Blooming Like a Flower - 3
I took a leisurely sip of my now ice-cold black tea and raised an eyebrow. “You look rather surprised.”
Lobelia remained frozen with that same bewildered expression, studying my face for a moment. Just as she parted her tightly closed lips to speak, I cut in first.
“This is about the time you’d ask why you should trust me, isn’t it?”
“…Why the hell do you always—”
Her face flushed bright red the instant I stole her words. She slammed her palm down on the table with a loud thud. Leaning forward, her agitated features drew even closer. We stared at each other.
Hmm…
I idly traced the rim of my teacup with a finger, utterly still, while Lobelia bit down hard on her lip. Our glaring contest lasted only a few seconds before I broke the silence, pointing directly at her eyes.
“You don’t have to believe me. Everything is up to Your Highness’s discretion. I’m merely an invited guest—not even a noble. Oh, and please don’t regret this later. You needn’t keep suspecting Kalupen. Pfft… pffft-haha!”
“What are you laughing at?”
I had tried to hold it in, but the laughter burst out anyway. It was an act, of course, yet the way she watched me shake with giggles through eyes full of contempt still stung a little. When she frowned and shot me a look that clearly asked what the hell I was doing, I abruptly stopped.
“Isn’t it funny? I just told you about treason—a matter of national importance—and yet here you are, busy suspecting me.”
“Of course it is. How could I possibly trust you…”
“Whether you trust me or not doesn’t matter. The point is, if I went out of my way to call Kalupen a traitor, you should be asking what he said instead of wasting time doubting me. That’s what’s amusing.”
Lobelia’s face hardened. She frowned and leaned back, pressing a hand to her forehead as if a headache had struck. She sank into her chair.
Kalupen is a traitor.
Who would dare tell the Imperial Princess that a traitor lurked among them? No—the ministers who spoke to the Princess and Emperor all lied, claiming the empire was thriving. The Emperor himself rarely showed his face. Lobelia had harbored suspicions, but she had dulled her own judgment to cling to the comfort of the status quo.
“I know this isn’t something an outsider like me should interfere with. However, with Lady Aran, Lord Mainas, and now Kalupen all coming up in conversation, I don’t think it’s so strange that I’m the one bringing this up. Do you require further persuasion?”
“…What exactly do you want?”
Lobelia let out a deep, defeated sigh, her tired eyes revealing her exhaustion. Those hollow crimson eyes glared at me as if cursing me for being a son of a bitch.
I may be a villain, but I never blackmailed Your Highness, did I?
Grumbling inwardly, I smiled on the surface and extended my hand.
“The same as before.”
“…Fine. I’ll make time for you. But if there’s nothing suspicious about Kalupen’s movements, your head will be on a pike that very instant.”
“By all means.”
The Princess eyed my outstretched hand with clear reluctance, then clicked her tongue and rose from her chair. She even shot me a sharp, irritated glare, as if touching my hand was the last thing she wanted. It genuinely hurt. Good grief.
Well, whatever.
I straightened my clothes and stood as well.
“What kind of relationship did we have in the future? I don’t believe you. I’m only asking because I’m curious what nonsense you’ll spout.”
“…I’m not entirely sure.”
At first, things had been fine. I had tried to stop everything alongside her. My goal had been to bring a happy smile to her lips, and I had devoted myself to the point where others might have called it selfless. Yes…
Back then, for a brief moment, I was happy.
Even when she hated me, resented me, and tried to kill me. Even when blood trickled from her lips and her eyes turned hollow. Picturing that scene must have made my face go blank, because Lobelia watched me for a moment before turning away and tossing the words over her shoulder.
“It doesn’t sound like it was good.”
“…That’s correct. For someone like me, that was the best I could do.”
“Then where did these feelings of mine come from? These emotions?”
Beyond her long, dark lashes, Lobelia’s gaze held a subtle, unreadable light. She muttered something, but I couldn’t catch it. The Princess and I went our separate ways.
…This time, without fail.
I hoped I could give her a happy death.
…
Lobelia headed straight for her office. She needed to examine the records of Kalupen’s activities for any discrepancies. She asked the Minister of Security to keep it confidential and began poring over his movements.
…Hawin, who exactly are you?
