Don’t Pick Up The Trash Once Thrown Away - Chapter 151

“Your Majesty?”

 

Why is Kalian here?

 

I looked back at Kalian, slightly surprised. Kalian also looked surprised.

 

“What are you doing here at this late hour?”

 

“I have something to do, so I came here. What about you, Your Majesty? Why are you here…”

 

“I also have something to do.”

 

Kalian shut his mouth after saying those words. I didn’t talk either, and so there was a subtle silence between us.

 

“Baron Aster.”

 

It was Adrina who broke the silence.

 

Adrina, who was coming out of the door, was startled when she saw Kalian.

 

“Your Majesty, what brings you here…”

 

“I just stopped by here on my way. I see you’re wearing a priest uniform.”

 

“Ah.”

 

Adrina exclaimed briefly and looked at me. She was asking me for permission if she could tell Kalian.

 

It didn’t really matter, but I opened my mouth because I thought it would be better for me to be the one who told him instead of Adrina.

 

“I asked Director Adrina to hold a memorial service for Misa.”

 

“Misa… Are you referring to the former chief maid of the Duke of Williot?”

 

He remembers that? 

 

It was a little surprising.

 

“You’re right.”

 

“I see.”

 

“Everyone is waiting, so shall we go in?”

 

Adrina carefully intervened in the conversation while looking at us.

 

I couldn’t leave first without the Emperor’s permission, so I waited for his answer.

 

Kalian thought for a moment and then asked me.

 

“Can I participate in the memorial service?”

 

“It would be an honor, but would that be okay?”

 

It’s already 10 p.m. Isn’t it too late?

 

“It’s okay.”

 

Kalian came inside, lightly climbing over the fence that reached his waist.

 

Even though the gate was a little far from here, I still couldn’t believe he climbed over the fence.

 

“Next time, please come through the gate.”

 

Kalian chuckled.

 

“Are you nagging?”

 

“I’m not nagging. I’m telling you the rule, Your Majesty.”

 

“Alright.”

 

Kalian, who shrugged his shoulders lightly, said with a solemn face.

 

“Then, shall we go in?”

 

*****

 

A hastily made memorial tablet and two candles to light it. The box containing Misa’s keepsake was placed in front of it.

 

Compared to the memorial service held at the temple, it was infinitely small, but the heart it contained was more than that.

 

Adrina and the others sincerely prayed for Misa. Kalian also participated in the memorial service seriously and solemnly.

 

The Emperor participated in the memorial service of an ordinary maid? It’s truly a great honor.

 

I watched Misa’s memorial service with slightly blurred eyes, hoping that Misa’s injustice would be alleviated a little.

 

May Misa rest in peace.

 

The memorial service lasted about an hour.

 

Of course, this was not the end. For the next week or so, Adrina would pray to comfort Misa’s soul in her spare time. It meant Misa’s keepsake and memorial tablet would be kept here for a week.

 

Because of it, I stayed here even after the memorial service was over. Kallian didn’t leave either and just stood still beside me.

 

Misa’s memorial tablet, which was shaded through the precariously swaying candles, looked lonely.

 

“I wish there were chrysanthemum flowers.”

 

“Should I go buy it now?”

 

Kalian immediately responded to the words I muttered to myself.

 

I smiled lightly and shook my head.

 

“It’s okay. There won’t be any flower shops opening now anyway.”

 

“That’s right.”

 

Kalian leaned against the wall, a little awkward.

 

What a kind person.

 

As I always think, I’m glad I got to work for Kalian.

 

“Leila, what kind of person was Misa to you?”

 

I stared at him silently at his sudden question.

 

“If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to.”

 

I didn’t mean it that way though.

 

Looking at Misa’s memorial tablet shaded under the candlelight, I opened my mouth slowly.

 

“…to me, Misa was not just a chief maid but like a mother.”

 

*****

 

Kalian had investigated Leila’s past before, so he already knew what kind of relationship Misa and Leila had. Still, he wanted to hear it through Leila’s mouth. It was also in the hope that Leila could let out everything she had inside.

 

Listening to Leila’s long story, Kalian found out that Misa was more special to Leila than he thought.

 

When Leila was having her most difficult time.

 

When Leila desperately needed someone’s help.

 

It was Misa who stood by her side. Without Misa, Leila would have broken down long ago.

 

Kalian expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the woman he didn’t even know. If it weren’t for Misa, Leila wouldn’t have been able to hold out there. She wouldn’t have been his aide. So, he was grateful, but on the other hand, he felt a bit sad.

 

“Misa, Misa…”

 

It was because it seemed like there was only Misa, that woman, in Leila’s head even while he was standing beside her.

 

Such absurd jealousy, and he didn’t know why he felt this way.

 

Do I really not know?

 

I know, but am I just trying to look away from it?

 

…I’m looking away?

 

What? What am I looking away from?

 

He was pondering over it while looking at Misa’s memorial tablet. Then at some point, he couldn’t hear Leila’s voice anymore.

