“Ah.”
My mood, which had been sulky, dissolved at Ian’s gentle voice and warm touch, and I smiled, understanding what he had said.
“Got it. So, are you saying you want to go to the greenhouse with me now, or not?”
As I was about to forget the original topic and steered the conversation back, Ian gripped my hand even tighter. Then, after all the redness had faded from his face, he spoke.
“I want to go. I want to go to the greenhouse with you, Sister.”
***
The greenhouse was a dome-shaped building located behind the mansion. It was spectacular when it shone under the sunlight because it was made of glass.
Holding Ian’s hand, I reached the front of the greenhouse and pushed the door open to enter. Then I said, “Ian. This is the greenhouse.”
At my explanation, Ian glanced around at the various flowers planted haphazardly and furrowed his brows. “For a noble’s greenhouse, it seems poorly maintained.”
“But it’s much better than before. You don’t know how much Tommy and I struggled to get it to look like this. Before, there were only rocks and weeds.”
I chuckled at Ian’s comment, and he looked at me, requesting further explanation with his eyes.
I glanced at him and recalled the story I had first heard from the nanny when I found this place.
“This place was made by the previous head of the Obelton family, that is, the young lady’s grandfather.”
“Why did he make it? Grandfather didn’t like flowers much, did he, Nanny?”
“No one knows for sure. But we do know the name he personally chose for this place. The name of this greenhouse is…”
“Rosa.”
After being lost in thought for a while, I blurted out the name that remained in my memory.
“Rosa?”
“Yes. That’s its name here.”
“It sounds just like a person’s name.”
“Because it is.”
Hearing my response, the corners of Ian’s mouth momentarily twitched into a smile, then suddenly stiffened. They relaxed again soon after.
“I never would have expected that.”
“Of course. Neither did I. Follow me. I’ll tell you about it as we walk.”
As I stepped toward the narrow path between the flowerbeds, Ian closely followed, tightly holding my hand.
I checked that he was keeping up with my pace, then slowly began my story.
“This greenhouse was built by my grandfather, Ian. And as everyone knows, before he had a political marriage with my grandmother, he had a woman he loved.”
“Then, could it be that the owner of the name Rosa is…”
“No. That woman’s name was Bella.”
“But the name of this place is Rosa. Why is it named Rosa if there was another woman he loved?”
“You’ll understand once you hear my story.”
I smiled ambiguously at Ian’s question.
At first, like Ian, I was quite puzzled that the name of this greenhouse wasn’t “Bella”.
However, after learning the full story, I couldn’t help but understand why it wasn’t named Bella.
So, Ian must have felt the same.
“Anyway. It seems the relationship between my grandparents wasn’t very good, possibly because my grandfather had a woman he loved aside from my grandmother.”
Unlike my parents who married for love, my grandparents were in an arranged marriage for the benefit of their families.
If neither of them had someone else they loved, their marriage life might have been relatively easy, but my grandfather had a lover named Bella.
That’s why the maid said the mansion’s atmosphere at that time was very bad, so bleak that not a hint of laughter could be heard.
“But even so, during that time, my grandmother ended up falling in love with my grandfather. It’s a cruel fate, isn’t it? To fall in love with a man who loves another woman.”
“…”
“To get back to the story, my grandmother realized she had fallen in love with my grandfather, struggled with it, and not long after my father was born, she took her own life.”
While I paused to catch my breath after reaching that point in the story, Ian murmured softly, “What a tragedy.”
“Right. It’s a tragedy. But do you know what’s even more tragic?”
“What is it?”
“That Grandmother’s name was Rosalia. Her nickname was Rosa.”
“!”
The tragedy didn’t end there.
Whether it was a cruel twist of fate or not, Grandfather only realized he loved Grandmother after she had passed away. Coming to terms with his feelings too late, Grandfather was engulfed in despair, barely stepping out of his bedroom, drinking as though he wished to die.
Hence, there circulated rumors for a while that Duke Obelton had gone mad mourning his deceased wife.
Then one day, as if he’d never experienced hardship, Grandfather stepped out of his bedroom, spick and span, and ordered the construction of a greenhouse. A greenhouse that would stand the test of time.
The reason why the greenhouse is named Rosa instead of Bella remains unclear to this day.
However, according to the testimony of a maid who had served by Grandmother’s side, Grandmother enjoyed spending her leisure time in the garden during her life.
And after the greenhouse was built, Grandfather, whenever he had the time, would visit this place.
Hearing this story, I thought to myself, ‘What can be more tragic than a love regretted only after it’s lost?’
