57. Spring Daisy

Sorry for the delay guys, work slaughtered me and then I got bedridden sick for a week. This chapter is worth it though, as something we’ve all been waiting for finally happens.

---

TN: Toasty
ED: Toasty

---

With light steps, a girl walks through the spring garden. Finding the person she was looking for, she called out.

「Isaac-nii-sama!」

「Hey, Flora.」

The boy who is a gardener’s apprentice, who was working in the flowerbed when she approached him and hugged him, takes off his work gloves and pats her on the head, saying she’s full of energy today.

「Today, you’re going to show it to me, right?」

Looking excited, Flora repeatedly tugs at the sleeves of the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice.

「Flora.」

Before he could nod, a calm but friendly voice called out Flora’s name. Flora jumped up in shock at the voice.

「Could you… please show… me……?」

When Flora corrected herself, the owner of the voice softened her expression and smiled. Flora is happy to have received a passing grade, but there was still more.

「Have you given your greetings yet?」

「Good day, Isaac-nii-sana. And good to you, Dennis-san and Yan-san.」

Flora noticed what was being hinted at and immediately greeted the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice, his father, and the junior apprentice. Each of them bowed and responded with their own greetings.

「I apologize for the inconvenience while you’re working. I think I made a mistake in deciding a good time to take a break…」

「No, I just missed having a break, so I’m saved. Thanks, Ojou.」

When Lydia apologized, the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice returned his thanks. Although she felt relieved she didn’t interfere with their work, Lydia frowned as she thought about his response.

「There should be something we can do about Zack and the others overworking.」

Lydia points out that she can’t ignore the situation. What he meant was that he wouldn’t have taken a break unless she and her sister came.
Dennis is a quiet gardener who works in silence and even when he was young, he voluntarily worked without taking days off and even collapsed. His son also seems to be having fun, humming songs while he works. The junior apprentice also has a high level of concentration and tends to forget to take breaks. Lydia thinks it’s obvious that all three of them are garden fanatics.

「It would be nice to place clocks in various places in the garden.」

「I don’t have a wristwatch and even if I did, it would be very expensive.」

「Wristwatch?」

Lydia thought that if there was a clock that could tell them the time, they might take a proper break, but the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice said something unfamiliar to her.

「The idea is it’s a clock small enough to wrap around your wrist.」

「Then it would have to be smaller than a pocket watch.」

Even pocket watches are not available to commoners. Servants in aristocratic houses carry them such stewards. But in the downtown area, church bells ring the time every three hours during the day.

「Well, even if you had one, you wouldn’t notice unless it made a sound.」

「Then it has no use, then.」

Lydia is taken aback by the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice, who simply laughs that it’s a useless object.
Even if there were a small, portable clock that could tell the time with sound, it would only be owned by a handful of people such as royalty or high ranking nobles. It would be a story of the distant future for it to reach even the common people. They were both aware of this, but it was a haphazard way of thinking to come up with an improvement and then withdraw it himself.
The boy who is a gardener’s apprentice laughs at Lydia who was replying seriously even though they know it’s just idle conversation. That he only responds to things that are pointed out, Lydia thinks isn’t charming, but even that he just smiles and accepts it, which makes her feel strange at times.

「Then, Flora will tell you.」

Her younger sister excitedly raises her hand in obedience. With how she’s still learning vocabulary, even if she has a little difficulty, it’s charming.

「Thank you, but that would make things difficult for Flora.」

「It’s fine. Then I can meet with Isaac-nii-sama.」

Seeing her younger sister innocently happy to have more excuses to meet up with him, Lydia feels she is very different from herself. She was around Flora’s age when she came to see him with a reason. It took her several years before she was able to meet without a reason. As much as she liked her, Flora was too troublesome and not charming at times.

「But it’s something I have to work hard on. The time Flora will have available to work hard will decrease.」

「……it’s okay, it’s difficult, so it’s fine.」

「Ojou comes here after she’s done her best, after all.」

Hearing the words of the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice, Flora turned her peach-colored eyes towards her sister. Upon receiving a direct gaze, Lydia freezes.

「Ojou has been coming here for a long time since she began her lessons. She never comes to slack off.」

「Ah, that’s right……!」

Lydia couldn’t help but wonder what he thought she was. The boy who is a gardener’s apprentice smiled proudly as Flora took his word for it.

