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Chapter Sixty-Four -
It was no coincidence that when Annette thought of decorating the garden with something more beautiful than flowers, she thought of light bulbs.
The most beautiful thing for her was light, and the ugliest thing for her was darkness.
The first time Annette thought this world was beautiful was the first day she walked out of the Elysia Mental Asylum.
For the first time that day, Annette saw the sun of another world floating in the sky.
The sun was so dazzling and stunningly beautiful because of the warm light that Annette saw after a month of confinement in the cold darkness.
Elisia Sanatorium was no different from prison.
No…
The asylum was even more terrible than him.
It was not the light that entered Annette's room in Elisia's asylum in the morning, but the screams of a mad woman imprisoned in the next room.
Later, trapped in the darkness, Annette desperately listened to that scream to cling to reality and not lose herself in the hallucinations of loneliness and emotional trauma.
The Elysia sanitarium that Annette remembers was dark, so the darkness of the night became eerie as well.
Elysia Sanatorium was a place where repentance would never work.
Even if a person repented of his sins, he did not know when he would leave that hell.
Since Annette had been locked there through no fault of her own in the first place, she couldn't get out of that place just because she had repented of her mistakes.
Even if God forgave Annette, that asylum was a place that one could not get out of unless humans forgave him and decided to take him out of there.
Annette was locked in such a place...
But the devil came one day and took her out of that terrible place.
So, it was Annette's own survival instinct that made her cling to Theodore's arm now even though she knew that he was the one who brought her to this hell, and so she could never leave him.
Annette didn't want to be alone in the dark again.
The darkness was as frightening to her as Elisia's sanitarium was frightening and terrifying.
She didn't want to go back to that hospital.
The place she wanted to return to was her home world.
When the darkness of the night fell, Annette missed her home in her home world more than any other time.
But not today...
Could it be that the wine she drank after so long had instilled courage in her heart?
Annette doubted it, but she dismissed the ridiculous idea and knew the answer immediately.
Annette had seen nothing bright other than the sun on the day she was released from Elysia.
This bright thing was the man with shining silver hair that was shining under the night sky now.
Annette grabbed his arm, but he didn't push her away from him.
There are two beings who must illuminate everything with the light they have in this world.
They are the sun and the emperor.
But the two bright things that Annette had seen since she opened her eyes in this place were the sun and Theodore.
The only reason Annette confidently accepted Theodore's help in becoming Emperor was not just because she wanted to return home...
Theodore had the qualities of an emperor, being more prominent, bright, and brilliant than anyone else in this world, so Annette thought he would be suitable for the position of emperor.
So today, when Annette saw that Theodore was shining alone in the darkness, she suddenly became curious.
“Is there another reason?”
Makes you
wish to become
Emperor
Other than revenge?
No matter how Annette looked at it, Theodore was not someone who would cling so tenaciously just to obtain a position as heavy as that of Emperor.
Instead, it was appropriate for someone like him to reject all these restrictions and live his life slowly as he pleased, away from the sight of others.
The right life for him was lying on the grass after a tiring hunting trip, leading the horse to the villa, drinking wine, and taking a nap when he felt like it.
He didn't seem to her to be someone who would allow complex feelings like revenge to control him.
Others don't know this, but Annette felt it after being with him for quite some time.
That's why she didn't expect to hear such an answer from him.
“I want to get rid of that strict law that says only the first legitimate child can become a child
Emperor
“
This was the real reason why he wanted to become emperor.
It was to get rid of the core reason that had made him live in chaos his entire life.
Had it not been for the principle of legitimate succession, his father might have considered handing over the throne to him despite him being the second son from his second wife.
The previous emperor might have considered Theodore, who was superior to the first empress's son Philibert through an arranged and legitimate marriage, as his legitimate successor.
Even if this was not the case due to the age difference between him and his older brother, the former emperor may have issued a statement regarding Theodore as a rival to Hugo for the throne after Philibert's death.
Even if the Emperor had done none of the above, at least everyone in the empire, from nobles to commoners, would not have harassed, bullied, and criticized Theodore simply because he was born as the illegitimate second son of a lowly concubine.
This was why Theodore wanted to show everyone that it did not matter whether a person was an illegitimate child out of wedlock, the son of a concubine, or even the second child in a family to be able to rise to the highest ranks and assume the position of head of the family, all that really mattered was the talent and determination needed to do so.
“Is this the reason?
Your desire
In becoming
Emperor
?
Annette now understood the ending Theodore wanted in the original story.
If she hadn't met him, she wouldn't have known he was that kind of person.
She would continue to believe that he was just one of those ordinary villains in novels, and she would have no time to harbor any kind of feelings towards him other than hatred.
But now she knew that what Theodore wanted to overcome was not Hugo, but the limits that restricted him.
Annette had something she wanted to say to Theodore, as she reflected on the past time when she had misunderstood Theodore as just a stereotypical romance-story villain with an inferiority complex.
“Do you know what you can do when you become...
Emperor
?
Annette was hesitant about whether she could say the next thing after asking him that question…
“Could
For the emperor
Get rid of the position of emperor.”
Maybe Theodore didn't think about that beforehand.
Since he did not live in Annette's world, she thought that he would not understand her words and would consider them mere heresy, and perhaps it would even come as a shock to him.
As expected, his eyes widened in astonishment.
“Don't you feel it?
With pity
On me a little when
You make fun
From me and my dreams with such words?
“I don't
Make fun
From you, I...”
