The Flower That Was Swallowed by the Beast - Chapter 37

Seeing Iris speak so confidently, Keivrand found it hard to resist.

How can there be such a beautiful existence?

From her ear, to her neck, to her fingers and toes. He wanted to bite it all.

“Why are you laughing like that?”

Iris asked with her eyebrows creased.

Keivrand covered his mouth with his palm.

“Laughing like what?”

“Like what I said was funny.”

“It’s not funny. Well…Eugene in the past…”

“He laughed at something pretty?”

“That’s right. I laugh when I see something pretty.”

Iris pouted her lips out of frustration, but her lips were also twitching.

“If you want to laugh because you think I’m pretty too, you can just laugh.”

“I don’t feel like laughing.”

“No. You’re about to burst into laughter.”

Keivrand poked Iris’ mouth with his index finger.

In the end, Iris couldn’t bear it. She smiled brightly with a small laugh.

“Oh, my. You’re laughing so hard. I didn’t know I would look so pretty in your eyes, Irie.”

“You must have hearing problems. I didn’t laugh that loud.”

“You know, wolves have good hearing.”

Iris grinned.

Her refreshing laugh was nice to hear.

Keivrand wondered what kind of expression she would make if he held her in this situation and they plunged into the lake.

Iris tapped Keivrand’s eyelash with her index finger.

“It’s like you’re thinking of something evil, Kei.”

“Oops. I can’t fool you. The next time I think about something bad, I should cover my eyes.”

“What bad thoughts did you have?”

“I thought maybe we could plunge into that lake.”

Iris turned her head toward the lake.

Iris, who was looking at the lake for a moment, took off her shoes and lifted up the hem of her dress, and strode toward the lake.

Keivrand was dumbfounded as he watched Iris’ back, only then to shout ‘Iris!’ after she dipped her foot in the lake.

Iris, who had soaked her knees in the lake, smiled brightly and looked back at Keivrand.

“I was curious too, Kei. What kind of expression would you make if I suddenly splashed into the lake? Come on in, Kei. Don’t be afraid.”

“I really can’t win.”

Keivrand took off his shoes and went into the lake.

“Did you intend to win?”

“I thought I’d give it a try.”

“Don’t cry when you lose.”

“I’m not a crybaby, Irie.”

“Cel said you were a crybaby.”

“Haa, Celestine Green…”

Iris giggled and went deeper into the lake..

“Be careful, Irie. Going deeper all of a sudden.”

Keivrand hurriedly followed after Iris.

Suddenly, he had a hunch that he would follow Iris around like this for the rest of his life. It was a hunch that he didn’t hate.

Iris stopped at a waist-deep point and stared at the deep water beyond.

“The water is so clear.”

“Like your eyes?”

“Really, you’re saying all sorts of things. Do you know what expressions the people in the dining hall showed when you were talking like this earlier?”

“How others see me, it makes no difference, Irie. Only your expression matters.”

“What kind of expression am I making?”

“A look of joy.”

Iris giggled.

“You really do tend to interpret my expression at will.”

“I don’t think so. If I really had it my way, I would have interpreted it the other way.”

“Other way?”

“You look like you want to kiss me.”

Keivrand held her lips, not waiting for her answer. Iris’ lips, which were moist and swollen, have been bothering him for a while and he couldn’t stand it any longer.

Despite the sudden kiss, her lips opened naturally and it accepted him.

The temperature of their lips became the same, and their body temperature mixed. Keivrand hugged her waist tightly and held it close, but it felt insufficient.

Closer, deeper.

Even kissing made him want more.

When he couldn’t kiss Iris, he wondered how he had lived up to that point.

He took his lips off for a moment and placed his forehead against hers.

Their rough breathing intertwined.

“Irie, you’re driving me crazy.”

“Don’t go crazy, Kei. There’s a thing called rabies…”

“Aha!”

Keivrand burst out laughing at the unexpected remark.

“You treat me like a dog. Are you going to keep doing this, Irie?”

Keivrand backpedaled away from Iris and then splashed water on her.

Clear water ran down her neck.

“Oh, my. I can’t believe you got water on your caring wife. We can’t have that, Kei.”

Iris scooped up water with both hands and tried to throw it at Keivrand, but he quickly moved out of the way.

When it didn’t work, Iris inflated her cheeks and scooped up more water.

Again, Keivrand dodged. However this time he scooped up water with one hand and splashed it at Iris.

Woosh-

It was a mistake.

He didn’t mean to put too much on her.

The water soaked Iris’ face, neck and chest.

“I’m sorry, Irie. I didn’t mean to go that far…”

The moment Keivrand approached apologizing, Iris attacked suddenly.

Of course he could have avoided it, but this time he pretended not to.

Iris, who succeeded in the attack, had a smug look on her face.

She looked so cute that Keivrand couldn’t even speak. He wanted to bite her.

No, he must bite her.

He can’t stand it anymore.

It was when he was determining where to bite Iris…

“I’m sorry to bother you in the middle of your fun water activity.”

Jamie’s voice came from above the lake.

Iris and Keivrand looked back at the same time.

Jamie was sitting on a horse.

‘What are you two doing? Where’s your dignity?’

Jamie was giving them such a look.

“We have a visitor.”

“Who is it?”

Keivrand held Iris’ hand and asked, splashing out of the lake.

Jamie reigned the horse back, afraid the water might get on him, and spoke.

“Not you boss, it’s for Miss Iris.”

* * *

When Iris entered her room, Christina sprang up in surprise.

“Oh, my. Why are you so wet? What if you catch a cold?”

With a grave look, Elly asked.

“Was this an attack?”

“No, a little on the lake…”

“Did the enemy attack you a little?”