「So? Flora’s sister is cool, isn’t she?」

「Mhm! Onee-sama is amazing!」

「So, let’s do our best in our own goals.」

「Mmm!」

Lydia flinches as her sister’s pink eyes shine with respect. Inwardly, she wanted to pout, but she couldn’t expose herself in front of her sister, so she bit down on her lips. Emilia, her bodyguard and maid, was also nodding deeply behind her, making it even more unbearable.
She thought she had gotten used to Emilia and the others always accompanying her, as they also served as bodyguards, but it was troubling she only showed reactions at a time like this even though she usually kept quiet.
With Lydia and the others visiting, it was time for a break, and she decided to head to the self-study garden. Because Flora insists that she can walk on her own, the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice holds her hand to keep her from stumbling. As the two of them happily hum along to song with rhymes similar to wordplay, Lydia feels a smile on her face as she walks along with Emilia.
When he finished singing one song, the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice seemed to have remembered something and let out a small laugh.

「What is it?」

Lydia felt confused by this, so when she asked what the reason was, reddish-green copper eyes turned towards her.

「……no, Ojou really did her best.」

「What???」

Having had those feelings said to her, Lydia, who didn’t understand just what it concerned, tilted her head in confusion.

「Flora is five years old, right?」

「Yep, I’m fiiiive.」

Flora affirms it by spreading out her free hand. The boy who is a gardener’s apprentice nodded at her cheerful answer and said that’s exactly why.

「That was the first time I met Ojou.」

「Really?」

「Yep. But Ojou was already speaking well, so I thought it was amazing.」

「What……」

「Really! Onee-sama, you’re amazing!」

「Wh—it isn’t that amazing!」

Lydia didn’t know he was so impressed when they first met and being told this now made Lydia’s cheeks heat up in embarrassment.
It’s true that back then, she wanted her parents to look at her as much as possible, so she practiced her manners and created reasons to be praised. She was once worried that her parents would be stolen away shortly after her sister was born, too. She was so embarrassed that her efforts were discovered the first time they met. Why didn’t he just let it go, saying that there were individual differences in their growth?
Lydia knew that she had a bad attitude when they first met, so she didn’t expect she would be praised for that, either.
She didn’t want her past to be brought up again and wanted to protest, but Lydia couldn’t get angry because it seemed like her sister had a reason to get excited.
She’s left with some unresolved feelings and Lydia hated it, so she mumbles at a voice that only the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice could hear.

「You often said something about an ugly personality……」

「I mean, it would be such a waste, wouldn’t it?」

「Ha?」

「You’re cute, so wouldn’t it be a waste if you kept complaining and frowning all the time?」

He said that if it doesn’t matter either way, then leave it alone. Lydia didn’t know that those words were said with such thoughts in mind. When she went to ask for an apology, she was sure it was phrased to be something positive, but she didn’t think he was thinking about the future.
Why did he do this now, Lydia thought, feeling the heat in her cheeks spreading across her face.
She knows he often won’t answer unless she asks. Still, after five years, she wishes he wouldn’t reveal something so shocking to her heart. She’s glad he doesn’t say it all the time, but also very much regretted investigating how he was laughing while reminiscing.
From there, Lydia followed silently so that the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice wouldn’t see her face until they reached the self-study garden.
Reaching their destination, she could hear her sister’s joyful voice through the hedges ahead of her. Lydia also slips between the hedges and learns why her sister is so excited.
There were just flowers blooming.
For some reason, such a sight gives her a sense of relief, and the vivid colors make her heart feel excited as they announce spring is here. These small flowers, which might be called weeds depending on the situation, were given a place to bloom freely.
Clusters of small flowers were blooming, such as yellow mirror grasses, white and pink peaches, and a curved path that went between the flowers had been created.
The fountain with a stone owl statue in the center is still there, but it’s doubtful if it can be reached because it’s covered in flowers. Since he had previously planted beautiful cherry blossoms that changed color all around the fountain, it was difficult to sit on the edge.
Still, she couldn’t lie and pretend that the scene she just saw made her heart feel like spring was here.

「It’s like Freiheit’s.」

「What is that??」

The boy who is a gardener’s apprentice tilted his head at the unfamiliar name. It turns out he isn’t familiar with it due to being a commoner, so Lydia explains it.

