Prologue

“You’re here again?”

Isla, the florist, recognized Eleanor and smiled brightly. Eleanor visited the flower shop once a week to buy flowers, making her a valued regular customer to Isla.

“Shall I prepare white crocuses for you?”

Isla wiped her wet hands on her apron and asked.

“No, today I want to buy a different flower.”

Eleanor’s answer made Isla’s eyes widen in surprise. It was an unexpected response. Around this time, Eleanor always asked for white crocuses. When asked where she would place them, she said they were to decorate her bedside.

“Why the change?”

Isla asked, surprised, and Eleanor gave a faint smile.

“It’s time for a change.”

Isla tilted her head at the cryptic answer. But soon, she returned to her usual cheerful demeanor, assuming Eleanor’s preference had simply shifted. After all, it wasn’t as if Eleanor wasn’t buying flowers—it didn’t matter much to Isla.

“Then what flowers would you like today?”

“Daffodils, please.”

Eleanor’s reply made Isla enthusiastically respond, “Got it!” She quickly turned her body. While Eleanor waited by the entrance, Isla selected a neatly trimmed bouquet of narcissus from the display and wrapped it in paper.

“Are you heading straight back to the manor?”

“I suppose I should. It looks like it’s going to rain soon.”

“My knees were aching when I woke up, so I figured it might.”

Isla complained about her aching knees. Eleanor embraced the bouquet of daffodils Isla handed her and paid for the flowers.

“But where is the maid you usually bring with you? The Duke will scold you.”

Logan Claven, the Duke of Claven’s overprotectiveness towards Eleanor, was well-known. Everyone living near the Claven estate knew about it.

It had all started when Logan, despite his family’s opposition, declared that he would make Eleanor Hudson, a fallen noblewoman, into Eleanor Claven.

He first made her his fiancée, then surrounded her with his people so that no one could dare approach her with bad intentions.

Even his stepmother, Cindy Claven, was famously scolded by the Duke for mistreating Eleanor.

“He’s not like that.”

Eleanor smiled innocently. Isla almost mentioned that only Eleanor, the future Duchess, thought so. If the Duke wanted Eleanor to remain as she was, Isla feared speaking out might bring trouble.

“I’ll be going, Isla.”

When Eleanor was first introduced, her appearance was plain and unremarkable. However, the more one looked at her, the more her delicate charm shone. Her fair and translucent skin, gray eyes, and long blonde hair.

Combined with the wealth of the Claven Duchy, her uniquely vibrant lips made her beauty flawless. Recently, there were even women trying to emulate Eleanor.

They believed that mimicking her would make their men adore them like a dream. Whether such a thing was possible without Eleanor’s face and aura was debatable, but many seemed to believe it.

“Take care, Eleanor.”

Isla bid Eleanor farewell with the perfect smile of a merchant before turning back.

A single drop of spring rain fell onto the dirt ground where Eleanor’s footsteps had left their mark.

* * *

“Sorry I’m late.”

“Taking a bath at this hour, you must have gotten caught in the rain outside.”

Logan briefly glanced at Eleanor, guessing. Eleanor couldn’t lie and smiled awkwardly. Rosie, the maid standing behind Eleanor, hung her head, sensing she would hear unpleasant words later.

“Let’s eat before it gets cold.”

Logan gestured to Eleanor’s plate.

“I went out to buy flowers.”

“Did you?”

Instead of picking up her utensils, Eleanor spoke about where she had been. Logan asked softly, though he hadn’t touched his favorite well-done lamb steak and was just swirling his wine, hinting at his unsettled mind.

“I bought daffodils today.”

The daffodil’s flower language is “to return love.”  

Logan’s hand, which had been spinning the glass aimlessly, stopped. Eleanor cautiously met Logan’s aquamarine eyes, which seemed to pierce through her.

“Today marks the last day of the three years I promised to wait for Usher.”  

There was no reason to avoid his gaze now.

“I’ve decided to accept it.”

“…….”

