Chapter 11
Leo closed his eyes reflexively.
A considerable amount of waterfall gushed out, and the stream was received with only one body.
I’m used to this, too. I’ll get used to it.
I did it, but it wasn’t.
It was impossible to get used to it.
As if you can’t avoid it even if you expect it.
As if you can’t get out of it even if you know….
***
Lily ate too much that day.
For the first time she was served a properly prepared dinner, where she had eaten only chicken soup in the past.
The freshly baked bread was very fluffy.
The cream soup was exceptionally fragrant.
Cheese and fig jam made of goat milk stimulated her appetite that had never been before.
So Lily ate as much as she could.
With a stuffed belly, Lily stole the garnish with the back of her hand.
A few seconds of silence passed before Lily blinked dryly.
Leo, who had been hardened like a plaster statue, slowly wiped off his eyes
Fingers gathered neatly around the eyes were shaking out of place.
When Lily got off the bed, her wrist was grabbed again.
But it was Leo who grabbed her wrist and jumped out.
Unable to say it hurt from the grip that left the marks, Lily was taken away.
They passed through a long corridor, past the terrified servants.
They crossed a stone bridge that led from the west to another palace on the south side.
The naked man and woman were running in the middle of the night when the stars were asleep.
The chemise, wet from the blowing cold wind, flapped like laundry and threw off their shabby gear.
“Teach her properly.”
As soon as they arrived at the annex, Leo kicked the door of the colorful room and threw Lily into it, threw a few words and walked away without looking back.
It was Shasha who suddenly took a bomb.
She was well asleep and was struck by a lightning bolt that was not destined to happen.
“Hey! What are you!”
Shasha stood up quickly, holding her nose.
On the colorful floral carpet, a muddy lily lay on its side, looking at her.
Someone said. They said she was ignorant and brave.
No, maybe she was brave because she was ignorant.
Shasha jumped down from the chin-high bed and ran quickly. She covered her nose and let out a snort.
“You’re not an ordinary fool.”
Seeing that Lily’s neck was still attached to her neck until now, even after acting out such an abomination, it became clear that she was idiot, but not just an ordinary one.
“Honey, will you be my friend?”
Shasha said in a casual way that did not fit the situation.
She squatted in front of Lily, gathering up her skirt as she had done when she first met her.
“I’ve never seen anyone like you before. But who cares?”
It didn’t matter if she was ignorant or brave, and it didn’t matter if she was her age.
There were other things that Shasha valued.
“You’re pretty.”
Hehe, smiling and doing the petal pose.
The little woman liked pretty things. Lily could tell by looking around the room for a moment.
There were countless dolls and toys. The frills and lace that wrapped around the room made her eyes hurt.
Shasha had a morbid love of shiny things.
When Lily blinked her eyes in reply, Ssasha blinked after her.
“Then you and I are friends from today.”
In spite of her childish promise, Shasha sincerely held out her short, plump little finger.
“By the way, what is it again this time? Milk? Yogurt?”
“…Cream soup.”
“Wow, you’re answering that again. What surprise box are you? What comes out whenever I press it?”
Because she was ignorant and brave. And Lily was futile and ridiculous, but Shasha didn’t hate it. She had made such a strange friend.
“I don’t think this winter is going to be very long. Don’t you think?
Shasha pulled Lily’s hand and put it on her little hand.
***
Seven nights had passed since Shasha had started putting Lily to bed.
The effects of that day must have been considerable, for Leo did not show up at all. Originally, he did not enter the Southern Palace, so this time was solely Lily’s and Sasha’s.
And today, Shasha prepared a meeting herself. It was because there was someone to introduce.
“Say hi. This is Lily, and that’s Roxana.”
The tall woman who had been sitting across from her and staring at Lily slowly opened her mouth, resting her chin on her hand.
“Lily is a beautiful name. Yes, it is. Are you enjoying life in the Imperial Palace?”
She inhaled a red-brushed water cigarette so hard that her cheeks caved in, and exhaled quickly. The rising smoke lingered for a long time in Lily’s direction.
“It’s only been exactly one year. I don’t think they will give me cold soup.”
Shasha interrupted and threw a shot. She was in the middle of playing a prank by dipping a cookie in and out of the tea water.
“Are you talking about Leo? He doesn’t like loud noises. He hates dirty things. But she’s pretty, right?”
Shasha had a natural talent for putting together outlandish things.
“But don’t be fooled by that pretty face. Originally, all appearances were worthy of a person. Isn’t that right? Roxana?”
The big woman moderately expressed her acceptance with a nod.
“He’s as extremely difficult as he looks. He’s fickle, and he’s rude. But if you think about it, he’s too much. Wine and… Cream…!”
The big woman took out the main argument while Shasha, who was talking, gripped her stomach and patted the table in a cute way.
“I’ve heard your story. Everything has a cause.”
It sounded like she was talking about Lily’s father and the old woman.
“Where there is a cause, there is a consequence, and with the consequence, of course, comes responsibility. No, is that so?”
Was the big woman asking for responsibility from someone she had never met?
