08
Evie slowly extended her hand toward the headstone.
The name written on it was strange, she had never heard of it before, and had no connection to it. How could someone you know have a tomb inside this imperial palace?
However, Evie felt a pang in her heart as she looked at the witness.
Her slender little fingers began to shake off the dry leaves that had accumulated on its surface.
She felt an urgent desire to clean it, as if driven by an inner urge to restore purity to it.
Words are usually written on the tombstones that tell the story of the person lying beneath them, his life, and his exploits.
But this witness was devoid of all that, bearing only a single name.
This made Evie feel sad.
Who was she? Why was her grave placed here?
Then her eyes moved to a small witness next to him.
There was another name carefully engraved.
**[Evbian]**
At that moment, Evie instinctively rubbed her arms.
A strange feeling of sadness and distress crept into her heart.
Her eyes remained fixed on the little witness for a long time, before she suddenly shook her head.
“…I have to go back.”
They had told her that the curfew bell rang after dinner time.
So, you had better hurry back before then. But…
“Maybe it's okay to stay until the bell rings?”
I had left the dining hall early to escape the noise, which meant I still had a few moments before the bell rang.
But, what would she do if she stayed here longer?
Then her eyes fell on the white flowers that were blooming in abundance around her.
“Everyone puts flowers on the graves.”
She often saw bouquets of flowers placed in front of the tombstones on her way.
Even though this grave was that of a stranger, I felt that leaving without doing anything was lacking in some sense of fulfillment.
Evie put her bag down and approached the nearby bush. Fortunately, the white flowers were blooming profusely.
Evie bent down and started picking the flowers one by one.
The gentle breeze was still caressing her hair and back, gentle and gentle, as if patting her tenderly.
—
Cloyce walked slowly through the forest.
This forest, located between the Inner Palace and the Institute of Geniuses, was part of the Imperial Palace Garden in the past, open to everyone.
But now it was a place that only Cloyce could enter.
He placed the graves of his wife and daughter here.
Traditionally, the graves of the imperial family were placed in a royal cemetery a little away from the capital, according to custom.
Cloïs intended to bury Liliane and Evpian there as well.
But the elderly senior ministers opposed this, claiming that the two were not officially registered in the imperial family tree and therefore had no right to rest in the royal tomb.
Cloyce was astonished. How could his wife and daughter not be considered part of the imperial family just because they had not received canonization within the palace?
Normally, spouses receive canonization together upon marriage, but Cloïse and Liliane did not receive this honor.
Cloyce refused to marry the woman his father had chosen for him, and married Liliane.
However, Lillian did not seem affected by her lack of canonization, but rather seemed to be happy about it, as if she had not wanted it in the first place.
If Lilian did not receive canonization, how could Evbian, who was born during the war, achieve it?
But they were his wife and daughter.
And to be prevented from lying in the royal cemetery?
“Well, it looks like you're right.”
Cloys's tone sounded as if he was backing down, and the elderly ministers bragged, thinking that the new emperor had yielded to their opinion.
But his next words shattered their false arrogance.
“They are my wife and daughter. So, you better be near me.”
Cloyce then ordered their graves to be erected in the palace forest, and to expel anyone who opposed his decision.
Only then did the ministers remember that he was the man who killed his brothers and seized the throne.
Since then, this forest has become a place that only Cloyce can enter.
By spring, the weeds had grown thickly, and Cloyce made his way through them.
He hadn't been there for days, so the fallen leaves had certainly piled up.
He was planning to clean up the place and stay up late into the night.
After a long walk, the witness finally appeared before his eyes, but he immediately noticed something unusual.
The headstone was very clean, as if someone had gone ahead and cleaned it.
When he turned his eyes, he saw a small bag lying near the witness.
At that moment, Cloyce's eyes caught a sharp look.
“Who dared?!”
No one has approached this place for years, except in the early days of the construction of the two graves.
