After Story 1. The Unyielding Flower
Ashton completed the lighting and handed one of the illuminated lanterns to Eariel, the heir to Cromund. Eariel, with flushed cheeks, carefully removed his hand from the lantern.
The lanterns slowly ascended, distancing themselves from the small palm. Starting with the lantern that gently floated into the air, others held by people around also lifted into the sky one by one.
Thousands of lanterns floated lightly into the air, surrendering themselves to the wind. A chorus of admiring praises and applause overlapped as people standing up in various places marveled at the spectacle.
Between the sharp castle walls, red flames burst forth, and then, as if sprinkling yellow paint onto a black canvas, lanterns rose simultaneously into the sky. The glittering lanterns, scattered across the dark sky, created a mesmerizing and beautiful sight, resembling stars floating in the sky.
“Beautiful.”
Daymond, who had not paid much attention to the changing seasons, had become a man with the leisure to appreciate beauty.
Anne, diverting her gaze from the yellow sky full of lanterns, turned her head quietly to look at Daymond. His calm, dark eyes remained motionless, but as the light emitted from the lanterns spilled down, his red irises warmed gently.
The shadowed contours around his eyes were still imposing, yet he no longer appeared intimidating or chilling. The more she looked at it, the more amazed she was. The man’s once icy demeanor seemed to have softened even when he was expressionless.
Perhaps it all started from that day.
Since Anne had given him a new chance, the expression that had gradually become more gentle began to completely mellow from the day Eariel was born.
While the original cold atmosphere Daymond possessed hadn’t completely disappeared, those encountering him for the first time no longer cowered in fear as they used to. Instead, they could now muster a smile.
“My idea turned out quite well, didn’t it?”
Anne, who proposed the idea, looked up at the sky with a satisfied face.
Having read about the tradition of releasing lanterns into the night sky in the East through ancient texts, Anne turned it into an event. Initially unfamiliar to some, it had now become the most anticipated moment for many.
“Thanks to this, sales for the paper and candles used for the lanterns have significantly increased. It’s a good thing, isn’t it?”
In a tone suggesting that such praise was well-deserved, Daymond smiled gently.
The lantern flying event, firmly established as part of the festival eve ceremony, had long been a breathtaking spectacle that was renowned as a must see once in a lifetime. However, Daymond chose to feign ignorance rather than revel in the accolades.
“I thought the gems I bought you never caught your eye. Did I see it wrong?”
“It’s not about greed for money. It’s about living well. Don’t look at me with those eyes.”
“What eyes am I looking at you with?”
“You’re looking at me like I’m a woman obsessed with money.”
“As if that could be true.”
He laughed as if her statement was absurd, but Anne raised an eyebrow in response. Daymond, reaching out to gently touch Anne’s shoulder, smiled.
“You’re right. Everyone likes it.”
At some point, Daymond had become someone who readily agreed with Anne’s words at al times.
Even if Daymond wasn’t inherently inclined to appreciate such things, the sight of thousands of lights simultaneously soaring into the sky was a spectacle that could fill anyone’s heart with awe, making him one of the people who loved this event more than most.
In an attempt to soothe his slightly irritated wife, he gently touched her slender waist, which was wrapped around his arm. Anne’s body was so sensitive that even the slightest touch like this would quickly elicit an affectionate response.
“Ugh, don’t do that.”
Anne’s eyes narrowed playfully like a cat’s, but Daymond wanted to tease her even more after seeing her reaction.
As he gently scratched near her ribs beyond the dress, the ticklish Anne pushed his chest with her arm. In response, Daymond, with a firm grip, pulled her thin waist tightly against him.
Anne, who was pushing against Daymond’s solid chest to tell him to stop, finally opened her mouth as if she had remembered something.
“Oh, Emily said Marie is pregnant. It’s fortunate because she had been worried about not having a child for five years.”
“Has it already been that long?”
A few years ago, Daymond had dispelled the rumor about Marie being the Grand Duke’s mistress in one fell swoop. While people within the Grand Duke’s castle knew the whole story, the gossip about Anne marrying into the Grand Duke’s family for political reasons still lingered in the social circles inside and outside the capital.
Daymond, who heard someone say that Anne was merely playing the role of the Grand Duchess in name, with a man she didn’t want, was furious that day.
Realizing that what he had done was considered an insult to a noble lady, Daymond pondered what action he should take.
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