1st Kiss Was Intentional - Chapter 12

Originally, the flower was white like a cloud, but it rained yesterday so it became like this. I could feel Mar staring at me from the side. “Don’t be mad. It’s supposed to be like this.”

“Suppose to be like this?”

“Yes, it’s not dead.”

I check on the other flowers. Mar is suspicious as he tilts his head to his side, but as I beckon him to sit down, he crouches gently beside me.

“Come on, look. This flower blooms and will wither like this seven days later. Though, it’s not supposed to wither for another 3 days, because it must have been raining at dawn, so it died faster. The flowers are very sensitive when they bloomed.”

As I point to the moist soil of the flower bed, Mar stares at the fine soil along my fingers, then at me again. He still looks as if his curiosity has not been answered. “Isn’t that dead? It’s completely withered.”

He seems to like the dried flowers since he’s not taken his eyes off them and looks as if he has been waiting to see them.

Cute.

I pat him on the head with a big smile.

Mar, who’s thinking hard about something, flutters his eyelashes with slightly enlarged eyes when I suddenly stroke his hair. “It’s a flower that lives twice. It’ll come back to life.”

“What?”

“Yes, it dies once and then comes back to life. What happens is…”

The feel of his silky hair between my fingers is softer and more beautiful than any silk. I keep smiling and talking because I like the feeling. Suddenly I shut my mouth.

Oh, right. This is a secret.

When I cut off at the end of my words, I could feel Mar’s glancing at me. I pull back, pretending not to know, and breathe a sigh of relief.

Phew, I let myself get robbed of my trade secrets!

The truth is the flower was grown not long ago when it happened to fall out between the supplies that was probably going to another concubine’s castle. However, it came into my supplies instead.

It was so pretty because it was white, and the buds were shaped like stars that it was named “Star Flower.” I gave it a lot of love every day, but within a few days, it withered and died.

If I were a normal person, I would have thrown it out. But I was very happy to have something that lived with me, so I gave it a lot of affection in those few days. Nevertheless, it died in vain. I shed tears and buried it in a sunny place. For a few days I told it what a pretty flower it was, how much pleasure it gave me, and suddenly, the flower was reborn. It became a lot bigger and more beautiful than when it first bloomed.

Miraculously, a single star flower came back to life. After repeating the same process a few more times, I finally mastered the method of growing the star flowers. The point is that it never dies, even though it looks dead on the outside. It’s just very sensitive when it’s in full bloom.

If you bury the star flowers in the ground right after they wither and talk to them every day, they will bloom healthier. In addition, without having to give manure or nutritional supplements, they grow on their own by just giving them a certain amount of water every few days.

I’ve bred a single star flower through this secret method to fill a single flower bed up. Strangely enough, it didn’t seem to increase beyond a certain number of individuals, but how great is it that such a pretty flower exists in the world?

I was going to grow these flowers well and sell them on the market.

Sadly, it doesn’t have a strong scent, but at least it’s beautiful enough for ornamental purposes. At the ball, there were many aristocrats decorated with flowers. If they are found on the aristocrats and do well, I might be able to hit the jackpot. It’d be the best way to make money!

There’s one question, however.

The origin of the star flower unknown. It was nowhere to be found in an illustrated book that I found in the shed. The book had more than 100 kinds of flowers, including foreign ones, in it, but not this one.

Well, maybe it could be a new breed, crossbreed, or flowers that no one knows how to grow!

Nobody could have known that dead flowers aren’t actually dead.

I only found out because I had buried the withered flowers and walked by a couple days later to see they had come back to life.

Furthermore, I think I saw Yuri Sina wearing a star flower the other day, but I don’t know if it’s flower that only the Perilland royal family grow. Hah, before I sell it, I don’t want to let Harron’s empire spread them!

‘Once Yuri Sina marries the Emperor and becomes Empress, she won’t sell the flowers, will she?’

Before that, I’ll have to sell it!

‘New flower that no one else knows.’

What a unique and good name! It’s going to sell well. Woo-hoo!

Even though, the Imperial City provides goods for everyday life, luxury goods or quality items are not given to me, a low-ranking concubine. Only high-status concubines or favored concubines can have high-quality goods.

I was going to prepare pretty dresses, some jewelry, cosmetics, and new books with the money I earned from selling these star flowers. Most of all, I was going to prepare a lump sum of money in advance.

Do you know? By then, I’ll be able to bribe and escape the Imperial City!

The heroine, Yuri Sina, and the Emperor will live together and die together. Even if it’s a decade or the hundred years, it won’t matter that a concubine like me has ran away from the palace.

Few people will remember Lydia Odette, who lived as if she were dead in a remote corner of the Imperial Palace. I’ll be able to live freely outside the Imperial City with a separate property and a slush fund!