「The story is famous for their floral designs.」

Freiheit’s store, which he opened due to his hobby of collecting antiques, sells a variety of items, including textiles and decorative items. However, the most popular item is the store’s uniquely designed floral patterns. The patterns appear to be scattered randomly on the surface of makeup boxes and the embroidery on the skirts of dresses, but they are arranged in a special manner. As the designs could not be imitated anywhere else, the store’s name came to refer to the floral designs.

「I once bought a Freiheit’s jewelry box for my mother as a birthday present. It’s very similar in its bright colors.」

Lydia couldn’t say how similar the exciting feeling she felt when she saw the garden was.
The shop owner’s eyes sparkle as he talks about his dreams for the distant future, saying that when textile and printing technology becomes more advanced, he would like to have Freiheit flowers bloom directly on the entire cloth and distribute it even to commoners. The way his eyes sparkled like a child reminded her of a boy who was a gardener’s apprentice. She was embarrassed by the fact that she remembered him when he wasn’t around, and she couldn’t continue speaking.

“Hey, I’d like to go to that store.”

The boy who was a gardener’s apprentice, seemed to be unusually interested, but his murmurings were not a wish but just an impression. Lydia noticed this, and she wondered for a moment if she should just pretend that she hadn’t heard the murmur.
It’s not the kind of store that a commoner like him can go to. That’s why she couldn’t just make a promise that she would take him along easily. She tries to come up with an alternative, thinking that she should at least show him the jewelry box she gave at the tea party.
Seeing Lydia, who had just picked up his own murmurs and was seriously worried about him, the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice laughed a little and patted her on the head. That small shock brought Lydia back to consciousness from her sea of thoughts and she looked up at him.

「Are there so many beautiful patterns?」

「Yes. It was wonderful.」

I see, he said while laughing.
Even though he didn’t seem to care, he couldn’t help but look gloomy, Lydia thought as she smiled back.
Things that are commonplace for Lydia, a noble, cannot be taken for granted by him, a commoner. There have been many such things in the past. Each time, he laughed. There wasn’t the slightest hint of reluctance or resignation on his part; he was just happy. So, she understood that if she herself was also hurt by the difference, she was being rude to him.
She understands that both she and him understand, and on the contrary, there are some things that she cannot do because she is a noble. Just because they are different, there is no need for them to be superior or inferior to each other.
Now they can see the same scenery side by side. Lydia once again engraved in her heart that that was far more important.
Lydia then decided to enjoy the spring garden with her playful sister.

---

「…So, Zack said it again, on the spot.」

「Isaac’s point of view is innovative.」

Roy listens with interest to Lydia who sighs as she speaks.
Lydia and Roy were having a tea party in the garden of Duke Ernst’s residence. To the world, it’s a meeting between fiances, but to the people in question, it’s an update on their current status with their friends. By a strange coincidence, their mutual acquaintances include not only two boys who are candidates for Roy’s direct retainer, but also a boy who is a gardener’s apprentice. Moreover, since the only person other than family members they were able to talk about was the boy who was a gardener’s apprentice, he naturally became a hot topic.
They exchange information that neither of them knows, such as Lydia about what happened in the garden and Roy about what happened when he inspected the city. It was a topic that could only be discussed here, with Roy’s servant and Lydia’s bodyguard waiting in the wings.
She was talking about a boy who was a gardener’s apprentice, and Lydia suddenly thought about it.

「Um… Roy-sama, could we turn the clock into a facility?」

「Why?」

「Aristocrats and commoners have different senses of time, right? I hear that there are fountains in central plazas, wells in downtown areas, and other places where people tend to gather. If we could install large clocks in those places, we could see them from the same point of view, is what I was thinking.」

He said that it would be possible to make the watch smaller and make it portable, but this is not something that can be realistically done right away. However, wouldn’t it be possible with current technology to place even larger table clocks in places where there is a lot of foot traffic? If they could do that, everyone in the place, regardless of their social status, would be able to keep track of the same time.
Hearing Lydia’s serious idea, Roy smiled softly.

「Miss Lydia also has quite an interesting point of view.」

「Is… that so……?」

「Ah. You probably don’t have many opportunities to see what’s going on in the city, but it’s amazing that you came up with such an idea.」

「That’s because… Roy-sama will tell me about the situation in the city…」

Lydia becomes embarrassed when she receives unexpected praise from Roy, the prince and her friend. When she returned home during the off-season, her grandfather, who was in charge of the duchy, taught her how to read maps. Since then, Lydia has started looking at the map of the royal capital. It’s surprisingly fun to check where on the map she hears about from Roy.
As she was looking at the map, she was imagining what kind of people would come and go to each of the small squares in the downtown area, such as the central plaza, the promenade, and the wells, and that’s probably why she got the idea she mentioned earlier.

