9 - Valentina's Paradise
Then, Duke Edered made an effort to compose his expression and slowly nodded.
After a moment, he looked around and opened his mouth.
“The castle is truly beautiful.”
“…Pardon?”
At first, Valentina thought it was a joke. What he was looking at was a mundane scene inside the castle, with dust swirling and people moving about busily. Yet, Duke Edered’s expression as he looked at this scene was utterly serious. Valentina, who had stopped with a towel in her hand, wore a puzzled expression, and Duke Edered added in a nonchalant voice.
“There are many interesting and wondrous things.”
Valentina tilted her head. Farmers came and went, soldiers chattered, merchants shouted, and chickens, goats, and pigs cried noisily from here and there. People were arguing loudly over bargains, a duck tied to a string pecked at a woman’s backside, and a stubborn donkey refused to move, insisting on sitting down because its load was too heavy.
“Does Duke Edered find such sights interesting and wondrous?”
“I’ve been confined for so long…”
He trailed off, then smiled brightly and changed the subject.
“I’ve ruined your mealtime, wouldn’t you give me a chance to make amends by taking a walk together?”
Valentina hesitated, as it was a rather hot day for a walk, but she sensed that Duke Edered was enjoying the scenery, so she gladly accepted his offer.
Duke Edered extended his hand to escort her. In that instant, she saw the unsightly scar that ran across his palm. She paused her gaze there, and he hesitated.
Suddenly, it occurred to her that the reason he mainly used his left hand during the meal might have been because of that scar. Pepe had said it was the mark of a wicked curse. It was so easy to make someone strange. Valentina belatedly felt sorry for having heard such words, and she took Duke Edered’s hesitating hand as if to embrace it, asking.
“Is there anywhere in Regio Florida that you would like to see, Gongzi?”
“I heard that the garden named after Her Grand Highness is incredibly beautiful.”
He replied as if he had been waiting for the question. Valentina’s steps came to a complete halt.
“Are you talking about… Valentina’s Heaven?”
“Yes. I heard that fields are filled with violet flowers exuding a deep fragrance, rippling like waves. Isn’t it rumored to be the most beautiful garden in the world? So, I thought you might show it to me, and this bumpkin from the north would be amazed.”
This fox, really….
She had been momentarily off guard, fooled by his pitiful appearance, and now she was being thoroughly backstabbed. To think he would make such a brazen request.
‘Mandrako’ was a medicinal plant from the Bible, mandrake (love apple), which the Florida Grand Ducal Family had painstakingly improved over generations. It was used for everything from children’s fevers, injuries of knights who frequently fought in battles, postpartum fever, and pain relief for amputation surgeries to fertility enhancers. People praised it as a ‘miracle drug.’
However, what truly raised the value of Mandrako was the ‘incidental effect’ that was known under the table. A strange tale had spread that if it was mixed with a few foreign medicinal herbs, it would become a miraculous love potion, and it was sold for more than gold. It was an extremely dangerous matter. Mandrako, if the neutralizer was not used properly, was a deadly poison. It could cause hallucinations or, in severe cases, death by vomiting blood.
The method of neutralizing the toxicity of this Mandrako was a top secret passed down only to the successor of the Florida Grand Ducal Family. This was because the Mandrako cure was the Grand Ducal Family’s biggest source of income. Therefore, it was only natural that outsiders were absolutely forbidden from entering the herb garden.
And now, this ‘former fiancé’ whom she had met for the first time was asking her to show him that top-secret area.
“The garden in the portrait looked like paradise to me. I wanted to see it at least once in my life. And you sitting there, too.”
And he was saying that with such an innocent, sparkling look in his eyes! Wasn’t he the foxiest of foxes?
“Edered, I’m sorry, but that place is strictly off-limits to outsiders. Only I, trusted aides, and the gardeners who harvest it are allowed to enter, even during harvest time.”
She refused firmly, but instead of quietly backing down, he stared at Valentina with a curious, puppy-like face. Whenever she encountered such unexpected expressions, Valentina felt as if she had been stabbed in the side.
“Harvest? Does Her Grand Highness do such rough work herself?”
“Of course. I also supervise to prevent embezzlement, and I make the medicine myself.”
“Do you really hear screams from the roots when you harvest them? And does the person who pulls them out really die?”
Valentina burst into laughter without realizing it.
“Do you really believe such rumors? Then I would have died a hundred times over.”
“That’s a shame. Then, is there anywhere else I can look around?”
“Actually, if you look down from my bedroom window at the top of the castle, you can see the entire garden. But that place is also a restricted area.”
He sighed and asked casually.
“I see. That’s too bad. Has your uncle ever been there?”
It was not clear whether ‘there’ referred to the bedroom or the garden. So Valentina could neither get angry nor answer. Edered did not ask a second time either.
