The Flower Dances And The Wind Sings - chapter 7

“What are you thinking?”
Harsen stared at Ercella with strange eyes. Her blue eyes met him calmly.
I died in the past, but somehow I came back. Just before I died, I regretted neglecting my son and not being able to love him, so I want to change that now.
Even if she wanted to tell the truth, who would believe her? Moreover, her husband was so realistic that he obviously would not believe her. Rather, it would be fortunate that Ercella is not treated as a freak. Ercella shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.
“You know dear, sometimes you’re cold but you grew up fine too.”
The man drew a beautiful curve around his mouth. As he relaxed, Ercella also gave a gentle laugh. The tension seemed to be gone.
“Do as you say.”
“Harsen-!”
As soon he gave her the permission, Ercella quickly got up and hugged Harsen’s waist. Harsen pushed her forehead with his index finger.
“I don’t want to be touched when your intentions are so obvious.”
That way he said it, he wasn’t completely pushing her away. Ercella smiled brightly and further embraced into his arms.
“You’ve been busy lately, as a reward-”
“I don’t know how this is a reward.”
He’s being mean again. She thought of untying her arms right away, but Ercella looked up at Harsen without loosening her arms when he held her face.
“You’re here early today, aren’t you? Are you done with your work?”
A small wrinkle appeared on Harsen’s forehead at those words.
“Not yet. I have to go back later. His Majesty is in a dilemma because Conrad suddenly reclaimed ownership of a land that was given more than a hundred years ago.”
About a hundred years ago, Conrad lost the war against Grania, and had to sign a peace treaty with Grania in exchange for Azrel.
Over time, they regretted losing Azrel and demanded that we cordially return it to them.
The problem is that Conrad’s power is larger than before, so it cannot be ignored for long. Grania was still dominant in force, but Conrad had a lot of developed commercial districts due to active exchanges with neighboring countries, and Grania had no choice but to rely on Conrad for some materials.
“It seems like a lot of trouble.”
“It isn’t tiresome, though.”
“It’s because you don’t show.”
Despite spending a long time with Ercella, he never opened up to her. Although out of regret, she had asked him several times in the past to lean on her, but he did not rely on Ercella until the end.
Ercella suddenly wondered how Harsen grew up. She was staring at him, and suddenly Harsen’s eyes calmed down.
“What’s the matter?”
“What?”
“Your eyes are red, as if you cried…”
Ercella’s face was flushed with embarrassment.
How did he know? Lianne said she looked okay.
She laughed brightly, trying hard not to show anything. Harsen slightly frowned as if that laugh was trying to hide something.
“Don’t just laugh.”
“I read a novel.”
“Novel?”
“Yes. It was a love story of a noble lady and a knight born out of wedlock. The breakup scene was so sad, I guess I cried without realizing.”
Ercella could not say that she cried because of Vicente, so she used the story of a novel she once read as an excuse. She peeped at Harzen carefully in case she was caught, and seeing his black pupils fluttering, Ercella guessed he was flustered.
“Are you talking about a popular novel?”
“Yes. Would you like to read it, too? It’s really fun. Especially when the male and female characters reunite!”
“Look at you. How old are you..?”
“Old enough! All my friends said it was fun. You don’t know, but it was very popular within the ladies. A love story that transcends status is such a fascinating topic.”
Harsen laughed low at Ercella’s enthusiasm. Ercella cheered inside. The topic finally seemed to have passed.
She happily talked about how deep the love of the knight was and how amazing the lady’s adventurous behavior was.
Harsen was looking at Ercella with a faint smile, his expression seemed to be looking at a child, saying, “Yes, yes,” which slightly hurt her feelings.
“What’s with that look?”
“What?”
“It’s like-”
“What happened to the man at the end?”
“What?”
“Did he die?”
” Since he dared to covet a young noble lady.” He added.
Wait, what is this…
“Are you trying to change the subject?”
“… No way.”
Are you pretending otherwise? How can you treat me like a kid at this age?
It was like how her brother treated her.
Ercella glared at him but then quit.
I’ll let you go this time since you’re tired.
Thinking so, Ercella murmured.
“He lived. They lived happily ever after.”
She heard a low laugh again.

