“Your Grace, the sun is already setting.”
Elise was right. The sky had turned red. Was it thanks to the encounter with Stephen? Rubica’s anxious heart had calmed down. She thought her worries were nothing compared to those of the people who could never complete their love.
“We should go in now.”
“Okay.”
Before Rubica went back in, she took a look around the garden. Unlike how it had been when she first arrived, it now had colorful roses. Everyone had objected to her decision of investing in Sesar’s work, but only Edgar had trusted her and supported her.
Moreover, it had been the same with the mana quartz. Everyone else thought of her as a naïve idealist, but not Edgar. Faith was what she was the most grateful for among what she had received from him.
“Ann… Edgar would believe anything I say, right?”
She spontaneously asked Ann who nodded immediately and added a joke, “Of course. He would believe you even if you said it was possible to make butter with beans. If the others don’t believe it, he will find a way to make it possible himself.”
However, that didn’t sound like a joke to Rubica. Edgar was indeed looking for a way to make the machine Rubica had talked about.
‘A machine that can do the needlework instead of humans… even I thought that made no sense, when I’m the one who asked for it.’
But Edgar was like, ‘You can trust me with it!’ and he had already finished designing the machine about ribbons.
What kind of machine was she supposed to ask for in order to stop him from making Stella? She was worried but touched at the same time. He acted like it was only natural for everything she said to turn into reality. She wondered where that much faith was coming from.
‘But then, shouldn’t I trust him more as well?’
Was it because of their bad first meeting? To be honest, Rubica didn’t trust Edgar that much. She was hesitant to tell him about what happened with Minos not just because she was worried about how much he would get hurt. She feared he might be disappointed at knowing she was still looking for Arman.
Although she wanted him to believe her past, she was thinking he would of course not believe it.
That was why she was holding everything to herself even when she wanted to confess everything. She wasn’t sure she would be able to bear it if he didn’t believe her.
He was saying he loved her. Despite that, she was going to be very disappointed if he didn’t believe her.
That was why she had hesitated so much to tell him the truth. However, she couldn’t hide the truth forever just because she feared he might not trust her. She had to find the courage and take each step forward. Nothing could be solved by postponing what she had to do.
‘I must be honest about Minos first.’
Of course, she couldn’t tell him about the dragon and his goblin right now. Edgar was highly likely going to ask if she was on some kind of bet with Lord Sesar if she explained about all that.
Although that would naturally change the moment he met Minos and see him transform into a goblin. Then, he would also believe her story about the ring. Most of all, Minos was going to support her and her story.
‘And it is a sure way to stop him from making Stella.’
The encounter with the dragon had been shocking and fearful, but it was all for the better. If she told Edgar about how she had traveled back in time, he would understand why she wanted to find Arman so badly.
“Rubica!”
When Rubica went inside, Edgar was running down the main stairs of the building, doing his cuffs.
He was in such a hurry that his hair was a mess. He looked so urgent and was extremely surprised when he spotted her. He quickly ran down the stairs.
“What is it?”
“What… is it? What do you mean?”
He frowned at the question. Rubica was usually in the sewing room at this time of the day. So he had gone there with an excited heart to see her as soon as the sun went down, but the room had been empty.
He had been on his way to the outside, worrying if something bad had happened to her.
“You… were taking a walk?”
Only then he saw one of her maids carrying a parasol and the gloves she was wearing. He was relieved, but then he got mad at himself for running out like an idiot without asking a maid where she had gone.
“Yes, I went out to get some fresh air.”
“Oh, we should have left someone in the sewing room to tell you about it.”
Ann’s comment made Rubica realize why Edgar seemed to be in so much hurry. She blushed and cleared her throat once, then she took Edgar’s hand. He flinched when she took his hand first, but he didn’t hate it, so he stayed still.
“The roses have bloomed outside. They are all so pretty.”
“I know. I look at them from the window every day.”
“And they smell good, too.”
She stared at him. Edgar became tense and he could feel his cheeks hardening. Rubica had been saying that sitting for too long in his office wasn’t good for his health. Although he was trying his best to hide the reason for that, he knew it was time for her to get a little mad about not being able to see him during the daytime.
“Why don’t we take a walk together?”
“A walk? But the sun has already set.”
“But… then will you take a walk with me tomorrow afternoon?”
“I can’t afford time for a walk during the day.”
“That is exactly why you should go out now. You cannot stay inside for long like that. I know you are busy, but you have to get some fresh air and see the sun.”
However, Rubica didn’t complain as she was just worried about him. For a moment, Edgar wished he could rub his cheek on hers.
“Okay then, we will go out now.”
He said that before he could think about it. She smiled at hearing that, and that smile was prettier than anything else. Taking a walk at night wasn’t a problem. Thanks to a servant with a bright mana stone lamp, their way was as bright as if it was daytime.
“Edgar, look here. The roses are pretty, but these delphiniums have also bloomed so prettily. I think our gardener has really good skills.”
Edgar had seen that flower quite often, but he had never cared about it till now. He didn’t even know its name, but he decided to raise the gardener’s wage right on the spot.
“Yes, they are pretty.”
“And they also smell good.”
She took a deep breath and so did he. They could feel the strong scent of flowers. It had the night’s atmosphere and was quite fresh. It was completely different from drinking in the scent of flowers which Rubica had put in his office that was mixed with the smell of the old carpet.
“Haha!”
Edgar tried to agree enthusiastically with her, although it made him feel really awkward. Rubica burst into laughter at seeing that. He laughed along with her even if he didn’t know what it was about. Her clear laughter made him feel better, and she let him know that he was actually capable of laughing so easily.
“Edgar, may I give you a tour around the garden? I think I know this place better than you by now.”
Rubica took the mana stone lamp from the servant and smiled a little naughtily. She was asking to spend some time alone with Edgar, and it made his heart burn up.
He immediately ordered his guards to stop following. Rubica could see Stephen was mad about it, but she looked away and pretended to be ignorant. She thought it would be better for Stephen’s mental health to be away from them.
“Have you seen these hydrangeas? They must not be seen from your window because of that tree…”
Rubica turned a corner, but then she couldn’t continue with the explanation. The lamp dropped from her hand. He hugged her and held her high. The scent of hydrangea mixed with his unique scent made her dizzy. Her feet couldn’t touch the ground and it made her even dizzier.
“What, what are you doing? Let me go.”
However, Edgar didn’t let go of her for a long, long time. He buried his face in her hair and drank in her scent mixed with the sweet perfume. He could feel her heart beating like crazy. The faster it beat, the more relieved he became. Did she know how worried he had been when she was suddenly missing?
Now she let him embrace her and kiss her, but he couldn’t cease to worry that she might leave him someday. The more the happiness and sense of stability he had gotten through her grew, the more worried he became about losing it all again.