The body visible under the bright sunlight was not a pleasing sight, even on a second look. Aiden’s scarred and battered body, resembling an old tree, stood in stark contrast to Anje’s smooth and fair hands.
‘I can’t show her this body.’
He quickly wrung the water from his shirt and put it back on.
“All done.”
Anje lowered her hands and slowly turned around.
“You were quick. You could have taken your time.”
She replied in a nonchalant tone but felt relieved inside.
With her vision completely blocked, the rustling sound of him taking off and putting on his clothes was oddly disconcerting.
‘If things were normal.’
If they were like any other couple, they wouldn’t have been so formal with each other. Both would have undressed without a care… perhaps drying their wet clothes under the sun.
Though they were married, they didn’t seem like a couple, yet they weren’t entirely strangers either.
How could one define their relationship? Housemates?
“It’s best to go back quickly, change clothes, and wash up.”
“That’s true.”
Anje nodded and picked up the hat she had dropped earlier. It was filled to the brim with raspberries, not a single one missing.
She slung the hat over one shoulder and carried the neatly folded parasol in her hand.
“My shoes and socks, oh.”
Aiden picked up her belongings. It looked like she had too much to carry alone.
“Let’s go.”
Following Aiden, who started walking ahead, Anje trudged along behind him.
Dragging her feet in the uncomfortable shoes made her realize anew how big his frame was.
‘His feet are enormous.’
Noticing her discomfort, he slowed his pace a bit so they could walk side by side.
‘I should have just offered to carry her instead of lending my shoes.’
Seeing her walking so slowly like a snail, he regretted his decision but didn’t have the courage to make the offer after teasing her earlier.
Thus, he walked as slowly as he could.
For a while, neither of them spoke. Only the loud chirping of birds in the trees broke the silence.
Anje was the first to break it.
“The birds are really chirping a lot.”
“They’re in the midst of… finding mates.”
Aiden nearly broke into a cold sweat at the almost raw expression “mating season” he almost used. The term “breeding season” didn’t seem appropriate either, so he settled on “the time for finding mates.”
“Oh, so that chirping is a signal for courting?”
“Yes. They sing beautiful melodies to attract attention, puff up their feathers to appear larger, perform courtship dances, or build elaborate nests to entice a mate.”
Anje imagined the cute birds hopping around, dancing, or building pretty nests, and she smiled contentedly.
“There are birds building a nest right in front of my window.”
The goldcrests, carrying twigs and feathers in their beaks, were busy flying to and fro, tinged with a golden hue.
One day, she had forgotten to close her window, and they flew in to peck at cracker crumbs on her desk.
“They’ll probably lay eggs there soon.”
“That’s adorable. I hope the baby birds hatch safely.”
She popped another raspberry into her mouth and asked,
“Do birds eat raspberries too?”
“Yes, they do. They love them.”
So, in addition to Mrs. Meg and Pa-Pi-Pu, she had another recipient for these raspberries: her new neighbors, the goldcrests.
Of course, the rooster Hurricane and his minions, who despised her, were excluded.
Anje, imagining the wild bird family approaching her window, felt happy and suddenly offered Aiden a raspberry.
“Would you like to try one?”
While she had thought of everyone else—the birds, the pigs, and the housekeeper—she hadn’t thought to offer any raspberries to the person who retrieved her parasol.
“Oh… yes, sure.”
He hesitated and then took the raspberry from her hand with his lips.
Sweet and tart. The raspberry, the first of the season, tasted just as he remembered from his childhood.
“Delicious, right?”
“Yes.”
“Have some more.”
He had intended to tell her not to eat too many before their meal, but once he started eating, he couldn’t stop.
It wasn’t just the taste of the raspberries; it was the gentle gesture of her feeding him the red berries, alternating between her mouth and his, that he couldn’t refuse.
Her delicate fingers, stained pink with juice, brushed against his lips, making his heart and lips tingle simultaneously.
“What about your gloves…?”
“They got stained red earlier, so I put them in the basket.”
Every time her soft fingers brushed against the corner of his lips, he felt a simultaneous tickle in his heart and lips.
Despite this, he bent slightly, accepting the raspberries she offered him without protest.
‘After falling into the water, I deserve at least this much of a reward.’
He briefly wondered if being fed raspberries by the princess could indeed be considered a reward, but he pushed the thought aside.
