“Just the two of us, unrelated to Lady Violet or His Highness the Prince.”

While waiting for her answer, Kale’s heart was on the verge of shriveling up and drying out. The humid air and the scent of summer flowers in full bloom felt distant.

The time it took to inhale and exhale once felt like a hundred years.

“Alright.”

“That’s good, then. ……What?”

“I said alright. Let’s do it, dinner. Just the two of us.”

The corners of her eyes creased, forming small shadows. Her light freckles caught the afternoon sun like ripples on water.

During the time their round eyes met in circles, it felt as if a season not of this earth had arrived.

※※※

The prince’s romance was tumultuous.

The beautiful prince was desperate, unable to express his feelings as if experiencing love for the first time. He would import flowers from other continents to present them, and readily offer jewels with limited mining quotas.

Each time the prince’s gifts arrived, the viscountal household’s servants noisily praised his sincerity. The flowers were perfect for decorating the Lady’s bedroom, and every piece of jewelry suited the Miss perfectly without exception.

Whenever he heard the envious comments about how thoughtful His Highness was, Kale would privately marvel at the absurdity.

It was true that His Highness Helio personally selected items to send to the Lady, but it was his guard who curated the list of options before they were presented.

His superior’s instructions were never specific. Under vague orders like “earrings that would suit Lady Violet,” “a blue necklace,” or “a diamond bracelet,” Kale had to find items that would satisfy both parties—Helio who selected them and Violet who received them.

Helio would simply choose one from the three or four options Kale had filtered, or sometimes purchase all of them. Yet—even so, his gaze when examining gifts for his lover was uncharacteristically careful.

A man in his first love seemed desperate to show off his beloved to the entire world. Kale had to listen to praises about Lady Violet dozens of times each day.

This was exceedingly painful because if he agreed appropriately, he would be warned with “Are you eyeing my lover?” and if he pretended not to notice, he would be scolded with “Are your eyes on your feet?”

In any case, Helio Bellivet would be reminded of Violet Blanchet whether he saw a flower blooming in the garden, an elaborately engraved fountain, or an unprocessed gemstone. So he would select gifts proportional to the time he couldn’t see his beloved.

Though suffering from his master’s devoted love, Kale couldn’t really blame him since he understood those feelings.

How could he not understand the desire to show off and announce to the world? If Kale were to become lovers with the person he liked, he would be desperate enough to place newspaper advertisements.

If she said she liked the night, he would cut out the dark corners of the sky to gift her, and if she liked the surface of the river touched by sunlight, he would capture that moment to present to her.

If such a relationship were natural, that is.

That’s why Kale was extremely nervous even when handing over a small ribbon, and when Julie gladly accepted it, he literally felt like he was flying.

His feet, lifted from the ground, seemed to advance endlessly toward a field with gentle breezes.

— This is the first time I’ve received such a gift.

Julie repeatedly expressed her gratitude. Her frowning face was ambiguous, as if both crying and smiling. The perceptive knight easily recognized it as pure joy.

— Thank you, really, thank you.

So…… he wanted to give her the rarest gift in the world.

He wanted to see her immersed in happiness. He wanted her to become so accustomed to such happiness that someday she would casually unwrap gift boxes.

※※※

So Kale climbed Fairy Mountain in the early dawn. The pale green light of daybreak pooled at his feet.

For about four days, he had briefly climbed up and come down before morning, but on the promised Wednesday, he intended to stay longer.

Looking at the lush greenery hanging overhead, Kale thought about the old fairy tale that lingered in Paratan.

The apprentice who searched the mountain for a thousand and one days to find traces of the dead witch. The flower that casts shadows during the day and shines brighter than stars at night, granting wishes.

While telling the old fairy tale, Julie spoke monotonously, saying it was all in the past, but she couldn’t hide the romance in her eyes.

Yes, romance.

When Julie’s extremely practical gaze occasionally looked into the distance, that moment’s tender warmth made Kale’s heart shrink.

It felt like all the colors and light in the world were being reassembled around one person. And Kale wished that those distant eyes would once turn toward him. No, without such a flimsy excuse, he simply wanted to see Julie surprised.

He also wanted to move her. He wanted to create a massive wave in Julie’s heart through some action of his.

So Kale climbed Fairy Mountain. To find the fairy tale flower that casts shadows during the day and shines brighter than stars at night.

If necessary, he could just go back the way he came. Kale,

— You’re not just bad with directions?

He never forgets a path he has taken once.

— Since I met you, wasn’t my intuition correct after all?

Kale reflexively recalled the day he had followed Julie. The marketplace wasn’t difficult to find since he had been there before on errands.

During that time, he spotted a familiar back. Why he was certain that person was Julie…… he still didn’t know.

She was neither tall nor short, with an ordinary brown hair, but Kale recognized Julie at a glance. Perhaps it was thanks to his good intuition, or his sharp eye for detail.

The quick gait, straight back, hair with marks from being tied. Kale briefly wondered if she would be disgusted if he said he could recognize her just from that.

Kale thought about:

Julie,

Julie.

He simply thought about Julie.

And then he lost track of the seasons.

Though he thought he should head back down, he couldn’t return. The sky still shone with the same pale light as when he first climbed up, and flowers of indeterminate seasons bloomed at his feet.

“What in the……”

Winter’s chill and summer’s vitality, spring flowers and autumn leaves enveloped Kale.

Marigolds, lilacs, camellias, daffodils, pear blossoms, and the like ripened chaotically. The leaves carried summer’s unique humid air, but the roots filled with winter’s dry scent.

The more he descended, the more his strength drained. Though his feet were clearly pointing downward, it felt like he was climbing upward.

The outsider who had climbed Fairy Mountain in search of an old legend wandered through the seasons, walking aimlessly. Though he needed to return quickly, only layers of dirt accumulated on his clothes with no sign of human dwellings.

It was a place where time couldn’t be guessed by the direction of shadows. Leaning his upper body against an old wisteria, Kale let out a long sigh.

“D*mn.”

The appointed time had surely passed. He wanted to ask for forgiveness but didn’t know how to return, and he hadn’t obtained the flower he had ambitiously planned to find. From the start, with day and night indistinguishable, he couldn’t tell if the fairy tale flower would cast shadows or shine.

No, realistically speaking, such a flower probably didn’t exist……

Kale couldn’t stand himself for stepping into Fairy Mountain without knowing better. His shirt with loose buttons and mud-covered boots weren’t impressive at all.

In his bedroom were carefully tailored clothes and fine cuffs he had prepared for days. Though he didn’t particularly like wearing accessories, he had noticed Julie couldn’t take her eyes off the red cuffs at a previous banquet.

Had she called them handsome, or splendid? Kale smiled like a fool, recalling the compliment Julie had carefully offered. Thinking about it, this wasn’t the time to smile, but his raised cheekbones wouldn’t easily come down.

— If it wasn’t taken by someone, I’d really like it to exist.

— Do you have a special wish?

That day, Julie didn’t say what wish she wanted to make. Kale didn’t know if she truly had a desire.

However…….

Whatever wish she made, he wanted to be by her side. That was Kale’s wish.

※※※

Anticipating their date, Kale thought of all sorts of topics. The gradually clearing clouds, the cool wind coming down from the mountains, favorite dishes, or vacation spots he’d like to visit.

Kale earnestly planned conversations that would likely crumble once they faced each other.