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Although it was a joke, it was also half sincere. The dresses that were out of season piled up in Karla’s dressing room after wearing them once.
Dressed in such clothes, and dancing with a handsome boy like Isaac underneath an extravagant chandelier, was a romantic dream that girls of Dahlia’s age would dream of.
In any case, it was a dream that wouldn’t come true, so she could joke about it like right now.
Unlike Dahlia, who was smiling, Isaac raised his head with a serious expression.
“Do you really want to do that?”
“Yes, dressed in such a full dress, and climbing up the marble stairs while holding the Young Master’s hand.”
Excited to see Isaac’s serious expression, Dahlia started deluding in earnest with her eyes closed.
“A fluttering dress with layers of white ribbons to make it look as full as possible. And a pair of velvet shoes… Oh, I’ve never worn high heels before, so I wouldn’t know how tall I could become. And the dance… Right. Nobles wouldn’t dance something lively like Polka at an aristocratic ball, right? Like this, holding hands. Quickly get up, Young Master.”
Hehe, with a slightly frivolous smile, Dahlia pulled on Isaac’s hand. Inadvertently standing up from his seat, Isaac stood at the center of the room under Dahlia’s lead.
“Wasn’t there a picnic not long ago at the mansion? Young Lady Karla danced like this then… Here, please put your hand on my waist. And then, take a step to the side, and another to the side.”
Dahlia grabbed Isaac’s hand and started stepping out clumsily.
Isaac was following her rhythm with an expressionless face, but when she continued to step on his foot, he burst into laughter, before holding Dahlia’s hand.
“Dahlia, don’t move and place your feet on mine.”
“Hmm? Feet…? Like this?”
“Yes, just relax like that. And like this…”
With a hand holding Dahlia’s tightly and another firmly around her waist, Isaac began to move his feet along the steps of a dance slowly.
“Young Master! Your shoes are going to get dirty…”
“I have other pairs, so it’s alright.”
“I know that too!”
“Don’t worry about the shoes and focus on my steps. One, two. One, two, three. This is the basic steps of the waltz. It’s easy, right?
“No, that’s! It… It is easy.”
Dahlia pretended that she couldn’t win against Isaac, and placed the hand that was waving in the air onto Isaac’s shoulder. Underneath the rough palm was his firm shoulder muscles.
Feeling ashamed for some reason, Dahlia lowered her head to the floor and whispered.
“When did you learn to dance? Young Master is very talented, and there’s nothing you can’t do…”
“When I first came to the mansion, I forced myself to learn basic manners. After learning all that I should know, I thought that there wasn’t anything else that I needed to learn…”
As Isaac quietly moved his feet, he tightened his grip and pressed tightly with Dahlia. Staring at her round green eyes, Isaac whispered softly.
“…If Dahlia wants me to, I’ll take lessons. I’ll become someone necessary to the family and definitely take Dahlia to the ball.”
“…Really?”
Isaac affirmed with a languid smile.
“In that case, Dahlia should also practice waltz in advance. Right?”
Instead of speaking, Dahlia gave a faint smile. Feeling more comfortable, she began to move personally in accordance with his steps and followed the beat.
“Young Master, do you know what my dream is?”
One, two. One, two, three.
As Dahlia recited the beat, her previously spoken words suddenly became a conversational topic. Linking their fingers, Isaac gave a questioning look instead of responding.
“I’ve told you before that my hometown is in the South, right?”
“Yes, there was a civil war…”
“Yes, it’s Ubrang. To be more exact, it’s a small seaside town located at the southernmost tip of Ubrang.”
Before the civil war occurred, Ubrang was known for being the most beautiful resort in the South. Dahlia stared at the ceiling with clouded eyes and the scene of Ubrang unfolded in her head.
“Aren’t Helman’s flowers expensive? There’s also many flower shops. But there are barely any flower shops in Ubrang. Do you know why is that so?”
“Is it because it’s the South?”
“That’s right. It’s always warm there, so flowers can be found everywhere. No matter where you go, it’s rich in flowers and trees, so selling flowers wouldn’t earn much. So a majority of flower farmers would sell their flowers to other regions through merchant groups.”
As Isaac listened to Dahlia with a serious expression, he let out an exclamation, “Ah!”
“So all those imported flowers actually came from the South. As flowers are common there, the price would also be cheap… There are also a lot of gorgeous flowers. I see. The North is cold, and the flowers’ flowering time is very short…”
At the Young Master that was insightful and able to understand way beyond what was taught, Dahlia smiled broadly and nodded at his remark.
“If you teach one, you know ten.”
“However, the place that I lived at had multiple accommodations and expensive villas, so there was more demand. As such, when I was young, I picked flowers early in the morning and sold them at either the plaza or the entrance to the market.”
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“Did it sell well?”
“That’s right. As my hands were small, the most I could sell was one basket before returning. But it was enough for bread when added with my pocket money.”
