Do Flowers Bloom in the Fallen Land?

“Come to think of it, I need to tell you something,” Seira said in a sluggish, muffled voice. “Maybe Baron will try to spy on you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…” Seira hesitated,  but then continued nonetheless, “about Askan’s Alphas who are in a relationship with me…?”

His hand suddenly stopped mid-comb and Aven asked, “What? Did you just say Alphas?”

“It’s actually….”

In the end, Seira told Aven everything that happened with Baron yesterday including all the conversations she had with him. It was highly unlikely for Baron to give up as it is.

“He believed it,” Seira said with finality.

“What if he doesn’t believe it? What should I do?”

When he learned the reason Seira gave to Baron regarding the bruises all over her body was because she enjoyed the company of several Alphas, Aven pressed between his eyes and heaved a heavy sigh.

“You should have said it was my fault,” he told Seira.

“What nonsense. How can you be that kind of person?”

“But in the end…… Isn’t it because I’m not good enough? It was my fault.”

His self-criticism made her laugh.

“See? It was someone else’s fault, but here you are blaming yourself yet again.” She reached out a hand to caress his face, “Even when the whole world is guilty, you’re as innocent as you are, Aven.”

Looking down at her, he began combing again. He gently touched her hair, which became shorter and shorter as the years passed by to the point there was almost nothing left to comb and untangle.

“But still…”

“Hmm?” Seira, who had her eyes half-closed, answered with only a low hum.

“His suggestion to spend the winter together in Jeff… Why don’t you consider it?”

Seira didn’t answer him right away, and it took her a long time before she finally replied with another question, “Why?”

“Aren’t you a good match?”

“…”

“I don’t think it’s a bad idea to give him a chance at least once,” Aven quickly added.

Truth be told, there was entirely nothing wrong with what he said. Except for Calrad, who became Emperor, the only pure-blooded Alpha left were Jeff and Franto. It would’ve been a wise choice out of all the others to consider Baron Jeff as a husband.

They often see each other in the middle of the battlefield, and he was actively courting her at the moment. Franto on the other hand had no exchanges so far. It was as clear as day.

However, this was all when only ‘succession’ was considered.

Seira couldn’t believe that of all people, it was Aven who said it to her now. Even if it was a relationship that didn’t involve emotions, hadn’t he considered how long they had been together already? Didn’t he understand what she meant last night when she showed herself to him?

Whether he noticed Seira’s mood was sinking more and more, Aven was only focused on smoothing her hair as he already said everything he wanted to say.

“Alright, I see…”

Seira closed her eyes after words spilled out of her mouth. There was no need to show him that it offended her.

When she pretended to fall asleep, it wasn’t long until he decided to move. With a careful touch, he laid her down and covered her with a blanket up to her shoulder.

He stayed by her side completely motionless for quite some time. After a while, without knowing what he was thinking or looking at, Seira felt him leave the barracks with a calm pace.

Only then did Seira open her eyes and rise. Instead of Aven who already left the barracks, she glared at the entrance for a long time before getting out of bed. She thought she couldn’t sleep for long anyways.

‘What the hell? Why is he trying to push me towards Baron?’ she grumbled silently.

Seira looked down as she untied the waistband of her gown to change, pondering over the incomprehensible situation they were in. The wounds as well as the red and blue bruises she got two days ago from dealing with the Guardian had almost healed or turned yellow thanks to her quick recovery. But she still wasn’t in good shape.

“Well…”

Seira somehow regretted it later.

‘Did I just present myself to him for no reason?’

He had a pretty face and body herself, so she boldly flashed him up front last night. But had it been the wrong move? Disappointed with a much uglier body than he had imagined, perhaps Aven felt burdened by their relationship and started to push her back in the pretense of thinking about her future.

‘Could it be possible?’

Even though she knew Aven was not that kind of man, Seira continued to ponder for a long while about what happened last night. Then all of a sudden, she was caught speechless.

‘What am I doing now?’

Seira smirked as she ruffled the hair that Aven had carefully brushed.

She chose him as her marriage partner for strategic reasons in the first place. Holding Aven in the closest position as her vassal, he himself had been determined to avoid cumbersome things.

Maybe it was enough to negotiate and persuade him. If she’d say it was for Askan, Aven won’t refuse. Of course, it would’ve been great if they got along, but that was actually not important at all.

‘It’s not urgent. We can go back and talk.’

Standing alone in the desolate Askan, D-Ark. Unlike the crowded camp, she pictured a lonely and quiet peasant castle in her mind. Every breath that left her lungs was reminiscent to a sigh. She thought of the black earth of her barren land, and missed it nonetheless despite everything.

It was, indeed, time to return.