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“UMM...Urara, what’s that?”
“This? Well, we need to pick something to wrap your bento in. Which do you like best?”
“...I have to pick from those...?”
Over the course of our practice for the cooking contest, Lady Chouko had become a much better cook. Which meant it was time to choose what we would make and to practice placing the food in a bento box similar to the one we would use in the final competition.
“You don’t like this one?”
I had brought a spare lunch cloth, but she made a sour face upon seeing it.
...Apparently “Mr. Black-Legged Sloth” wasn’t as popular as I thought. Well, I still think he’s cute.
“Uh...hey, Urara! Let’s take our bento and go for a walk.”
She went ahead and used the Black-Legged Sloth wrap. She was likely just trying to make me feel better.
However, there were still so many things to teach her. Did we really have that kind of time?
“You don’t have other things you need to do today, Chouko?”
“It’ll be fine. I have something I want to show you. Come on, let’s go,” she said, squeezing my hand. I couldn’t turn her down when she put it like that. As we were packing our things, Aritomo whistled at us.
“Woo-hoo! You two going on a date? You must have lots of free time!” She laughed.
“Yes, that’s right. We’re going on a date. Aritomo, you make sure you cook with lots of love so you can find someone of your own and capture him through his stomach!” Lady Chouko retorted quickly.
“Oh, shut up!” Aritomo fired back with a growl.
Lady Chouko just said this was a date. My face started to turn red.
Her driver took us to a rose garden attached to a Western-style house. It was a surprise to see a rose garden in a residential neighborhood like this, and while it wasn’t large enough to be a botanical garden, it was evident that it had received the same amount of care.
I was utterly fascinated by the roses, which were blooming in an array of colors like a painting.
“They’re lovely,” I muttered, spellbound, completely taken by the flowers.
“It’s been chilly lately because of all the rain,” Lady Chouko answered gleefully. “I’m so happy we were able to see them in bloom.”
Lady Chouko pulled me along, the Black-Legged Sloth bento in her other hand, leading me to a bench under a rose-covered arch.
Looking at that pure-white bench under the arch of lily-white roses felt like being in another world altogether. The leaves were a brilliant, deep emerald, and the white flowers were in thick bloom, one over top of the next, really making it feel like a painting. This definitely had to be a common spot for weddings and proposals.
“Uh, Chouko...maybe we should sit somewhere else?”
This didn’t exactly seem to be an ideal spot for a simple meal.
“Why? We need to sit if we’re going to eat, don’t we? Come on, Urara, have a seat,” she prodded, taking a handkerchief from her pocket and spreading it out on the bench.
No, no, no way. Even if I was awestruck by the sight of this place, I couldn’t bring myself to go so far as to sit on the clean handkerchief she had laid out for me. I wanted to tell her she should sit there, that I would sit on the Black-Legged Sloth cloth, but somehow, I ended up on the handkerchief. Was it magic?
“I hope the food tastes good.”
Watching her slender, pale fingers undo the lunch cloth made me realize we probably should go with a different one. That children’s show mascot definitely was not a good fit for someone as elegant as Lady Chouko.
I watched as she lifted something tasty-looking from the lacquerware bento box. Maybe she was going to fare well in the cooking contest after all.
The both of us said a quick “Bon appétit” before tasting the food. After several more bites, it was clear that it was all good.
“Delicious! You’re going to do great, Chouko.”
I gazed up at Lady Chouko, amazed at how much she had improved since the beginning and saw her eyes light up as she beamed at me.
✦ ✦ ✦
That smile was so heartwarming, and right on cue, my heart pounded. My pulse quickened, as if my heart were sounding an alarm.
The descending sun had begun to dye the lily-white roses on the arch. They were picking up a redness not that dissimilar from the red rising in my cheeks.
“Urara...what’s the matter?” Lady Chouko asked, clearly worried about the fact that I was suddenly looking down. It would be all right. I was sure it would, but my head was spinning...
“...I’m sorry. It’s getting late—shall we go?” My answer was more sudden than I expected.
“Well then, we’ll enjoy the rest later,” Lady Chouko said, wrapping the food back up.
She reached out to stop me from leaving and put a hand on the arch. Using a small knife she had brought, she deftly removed one of the white roses.
“Here, Urara.”
“Is it all right to take that...?”
“This is the Tsukuyomi family rose garden, so it’s all right. Take it without another thought about it,” she said, handing me that single white rose.
“Th-Thank you so much...”
Inhaling the sweet smell of that frigidly beautiful rose, I thought I heard Lady Chouko whisper something softly.
“Pardon? What was that, Lady Chouko?”
“Nothing. Urara, do you know what a white rose symbolizes in the language of flowers?”
“Purity...right?”
“Yes, that’s right,” she said with a smile as she walked me to the driver, who would take me home.
Her whispered words—“I am worthy of you”—floated on the wind like the faint scent of white roses, leaving me to wonder if I had even really heard those words at all.