Chapter – 32….
You could read his thoughts by looking into his eyes, but no matter how hard you stared, you could never peek into his memories.
Because of that, the misty garden he had spoken of long ago—the moment he recalled—could never be perfectly restored.
But the garden in his memory probably held meaning less as a “place” than as a “memory” shared with his family.
“Tricky.”
Despite her words, a spark of electricity seemed to flash in Asilly’s eyes.
The misty garden.
The Empress’s garden.
No.
Young Ludwig’s garden.
For the first time, Asilly wanted to care more than anyone about this garden that no one else seemed to care about.
For Ludwig.
If only she could see him, even for a brief moment, looking at a neat garden and recalling, with a furrowed brow, the way he used to quietly mutter those words with a smile.
“Nothing is too difficult or bothersome.”
Asilly carefully surveyed the jungle rather than a garden.
“I’ve never done gardening in my life.”
Still, she had seen enough in various ways to feel relieved.
She didn’t have to personally cut back every overgrown root or weed, but at least in spirit, she rolled up her sleeves.
“Can this be done in a day?”
To restore this vast jungle to its original state in just one day? Ridiculous. And to think it only takes two days to make a garden beautiful in the first place—how could that make sense?
“Still… it makes sense.”
She recalled a scene from a movie she had seen long ago and nodded.
With enough manpower and resources, even this jungle could be restored to the beautiful misty garden of the past—not in a day, but in a matter of hours.
And Asilly now had that manpower and those resources at her disposal.
“I’ll make it worth all the digging and effort, like a mole.”
The previous night.
After hearing Ludwig’s story, Asilly lay in bed, tossing and turning with wide-open eyes before finally getting up.
She called Sebastian over and asked:
“Are… there any pictures from his childhood?”
She didn’t specify whose childhood she meant, but Sebastian nodded calmly.
“Of course.”
“I want to see them.”
“This way, please.”
So that late night, Asilly found herself alone in the grand hall deep within the Duke’s residence, lined with the family’s history.
Though Sebastian offered to guide her, she shook her head.
If she asked him directly about a painting of the misty garden, Ludwig would hear about it automatically.
He would immediately understand what she was planning.
It didn’t matter if he knew, but somehow she wanted to keep it from him.
It might not qualify as a “surprise gift,” but still…
Asilly began wandering the vast hall, examining paintings that depicted gardens.
She smoothed her darkened eyes, reflecting for a moment.
“I couldn’t find everything in the end…”
Just as he had said, the Duke and Duchess of the previous generation enjoyed the misty garden often, so there were quite a few paintings she could find.
But these only showed partial views, not the garden as a whole.
And most of the paintings focused on people, leaving the backgrounds blurred.
Still, she wasn’t about to give up.
She took a deep breath and stepped into the jungle.
“All right. Let’s do this.”
Meanwhile, while Asilly struggled to restore the garden, Ludwig quietly watched the Crown Prince.
Because the prince was a head shorter than him, Ludwig looked down upon him, intensifying his imposing presence—but the prince just kept smiling.
“Whenever you looked at me so intensely, I’d always get scolded. Is it the same today?”
“Step back,” Ludwig said.
His voice was cold, yet calm as usual, and the Crown Prince smiled brightly, as if sunlight itself.
“This time, I couldn’t help it.”
“You always say you couldn’t help it.”
This kind of back-and-forth between the Duke and the Crown Prince had happened before.
When Ludwig blocked him, the prince felt compelled to act, no matter what.
Knowing this, Ludwig sometimes even encouraged the prince to push forward.
‘The prince is always overly interested in the Duke.’
Because the Emperor had instructed him to act that way.
The Crown Prince, unaware of the Emperor and Ludwig’s intentions, believed everything he did was entirely of his own will.
But this time was different.
If it involved Asilly, he would not allow either the Emperor or the Crown Prince to act on their own.
Ludwig’s gaze sank deeper, the air around him heavy and oppressive, pinning the Crown Prince’s shoulders.
The prince instinctively swallowed dryly, clenching his fists.
He even leaned forward, stubbornly lifting his chin.
Facing Ludwig’s unrelenting, penetrating gaze, the prince felt an unbearable pressure.
Time seemed to stretch endlessly.
Finally, the prince spoke.
“It’s because Lady Volsheik was in charge of my mother’s garden.”
The Empress’s garden, from the same era as the Duke and Duchess of the previous generation.
He knew the prince had cherished the Empress in his childhood, and he could understand the feeling.
But understanding did not mean tolerating.
Asilly had made it clear she didn’t want the Crown Prince near her.
Then he would not be allowed anywhere near her.
He knew the prince would always do the opposite if left unchecked.
And Ludwig wanted to make this absolutely certain.
“Do not get close to Asilly.”
“You’re being ridiculously jealous.”
The Crown Prince’s tone wasn’t mocking, but the words clearly crossed the line.
Ludwig didn’t yell or sneer.
In a calm, unyielding voice, without moving a single eyebrow, he said:
“Do not get close.”
He stepped forward, revealing a sharp, dangerous edge he had never shown, whispering:
“This is the final warning.”
Time flows equally for everyone.
While Asilly restored the garden rather than simply tending it, other young ladies poured all their effort into beautifying their gardens.
They, too, had unlimited manpower and resources and could offer no excuse of lacking time.
And that morning, just a few hours before evaluation, they were met by an utterly unexpected visitor.
“Y-Your Highness, the Crown Prince!”
Servants tending the garden dropped to their knees, and the young ladies widened their eyes in disbelief, kneeling as well.
The Crown Prince waved at them.
“Don’t worry about me. Continue your work.”
Of course, no one could return to work immediately; they bowed repeatedly in acknowledgment.
When the news reached the young ladies in charge of the gardens, one of them gasped.
“What?”
“The Crown Prince has come.”
“Good heavens! His Highness?”
“Yes. He’s here to evaluate us.”
The evaluations were originally supposed to be conducted by the Duke and the Emperor, but this was only a momentary surprise.
One young lady, recently broken off from a Count’s son for the Duke’s selection, hurriedly adjusted her attire.
“I wish we had more time.”
But time didn’t matter now.
After all, the Crown Prince himself had come.
It was an extraordinary opportunity; one could hardly glimpse him even at national festivals or harvest celebrations.
For young ladies of this age, rumors about the Crown Prince’s future consort should have started circulating at least a year or two ago.
But they had never even seen him up close, so such rumors hadn’t reached them.
And he was… somewhat eccentric.
The recently broken-off young lady smoothed her hair behind her shoulders, pausing.
“I think he dislikes things like this.”
After all, the Crown Prince hadn’t spoken about women before.
“A woman who makes the heart race…”
While she pondered, the Crown Prince had already come within arm’s reach.
Though he showed little real interest in the gardens or flowers, he examined them perfunctorily, because this task was part of the selection of the Duchess.
In front of him, showing only the barest hint of effort, the young lady who had been broken off from her engagement appeared.
“Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
