Falling To Paradise

In aristocratic society, it was only acceptable for close relatives, such as parents and children, to exchange kisses on the cheek.

 

Anje, who had never shared such an affectionate gesture with her father, felt a pang of envy whenever she witnessed such scenes in public.

 

Both the kisser and the kissee seemed so happy, their faces beaming with smiles.

 

Perhaps that was why she had felt that sudden urge to do something… affectionate with Sir Aiden.

 

‘Kyaah’

 

Anje recalled the moment she had lifted herself onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his cheek, and she let out a yelp, barely resisting the urge to bury herself under the tablecloth.

 

Her reflection in the spoon was flushed pink. She couldn’t show her face like this to Aunty and Sir Aiden.

 

She took a deep breath and tried to shake off her distraction.

 

‘Let’s not think about it’

 

But the more she repeated this mantra, the more vivid the memories became.

 

Aiden’s expression as he looked at her with a gentle smile. The face that usually looked like a stern soldier’s, in that moment of smiling, looked like a young man befitting his age.

 

The rough and hard cheek she felt through her lips, the sound of his breath, the bobbing of his Adam’s apple. The fresh, woodsy scent that emanated from him.

 

It was a moment that lasted no more than a few seconds, but all the sights, sounds, and touches were vividly etched in her mind.

 

The sun that was starting to rise above their heads, the birds chirping like whistles, the wind that gently swirled around her skirt hem.

 

‘Oh, I feel like my face is going to get even redder.’

 

Anje fanned herself with her hand and tried to think of something as unromantic as possible.

 

Like the lizard she saw stuck to the shovel that morning, or Hurricane, the rooster who was chasing after the hens, burning with desire to mate.

 

TL/N: LMAO…WHAT.

 

‘I wonder what Sir Aiden is thinking…’

 

Pretending to straighten out the folds of the napkin, she suddenly looked back.

 

Aiden, who was holding a gratin dish, was looking at her unabashedly, and he flinched sheepishly and lowered his head.

 

‘There he goes again.’

 

This was a very serious problem for Anje. The fact that he seemed to be subtly avoiding her ever since her bold move.

 

No, not “subtly” but “blatantly”.

 

If their eyes met, he would turn or lower his head, and if her hair or the hem of her clothes brushed against his while working, he would jump back in surprise.

 

‘Anyone watching would think I was going to eat him.’

 

Anje, not even thinking to hide her protruding lips, pressed down on the head of the napkin rabbit.

 

It was an overly aggressive move for a noble lady, but didn’t he need to stop being so awkward about it?

 

Looking at the napkin that was completely crushed under her hand, she made up her mind.

 

‘I’ll approach him first and try to smooth things over.’

 

Even at a glance, it seemed like Sir Aiden had a case of human aversion. He must have been surprised when she suddenly approached him and kissed him without permission.

 

‘Well, it was an honor, not a bad thing to leave him with such trauma… Oh, whatever.’

 

Last time, Sir Aiden had swallowed his pride and chased after her as she ran away, so this time it was her turn to chase after him as he ran away.

 

‘But what should I talk about to get Sir Aiden to treat me like he used to?’

 

This part was challenging.

 

* * *

 

“Excuse me, Sir Aiden?”

 

“Yes, yes?”

 

Aiden, who was setting up stakes in a flower bed, raised his head abruptly.

 

Seeing his pupils shaking wildly, Anje put on a feigned gentle expression.

 

“Oh my, why are you so scared? As if you’ve done something to be scolded for.”

 

“No, it’s…nothing. I was just surprised because you called me out of the blue.”

 

Aiden mumbled his reply and avoided her gaze. Following his gaze, Anje, who had slightly raised her eyebrows, turned her body in the direction his eyes were looking.

 

“You seem to be avoiding me lately. Is it just my imagination?”

 

“Me? It’s a misunderstanding.”

 

He met Anje’s gaze directly, his eyes filled with determination. It was to prevent any mishaps, such as his gaze drifting to her lips.

 

Anje stared at his reddish eyes as if squinting, and then slowly lowered her gaze. She was still too shy to look at him directly.

 

“Well, um… what are those sticks for?”

 

“They are stakes for the morning glories to climb on.”

 

The morning glory stems, which had grown long due to the extended daylights, needed something to lean on to spread their vines comfortably.

 

Worried that the vines might wrap around the sunflowers next to them and damage the flowers, he had brought several of the largest wooden stakes he could find from the barn.

 

“Wow, that’s a lot. Isn’t it too big for the flowers?”

 

“Soon this won’t be enough either.”

 

Anje’s eyes widened when she heard that fully grown morning glory vines can grow up to 10 feet long. That’s almost twice her height.

 

“This little plant? I can’t believe it.”

 

“It’s small, but it has immense power. If you happen to see a trellis for sale in town, it would be a good idea to buy it and put them up.”