「No, Miss Lydia has a good eye. Let’s consider it.」

「Are you sure…?」

She simply thought that making it a public facility would be cheaper than handing out watches to each person. The actual cost and time involved have not been estimated, and Lydia doesn’t have that much knowledge. Therefore, for Lydia, it was an unrealistic idea, no different from what the boy who was a gardener’s apprentice had said.
It was accepted so easily that Lydia was taken aback. When Prince Roy started moving, her sense of reality suddenly increased. Although she doesn’t know how long it will take, Lydia is simply surprised to learn that it is possible.
Upon hearing Lydia’s confirmation, Roy nodded with a slightly amused smile. His nod made her feel happy, and her heart felt warm. She was just a young lady, so she was very happy that she could be of some use.

「I was wondering, when will Miss Lydia tell the daughters of Marquis August and the others?」

「Hm? What about?」

「About Isaac.」

Lydia was suddenly asked in a strange way, so her eyes widened.
It seems like Roy thought she would tell them about him someday. But Lydia had no intention of talking about him. She was able to talk to Roy like this, so where was the need for that?
Why did Roy feel it was necessary for Lydia to confide in her other friends about him?
When Lydia was wondering what to ask about this unexpected situation, Roy forced a smile.

「It’s because he’s a man. There will probably be times in the future when Miss Lydia won’t be able to consult with him.」

「But what about Katherine, Emilia, and the others……?」

If it’s someone who’s the same gender, there are already girls who know of his existence. Why can’t it be them?

「I’m sorry, that was rude of me. They’re friends to Miss Lydia. It’s not a bad thing, but…… I just thought of them as your friends, too.」

Feeling compassion from Roy’s words said with a smile, Lydia thought about it.
She had consulted him several times in the past about the boy who was a gardener’s apprentice for other reasons. And it’s not like Tordelise and the others don’t talk about things related to him. Each time, she diverted the topic to hide it, but isn’t that being sneaky?
Since they are important friends, she felt it was strange that she would continue to hide this from them.
Along with noticing her discomfort, she also realized her own cowardice due to her lack of trust in her friends. Even though she knew better than anyone that they were not that kind of person, she was afraid that they would give up on her. Seeing their personalities, Lydia made a decision.

「How should I tell them……」

It’s good that she made a decision, but she doesn’t know how to proceed, so Lydia lowers her eyebrows as if she was weakened.

「Miss Lydia should speak from her heart.」

Roy smiled encouragingly at Lydia.

---

A few days after she spoke with Roy, she heard the faint voices of girls chatting in Duke Ernst’s residence.
In Lydia’s room, her friends are sitting around a table with teacups on it. Tordelise, the daughter of a marquis, who became her first friend, Zaskia, the daughter of a baron, whom she became close to after encouraging them at a party, and Stefanie, the daughter of a count, who became strong even though she was in an environment where she was often treated coldly. They talk about random topics such as the picture books they loved when they were little and the latest dress trends. Just by being together, they talk and laugh with each other.
Lydia realizes that it has become natural for her to spend time with them.

「Um……」

「What is it?」

When Lydia tries to talk about herself, Tordelise prompts her with a smile, and Stefanie and Zaskia also begin listening.

「There’s something I want to ask Torde-sama and the others……」

Lydia searches for words, worrying whether or not she will be able to convey herself well. As she folded her hands in front of her chest and squeezed them tightly, she resolved herself once again.

「……I-it’s about me.」

She takes a deep breath, trying to drown out her heart beat that’s louder than expected.

「I have a friend who’s also a commoner!」

「But  I’m also a former commoner?」

Stefanie pointed at herself and tilted her head.
It is a well-known fact that she was welcomed into the earl’s family due to her mother’s remarriage. She was still friends with her, so Tordelise and the others looked at Lydia as if to ask what the matter was
Although relieved by her friends’ reactions, Lydia awkwardly spins her words because there is information she hasn’t told them yet.