“Do you understand now? The reason why the greenhouse of the noble’s house had to be neglected and not properly managed.”
“….Yes.”
The reason why this place, the greenhouse of the noble’s house, had to be left in a poorly managed state is because it remained stuck in the time of my grandparents, 40 years ago.
Although it started to take on the appearance of a proper greenhouse through mine and Tommy’s efforts a few years after discovering it.
Having concluded the long story, I stopped in front of Lily’s cage and turned to look at silent Ian.
It was fortunate that we arrived at the cage just when the atmosphere around us was becoming too heavy.
“Ian. I mentioned earlier that there was something I wanted to show you.”
“Ah. Yes.”
Ian, who regained his senses belatedly at my voice, slowly nodded his head.
“What I wanted to show you was this bird.”
When I pointed to Lily, who sat in the cage like a doll, Ian’s gaze shifted to Lily.
“It’s a canary.”
“Yes, it’s a bird that my sister gave me as a birthday gift. Her name is Lily.”
“Lily, huh? That’s a pretty name.”
With sparkling eyes, he watched Lily and exclaimed in pure admiration, “But Lily is so gentle. It’s my first time seeing a bird that doesn’t fly around but just sits still like Lily.”
“It’s not that she’s gentle; she can’t fly. Lily’s feathers have been clipped.”
I had asked my sister when she gave me Lily as a gift if Lily could fly. She looked troubled and told me that Lily, being a pet, had her feathers clipped so flying was impossible. That conversation left a bitter taste, and the smile lingering on my lips vanished without a trace.
Ian, who noticed me lost in thoughts, carefully started to speak, “Uhm. Would it be alright if I take a closer look at Lily?”
“Of course.”
As soon as I gave my permission, Ian opened the cage and perched Lily on his index finger, examining her carefully. Then, he drew a curve with his lips.
“Just as I thought.”
“What are you talking about?”
“About Lily’s feathers. They haven’t been clipped.”
My goodness.
My heart raced upon hearing the unexpected good news that I hadn’t even considered.
I walked straight up to him and poured out all of my questions at once.
“Really? Lily’s feathers haven’t been clipped? So, can Lily fly?”
“Of course. I probably just haven’t learned how to do it yet. Flying is in a bird’s nature, so with just a little help, I should be able to fly soon.”
Seeing how excited I was, Ian chuckled, stroked Lily a couple of times, and then put her back in the cage.
Watching Lily chirp prettily inside the cage, he murmured in a faint voice,
“Maybe soon, you’ll be able to fly, Lily.”
***
We left the greenhouse when it was getting close to Ian’s afternoon training time.
“So, you have training in both the morning and the afternoon?”
On our way back to the main building of the mansion, I had a conversation with Ian about his training.
“Actually, I do it three times.”
“Three times? What kind of training do you do that requires three sessions?”
It was astonishing that he trained three times a day when training in the morning and afternoon seemed sufficient.
Ian seemed to recall for a moment in response to my question, then explained while folding his fingers.
“In the morning, I do some light exercise, before lunch, I practice swordsmanship on my own, and before dinner, I spar with the knights.”
“That’s incredible.”
Hearing about his training schedule, which seemed much harder than I expected, I couldn’t help but utter my admiration.
Seeing him leading a day so different from mine made him seem impressive, but at the same time, I was worried. Training three times a day must be tiring, but Ian never showed signs of being tired.
I thought this when I first saw him, but Ian really does resemble Ruth a lot. Even this inscrutable aspect.
As I was getting lost in these thoughts, I suddenly remembered what my mother had told me last time, that Ian was being educated by my father.
Wait. Then how is Ian managing to keep up with his schedule while also being educated by his father?
I finally gave in to my growing curiosity and asked.
“By the way, Ian, you mentioned that you’re getting educated by your father, from basic academics to household matters. With all the training you’re undergoing, when do you get educated by him?”
“Your Excellency, no, I mean, Father educates me during the breaks. I learn basic academics between the dawn training and the morning training, and I learn household matters before the evening training. After the evening training, I review what I’ve learned.”
“……”
Ian recited his education schedule without me having to ask in detail.
Listening to him, I bit my lip, lost for words. For a moment, I thought living so diligently could become tiresome.
But at the same time, I compared his day to mine. Compared to Ian’s busy day, mine seemed too leisurely.
Of course, as a noble’s heir, I had learned everything I needed to a long time ago, but still, a twinge of unease fluttered within me.
Maybe I should revisit what I’ve learned.
I was pondering how to quell this flicker of unease when I heard it.
“Miss?”
A familiar voice reached my ears from nearby.