“That Usher died on the battlefield 3 years ago.”

Eleanor bit her trembling lip. At the same time, Logan placed his wine glass on the table.

Clink.  

The small sound echoed loudly in the dining room.  

“Can I interpret what you just said my way?”

Logan asked, licking his lips before cautiously posing the question. 

Eleanor gave a small nod. Logan, who had been staring blankly at her for a moment, seemed to snap back to reality, rubbing his forehead with a faint smile.  

“Do you understand what I mean by interpreting it however I please?”  

His voice was as calm as ever, but there was a peculiar heat simmering beneath it. It was the moment he had been waiting for, the event he had longed for.  

“Yes.”  

At Eleanor’s obedient response, Logan abruptly rose from his seat. The servants, who had been standing by to assist with the meal, all turned their startled gazes toward Logan.  

“Don’t follow us.”

With that, Logan took Eleanor’s wrist and pulled her up. As Eleanor was hurriedly led upstairs, her face showed a mix of surprise and confusion that she couldn’t hide.  

“They must all be shocked…”  

But before she could finish her sentence, Logan shut the door to the bedroom and immediately pulled her into his arms. Eleanor, startled, instinctively tried to push him away but hesitated.  

She was the one who had told him to interpret it however he wished, knowing full well how much he desired her.  

“That doesn’t matter, Eleanor.”  

“……”  

“None of that matters right now.” 

Logan whispered as his warm lips brushed against the nape of her neck, where his face was buried. The proximity was so close that every word he spoke sent shivers down her spine.  

“If this isn’t what you wanted, tell me to stop. Right now.”  

Logan spoke in a low, growling voice. Despite expressing his overwhelming desire, he acted as though he could stop at her single word. Even after waiting for so long.  

To say she had no hesitation at all would be a lie. But after three long years of waiting, she didn’t want to torment this man with her lingering doubts any longer.  

‘Ellie, if I cannot return even three years after the war ends…….’

‘Usher!’

‘Then it means I have died. Or I have become so disabled that I cannot move. So, don’t wait and live your life.’

The man she loved had already died in the war. Logan had delivered the somber news with a heavy heart. It was time to accept it.

“Call me Ellie now.”

“…….”

“Logan.”

Eleanor gently cupped Logan’s chin with one hand and whispered.

“Ellie.”

His aquamarine eyes, clear as tears, were filled with emotion. Logan cautiously lowered his head. Feeling Logan’s face drawing nearer, Eleanor slowly closed her eyes.

The arms wrapped around her waist, the warm breath on her lips, and finally, his lips touching hers were all trembling.

It was their first kiss.

Finally, Eleanor opened her lips. Logan, who had hesitated until their lips met, surged forward.

Like a soldier who never missed a moment’s lapse, he poured himself into Eleanor, exploring her and taking her breath away. Logan’s hand, supporting Eleanor’s head as it tilted back, was firm.

“Your Grace.”

It was then. The butler knocked repeatedly, calling for Logan. Logan couldn’t ignore him and stopped kissing Eleanor.

Their lips parted, leaving a sticky trace. But as if he couldn’t bear not having contact, their foreheads remained touching.

“I told you not to follow.”

His voice was full of displeasure, and the butler repeatedly apologized. Eleanor belatedly became aware of the loud sound of rain hitting the window. She realized with embarrassment that she had been so absorbed she hadn’t even heard the rain.

Yet, Logan’s strong arms still held Eleanor close. She had to awkwardly meet Logan’s gaze, as he looked at her from a distance where their lips could easily meet again.

This gentleman wouldn’t do such a thing. Yet, Eleanor felt as if Logan was a large beast bending down to bite her neck.

“There’s an important guest…….”

“Why, has the King come?”

Logan sarcastically asked the butler while keeping his eyes on Eleanor’s lips.

“U-Usher Fitzman has arrived.”

A flash of lightning illuminated the room. The unexpected name, one she thought she’d never hear again, froze time in its tracks.