Chapter 19
“I don’t know if an old woman who’s only ever shut herself in with books and flowers can be of any help… but I owe you and Lucien. I can’t pretend not to care. Fine, I’ll be your guardian.”
Hearing Emma’s declaration, Benedict was so overjoyed that he kissed the back of her hand and immediately ran out into the hallway. He wanted to tell Lucien the wonderful news.
“Benedict?”
He soon heard a familiar and welcoming voice calling him.
When he turned around, Lucien was at the bottom of the stairs by the entrance, holding a bouquet of flowers.
“Lucien, it’s done! It’s done!”
He ran down the stairs faster than he ever had in his life, even leaping over the last five steps all at once.
When he finally reached Lucien, he threw his arms around her and exclaimed, “Grandmother agreed to be my guardian!”
“It’s all thanks to you. She said she’s grateful to you too. See? I really do need you.”
He said it all in a single breath and tightened his embrace around Lucien’s neck, expressing his gratitude as much as he could.
Thud.
But then, there was a strange sound.
Benedict suddenly remembered—Lucien was holding a large bouquet of flowers.
“Ah!”
He quickly stepped back and checked the flowers. Some of the cute pink roses had bent stems.
“I’m so sorry!”
He tried to gently straighten the bent rose, but it just drooped back down lifelessly. It was a pitiful sight.
What should I do?
He looked at Lucien with worry, afraid she might be angry.
Fortunately, she didn’t look upset. In fact, for some reason, she was giggling softly.
“Aren’t they pretty? The Duchess gave them to me.”
Lucien’s tone was different from usual, and Benedict then realized something else—there were quite a few servants around them.
All of them were watching, probably because of how clumsily and excitedly he had come running down the stairs.
His face flushed with embarrassment.
“Pink roses are a symbol of gratitude,” Lucien said.
She plucked off the bent rose. Though the stem was now shorter, the fully bloomed flower still looked beautiful.
“The Duchess said I could share them with the people in the house if I wanted.”
Lucien stepped closer and used that rose to decorate the pocket of Benedict’s jacket.
And then, in a whisper only he could hear, she said,
“This was actually the prettiest one, Benedict.”
“…I’m sorry.”
He apologized again, but Lucien shook her head.
“It’s lucky it fits perfectly in your jacket pocket. Actually, this one was meant for you from the start.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
For some reason, Benedict felt proud.
Giving him the most beautiful rose felt like Lucien was saying he was the most important to her.
“Thank you. Oh, right…”
Benedict took the bouquet from Lucien’s arms and said,
“I’ll probably be going to the capital soon.”
“You’re going with the Duchess, right?”
“Yeah, and actually, I was wondering if maybe you would…”
He trailed off, half-hiding his face behind the flowers, gauging her reaction. He was thinking about the possibility of her coming along.
But before he could even properly ask, Lucien clenched both fists and said with determined passion,
“Then while the Duke is away, I’ll study really hard and surprise him when he comes back!”
Benedict suddenly felt disappointed—like she thought studying was more important than him.
“If I do that, I’ll be able to help the Duke even more, right?”
“Huh?”
The moment he heard that, the disappointment melted away completely.
And more than that, a smile naturally spread across his face.
“I’ll look forward to it, Lucien. With joy.”
While they shared that happy moment gazing at each other…
Benedict suddenly felt a sharp gaze on his back and turned around.
It seemed like there were even more servants nearby now… was it just his imagination?
Ah—maybe they had come to receive the flowers Lucien was offering. The pink roses Emma had brought directly from the greenhouse were quite rare.
Lucien and Benedict handed out the roses to the nearby servants.
With heartfelt gratitude in every bloom.