「He’s… a servant of our family.」

「Does that mean he’s a boy?」

「If that’s the case, won’t His Highness be jealous?」

The moment it became clear that he was a friend of the opposite sex, Stefanie and Zaskia instinctively put their hands on the table and stood up. Lydia was somewhat frightened by their vigorous reaction.

「No…… Roy-sama also knows about him.」

「……are you sure it isn’t someone I’ve met before?」

Tordelise asks Lydia while recalling her memories.
Does Tordelise remember, even though she only saw his face a few times at a party a few years ago? Lydia is surprised by this fact.

「Do you remember……?」

「Ahh, of course. It’s that comrade.」

Taking Lydia’s reply as a confirmation, Tordelise was pleased to have gotten it right and put both of her palms together.

「Impossible, is it the calyx guy!?」

Seeing Tordelise’s satisfied look, Zaskia was reminded of the boy who became her dance partner. He was the only person of the opposite sex who was close in age to Lydia that she could think of.

「Ah, I heard of him before. The ghost-like person who was there before I met Dia-sama and the others.」

「Gho……」

Lydia is at a loss for words as Stefanie says with admiration like she really was there. It bothered her that at the time he was rumored to be the outer part to Lydia’s flower, but I also found it incomprehensible that he was being treated like a non-human. He is a human. [T/N: Literally just “calyx person”, but I expanded it so readers would understand why Zack is being called a calyx again.]
The only one who had never met him was Stefanie, and she was envious of Tordelise and the others.

「I haven’t seen him around the mansion either, so I was worried that you two stopped talking.」

Tordelise pats her own chest in relief. Although he was introduced as a servant of the Ernst family, she seemed to be concerned about the fact that she never saw him when she visited the mansion.

「Well, he’s actually an apprentice gardener, so……」

「So that’s why you know a lot about flower names!」

Zaskia fully understood and her expression lit up, saying that it was amazing that he was good at dancing.
When Stefanie, the only one who didn’t understand her situation, asked her about it, Zaskia happily explained to her what had happened at the time. Stefanie listened to her explanation with an impressed response, and she concluded that he wasn’t a ghost. For Stefanie, who had never seen him before, the rumors about him were some kind of ghost story.
Lydia was taken aback because Tordelise and the others accepted it just as if she had casually said it to Roy.

「You don’t… think it’s weird……?」

Even if she wasn’t being looked down upon, she was prepared to feel a little uncomfortable. But for some reason, they never asked why.
In response to Lydia’s question, the three of them looked at each other once, then smiled. Their smile was so confident that it seemed invincible.

「He’s someone who cares deeply about Dia.」

「I can understand that much even if we just talk about him a little!」

「I’ve never met him, but if he’s Dia’s friend, he doesn’t seem like a bad person.」

The three of them answered in their own words like it was natural, and Lydia felt a warm feeling well up in her chest. She was glad to be friends with Tordelise and the others, she thought to herself, but she had more to say than that.

「Thank you.」

Lydia was shy as she expressed her gratitude.
After exchanging smiles with her friends and calming down, one of her friends, Stefanie, raised her hand to make her point.

「What’s wrong, Fanny?」

「It’s unfair.」

「Eh?」

「Even though everyone knows you, I’m the only one who hasn’t seen your friend.」

The way she sulked was so cute that Lydia couldn’t help but laugh. Stefanie understands that her timing was just bad, but she seems lonely because she’s the only one left out.
Lydia wonders what would happen. Having this many people crowding in would be a hindrance to the work, and the appearance of his father, Dennis, could easily be misunderstood. In particular, Zaskia and others will need to be mentally prepared. On the other hand, if someone like Yan were to encounter multiple young ladies over there, he might feel intimidated.

「Ah…… if it’s now, you might be able to see them from the terrace.」

Lydia came up with a way to check from here.
Most of their recent work must have been tending to the flower beds in the backyard. Her room faces the backyard, so there is a possibility that he can be seen from a distance.
She accepts Lydia’s proposal and so Stefanie and the others go out on the terrace. From the terrace on the second floor, they could see a panoramic view of the spring flowers blooming in the flower beds, and the three of them momentarily forgot their purpose and let out a sigh of admiration.
They regained their composure and started looking for someone, but they couldn’t find them, so the three of them stuck to the handrail and looked around. Lydia also put her hand on the railing and looked down at the flower bed.

「There he is.」

「Eh, where!?」

Stefanie, who was next to Lydia, responded to her voice and followed Lydia’s line of sight.