***

Soon after the story, Harsen prepared to leave for the palace.
“I won’t come home tonight, so feel free to go to bed first.”
It looks like he was going to stay up all night at the palace and he only stopped by to talk about Vicente.
They agreed that Ercella would decide Vicente’s education. Ercella was so elated that she ran and gave him a blanket and some snacks on the way, but he chafed.
He said, “Why would I need a blanket there?”
When Ercella smiled and stubbornly handed it to him because it was chilly at night, he reluctantly handed a blanket to his attendants and got on the carriage.
After sending Harsen, Ercella returned to her room and thought about earlier. Harsen doesn’t tell her his childhood stories. When asked, he would change the subject of the conversation, saying that there was nothing much.
One thing that could be inferred was that he wouldn’t have grown up normally. The former Duke of Bernhardt was also a strict person.
Ercella recalled how the former Duke of Bernhardt looked like. However, he died shortly after Ercella’s marriage, so it was hard to remember his exact face.
“He was scary.”
“Yes? Who do you mean, Madam?”
To say it in a word, he had a sharp image. Even though he is quite old, his overwhelming presence made Ercella shiver when she first came to this house. Lianne was still watching her, so she answered.
“I mean his father.”
“Oh, do you mean the former Duke?”
“Yes.”
“He was definitely different from the Marquis. But why are you suddenly thinking about that?”
But the Marquis was also strict.
As Lianne muttered, Ercella continued, “He was.”
“It’s just, sometimes, I wonder how my husband lived.”
“Um, why don’t you just assume that he lived like the Young Master?”
The current Vicente.
She contemplated.
“Really? Then he too… Did he also live like Vicente?”
“It’s definitely not a normal thing. Marquis Caron was an heir too but he often attended banquets.”
Caron was not a knight but a man of words, so it was important to secure connections here and there.
It was based on political calculations, but there is no need to explain that to Lianne. The aristocratic society is too complicated. Maybe Lianne wasn’t interested in the topic, she soon changed the subject.
“But did it work out with the Lord? Wasn’t the master angry?”
“Don’t worry. We decided that Vicente’s education is up to me. Of course he wasn’t angry.”
In fact, she was the one who lost her temper a bit but Ercella smiled reassuringly. Lianne’s face brightened up.
“That’s great! I was so scared that Madam and the Lord would fight!”
“Me and Harsen? We don’t fight often, do we?”
“That’s because the master always gives in.”
“What do you mean?”
Ercella pouted her lips. She remembered Harsen’s eyes that looked at her earlier.
I’m your wife. How can you treat me like a child?
There wasn’t even much of an age difference. She’s only three years younger. Lianne said without caring whether Ercela is sulking or not.
“It’s true that the Lord is generous to Madam. I mean who else caters to their wife’s tastes? Especially your taste for greasy breakfast.”
“Isn’t he giving up too easily?”
“Um… because the opponent is-”
“You’ve said enough, Lianne.”
Ercella cut her off because she had a rough idea of what Lianne meant. She meant that’s how absurd she is. Ercella glared at Lianne but she was already immune to it.
“More than that, Madam, what happened earlier? The Young Master’s face looked so serious. I went to Madam to know what happened but you were crying… Did the conversation go wrong?”
Only then did she remember the day she had forgotten for a while. Ercella’s face darkened.
What happened? Something huge happened . She thoughtlessly made an absurd remark that he doesn’t have to be a knight when he’s the heir to a family of knights.
“It’s difficult. It’s not going as I thought it would.”
At first, I thought I just had to be nice to him. Even if I get rejected a few times, I’ll still treat him kindly.
She was delusional. It was her arrogance that she could not understand the depth of the wounds of a child who had been shunned since childhood.
So, what should I do? Can I really solve this problem just by being nice? This is hard. This is too hard.
She wanted to know what Vicente wanted. That’s when Ercella realized something.
How could I have lived so selfishly?
“What happened?”
Ercella briefly talked about what happened in the garden. The story ended soon because of how short their interactions were. Lianne’s expression became increasingly ambiguous while listening to her. Lianne was a little perplexed and furrowed her eyebrows.
“I understand that you mean the best for the Young Master….”
“It’s weird for a child to just live to become a knight, right?”
“… I don’t think he took it well because you two hadn’t been interacting for a while.”
As expected. I’m speaking softly, but even Lianne was embarrassed when she heard it.
She didn’t think of how the other party would receive her words.
“You’re right, Lianne.”
“I guess, he’s sullen again.”
“…….”
Her shoulders drooped. Strangely, Lianne didn’t see it as a bad thing. She seemed to have just taken the first step towards becoming a parent.
It’s like a person who is clumsy at first but with time grows and learns from his mistakes.
Ercella was clumsy and foolish as a mother. However, it was better to see her trying than to live like she had no son. Lianne smiled secretly with joy.
“Let me give you a piece of advice, Madam. Its entirely up to you if you want to change your relationship from before. You have to work hard until the Young Master forgives you. And you need to know this. No one will criticise you for shrugging off your pride for your son. No matter how cold the relationship may have been, the fact that Madam is Young Master’s mother does not change. Blood ties are stronger than you think. Madam may know this better than I do. I’m sure you will be a loving mother. You just have to try hard.”
It was advice, but they were also comforting words. Ercella was encouraged at the same time. Her sullen mood finally got better.
Yes, it’s too early to give up. Let’s bump into each other often. You promised to be a loving mother.
Ercella strengthened her will.