When she recalled those times, it felt like the scent of sea and flowers brushed against the tip of her nose. With her eyes half closed, Dahlia looked up at Isaac and continued in a slow tone.
“My dream is… to go back to Ubrang and set up a flower shop. It has been a long time since the civil war ended, so Ubrang should have returned to its previous state. I want to build a house near where I used to live…make a tombstone for my parents so I can tidy it every morning… Of course, I wouldn’t be able to find their bodies anymore, but it should be alright to place a tombstone.”
Her half-opened eyelids soon closed completely. Within the eyes that reopened was filled with sparkling light that’s unique to a dreamer.
“When Laurel grows up and becomes healthy, we can go back down to Ubrang together. I heard it usually requires around 5 gold to open a store, and I’ve currently collected 1 gold and 22 silver. If I keep my finances tight, I think I can collect 1 gold a year, so as long as I work hard for four more years, I can finish collecting them all!”
As she continued speaking, Isaac’s expression gradually hardened. He stopped moving and tightened his grip on their joined hands.
“Are you planning to quit your job after five years? What about me? What am I going to do?
“…Oh.”
“Didn’t you say that you wanted me to be recognized here? You had just said that you’ll go to a ball with me… Are you going to leave me after giving me hope like this? How can you do that?”
Bewildered by his unexpectedly violent reaction, Dahlia grabbed Isaac’s shoulder and met his gaze.
“Young Master, please hear me out.”
“Traitor…”
“No! Four years isn’t a short time. And four years is based on the assumption that nothing special happens. Five to six years seems like a more likely time frame. In the meantime, the Young Master will become an adult, and thus you can be self-reliant.”
“…So?”
“After that, if you’re willing to, let’s go to Ubrang together. The Young Master also has a share.”
“Share?
“Out of the 1 gold and 22 silver that I’ve collected so far, 1 gold is from the Young Master. The Young Master owns 20% of the D&L florist.”
Still quietly blinking, Isaac let out a smile that was like a sigh, and tilted his head to the side. Dahlia closed her mouth and made a solemn expression, before snorting as she found herself amusing. As Dahlia’s shoulders trembled, a husky voice brushed past her ear.
“That’s not bad. If it’s D&L, does it mean Dahlia and Laurel?”
“You don’t like it? …Shall we use D&L&I?”
“It doesn’t sound that nice as it’s longer. Leave my name out.”
With a calm smile, Isaac arranged the hair around Dahlia’s ears.
“So Dahlia’s dream is to become the boss of a flower shop. I don’t know anything about flowers… I don’t know whether I can do anything even if I follow along.”
“The Young Master is an investor, so it’s fine even if you don’t do anything. Also, I don’t think it’s that hard to support a Young Master?”
Dahlia raised her fist and shouted resolutely, “Trust me.” It seemed that she was trying to portray her determination, but in Isaac’s eyes, she just looked cute.
Dahlia, who kept waving her fist, seemed to feel embarrassed, and brushed against the back of her neck, before turning her gaze to the window. Her eyes, which were green like grass, gazed at the greenery that was of a lighter colour.
The eyes facing the forest were so pretty that Isaac reached out without his realisation, but Dahlia moved towards the window.
“There’s a lilac scent.”
Reaching out of the window, Dahlia brought a branch of purple flowers to her nose.
The scent of lilac flowers permeated with the passing breeze. Dahlia gazed at the flowers and spoke in a lively voice.
“It’s already halfway through this year. I still have a long way to go to accumulate 2 gold… I have to pull myself together.”
Dark brown hair that swayed, with a fluttering head cap above it.
As if enjoying the breeze, the brown eyelashes that surrounded her beautiful eyes lifted and closed again.
The pale sunlight that descended through the leaves reflected brightly on her white face. Although the strong light blinded her eyes, Dahlia wasn’t bothered and closed her eyes quietly while enjoying the breeze.
The heady scent of the forest, the scent of lilac. Her scent, that seemed as if it was about to be buried, yet gently enveloping the surroundings.
Such an image of Dahlia made her seem like a spring fairy that had accidentally landed by the window during her journey, making Isaac unable to take his eyes off her with a gaping mouth.
Spring has arrived.
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Helman’s mountain range, which formed a light green wave, turned into a deep green, welcoming the arrival of summer. As summer passed, autumn came along with autumn foliage, and seemed like a sunset frozen in time momentarily, before passing by quickly.
Perhaps due to the frequent rain, Helman’s winter that made a reappearance, wasn’t as cold as it was the previous year. Although the busy situation due to winter was the same, all of the servants in the mansion looked much better than last year as incidents where their hands become numb from the cold didn’t occur.
“Dahlia, it’s a letter from your younger sister.”
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Edina, who returned to the dormitory late at night, held out an envelope while speaking.
As such, Dahlia, who was sewing while seated on the bed, received the letter with a puzzled expression.
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