Chapter 5
“What about reading on an autumn day?”
“Of course I enjoy it. I especially love the classics by Artmann.”
“I’m fond of Artmann as well. But lately, I’ve been intrigued by Penelli’s works on philosophy.”
“Then I should try reading Penelli too. That makes three things we have in common already.”
By now, it wasn’t so much that they were finding common interests, but creating them. As Elaine Aiola counted off their similarities with delight, a voice called out from the distance.
“My lady! Lady Elaine!”
Anna came rushing toward her, flustered. Just behind her, the coachman followed with a shamefaced expression. Elaine couldn’t quite understand why her spirits sank at the sight. Her bright smile slowly began to fade.
It was strange.
Before Dominic had appeared, she’d found the wait for her coach in this plaza terribly boring and irritating.
At that moment, Dominic’s voice, soft yet with a faint trace of urgency, reached her.
“Could you spare just a little of your time?”
“…?”
“Even ten minutes. No—five, if you can.”
Without further explanation, he turned and walked toward a nearby vendor’s stall. Elaine remained where she was, puzzled. Anna and the coachman, sensing her gesture to stay back, halted awkwardly in place.
A few moments later, Dominic returned, carrying a bouquet of bright yellow daffodils.
“This vibrant yellow flower, though it typically blooms in early spring…”
“Daffodils? They’re my favorite flower!”
Elaine’s eyes sparkled with delight, and Dominic let out a soft chuckle as he placed the bouquet in her hands.
“I’m glad. They’re my favorite as well. Though this particular variety is a cultivated one.”
“…”
Beaming, Elaine leaned into the daffodils, breathing in their gentle fragrance as it settled deep into her chest.
Dominic stood still for a moment, watching her take in the scent.
According to his original plan, this would’ve been the perfect time to whisper, “That makes four things we share,” with a graceful farewell and a deliberate pause that left her wanting more. But something stopped him. Just for a moment, he was at a loss for words.
He found himself thinking that Elaine Aiola and the daffodil—known in the sad legend of a man who loved his own beauty so much he turned into a flower—were strangely well-matched.
As that thought passed through his mind, she slowly raised her head.
When she looked up with a brilliant smile, her eyes crinkling at the corners, a soft breath escaped him before he could stop it.
“Thank you so much, Lord Cheshire!”
That pure, dazzling smile—it struck him with a strange, irrational fear, as though he might go blind just from looking at it. What foolish nonsense, he told himself. No matter how innocent she seemed, she was still a woman with the cursed blood of Aiola.
“So now we have a fourth thing in common?”
“…It would seem so.”
Her laughter rang like chimes, and Dominic, a beat late, finally answered with a recovered calm.
“If time allows, I’d like to take you to the Nella Greenhouse someday. I’ve heard the daffodils there are stunning.”
“Oh, Nella Greenhouse! That’s the botanical garden all the ladies in Sienne have been raving about lately, isn’t it?”
Her reply flowed out so naturally, it could’ve been scripted. Yet Elaine nodded without a hint of doubt.
“I’ll look forward to it. But if you intend to escort me, you’ll need to practice quite a bit. Anything less than a perfect escort would only bring shame to the Aiola name.”
She was truly happy—and carried herself with a pride so natural, it never came off as arrogant or overbearing.
“So, you’re saying I can’t ride the carriage now?”
Elaine’s voice turned sharp. The coachman, who had been anxiously awaiting the end of her conversation with Dominic, bowed his head even deeper.
“I’m terribly sorry, my lady. I had to rent a replacement from the depot…”
Elaine let out a dry, incredulous laugh. He had disappeared without a word and left her waiting—and now he dared to suggest she ride a rental carriage?
“My lady, I’ll send a message to the Aiola estate right away. They can dispatch another carriage to the Sienne Plaza—”
“If Vanessa suspects even a hint of this surprise, today’s entire effort will have been for nothing.”
There was no good option. Anna, quick to catch her mistress’s displeasure, hurried to intervene—but Elaine shook her head at once.
She hated the thought of riding a rental carriage. But letting Vanessa find out about the gift would ruin everything.
As Elaine Aiola glared at the coachman with clear displeasure, debating which option would be the lesser evil, a voice spoke up.
“It seems you’ve run into some trouble.”
