~Chapter 14~
Floria chose white roses for Rose.
She thought carefully about the gift—white roses would match Rose’s silver hair and eyes perfectly.
When the florist handed her the bouquet, Floria knelt down to Rose’s eye level.
“Here, Rose. This is your final gift today.”
The bouquet had a hundred white roses. It was so big, Rose could barely hold it.
In fact, the roses were so huge and full, they completely hid her face.
“Wow…”
Rose couldn’t close her mouth in amazement. Even though the flowers covered most of her face, her eyes—wide and sparkling like a bunny’s—peeked out from behind the petals.
“Thank you so much, sister…”
Her voice trembled slightly. She sounded like she was about to cry.
Her eyes turned red, and tears began to well up.
The reason her eyes sparkled was likely because they were filled with tears.
Though Floria had given her several gifts today, Rose had held back tears each time.
But this time, she couldn’t help it.
Floria gently patted Rose’s head. Her gaze became soft and emotional.
‘She probably never had anyone to do this for her.’
Since this was Rose’s first birthday being celebrated like this, Floria wanted to make it special.
And honestly…
This wasn’t just about Rose anymore.
Floria was giving her what she herself had never received as a child.
Watching Rose’s happiness gave her a strange kind of comfort.
‘I’ll be here for you next year too.’
And the year after that.
At least until you’ve fully become the Saintess.
From behind, the prince quietly watched them both.
Caspal leaned in with a teasing smirk and whispered,
“Do you want flowers too, Your Highness?”
“Do I look like a girl to you?”
The prince, who was only as tall as Caspal’s waist, scoffed.
Still, his eyes drifted to a bouquet nearby—white and yellow cosmos flowers.
Without much thought, he grabbed the bouquet and held it out toward Rose, looking away like it meant nothing.
“Here. A gift.”
He didn’t even look at her. He just stretched out his hand casually.
He didn’t notice that his cheeks had turned completely red.
“Wow, thank you!”
Rose beamed, wiping away her tears.
But she was already holding the massive rose bouquet with both arms.
Trying to take the prince’s bouquet too was impossible—her little arms couldn’t manage.
In the end, both Caspal and Floria agreed to carry the flowers themselves on the way back to the temple.
Floria, now holding the white roses again, glanced at the two kids.
Anyone could see how red the prince’s face had become.
‘It really seems like they like each other already…’
Rose just looked extremely happy, but Floria wasn’t so sure.
As for the prince, it was obvious. He wouldn’t even look her in the eyes anymore.
‘Just like in the original story… he fell in love at first sight and started sending gifts.’
So this habit had started young.
‘Well, if it goes like this, I definitely won’t be killed by the prince.’
What a relief.
Floria’s eyes grew warm as she watched the two children.
She felt a strange happiness… mixed with a little sadness, like a mom marrying off her daughter.
She quickly shook herself out of it.
After dinner, Floria suddenly clenched her fists tightly in frustration.
‘This is ridiculous.’
The restaurant Caspal took them to was way better than she expected.
There had been no reservation—it was a sudden visit to a place that just came to his mind.
Yet, the food was the best she’d had since arriving in this world: perfectly cooked steak, delicious sides, and a dessert platter so filling that it could’ve been a full meal on its own.
And then Caspal even offered to send them back to the temple in a carriage.
Floria had ended up stepping into that carriage like she was under a spell.
‘Well… It’s a restaurant that the prince and the duke go to. No wonder it was so fancy.’
She felt a little ashamed remembering how quickly she devoured the food—so fast she barely got to talk to Rose. And her pride stung a little that she jumped into the carriage so easily.
But she told herself it was fine. She had no other choice.
What’s done is done.
Trying to act normal, Floria gently ran her fingers through Rose’s hair.
It had gotten a little messy, with some curls coming back after a long day.
“Rose, the food was good, right?”
“Mmhmm.”
Rose slowly nodded, rubbing her eyes. She looked sleepy now, tightly hugging her stuffed deer.
‘Kids should go to bed early…’
The day had turned out longer than planned.
The sun had long set, and night had fully fallen.
Floria realized just how much time she had spent with these people today.
She quietly reflected on the day.
‘I didn’t exactly like bumping into them earlier… but in the end, I received a lot of help.’
The prince, while walking to dinner, had bought everything Rose even glanced at.
This was after Floria had already showered Rose with gifts.
The carriage’s storage area was now overflowing with presents.
‘None of this would’ve happened if the duke hadn’t talked to me in the first place…’
Honestly, most of the good things today happened because of Caspal and the prince. That was simply the truth.
Thinking that, Floria smiled and spoke softly.
“Thank you so much, Duke.”
Yes. No matter what had happened between them before, today, from beginning to end, she had so many things to thank him for.
“…”
Caspal was stunned by her genuine smile.
Until now, she had always avoided him as if she never wanted to meet again.
He always acted playful and shameless on the outside, but now… he honestly didn’t know what kind of face to make.
In the end, he covered his face with his hand so she couldn’t see his reaction.
“Me too, Duke!”
Thankfully, sleepy Rose added cheerfully, even while nodding off.
Then suddenly, the prince—who had been pretending to look out the window while secretly watching them—jumped to his feet.
“What about me?”
He hadn’t even known them that long, but his voice was full of jealousy.
Even though he couldn’t understand his own feelings yet, he clenched his fists and glared at Caspal with frustration.
“Thank you, Prince Jeoha!”
Rose, already half-asleep, answered with a dazed smile.
As soon as she replied, the prince quickly sat back down.
“…You can call me Aster.”
He turned his head away shyly, unable to look Rose in the eyes.
Of course, Rose was already dreaming and didn’t hear a word of it.
‘Oh, goodness…’
Floria, who had been quietly watching from the back, let out a half-laugh.
‘Is telling people to call them by name some kind of noble trend?’
Even if he turned away, his ears were red—it was obvious.
She originally planned to play matchmaker between the two, but at this rate, she didn’t even need to try.
As long as they could meet once in a while, they’d naturally grow closer.
And after giving Caspal a heartfelt thank-you, Floria thought her role for the day was complete… until—
“So, when are you giving me the 20,000 gold?”
She blinked.
What did he just say?
…20,000 gold??
Did she hear that right?
Caspal, who had covered his face, now lowered his hand.
He wore his usual smile, but his eyes were serious.
“You said you’d buy me for 20,000 gold, remember?”
“…What?”
Floria stared at him, stunned.
Why—why was he being weird again?
He had been acting normal all day. She thought maybe—just maybe—he was actually a decent person.
And then he went and ruined it.
It was like he had personally picked up a hammer to destroy all the goodwill he’d built up.
Floria leaned back in her seat with a sigh, her face completely blank.
Then, something clicked in her memory.
‘Wait… is he talking about that joke I made? About buying him for 20,000 gold??’
At that moment—
Caspal reached out and slipped the yellow ring off her finger.
<“Sign this contract.”>
He whispered right into her ear.
It all happened so fast, she couldn’t even react.