“El, stop talking nonsense and go get a towel.”

“Nonsense? Britney, that son of a….”

Thud-!

This time Iris clearly witnessed it.

Christina’s elbow struck Elly’s slim stomach mercilessly.

Iris opened her eyes wide in surprise, and Elly rubbed her belly as if it didn’t hurt much.

“I think you should be more careful than I am…Look at how surprised Miss Iris is.”

Elly grumbled and headed for the bathroom.

Christina smiled awkwardly at Iris.

“I’m sorry you had to see that Miss Iris. Elly, that kid sometimes says bad things and does bad things in front of nobles.”

“It’s all right, Christina. A few swear words aren’t going to startle my heart.”

“Of course. However, if it was only a few swear words…Anyway, why are you so wet?”

“I played with the Count at the lake.”

“Oh, my. You’re on good terms with each other. I thought Count Green was an unfeeling man, but I guess when he’s with Miss Iris he acts like a boy.”

Like a boy.

Apparently, Keivrand at the lake really seemed that way. His lips, which were smiling brightly, made her heart warm.

It wasn’t long before Elly brought a towel. Iris washed her wet body and changed into a new dress. Since an important guest came, she wanted to show him how happy she was.

Her hair was still wet, so she fixed it slightly with a pin and headed to the reception room where the guest was waiting.

Keivrand was waiting in front of the drawing room.

“Can I come in with you, Irie?”

Iris hesitated for a moment and nodded.

“Okay.”

Jamie opened the door to the drawing room.

The man sitting on the sofa jumped up.

It was Gauser, the man she had left in charge of Lavent’s gold mine.

* * *

Even after greeting each other, Gauser didn’t immediately get to the point.

He sat for a long time with a dark look on his face.

Iris knew why he had come, so she waited silently for him to speak.

After sighing several times, Gauser finally spoke.

“I’m sorry to take up your time, Miss Iris. In any case, it’s not good news…”

“It’s okay, tell me.”

“The gold mine is…blocked.”

“Blocked?”

“It’s a dead gold mine. I can’t go any further in, whether it’s this way or that, because it’s blocked by rocks.”

“I see.”

Even in her previous life, Lavent’s gold mine was blocked early on.

Reuben Whittle, who sold Iris and received Lavent’s gold mine, became furious, claiming that Viscount Hutch had deceived him.

When Reuben visited the estate of Viscount Hutch, Alfred was away for work.

He may have left in anticipation of such a situation.

When he couldn’t meet Alfred, Reuben turned his attention to Iris.

[It’s because of that bitch! I raised her well to help our family, but that damn gold mine was ruined before I could even take anything out!]

The choice of Lavent’s gold mine and sending Iris to Alfred were all Reuben’s decisions, but somehow Iris was to blame.

Reuben, who cursed Iris for a long time, finally went to Lavent’s gold mine and shouted to the gold mine managers and miners to continue mining.

It was no use arguing that they might all die. The miners had no choice but to listen to the Duke who was as high as the sky.

And then a miracle happened.

A miracle that happened to Duke Whittle.

In this life, Iris planned to make that miracle hers.

“Gauser. Did you check the north wall?”

“Yes, I went there myself and checked. It’s a hard, huge rock, so I couldn’t do anything about it. The miners tried to break it down, but the pickaxes couldn’t even make a dent.”

“How about a bomb?”

Gauser stopped breathing at Iris’ question. Thinking that he had misheard, he carefully asked.

“What?”

“A bomb. Have you used it?”

“Miss Iris. A bomb… cannot be used there. It’s too deep. We need people within a certain distance to detonate the bomb, and if we detonate it, not only the rocks but the entire mine could be destroyed.”

Gauser explained, thinking that Iris didn’t know what would happen.

“The mine won’t be destroyed.”

Iris said firmly.

“And no one will die.”

“No, Miss Iris. If you go in there, you’ll understand what I’m saying.”

“I understand. But the mine won’t be destroyed. The rock that’s blocking the north, one at the bottom right, and one at the top left. Install the bombs and set it off. The rock will break and no one will be hurt.”

Gauser looked back at Keivrand as if he was asking him to stop her.

Keivrand, who had a curious look due to Iris’ stern remarks, shrugged when he noticed Gauser’s gaze. It was an expression that reads, ‘I can’t stop her either.’

“Miss Iris, it will be too late if an accident happens.”

“There will be no accidents. But if it happens, I’ll take responsibility.”

“No, I’m the one who’s responsible. I’m the manager there. But…no matter if they’re commoners, I think human life is more precious than gold.”

At Gauser’s honest words, Iris smiled softly.

This is why she liked Gauser.

“So do I, Gauser. You think I don’t value people’s lives?”

There was a moment of silence.

Gauser’s eyes, which had been focused on Iris’ eyes for some time, became determined.

“I had decided to follow Miss Iris. So I’ll do as you say.”

“Do it, Gauser. You won’t regret it.”

== Translator’s Note ==

1. Chapter 1 through 36 has been proofread, edited, and cleaned up.

2. Duke Globurn Whittle has been changed to Duke Reuben Whittle.

3. The author uses nicknames for some of the main characters. Their full name is only mentioned once when they were first introduced. I thought this would be confusing, so I’ve been using their full name this whole time (they’ll still uses nicknames when talking to each other). I thought I should point that out. The names and nicknames are;

Helena – Hela

Celestine – Cel

Edward – Eddie

Britney – Brie

Elly – Elle

Christina – Christy

Melanie – Mel

Keivrand(t) – Kei <– I dropped the t because I didn’t see any point of having it.

Iris – Irie/Issy <– I didn’t use her nickname because her name is already short, but I decided to go back and change it anyways.