The Flower Dances and the Wind Sings

61.

As soon as the Countess went away, and as they took a breather, two ladies approached from the side, “Ella!”

Vicente’s eyebrows visibly twitched. Adora looked at him strangely.

“Long time no see, Lenny, Sissy,” the Duchess greeted brightly.

Seeing as how naturally they responded to their nicknames, they seemed to be the Duchess’s friends. The woman named Lenny spoke first, “If you hadn’t left me alone, it wouldn’t have been a long time. A pity, I must say.”

At Lenia Vinesh’s sarcasm, Ercella turned to Sierra. She clicked her tongue as if she was fed up, “Goodness, you’re not even a kid. You’re still sulking about it.”

Ercella, who was unable to understand the situation, was puzzled by what she was saying, “What are you talking about?”

“You stopped sending letters after a while.”

‘Oh, I didn’t send them letters.’

She realized she hadn’t written to them.

Ercella felt wronged. Who remembers what they did three years ago? She was not a genius. She had been interacting with acquaintances other than Lenia by letter, but she got a headache thinking that she had forgotten all about her. As soon as she returned home, she had to write a reply.

“I’m sorry. I’ve gotten unexpectedly busy.”

Lenia glared daggers at Ercella, as if the ridiculous excuse made her more upset. Then her gaze shifted to Vicente. Lenia smiled gently, “This is..?”

As Lenia deliberately ended the conversation without resolution, Ercella, thinking it couldn’t be helped, stretched her hand out in front of Vicente, “My son Vicente, Countess.”

“Oh, my!” Surprised, Lenia covered her mouth with her hands.

“Haa.” Sierra sighed openly at her exaggerated response. But inwardly, she must have been curious, too. Look at her blinking hard. Ercella laughed helplessly at the unspoken pressure to introduce them to Vicente. “Say hello, these two are Countess Vinesh and Viscountess Akla. They’re old friends of mine.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Vicente Bernhardt.”

As soon as Vicente’s greeting was over, Sierra clapped her hands and greeted, “It’s been such a long time!”

“Is this our first meeting since you were a baby? Your face was so round and cute.”

“What do you mean ‘baby’? You saw the Young Lord toddling around, too.”

“Oh, did I? It was so long ago that I forgot.”

“Don’t you remember when you said he was so cute and asked His Excellency if you could take him with you and the air went cold?”

“…Oh, right. Sigh. When I think of that day…”

Sensing the rising goosebumps, Sierra rubbed her arms.

“What a memory.” Lenia fluttered her fan as she chimed in.

Meanwhile, Vicente silently listened to the mortifying conversations. It happened a long time ago, something he wouldn’t even remember.

“Pfft.”

He heard muffled laughter from the side. It was Adora, and when she made eye contact with Vicente, she hurriedly lowered her eyes.

“By the way, I heard Vicente is engaged to Lady Garten. Is it true?”

As expected. They also asked about the engagement as if the rumors had spread throughout. Ercella asked half resignedly, “So did Countess Mayance. When did the rumor spread?”

The thought of giving an answer to everyone she met made her feel tired already.

“It’s been spreading for a while now. It became certain today.”

“Anyway, it’s true.”

“Really?”

As Ercella admitted coolly without an explanation, Sierra muttered with a brief sigh, “That’s too bad. I was going to ask you to take my daughter if you didn’t have a lover.”

“The nine-year-old little lady?” Ercella chortled.

“Who cares? A six years age gap looks classy. There are couples with even greater gaps.”

“Yeah, but a nine-year-old…”

Ercella responded with much thought, but when she saw Vicente, she was startled. His expression was slowly freezing.

“Stop teasing.”

She did not consider Vicente’s position because it was a normal conversation for her.

“My son isn’t used to this kind of talk.”

At Ercella’s words, Vicente stiffened his lips as he realized the conversation thus far was merely a joke.

“Oh, really?” Sierra asked back as if she didn’t know. Her smirk, armed with tenderness, was so repugnant that it reminded Vicente of Ercella that one time. However, he could not embarrass the lady, his mother’s friend. He soon loosened his tight lips, “It’s all right.”

“No. Forgive my rudeness. I was so happy to see my dear friend’s son that I took it too far. I haven’t properly introduced myself yet. I’m Sierra Akla.”

