Falling To Paradise

Knock, knock

 

“Princess?”

 

Knock, knock, knock

 

“Are you in there?”

 

Aiden knocked on the door several times, calling out desperately for Anje. She had gone inside to take a bath after dinner, and it had been two hours since then.

 

‘Surely she didn’t fall asleep while washing?’

 

No matter how warm the weather had gotten, falling asleep in the bathtub could be dangerous due to hypothermia.

 

He hurriedly searched for tweezers and forced open the locked bathroom door. Warm, moist air flowed out of the bathroom.

 

‘Wait, she could be naked since she’s in the middle of bathing.’

 

Realizing this belatedly, he didn’t know what to do and fidgeted before closing his eyes tightly and going inside.

 

It was more important to check Anje’s safety than to face an embarrassing situation right now.

 

“Princess, can you hear me?”

 

Even in the voluntary darkness, he groped his way to the bathtub and was relieved to feel the warmth of a person on his fingertips.

 

Judging by the smooth fabric that also touched his fingers, she was still dressed. He opened his eyes in relief.

 

“……Oh, this.”

 

The person he had been calling out to was sitting slumped against the wall next to the bathtub, which was filled to the brim with water.

 

Her discarded clothes were piled up like a sandcastle on the floor, and judging by the fact that she was only wearing a flimsy chemise, it seemed that she had taken off her clothes and was about to get into the bathtub when she fell asleep.

 

“I envy you for being able to fall asleep soundly anywhere like this.”

 

He had been suffering from mild insomnia since she had taken on more work.

 

He took a large towel out of the closet and covered her peacefully sleeping body. This was because he remembered that she had been embarrassed to be seen in her chemise.

 

‘The fabric seems thin.’

 

He tried his best not to look at her, but he couldn’t help but feel her body temperature through the fabric as he carried her to the bedroom.

 

In the army, there were those who carried around a picture of a woman in white, fluttering pajamas, wondering why, but now he thought he understood.

 

He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

 

‘Come to think of it, isn’t the princess overdoing it?’

 

She was falling asleep anywhere and everywhere. He was happy that she was working hard, but he didn’t want to exploit her.

 

He placed Anje on the bed and examined her closely. There were no dark circles under her eyes, and her body was not swollen with fatigue.

 

On the contrary, thanks to the fact that she was moving her body moderately and eating well, her complexion, which had been as pale as wax, had changed to the color of a ripe peach.

 

‘But she’s still too skinny.’

 

He frowned at her wrists and ankles, which seemed like they could be easily grasped in one hand.

 

Although she was slowly gaining weight here and there, his eyes made her look like nothing but bones.

 

He scratched the back of his neck with a worried sigh.

 

‘I’m deliberately adding a meat dish to her daily meal.’

 

Is that not enough? Maybe I should make her drink a glass of fresh milk with every breakfast starting tomorrow.

 

He also thought about reducing her workload a bit, but once she got hooked on farm work, she now would make a tiger-like expression when he told her to ‘just go and rest.’

 

‘No. If I stay still, you’ll start calling me a Chihuahua or a Yorkie again.’

 

She was stubborn even when she said she wouldn’t work, but she became even more stubborn after she started working.

 

He sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at Anje.

 

His fingers twitched, wanting to poke her tightly pursed lips or her cheeks that were starting to fill out.

 

He resisted the urge and wrapped a blanket around her body.

 

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not doing this because I like you.”

 

He was struggling to find an answer as to why he was concerned about her well-being and why his gaze kept going to her from time to time.

 

And the conclusion he came to was simple. Responsibility.

 

He felt a sense of obligation to take good care of her, who was living under the same roof as him, because of the lingering guilt he felt towards his fallen comrades.

 

He rationalized his feelings once again and got up from his seat.

 

“……Don’t go.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Don’t go…… away.”

 

For a moment he wondered if she was talking to herself, but judging by her closed eyes, it seemed like she was sleep-talking.

 

Her eyelashes were wet with tears, as if she was crying from a sad dream.

 

‘Who is she searching for so desperately?’

 

He stroked her hair, which was spread out like a garment on the pillow, as if to soothe her, and then startled by his own actions, he quickly pulled his hand away.

 

Getting close to someone psychologically was still difficult for him, who still had a festering wound in his heart. Especially with the princess.

 

The one she was searching for and desperately longing for in her dreams must be someone precious to her.

 

‘Perhaps…… she’s longing for her former fiancé.’

 

Prince Philip Cardiner, the crown prince who was exiled to a remote island.

