ITMFYWCLBU 10

After discussing it with Bruette during their break, it was decided that Clarisse would take the night watch at the greenhouse three days later and again seven days later. Since the night watch meant staying awake all night, they scheduled it for days followed by her day off.

Three days later, after finishing her duties as a lady-in-waiting, Clarisse quietly made her way to the greenhouse.

Because Alexis came to pick her up every day, she had at least told him about the night watch. It was, after all, a matter internal to the castle, so she couldn’t tell her family; instead, she’d explained it away as an overnight duty.

Carrying a lantern, a blanket, and a basket of light food that Bruette had prepared in advance, Clarisse entered the greenhouse. Even though dusk had only just begun to fall, the inside was already quite dim.

She placed the lantern and basket on the round table inside, draped the blanket over her shoulders, and sat down on a chair.

The lantern oil wouldn’t possibly last until morning, and if she left the light on, the castle guards making their rounds would find it suspicious. She planned to extinguish it once she finished eating.

She ate part of the sandwiches in the basket as an early dinner and saved the rest for when she got hungry later. The basket was packed with more sandwiches than she could possibly finish, so even snacking in between, there would still be leftovers.

After putting out the lantern, Clarisse stared vacantly out the greenhouse window. In less than an hour, the stars would begin to appear. She thought it was a half moon tonight, but with clouds covering the sky, neither the stars nor the moon would likely be very visible.

The greenhouse stayed warm even at night, making it comfortable enough—but being alone still felt lonely.

So far, I’ve heard no one suspicious has shown up… did they give up?

The ladies who had taken the watch the previous two nights said no one came at all. Had the culprit been satisfied with a single act?

But if the culprit really is Joanne as we suspect, wouldn’t she persist and go after the other flowers too…?

She would surely return to destroy the replacement flowers as well. Every flower Félicité had grown was splendid; even if the originally chosen ones were ruined, the reserve flowers were in no way inferior.

If no one’s coming, does that mean they’ve realized we’re taking turns guarding the place?

That would be fine too. Clarisse did want to catch the culprit and make Joanne pay for this, but at the very least, as long as they could protect the remaining flowers, that was enough. This night watch was for safeguarding the flowers, not for capturing anyone.

Honestly, even if the culprit did appear, I’d probably just let them get away on my own… it’d be different if knights were helping, but…

If Félicité decided to pursue the culprit, things would be different—but since she had no intention of doing so, there was nothing to be done.

As Clarisse drifted through these thoughts, a sudden knock echoed against the greenhouse door.

Don’t tell me—it’s the culprit?!

Startled nearly out of her skin, Clarisse crept toward the door—and then heard a voice from outside.

“Clarisse?”

“…Oh. It’s Alexis.”

The voice was unmistakably his.

Relieved, Clarisse opened the greenhouse door to find Alexis standing there in his knight’s uniform.

“What are you doing here?”

“Let’s talk inside. May I come in?”

“I don’t mind, but…”

Leaving the door open too long would let the cold night air in and harm the flowers.

After letting him in, Clarisse closed the door. Alexis slowly looked around the dim greenhouse.

“It’s my first time inside. There are so many flowers—it’s incredible. If it’s like this at night, it must be even more impressive during the day.”

“His Highness never comes to the greenhouse, after all.”

The king would sometimes visit when Félicité was there, but as far as Clarisse remembered, Gracian had never once set foot inside. Naturally, Alexis, as his aide, had never had the opportunity either.

Alexis sat down in the chair beside Clarisse and immediately noticed the basket on the table. At this hour, he likely hadn’t eaten yet.

“…Would you like a sandwich?”

There was no way she could finish them all on her own anyway.

As Clarisse opened the basket and offered one, Alexis reached out happily.

“Did you make these, Clarisse?”

“No. I couldn’t make them look this nice.”

Shrugging, Clarisse recalled that she’d made sandwiches for Alexis a few times before.

As a count’s daughter, she never stood in the kitchen. But at one point, it had become fashionable among noble ladies to make sweets or food for their lovers or fiancés, and she’d tried her hand at sandwiches a few times back then.