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Even when he said it was okay, Sierra made sure to apologize for being rude. Vicente was surprised by that.

“It’s fine. I don’t mind, so don’t worry about it… I’m well familiar with the Lady’s name.”

Sierra smiled softly, “Oh, dear, I’m not worthy of such respect.”

“Who isn’t familiar with the long history of Akla in the east and Shernette in the west? You are worthy of such respect. Please don’t be humble about it.”

Sierra looked at Vicente, who even knew her maiden name, with astonishment. It was true that Akla and Shernette had old roots in Grania, but it was ambiguous to call them famous families.

They had wealth, but their title and reputation were not so high. It was too high a praise to hear from someone who would inherit Bernhardt in the future. Preoccupied with her thoughts, Sierra suddenly uttered, “Ella, in case the engagement is broken, what do you say about my daughter?”

Ercella grinned, “Are you trying to ruin things before they even get engaged?”

“Just in case, I said. Just in case. Engagements usually…”

“Let’s stop there?”

“Then remember what I said, okay?”

“What do I do with you?” Ercella helplessly shrugged.

“Oh, Duchess!”

“You hadn’t shown up for a while, we finally got to see you again!”

Some ladies approached them. Five more, then doubled and became thirteen people in an instant.

“Nice to meet you. This is my son, Vicente, and my lady-in-waiting, Adora.”

When the introduction was over, people flooded as they began talking to Vicente.

“Pleasure to meet you, Young Lord.”

“It just so happens that my son is the same age as the Young Lord. If you don’t mind, I’d like you to befriend him…”

“Oh, my daughter, too.”

“My nephew from Fallon turned 14 this year…”

Vicente’s head throbbed as he answered each of them. It was all the more so as the light from the chandelier hung on the ceiling scattered and bothered his eyes.

Eventually, as people began to narrow the distance, he had to release his frown and focus his attention. Just then.

“It’s always a pleasure for my son to have friends his age.”

Ercella furtively leaned in to stop them. It was a very subtle move, but those who grasped the meaning hidden in it stopped walking in.

Ercella said, “Lady Rilday, is your son already fifteen? Please visit Bernhardt sometime with the Young Lord. You are always welcomed.”

Ercella decided to cut them off from their own lines. Vicente, who had already dealt with Sierra and Lenia, did not look well. In addition, clearly dealing with so many people was burdensome.

“And isn’t Young Lady Herrit becoming an adult next year? Congratulations. Let’s have tea sometime. I’ll invite you with the Countess, so would you stop by? Lady Fallon, I heard of your nephew, of course, I have. He’s from Gracivan. Please let me know when he visits the capital. My son wouldn’t refuse to befriend the Fallons’ son.”

Vicente watched Ercella. It was just trivial politeness used in everyday life. The problem was that Vicente was not familiar with this trivial politeness from Ercella. His stomach felt uncomfortable.

“It would be nice if we could all enjoy tea time together.”

“I’d be happy to have Your Grace invite me.”

“Why, of course.”

At Ercella’s display of fair kindness, the ladies who were presenting their children and nephews unknowingly stopped their imperceptible dispute. After that, it was a series of typical conversations.

And Vicente was able to witness how simple greetings were exchanged between ladies and how those simple greetings transformed into long conversations.

“Who made this? The design is very unique.”

“It’s from Felice’s. The designer is a Madame from Conrad, and in Conrad, it’s popular to thread jewels in this way.”

“Conrad has a lot of different styles, right? I heard the trends there change quickly. I always thought they’d be old-fashioned but it’s impressive.”

“I know. These days, both me and my husband are into exotic fashion. According to rumors brought by merchants who have traveled to other countries, Rentua’s architecture is absolutely splendid.”

“I had heard that their architecture is unsophisticated and outdated.”

“It has an antique look. Did you hear that trade with Conrad will be expanded this time? Through that, hopefully, Rentuan architecture might appear in Grania.”

Vicente listened quietly to their nonstop talk. To summarize, the popular dress these days was made of Simon material with gold or silver threaded embroidery rather than lace on the hem; for jewelry, sapphires were preferred over rubies; for perfume, hydrangea was better than lavender.

‘How useless.’

