Chapter 15
“What are you thinking about, Annerose? The tea’s gone cold.”
At Iver’s voice beside her ear, Annerose flinched and looked up at the greenhouse ceiling. Without realizing it, dusk had already fallen, and the greenhouse had grown dim.
Had that much time already passed?
Annerose regretted yet another day slipping away meaninglessly and answered Iver.
“…I was thinking about you.”
“About me?”
“…I was thinking about how much you’ve grown since the first time I saw you. Time really does pass so quickly. You were just a little boy, and now you’ve already grown into such a dependable man.”
“I’m glad you were thinking about me, Annerose, but…”
Iver chuckled as he looked at her.
“…aren’t you treating me a little too much like a child? Annerose, aren’t we physically about the same age now? When you became immortal, you were—”
“…Twenty-three.”
At Annerose’s answer, Iver fell silent for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, before speaking again.
“Do you like younger men or older men, Annerose? What’s your ideal type?”
“…?”
Annerose tilted her head at the sudden question, and Iver smiled faintly.
Unlike the cold, sharp expression he seemed to wear around his subordinates, whenever he smiled, he still looked almost boyish, as though he had only just shed the last traces of childhood.
“My ideal type? That’s an odd joke coming from you…”
“Then just give me a simple answer. What kind of man do you like?”
“It doesn’t matter. Besides, there can’t possibly be anyone older than me, can there? Anyone is fine. What a pointless question. You must have been awfully bored today.”
Annerose chuckled at Iver’s silly question as she answered. Unlike her own appearance, which had remained unchanged, Iver had grown into a young man and would continue to age with every passing day.
The time that flowed for him was different from the time that flowed for her.
When she realized that perhaps the time she had with Iver would be far shorter than she imagined, Annerose’s expression gradually grew bitter.
She took a moment to steady her breathing before answering Iver’s question.
“…I like older men. Especially dependable ones. Though it’s an ideal type that doesn’t really mean anything anymore.”
“What about me?”
“I like you, too.”
“I was hoping for that answer, but you answered awfully quickly.”
“You told me to answer lightly. I like you, too. You’re cute and dependable.”
After answering, Annerose stood up to wash herself. She wanted to wash away this pointless conversation and all the stray thoughts filling her head.
An ideal type, of all things.
If she stayed here any longer, she felt as though thoughts of her former lover would surface again.
Her heart began to ache, and silence settled between them. As though trying to escape the situation, Annerose started toward the pond, but Iver abruptly rose and caught her by the arm.
“I came all this way, Annerose. Where are you going? Stay and talk with me a little longer.”
“…I’m going to wash myself in the pond. Don’t worry. I wasn’t going to leave the greenhouse anyway. Please, keep talking. I’ll listen.”
“……”
“It’s not because of anything else. It’s just very warm.”
Annerose answered casually and hurried toward the pond. Hearing footsteps behind her, she glanced back and saw Iver following close behind her.
“What kind of person do you like, Annerose?”
Oh, we’re back to this question again.
Wondering what could possibly be so interesting about it, Annerose stopped for a moment and looked at Iver.
“Why are you asking me things like that today? My ideal type isn’t really that important, is it?”
“I want to be someone Annerose likes. I want to become your perfect ideal type.”
“…I said I like older men, but honestly, someone who looks around my age would be fine, too.”
If he was the Crown Prince, there had to be plenty of women around him. He hardly needed to mold himself to suit her. Annerose gave him a vague answer before stepping into the pond.
“Ah. So it really is like that. You still prefer older men. Then I suppose I just have to wait a little longer.”
“Hm?”
Annerose looked at Iver with a puzzled expression. She decided not to read too much into his words and simply let them pass.
If she thought too deeply about the relationship between them, she would only end up hurting herself.
She glanced at Iver again. He seemed lost in thought for a moment, and Annerose felt a faint tension creep into her body.
What could he be thinking about?
Hoping it was nothing serious, she settled into the water to rest. Then she heard the sound of water behind her.
Iver had taken off his clothes and stepped into the pond.
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