3. The Season of Blooming Flowers
“This year, the flowers have bloomed quite a lot.”
“Indeed.”
Ian replied softly as he slowly pushed the wheelchair his mother was seated in.
As she aged, his mother’s health deteriorated to the point where she couldn’t stay outside for long without a wheelchair. Despite this, Ian couldn’t bear to leave her cooped up inside the mansion, so he made sure to take her for a walk in the garden for at least an hour every day.
It was also a way to heed his sister’s advice to cut down on work and spend time with their mother.
Ian glanced at his mother, who was enjoying the wind with her eyes gently closed, and a slight smile appeared on his face.
It had been 11 years since his sister married the Emperor. Initially, it was awkward for him to face his sister who had become the Empress, but as they say, time heals all wounds. Now, sending letters to each other at least once a month had become a habit.
He thought about the news of his nieces and nephews that was written in the letter he received yesterday, and his smile widened. However, he immediately remembered the content at the end of the letter and erased his smile.
[It’s time for you to get married too.]
…Yes, I should.
He knew that better than anyone. However, his heart was not in it. He had no desire to marry, nor did he feel the urge to fall in love with anyone.
I know that my mother secretly worries about me, but right now, I just wanted to enjoy the time with her. Just moderately, moderately.
I also need to find my eldest sister.
Ian restrained the sigh that was about to burst out as he pushed the wheelchair with a rolling sound.
Now, nearly 12 years since my eldest sister disappeared, I’ve heard that she is living in a foreign country across the sea to the east. So, I was preparing to go, but I was at a loss for how to break this news to my sister and mother.
I should find her first, then tell them. That way, they’ll be less shocked.
Ian, having roughly organized his complicated thoughts, glanced up at the sky. Under the clear blue sky, pink petals were fluttering down.
He plucked one of the petals that had landed on his head and held it in his hand. The tiny petal felt weightless, but it seemed to emanate a slightly sweet scent.
Must be my imagination.
Ian let out a snort of laughter and dropped the petal to the ground. Then, he turned the wheelchair toward the mansion and began to walk slowly.
It’s time to end the walk.
***
1 month later.
Ian tidied his robe to prevent it from falling as he disembarked from the ship. He had come to this country, located in the east, almost at the very edge, upon hearing news of his elder sister. The people here all had dark hair and wore clothes different from his. In a word, everything was new.
“Shall I find a place to stay first?”
Ian jingled the coins given to him by his aide, who said they were the currency used in this country, and moved on. As he walked the streets, the strong scents of various foods wafted over, making his already empty stomach scream for food.
Fortunately, Ian found a decent room near the harbor, unpacked his luggage in a hurry, and headed out to the street. He planned to investigate what kind of place this country was before going to see his elder sister. That way, he could add something when he relayed the story to his sister and mother.
By the time the sky darkened, Ian had come to several conclusions. This place was called ‘Zen’ and it used a language that boasted a rather stiff tone. The food was mostly very salty, sweet, or spicy, and instead of forks and knives, they used a pair of long sticks called chopsticks.
“I’ll have to buy some of these items to take back with me.”
Imagining the delighted look on his sister’s face, Ian chuckled to himself.
Even if he had put away his childish heart, thinking of his sister’s happiness made him feel good. But now, he knew that this feeling was not romantic but a love for his family. Therefore, he harbored no silly misunderstandings.
After a long investigation, I had just decided to return to my accommodations and was about to turn around and step away when it happened.
“Ouch!”
“?”
Some boy had run into Ian and tumbled to the ground.
Huh? What’s this situation?
Ian, perplexed, watched the boy who was now glaring at him with teary eyes and tilted his head in confusion. Then, the boy shouted back.
“Bad adult! Why did you hit a child passing by?”
This child, he speaks the imperial language?
Ian felt intrigued hearing the boy speak the imperial language. Whether the boy knew of Ian’s interest or not, he kept blabbering.
“Bad! Bad!”
Hearing remarks of being bad over and over made Ian’s mood, which had been fine, start to sour a bit. Nonetheless, feeling it was unfair, Ian crouched down to the boy’s eye level, determined to clear the misunderstanding.
“It was you who ran into me.”
“…No, it wasn’t.”
“Yes, it was.”
“No, it’s not.”
“It is.”
“No, I said it isn’t.”
“Right.”
“Eek! No way!”
“And who do you think will believe you if you insist like that?”
“That’s mean!”