The two walked slowly. The sunlight was so intense that the surroundings felt dazzlingly bright. A cool breeze swirled his long, smooth hair upward, and he tilted his head up, half-closed his eyes, and smiled.
“The sunlight is really nice here. We rarely have such clear days in my hometown. It’s often cloudy and rainy. That’s why people there are always frowning.”
He put a lot of strength into his lips and made an absurdly serious face. Valentina chuckled, and he followed suit with a cheerful laugh. Seen under the bright sunlight, he was impeccably clear and white, vividly black and red. So his smile became even more elegant and enchanting.
“To think there’s such a bright and warm place. Even someone with a terrible and tiring personality like me wouldn’t have a reason to be depressed in a place like Regio Florida.”
Was Edered’s personality terrible? She didn’t know. He was unique, though. Was he tiring? Perhaps? She knew he was intelligent, knowledgeable, and a good conversationalist. If she had met him in person when they were younger, he might have been a good conversation partner. Valentina really liked talking to people with a wealth of knowledge and insight.
Edered looked around and discovered a well, his face lighting up.
“It’s a bit hot. Aren’t you thirsty?”
“Oh, oh my, Her Grand Highness!”
Some women who had gathered there with water jugs retreated and bowed their heads when they saw Valentina. Edered went to the well and watched as a woman drew water with a pulley, then held out his hand to the woman holding the pulley.
“Ah, this, like this, is how you lower it?”
The woman handed over the pulley, and Edered clumsily followed what he had seen. As if wanting to show off his strength, he pulled and pulled, causing the pulley to shake wildly and more than half the water to spill.
“Ah, shoot, Dominella?”
He held up the half-filled bucket to Valentina, smiling sheepishly. His smiling face was clear and refreshing. At his questioning gaze, asking if she wanted to drink, Valentina smiled and shook her head. She didn’t want to drink directly from the bucket without a proper cup. Edered put his mouth to the bucket and drank the water. He must have been very thirsty, as he gulped for a long time.
Then, he squatted down by the well and began to wash his sweaty face and neck, tilting the bucket with one hand. He must have felt uncomfortable because he hadn’t washed his face properly earlier. When Valentina lifted the bucket and poured water into his hand, he was startled and raised his head. His cheeks seemed flushed, probably because he was very hot.
“Thank you, Dominella.”
There wasn’t enough water, so Valentina lowered the bucket herself. Edered’s mouth hung open blankly, and the women were horrified and tried to take it away from her. Valentina abused her authority as Grand Highness to prevent them from taking what she held in her hand. However, her skill in drawing water was as clumsy as Edered’s, and he made a bizarre expression, tightening his lips.
He now rolled up his sleeves and even loosened his collar, starting to wash his face in earnest. He rubbed his arms and neck, not caring that his clothes were getting wet. Ah, so refreshing. Ah, so good. This well water is really cool. When Valentina splashed water on his face and hair, he even laughed out loud. His laughter was clear and refreshing.
His movements were pleasing to watch. The lean arms with well-defined muscles, the face glistening with water, the red neck and lips, the black eyes that had become even more vivid in the sunlight, the black hair that flowed down his shoulders in disarray, the nimble and light movements as he tried to arrange it neatly, Valentina was captivated by it all.
The women, too, as if they had encountered some wondrous sight, glanced at the unfamiliar nobleman and giggled.
“Who is that Gongzi? How can a man’s face be so fair and white?”
Valentina briefly considered chasing all those impudent women away. Regardless, Edered washed his face, and Pepe jumped around beside him, running this way and that.
“Thirsty? Do you want some water too?”
Whining. He wagged his tail furiously, as if he understood. Edered smiled again as he watched.
“That’s right, you haven’t eaten anything either. Sorry. I’ll go in and get you some food. Let’s drink some water first since it’s hot. Dominella, would you pour some water into my hands?”
He received water in both hands and held it out to the dog, and the dog lapped up the water noisily.
“Ah, cool. Cool, right? The water’s delicious. Isn’t it?”
He made a much kinder and more affectionate expression at the dog, who couldn’t even understand him, than he did at people. Valentina realized that the dog was smiling brightly and that he liked his owner very much.
“It’s okay. It’s okay… Stop smiling so much. You’re pretty even without smiling like that. It’s a problem if you get too pretty. Bad guys will flock to you.”
He stroked the dog’s head, scolding him insincerely. Valentina was about to argue that the dog was male, but stopped. She didn’t want to spoil his pleasant mood, nor did she want to be caught being clueless. She knew that she was a bit lacking in tact, so she tried to be careful not to say anything that would ruin the mood.
The dog licked his owner’s hand until it was worn out, and the owner pulled the dog close and kissed him on the cheek. He was genuinely enjoying this moment. It felt as if his appearance, his surroundings, were shining brightly in the sunlight.
…Ah, what should I do?
Valentina suddenly realized that he was a refreshing and dazzling man.
