Proofreader: DreaMing
After pushing and overusing himself like that, the swordsman finally bloomed into a beautiful flower and became what others called fruit. Or maybe not?
For the fruit withered like a flower not long after it beared.
Cloud still couldn't comprehend what drove him so hard. Because his friend was reluctant to talk about his past.
Cloud just thought he had been stupid.
Doesn't matter if you try and succeed, what good it gives if you lose yourself in the process?
Who will recognize a flower that lost its glamour soon after blooming? So what if they had been proved wrong? They will remember the moment when the flower lost its life rather than the moment when it looked most beautiful.
“Many have died. Each of them had families and friends—someone's son, husband or father. Many people cry over the death of their loved one. If I could lessen their tears, wouldn't it be worthwhile for me to push myself?"
“Then what if you are wrong? What about the people who will cry at your loss?”
Who will cry for me? She questioned internally.
To Cloud's words, the first thing that came to Frillite's mind was her family.
Her father and mother.
Will they shed two tears for her?
It didn't seem like that.
So, what about the people in her family?
Frillite, who recalled her family members, shook her head again. She couldn't imagine seeing those statue-faced people weeping for her.
Frillite sipped on the wine silently for a moment.
She asked, her voice tiny and small as she looked at her own face reflecting on the wine glass' surface.
“If something happened to me, will you cry for me?”
"Um. I will cry. I will cry out loud enough to make a river out of my tears.”
An immediate answer without any hesitation.
Frillite grinned and turned her head to Cloud.
“Playing jokes at times like this…”
Frillite's mouth shut closed.
His face, which she thought would be full of playfulness, was dead serious. He was missing his usually relaxed expression.
He also looked a little sad.
"I'm not joking. If you don't want to see me die of dehydration, start taking care of yourself."
The withered flower inside Cloud's chest was not only of his swordsman friend. His chest was filled with graves of countless flowers.
And he didn't want to add another new flower there.
* * *
“Hey.”
Cloud, who had fallen asleep on the narrow round table, made a strange groan. There were several empty wine bottles rolling around him.
Frillite silently stared at Cloud, who was drooling.
She felt at peace.
Just looking at him without doing anything made her feel at ease.
‘It wasn’t like this at first.’
How had it come to this?
It was somewhat ironic.
Frillite looked at him with a smile and remembered what he had just said a few hours earlier.
‘If you don't want to see me die of dehydration, start taking care of yourself.'
It was a strangely intimidating tone, but the thing put in as collateral was her life.
He sounded sincere though.
Even thinking about it now, she wanted to laugh out loud at the sheer incredibility.
Still…
It honestly wasn't a bad feeling.
Because whatever he said, he genuinely cared for her.
The permanent emptiness in her heart seemed to be filling up. Now that it was mentioned, she had never felt so free and light before even though she was filled up.
– You don't even want to marry Cloud, do you?
What Lorian had said during the day.
Made Frillite briefly recalled a conversation she had with her father.
Her father, surprisingly, saw her, Frillite's proposal positively. She also credited her father for giving in to her will, but that was not all.
Because the head of the Duchy of Perdiac was not a person who can err on the side of emotions.
Everything was calculated.
First, Cloud has the status of a hero. His status is not lacking to Frillite.
And he is an orphan from commoners.
There will be no such thing as an outsider disturbance within the family. In addition, Cloud himself said that he would not touch any of the family affairs and would be faithful only to his role.
It was another bonus that he wouldn't have to worry about the appearance of his grandchildren because of his natural handsome looks.
So, from the Duke of Perdiac's point of view, Cloud was a very good son-in-law candidate.
Because of which, the Duke of Perdiac had given his consent for the marriage if Cloud showed improvement and removed the tag of the Incompetent Hero.
‘I had never even thought about marriage until now.'
Until Cloud spoke up.
To be honest, even now, when thinking of the word "marriage", she felt a little confused.
‘It's not bad though.'
While governing her stale household, if Cloud will be with her, her boring life will have an element of fun.
Frillite was not concerned about the conditions the Duke of Perdiac had presented.
From what she recently watched, Cloud was never really incompetent. And according to what had happened today.
Tags such as the Incompetent Hero will be easily shaken off soon.
As she continued to stare at the sleeping Cloud, Cloud's hand somehow caught Frillite's attention.
Cloud's hand was amazing.
Unlike her warrior-like hand, which was crude, his were white and beautiful.
Frillite blankly stared for a while, then carefully took his hand into hers. She intertwined his hand along hers and peacefully looked at him.
“…I must have been drunk too.”
Her face turned red and her heart started pounding. Yeah, she must have been drunk.
Heavily drunk, actually.
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