CHAPTER 13
The carriage stopped in front of Veil Castle. The surroundings were not dark at all. Moonlight was bright, and wall lamps were lit at the entrance gate and along various sections of the castle walls. The caretaker had not extinguished the lights while waiting for the lord of the castle, who had yet to return.
“It’s the same. It’s exactly as it was…”
Overcome with emotion, Eva turned her head from side to side. The castle’s exterior, with its clear boundary between light and shadow, remained unchanged. Even after all this time, Veil Castle still stood silently in its place, as if welcoming its former master. Her nose stung slightly, and Eva couldn’t continue speaking, placing a hand over her chest.
Ruth smiled gently and spoke to her.
“Where is it we’re supposed to see?”
“Oh—this way.”
Reminded of their original purpose, Eva quickly gathered herself and led him forward.
The two walked along a long colonnade, then turned at the end of the building and headed toward the rear of the castle. Passing through trees and ascending a low terraced slope, they could hear the faint sound of flowing water. It was the sound of water falling from a fountain connected to an aqueduct brought down from the mountains.
Excited and impatient, Eva quickened her steps. Finally, they passed through an arched iron gate, and the space she had long dreamed of appeared before her eyes.
“Moonlight flows through the hands of an angel.”
“This is it…”
Eva murmured absentmindedly, recalling a passing line of text.
A white marble railing encircled the fountain pool. On one side stood a stone lion, the emblem of the Macy’s family, roaring as if guarding against intruders. At the center, atop a basin of marble, an angel with outstretched wings and folded hands gazed down upon them. Water filled the angel’s hands before spilling back into the fountain, scattering into white spray. All the structures were distinct yet harmoniously blended with their surroundings.
But the true highlight of the Moonlit Garden lay elsewhere—the silver-white radiance that filled the entire space from all directions.
“So this is Baekmunseok… the stone that binds love together.”
Beside the speechless Eva, Ruth, who had been admiring the same view, spoke in a calm voice.
All the paving stones, the fountain, and the statues were made of the same pale marble. It was a rare stone found only in the Aether region, one that naturally emitted a faint white glow. Reflecting the moonlight, it scattered shimmering radiance in every direction, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.
According to legend, it was said to be light shed by angels—or lanterns of fairies. As Ruth had said, it was also believed that when a man and a woman met each other’s gaze within this stone-lit glow, they would fall in love with the other illuminated within it.
“It really is beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.”
Responding to Eva’s almost absentminded remark, Ruth smiled faintly in agreement.
“This place was created by my grandfather for my grandmother. It’s also where my father and mother first met. They say they fell in love at first sight, but I’ve never quite understood that.”
This was a place built by Eva’s grandfather, the second Count Macy, for the woman he loved. It was also where her father, the third Count Macy, had met her mother.
He had opened the garden to the public, and it was during her mother’s travels that she visited this place and fell in love at first sight. She ended her journey there and remained, eventually marrying Eva’s father. They had loved each other passionately until the day her mother died in childbirth after giving birth to Eva.
Every time she heard that story, Eva found herself both puzzled and curious. What kind of feeling was it, to see only one person in the entire world? Was it truly possible to feel that upon meeting someone for the first time?
Beyond love stories, this place had witnessed countless others. Her father’s travel tales, Cecile’s old stories, Lawrence and Matthew’s trivial anecdotes. It was a place where Eva could encounter a world beyond her own.
“That balcony over there is my room. My father had it moved there on purpose because I loved this place so much.”
“I see.”
“As a child, I used to sit on that balcony railing every day and look down here. I was scolded terribly whenever Father or my nurse caught me, but I never fell once.”
Memories of happiness unfolded before her eyes. A younger version of herself sat on that balcony, swinging her legs and singing songs—carefree, without a single worry in the world.
She wanted to see that room too, but she knew it would be too much to ask. Just being here already felt like more luxury than she deserved for an entire year.
As Eva stopped speaking, the surroundings fell quiet. When she unconsciously turned her head, she saw Ruth listening to her with a gentle smile, his gaze resting on her longer than before. Only then did she realize she had been talking excitedly all by herself, and that she had overstepped by allowing his gaze to linger on her more than appropriate.
“W-well, this place is at its most beautiful on spring nights when the roses bloom. If you ever have the chance, you should come again when they’re in season…”
“Do you mean that?”