「Ah, there’s a big person there.」

「There are two people nearby….. which one is it?」

「Um, next to Dennis…… he’s on the right-hand side of the larger gardener.」

「I can’t see his face very well. However, Dia-sama is amazing at being able to tell them apart!」

Stefanie found the figure of the gardener who was the easiest to recognize, and Tordelise recognized the figure of the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice. When Lydia told her who she was looking for, Zaskia narrowed her eyes and took a good look at him, then praised Lydia for her distinction.
Lydia replies that it’s not difficult because he is a servant in the house. It’s true that they may look similar from a distance because of their work clothes, but he has dark brown hair with the tips of his hair sticking out easily, and his younger disciple, Yang, has dark brown hair that is shorter than his. Both have tanned from work, but their skin colors are different.
She can only tell them apart because she knows them personally, but Zaskia seemed to take it as a sign of humility, and her eyes shone with admiration.

「What kind of person is he?」

Stefanie tried not just to squint, but also stood on her tiptoes and tried to make out the face as much as possible, but to no avail, so she decided to directly ask Lydia.
As she looked at the boy who was a gardener’s apprentice working in the flower bed, she wondered how she would explain it. Lydia, who knows his personality, can imagine that he is having fun working even if she can’t see it. Maybe he’s humming a tune.

「His name is Za…… Isaac, and he’s been my confidant since I was little.」

「Then, he’s your childhood friend, isn’t he?」

Lydia wondered if it was okay to nod to Stefanie’s offer. They had been together since childhood, so she felt that Katherine, the maid, was more appropriate than him. However, both Katherineand him are servants, so it’s not like they just have a casual relationship as childhood friends.
However, Lydia just smiles, not knowing what kind of name applies to what they have.

「He thinks about the garden all the time, so I guess being a gardener is his calling. However, he is kind of a caring person, or rather a meddler…… when he sees someone in trouble, he tries to help them. He even does things he doesn’t have to do, like acting as my dance substitute.”

He could have also turned down being substitute for dancing. It is said that he met Roy as a guide for lost children, and the reason he brought Nicholas to the garden was to rescue him. He may not realize that these are things that he cannot ignore, not only in himself, but also in people he meets for the first time.
He reaches out his hand when he realizes that it is within his capabilities. When things are beyond his control, he will definitely ask for help, but he rarely has the option of pretending he didn’t see it. He faces things that most people look away from.

「Really, there’s nothing he won’t do.」

He seems to live his life freely and as he pleases, and does not disrespect others. Lydia feels that his true nature is precious, so even though she is worried that he might do something unreasonable, she has no intention of correcting him.
So she had no choice but to laugh.

「He’s precious, isn’t he?」

There was no way Lydia would deny Stefanie’s question.

「Yes. He’s someone important for me to be myself.」

Whenever Lydia tries to suppress her heart, he always notices. It was only because of him that she was able to stand tall and straight without collapsing.
Lydia’s assertive appearance was dignified and reflected in Stefanie and the others’ eyes as noble.

「Isaac-san is a good friend, isn’t he/」

「So you came a wonderful person, right?」

Tordelise smiles with satisfaction, and Zaskia agrees, Lydia’s cheeks flushing.
They understand that he’s a nice person, but seeing Stefanie only in his work clothes, Zaskia’s reaction made her shake her head. She looks at him again, but he looks similar to when he’s in the downtown area, and she doesn’t get the feeling she’s blushing because of it.

「He seems taller than us, is he older?」

It was difficult for him to notice because the gardener, who was his father, was a big man, but Stefanie noticed that the boy who was a gardener’s apprentice, seemed to be taller than them. Lydia confirms it.

「He’ll be thirteen soon.」

「Then, by if some chance he passes, he might be enrolled the year after next.」

「What is he going to pass……?」

Lydia tilted her head, wondering what it was, and Stefanie tilted her head in the same way.

「Isn’t it the time to take the magic measurement test? If he passes, he’ll be living in the dormitory at Magic Academy.」

Lydia and other nobles usually have a large amount of magical power, so measuring their magical power was just a rite of passage. However, Lydia knows that measuring the amount of magical power is a big event for commoners. She remembered that her father, a duke, had told her earlier that there was a financial subsidy system to guarantee the school life in case commoners were accepted. She realizes that qualifying for admission to the Magic Academy means a lot to commoners.

