“Just get in. It’s spacious. What’s the problem?”

“What? You’re coming too, Brother?”

“It’s a rare sight, I want to see it too.”

“Eh? You will?”

Floria dismounted and handed her horse to the following knight before climbing into the carriage. She sat next to Saena, opposite the Duke.

“Now, let’s go!”

* * *

“I was so excited about Saena coming, but then it suddenly poured rain like crazy yesterday and the day before!”

“It rained?”

“Yes. It rained so much I was worried we might have to cancel and felt really upset, but fortunately it stopped yesterday afternoon.”

“I see. It was clear in Kramer territory.”

Though they were in the same empire, the weather seemed quite different, perhaps due to the distance.

“Usually there’s no rain in this region during this season. It was an unusual occurrence.”

Duke Aberdeen added an explanation.

“But because of that rain, something amazing happened!”

“What is it?”

“This… you have to see it for yourself rather than hear about it!”

Though she was quite curious about what was causing such excitement, she held back since she would see it soon.

The carriage traveled for quite a while before coming to a stop somewhere.

The three got out of the carriage. Saena immediately looked around upon getting out, but couldn’t find anything noteworthy yet.

Just… that it was a barren area.

“We need to walk a bit to cross that hill, is that okay? Or do you want to ride? We can’t go by carriage.”

The distance seemed awkward even for horseback riding. She wasn’t wearing riding clothes either.

Fortunately, she was wearing a comfortable dress and low-heeled shoes, so walking wasn’t a bad option. The hill didn’t look too high either.

“I can walk.”

“Great. Then let’s go!”

The three began slowly climbing the hill. The escort knights followed at a slight distance behind them. Once they actually started walking, the distance was greater than it had appeared to the eye, but not impossibly so.

“…Huh?”

When they almost reached the peak of the hill, Saena caught a peculiar scent carried by the wind.

“Why?”

“There’s… some unusual smell.”

A thick scent, distinct from the region’s characteristic dry air, briefly touched her nose, though she couldn’t identify it exactly.

“Ah. Must have been carried by the wind. You’ll see soon.”

Then they crossed the hill.

“……”

Saena was momentarily lost for words.

My goodness.

“How is it? Amazing, right?”

“……”

No matter how vivid human imagination might be, nature always managed to surpass expectations.

Just like now.

Saena was overwhelmed by the natural spectacle before her eyes.

The basin visible after crossing the hill…

It certainly was a desert. A wilderness no different from a desert…

Yet there was an impossibly vast flower field.

“It seems the unprecedented rainfall from a few days ago caused all the buried seeds to sprout at once.”

“I’ve only heard that this happens once every few decades, but this is my first time seeing it.”

Indeed, this was not just rare but nearly impossible scenery.

A landscape both exquisitely beautiful and extremely particular, requiring multiple elements to align perfectly.

“Saena, it seems this land welcomes your visit too. The flowers are exactly the same color as your eyes.”

The floral spectacle covering the vast area was purple.

Being in a basin, the fragrance was trapped, overwhelming Saena not just visually but with its intense floral scent. The fragrance was so overwhelming it felt like it could suffocate someone.

“Ah.”

She didn’t know how to express it.

Beautiful? Incredible?

No words seemed adequate to express Saena’s overwhelming feelings at that moment.

The only certainty was… that she would never see such a sight anywhere else.

Saena silently etched this scene into her memory.

* * *

“By the way, did you read that book?”

After seeing the mysterious desert flower field, the party entered Aberdeen Castle. After some rest, they were having dinner together.

“What? Which book?”

“The book you bought at the bookstore back then. The one about Erenhorn.”

“Ah.”

[Unknown Facts About Erenhorn]

The book she bought at the antiquarian bookstore when she first met Duke Aberdeen. Come to think of it, she had forgotten about it amid the whirlwind of events that followed.

‘Where did I put it?’

She couldn’t even remember if she left it in Delvon or the town house.

“No. Somehow I haven’t read it yet.”

“Actually, even if you read it, it probably wouldn’t be real information. You should just ask me instead.”

“Oh, right. Brother. Saya’s favorite guardian spirit is Erenhorn.”

“What? Really?”

“…Yes.”

It was somewhat embarrassing that his earlier claim about knowing Erenhorn better had turned out to be true.

“Huh. But how did you end up with Kramer?”

“When I suggested you meet my friend, you wouldn’t even pretend to listen, and now you’re feeling regretful?”

“…Ria. Back then…”

What? She felt like she just heard something strange.

Duke Aberdeen sighed briefly and began cutting his steak aggressively.

“But I think Kramer is better than my brother too. He’s surprisingly very caring. Brother is kind of… shallow with his sincerity.”

