The Flower Dances and the Wind Sings

18.

Suddenly, she remembered what Juan said. “You’re cool.” Ercella had never heard that before. She was a little surprised because she had never thought of herself that way. She repeated the word ‘cool’ in her heart.

Is this cool?

She kept brooding about her coolness. I’ve heard many people call me pretty, beautiful, wise, and elegant. They were common compliments men gave to women.

Come to think of it, she had rarely had a scholastic conversation with a man except for her father and brother. One, there were no such opportunities and secondly, it was not a conventionally appropriate topic of conversation between men and women. Ercella felt strange at the new word used to describe her.

Ercella, lost in thought, began to walk as her fingers swept through the displayed books. Time suddenly stopped at the appearance of that man named Juan. It was clear that his slow and relaxed gestures had affected her. Thinking that he was a rare man that she had never seen in recent years, her fingertips paused on a familiar cover. She stopped walking.

『History of Granian Wars』

The book exuded military grandiose. Ercella read it once when she was young. That’s why she understood how many sacrifices it took for Grania to come into being.

When the Leones Empire fell, one of the nations that came out of it was Grania. The founding king Hebeus I, led by Visaride, defeated the opposing forces and formed the kingdom. That was the beginning of Grania.

When she was young, she felt great pride when she came across her family name in books. But when she was old enough to make a judgment, she wondered how much blood was shed before her family came to this position.

The more she thought about it, the more miserable she was. It made her detest war even though she had never participated in one.

If a war broke out, as a knight Vicente would have to go.

An image of Vicente participating as a knight in war emerged. What if the boy dies in the process? A terrible scene came to mind. Ercella put the book back in, trying to shake off the negative thoughts.

Tap-

In a flash, another hand lightly pushed the book from behind her hand.

“You like these sorts of things?”

Ercella heard a low voice. When she looked back, Vicente was looking down at her. The light was blocked thanks to Vicente’s tall height, and a shadow was cast over his face. Overall, his cool blue eyes stood out more in the shaded silhouette.

“I’m surprised you’re reading such an unexpected book.”

It figures. A woman reading about wars. It was indeed surprising. However, rather than being interested in the war itself, she was more worried that Vicente might have to go to war in the future.

“I was worried about you.”

Vicente’s eyes were filled with wonder at the unfamiliar words. The shadow disappeared and strangely, she mistook his relatively bright eyes like her own eyes.

“If you become a knight, you’ll have to stand on the battlefield.…”

It’s not a pleasant story, so the ending was blurred. I would rather he be scared and run away. I’d hide him no matter what he does, but Vicente wouldn’t do that. As Ercella thought, Vicente was indifferent to such concerns.

“Of course.”

“You’re not scared?”

“I’m not afraid.”

“Even though you could lose your life?”

“It’s a duty I’m determined to do.”

Vicente’s eyes didn’t even flinch saying so. There was no sign of fear in him. Somehow, she felt a sour taste in her mouth.

“Can you promise me one thing?”

Ercella said with a bitter smile.

“About what..?”

“In case there comes a day where you have to go to war….”

“…….”

“Promise me that you will come back alive, no matter what.”

Freeze-

Vicente stopped lowering his outstretched hand. His blue eyes seemed to shake a little. Ercella closed her eyes and opened her eyes in surprise. When she looked again, Vicente’s eyes remained the same. Perhaps, it was her illusion.

“I will.”

He spoke in a plain tone as usual.

“Thank you for saying so.”

Ercella smiled brightly at the bland answer. Vicente looked at her with strange eyes again.

“Are you that happy about it?”

“Of course, I am.”

“But it can become just an empty promise. Since no one knows what might happen.”

Just as Vicente said, no one knows what may happen at war. Life and death are unpredictable.

If you become a knight, you can’t help but raise your sword, and if a war breaks out, you have to walk into a bloody battlefield. So even if it’s an empty promise, it’s comforting right now.

“I’m sure you’ll come back alive because you’ll be an excellent knight.”

Vicente tilted his head at the unfounded remark.

“How are you sure?”

“You’re my son, aren’t you?”

“Based on just that?”

“It’s not just…”

Ercella expressed her disappointment. She believed in Vicente, not because he was exceptionally talented or because he was the successor to a military family. It’s just because Vicente is Ercella’s son.

That’s why I’m confident about him, but to say just that… Ercella’s eyebrows drooped. Suddenly, a low laugh rang in her ears. As she raised her face in surprise, she saw the corner of Vicente’s lips slightly bent. He spoke in a low voice.

“To say that just because I’m her son…”

“…….”

“Mother can’t even wield a sword.”

Ercella was dumbfounded.

… Are you making a joke?

Her eyes widened like a surprised rabbit. If you pay attention to his words, you’ll find that he’s joking but the tone of the voice he used was so serious that if she didn’t know any better, she would have had no idea how to respond.

In the meantime, his mouth that was curved into a smile quickly returned to its place. The rare sight disappeared in an instant. It’d be nice if you laughed more. As she started feeling regret, a low voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Then I’ll try not to die.”

Try? Not to die? Ercella’s complexion turned pale. Her mind went blank.

“Perhaps… W-were you planning to…?”

Is it that you didn’t have the will to live in the first place!

“Planning what..?”

Vicente furrowed his brow, then uttered it as short as a sigh.

“It’s just a promise.”

His tone revealed how absurd he found this. Her heart finally calmed down. Just like his father, he’s so serious that I often misinterpret his intentions.

Just then Ercella wished that the Duke of Garten, who went to Conrad, would do a good job. Obviously, the Duke and Duchess of Garten would be in high spirits if he succeeded in diplomacy, but she had no choice but to hope that the Duke would carry out his mission safely because safety came first.

“What’s the matter?”

Vicente asked as if he noticed signs of discomfort. Ercella opened her mouth and shook her head.

“Anyway, did you choose a book? I don’t have anything in my hands.”

“I didn’t like anything. If I need anything, I can just order Clifton later.”

“Alright.”

Actually, it didn’t matter, since it’s just a book.

By the way, what do we do now?

The sun was still high. There was a lot of time left, and the weather was sunny, so it was too bad to go like this. Coincidentally, Vicente doesn’t take lessons on this day.

Right! That seems like an option.

It seemed that the only thing that Vicente would be interested in was “it.” Ercella grabbed Vicente by the sleeve and led him with a serious face.

Ahh… I’m wearing blue nail polish