Episode 26
The carriage Lucas had specially sent happened to be but a single one. Incredibly large—so large that one would not feel it lacking to carry a family of three.
Yet that very point was the problem. People did not know the true circumstances between Count Platini and his eldest daughter. Lucas was no different.
Throughout the journey to the Imperial Palace, the inside of the carriage held no voices from the three people, but rather quiet breathing, the sound of horse hooves, and the rolling of great wheels.
Helen leaned her head against the wall entirely, taking in the outside scenery through the window.
Bare trees that would need at least another month before their buds could sprout. Mother birds flying away with food for their young. Opaque smoke billowing from chimneys and lovers walking affectionately down the road.
It was nothing special, not for the birds nor for the people. Helen truly envied that daily life.
If only the Count’s beloved mother were alive, and if she had grown up as a child loved by both, she would be enjoying a daily life just like theirs.
Setting aside her envy and troubled heart, Helen slowly closed her eyes.
Suddenly, a certain day came to mind. That certain day was spring, the most splendid day of the season, and also a day when peaceful daily life continued.
It was after Lucas had succeeded the previous emperor, when the days passed as swiftly as if time itself had caught fire. Peace had lasted so long that it had grown tedious.
Violet had grown extremely frail from living confined in a tower for a long time; her range of activity had been within the Imperial Palace, and it was a time when not even five months had passed since she emerged from a world of pitch-black darkness.
*What shall I do today? I have already toured the Imperial Palace, said to be the vastest in the world. There is nothing more to see or enjoy. The statues carved with dizzying intricacy are tiresome, and parties filled with all manner of splendor are tiresome.*
As she sat on a swing, she had simply been waiting for today to pass by quickly, just like yesterday.
Suddenly, her vision was dyed in darkness. Someone had covered Violet’s eyes.
“Who is it?”
She had said she wanted to be alone.
She thought it might be the particularly mischievous maid’s doing. Of course, she only guessed it was that maid, but the greater reason was that she could not think of anyone else at all.
“You should not say ‘Who is it?’ You should say you will cut off my wrist if I do not remove my hands at once.”
“Brother!”
Good heavens! To utter such harsh words—and from the Emperor, who ought to show mercy to all!
Violet grew angry at Lucas, who still covered her eyes and snickered. But what returned was not remorse.
“There is somewhere I want to go with you for a moment.”
“Where is it? Please let go of my hands first. Like this, I cannot take a single step forward.”
“No. Instead, I shall be your eyes.”
His words were not trustworthy, but he proved to be better eyes than expected. Where the stone ledges were, how high each step was, or whether a pitiful bug was crawling ahead.
Before long, Lucas’s voice—which had grown reliable—stopped. Next were his two feet, and finally, the two hands covering her vision.
“You can open your eyes now.” With a bright voice, Violet’s vision cleared in an instant.
No, the whole world unfolded before her.
Inside the transparent garden, every kind of flower was in bloom, and among them were rare species said to be difficult to see even once in a lifetime. Gathered together, they formed truly wondrous colors.
The world spread before her eyes was a season belonging only to her.
*Thud*—the carriage jolted, and the suddenly recalled day sank into the depths of her heart.
Not much time remained until they arrived at the Imperial Palace. But the carriage was still running, and whenever it passed over small bumps, it would rattle.
It was an uncomfortable situation for dozing off, but nowhere in the Imperial Palace would there be a place where she might take a light nap.
* Sibello
She realized something had gone wrong when she entered the greenhouse garden within the Imperial Palace.
It was not because the greenhouse garden was special. It was common for wealthy nobles to own greenhouse gardens to see flowers even in winter; they were merely somewhat smaller in scale than the Imperial Palace’s.
However, this place had been specially designed by Lucas for Violet, whose body was weak from having lived in darkness for a long time.
The greenhouse garden for Violet had lost its master and had long gone unvisited. Although a dedicated gardener continuously tended the flowers, it was only natural that others stopped coming when the emperor who designed this place ceased his visits.
And yet, to choose the masterless greenhouse garden when there were so many places in the Imperial Palace! Helen’s shoulders trembled as she realized it was a trap laid by Lucas.
‘I thought he had given up on the proposal!’
On the day she deliberately ate a small, yellow Peppoliar flower and came down with a fever, she had believed Rosie would convey Helen’s feelings well to Lucas when he visited the Platini mansion. Even inferring from what Rosie had said when she handed over the letter earlier, Lucas should have known Helen’s heart well.
Then the trap set in the masterless greenhouse garden must have been intended to seize upon Helen’s weakness. If not, what reason could there be for choosing this place?
Helen focused her ears on the footsteps approaching from afar. Lucas, who had laid a trap in the greenhouse garden for Violet, was walking toward them.