 

The sight of the vines winding their way up the net and blooming with a mass of purple flowers would be truly magical.

 

Anje imagined a cluster of morning glories in full bloom and then returned to reality to ask a practical question.

 

“Don’t the sunflowers need stakes?”

 

The sunflowers, which held a special meaning for her as her ‘first planted flowers’, would also grow tall in the future. According to Aiden’s prediction, they would be even taller than her.

 

Seeing the tall, straight green stems of the sunflowers standing stiffly upright, Aiden shook his head to indicate that she didn’t need to worry.

 

“I don’t think we need to put up stakes for now. If they bow their heads too much or grow crookedly, we can help them then.”

 

“Well, they seem to be standing up well on their own.”

 

Thanks to Anje regularly applying compost, even though it had a strange smell, the sunflowers looked very healthy to her, even though she was still a beginner when it came to plants.

 

“That’s right. You’ve done well.”

 

Anje smiled with delight at Aiden’s compliment. Not just because of the praise, but because Aiden’s casual manner while explaining about the flowers made her feel at ease.

 

As he watched her, Aiden’s expression also softened.

 

‘Okay, now that he’s relaxed, I should bring it up.’

 

Seeing his softened expression, Anje made up her mind. The excuse she had painstakingly come up with over several sleepless nights seemed feasible to explain now without raising suspicion.

 

‘Um, Sir Aiden? Do you remember when you brought Pa-Pi-Pu back?’

 

“Oh, yes…”

 

His face instantly stiffened. Misinterpreting this change as a negative sign, Anje hastened to explain.

 

“I wanted to clear up any misunderstanding. It’s… a foreign greeting custom.”

 

“A greeting custom?”

 

“Yes, it’s a new trend among the nobility, so you probably weren’t aware.”

 

Half of what she said was true, but the other half was a lie.

 

The “cheek kiss” greeting that had become wildly popular in Albian’s social circles involved barely touching cheeks and pretending to kiss the air, not actually placing lips on the cheek.

 

But Aiden, unaware of such intricate social customs, simply nodded with a bewildered expression.

 

“A greeting custom, huh… I see. I guessed as much.”

 

“Really? Haha, maybe I didn’t need to explain then. I was worried you might have been shocked.”

 

“No… I wasn’t that shocked. Don’t worry about it.”

 

He felt a sense of relief inside. He had been contemplating whether to bring up the same topic with Anje in the flowerbed.

 

To ask what that kiss had meant.

 

‘Good thing I didn’t ask.’

 

He had almost embarrassed himself by making a big deal out of it.

 

Yet, at the same time, he felt a twinge of disappointment in some corner of his heart. A feeling as damp as laundry in the rainy season, or like sprouting eyes on seed potatoes.

 

And…

 

‘If it was a noble trend, she must have kissed her fiancé many times more.’

 

A black emotion, like an indelible stain.

 

He drove the stick in his hand into the ground with force. He could feel it sinking deeply, but even this venting didn’t improve his mood.

 

Why? Imagining the princess approaching Philip gracefully for a kiss, laughing gaily in front of him as she did, being blessed by everyone as the perfect couple…

 

It made his stomach twist and ache.

 

“We don’t have enough stakes. I’ll just go to the barn for a bit.”

 

“Ah, okay.”

 

Despite finding Aiden’s sudden change in expression strange, Anje let him go without protest.

 

Lately, he had been drinking a lot of cod liver oil, which might have upset his stomach.

 

Drinking that nauseating oil once or twice a day wasn’t enough for him; he was downing it with every meal, so no wonder his stomach was troubled.

 

“Judging by his expression, it doesn’t seem like he likes it. Should I secretly pour some out?”

 

Having just ended a difficult conversation, Anje began to ponder a new concern with a sense of relief.

 

* * *

 

Aiden, who had moved to the empty barn where Anje would never visit, pressed his forehead against the wall with all his might.

 

“Damn it.”

 

The cool sensation of the wooden wall should have helped him regain his sanity, but instead, it only made his sticky, viscous emotions worse.

 

Philip Cardiner. Aiden had never once envied him, despite their insurmountable innate differences.

 

On the contrary, he had even pitied him for being dissatisfied with his own lot in life, even though he had grown up in a blessed environment.

 

But as he imagined the sight of Anje and Philip together, Aiden found himself wondering, for the first time, what it would have been like if he had been in Philip’s place.

 

He would have been betrothed to her, the princess, early on, and their natural affection for each other would have blossomed through social activities.

 

And eventually, they would have exchanged wedding vows to become emperor and empress, blessed by all.

 

A happy wedding ceremony in stark contrast to their own somber and desolate one.

 

TL/N: NOO, IT’S NOT SOMBER!!!

 

* * * *

 

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