“Thank you for finding the parasol, Sir.”
The ticklish feeling in his chest intensified.
“Oh, it’s nothing… It would be a shame to discard a perfectly good item. Not to mention, it must be quite expensive.”
“Yes, it was a gift from my father.”
It was one of the gifts celebrating her engagement to Crown Prince Philip.
The memory was still vivid. The day when the carriage spilled over with the various jewels, lace, and fabrics she had always wished for.
‘Anje, my dear daughter, never forget that I, your father, am the one who loves and cherishes you the most in the world.’
The Duke of Glasster’s hand, adorned with a large, thick ruby ring, gently patted his daughter’s shoulder.
‘Though it’s unlikely to happen, you must be careful not to disgrace His Highness the Crown Prince. Always behave modestly and be a submissive wife to him…’
“What are you thinking so intently about?”
“Nothing.”
Her fingers, which had paused in the air as she recalled her father’s words, started moving again.
“I told the parasol craftman that I liked lilies of the valley, so he embroidered them between the lace.”
“I see.”
He nodded.
“You always wear lily of the valley perfume, don’t you?”
“Yes, you know that well?”
“I have a good sense of smell.”
On the day Anje ran away from Aiden’s house and rolled into the creek, she had been holding tightly onto a bag that contained that very perfume.
She must have loved lilies of the valley a lot, even before planting them in the flowerbed. Reflecting on this, Aiden asked,
“If you like those flowers so much, why didn’t you plant them in the duke’s garden?”
“I did mention it to the gardener, but my father said they wouldn’t go well with his beloved roses and peonies.”
Even though she was the only daughter of the duke, the house, including the garden, ultimately belonged to the duke, the highest authority. She couldn’t insist on her preferences.
When a maid offered to bring her a bouquet, Anje declined sullenly.
What she wanted to see were the vibrant, living flowers, not ones that had been cut and would soon wither.
‘What if I get scolded by the fairies for recklessly picking their party teacups?’
Back then, young and innocent Anje had said that to the maid. She remembered it now.
“The lilies of the valley are starting to wither away.”
“That must be disappointing.”
“A little… But the other flowers are growing well.”
Not only were her favorite sunflowers thriving, but other flowers were also growing robustly.
When one flower wilts, another blooms. The cycle of nature was always wondrous and fascinating to witness.
“This year, you planted easy-to-grow flowers, so maybe next year you could try something more challenging.”
“Oh, um, yes…”
Anje, who didn’t expect to be there next year, gave a vague response.
Misinterpreting her hesitation as a lack of confidence, Aiden offered encouragement.
“You’ve done a great job for a beginner, so you can definitely handle more difficult flowers.”
“Really? Then maybe I’ll give it a try.”
Anje felt an odd sense of unease. She had no trouble lying in social circles or to servants, but this was different.
“I can get you some seeds. What flowers would you like to plant—”
“By the way, could I show the flowerbed to Pa-Pi-Pu later?”
She deftly changed the subject, bringing up a topic she knew would make Aiden frown. As expected, he forgot their previous conversation and answered.
“Didn’t I tell you before? If we let them out of the pen and they escape, it’ll be troublesome. They may seem slow, but once they start running, they’re quite fast.”
“Then we could put a leash on them and take them out, like walking a dog.”
“If it’s you, you’d probably end up being dragged around by the leash.”
The thought of Anje being dragged by the three pigs amused him, making him smirk. Anje, in a haughty tone, denied his words.
“You don’t need to worry about that. Pa-Pi-Pu listen to me very well. I’ve trained them with treats.”
“Sure you have.”
“It’s true!”
Conversations about Pa-Pi-Pu always went this way, highlighting the difference in opinion between Anje, who was deeply affectionate towards the pigs, and Aiden, who dismissed them as just pigs.
Annoyed, Anje popped the raspberry she was about to give Aiden into her own mouth. She wasn’t going to give it to him anymore.
‘Speaking of which, it’s almost time….’
Watching Anje’s frowning face, Aiden remembered something. It was almost time to send off the well-fattened pigs.
He needed to tell Anje, who had taken great care of them, even though it might be harsh. On a farm, it was simply the natural order of things.
“Princess, about the pigs…”
After a long moment of deliberation, he finally began to broach the topic.
TL/N: UGH, DON’T!
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