And it was a conversation that wasn’t the least bit useful to him. The amazing thing was…

“Do you still raise hydrangeas, Countess Herrit?”

On the other end of this fruitless conversation, there was Ercella.

“Of course. So far, I have no intention of growing anything other than hydrangeas.”

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“I see. After seeing Count Herrit’s hydrangea garden the other day, I couldn’t forget the sight or the scent… I envy the Countess for having a beautiful garden.”

“I’ll invite you, so please come by with the Young Lord sometime, Your Grace.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

For the first time ever, Vicente found out that Ercella could speak so well. Of all the days he saw her, today would be the day he saw her talk the most.

Even though the ending replies were not a question, they held onto the other person’s words1 and didn’t let go. Vicente, who preferred to keep the conversation concise, had an unmistakably disgusted look.

Silvery as ever, Ercella’s voice rang in his ears, “Oh my, did Viscount Rickley say that?”

“I know, he’s a really fun guy.”

“Goodness, no way. That gentleman!”

“It’s a secret. My brother would dig himself a ditch if he found out I told the Duchess this.”

Vicente saw Ercella smiling innocently. When Viscount Rickley proposed to the Viscountess, he sang in the back garden of the mansion, which unfortunately made her cry because he was tone-deaf. It was not an interesting story, but the crescent moon around his mother’s lips had no intention of disappearing.

‘What is she so happy about?’

For some reason, he didn’t like that Ercella.

“Did you hear that?”

At the height of the story, a secretive voice crept in.

“Count Carton has a mistress.”

Everyone was surprised except Ercella. I was surprised, too, when I heard it in the past. Lady Herrit said incredulously, “No way. Why would a romantist like him do that? He loved Countess Carton so much that he paid off her debts. He always complimented his wife every chance he got, so why on earth…”

Lady Rilday’s eyes drooped, “Well, the Countess gained some weight after giving birth, didn’t she? She must not look as attractive to the Count as before. Countess Carton even joked about it at a tea party.… Now that I think about it, she must’ve had a hunch.”

“The Count is being awful. He married her out of love…” Lady Heritt’s voice was filled with sympathy for the Countess.

“Indeed. It’s a pity, but what can we do? This story isn’t exclusive to Countess Carton.”

“But Countess Carton is a beautiful woman.”

“That’s why the Count loved her, right? But ever since she gained weight… Well, it’s not that I don’t understand the Count’s feelings. A husband wants his wife to be attractive. The Count must have been disappointed by his wife’s change from before the marriage.”

“I don’t think it’s Lady Carton’s fault.”

“Certainly,” Lady Rilday admitted neatly, but Lady Herrit’s frustrated heart was not relieved. Ercella knew what troubled her.

“They were a loving couple, so I understand it’s upsetting.”

Many young girls, when fantasized about marriage, they used to dream of living like the Cartons. Fantasies shatter as easily as water flowing from top to bottom.

“I feel sorry for the Countess who was elated to have a child this time.”

“Having children is not a pity. It’s a blessing.”

“That’s true, but…”

Lady Heritt said nothing more, apparently in shock.

“Oh, have you heard of Countess Myla’s divorce lawsuit?”

The subject naturally moved on. Although this subject was not very pleasant either. It was the controversial story of Countess Myla’s wife filing for divorce in the court against Count Myla. Of course, Ercella knew the end of the lawsuit.

“Is there a chance of her winning?”

“Impossible.”

“Is that so?”

It was a loss, as everyone expected. The fact that Count Myla did not want a divorce and that the Countess’s family was powerless also contributed.

Ercella looked back at Vicente and Adora. They were quietly listening but looked bored. In an instant, all kinds of worries filled her head.

‘What’s wrong?’

On closer inspection, Vicente’s face seemed a little pale. Ercella slipped out of the conversation and asked Vicente, “Does it hurt somewhere? You don’t look well…”

Vicente hesitated at the look on Ercella’s face, which showed signs of concern, “I was dizzy for a moment.”

The repercussions of those words were great. Ercella suddenly grabbed Vicente by the shoulder, a trembling voice echoed in his ears, “H-how come you’re dizzy? Why? Was the carriage too shaky? Was it the pace? Are you nauseous— No, no, this won’t do. Let’s call for a doctor.”

