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AS soon as Ophelia finished work for the day, she hurried over to the library. The Royal Palace Library stayed open late thanks to the librarians constantly working overtime. Ophelia quickly located an illustrated encyclopedia of plants and turned to the page on lisianthus. It took her a while to decide, but she finally settled on a bicolor variety with eight petals that were white at the base and bluish-purple along the edge of each petal. She thought it would be a satisfying challenge to get the color gradation for the petal accents just right.
Once she had the pattern, the rest was easy. Instead of knitting together pretty words, she sewed her feelings into a pretty design. She took her time with each and every stitch, pouring her heart into her work. As she embroidered, she imbued the stitches with a prayer that every time Claudio looked at this gift, it would ease his heart even just a bit, and that from now on, his life would bloom with vivid happiness.
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“U-U-UM, th-this is… I did my very best to make it! I thought… It might serve as my response to all the kindness you’ve shown me, Director…”
They were in the not-so-spacious gardens of the Narve family’s manor, sitting together at an elegant table set that had been prepared for Claudio’s frequent visits to his fiancée on their days off. Ophelia handed Claudio the completed handkerchief, and as he examined the embroidery, a look of stunned… dismay? appeared on his face. Ophelia tilted her head curiously, first to one side and then the other, at his unexpected reaction.
“Are these flowers lisianthus?” Claudio muttered almost robotically, still staring at the embroidery.
“Yes. Um, Lord Samael said that it was your favorite flower… Was he mistaken? I’m sorry…”
When Ophelia’s shoulders dropped dejectedly, Claudio straightened, hurrying to assure her, “No, that’s not what I meant!”
Ophelia deeply considered the situation. Her body wasn’t shaking. It was undeniable that he wasn’t lying, but that didn’t necessarily mean this was his favorite flower, either. She’d been too naïve, assuming that he’d understand her intentions just by looking at the handkerchief.
I guess when it comes to things like this, you really have to just come out and say it, or the message won’t be received. Of course, I should have known…
Claudio poked one of Ophelia’s ashen cheeks, and when she raised her head, he was smiling gently, his eyes crinkling in the corners. “I don’t know what you’re thinking over there right now, but I know you worked hard to make this for me. Of course, I’m very happy to receive it. But more than that… It made me remember some nostalgic things from long ago.”
“Things from long ago…”
“Yeah. You heard from Samael that I used to grow these flowers in the palace gardens, right? That’s true, but… Well, it became unnecessary, and very shortly after that, I moved out of the Royal Residence. So it’s been a long time since I last saw these flowers.”
From what she could see of Claudio’s face in profile as he gazed down at the delicate embroidery, he seemed to be wearing a peaceful expression. Ophelia dredged up all of her courage to ask, “Were those… good memories, then?”
Claudio glanced over at Ophelia, and when he saw her looking up at him hopefully, he let out a little snort.
“Yes, of course.”
Ophelia’s body didn’t shake. That reassured her just a bit, and she gave a little nod.
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IT was a weekend night, and Ophelia was lying on the bed in Duke Viagtto’s manor, recounting the entire chain of events to Gian.
“Lisianthus, huh?” As Gian muttered that, tears began rolling down his cheeks.
Ophelia surged into an upright position and frantically grabbed the bedsheet, which she used to wipe away Gian’s tears. Gian couldn’t help but bark out a surprised laugh at Ophelia’s irreverent resourcefulness.
“I guess it’s been a while since I last saw that flower, too. I might’ve been unconsciously avoiding it, now that I think about it, but… it sure is nostalgic.”
Ophelia was examining Gian’s face with a concerned expression on her own when suddenly she gasped. Then she reached for a cookie from a plate on the bed and held it out to Gian. This variety of cookie, which contained slivered nuts, was Ophelia’s favorite, and she offered Gian the very last one.
Gian pushed Ophelia’s hand away, steering the cookie back to Ophelia’s mouth. With a guilty little smile, Ophelia obediently munched on the cookie. Seeing that, Gian laughed again.
“Lisianthus was my brother’s favorite flower. Every time Claudio came to visit, he made sure to bring a bouquet of them. I didn’t realize that he was growing them himself in the Royal Palace’s gardens…”
The laughter had served to dry up Gian’s tears, and he lay back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. His faint smile and pinched eyes strongly resembled Claudio’s expression when he’d received her lisianthus-embroidered handkerchief. Although she’d never met him, Ophelia suspected that the real Gian had also smiled warmly like this when receiving Claudio’s sick-visit bouquets.
She couldn’t have imagined when she was embroidering that handkerchief that it would turn out like this. Thanks to the lisianthus that the real Gian had been so fond of, Ophelia was able to draw out unexpectedly peaceful smiles from both Gian and Claudio.
She was very happy about this, but even so, Ophelia puffed out her cheeks poutily and drew her knees up to her chest.
In the end, she hadn’t been able to convey her feelings to Claudio. Hand-embroidered gifts weren’t something you gave out willy-nilly for no reason, but Claudio hadn’t seemed to get the hint. It looked like she really would need to tell him with words to get the message across.
Gian often said that his younger brother had arranged for him and Ophelia to meet one another. If that was true, she was certainly grateful to the real Gian for introducing her to a person who’d become like a dear older sister to her, but this mishap with the lisianthus flowers seemed like more of a mischievous trick!
The Gian in front of her was in the process of happily setting up his newly acquired board game on top of the bed. He’d just been crying only a moment earlier, but like a little kid, his moods changed at the drop of a hat.
Ophelia expelled a little puff of air and, refreshed, turned her attention to the board game.
Ophelia had a family who would support her through anything. Coworkers she could count on. A friend who was both like a brother and a sister to her. And Claudio, who had vowed to face everything the future may bring at her side. Surrounded by people she loved, Ophelia thought that surely she must be the happiest person in the world.