In fact, it was impossible to get close. The only road entrance here was heavily guarded, and the surrounding forest did not contain any paths.
Sometimes all that would appear were some birds or small squirrels.
Clois almost let out a cry of anger to know who dared to enter, but he noticed something on Lillian's witness.
He was afraid that someone might have caused harm, so he rushed to the witness and bent down to see what was there.
“…Flowers?”
There was a circular wreath made of white flowers.
It was made with modest skill, but its maker seemed to have taken great pains to preserve the flowers without damaging them.
At that moment, Cloyce felt his throat tighten.
The flowers planted around the grave were some of the wildflowers that Lillian loved.
In the days he spent in Lillian's fiefdom, she would pick these flowers and make wreaths of them, then place them on his head and laugh.
Frankly, Cloïs did not seem to be attuned to wreaths, but he enjoyed seeing Lillian's smiling face, so he wore hers without complaining and walked around with them.
Clowes recalled those memories for a moment, then returned to consciousness.
Lillian's not here. He must find this mysterious intruder immediately.
He raised his head, and at that moment...
“!”
In front of him, was a large bouquet of white flowers.
And a little girl, with a surprised expression on her face.
—
Evie felt confused.
When she started picking flowers, she only intended to make a small bouquet.
But while she was working, she found her hands unconsciously making a circular wreath.
“I've never made one before.”
At the orphanage, she tried many times to make wreaths of wildflowers, but she always found it difficult and failed every time.
But, strangely, today she was able to relate the difficult parts easily, as if someone was guiding her.
When she regained consciousness, the large wreath was completed in her hands.
Ivy placed the wreath in front of the headstone with Lillian's name on it, then went back to pick more flowers.
She wanted to place flowers in front of Evpian's grave too.
Despite the abundance of flowers, I felt sorry for picking flowers that had just begun to bloom, so I carefully chose those that were at their peak and about to wither.
But this pushed her deeper into the forest.
Soon her hands were full of flowers.
“Shall I make another wreath?”
Evie returned to the grave holding flowers in her lap.
But when she saw the grave, she noticed someone kneeling next to it, examining the wreath.
"Who is this?"
It was getting dark slowly, but she saw short blonde hair shining like the sun.
Adult man.
At that moment, Evie's body froze.
Evie was afraid of grown men.
Until the age of five, the innkeeper and his wife abused her, and the husband always raised his hand against her.
He used to say harsh words to her and hit her according to his mood.
Even in a hot summer or a harsh winter, he would fire her to work, claiming that she had to earn her living.
In the summer, she cleaned the stable without enough drinking water, and in the winter, she washed clothes in the frozen river water.
If I slowed down even a little, the innkeeper's voice would ring out with rebuke. Depriving her of food was common.
Sometimes, she would pick up bread crumbs falling on the inn floor after everyone had gone to sleep, just to keep herself afloat.
Evie remembered this past that she had tried to forget, and cold sweat ran down her back.
“Should I run away?”
But her bag was still lying near the man.
In the bag, there was a new school uniform tie and some small items.
She couldn't give it up. How will she explain the loss of her items that she just received?
“But it's scary...”
She thought about coming back later, maybe tomorrow, and was about to retreat. But a warm breeze passed her back at that moment.
As if to reassure her, he gently pushed her forward.
With the breeze, her fear dissipated, and curiosity crept into her heart. Who is this person who came here?
She gathered her courage and moved towards the man.
When she stood in front of him, he slowly raised his head. His bright blonde hair flowed, and his blue eyes looked up at her.
“…?”
“…?”
For a few moments, they exchanged glances without speaking.
She knew that staring at someone like that was inappropriate, but Evie couldn't roll her eyes.
For some reason, she felt as if she had finally met someone she had waited for so long, and she was filled with overwhelming joy.
°. • .✦ . ◌ ⋆ ° ✬ • ✫ ⋆｡ .° ◌ • .●