“I’m tired. I had so much work today but worked hard to see you.” 

Really? I stared at Edwin in disbelief. In the original story, the Crawford family was said to possess extraordinary physical abilities, meaning they didn’t even know what fatigue was. So, what was this nonsense? 

“Come on, recharge me too,” he whined, wriggling against me like a child. 

It was absurd, but with Edwin clinging to me and pouting, I had no choice but to humour him. 

“Amazing. I feel all my fatigue melting away,” he claimed, though I knew it was a lie. How could he feel fatigued when he had never experienced it before? 

I shot him a suspicious look, and in response, he sprang up from the sofa with me still in his arms, bouncing up and down as if testing his newfound “energy.” 

“See? I’m full of energy now.” 

Yeah, yeah. You’ve always been bursting with energy, so much that you can’t control it. I reluctantly nodded in agreement, which made Edwin smile brightly. 

“Have you looked through all the gemstones I gave you?” he asked, gesturing toward the table full of gems. 

“Yes, I’ve checked almost all of them.” 

“Pick out the ones you think are most necessary.” 

“Why? What for?” 

Are you planning to take them back? Sure, they belonged to him, but it felt like I was losing something precious, and the thought made me sad. 

“You can’t carry all of these around with you.” 

“Th-that’s true.” 

So he was planning to take them back. Goodbye, gemstones. It was nice meeting you, even if only for a short while. 

With a heavy heart, I selected a few essential ones, including those I couldn’t identify and a couple for emergencies. 

“Is that enough?”  

I had tried to choose as many as possible, but Edwin’s question made the selection seem insufficient. Hesitating, I picked a few more gemstones and quietly pulled them closer to me.

I thought I saw Edwin's thick eyebrows twitch for a moment, but I dismissed it as my imagination and looked up at him boldly. 

"I’ve picked them all."

"Alright."

Edwin smiled mysteriously and called for Seth.

"Take these."

I naturally assumed that Seth would take the remaining gems from the table, but to my surprise, he picked up the ones I had carefully selected.

"Wait, those are…"

I looked at Edwin, thinking Seth had made a mistake, but he kept smiling calmly.

‘I deliberately chose the most expensive ones.’

If I had known this would happen, I would have chosen fewer. I regretted adding more at the last minute. I watched with a heavy heart as Seth carried the gems out. I thought I heard Edwin chuckle beside me, but I was too busy grieving the loss of such precious gems to pay attention.

"You like flowers, don’t you?"

Perhaps trying to divert my attention, Edwin asked a random question.

I do like flowers. They smell nice, and just looking at them is healing.

When I nodded, Edwin furrowed his brows as if deep in thought.

"Is something bothering you?"

"We got an invitation to the Rubyrn Garden Exhibition."

"...!"

The Rubyrn Exhibition in the capital? 

It’s the central stage where the main characters of the original story start getting entangled. 

But since I had claimed amnesia, I couldn’t pretend to know about it.

"What’s that?"

"It’s a place where you can see lots of flowers. It’s like a festival held in the capital. I’ve never been, so I’m not sure."

The Garden Exhibition is an event organised by the Royal Horticultural Society. It is a kind of garden festival and a competition where garden designers showcase their works. 

You can enjoy various gardens and see new varieties of flowers and fruit trees.

"Do you want to go?"

I quietly observed Edwin. Did he want me to say yes, or was he hoping I’d decline? 

No matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t read any intention from his expression.

‘If I go to the Garden Exhibition, I’ll meet the original male and female leads, right?’ 

Running into the Crown Prince would be terrifying. 

What if he recognises that I’m a Jueri? 

Now that I’ve awakened my gem skills, he might sense something unusual about me. 

The thought made me even more reluctant to go. 

‘But I have to go if I want to find Zephyro’s Sword.’

Just thinking about Zephyro’s Sword brought back the fear I felt on the night of the Blood Moon.

I was terrified when I thought the Crown Prince had brought Zephyro’s Sword.

‘I can’t let fear of the Crown Prince make me miss the chance to get Zephyro’s Sword.’

The final scene of Edwin in the original story was eerily similar to the night of the Blood Moon when he lay dying. 

Because of Zephyro’s Sword, he couldn’t use his power or get close to the Crown Prince, leading him to unleash all his power in a rampage, causing his flesh to tear and blood to pour out.

‘I never want to see him like that again.’

All Edwin wanted, like me, was to live. 

A sudden realisation made my heart feel heavy.

Unlike me, weak as I was, I thought someone as powerful as Edwin wouldn’t have to struggle to survive.

‘But I was wrong.’

Edwin's fear on the night of the Blood Moon was still vivid.