Chapter 26: Blue Mystery Flower
When she opened her eyes, Leon’s muscular naked body was lying right there.
Diana admired it for a moment, then slipped out of bed and headed to the cowshed.
“Eggs, eggs, I want to eat eggs.”
She lit a fire and made sunny-side-up eggs with eggs she got from the chickens.
She flambéed the red wine she received from her third brother, added herbs, vinegar, sugar, and salt, and simmered it until it turned caramel-colored.
She poured the slightly luxurious homemade sauce over the sunny-side-up eggs and toasted the bread she received from her sister last night over the fire.
“Leon!”
Diana shook Leon vigorously.
“Wake up! Breakfast will get cold.”
Leon opened his eyes slightly and pulled Diana back into bed.
“What. . .?”
“One more time.”
“I won’t do it! Come on, hurry up.”
Leon put on the pants that had fallen on the floor with sleepy eyes and let out a big yawn.
A slightly extravagant breakfast.
Leon sat at the table and his eyes sparkled quietly.
“What’s wrong, Leon?”
“Well. . .it’s not easy for a man to have such a meal in the morning.”
“Is that so? From now on, I’ll make it for you every day.”
She stirred the egg yolk, mixed it with the wine sauce, and nibbled on the egg white. Giving in to her hunger, she wiped every corner of the plate with bread, which was mixed with the yolk and wine sauce, and finished eating.
“Ah, it’s delicious. . .”
“I saw it at that hot spring inn. I can probably imitate it with what we have at home. I’ll make a lot of it from now on.”
“Diana is truly a wonderful wife.”
“What? Say it again!”
“Diana is a wonderful wife.”
“Ah. . .This is what I wanted to do. . .”
Diana gazed dreamily at the cabin.
“A meal facing the person you love, more enjoyable than any extravagant course. Conversations more enjoyable than lively music. A life surrounded by things you love. The life I aimed for has now been fulfilled here!”
“. . .That’s quite exaggerated.”
“Really? I’ve been silently shouting that in my heart all this time, just never said it out loud in front of Leon.”
“. . .Is that so?”
“I’ll start saying it out loud from now on. Sorry if it’s annoying.”
“That’s fine, but please do it inside the cabin. If you say such things outside, people will think you’re strange.”
Diana hugged herself as if in ecstasy and nodded repeatedly.
“Oh, by the way.”
Suddenly, Leon remembered something.
“The wisteria season is already over.”
Diana looked out the window at the mountains.
“Oh, you’re right.”
“And, we’ve already sold out of wisteria flower syrup to the ladies.”
“I see.”
“Can we make syrup with other flowers?”
Diana tilted her head.
“Well, I’ve seen rose syrup before. But it’s not interesting unless it’s made with red roses.”
“I see. If it’s white roses, it would just be transparent syrup.”
“The color and strong fragrance are selling points. The wisteria flower syrup sold well because it was purple and vibrant.”
“Hmm? Diana. . .”
Leon peered at his wife with curiosity.
“It’s as if Aurel-sama possessed you.”
Diana stared blankly at her husband’s face.
“Otou-sama. . .?”
“Yeah. It’s the same expression he had when he was thinking about which flowers to sell to the royal family.”
“There was a time like that, huh? It feels nostalgic. . .”
Then Diana remembered.
“Oh, right. What happened to the edible flowers that Otoo-sama mentioned?”
・・・
【”ᴀᴡᴇʙsᴛᴏʀɪᴇs.ᴄᴏᴍ” – ᴅɪsᴄᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴀ ᴄᴀᴘᴛɪᴠᴀᴛɪɴɢ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ᴏғ ʟᴏᴠᴇ, ᴘᴀssɪᴏɴ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀᴅᴠᴇɴᴛᴜʀᴇ, ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ ɪɴᴅᴜʟɢᴇ ɪɴ ᴀ ᴄᴏʟʟᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏғ ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴅᴀɪʟʏ ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇs ᴀɴᴅ ᴇxᴄʟᴜsɪᴠᴇ ᴀᴄᴄᴇss ᴛᴏ ᴀᴅᴠᴀɴᴄᴇᴅ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs.】
・・・
Changing into casual clothes, Diana left the cabin and headed straight to the flower bed.
Diana was amazed.
There were several blue flowers blooming there.
“They bloomed. . .!”
“Indeed. Diana, you should sketch them.”
While sketching, Diana plucked one flower and pressed it as a pressed flower between the pages of a nearby book.
Suddenly, Diana noticed.
“. . .Hm? This book.”
“Oh, it’s my book.”
“Leon, even though you’re a farmer, you can read books?”
“Hey now. . .During the farming off-season, teachers come from the town and hold open-air classes. The village children learn reading and arithmetic during that time.”
“Oh, I didn’t know.”
“And this is a collection of poems.”
“Poems. . .”
“Poems are good because you can hum them while working in the fields.”
Diana looked at the tattered collection of poems and felt something welling up inside her.
“A wonderful way to engage with books. Lovely. . .”
“Is that so? The farmers around here tend to do that.”
“Is that right. . .”
“The teacher also said that poems are something you can carry with you anywhere. Even while working or swimming.”
“Fufu. Indeed, you can’t read a novel while swimming.”
“But with poems, if you remember them, you can recite them anytime.”
At that moment, Diana thought.
They may be materially poor, but she wonders what a rich life they lead.
“Maybe I should learn something too.”
“. . .Isn’t that a good idea?”
A flower trapped between the pages of a book began to emit a slightly fragrant smell.
Diana noticed it and plucked another blue flower from the field, nibbling on it.
After the gentle scent of the flower passed through her nose, a hint of spiciness followed. It was a peculiar taste.
“A spicy flower with a nice scent. . .”
Diana mobilized her memories.
What came to mind was a small foreign candy she received as a child.
“That’s right. The taste of this flower is somewhat similar to mint.”
Diana spun the flower like a windmill and pondered deeply.
