As her words suggested, a letter came from Botloch shortly after. Two o’clock in the afternoon, past noon. It was a letter asking to meet at the wisteria trellis in Tulip Palace. 

Unlike their first meeting, the letter carried no discernible emotion, leaving a bitter taste. Her heart wasn’t wounded, but she couldn’t help the emptiness that washed over her.

“Miss Rosenthal.”

A low voice reached her. Ann turned around. 

Botloch was looking at her, clearing his throat with a soft cough. Ann smiled faintly. Whether he’d lost weight or not, the man’s cheeks had hollowed noticeably since she’d last seen him.

“Hello, Mr. Botloch.”

Ann greeted him and folded her parasol. Botloch asked if she’d like to take a brief walk. Ann nodded. The two walked slowly beneath the wisteria trellis. The wisteria flowers hanging like icicles were fragrant and beautiful.

Ann raised her head to look at the lush green leaves and thick vines. The pale violet flowers that had grown abundantly along the rounded arch were incredibly splendid. 

Suddenly, childhood memories surfaced. It had been a summer like this back then too. A summer drenched entirely in cascading wisteria blossoms… A pale violet summer. A day when she was fifteen.

Lennox had been thirteen, she fifteen—not exactly childhood, though they called it that. But even then, Ann and Lennox had run through this wisteria trellis holding hands. They’d rolled around in the Queen’s courtyard and played hide-and-seek in Stürophe Garden. 

Was that all? 

They’d stirred up the royal palace without shame. Looking back, it was a time of foolish innocence.

Back then, Ann thought she’d be with Lennox forever. That’s why she could make such a foolish promise. Not knowing that promise would become shackles… 

Why on earth had she promised him back then that she’d stay by his side forever? 

Ann, gazing at the splendid flower clusters hanging like beaded curtains, recalled him following the boy’s voice echoing in her ears.

“Ann.”

“Yeah.”

“Promise me one thing.”

“What?”

“Stay by my side forever.”

Lennox was utterly serious. Ann couldn’t understand why Lennox would say such things with such a heavy expression. His face, solemn like he was announcing a decree, was unusually dry and humorless. Ann fumbled with her lips at his sudden behavior, then nodded.

“Okay.”

“Seriously.”

“I am being serious…”

Lennox, who had grown considerably taller than her, narrowed the space between his eyebrows. Ann jutted out her lips. Just last year, Lennox had been slightly shorter than her. Of course he had been. Lennox was two years younger than her.

But when had it happened? 

After returning from his maternal family, the Ellier Duchy, his frame had grown considerably and his height had surpassed hers.

He’d grow even taller. Just looking at his father, his build was substantial. But Ann felt regretful. 

Lennox around age ten hadn’t been this frightening. She’d thought the little guy, cute like a small acorn, was like a feisty kitten. But now…

“Then can you kiss me?”

“What?”

Lennox tightened his grip on her wrists. Ann panicked and tried to shake him off. But his grip only strengthened; he wouldn’t let go. Her cheeks burned hot. She had no idea what he was thinking.

“See? You can’t do it.”

“What does that have to do with this?”

“When you make an oath, you have to kiss. When knights swear to me, they kiss the back of my hand too.”

“Then should I kiss the back of your hand too? I can kiss the back of your hand.”

“You’re a girl, so you have to kiss my lips.”

It was an outrageous statement. But Lennox murmured it like it was nothing. He persuaded her with such a casual attitude that she almost wondered if that really was the right thing to do. 

Either way, wanting to get her wrists back, she answered that she would do it.

“Close your eyes.”

“What? You should close your eyes.”

“Now that I think about it, since you’re the girl, you should close your eyes.”

Ann felt irritated. First he asked her to do it, then he said he’d do it. It seemed better to do it quickly and run away. She closed her eyes. Something touched her lips. Was this Lennox’s lips? 

The soft sensation was gentle and warm. It felt like someone was tickling her heart with a feather. Her toes curled and strength rushed to her feet.

Ann opened her tightly shut eyes. Violet eyes sparkled like glass shards. Her face blazed like flames had ignited. She pushed the boy away and ran.

“Miss Rosenthal.”