“Forget it, you.”
Drunk
Anyway, so there's no point in arguing
With you
Now.”
Annette's words were serious, but Theodore took them as mere sarcasm.
His eyes looked a little sad when he heard her suggestion, so Annette couldn't say anything more.
Today, Annette decided to just find out what Theodore had been thinking all this time.
* * *
The Flores Palace was reputed to be so beautiful that it was built to rival the Imperial Palace in beauty, but what was considered more beautiful than the main palace was the garden.
But…
This was in the good old days.
Flores Palace, which was more notable for its garden design than its buildings, has long lost this reputation.
This happened because Theodore did not care about her at all.
When Theodor received the title of Grand Duke and began the massive restoration of the palace, everyone had no doubt that the garden would develop into an even more magnificent appearance than before.
At that time, a new gardener had also been appointed, so the servants in the palace had high expectations.
Edgar, the new gardener, was the one who had the most huge expectations.
The Flores Palace was the place where all the gardeners wanted to pour all their competitive spirit into decorating its garden, so the level of competition was not normal when the gardeners were selected.
The energetic young gardener, who had finally entered Flores' garden, waited for the owner's instructions, burning with excitement of anticipation.
But Theodore wanted one thing from the gardener.
“No
It bothers me
“
The gardener listened to the master's instructions and remained astonished for some time, as he could not tell what Theodore meant by what he said.
It was only after hearing Hans' explanation that he learned that “not disturbing him” meant not planting even a single flower in the garden.
This was a direct order for the gardener to not do his duty.
The sky seemed to have collapsed over the head of the enthusiastic young Edgar.
Allowing weeds to grow in this fertile land is ideal for growing flowers….
Theodore was nothing less than an evil demon to Edgar.
However, it was impossible to plant flowers or remove weeds without the owner's permission, and so the garden began to become dilapidated day by day.
Edgar was shocked to realize that the owner was very serious about this matter.
However, after a few years, Edgar also found that laziness was more comfortable than rebellion.
This was a job that did not exist anywhere else, as only the salary came without the work.
Meanwhile, a new lady has come to the palace.
“Should I?
I plow
Earth first?
The herbs
And weeds
And shrubs
Overgrown
So much so that I can't even touch it.
The garden can become rather unsightly if only seasonal flowers are grown in such an environment, so it would be a good idea to plant a lot of plants.
Perennial
Which blooms all year round.
And also...”
The lady wanted to be taken care of
In the garden.
“It's winter now, so you won't be able to start work right away, right?
How about planting flowers next season?”
“Of course.
But even in winter, there are a lot of things I can do.
Instead of farming, I can take care.”
With the ground
To protect them from death, especially in the harsh winter weather.”
God sent an angel to Edgar to restore his lost passion.
The enthusiasm of the gardener, who had been unemployed for so long, began to flow warmly through his veins again.
“I hope beautiful flowers bloom in the garden.
How many flowers do you have?”
Luna
Beautiful
Here?
“Chrysanthemums are the typical fall flower, so you will
I'm sure
“It will bloom within this year.”
“Do chrysanthemums bloom in the fall?
Not spring or summer?”
“Yes, tulips are tough flowers
It is planted
In the spring
And autumn
Both.
But if you want to plant seasonal flowers for a specific season only,
So we can
Planting flowers
Cosmos
Beautiful spring flowers
Forsythia
In the fall.
Of course wild flowers are also beautiful, but flowers grown and cared for in the garden have another dignity.
Oh~ Of course, the chrysanthemums continue
By blooming
Until mid-winter, so if you...
You love her?
You can have fun
By seeing her
In the garden for a long time.”
The gardener was excited.
He was so excited that he didn't even notice that the angelic lady's heart was slowly collapsing with every word he spoke.
“In spring, trees
Jacaranda
It is the most prominent choice for garden decoration.
When the purple flowers fall from
branches
big tree on the ground,
He is decorated
The whole world is in purple
And in the morning
The garden is a place
Romantically
And appropriate
To wander
Lovers with each other
And strengthen
The emotional connections between them.”
“Ah… Aren’t cherry blossom trees planted in… spring?”
"cherry blossoms?
I'm hearing this name for the first time.
If you tell me where these trees grow,
So I will see
Whether
I can
Cultivate it here.
If the lady likes it, even if the current climate is not suitable for her, I will
With industry
Greenhouse
Especially
To plant it
“
“No...I think I heard the name wrong.
Jacka
......
Jacaranda
.
“It will be beautiful too.”
The lady stared at the place for a moment and then stammered.
The gardener thought she was ashamed of the fact that she had shown him no knowledge of plants.
She was an aristocratic lady after all, but Edgar wanted to tell her that she didn't have to worry about that at all.
Despite her lack of basic knowledge about flowers, he was here to make up for it.
This angelic lady only needed to support these beautiful flowers with the money needed to plant them, and he would take care of the rest.
“Can you make a list?”
With flowers
Which suits every season?
“You don’t have to think about the cost.”
“Of course~ I will
Accomplished
A report
By classifying flowers that suit each season according to size and color type
And the significance
“Emotional.”
The gardener, who was excited to be able to tend to the garden, did not see Annette's dark and gloomy expression.
But even if he had seen her, he would never have known the reason for her change in mood, her feeling of despair, and her heart sinking into the dark corridors of sadness.
Because after all, the names of the flowers that the gardener said were something serious enough to change Annette's outlook on this world.