He would arrive at the clock tower fifteen minutes before the appointed time to wait for Julie. After exchanging light greetings, they would go to one of the three restaurants he had researched. When the conversation deepened, they would get up and take a walk. He would ask Julie if she had a favorite place and go there. Naturally transition to childhood stories. Since she becomes more animated when describing distant landscapes read from books. After having a deep conversation about each other’s tastes, by sunset—

“I was going to confess……”

It was all ruined.

The bear-sized knight crouched under a tree stump, pathetically pulling at his hair. His muscles contracted and relaxed, tightening his thin tunic shirt.

Regardless, his large hands were busy blaming his own stupidity. Kale felt like crying a little, but he didn’t. His large hands covered his tanned face.

She’ll hate me, maybe she’ll say she never wants to see me again. Though she’s a deep and kind person who wouldn’t be harsh…… that in itself was unsatisfying.

Kale wished Julie would be more angry, more openly happy. He wished she wouldn’t hesitate before showing her emotions.

The date was lost, and now only the task of how to apologize remained. Kale was still curled up, feeling dejected.

The neat clothes and day of leave were disappearing. At this point, it would be fortunate if he could just return to the mansion. The ground beneath his feet darkened then brightened again, with scorching sunlight alternating with snowflakes.

Standing up abruptly on the unpredictable seasons, Kale decided that moving was better than sitting. Taking even one step forward might change something.

Kale advanced, treading on snow, flowers, and fallen leaves. Wandering through maze-like paths, Kale thought of Julie.

So,

Again,

Eventually,

It was Julie.

Unrefined sentences filled Kale’s mind chaotically.

You know, Julie is incredibly cute. I think she’s the cutest in the world. When the prince praises Lady Violet, I go along with it, but in my eyes, Julie is the cutest, most lovable person in the world. Of course—I know. Saying “in the whole world” doesn’t make sense. If she heard this, Julie would shake her head and strongly deny it.

But Julie is truly cute. Her brown freckles, especially those densely packed on the bridge of her nose, are cute. The way her entire face reddens when embarrassed, how she pretends nothing happened afterward, how she naturally shows kindness, her habit of tapping her lower lip when searching for words……

I don’t want to be hated.

I hope you don’t hate me.

Because I…… Julie……

Kale imagined his date with Julie, recalled his failed confession, and thought about Julie herself.

He thought about Julie.

He wanted to see Julie, and that was all.

Then a yellow flower appeared before Kale. The flower said to shine brighter than stars was more splendid than the king’s crown and more dazzling than the world’s only platinum radiance.

“I’m done with all this now, I just want to see Julie.”

Having found the wise witch’s legacy, Kale murmured in bewilderment.

“Sir Kale?”

And before the lamenting Kale, Julie appeared.

Above her head spread dense greenery, while at her feet lay white snow.

[About the Romance That Never Happened]

Julie had read countless fairy tales. Stories of brave knights pledging loyalty to elegant noblewomen and tales of ladies hiding their identity who marry princes from neighboring kingdoms.

They shared sweet kisses and promised unchanging love. And they lived happily ever after.

There was no place for Julie among these unchanging romances. The portion allocated to a maid who was neither particularly wicked nor ambitious would at most be “Today is truly an important day.”

If her life were a fairy tale, that is.

“Sir Kale? Why are you here like this?”

But Julie’s life was neither a quaint fairy tale, nor dense chivalric literature, nor cloying poetry. It was an unremarkable, common life that would never be recorded. Julie knew her place well.

But at the same time,

“Julie……”

She also knew that life was merely a process where everyone except oneself moved closer and farther away, from bit parts to significant supporting roles, from supporting roles to bit parts.

This moment might be the most brilliant moment in her life. Julie approached the knight who looked strangely disheveled.

White snow softly wrapped around her feet while the back of her head grew dizzyingly warm.

“It’s gone.”

Crouching in the yellow flower bed, Kale looked back and forth between Julie and the flowers, rambling incoherently.

“What is?”

“I made a wish, no, I didn’t mean to make a wish…… I definitely wanted to give it to you. But it seems my carelessly spoken words fulfilled the wish. This wasn’t the plan. ……Could it just be my imagination?”