“Hey! What’s wrong with me? That bastard Kramer? Caring? Ca-ring? Hah, I’m truly speechless, really speechless.”

“……”

Saena began to wonder if coming to Aberdeen territory had been a good choice.

“Anyway, Saya is my friend so I’m going to monopolize her. Brother, you go do your work.”

“……”

Duke Aberdeen briefly glared at Floria before cutting his steak even more aggressively than before. He looked ready to cut through the plate itself.

* * *

After dinner, the two, Saena and Floria, moved to the reception room and chatted about various small things.

“How long are you planning to stay, Saya?”

“I didn’t really decide specifically, but I’ll stay tonight…”

“What are you talking about! Coming all this way to stay just one night? That won’t do! We have to go to the hot springs tomorrow, and you need to see our territory! There’s so much to do!”

“R-really?”

“Of course!”

Actually, Saena had considered her relationship with Floria as just not bad. She had even worried while writing the letter, thinking ‘Will this be okay?’

But now she was rather taken aback by such an enthusiastic welcome and how Floria seemed to genuinely enjoy spending time with her.

Saena probably would have died as a researcher holed up in some academy laboratory if she had been born male. Her actual personality was closest to that of a bookworm.

Being good at studying while secluded in a library but terrible at human relationships and social life, she would get flustered whenever she discovered unexpected aspects of people that differed from her expectations.

‘Floria is really kind and pretty.’

Though she should stop making predictions about people since they always turn out wrong, she just couldn’t help it. Saena began to reflect on this.

“Thank you so much. For the flower field earlier too. For welcoming me like this. It was truly… an indescribably moving sight.”

Saena expressed her gratitude with a bright smile, hoping to convey even a little bit of her sincerity.

“W-well, it’s nothing! There are many more good things to come!”

For some reason, Floria turned her head away, shouting with a reddened face.

They continued chatting about various things for quite a while. The conversation mainly revolved around what they would do next and which places they should visit, with Saena nodding earnestly to Floria’s enthusiastic suggestions.

During this, a servant came looking for Floria.

“Miss.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Your guest’s escort knight has arrived.”

Ah, Sir Rupert must have come. He really sent him.

Due to the characteristic requirement of physical contact to pass through warp gates, she had to give considerable thought to traveling to other regions.

‘Even though the contact when passing through gates is just momentary.’

Judging from their previous conversations about skin, he seemed to avoid skin-to-skin contact rather than all contact, but even so, he was originally someone who completely avoided touching people.

Saena was the exception.

But seeing him send Rupert so readily (though it might not have been so ready from his perspective) made her feel strange.

It certainly wasn’t a good feeling.

Was she overthinking because she felt conflicted?

‘…Let’s think positively.’

Though nothing particularly dangerous would happen in Aberdeen territory, she could go to Kramer territory with Sir Rupert once her schedule here was done.

“Huh? Right now?”

“Yes.”

However, Floria seemed curious about the guest who arrived at an odd hour in this area that was only accessible by warp gate.

“He was supposed to come together with me but got delayed.”

Saena explained.

“I wondered why you came without an escort. So that’s why. But why didn’t you come together?”

“It’s Sir Rupert coming from the main house, not a knight of Kramer.”

“Ah, that red-haired knight?”

“Yes.”

“Then Duke Kramer must have brought him personally?”

“I… guess so?”

Since no one else could move through the warp gate.

“What are you doing? Don’t you want to go see your husband?”

“…Pardon?”

“Didn’t he come here with him?”

“Probably… not.”

Saena explained, internally flustered. Even if he had really come here, she didn’t want to see him, but she couldn’t let the Aberdeen family know that, so she hesitated for a moment.

“I thought he couldn’t bear being apart during your hot newlywed phase and came here using the escort knight as an excuse.”

“……”

It was clear that they were perceived outside as a couple who married out of passionate love, contrary to reality. Though this was certainly better than the opposite, in her current state of mind, it felt quite uncomfortable.

Saena had thought herself to be someone who didn’t experience much emotional fluctuation, but lately, it often seemed otherwise.

“The Duke is… quite busy these days too. He probably just dropped off the knight and left right away.”

“Ah, well, the duchy. Those demonic beasts don’t exactly wait around considering our circumstances.”

“Yeah.”

Floria chuckled, saying the Duke should do his work while we have fun.

“Since we have no plans to go out today, tell that knight he’s been assigned quarters and should rest.”

“Yes.”

The servant withdrew.

“And Saya, we…”

“Hmm?”

“Are going to do something amazing.”

Floria said with a somewhat devious smile.

“…What’s amazing?”