 

His chest felt heavy as if something was weighing on it.

 

He didn’t know exactly what their relationship was like, but he had heard that they had been engaged for about a year.

 

‘Did the princess love him?’

 

Well, Philip had only been cruel to him, a powerless and worthless illegitimate child, but he must have been kind to the helpful nobles, especially the Glasster Duke family.

 

Especially since the princess was good-looking…….

 

‘What am I thinking?’

 

He slapped his own cheeks hard as if to clear his head.

 

He left a red mark because he misjudged the force, but at least he was somewhat successful in chasing away his delusional thoughts.

 

He carefully pulled the blanket up to her neck and left the room.

 

He was going to the barn to milk the milk that she would drink tomorrow in advance.

 

* * *

 

The next day, Anje looked at the cup on the table with a puzzled expression. It was almost overflowing with a white liquid.

 

“What is this milk?”

 

“The cow has been producing a lot of milk lately. It spoils easily, so it’s better to drink it up quickly.”

 

“Aren’t you going to drink it?”

 

“I don’t really like milk.”

 

The truth was that there wasn’t enough for both of them to drink every day, but he made up an excuse anyway.

 

Anje drank the milk cold and fresh as He had soaked it in the well overnight.

 

She smiled brightly, her lips stained white.

 

“I thought you were taking care of me again.”

 

“Nonsense.”

 

At the sound of his laughter, Anje hid her embarrassed face and looked for a napkin.

 

‘You don’t have to laugh like that. I was just joking.’

 

She had had a terrible nightmare last night. She dreamed of being abandoned alone in a dark forest where she couldn’t see the stars or the moon.

 

Her father, her friends, and even the maids had left without a glance, ignoring her pleas not to go.

 

She was so sad to watch them go that she cried like a child in her dream.

 

‘I woke up feeling like someone was stroking me.’

 

She wondered if it was Sir Aiden who had carried her to her room, but it was probably just a dream.

 

She was glad she didn’t ask him if it was him. She would have been embarrassed if she had.

 

“What are you going to do in the field today?”

 

“Weeding, fertilizing… oh, it’s time to start transplanting the tomatoes.”

 

“Transplanting?”

 

Another new term came up. Anje’s curiosity was piqued. She didn’t even know she was curious.

 

“Yes, the tomato seeds I roughly sowed a while ago have grown to a decent size. I’ll select the sturdiest ones and transplant them to a larger area.”

 

The reason he had roughly sowed the tomato seeds in a corner was to finish the work quickly and get ready for his wedding to Anje, but he omitted the specific explanation for fear that she would feel bad.

 

Anje’s eyes widened at the explanation that crops transplanted at the right spacing grow sturdier and tastier.

 

“Then the carrots and beets too…!”

 

“It’s better to keep root vegetables in one place. That way, the roots won’t get damaged and will grow well.”

 

Anje, who, by her own definition, had ‘the right to know about the garden about five percent of the time’, sat back down on the chair.

 

“I see. Farming is more complicated than it looks.”

 

She had just learned a new fact about root vegetables while watering the plants yesterday.

 

When you water carrots too much, they grow long and unattractive because they send their roots deep to drink all that water, you know?

 

‘I thought they were just for eating; this is news to me.:

 

She resolved to suggest making a vegetable garden when she returned to the mansion.

 

Currently, the garden was filled with expensive flowers and shrubs, but there must be a place to plant carrots, onions, and spinach…

 

‘Oh, now that I think about it.’

 

She had something to ask Aiden.

 

“Do you not grow flowers, like, at all?”

 

“Flowers?”

 

It was an unexpected question, and he raised an eyebrow.

 

“Well, there are trees and vegetables in the garden, but it seems you don’t grow flowers.”

 

“Flowers…”

 

Aiden pondered, stroking his chin.

 

In the past, when his mother was alive, she would scatter various flower seeds in the backyard or around the edges of the vegetable garden. Even after her passing, the perennial flowers continued to bloom for a while, but his grandfather would uproot them whenever he saw them, reminiscing about his daughter.

 

He had forgotten. This house had once been filled with flowers.

 

“I guess I never thought about growing flowers. They’re not something you can grow and eat like other plants or trees.”

 

“Oh really? There’s plenty of space, so it would be nice to plant flowers in the empty spots…”

 

The corners of Anje’s mouth turned down. Pretending not to notice, he continued to wipe the dishes, dropping a sigh.

 

“Maybe I should try creating a small flower bed that doesn’t need much attention…”

* * * *

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