Blooming Like a Flower - 2
Lobelia stared at me in silent confusion before biting her lip.
“Get out. Right now, from my sight.”
“….”
I couldn’t do anything. I simply stared, stunned. Lobelia glanced sideways at me, then openly displayed her irritation on her face. I wondered if she was on guard, but her eyes still carried traces of bewilderment.
Think. What will produce the best outcome?
While the guards were still flustered, I racked my brain as hard as I could. The conclusion I reached was this: Lobelia’s memories were incomplete, lingering only as emotional remnants. The same went for her habits.
Why?
The question arose, but I set it aside for later. As I stayed silent, Lobelia took a step closer. She lifted her head and glared at me with bloodshot red eyes.
“Reveal your identity. What is your purpose?”
“Haha, Your Highness.”
I smiled slyly. The moment the surrounding guards swarmed in to seize me—
“Do you hear the gunshot?”
Her eyes flew wide open.
“You…! Stop it, cease at once!”
Bewilderment flooded Lobelia’s face. She waved her hands frantically, shooing the guards away. They hesitated but retreated. She ground her teeth audibly.
Standing before me, she grabbed my collar. I kept my relaxed smile and looked down at her with provocative eyes. Gazing into her trembling red ones, I spoke playfully.
“Ouch. That hurts. You’re quite strong.”
“The nightmares I’ve been having lately… how do you know about them? Everyone, leave. I need to speak with this man.”
At Lobelia’s command, the guards quickly withdrew. In an instant, silence descended upon the garden. Amid that quiet—devoid of birdsong or the gentle trickle of water—Lobelia breathed harshly and pressed her face even closer. We stared at each other from a distance where our breaths mingled.
A smile still lingered on my lips. Seeing it, Lobelia bit down hard on her own and tightened her grip on my collar.
“Hawin. What are you?”
“I am Hawin. As I told you before.”
“No, that is not the answer I seek. The sound of gunfire in my nightmares. The ache in my chest. Everything points toward you.”
Lobelia frowned irritably.
“And today I realized it. Either you have done something to me, or my mind has completely broken.”
“You only met me a week ago and have never seen me before—how could you know?”
“You know how you always look flustered whenever you see me, or react to certain words?”
“….”
She had struck the mark. I closed my mouth. Though I had regressed countless times, this was the first time Lobelia had retained even fragments of her memories. I had shown my panic. Moreover, what she remembered were unmistakably my signature lines. The gunshot. I had tested her by mentioning a keyword from the moment of my death, and she had reacted.
I remembered the look in Lobelia’s eyes just before I died. Those red eyes, brimming with sorrow and glistening with tears. Back then, I hadn’t understood. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say I couldn’t have understood. All I knew was that I no longer needed to play the villain. I had ended it all wishing for her to die happily.
Is it trauma?
My gaze deepened.
“In any case, Your Highness would not believe me even if I told the truth. Something that should not exist in this world is happening to me.”
“Speak, then. After all, absurd things have already piled up before me.”
Lobelia snorted. It was a reaction of utter disbelief.
She absolutely won’t believe it.
If I told her that I had gone through hundreds of regressions just to give her one happy death, even I wouldn’t believe it. So I would mix in some lies and say something plausible. Something that would benefit me as much as possible.
“The truth is, I come from the future.”
“What?”
Lobelia asked again, her expression clearly saying, What kind of nonsense is that? A sudden coming-out about the future. Even I had to admit it was an extreme gamble under normal circumstances. But this was not a normal situation. Neither I nor the Imperial Princess could make sense of it.
She slowly released my collar and frowned slightly. Suspicion lingered in her eyes, but her attitude suggested she would at least listen. Because the situation itself was so abnormal, my words gained a strange persuasiveness.
“I know it is hard to believe. But that is precisely why I was able to stop Lady Aran, and why I could come to the imperial palace.”
“The future? I have never heard of such a thing.”
Lobelia spoke coldly. Her gaze carried a sincere warning that she would kill me if this was nonsense.
I need to choose my words carefully.