Restless, Ercella looked for a servant walking around. Vicente grabbed Ercella’s arm that was tightly holding his shoulder as she was about to call a servant. This was not Bernhardt, this was Garten. He wanted to avoid the disgrace of calling a doctor over a trivial matter like this.

“It’s not that bad. I’ll be fine soon, so don’t worry.”

“How can I not? A child who’s never had motion sickness suddenly became dizzy!”

At Ercella’s raised voice, Vicente immediately regretted it. He wanted to say he was fine as usual, not dizzy. He couldn’t understand why such a weak word came out of his mouth.

He looked around. People were looking their way, perhaps because of Ercella’s cry. He felt his head ringing.

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“It’s because it’s my first time in this kind of setting. It’s really no big deal.”

When Vicente’s eyes met theirs, people turned their eyes away in succession. However, her eyes, never conscious of them, were still anxious.

“…If you get dizzy again, you must tell me. Got it?”

“I will.”

“…No. I can’t help but worry about you. Besides, you were seriously ill in the past. Yes, right. You were much frailer than you looked. We should call a doc—”

“Mother,” Vicente laid emphasis on it.

As a result, Ercella furtively sealed her lips. She saw a faint frown between Vicente’s brows.

“And why are you bringing that up now? Me being sick was so long ago that I don’t even remember, and everyone gets that sick when they’re young.”

His voice arguing with her was sharp. Ercella hurriedly reflected on her words.

What’s the problem? When mulled over it, the word frail flickered in the circuitry of her brain. Vicente was fifteen and would soon be formally ordained a knight.

A knight.

Her complexion paled as she recognized the slip of her tongue. How could I call a soon-to-be knight frail?! He was understandably offended.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say you were weak. I guess I just…made a big deal out of it.”

But what is wrong? Vicente’s blue eyes were cooler than before.

‘…Is this not it?’

Ercella looked sad. It seemed to be the wrong answer again. Then why is he like that? Sadly, she had no idea other than saying the word ‘weak’.

‘It’s hard.’

She thought, even though it was a given. She felt trapped in a maze without an exit. Ercella looked at Vicente, hiding her bitter feelings. Who knows what he was thinking as he was submerged in his thoughts.

“Vicente?”

Vicente’s eyes focused only when Ercella called him. Seeing her fully, Vicente must have come to his senses as he wiped his face. Her worries doubled on his tired face.

He lived only in the mansion and must’ve suffered from having to deal with many people all of a sudden. He probably couldn’t get used to it. Feeling sorry, Ercella grabbed his hand and stroked it without realizing it.

“Huh…”

Realization hit her quickly. Ercella quickly shook away her hand.

‘What am I—!’

She was bewildered. No matter how comfortable they were, they were not allowed to even touch each other without permission. Didn’t they even ride in a carriage with an awkward atmosphere just a while ago?

She glanced at Vicente and saw him stiff with his hand raised. She seemed to have retracted faster before he could strike her away.

“Sorry. I acted as I pleased—”

“That’s enough,” Vicente’s cold reply stiffened the air between them.

Ercella smiled unnaturally.

‘I’m going crazy!’

Meanwhile, Adora, who was watching all of these scenes, shrank herself out of discomfort. There was warm air flowing in other places, but it was freezing here.

How did I get involved in such an enigmatic relationship? She wanted to be air.

A barely squeezed voice caught Adora’s ear.

“Do you want to wet your throat?”

Ercella’s opinion was that they could slowly leave after having participated in simple chats for a while.

“Sure.”

“…Yes.”

After Adora’s barely audible answer, the three of them finally walked to a nearby table. There were various kinds of champagne, drinks, and bite-sized refreshments on the table. Ercella’s hand stopped as she involuntarily tried to pick up a canape with strawberries and cheese. Vicente asked with a questioning look, “Aren’t you eating?”

Ercella was frozen in that position for a few seconds as if mulling over something.

“I’ve no idea,” she withdrew her hand with a smile.

“I see,” replying plainly, his eyes fixed on the girl with wheat hair. Adora was staring at Ercella with a strange look.

As if she felt Vicente’s gaze, she turned her head. Meeting his gaze, her purple eyes slowly fluttered down. Vicente’s eyes narrowed slightly.

* * *