[IHTTMBW] Chapter 28

The lilac forest, with its blossoms in full bloom, was a place only members of the royal family could enter. The sweet scent of lilacs was so strong it made my head spin. It was a beautiful place. 

After dropping me off at the forest’s edge, Valk said he could go no further, though he kept marvelling at the sight of the lilac blossoms from afar. I, too, was captivated by the sight. 

The lilac trees were planted in a circle around a central space filled with wildflowers—this was the royal garden. 

I walked into it, breathing in the lilac scent mixed with the aroma of wildflowers. “Myrthi loves flowers…” I murmured to myself. 

The floral scent was so thick it made me feel like I was getting dizzy, almost intoxicated. I plopped down into the tall grass that reached my chest. Since I couldn’t sense any signs of people around, I assumed the little duke-grand-uncle hadn’t arrived yet. 

So, as I was slowly drifting off to sleep, a sudden voice broke through the quiet. 

“Who are you, child, and what are you doing here?” 

It was the little duke-grand-uncle. Startled, I sat up, propping myself up with my hands behind me. I blinked my eyes open and closed, only to see an imposing old man standing before me, looking at me with surprise. 

“This place isn’t open to just anyone, you know,” he said, his tone a little different from what I had read in the books. Maybe he spoke differently to children? It seemed like he was studying my eyes carefully, and then he laughed heartily. 

“I feel like I’m dreaming. For a moment, I thought you were a lilac fairy. My wife used to hear that when she was young.” His eyes softened with a distant look as if recalling a memory. I widened my eyes so he could see them better. 

“Yes, those violet eyes… They’re very rare,” his voice softened even more. He took a step closer, knelt on one knee in front of me, and met my gaze. 

“Now, let me see. Are you a lost child?” I shook my head from side to side. The Duke made a thoughtful sound and asked again. 

“Then, are you a lilac fairy?” 

“Hehe.” I chuckled and nodded enthusiastically before speaking. 

“And the lilac fairy is friends with the water fairy!” A gentle smile spread across the Duke’s face. He murmured to himself, saying he must be dreaming if there were lilac and water fairies, then asked me again. 

“So, where is the water fairy?” 

“The water fairy is Euvil, but he’s with his teacher right now!” I replied, causing the Duke to frown in confusion. He repeated the name a few times, then raised his eyebrows sharply. 

"Euphil, you mean?" 

"Yep! Euvil oppa." 

"Oppa?" 

“Yep, he’s my oppa. And my friend.” 

“Child, what is your name?” Just as I expected, he didn’t know who I was. I stood up with a little grunt, not even bothering to brush the grass off my clothes. Then, I quickly ran to a nearby tree and picked a lilac bloom. After brushing the grass off my clothes, I stood proudly. I was offering him a gift: the lilac I had just picked and, perhaps more importantly, his new niece. Whether the latter would be a gift to him or not remained to be seen, but I was determined to win him over. 

I handed the lilac to him, and the little Duke, still in a daze, accepted it. I beamed brightly and said, 

"Myrthi is Myrthi. Myrthi Raize, so Euvil is my oppa." 

“You mean to say… you’re the child of that fool, Ekild?” 

“Ekild?”  

“The king, that fool.”  

“Oh!” I exclaimed, trying not to laugh. It was the first time I had heard someone refer to the King as a fool, and it tickled me inside. 

I nodded vigorously and added, “Yep! Myrthi is a princess!” 

The sudden revelation of a niece-granddaughter was enough to leave him stunned. 

“A princess, you say… a princess…” Even in his confusion, his voice was gentle, quite unlike the gruff tone I had imagined. Perhaps he spoke this way because we were in this lilac forest. 

In this kingdom, and perhaps the entire world, violet eyes were rare enough that even those who didn’t know me could guess I was a princess just by looking at my eyes. And here I was, a girl with violet eyes, standing in the place where his wife, who had been called the lilac Fairy, was buried. It was no wonder his voice had softened. 

As evidence of his softening, the Duke seemed to slowly return to his senses, repeating the word “princess” a few times as if trying to ground himself in reality. 

‘That won’t do,’ I thought. 

To keep him from snapping back to reality, I quickly picked a wildflower instead of another lilac, walked over to him, and smiled brightly. 

“The scent here is so lovely. That’s why Myrthi loves it here.” 

It was a lie. I had never been here before. But the Duke, still dazed, wouldn’t know that. I added another comment, hesitating before finally letting it out with a bashful smile. 

“It feels like I’m with my mom.” 

“With your mother, you say… Well, I’ll be,” the Duke murmured, visibly moved. He lifted me in his arms and gently pressed his nose to mine. 

“Yes, being here makes me feel like I’m with my wife too.” He held me close as he began walking toward the spot where her grave lay.