Falling To Paradise

The two of them had a small argument about where to place Anje in the garden.

 

“You want me to sit on the dirt floor, now?”

 

“There’s grass, isn’t there? It’s not technically the dirt floor.”

 

“There’s dirt between the grass. How am I supposed to sit here?”

 

In the end, the two of them reached a compromise by placing the empty flour sack that Aiden had brought on the ground and sitting on it.

 

“Behave yourself, princess.”

 

“With this ankle, I can’t do anything but behave.”

 

Anje muttered and picked up the lukewarm towel from the bucket and put it back on her ankle to cool it down. After making sure that she had wrung it out well, Aiden took off for the garden.

 

April had already begun, which meant that there was more work to be done.

 

He planned to weed the field in the morning and plant kale, chives, and other small vegetables in the afternoon.

 

Anje, left alone, stared blankly at the sky. The bright sun was slowly rising in the distance, beyond the sky-blue canvas dotted with white cotton balls.

 

Anje pulled her bonnet down low to keep the sun off her face as much as possible. Her field of vision narrowed, and she could no longer see the blue sky.

 

‘This is boring.’

 

The only thing to watch was Aiden working, and he was just walking around the field, crouching down and pulling things out.

 

‘Why do you bother pulling out what you worked so hard to plant?’

 

Anje, who was completely ignorant of farming, scratched her cheek.

 

Should I ask him when he comes back?

 

She wasn’t particularly interested in crops, but after watching him work for a while, she was curious.

 

“Haam.”

 

Anje yawned widely and leaned her back against the tree behind her. She was still sleepy from going to bed late last night.

 

And the breeze. The gentle breeze blowing through the trees brushed against her hair and sang her a lullaby, making her even more tired.

 

‘I wouldn’t mind a breeze like this.’

 

She slowly closed her eyes. Every time the wind blew, she could hear the sound of the branches of the tree she was looking forward to swaying and the sound of the grass rustling.

 

“……I’ll just take a nap.”

 

After much deliberation, she finally succumbed to sleep and lay down on her back on the sack.

 

‘Only savages would lie on the ground, young lady.’

 

If her second governess had seen this, she would have immediately dragged her inside and found a whip.

 

But now, there was no one to demand that she behave like a princess of Glaster. There were only two people here, herself and Aiden Fitzroy.

 

“Sigh.”

 

She had been worried that the ground would be hard, but the grass, with its young blades growing, was surprisingly comfortable.

 

Her concern that the sun would shine on her face was also resolved on its own, as the shadow of the tree slowly moved over her head while she was hesitating.

 

Anje, who had been staring blankly at the front, noticed an interesting fact.

 

‘It was all brown when I first got here.’

 

Now, a pinkish mist was enveloping every branch. Wondering if it was only this tree, she stood up and looked around, and it was the same everywhere else.

 

‘When did the scenery change like this?’

 

While Anje was hiding, closing the curtains and windows tightly, the trees and forests surrounding the house had all welcomed spring and were showing off their new shoots.

 

And it wasn’t just the new shoots that were blooming. The poplar trees were covered in long, fluffy red flowers, and the wild plums were covered in pretty white flowers.

 

The impatient wildflowers on the ground were also showing off their new yellow, purple, and pink clothes. Among them, Anje was interested in one flower.

 

“What kind of flower is that?”

 

From a young age, Anje had been frequently exposed to flowers. Her father kept flowers in the house at all times to please the government officials, and the nobles she was close to sent her baskets full of precious roses, peonies, and foreign flowers.

 

However, she was a stranger to wildflowers. Among the flowers blooming here and there around the trees, the only ones Anje knew were dandelions and violets.

 

She carefully reached out and picked a few of the dark purple flowers that were blooming in a clump.

 

‘This is pretty.’

 

The flower with five petals bent to one side had a white pattern in the shape of a star in the center, making it look like a delicate brooch.

 

Anje took off her bonnet and tucked the flower between the ribbons, smiling with satisfaction.

 

“Hmm, is it okay?”

 

The purple flower decoration on the white bonnet went well with her expectations.

 

“I think it would be prettier if I put more flowers on it, though.”

 

Her physical condition did not allow her to pick more flowers. She regretted the current situation and put the bonnet back on her head.

 

‘I should tell him to let me go pick flowers when I get better.’

 

Wouldn’t the atmosphere be much brighter if even simple flowers were placed in the bland room? Anje thought and slowly lay back down on the floor.

 

Not long after, just as Anje was about to fall asleep again, something else caught her interest, something other than trees or flowers.

 

‘What is this?’

 

She turned her body abruptly to confirm what had brushed past her eyes.

 

Rumble, rumble―

 

A black bug rolling a brown ball much larger than its own body. The bug was strangely moving with its head facing the ground and its hind legs pushing the ball, as if it were doing a handstand.

 

The bug, moving slowly but steadily in one direction, seemed to be trying to take the ball home.

 

‘That’s strange.’

