimon family aligning
with His Majesty the Iron King through marriage? It’s absurd.”
A forbidden romance only
fueled people’s imaginations even more.
Twenty days passed.
People’s curiosity was like
a pot about to boil over. Now, they were not only curious about the marquis’s
intentions but also about the Silver King’s feelings.
“Her Highness the Silver King
has never refused the flowers. Doesn’t that mean her heart is also wavering?”
“But the Silver King hasn’t
personally received the flowers, has she? Maybe the countess is just pretending
to accept them to save the marquis’s face.”
The marquis always turned
back at the entrance of the palace. For twenty days, the Silver King hadn’t
come out to meet him even once. The bouquets were the only means of
communication. This heightened the speculation and left the onlookers anxious.
Some even began to focus on the gifts themselves.
“This morning, it was a
blue rose.”
“Oh my goodness! A single
one of those costs more than a gold coin. They’re kept in a separate vault, so
you can’t even see them.”
“Does the price really
matter? The Celine Greenhouse is part of the Raad Merchant Guild. In other
words, it belongs to the Marquis of Raad.”
Everyone already knew about
the Marquis of Raad’s wealth, but it became a hot topic again. Someone
calculated that the total cost of the bouquets the marquis had gifted the
Silver King over the twenty days would be enough to buy a house.
“Oh my, goodness.”
“What could the Marquis of
Raad possibly lack?”
Status, wealth, and charm.
He was lacking in nothing. Moreover, he was a young, unmarried man. Young
ladies of marriageable age and nobles with daughters of marriageable age were
drooling with envy.
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