Lily fell silent.
For perhaps, just perhaps, the deaths of her father and the old man had been the result of her own neglect.
The sin of presumptuously devouring freedom, or the price exchanged for a sense of liberation in a moment.
“I heard you did something unforgivable.”
“….”
“Still, Leo didn’t keep you around. Look at the sincerity with which he fed you, slept with you, clothed you, and took care of you.”
“It’s not what I wanted.”
Lily didn’t want to live in luxury at the price of someone else’s death. If there was anything she wanted, it was just freedom for herself.
“But isn’t it still good?”
“No.”
She hated it.
The three women’s gazes crossed for a moment at that simple objection.
“See, I told you. She’s different.”
Shasha shrugged her shoulders, trying to calm the awkward silence. Then, with a squirm, she pulled out something she had hidden in the width of her skirt.
It was a hard book that fit easily in one hand.
“Come on, let’s not talk about anything serious, let’s read something good together….”
She deliberately adjusted my voice and started talking.
“It’s this body’s favorite book, and it contains Rose’s unrequited love… oh! It’s for people who are in love! I can’t read it without tears! It will be such a sad love story!”
The introduction ends like a third-rate lascivious one-act play.
“So make sure you read it, okay?”
Shasha winked her eyes.
When the subject naturally shifted to love, Shasha put petals on both hands and fluttered her eyes. She was about to take out her most precious question.
“Lily, who’s Lily’s first love?”
“First love?”
“Yes, your first love! He’s a person that makes your heart pound and your head spin and makes you dizzy just looking at him!”
Shasha stood up from her seat and pretended to faint with the back of her hand on her forehead.
“Ummm, I had a fiancé.”
As if talking about someone else, Lily calmly opened her mouth.
She didn’t know if it was love, but she had someone like that at one time.
“Really? Who is it? Who is it?”
The unexpected answer widened Shasha’s round eyes. Even the big woman put down the metal pipe she was biting. She also seemed to be intrigued.
Prior to the main topic, Lily took a short breath. Then she spread three fingers and showed them. There were three men she had faced so far.
The Emperor was excluded, of course. Just the thought of him made her shudder.
Lily talked about the man naturally.
“Young Master Allen.”
“Oh, my God!
“I heard that he found a good spouse now. I’m glad to hear that. For him and for me.”
Shasha’s mouth, which had risen to its fullest, fell rapidly. It was like the coolness of hot steam.
“What kind of love song can you expect from a captured child? By the way, Allen? I seem to have heard of him somewhere.”
“Even after the collapse of the family? To see you.”
The large woman lit the candle while Sasha, who was preoccupied and holding her head in her hands. Lily smiled and swept back her hair.
“Well, it was unrequited love, wasn’t it?”
What is unrequited love, and what is first love? Lily couldn’t answer, as it was questionable to believe that something she couldn’t see or touch was real. In any case, Allen Smith was the only man who wanted her, so she decided to stop talking. However, Shasha interrupted again and asked.
“How did you two meet?”
“Just.”
“Where is this place of just!” There is no such thing as just in love!”
Their first meeting was by chance. To be precise, it was an odd
coincidence followed by a gambling debt. The eldest son of the Smith family was a man of many ugly stories that hung as low as the corners of his eyes.
His flamboyant history with women was an inheritance of the family, known only to those in the know. When Allen came to collect the money Count Paulman owed him, he happened to find Lily watering the flowers.
Paulman’s only daughter had been sickly since birth and only lay in bed. Unlike the rumors floating around, she walked around healthily.
He thought she was a stocky ugly woman, just like her father, but Lily was beautiful.
The sight of her dreamy figure made him drool, and of course the flesh between her legs made him spit.
Allen visited for a full three days and courted Lily. Each time, Count Paulman rubbed his mustache and spoke smart.
“The more jewels and women you show, the less they are worth.”
The old man, who was obsessed with playing dice, had the ulterior motive of not showing a single hair of his daughter as he kept her well hidden.
Naturally, it was a pity that he was impatient. Allen’s impatience only made the Count grimace more and more.
“You’re getting hot under the collar now, but it’s a passion that will soon cool down.”
It was an unspoken compulsion that if he wanted Lily, he should make it official. There was no better sign of marriage than the chastity and purity of the bride.
Count Paulman had a reputation for being indecisive and fierce in everything he did, but his softness did not mean he was without ambition. He was greedy, however.
Who is Allen Smith? Is he a millionaire who made his fortune in the speculative industry?
In terms of wealth, he was superior to any other Counts. If Paulman became in-laws with such a family, he would not only increase the family’s prestige, but also restore the addition of spending all his money on dice games and alleviate Camilla’s wastefulness to some extent.
Lily Smith.
It was a soft name, even the pronunciation rolled off the tongue like melted butter.
The matchmaking flowed according to protocol. Now it was time for the girl who had been hiding for seventeen years to fulfill her role. The gypsy prophecy was wrong. Lily was a blessing, not a curse. A child that will bring thousand golds to the family.
The Count’s spring dream continued until he was stripped of his title and received a letter of annulment.