Botloch’s low voice reached her. Ann flinched and stopped walking. The stiff-faced man was looking down at her. Ann looked up at him with stiff shoulders. 

He was a man with a handsome angular jaw. Though his nose was aquiline, his eyes were almond-shaped and handsome, his brown hair was thick, and his build was good.

He was clearly someone Countess Hervonne had carefully selected.

“Ann, Her Majesty the Queen Dowager will naturally take care when it comes to your marriage. So let your guard down and meet anyone recommended without being picky.”

Ann had felt burdened by choosing a groom through Tulip Palace’s maids. To such an Ann, her friend Belinda had muttered like she was worrying over nothing. 

Those words might have been right. After all, Ann had been the Queen Dowager’s maid for a long time. If she married into a shabby place, it would damage the Queen Dowager’s reputation too.

After that, Ann met anyone who was arranged for her without being selective. Botloch was the third man she’d met after making that decision.

“Yes, Mr. Botloch.”

“I’m sorry about what happened last time. I should have been more considerate of Miss Rosenthal…”

“No, Mr. Botloch. I’m the one who should apologize. I should have known His Majesty’s feelings and acted more carefully…”

“That can’t be. How could Miss Rosenthal have been more careful than that?”

Botloch sighed, smoothing his furrowed expression. Ann felt awkward facing him and lowered her head at an angle.

She could see the man’s polished shoe tips. Botloch was a good person. He had sensitive aspects for a man, but Ann thought even that sensitivity was the innocence of a man raised well in a good family. 

Moreover, he was fundamentally warm-hearted with a bright personality free of resentment, so she’d quickly felt comfortable with him.

In truth, Botloch was a man Countess Hervonne had connected her with through relatives. Though not a noble, his family was quite wealthy.

His father was a wealthy farmer and his mother the daughter of a landowner. He had two older sisters and one younger brother. 

Though not as much as nobles, he was an upstanding man raised without want in a comfortable family. That’s how he could become a high-ranking official like a scribe.

For Ann, who grew up in the slums, he was an exceedingly good man. If she hadn’t been raised as the Queen Dowager’s maid, she wouldn’t have been able to even look at such a man. 

But where in the court would there be a man suited to Ann’s station? She raised her head with a slightly melancholy expression.

“…But I think it’s best we end our connection here.”

Botloch was somewhat cold. Ann fumbled with her lips. She’d known it would end. It wasn’t wounding. 

He’d been sufficiently serious, and the two meetings before that incident had been enjoyable too. So if that incident hadn’t happened, he might have made a quite suitable marriage partner.

“What His Majesty said…”

“No. It’s not that.”

Botloch firmly denied it. At his embarrassingly resolute attitude, Ann lowered her head. She was fumbling with her lips, choosing her words.

“Miss Rosenthal is a perfectly good young lady. Indeed, you’re a lovely young lady worthy of receiving Her Majesty the Queen Dowager’s full favor.”

“I’m…”

“But I don’t know if inadequate me could become your husband.”

Botloch narrowed his brow. He wondered if he should express it more strongly. But the woman before him was already on the verge of tears. 

At that sight, one side of his chest grew heavy.

Pure and lovely… A woman fragile like she might shatter, yet possessing an unforgettable brilliance. 

Her harmonious and delicate features created a wildflower-like delicate beauty that was captivating enough to make one unable to look away, with something provocative about it. 

Moreover, when he looked at her face like a daytime moon buried in bramble-like silver hair… There was simply no escaping this woman.

Botloch definitely had feelings for the woman. No, it was an emotion that could be called “love” rather than mere fondness. 

Since Countess Hervonne introduced her to him, his heart had been constantly filled with excitement. She’d been a lady-in-waiting since the time when the Queen Dowager—that is, Queen Ingrid—was still queen, hadn’t she?

He’d heard she’d gone from being a page to becoming Tulip Palace’s only unmarried maid. In fact, rumors about her had been rampant for over a decade. 

To be precise, the court had been noisy since she entered the palace. Though his father had no title, he’d been quite close to nobles, and Botloch had frequently heard various stories about her from him.

“That’s not true, Mr. Botloch. Rather, you’re too good for me. Whatever meaning led you to such a decision, I understand.”

The woman raised her head.