She scanned the documents she had received. They were filled with reports of what he had done here and there, yet nothing in them seemed suspicious. No—
Lobelia let out a hollow laugh, as if she couldn’t believe what she was reading, and continued.
“It’s too perfect.”
Kalupen had submitted reports without a single gap. Where he had gone, what he had done, how much money remained, and what he planned to do next. The more flawless it appeared, the more glaring the underlying instability became. Something was off. The pattern of his movements was strange.
“…He went ‘personally’ to the West because taxes weren’t coming in fully. Why didn’t he send a tax collector?”
Muttering to herself, Lobelia pulled out additional documents related to taxation and read on. Kalupen had been clever. He had provided evidence that the taxes didn’t match… yet there were separate records showing that the West had been making regular payments all along. Looking only at Kalupen’s documents, nothing seemed wrong. But when viewed alongside everything else, it was clearly suspicious.
“And the hunting. He suddenly began going hunting regularly, even though it wasn’t hunting season.”
The West did contain a vast hunting ground, so if hunting was his hobby, it was plausible. But after a certain point, the hunting excuses had increased dramatically.
“Several key supplies that were supposed to be returned at this time never arrived. Also, Kalupen’s schedule is strangely empty only in the evenings. And he keeps traveling to the West…”
Lobelia pressed hard on her temples and glanced out the window. After hours of investigation, night had already fallen. Moonlight poured in, casting the office in a pale glow. She hadn’t even lit a lamp, simply comparing documents the entire time.
…Kalupen. Just as he said—you really are a traitor.
He had gone to the West repeatedly. His excuses were hunting and banquets with the Western Margrave. Yet several important documents he had taken were now missing. Documents containing military secrets. And the West was where the Nine Kingdoms lay. If Kalupen truly was a traitor, the danger posed by the Western Margrave had to be taken into account as well. Moreover, once she realized the taxes were being skimmed, the corruption of the nobles became glaringly obvious at a glance.
“Embezzling so openly!”
As a member of the imperial family, she had never paid attention to such documents before. That was why she now rummaged through them frantically, reading everything. The records simply ended with vague notes like “received several” or “gave several.” A few scattered, poorly organized entries. But the sheer disparity between what was given and what was received was absurd. In many cases, there were no records at all of anything being received—only given.
“These nobles… they showed their faces so often. Were they truly this shameless?”
Lobelia closed the documents with a sharp snap and shut her eyes. She had known the empire was rotting. But seeing it with her own eyes made the reality hit far harder. Why had she kept her eyes closed for so long?
…Hawin.
That single name refused to leave her mind. Her heart kept racing. At this rate, she might actually be ill. Yet from the look in his eyes at the very end today, she could tell. Worry, sorrow, bitterness. It hadn’t been an act—he had simply shown his true self.
She couldn’t understand the man named Hawin. But something deep inside her screamed the truth. That man from her nightmares. The one who, whenever blood splattered and gunshots rang out, would be consumed by endless regret.
“Yes… it can’t be helped.”
Lobelia slowly rose from her chair and waved off the Minister of Security, who was watching her with concern. He let out a long breath and nodded.
“Tell me where this Hawin person is. Preferably somewhere I can go right now.”
“…He is at Kalupen’s residence. He stays there every day.”
“I see. Thank you. That should be close enough to reach immediately.”
Lobelia nodded and stepped outside. Guards blocked her path several times along the way, but one look at her cold eyes and they immediately withdrew.
If these feelings are real…
She had to hear what had happened. No… hearing the story wasn’t the goal. Whenever she was near Hawin, her heart pounded violently, yet she felt an inexplicable sense of stability—like she couldn’t bear to let go of a cherished stuffed doll.
“It doesn’t feel the same as with Rogiwell, so it can’t be love.”
It wasn’t the fluttering excitement of a first crush. It was a sensation that tore her heart to shreds. Now that she was certain Kalupen was a traitor, she had even more reason to go. She needed to keep him by her side and watch him closely. No matter how much she suspected, pondered, and reconsidered, only one answer emerged. She simply had to keep Hawin within sight at all times.
Lobelia smiled, a slow, curving smile laced with bitter ecstasy and madness.
“Hawin, I will make you mine.”
Her eyes gleamed in the darkness.