He had no intention of winning the argument with words against a child, but as they bickered, he found himself being childish without realizing it. Seeing the child who seemed about to cry any moment, Ian sighed deeply.
But he’s still a child, so I should be patient…
He thought this as he was about to apologize.
“Fooled you? Bleh. Dummy.”
Suddenly, the child stood up, sticking out his tongue and then shaking the purse he was holding. It was a bundle of money that Ian’s aide had given him to use.
…Was it a pickpocket?
Ian chuckled at the sight. He was amused and incredulous at having fallen for the child’s trick.
“Give it back nicely.”
“No way. Why should I give it back for someone else’s sake? This is for buying bread for my sister and the kids. I’ll never return it.”
“…”
“Then goodbye, dumb mister.”
The child giggled, spilling everything, and then quickly ran away into the distance.
A bit of a sloppy pickpocket. Or perhaps, quite a bit.
Ian ran his hand through his hair, briefly gazed in the direction the child had run, and stood up from his spot. He wanted to just give it to him since he mentioned buying bread for his family, but without that, he himself would be penniless.
“No choice, then.”
Brushing off the dirt on his robe casually, he watched the round back of the child’s head still running away and smiled faintly. Then, he concealed himself in the shadow of the trees along the roadside and followed.
***
…Maybe pickpocketing was a deviation.
Ian leaned against the door of the house he arrived at after chasing the child, focusing on the sounds coming from inside.
“Are you really going to do this? Didn’t sister tell you not to take people’s money anymore? When will you listen?”
“But if sister doesn’t pay those men by tomorrow, we might have to sleep outside for several nights! I hate that! I hate it when sister has to sleep outside!”
“Yoon. I told you, there’s no helping it. And have you ever seen sister not paying those men? No, right? So, don’t worry and let’s return this money to its owner, okay?”
“No! That man looked like he had a lot of money, let’s just use this money and pay off the debt quickly and leave here. Okay? Okay? I hate the smell of the ocean here. I hate the ocean!”
“Yoon!”
Ian was torn between entering the house to reveal his presence and get his money pouch back, or just leaving as is. Honestly, if that money wasn’t the only money he had, he would have immediately chosen the latter option.
As he was deep in thought, suddenly the door burst open and the child ran out.
“Forget it! Sister is a fool too!”
“Yoon!”
“……”
And the child called Yoon, startled by Ian the moment she burst out, began to hiccup. At this sight, Ian sighed with a dry wash of his face.
Soon after, the woman who followed Yoon out also stumbled upon Ian and was terribly startled.
Seeing her reaction, Ian slowly took off his hood and lowered the cloth that had been covering his chin. Only then did the woman, having grasped the situation, hide Yoon behind her and asked cautiously,
“Who are you?”
“The owner of that purse.”
“Oh… Ah! I’m so sorry! I will return it to you right away.”
The woman, not knowing what to do upon hearing Ian’s words, quickly went inside and brought back his purse. She kept apologizing profusely.
Moreover, this woman, like that child, spoke the Imperial language.
Ian, halfheartedly listening to her apologies, found it curious that they spoke the Imperial language in this place where other languages were spoken. For some reason, they seemed quite accustomed to using the Imperial language, as if they had been using it for a long time.
But he soon found out why. Near the woman’s neck, who looked like a squirrel, there was a mark that illegal slaves in the Empire had. Yoon had it on his neck too.
“Were you illegal slaves?”
“Excuse me?”
“Did you, were you illegal slaves in the Empire?”
“Um, how did you….”
“Mark.”
As Ian talked while tapping his neck with his index finger, the woman hurriedly covered her mark and shook her head. From the slight trembling of her shoulders, it seemed that bad memories resurfaced, so Ian waited a few seconds before continuing.
“I hear you’re struggling with debts here too.”
“Yes. I ended up meeting a bad broker while I was running away here….”
“I’ll help you with that.”
“Really?”
The woman seemed puzzled by his kindness. Perhaps she was wondering why he would help someone who is both an illegal slave and a criminal.
There wasn’t a particularly big reason behind his willingness to help her. After all, he didn’t have any urgent matters to attend to, she was a fellow countryman he met abroad, and his sister would probably like it.
However, listing all these reasons would have been tiresome, so Ian simply summarized.
“The current emperor has elevated all illegal slaves from the status of criminals. So, helping you isn’t illegal.”
“Is that… really true?”
“Yes.”
Ian lightly responded with a gentle smile.
“The world has changed.”