Before she could finish, Ruth pointed toward a corner.
There, on a dried vine that the gardener had missed, a single rosebud had bloomed.
“Eh? Why is there a rose blooming now…?”
Eva stared at it in confusion. It was not the season for roses, yet one had bloomed, defying nature’s laws.
“It seems the flower has lost its way,” Ruth said calmly, still looking at it.
“I suppose so… what should we do?”
Eva’s expression darkened. A flower that blooms in a single season needs that season’s sunlight and temperature. A rose meant for May would find autumn sunlight cold, and the chilly wind unbearable. It must feel lonely, blooming alone without friends or family. Seeing it made her both happy and worried.
“What should we do?”
“Pardon?”
Not understanding Ruth’s question without a subject, Eva asked again.
“This flower—if we leave it like this, won’t it die? If you wish, I could build a protective barrier or bring it indoors. If it is sheltered from wind and rain, kept from cold air and insects, it might survive.”
Ruth had turned fully to face Eva, his expression gentle but his eyes serious.
At that moment, Eva realized he was not speaking about the flower at all. It was the same offer he had made earlier at the viscount’s residence—disguised as concern for a flower.
“Do you really need to go that far?”
Eva responded as if still speaking about the flower, wondering why he was making the offer again after she had already refused once.
“I am leaving at dawn tomorrow. After that, we will likely never meet again.”
“Ah…”
“So think of this as a gift of gratitude for a passing connection.”
A cold breeze seemed to pass through her. It was natural to feel sadness at parting after such a brief yet intense encounter. But beneath it was a different kind of bitterness.
To understand that feeling, Eva needed to confirm something.
“Lord Ruth… may I ask you something before that?”
“Please do.”
He smiled faintly, listening attentively.
“Who gave you the name Ruth?”
“….”
His expression seemed to stiffen slightly. It was only a subtle change—narrowed eyes and a slight tilt of his chin as he looked down at her.
Perhaps he was considering whether she was simply curious, or whether she had guessed his identity.
The silence felt heavy. Having never interrogated someone like this before, Eva wondered if she had made a mistake. As if easing her concern, Ruth slowly lifted the corners of his lips.
“It was given to me by someone I respected when I was young. He was the father of my fiancée. It means to become light and illuminate the world.”
“….”
The moment he finished speaking, Eva recalled Cecile’s words.
“Ruth means ‘light.’ It was a nickname given by His Highness the Crown Prince’s father, the Count of Macy, when he was young.”
It was him. Crown Prince Edward—her former fiancé.
A strong certainty struck Eva’s mind. Even without him revealing his name or identity, the vague doubt in her heart was now completely gone.
Everything he had said and done clicked together like interlocking gears. His kindness, his interest in her, his offer to help—it was all sympathy and obligation toward a former fiancée. A woman who had once been nearly his bride and future crown princess, now living in obscurity.
A final act of goodwill toward a fallen connection—so that he, too, could leave with a lighter heart.
“Lord Ruth.”
Eva looked at him with a faint smile.
There was no hesitation this time either. He had never truly been part of her life, either before or now. She did not wish to owe him anything, nor to become the subject of unnecessary rumors. After this moment, it would be best for them to part as if they had never met.
“I have lost my former life, but it is not entirely painful.”
He would understand what she meant.
“….”
“I have learned the value of time, the happiness found in small things, understanding of others, and gratitude for everyday life.”
Before, she had not understood the many forms life could take. While she once enjoyed fine meals at Veil Castle, she had not known that for someone else, a single piece of hard bread could be a feast. That someone could work all day and still not afford a pair of silk stockings she once wore without thought. Only after hardship did she understand the value of labor.
Had she remained in Veil Castle, she would never have known this. Charity without understanding its essence would have been nothing more than pretense. There are things one only gains by losing others.
“So please, leave this flower as it is.”
“….”
“There must be a reason it bloomed in this season. Please wait and watch as it finds its own path. If it withers, then that is its fate.”
If there was a reason the flower had come into this season, then there was a reason she stood here too. If everything in the world had meaning, neither flower nor human would fall so easily.
He was only a passing wind—unable to stay, destined to leave. She did not wish to ask sympathy from a wind that would soon disappear.