 

She usually hated bugs, but this one was much more likable than the rats and flies she saw in the capital.

 

She rested her chin on her hands and watched the bug’s journey. The moment a tiny creature exerted all its strength to do something, it somehow made even an unrelated person concentrate.

 

The peaceful moment between Anje and the bug was broken in an instant.

 

‘A friend has appeared?’

 

When a similar but slightly larger bug appeared than the one that was originally rolling the ball, Anje initially thought it had appeared to help its friend.

 

However, surprisingly, the newly appeared bug pushed away the original owner of the ball and stole it for itself.

 

“No!”

 

Anje involuntarily cried out.

 

Fortunately, the original owner of the ball did not give up easily and took the ball back.

 

The thief bug stole it again, and the original owner took it back again.

 

Before long, the two bugs were engaged in a fierce battle over the ball. Pushing and pulling, knocking down and flipping over.

 

“Good job, don’t give up.”

 

Anje knew it was useless to cheer, but she clenched her fists and whispered.

 

The mean Lady who stole the necklace she had previously reserved came to mind, and she empathized with the original owner bug.

 

Aimee Kendall…… was it? Anje had used the prestige of the Glassmaker to exact appropriate revenge, but this Lady had continued to harass her whenever she showed weakness.

 

She was also a beauty, but it was rumored that she was only second to Anje, and she must have been jealous that she had taken away the position of the Crown Prince’s fiancée that she had been secretly coveting.

 

“That’s right, push it away like that. You bad thief, if you want the ball, you have to make it yourself.”

 

“……What are you looking at so intently?”

 

She startled and raised her head at Aiden’s voice. She had been so absorbed in watching the battle between the bugs that she had not noticed his approach.

 

“It’s nothing.”

 

She pulled the brim of her bonnet down low, as if she was about to dig into the bonnet. Somehow, she seemed to show this man her embarrassing side often.0

 

Aiden cleared his throat and pointed out what she had been doing since a while ago.

 

“It’s nothing, but you’ve been watching the dung beetles fight intently.”

 

It was such a heated expression that he stopped himself from calling her to have dinner.

 

“I didn’t watch it intently……. What beetle?”

 

“Dung beetle.”

 

“…….”

 

Her eyes, looking at him, shook helplessly. Could the identity of that sphere, which she thought was a clay bead, be……?

 

He nodded quietly.

 

Yes, this. From the cow…”

 

How can he use a noble expression that is appropriate for noble ladies to hear? While he was contemplating, Anje already covered her ears.

 

“Oh no, I can’t hear it!”

 

“There are horses in this house, so maybe the horse’s―.”

 

“Don’t talk dirty in front of a lady.”

 

Anje pinched her nose and wrinkled her nose. She couldn’t smell anything, but it seemed like a coppery scent was coming from somewhere.

 

Anyway, dirty or not, she was still curious about the bugs.

 

“So what do they do with ‘that’?”

 

“They take it home and eat it.”

 

“Ugh.”

 

She shuddered silently. Bugs really eat everything. From trash to waste.

 

“But they don’t just cringe. They are grateful creatures because they clean up what people haven’t had time to clean up.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

“At least they are more helpful to this house and field than the princess.”

 

“You said I’m unlucky, but there’s someone worse here.”

 

She looked back at the bugs. The two dung beetles were still fighting desperately to win the ball.

 

Her lips trembled for a while before a sudden, faint laugh escaped.

 

“So those two are fighting over the beast’s ‘that’?”

 

Seeing Aiden nod politely, she tilted her head back and giggled, showing her neck and collarbone.

 

She knew very well that it was an unbecoming act for a lady, but she couldn’t help it.

 

The reason they are fighting for their lives is because of a handful of poop.

 

He, who had never seen Anje laugh like this, or laugh at all, had a surprised expression for a moment.

 

However, thanks to the contagious laughter, a smile soon spread across his lips.

 

The dew-like smile at dawn unfortunately disappeared quickly as Anje wiped away the tears that had gathered in her eyes from laughing so hard.

 

“Oh, it’s been a long time since I laughed like this. I thought it was a ball that contained gold and silver.”

 

“Humans fight over things they can’t even eat, so in a way, bugs are much better.”

 

As if to cover up his muttered words, he continued in a clearer voice.

 

“It’s time for dinner. The bugs are going to eat, so let’s go too.”

 

“What’s on the menu?”

 

Anje put her arm around his neck as he bent over. She had hugged him a few times, and now she was more comfortable with the position.

 

“How about a dish of ground meat shaped like a ball?”

 

“Ugh……. You’re enjoying tormenting me, aren’t you?”

 

The smell of earth and grass from Aiden’s body wafted into Anje’s nose. It was a new scent to her, who was used to artificial scents of perfume.

 

‘I’ll have to ask the perfumer to make me a similar perfume when I get back to the capital.’

 

Usually, she would ask for a perfume mixed with flower or herb scents, but wouldn’t this scent be more suitable to reflect the season of spring as it is?