The Great Wish - Chapter 35: The Pathway to the Future (3)

“It’s a seed. A safflower seed.”

“This is a seed? It’s quite unusual. Do you know why Kuhn would send this to me?”

“Safflowers are one of the flowers that bloom in the desert.”

“Flowers bloom in the desert?”

“There is a rainy season in the desert, with torrential downpours. When that happens, the desert floods, and the seeds that have lain dormant in the sand begin to sprout and bloom. It’s a breathtaking sight.”

“So, does this mean he wants to show me that flower?”

“Not exactly…”

Levan’s hesitation was apparent. He looked as though he wanted to avoid answering but was forcing himself to do so.

“In the desert… when a man proposes to a woman, he gives her a safflower seed. It’s said that the seed resembles a human heart. So…”

Levan internally screamed at having to explain such an embarrassing custom. When the courier had told him, “Kuhn asked me to deliver this to Silver King in person,” Levan had wondered why Kuhn insisted on such a direct delivery. Now he knew. He silently cursed Kuhn for assigning him such a task.

“It means, ‘I offer my heart to you,’” Levan finally said, suppressing the urge to scratch his entire body in discomfort.

The reason safflower seeds were used for proposals was due to their rarity. Outside the rainy season, they were nearly impossible to find. The desert’s rainy season typically occurred in the fall, making this time of year, just before summer, the hardest period to obtain safflower seeds. Because of this, desert folk believed that couples who exchanged safflower seeds during the summer were bound to each other, even in the afterlife.

‘How on earth did he get this?’ Levan wondered. Whether Kuhn had found it by chance or dug through the sands to retrieve it, it must have taken a great deal of effort. In a time when war could break out at any moment, it seemed like a reckless endeavor.

Sienna, touched by the sentiment, quietly gazed at the large seed in her hand.

“And how do women in the desert respond when they receive such a seed?” she asked.

“If they accept the proposal, they take the seed and brew it into wine. The wine is then drunk on their wedding day.”

“The desert customs are quite romantic. What if they refuse the proposal?”

Sienna’s curiosity was not easily satisfied, and she pressed for more details.

Levan flinched, clearly reluctant to continue. After a long pause, he answered reluctantly.

“They return the seed.”

With a deep sigh, he added, “Your Highness, please don’t reject it.”

Sienna narrowed her eyes at his bold statement. It was an overstep, but the pleading look on Levan’s face made her pause and listen to what he had to say.

“When a man offers his heart, he cannot take it back. Without a heart, he cannot give it to someone else. It’s an old custom, and not many people follow it these days, but… Kuhn probably would. He’ll live alone and die alone if you reject him. I don’t know how I could stand by and watch that. Think of it as saving a life, Your Highness.”

Levan’s expression was so pitiful that Sienna couldn’t hold back her laughter. She laughed aloud, her amusement echoing through the room.

‘Wow…’ Levan was stunned. He had never seen Prince Eun laugh before. The memory that stood out most vividly in his mind was of the prince commanding the knights with an authoritative presence on a ship, an image that had left a lasting impression on him. The sheer intensity of it had overshadowed Sienna’s beauty, making her seem more like a distant painting than a real person.

Now he realized that she could laugh like any other person. Suddenly, he understood why Kuhn had fallen so deeply for her. Levan, lost in thought, quickly lowered his gaze.

‘I wasn’t looking with improper thoughts, Kuhn,’ he thought, feeling as though Kuhn might burst into the room from the desert at any moment.

When Sienna’s laughter subsided, she smiled and said, “I will take your words to heart.”

She placed the seed back into the leather pouch, then handed Levan a small box she had brought with her, signaling the real reason for her visit.

“I would like you to investigate these tea leaves.”

The tea leaves were from the blend Patricia had given to Violet, which Violet had consumed before falling ill.

“They’re supposed to be good for easing the nausea of pregnancy. I want to know if that’s really their only effect, whether there are any harmful components, and if there’s any unusual interaction when consumed with other foods. Please investigate thoroughly.”

“Yes, Your Highness. I can’t say exactly when I’ll have the results, but I will contact you as soon as the analysis is complete.”

“I may send other things to you through a messenger in the future as well. Even if there’s no specific explanation, please investigate those too.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“The reason I called you was just for that. Any other… news? Is Kuhn doing well?” Sienna asked, her voice tinged with concern.

Levan inwardly answered, If he’s wandering around looking for safflower seeds, he’s probably perfectly fine.

“I haven’t received any news. He’s not one to regularly send updates. We generally assume ‘no news is good news.’ But if I hear anything, I’ll let you know immediately.”

Sienna nodded, accepting the response. She left the marquis’s residence and returned to the palace. Upon arriving, she summoned a maid and instructed her to bring a bottle of clear alcohol and some clean water.

Sienna carefully washed the safflower seed with water in a silver bowl. Then she placed it into a cylindrical glass bottle filled with clear liquor.

She wasn’t familiar with the proper way to brew safflower wine, but she didn’t think it mattered. To her, the sentiment behind it was more important than following a strict procedure.

The seed didn’t sink to the bottom of the bottle nor float to the top. It moved slightly up and down before settling in the middle. The clear liquor filled the transparent bottle, with the bright red seed suspended in the center, as if floating in midair.

Sienna placed the bottle in a visible spot, though out of direct sunlight.

Someday, I hope Kuhn and I can share this wine together.