They’d been misshapen and hardly appetizing—but Alexis had eaten every last one with a delighted smile.

I was so happy that I got carried away and kept making them for him…

To seventeen-year-old Clarisse, it had only been about a year ago—but to Clarisse with memories from two years in the future, it felt like something from the distant past.

Smiling unconsciously at the memory, she poured tea from the pot and handed it to him.

Alexis devoured five sandwiches in no time, washed them down with tea, and patted his stomach. There were still some left, but he seemed satisfied.

“Thank you. They were delicious.”

“I didn’t make them, but you’re welcome.”

Closing the basket, Clarisse prompted him.

“So… why are you here, Alexis?”

“Oh, right.”

It seemed he’d forgotten while eating.

Alexis smiled a little awkwardly.

“His Highness told me. He knows you’ve been taking turns keeping watch here. To make sure there’s no danger, he had knights quietly stationed nearby. And since it was your turn tonight, I asked him to let me come.”

“Huh? I never heard about that…”

Bruette hadn’t mentioned any knights.

“Of course not. The other knights are watching discreetly. His Highness would like to identify the culprit if possible, so they’re not hiding in obvious places where they might be noticed.”

“I see… wait, then why did you come inside?”

“Well, because you’re here.”

It didn’t feel like a proper answer—but with Alexis, that alone felt reason enough.

Does that mean… I’m going to be alone with Alexis until morning? What—what do I do?!

That was far too awkward. And terrible for her heart.

Feeling that being alone with him at such close distance all night was dangerous, Clarisse tried to subtly move her chair away—but before she could, Alexis caught her hand.

“Can I share the blanket? It’s warmer than outside, but it still feels a bit chilly, doesn’t it?”

That’s a lie, Clarisse thought. Alexis tended to run hot—there was no way he found this cold.

Ugh…

But refusing would just be petty.

With a sigh, Clarisse gave him half the blanket.

“If we don’t sit closer, it’s too small.”

Saying that, he cheerfully dragged his chair closer.

Pressed together, sharing a single blanket, Clarisse felt an overwhelming sense of defeat. She wanted to put distance between them, yet whether by his design or not, she couldn’t get any space at all. If anything, between the daily rides together and now this, he felt closer than ever.

So frustrating! And calm down, my heart!!

Before she realized it, Alexis’s arm was around her shoulders. She wanted him to stop, yet the fact that she didn’t hate it made her furious with herself. She wanted to break up—she didn’t want to marry him—yet she was being swept along, despairing at her own weak will.

As Clarisse struggled to calm her pounding heart, Alexis lightly bumped his forehead against hers and spoke.

“By the way… I heard you asked Her Majesty if you could keep being a lady-in-waiting?”

How does he know that?!

Her heart jumped in a completely different way.

Alexis peered into Clarisse’s startled face.

“Why do you want to keep serving? Do you really not want to marry me that badly?”

She’d wanted to say she didn’t want to marry him—she’d already tried to break up with him before—but somehow, it felt like saying that now would be a mistake.

In those blue eyes so close to her, she sensed something darker than the greenhouse’s shadows.

If she said the wrong thing now, she felt like she’d be trapped in his arms and never let go—

Clarisse swallowed hard.

“Do you really distrust me that much? Do you still think I’ll cheat on you in the future?”

He asked from so close she could feel his breath. His voice was gentle, yet it felt like an interrogation.

“If I wrote a pledge saying I’ll never cheat, would that satisfy you? Or would you rather stay glued to my side forever after we’re married? I wouldn’t mind that, you know.”

A pledge aside, it was impossible to stay glued to him forever—yet Alexis said it with complete seriousness.

“B-but…”

She could never say that in the future, he would cheat on her with Princess Wiejeny—and that she would be killed by the assassin sent in her place.

“I love you, Clarisse. What do I have to do to make you understand?”

Clarisse understood that the Alexis before her truly loved her. But if that wasn’t true in the future, then it meant nothing.

Alexis kissed her cheek, then slid his face closer and captured her lips.

A kiss that once would have made her heart feel as though it might burst with happiness now only filled her with sadness.