While her world turned stark white, Lucas seated himself and spoke.
“I am delighted that you have taken the time to come here.”
“How could I refuse Your Majesty’s summons? It is only right that I follow.”
Helen found the sight of the Count chuckling in response utterly repulsive.
He had not taken this time of his own will. Had he been given a choice, he would not be here now.
Lucas had sent an imperial carriage, and no one could send back an empty carriage sent by the emperor. And yet he merely smiled, knowing that full well.
Helen glanced at the teacup the maid had set down and subtly grimaced. She could not bring it to her lips, as even what was inside seemed as though it would be poison.
Instead, she tidied her long, draped hair and glanced at Rosie. As the Count’s beloved daughter, she must have visited the Imperial Palace a few times. But she would not have been able to set foot here, in Violet’s greenhouse garden.
Certainly, the greenhouse garden was beautiful. From plants commonly seen in flower shops to rare flowers that did not grow in the empire, everything was in full bloom despite it being winter.
Rosie could not take her eyes off the beautiful flowers. Perhaps because the Emperor was before her, she could not exclaim loudly and instead let out admiration with barely moving lips.
Helen asked Rosie, who was now older than Violet. If the imperial princess, beloved by all, had not died on the happiest day of her life, she would be the same age as Rosie.
“Is it beautiful?”
“Very much so. Do you not like this place very much, Sister?”
“Of course not. I like this place just as you do.”
Violet… no, the greenhouse garden made for Helen, who had once been her—a greenhouse for her alone—there was no way she could dislike it.
Helen turned her gaze away from the various flowers. It was truly a beautiful place, just as Rosie had said. But the masterless greenhouse garden was nothing but empty.
Moreover, merely thinking about why Lucas had chosen the greenhouse garden, of all the many places in the Imperial Palace, made her head spin. Helen swallowed dryly as her eyes met Lucas’s.
“As the Count knows, your daughter rejected my proposal.”
“I am deeply remorseful.”
“Remorseful? Not at all. I too have no intention of forcing marriage upon someone who does not love me.”
Lucas cast a sly smile toward Helen’s trembling pupils.
“Still, I cannot leave the seat of Empress vacant forever… It is fortunate, at least, that your other daughter loves me.”
“Your Majesty, what do you mean!”
Count Platini’s and Rosie’s eyes grew round. The two held anticipation for what Lucas would say next.
But unlike the two, Helen bowed her head. All that entered her vision was the hem of her skirt embroidered with deep green thread that closely resembled the color of her pupils.
“I have arranged this occasion to ask your opinion on whether I should marry Rosie Platini.”
“Your Majesty!”
Delight spread across Count Platini’s face. It was a national marriage, and moreover, a marriage to the Emperor. The Count’s heart burned hot at the marriage to the Emperor that would elevate the Platini family’s glory even further.
Rosie showed a similar reaction. Though she did not display as much delight as the Count, she wore a bright smile on her lips. Even so, she gauged Helen’s reaction, as Helen had been the one to receive Lucas’s proposal.
Since she would be standing by the Emperor’s side in Helen’s stead, she felt she somewhat knew what Helen’s feelings might be like now.
Just as Rosie reached out to Helen with a sympathetic heart, Lucas opened his mouth.
“Many people know that I proposed to Helen Platini. If I marry Rosie Platini amidst all that, rumors may circulate among the public.”
“I understand what you mean.”
“Do you mean you will endure it all?”
Helen nodded. She had not broken off the proposal and dragged Rosie into this without the resolve to endure public rumors and censure.
People loved romance. They especially took interest in the love stories of those with great influence. Right now, the people’s greatest interest was the Platini young lady who had received the Emperor’s proposal. Few would think that she had rejected it.
To them, the announcement of marriage to Rosie Platini rather than Helen Platini would come as a shock. The accompanying rumors would endlessly rise upon people’s lips, adding absurd details with each telling.
“As one born and raised in the Empire, I only wish for the Empire’s prosperity. I believe Your Majesty’s marriage to Rosie will add strength to the Empire’s stability.”
“Prosperity and stability.”
Lucas murmured quietly. He did not find Helen dislikable for continuously refusing to meet his eyes. Rather, he liked her even more for not losing her composure even in this situation.
Without taking his eyes off Helen, who averted her gaze, Lucas continued.
“…Since I have obtained the consent of the three of you, the national wedding shall proceed quickly. I will send someone to the mansion soon, Count, so keep that in mind.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The conversation of the four continued with the Emperor and the Count as the main axis. Most of it concerned the national wedding, and occasionally Lucas asked Rosie about the direction of the wedding ceremony.
Until Lucas suggested they take their leave, Helen merely stared at her untouched teacup.