This was his heart. As long as it remained in her possession, Sienna had a strong, almost certain feeling that no matter what, Kuhn would return to her.

***

Beth was summoned by the Red King. The maid from the Red Palace, who had come to fetch her, was unusually courteous today. It didn’t seem like the king had called her with ill intentions. Without informing Sienna, Beth headed to the Red Palace. Still, as she approached the entrance, she took a deep breath, feeling tense.

The maid pushed Beth’s wheelchair from behind, guiding her inside. Patricia, seated on the sofa, noticed them and gestured. The maid immediately wheeled Beth’s chair to the table in front of the sofa.

It seemed as if they had timed Beth’s arrival, as tea was already prepared on the table.

“Come, sit,” Patricia said.

“I hope you’ve been well, Red King,” Beth replied.

Patricia nodded and motioned for the maids to leave. Once they were alone, Patricia picked up her teacup, and Beth silently followed suit. The suffocating atmosphere Beth usually felt in Patricia’s presence was almost nonexistent today. It struck her as quite strange.

“How is the Silver King?” Patricia asked.

“He’s returned to his usual routine and has resumed audiences,” Beth responded.

“There haven’t been any more episodes of fever, have there?”

“I check on him every morning and evening. He’s in good health.”

Patricia had been deeply shaken after that day at the Silver Palace. She hadn’t realized how much resentment the Silver King harbored toward her. If he had expressed such raw emotions as “hate” and “resentment,” it certainly wasn’t something he felt lightly.

It was likely that, in his delirium from the fever, he had revealed feelings he would normally keep hidden. The Silver King was not the type to openly show such inner thoughts. If anything, had he criticized her logically with sound reasons, Patricia wouldn’t have taken it as seriously.

Patricia recalled Zabet Schultz, the mother of the current emperor and the former Red King. Zabet had borne two sons for the late emperor. It was said that the second prince died immediately after birth, and the shock of losing her child left her frail and ailing ever since.

Zabet spent most of her days bedridden, rarely appearing in public. So much so that people had nearly forgotten about the existence of “Red King Zabet.”

Yet, she outlived the late emperor, surviving eight years beyond Sienna’s birth.

Patricia had been horrified when she saw that, despite being the emperor’s biological mother, Zabet was not treated with the respect she deserved. The emperor showed little interest in her, rarely visiting even for formal greetings. The relationship between mother and son was exceedingly cold.

The sight of Zabet filled Patricia with fear that her own future might mirror hers. That was why she had tried so hard to assert her presence to the Silver King, to make sure he didn’t forget her as his mother.

Once, the late Duke Rimone had offered Patricia some advice:

“My dear, the princess is both like the emperor and not like him. If you follow the proper path, the princess will repay you with proper respect. But don’t be too greedy.”

At the time, Patricia had brushed off her father’s words, confident that she knew her daughter better. Perhaps she had been too arrogant.

“Yes, Father was always perceptive about people,” she thought.

The Silver King was unlike the emperor. The emperor lacked even basic warmth, but while the Silver King seemed cold, he still had a heart. However, like the emperor, once he decided something wasn’t right, he was utterly unforgiving.

How had things come to this? Patricia pondered over and over. Eventually, she concluded that the root of the problem was Countess Pope.

She believed that the countess’s inability to walk was the reason for the Silver King’s unresolved feelings. This was as far as Patricia’s understanding went. Beyond that, she couldn’t grasp the situation.

Patricia had summoned Beth to apologize. Not because she genuinely felt remorse, but because she wanted to placate the Silver King.

Still, for Patricia, the Red King, to admit her fault and offer an apology was an astonishing step. If the late Duke Rimone had known, he would have laughed heartily and said, “Even you can’t win against your own child, can you?”

“That… wheelchair of yours, it always looks strange to me,” Patricia remarked.

“Yes, it’s a specially modified custom model,” Beth replied.

Patricia asked various questions, most of them irrelevant. Beth dutifully answered, though she couldn’t help but wonder what Patricia was getting at. After a lengthy back-and-forth, Patricia finally spoke up.

“I… I was a bit too harsh on you,” she admitted.

Beth’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I thought you were trying to drive a wedge between me and the Silver King. It was my misunderstanding, and though that misunderstanding has been cleared, your legs ended up like this. I… regret that.”

Patricia’s tone and expression conveyed confidence, as if she were the victim rather than the perpetrator. But Beth could recognize that this was a significant concession from Patricia, an olive branch of sorts.

Still, Beth couldn’t bring herself to say, “It’s all right.” Sometimes, she still woke up from nightmares. The wounds she had suffered hadn’t healed.

Patricia felt annoyed by Beth’s silence. After all she had done, what more did Beth expect—should she grovel at her feet?

However, Patricia quickly reined in her irritation. For now, calming the Silver King’s heart took precedence.

“I suppose your feelings won’t be soothed so quickly. There’s no use dragging this out. We’d both find it tiresome. You may go.”

“Yes, Red King. I will take my leave.”

“Countess.”

“Yes?”

Patricia hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Please… convey this to the Silver King as well.”

“Yes, Red King.”

As Beth left the Red Palace and walked down the hallway, she couldn’t help but smirk. Patricia’s intentions were painfully obvious. Would she ever hear a genuine apology from the Red King?

“People don’t change,” Beth muttered to herself, shaking her head bitterly.

***