「Dormitory……」

She doesn’t know if his magical power will reach the admission standard, but if he does, she won’t be able to see him for the next two years until she enrolls.
When Lydia realized this fact, she was shocked.
It’s different from temporarily not being able to see each other during the off-season. She had considered the possibility of him leaving the mansion, but she had never thought in the slightest that he would be gone.
He is always in the garden of the Ernst residence.
That was universal for Lydia.

「My sister who used to live in my neighborhood often told me that if she passed the exam, she would dream of becoming a lover with a young noble while she was at the school.」

「Lo… ver……?」

Out of Stefanie’s story, that was the only word that stuck in Lydia’s ears.
By the time he goes to school, he will be around that age. She wonders if he is interested not only in the garden but also in the opposite sex. Like Stefanie’s female acquaintance, finding someone she longs for even in a dream…
Trying to imagine what would happen next, Lydia sank down on the spot as if her strength was gone.

「Dia-sama?」

Tordelise crouched down next to her and supported her. Stefanie and the others approached, worried about what was going on.
While supporting Lydia’s shoulders, Tordelise saw a maid running toward them from the edge of her vision. However, the maid is held back by a maid who is younger than her and has extra sleeves for her. She understands that they are worried about her master, and Tordelise gives her a look to leave it to her.
Seeing that her maids had reconsidered, Tordelise turned to her friend, who was holding her own arm with uncertainty. When their gazes met, Lydia’s nigella flower-blue eyes flickered with anxiety.

「……Torde-sama.」

「Yes?」

「Zack… Zack is always in this garden…… so, if he disappears, he might think of someone else.」

Tordelise smiles reassuringly at Lydia, who is confused by the sudden recognition of this possibility.

「How did you feel about it?」

She allowed herself to let out her emotions that were swirling inside her, and they came out easier than she expected.

「……I don’t like it.」

Just the thought of not being able to see him again or someone else who desired him, Lydia disliked it. What made her think of such a strong rejection was why his smile is like a sunny spot.

「Dia-sama, I’m sorry.」

Stefanie bowed her head vigorously and apologized, looking as if she was about to cry. Lydia, who doesn’t understand what she’s apologizing for, is taken aback.

「I didn’t know you like Isaac that much……」

「Eh?」

「Ehhh?」

Stefanie’s eyes widened at the questioning look that didn’t seem typical of Lydia.
For a few seconds, silence enveloped the terrace, as if time had stopped.
The one who broke the silence was Lydia, who had most likely stopped breathing as well as thinking.

「………… li……!?」

Suddenly, Lydia’s face turned bright red as if she had been set on fire, and she unconsciously put all the strength into her grip on Tordelise’s sleeve. Tordelise narrowed her eyes at her friend, who was now clinging to her.

「Fufu, you hadn’t realized it?」

「W…… well, even if you say that…!」

Being aware of your feelings and having others know about your feelings are two different things. It’s incredibly embarrassing when people say it to her.

「Dia-sama was so composed even in front of His Highness the prince, but when it comes to the person she loves, she becomes so cute.」

「Even you, Kia-sama!」

Zaskia, who was full of smiles, attacked her, and Lydia let out a cry of resentment. However, her red-faced protests seem to have no effect, and her friends just smile.
Even her maid, Katherine, seemed to be smiling, but Lydia pretended not to notice as the heat in her cheeks would never subside if she recognized them any further.
She didn’t know how far he had read into it, but she saw that Roy’s suggestion was correct.
By confiding in her friends who don’t know him, she never expected that she would become aware of her feelings for him. Also, when her friends found out about her feelings, her future where she was worrying just about herself was forcibly erased.

She wonders what kind of face she should make when she meets him next time.
Lydia wanted to wrap her head around problems that were just around the corner, rather than problems that were several years away.

---

Oh man, when I was translating the final parts of this chapter, I was just smiling so much. Finally, we got to Lydia awakening to her feelings, wahahaha.

Not a whole lot to say other than that. We are getting really close to the finale, though. 4 more chapters in this volume and then the final volume is 9 chapters with an epilogue. Hard to believe we’re almost already there, huh?

Anyways, let me know if there’s any corrections I need to make. Some of the sentences this chapter were just really weird and made me want to throw something against a wall. And again, sorry for the delay, but geez, whatever I caught just basically incapacitated me lol

---