Though I had said it on the spur of the moment to handle the crisis, simply claiming I came from the future gave me legitimacy. Perhaps it could even flip the entire board. If Lobelia believed me and prevented all the assassinations, she might marry Rogiwell, reach a happy ending, and die a happy death.
“In the future, Your Highness Lobelia dies. Unable to endure it, you fire one shot into my head and another into your own.”
“Why would I shoot you in the head? Well, I suppose it is possible. One of those expensive bullets could at least put an end to that wretched face of yours. But aiming a gun at my own head? That is utterly impossible.”
“Face reality, Your Highness. This empire is rotting away.”
At my words, the princess’s expression hardened in an instant. She fixed me with an icy stare.
“You know that remark amounts to treason, do you not? It is a grave crime punishable by death.”
“Go ahead and try. I already know that a future without me would be far from pleasant.”
I shrugged with casual ease. Lobelia twisted her lips in clear displeasure at my attitude. Her fingers tapped, tapped against her dress—a habit she displayed when deep in thought.
Lobelia will want to interpret and fit this bizarre situation together somehow.
If the fact that I came from the future existed, it would explain everything. That must be why she was pondering. My behavior had been too strange for it to be a simple lie, and if she assumed her memories had been overwritten, it wasn’t all that odd. Coming from the future was an inexplicable deus ex machina. In the end, she would listen to me.
“Explain in detail.”
Just like that.
Lobelia let out a sigh and turned away. Her displeased eyes flicked toward me in a sidelong glance. It meant she didn’t fully trust me but would hear me out. She began walking and gestured for me to follow. I trailed behind her and sat at an elegant table in the middle of the garden. A cup of tea that had already gone cold sat there. She must have been taking a stroll and intended to drink it. It was a shame that meeting me had ruined her plans.
Well, it’s not as if Lobelia particularly enjoys black tea anyway.
It reminded me of the past. We had once fought bitterly over a single cup of tea.
Lobelia sat across from me and exhaled deeply.
“I hope you are speaking the truth.”
“Haha, of course. How could I possibly tell a lie?”
“Your smile is the first thing that looks fabricated. How am I supposed to believe you?”
Hmm. That one actually stung a little. I had tried to smile as naturally as possible. Lobelia’s frigid gaze fixed somewhere on my face. I let out an awkward “Ahaha” and cleared my throat with a loud “Ahem.” After confirming no one else was around, I began.
“The empire is currently a place where nobles obsess over their own self-interest… It would not be strange if it collapsed at any moment.”
“I am aware. But things like hereditary succession provoke strong opposition, making reform impossible. Are you saying it will lead to death?”
Lobelia raised an eyebrow, her eyes full of disbelief.
“No. The Nine Kingdoms will invade. And Your Highness will take your own life.”
“What?”
Lobelia narrowed her eyes as if she had heard something completely out of nowhere. In truth, Lobelia had died again and again at the hands of the Nine Kingdoms. Kalupen, the countless nobles who had already betrayed the empire, and even the rotten nobles too busy saving their own skins. There were countless internal enemies. The rot had spread so deeply it was like a cancer—impossible to cut out recklessly.
“I assume you already know how corrupt the nobles are. However, the empire… no, the imperial family has grown complacent. They think, ‘If we just get through this one crisis, everything will be fine.’ Isn’t that how you see it, Your Highness?”
“The empire has young blood…”
“And what do you think that young blood has witnessed while growing up?”
When I cut her off, Lobelia clenched her fist for a brief moment in discomfort. But at my next words, her face went blank. It was as if I had hit the nail on the head.
“There are countless nobles. The title of count is so common that dukes, barons, marquesses—none of them are truly necessary anymore. If hereditary succession has continued from the past, why would you believe it will change during your reign?”
“Young people are righteous. Like Rogiwell.”
“There may indeed be such individuals. But look around you. Young blood existed then, and it exists now. And the most prominent young figure in the imperial palace—the Financial Minister, Kalupen. That man is not the loyal subject you believe him to be.”
Lobelia fell silent. The tips of her fingers began to tremble uneasily.
“Kalupen, you say…”
“You already know that I met with Kalupen. The Financial Minister Kalupen is…”
Her vacant eyes turned toward me.
“A traitor to the empire.”