Chapter 2
“You’re not from around here, are you?”
When Layla asked again, Easton finally came to his senses and nodded awkwardly.
“…Ah, yes.”
“I thought so. Our village gets a lot of rain in the summer. Many visitors get soaked because they don’t bring umbrellas.”
“…I see.”
His voice sounded strange, like a squeaky machine that needed oil.
“Ahem.”
“Oh no, have you already gotten wet? Did you catch a cold?”
“No, I’m fine.”
He cleared his throat, but his voice still shook a little, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.
“The inn is quite far from here.”
Layla looked off into the distance, then turned back to him and held out her yellow umbrella.
“Here, you can borrow my umbrella.”
Easton looked up in surprise.
They were complete strangers. Why was she lending him her umbrella?
Does she know who I am?
Easton narrowed his eyes and didn’t take the umbrella. He just stared at her.
The kinder someone acted, the more he had to be careful. He’d learned that lesson.
“Is it okay to lend an umbrella to someone you’ve just met?”
He asked with a skeptical look.
“Of course.”
“How can you trust someone like that?”
He thought of his sister Psyche and his parents, who had passed away.
He had lost both his parents. Now, even his younger sister was fighting to stay alive.
That’s why Crown Prince Easton had come all the way to this small village himself.
There was no one left in the palace he could trust.
“And what if I never return it?”
Layla didn’t seem bothered. With a warm smile, she answered:
“Even if you don’t return it, it’s fine. My umbrella is already being used where it’s needed.”
Then she gently placed the umbrella in his hand.
“So go ahead and use it. It’s really okay.”
Easton blinked in confusion as he looked at her.
She didn’t seem to have a second umbrella.
“You only have one umbrella.”
“That’s my house—see the orange roof?”
She pointed to a house nearby.
“Ah.”
“So make sure to bring it back, mister. To the house with the orange roof.”
Layla smiled again and turned to leave.
At that moment, Easton quickly called out:
“Please… tell me your name.”
“Oh, right! I forgot to introduce myself even though I lent you my umbrella.”
She laughed a little, looking shy.
“I’m Layla. I’m seventeen.”
Her laugh… for some reason, it reminded him of someone he used to know.
“And you, mister?”
Her question snapped him back to attention, and he blinked fast.
“I’m Easton. I’m… seventeen too.”
He hesitated but answered truthfully.
His name wasn’t that rare, so she probably wouldn’t figure out his identity.
Or so he thought.
“Wow, I’ve never met someone my age in this village before. Nice to meet you, Easton.”
But he shouldn’t have said it.
He shouldn’t have taken her umbrella.
He shouldn’t have remembered her kind smile.
Maybe… if he had given a fake name that day, their fate would have turned out differently.
Not knowing the cruel fate that was waiting for him, Easton stood there for a long time, watching her walk away.
“Are you saying… I can’t get it?”
The next day, after reaching the inn safely thanks to Layla, Easton went to find the herbalist who had given him the information.
But the news he received was very bad.
“Yes. You’ll have to wait until the rain stops. Just when the fall wind starts—that’s the only time it grows!”
“Isn’t the rainy season almost over now?”
“Even the magic tower doesn’t know when it will end. But the herb only blooms on that exact day. The herb is called ‘Aiola’.”
“Haa…”
A sigh slipped from his lips.
He had managed to get a two-month vacation by pretending to be on break.
But the sooner he found the herb, the better it would be for Psyche’s recovery.
“And also… it’s not something just anyone can pick.”
“What do you mean?”
“You need to be lucky to find it.”
“Luck? Doesn’t it grow in a specific area?”
“Aiola has no set growing spot. It just appears randomly in the southern mountains.”
The situation felt hopeless.
Easton rubbed his tired eyes.
“And to be honest… I can’t promise I’ll find it myself.”
“I have to get it.”
He tried to hide his desperation but couldn’t help pleading.
“She’s the only family I have left. She’s only ten… and without this herb, she’ll die. You know that even better than I do.”
“…Sigh. If you’re looking for Aiola, that must mean the child ate the ‘Defloreo’ poison.”
“…Yes.”
His clenched fists trembled.
Just as the herbalist guessed, Psyche had eaten a poison flower—Defloreo.
Given to her by Prince Frinel of House La Rose, the very one she had trusted like a real brother.
“Your Majesty, I’m not like my father.”
He had said that to Easton with such innocent eyes.
“I think of Princess Psyche as my own little sister. So please, don’t worry. Trust me.”
He claimed to be different from the Duke of La Rose—who had killed Easton’s mother.
“I’m your childhood friend, remember?”
Easton had believed him, because Frinel had grown up beside him, because he’d been abused by his own father too.
Easton thought Frinel was walking the same painful path as him.
But he wasn’t.
“My poor, foolish, innocent friend… Easton.”
Frinel had baked a cake with poison and given it to Psyche.
“Did you really think an abused child could escape his father’s grasp?”
And right after that…
“…I’m sorry.”
Frinel ended his life.
“You okay, sir?”
“…Ah, sorry. I was lost in thought.”
“Hmm. If it’s that urgent…”
The herbalist hesitated, then said:
“Maybe someone else could help better than me.”
“Someone else? I heard you were the best in the area.”
“Well, there’s a girl in this village who’s said to be born with great luck. She also knows a lot about herbs.”
“A girl?”
“Yes. She’s a kind, gentle soul, so we try to keep her out of the spotlight.”
The man lowered his voice, glancing around.
“I’m only telling you because your little sister’s life is in danger.”
“Please tell me. Who is she, and where can I find her?”
Usually, herb-picking was done by strong men.
Hearing that it was a young girl, Easton wasn’t sure what to think. But he asked urgently.
“There, see?”
The man pointed out the window.
“Do you see the orange roof over there?”
Easton followed his finger with his eyes—and saw a bright orange roof.
“The girl who lives there is named… Layla.”
The moment he heard her name again, Easton’s heart suddenly began pounding hard without him even realizing it.