Dominic Cheshire, who had already said his goodbyes but had yet to actually leave, stepped forward again. Elaine suddenly felt exposed, as if he had caught her in a vulnerable moment.
“No, not exactly troubled…”
“Allow me to escort you, Lady Aiola.”
“…What?”
Elaine’s green eyes widened in surprise.
“But…”
She hesitated for a moment.
To Elaine Aiola, everything she touched was a reflection of her status. With a pride higher than any noble’s, she had never once ridden in anything but an Aiola or royal carriage. And yet—strangely—no words of refusal came out.
Cheshire.
That unfamiliar name, for some reason, stirred within her a desire to draw it closer—to keep it within reach. It was enough to bend even her high and proud pride, slowly turning her into someone unrecognizable even to herself.
“It may not compare to an Aiola carriage, but I dare say it will be more comfortable than a rental.”
Noticing her hesitation, Dominic added with a low laugh. And that charming smile—it swayed Elaine more than she’d expected. Before she realized it, she nodded and accepted his escort into the unfamiliar carriage. Her lady-in-waiting glanced at her anxiously but said nothing, then climbed up beside the coachman. Only then did the carriage begin to roll forward, its wheels gliding smoothly over the cobbled street.
To her surprise, Dominic Cheshire’s carriage was every bit as refined and comfortable as an Aiola one.
Elaine, still clutching the bouquet of daffodils he had given her instead of passing them to Anna, stole a quiet glance at him, impressed.
Perhaps it was the fact that they were now alone in an enclosed space, but a strange tension filled the air. Dominic, the perfect gentleman, said nothing. He kept his gaze fixed on the window, allowing the silence to settle.
Occasionally, when their eyes met, he would give her a quiet, wordless smile—and each time, Elaine found it oddly hard to breathe.
Her heart pounded wildly, just like it had that night on the palace terrace, when they shared the wind in silence.
Feeling her chest tighten as if her veins were drawn taut, she longed to escape the carriage. Yet, at the same time, part of her wished this moment—sitting silently beside him, stealing glances—would last forever.
Caught between these contradictory feelings, Elaine felt like a lost child, wandering with no sense of direction.
Dominic Cheshire truly was a strange man.
He could turn her into a flustered girl blushing over nothing… and then, in the next instant, make her so confused she couldn’t even understand her own emotions. She’d read of such moments in the classics of Artmann.
The wheels beneath them gradually came to a stop.
“We’ve arrived.”
Elaine, who had spent the entire ride alternating between watching Dominic’s profile and the bouquet in her arms, only now realized that the carriage had halted.
So, this is it.
But rather than relief, what reached her first was a lingering sense of regret.
“That’s a carriage I haven’t seen before.”
Fernando Aiola descended the staircase, one hand holding the morning paper, the other lifting a cup of hot tea steaming despite the summer heat. He frowned as he spoke to Elaine.
Like her, Fernando bore striking platinum hair. Dressed casually in a white shirt and black trousers, his innate nobility still shone through.
“This is a surprise, Elaine. You’ve always complained that even Prince Turner’s carriage doesn’t compare to Aiola’s—and now you’re arriving in one without even a crest?”
He reached the bottom of the stairs, set his cup and newspaper down on the table, and dropped onto the sofa. Crossing one leg over the other, he rested his chin on his hands and stared at her with a tone that resembled an interrogation.
“Whose carriage did you ride in? And what’s with the flowers? Don’t tell me you’re having some secret affair without even revealing your partner’s name. Come on, Elaine. Who is this bastard you’ve been meeting?”
Elaine narrowed her eyes at him, unamused by the tone he used—as if he were a jealous husband.
“There was a problem with the carriage, and I just accepted help from a new acquaintance.”
She brushed off his questions lazily and moved past him.
“Wait, Elaine! This is serious!”
Unable to let it go, Fernando rushed to catch up, grabbing her arm. The bouquet of daffodils nearly slipped from her hands, and Elaine glared at him sharply.
“Brother, really!”
“I heard you even kept your plans today a secret. I’ve told you before—just because you’ve come of age doesn’t mean you’re suddenly—”
“Oh, Fernando!”
The one to rescue Elaine from the increasingly awkward conversation was none other than Vanessa Aiola.
“I told you to leave it alone—and now look at you, harassing her like some obsessive father!”
