Episode 34
Even on the barren, black soil of the western lands, nobles who craved luxury still found a way to enjoy it.
Though a law prohibited growing flowers in the West—because food shortages were always a threat—many nobles still wanted their flower gardens. So instead, they bought land just outside the western region where the law didn’t apply.
These plots, bought near the West, were technically neutral zones, making it hard to enforce any law there.
After much time and effort, flower farms were established on a few of these lands, but only three were made. People had stopped selling land near the West altogether.
“If you’ve got fertile land, grow crops, not flowers,” thought Akron, clearly disapproving of the nobles’ desire for extravagance.
He planned to someday take those lands back and use them for food production. What he didn’t expect… was to give one of them to his wife.
“As of today, the ownership has been transferred to you.”
Akron’s voice was calm but firm.
Just last night, he’d bought the flower farm under the Veiharz name. Today, the contract was finalized—now officially under Yuriel’s name.
The previous noble owner had fiercely refused to sell the land, insisting he’d never give it up. But when Akron brought up the man’s hidden crimes, he gave in, exchanging the land for his life in tears.
Akron knew most of the Western nobles’ secrets. He simply saved them for the right time.
And since he paid the noble a fair price for the land, it wasn’t entirely a cruel deal.
“Pick the flowers you want,” Akron said gently. “The workers will move them into your garden.”
Yuriel had no idea what had happened to obtain the farm. She was just amazed.
“It’s beautiful…” she whispered.
Though it was a flower farm, and flowers were expected, the wide, endless rows still took her breath away.
“Yuriel, do you remember when I gave you the family key?”
“Of course.” She nodded instantly. It was far too important to forget.
“In the central region, receiving the key means you’re accepted as the lady of the house. But here in the West, it means more than that. It gives you access to the family’s entire estate, including finances and internal affairs.”
Essentially, there would be no yearly budget limit. Yuriel now had full control.
“I see… that’s interesting.”
Her response was simple and genuine.
She wasn’t interested in using the money recklessly. She checked the accounts only because it was her duty as the Grand Duchess.
‘Just as I thought,’ Akron murmured siRently.
Now that he understood her mindset better, he could shape the environment around her accordingly.
While he was already planning her next steps, Yuriel simply stood there, smiling at the sea of flowers.
For the next three or four days, the Veiharz mansion’s garden was buzzing with workers.
It had once been a plain lawn, neat, but dull. Now, professionals were giving it life.
Flowers from the farm were carefully transported and replanted into different sections of the garden. Simply scattering them would’ve looked messy.
So Yuriel worked with Thomas, the gardener, to thoughtfully divide and arrange the flowers by type and color.
The nearly completed garden now looked elegant and vibrant—never too flashy, just perfectly balanced.
That afternoon, Yuriel, her maids, and Akron stepped outside to see the progress.
“Thomas, you’ve done an incredible job.”
“Not at all, my lady. This was all thanks to you.”
Thomas scratched the back of his head and bowed modestly, but in his heart, he was truly grateful.
It was the first time he’d filled a garden with so many types of flowers.
Even the richest nobles in the West could only afford small flower patches—the cost of a single blossom was like gold.
But this masterpiece wasn’t just his. Yuriel had asked for his advice and used it skillfully to design a grand, colorful garden.
She had a natural eye for combining colors.
At the entrance to the garden path, soft white lily-of-the-valley flowers swayed gently in the breeze.
‘This garden feels like her,’ thought Thomas to himself.
Yuriel slowly walked through the blooming paths.
She admired the vibrant garden but couldn’t help wondering:
‘Just how much did all this cost?’
Then she remembered—Akron had said the flower farm now belonged to the family. That made her feel better.
‘If it’s family-owned, it should be okay… right?’
She hadn’t even known the Veiharz family owned a flower farm, especially one outside the western lands.
But then again, there were hardly any places in the empire that the Veiharz family didn’t influence.
Still unaware of how the land was obtained, Yuriel was just glad they had created a beautiful garden without overspending.
Now she finally understood why Aubrey had looked surprised when she mentioned planting flowers earlier.
“It’s beautiful,” Akron said suddenly.
They stood together on the garden path.
He gently brushed a stray strand of her hair behind her ear.
“…Yes. It is,” Yuriel replied, eyes lowered.
The sweet floral scent filled her lungs, and everything felt so warm and peaceful.
But… happiness, she knew, could be unsettling too. When joy came so suddenly, it always brought a little fear with it.
“The garden’s like heaven!”
“We could throw a tea party here—it’d be perfect!”
“A graceful ladies’ tea party!”
Yuriel’s maids—Roinah and Ren—were squealing with delight.
Even calm Asha tried to calm them down, but without much success.
Ren especially was overwhelmed.
“I’ve never seen so many flowers before!” she exclaimed, shaking with excitement.
Even Asha’s eyes sparkled. For people from the West, this was an extraordinary sight.
“A flower garden tea party would be like a dream!” Ren cried, hands clasped like in prayer.
Yuriel simply nodded as she listened to their excited chatter.
She was glad the garden had come together so quickly… but the idea of inviting nobles soon made her feel a little uneasy.
She knew she had to meet the western nobles someday. But she’d never hosted a social gathering before. It made her nervous.
“Yuriel.”
While she was deep in thought, Akron placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Are you nervous about meeting other nobles?”
“Ah…”
Yuriel gave an awkward smile. His guess was spot-on.
“A little, yes. It’s hard to imagine handling so many people at once.”
She’d been fine at the imperial party—because Akron had been there. But at a ladies-only gathering, she would be the highest-ranking woman… meaning all eyes would be on her.
“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to meet anyone,” Akron said gently.
“No, I do want to meet them.”
Yuriel shook her head. It wasn’t just duty—she genuinely wanted to meet the people of the West.
Akron blinked slowly, surprised by her answer. He rubbed his chin and then made a suggestion.
“Then, how about starting with just one person?”
“Just one?”
Yuriel tilted her head curiously.
Without another word, Akron led her away, straight to Aubrey’s office.
“What is it now?!”
Aubrey jumped up in shock when Akron barged in without knocking.
“It’s me.”
“…What?”
Aubrey blinked, confused as he locked eyes with his lord.
Akron calmly walked over and rummaged through a drawer under the desk.
Yuriel glanced at Aubrey apologetically, but her attention quickly shifted to what Akron was digging out.
“These are all letters addressed to you.”
He placed a large bundle of thick, elegant envelopes on the desk.
Nobles from across the land had sent them to Yuriel.
One after another, beautiful letters came out of the drawer until the desk was overflowing.
