I'd Give Up The World For You

Rukelion may not have been born to be king but he would be one anyway. Having lived as a commoner for years, he was sure he would be able to do a better job than the bloodthirsty nut currently in charge.

Daisy and the Krinzels had often talked about ever-climbing tax prices. He was willing to bet the king put all of that extra money into the military so he could destroy whoever he wanted whenever he wanted. It was undoubtedly the most powerful army on the continent.

There would be no need for such extravagance when he was in charge. He planned on reducing military spending by at least a third if not half.

He may not have been next in line for the throne but he still had been a prince. He had studied economics, foreign policy, and everything else a future king would need to know until he was twelve years old.

Rukelion might benefit from getting his hands on some more recent books to continue his studies but he couldn't let anyone know he had them. Not even Daisy. She would wonder why he was suddenly interested and he couldn't tell her.

Sometimes he wondered how she was going to react when she did find out he had overthrown the government but for the most part he tried not to think about it. Why worry now when it wouldn't be happening for who knows how long? He had so many other things to worry about that he didn't want to add to that list.

But speaking of worrying about Daisy…he hoped her first day at work was going alright. She had been so excited about it. He was sure he would hear all about it when he got home but that would require getting through all of this paperwork. He really needed to buckle down and focus.

===

The timing of Leo's hunting trip with Conrad couldn't have been better because Daisy needed time and space to process the fact that he was in love with her. It was all taken care of by the time he came back.

The fact that she was actually getting married—to a child she had partially raised no less—truly hit her when they went through the necessary preparations. She never would have seen this coming since she hadn't thought it was possible to fall in love in this world and told herself she would never get married for anything less.

Now she was getting married for convenience even if it was to someone she cared about dearly. If anyone had ever told her she would be doing that back in her own world she would have laughed.

Leo said things wouldn't be different between them though and it seemed he meant it since he acted like his confession hadn't happened once he returned. He truly didn't expect anything from her and it hurt. He had held himself back so much all these years! All because he was terrified of losing her.

Daisy had to show him that he wasn't going to so she forced herself to be okay with this. As long as they continued acting like nothing was different she would be fine. Probably.

She did love spending time with him so it wasn't like that part was a chore. Compartmentalization had helped get her through the time he was away at war and it would get her through this too.

Having something to do other than sitting around with too much time to think would help. She had to carry on as normally as possible in every other way even though there had been a subtle shift in their relationship that she wasn't entirely sure how to feel about.

Daisy was sincerely looking forward to her first day of work at the flower shop. Nia told her that her duties would primarily consist of caring for the plants in the greenhouse rather than working with customers and she appreciated that. She loathed working in retail. A behind-the-scenes role suited her much better.

When it finally arrived she was able to cut through the military compound since she was holding onto Leo's arm to keep up appearances. He saw her all the way through to the other side that was closer to the flower shop and waved her off wishing her luck.

She wasn't concerned about her new job in the slightest. She was going to be surrounded by flowers! What could possibly be better than that?

Once she made it to the shop Nia greeted her cheerfully. "Hi, Veronica! Miette's out back in the greenhouse. She wants to show you where everything is and explain what your duties will be exactly."

Daisy nodded. "No problem! So do I just go through the back door?"

"It's the second door but yes."

The second door, huh? She went through the first and found a room full of various items such as vases, paper to wrap flowers in, fertilizer, and gardening tools. The one in the back of the storage room actually led outside.

She was surprised by the sheer size of the greenhouse considering this was in the heart of the capital. It took up almost the entire space of what seemed to be a courtyard connecting a bunch of different businesses together in the back. She never would have guessed this was here since it was completely blocked in.

Inside were flowers of all colors, shapes, and sizes. Daisy could name every one of them and sighed blissfully as the mixture of scents hit her nose. Was this heaven?

A woman in her thirties with gray-streaked brown hair and tanned skin was hunched over a flower bed deadheading some petunias. She straightened when Daisy called out to her and smiled.

"You must be Veronica! It's so nice to finally meet you. Nia has certainly sung your praises and she isn't one to offer praise lightly."

"It's nice to meet you too, Miss Miette."

"Technically, it's Madam Miette but I'm not one for formalities anyway. Miette is fine. I hear you'll be married soon too and that you moved to the capital to be with your fiancé. Whatever the case, we're happy to have you," Miette said.

"I love flowers but my back hasn't been the best the past few years. Bending down has gotten more difficult for me. I think it may be time for me to focus more on selling bouquets than tending them, as much as it pains me to admit.

"You seem like a good, strong girl. I heard you used to run a farm too so you'll definitely be able to handle caring for the flowers by comparison. I'm not sure what I can even teach you since you already know so much about flowers according to Nia but I'd like to test you for myself if that's alright."

"That's fine!" Daisy reassured her.

She had expected something like this. It would be weird for Miette to trust her business to a stranger, even a recommended one, without seeing how competent she was for herself.

Miette quizzed her about all of the plants in the greenhouse and then some, dropping in trick questions here and there that Daisy was able to answer easily. This was the least stressful test/interview she had ever participated in since she knew everything by heart.

By the time Miette finished she was grinning from ear to ear. "Ooh, Tom is going to be so jealous I got to you first!"

"…who's Tom?"

"The head royal gardener. He and his wife grew up with my husband and me and the four of us are still close. He likes giving me a hard time since he got the best gardening job in the country and I only have a shop because my husband paid for it. He's a traveling merchant and fairly well off.

"I'm sure Tom will want to meet you at some point once he hears about the depth of your knowledge about flowers. I usually have tea with him once a week so you could come with me one of these days."

Daisy did love talking about flowers. She would enjoy meeting Tom. "That sounds nice."

"What does your man do, anyway? You never said," Miette noted.

She flushed at the phrase 'your man' since Leo's confession the other day was still fresh in her head. He was wholeheartedly devoted to her so it was an apt description.

"He's a major in the military. One of the youngest ever, actually."

Miette's eyes went wide. "He isn't the one with the eyepatch, is he?"

"Yeah, he is. Why do you ask?"

"He walks by here a lot and always has this forlorn expression on his face when he does like seeing the flowers pains him. That makes a lot more sense now knowing they probably reminded him of you. Nia mentioned that the two of you have been living apart for years since you had to run the farm."

A soft, fond smile appeared on Daisy's face. That kid. He was such a sap! He must have come by here when he missed her only for it to make him miss her more.

"Yeah, we have. Until I arrived in the capital I hadn't seen him at all for three and a half years but we've been apart longer than that. I only came here to visit about nine months after he originally left.. That certainly sounds like something he would do."