Not understanding what he was talking about, Julie tilted her head and sat down on the ground to match Kale’s eye level. Fresh sprouts emerged where Julie sat. Thin white sunlight invaded Julie’s space.

“Could you explain slowly? What wish?”

“The flower, you know, the one you said you wanted to see.”

“A flower? Me? ……Could it be from that fairy tale?”

Her furrowed brow slowly relaxed. Her jointed fingers lightly touched the magnificently blooming flowers. They were common yellow flowers found everywhere. Wildflowers with thin stems and eight petals.

“I wanted to find it and give it to you. But I completely lost my way and couldn’t return. What time is it now? No, never mind. Since you’re here, time must have completely passed—come to think of it, why are you here?”

His dry lips moved tirelessly. His restless expression somehow resembled a black bear that had done something wrong.

“You climbed this mountain to give me that flower? They don’t let outsiders come here alone because fairies often play tricks.”

“Yes, I wanted to give you the flower. I definitely saw it…… It was exactly as you described. Even His Majesty the King’s crown wouldn’t shine brighter.”

“Then where did the flower go?”

“I think I made a wish.”

“But you said you were giving it to me.”

“Yes. That was absolutely true. I just…… After discovering the flower, I carelessly said ‘I want to see Julie,’ that’s all. I didn’t know it would be fulfilled immediately. Shouldn’t such things normally require some kind of spell, or, well, a reverent mind to be fulfilled?”

“You said you ‘wanted to see’ me?”

“Yes. So now…… you’ve appeared. It seems my wish has been fulfilled.”

Kale, who usually muttered with good articulation, ruffled his hair with an unusually pale face.

“I’m sorry.”

“Well…… I don’t understand why you’re apologizing. The flower wasn’t mine to begin with, was it? Though I’m a bit surprised it actually existed.”

Rather than that, she wanted to focus more on the person who unconsciously wished to “see” her. Julie approached Kale on her knees.

“Sir, I came to meet you.”

The scent of damp leaves was strong. The grass touching her palm was soft, and the wind blowing from the south was cool. Julie cleared her throat, roughened from traversing seasons, and spoke.

“I was going to find you. To demand why you broke your promise. I, Sir Kale…… I actually wasn’t going to ask. Since it’s common for outsider men to seduce naive girls and then turn away, I was trying to think of it as just another common occurrence. But I couldn’t. Because Sir Kale,”

Because you’re not that kind of man? That expression itself was unreliable.

Because I’ve been watching you all along? He looked too blindly devoted for just a few shallow meetings. While searching for the right expression, Julie abruptly changed the subject.

“I almost got married.”

“Wh-what?”

It was an unkind way of speaking. Julie gazed at Kale, who was vigorously chewing his tongue, and added brightly:

“I’m not going to.”

“That’s fortunate—”

“So now I’m planning to leave Paratan. I’m going to another city.”

“What?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“What?”

Stupidly repeating “What?” over and over, Kale struggled to choose his words, his lips flapping. Too much information at once was piercing Kale’s ears.

Her neatly braided hair hung limply like withered sprouts. Kale noticed the small flowers cutely tucked between them and the green ribbon decorating the end.

Only then, really belatedly.

“You’re wearing the ribbon I gave you.”

“Because it’s the first thing I received from you.”

“That outfit suits you well too.”

“Thank you. Though it was almost used for a wedding.”

“……What?”

A labored sigh escaped as if he was tired of being surprised. The sound of birds traveled along the mountain ridge, repeatedly growing distant and near.

“Sir Kale, I know my place well.”

Julie murmured, fingering the flower petals at her feet.

“But I ended up liking you.”

I hoped you’d feel the same way—her downcast gaze gently rose. Her sparkling eyes traced along the knight’s cheek and neck.

“I’m not pretty like a noble miss, and I don’t have anything particularly special…… But I’m tired of just holding back, I am. I thought about it dozens, hundreds of times. That it couldn’t be. That you couldn’t possibly think of me seriously. Besides, the seasons haven’t even changed once since we met.”