 

When he turned around, he saw Leila, who had already fallen asleep.

 

The area around her eyes, where her eyelashes fell gently, was moist. Tears that couldn’t be wiped away were flowing down her cheeks.

 

Kalian sat next to Leila. He wiped away her tears with his handkerchief.

 

The embroidery on the luxurious handkerchief was rather simple for an emperor to use. It was sloppy too.

 

Leila didn’t wake up as he wiped away her tears, probably because she was exhausted.

 

Should I wake her up?

 

He couldn’t let her sleep here, so it was right to wake her up.

 

As he was trying to wake her up, Leila’s body slanted. Then her small head touched Kalian’s shoulder.

 

Thump, his heart dropped instantly.

 

Kalian lowered his half-lift hand and looked down at Leila.

 

The sound of her breathing was unusually loud. Her slightly open lips naturally drew his attention. Even without applying anything, her red shiny, thick lips caught his eye.

 

…I want to kiss her.

 

“Crazy.”

 

Kalian smirked and looked into the air.

 

She was his aide, and he wanted to kiss her?

 

What a crazy thought. If Leila pointed her finger at him for sexual harassment, he had nothing to say.

 

He tried to shake off the delusion, but it wasn’t easy. Instead, the delusion grew so fast that it was hard to handle.

 

They were close enough right now, but he wanted to get closer to her.

 

[Love is what makes you want to be closer when you are together.]

 

Suddenly, he remembered the phrase from the strange book he had read before coming here.

 

Love. Love. Love.

 

Kalian rolled the word that he had never felt in his life in his mouth.

 

The more he pondered the word, the more naturally his gaze went to Leila.

 

“…Your Majesty, do you like Baron Aster?”

 

What Ver said resounded in his head again. The words from the strange book kept coming to his mind.

 

It was a land that was guarded tightly so that no one could enter. To not let anyone come in and tear apart his heart, which had to be strong, Kalian pushed away everything that came to him.

 

But then, someone sneaked in and planted a seed in the desolate, foggy land. He didn’t even know when they came.

 

When Kalian found out, the seed had already grown high in the sky without him realizing it and had produced a beautiful flower bud.

 

It’s okay.

 

It’s not too late.

 

He was going to pull it out now, but it didn’t even budge because the roots were deeper than he thought.

 

Then let’s cut the flower bud.

 

The moment he touched the flower bud with that thought.

 

Saaaa-

 

The flower bud bloomed brightly as if it had been waiting.

 

Still, nothing changed. If he left it like this, it’s sure to annoy him forever, so he was going to pick the flower.

 

“…ummm.”

 

Leila, who had been tossing and turning uncomfortably, fell and rested her head on Kalian’s lap.

 

As if she was finally satisfied, Leila gently raised the corners of her lips and smiled.

 

That smile fell as rain on the desolate land. The fog was cleared in the rain, and Kalian, who looked around, realized at that moment.

 

There wasn’t only one red flower. The desolate and barren land was already covered with red flowers.

 

*****

 

Crazy.

 

No matter how late and tired I was, I couldn’t believe I slept on Kalian’s lap.

 

Kalian said it was okay, but his expression was subtly stiffened.

 

Even if he was okay with it, I was still embarrassed and ashamed. I was also worried about how to see his face in the future.

 

Because of it, I couldn’t sleep easily even after tossing and turning for a long time after returning home and lying in bed.

 

After waking up all night, I finally got up at dawn and left the house.

 

The place I went to first was a flower shop that opened early in the morning. I went to buy flowers because it troubled me when I remembered that Misa’s memorial tablet was placed alone without a single flower.

 

Then with a bouquet of white chrysanthemums in my arm, I visited Aster Orphanage again.

 

“Welcome, Baron.”

 

“Good morning, Baron.”

 

Even though it was early, many employees were already working.

 

They are diligent, aren’t they?

 

After greeting them, I headed to the room where Misa’s memorial tablet was.

 

Since I had to go to work, I was going to leave only the bouquet, but there was already a bouquet of white chrysanthemums in front of Misa’s memorial tablet.

 

Who brought it?

 

Is it Director Adrina? 

 

“Baron, you came?”

 

Just in time, Adrina came to see me. I asked Adrina, pointing at the chrysanthemums.

 

“Did the Director bring these chrysanthemum flowers?”

 

“No. I don’t know who brought it.”

 

Then, who is it? Did another employee bring it?

 

Director Adrina, who went out to check it out, came back and told me an unexpected fact.

 

“I asked the guard on duty, and he said that about an hour ago, His Majesty was here.”

 

“His Majesty?”

 

“Yes. I heard he brought an armful of beautiful chrysanthemum flowers.”

 

That meant that it was Kalian who left this chrysanthemum behind.

 

If it was an hour ago, the flower shop wasn’t open yet. So, where did he buy the bouquet?

 

I looked down at the bouquet of chrysanthemums that Kalian had left behind.

 

No matter how much I looked at it, the sloppy bouquet was not the work of a professional. There was even dirt on it.