Sadly, it’s been so long since I had such a pleasant conversation with other people that my alertness disappeared. At that moment, I almost blurt out my business and retirement ideas.

I bite down on my lips, the very ones that almost revealed the secret of the star flower. I guess I bit a bit too hard because it hurts. “Oh, it’s nothing.”

“What’s nothing?”

“Huh? What? Anyway, this is a flower called the star flower, and it’s not dead, so don’t worry.”

I lean over and crush the withered star flowers with a nonchalant whistle.

If left withered for a long time, it would come back to life and shrink completely before prayer. Therefore, it has to be collected quickly and buried deep in the ground.

Mar squats on the ground and follows my movement with his eyes diligently. He then rises and takes the star flowers in my hand.

“Huh?”

I stand empty handed in a daze. Mar, with his wide shoulders, holds the out of place flowers in his hands and says softly. “I’ll do it for you.”

“Oh, no, it’s okay. I’ll do it.”

“You gave me breakfast. Sit over there and relax. I’ll do everything for you.”

My conscience pricks me as I watch him talk nicely with his eyes downward. He points behind me, motioning me to go and rest. In an instant I begin to pick up withered star flowers as I previously did.

Well, I feel guilty. You’re so nice to me for giving you a sandwich, and I’m raising a secret slush fund!

“Hey, aren’t you tired?”

A star flower may look weak, but its stem is rather tough. Of course, Mar is stronger than I am, so he can bend it well.

Still, I have the knack of breaking it in about a minute per stem, but it takes me a little more time to carefully bend the dried flower stalk so that it wouldn’t go bad.

Mar just shakes his head, saying, “It’s not hard at all.”

Hmm, what should I do? I’m so sorry to keep it a secret that a nice, innocent man like him is helping me make money. Bad Lydia Odette! Evil master Lydia Odette! I’m a snob!

After watching him carefully plucking the flowers, I close my eyes and make up my mind.

I don’t know. I don’t think such a nice man like him would steal flowers and start a business!

‘Why don’t you share your secret since you’ll be living together in the future?’

“You know what?”

In the end, I tell Mar, who’s working hard picking up withered star flowers, the secret of the star flowers. I insist that the secret must be kept over and over again.

Fortunately, Mar nods his head without hesitation. My interest in the red bead-like eyes sparkled, and I feel like I’m drowning in them. He’s a prisoner of war that I secretly hide. He won’t be able to talk about it anywhere since he has to live in hiding.

After confiding my secret, I feel like I’m a step closer to him. I thought it too big of a secret to tell, but I didn’t feel uneasy because Mar didn’t make a fuss.

He’s really thoughtful.

‘Thanks to you, my wrists and fingers didn’t hurt today.’

In the meantime, I decide to join him in planting the stars.

“Wait here for a minute. I’ll get the shovels and scissors! You can’t just plant it. You have to split the inside of the bud into a crossed shape, so it grows better.”

“Okay.”

Before I knew it, he stands there with a bunch of dried star flowers in his arms. When he stays still like so, he looks like an adorable, manly hound with a bouquet of flowers in his arms. I smile and quickly run to Lily Castle. “Let me see, I put it somewhere here… Oh, here it is!”

I find a small basket inside the gate. Inside it are a yellow shovel, silver scissors and white gloves that I use to bury the star flowers. I hold them tightly in my basket and run to the flower bed.

Oh, my God, it’s so fun.

Even though it’s not a big deal, I keep smiling.

It’s not until now that I realize how pleasant conversing with people can be. Well, I haven’t had a good conversation in three years.

It’s my first time having an actual conversation other than saying, “Please take this and thank you for bringing it to me.”

Moreover, he’s very nice, good-natured, and handsome. The quiet and mundane life feel much more lively when there are others to converse with.

I didn’t think that Mar would adjust well, but surprisingly, his naivety is cute as I taught him one thing at a time. He kept his promise and listened to me very well.

I like it.

I feel like I’m raising a cute baby animal.

‘Woo-hoo, when we’re done planting the star flowers, let’s make dinner together!’

Already, the things that I want to do with him pile up. I laugh and walk even faster. “I’m here!”

At last I see the flower bed in front of me, and Mar, who has his back to me, faces the flowers.

But—

“Ma—Mar? What are you doing?”

With dried flower in one hand, he puts the rest down at his feet and holds a knife that I didn’t know where it came from.

When I called out to him in that condition, he turns his head slightly. He then stands with perfect posture and radiates confidence.

But—no, you can’t do that! That’s not good!

“You can’t!”

“Don’t worry. I’m good at cutting.”

It’s not the knife! You can’t swing it like you’re fighting!