Do Flowers Bloom in the Fallen Land?

Suddenly a carriage stopped in front of her. It was a bit unkempt, but she could tell that it was quite sturdy for its looks.

A man in a black uniform jumped off from the driver’s seat. His gray hair tied up in a neat ponytail swayed gracefully behind him. Seira’s eyes widened when she saw his face.

“Duchess,” he greeted her.

His stride was calculated and determined, stopping right in front of Seira.

“Aven…?” she gasped in disbelief.

Seira looked up at him with eyes mixed with surprise and delight.

“How can you be here at this hour?” she asked.

Aven Helford, heir to the Count of Helford, was the vassal of Askan. It had been a long time since they exchanged letters without seeing each other’s faces, but she could recognize him with just a single glance.

He was the only one in the entire continent with pitch-black eyes.

“I heard the news,” Aven replied.

‘Who the hell heard the news at this hour of the night?’ Seira asked at the back of her mind.

Her eyes widened as she was surprised by the omission of all the context. Aven suddenly knelt to the ground and bowed his head towards her.

“Loyalty to the new master of D-Arc. Helford, the servant of Askan, greets the Duchess,” he said with great respect.

At an unexpected moment, Seira lost her words to the startling oath of allegiance.

‘I forgot for a moment that taking over Askan meant that everyone who belonged there is my responsibility now,’ she thought to herself.

When Askan’s land died, most of them left and pledged their allegiance to other families. But the children who lost their parents and became orphans like Aven had nowhere else to go.

Until now, Calrad had been paying close attention to caring and supporting her, but from now on, she was the one who had to take responsibility in taking care of others.

‘There were the Clay twins and Alan from the Dews,’ she suddenly found herself worrying.

Except for Aven who graduated two years ago, she knew that everyone else was attending the academy. Fortunately, there were only a few years left, however, the tuition fee for the next semester was also a problem.

“This is not the time to be lost,” she whispered under her breath.

There was no time for her to sit down and cry in distress. When she realized she wasn’t entirely alone, Seira came to her senses. No matter how well she grew up in a house with greener grass, she had become the Duchess of Askan as of today.

She should never show weakness to anyone.

Fortunately, the night was dark, and her eyes which were swollen from crying would not have been noticeable – well, hopefully Aven didn’t notice. It had been so long since they saw each other, and she would be embarrassed to have let him see that side of her.

‘It’s okay. I just have to do well from now on,’ she tried to encourage herself.

With a newly found determination, Seira looked down at Aven who was still kneeling and waiting for her to speak to him.

“Aven Helford, I’m going back to Ascan,” she said calmly. “It won’t be an easy ride. I will have to start all over again from scratch. Will you still be with me then?”

Seira had her doubts.

A graduate of the academy with outstanding grades, unlike when he was a child, Aven could apply wherever he wanted. Jeff or Franto, maybe even Viseltium.

But the answer that came back to her was firm and decided.

“I’ll follow you, Duchess. Wherever you go,” Aven said.

It was a crude remark without any flowery words, but Seira was more at ease with that.

“Okay, then let’s start right away,” she said.

It was a long ride to Askan, and there was still so much more to do once they arrived. She wished she could stay for one more day and prepare the necessary things, but the Emperor’s order was to leave Viseltium this instant. Even if she had to come back, she had to get out for now.

“Yes, Duchess,” came Aven’s reply.

Even though he had no idea of the situation, Aven answered immediately without asking a single question.

As he stood up, he brought Seira’s bag into the carriage as she sat into the passenger’s seat. She had no idea what the Askan estate had turned into. As the owner of the land, she intended to confirm it with her own eyes.

Aven, who was about to return to the driver’s seat, paused to look at her.

“You must be cold,” he noted.

Seira did not respond and stubbornly looked dead straight ahead. Instead of persuading her, Aven took a large coat from the luggage compartment and wrapped it tightly around her. Seira blinked a few times in surprise. She looked gratefully at him, but then turned her head to the front as if embarrassed.

Aven sat side by side with her and held the reins. He whipped the horses, and the carriage moved and gained speed gradually. The palace with which Seira had lived in thinking it was her home, disappeared slowly in the distance as they moved further away.

Seira sat up straight and thought of herself for tomorrow.

From now on, everything will be different. Her way of life, values to pursue, and even relationship with others would now change. Maybe her present self would crumble to the very last piece in the process.

She was vulnerable because Calrad protected her as a potential Crown Princess. She did not know the real world.

The word “pure blood among pure blood” did not bear anything to her nor did it give her power.

But she will do it somehow.

She was going to think of the Emperor’s mocking gaze that would wait and see how long she would last whenever her heart broke. Even though she might die somewhere in Askan, known as the Land of Death, she could never give what the imperial family wanted.

A black and rugged carriage quietly crossed the darkness of Viseltium, with the determination not to be mocked by its choices. Seira Askan, the new owner of D-Ark, left the imperial palace.