Was there a place he wanted to go? If so, she would take him out right away.
It’s a very positive sign in terms of recovery when a person with complicated grief wants to do something first.
“It’s just that, your hair…”
“Hmm?”
Sion narrowed his eyes slightly.
He was about to say that her hair looked like that of someone ready to go out.
Laila’s green eyes sparkled with anticipation. It was too vivid to feign ignorance, and it even sparkled.
After briefly glancing into Laila’s eyes, Sion swallowed a curse, sighed, and opened his mouth.
“Yeah, I want to go out.”
“W-Where? Where do you want to go?”
It’s like the moment he mentioned a destination, she was ready to drag him by the wrist and take him there.
Of course, the mention of grabbing the wrist was a metaphor. Laila, who is visibly frightened and rigid even in close proximity, would never have the audacity to grab Sion’s wrist first.
Although she does seem less scared these days than before…
But where did he want to go? Sion thought for a moment. It was a subtly awkward question. He didn’t have any places he wanted to go.
But since he had already said he wanted to go out, he had to mention somewhere.
Then Sion’s eyes fell on Laila’s hair ornament.
It’s definitely on the over-the-top side, but it’s strangely flattering on Laila.
Looking at the bright yellow butterfly ornament that stood out among the white flower decorations, Sion said,
“A flower shop.”
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
‘Complicated grief, isn’t it already all better?’
As Laila rode in the carriage with Sion, she thought to herself with a wistful expression.
A flower shop, of all places. Sion actually suggested going to a store that sells flowers!
‘If he can appreciate the beauty of flowers, it means his emotions have returned…’
Maybe his grief wasn’t so bad after all. Either that, or he was doing so well with the therapy.
Laila couldn’t help but chuckle. With her heart pounding, she entered the flower shop with Sion.
And then…
“What do you think of these flowers?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you like this flower or that flower?”
“I’m not sure.”
“…Which one do you think is the prettiest among these?”
“They all look similar.”
Damn.
Laila barely swallowed the curse lingering on her lips.
It had been a long time since laughter faded from Laila’s face. Her once-fluttering heart had calmed down.
“Sion.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you think the flowers are pretty?”
“They’re pretty enough to be bought and sold.”
No, not that! In your eyes! Are they pretty to you? Does your heart respond to the beauty of these flowers?
‘Of course it doesn’t..’
Laila sighed in frustration; she didn’t need to hear his answer to know.
To anyone, it was clear that Sion had no interest in flowers.
Look at that stony face. If a preacher of flowers approaches him by chance, they will walk away with tears in their eyes.
‘Forget about healing from complicated grief.’
Perhaps she had dreamed too big.
Great expectations result in great disappointment. Laila, feeling drained, left the flower shop with Sion.
“Why did you want to come to the flower shop if you’re going to be like this?”
She grumbled, but there was no response from Sion.
“Why won’t you say anything… hmm.”
Oh. Belatedly, Laila remembered the bodyguard she had stationed at the shop’s entrance and closed her mouth.
‘This is uncomfortable.’
Laila thought to herself. Making the rumors about Sion’s inability to speak true had both advantages and disadvantages.
‘We can’t have a conversation every time we go out…’
Having a guard accompany them when going out was necessary.
Laila glanced at the bodyguard, pondering whether it was the reason for the lack of conversation between her and Sion.
If she’d known this was going to happen, would it have been better to spread a rumor that Sion didn’t speak, not because he couldn’t, but because he was overly shy in front of her?
‘No, no, that would be crazy.’
Laila shook her head. Spreading such a rumor would lead to the opposite of what she intended.
‘He only speaks in front of Laila? Really?’
…she thought, while vividly imagining those who would deliberately provoke and bother Zion.
‘It wouldn’t work. I’ll accept the inconvenience and keep the rumor alive for now.’
It’s a shame. The incident at the flower shop and the lack of conversation were disappointing in many ways. With a slightly deflated mood, Laila got into the carriage.
“Where to, miss?”
The coachman asked as everyone boarded.
Laila hesitated for a moment before responding. Besides the flower shop, she hadn’t thought of any other destination.
“Let’s go to a nearby restaurant for now…”
As she was considering having a meal, Laila suddenly paused.
A bolt of lightning struck her mind.
Of course. How could she forget about this?
Laila quickly changed her mind.
“No, let’s go to the library.”
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
Laila entered the library, leaving the bodyguard waiting at the entrance.
‘It’s been a while.’
While she occasionally read books, getting them was usually the servants’ task.
This was true not only for Laila but also for most nobles.
It was rare for nobles to personally visit places like libraries.
Of course, they would occasionally visit libraries as part of exploring their territory or town…
But for what reason did Laila, the daughter of Marquis Hildegarde, have to visit the Hildegarde estate’s library? Therefore, she had hardly been to the library until now.
“Sion, do you know how to read?”
Laila whispered as she led Sion to where the bookshelves were lined up.
“If you want to borrow a book, choose one. Anything.”
After saying that and taking a step back, Sion spoke to Laila.
“You.”
“Hmm?”
“What are you doing?”
“…I’m looking for a book, too.”
It was true. However, she didn’t want to find it by looking at the shelves like everyone else.
“In the library?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
Upon hearing Laila’s response, Sion quickly shifted his gaze to the bookshelves. His indifferent eyes scanned the books on the shelves.
Laila watched him for a moment before turning and walking over to the librarian.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes?”
“I’d like to see the catalog of rare books in this library.”
“Um, what kind of books?”
“All of them.”
“Please come this way.”
The librarian led Laila to a small room within the library.
In the room, there was only one modest bookshelf.
“Here is the entire catalog. The top shelf contains rare books, and the lower shelves are for new releases.”
“Okay.”
“You can only read them here, and you can’t take them out. They’re not available for loan.”
After nodding obediently, Laila watched as the librarian left the small room.
Standing in front of the bookshelf, Laila was momentarily overwhelmed by the dizzying array of books.
The catalog. It listed the titles of all the books currently stored in the library.
But this many?
‘No, this is better.’
With a determined expression, Laila reached for the book at the far left corner of the top shelf.
‘The more resources, the higher the chance of finding what I’m looking for…’
The Stone of Regression.
She will unravel the mystery around it.
With a determined gaze, Laila unfolded the book, scrutinizing the densely written titles with sharp eyes.
A moment later, Laila staggered out of the room where the catalog was kept.
“It’s not there…”
Her face, partially dazed, was filled with disappointment.
‘How could there not be a single book about the Stone of Regression?’
She scanned through the titles of the thousands of books.
But the words ‘regression stone’ were nowhere to be found.
‘Not even a book that covers something similar…’
Was it because the library was small?
Laila thought of the National Library, which was nearly ten times larger than this one.
The largest library in the kingdom, boasting tens of thousands of volumes, claimed to have every book imaginable.
However, the National Library is in the capital. How can I make an excuse to go all the way there?’
She didn’t know anyone in the capital, either. Would the villain just send her there if she asked?
As Laila pondered, she slowly walked between the bookshelves. And then it happened.
“Huh?”
