We’re Married, After All - Chapter 118

Of course, just as Danel had said, the western square was the smallest of all the locations where the spring festival was held.
Yet, thanks to the road stretching straight toward the Grand Cathedral, it didn’t feel narrow at all.

If anything, the openness made the view even more beautiful.

We continued down the hill, and the wind carried the fragrance far and wide.

It was unlike the usual scent of a garden filled with lilacs or jasmine, something much richer, more complex.

Along the road, narrow enough that even three carriages could barely pass side by side, countless flowers had been laid out in long rows.

It felt more like a never-ending promenade than a simple festival street.

Up close, the path overflowing with blossoms felt much narrower than it had looked from the hilltop.

But because most of the people were walking quietly along the flower-lined road, it didn’t feel crowded at all.

I gazed quietly at the flowerbeds bursting with spring blooms.
Their colors were as varied as their scents — red, violet, yellow, pink, and white.

Even within a single pot, layers of hues overlapped in delicate gradations.

When thin clouds dimmed and brightened the sunlight, those colors subtly shifted again.

I slowed my steps, taking my time to admire each pot.
It fascinated me how the same type of flower could appear entirely different after just a few paces.

Compared to the other squares, where flowers were even hung upon the walls, this one had simpler decorations, yet it didn’t feel plain or lacking.

Perhaps that was why.

And as I stood there, looking down the endless road of flowers, Danel’s violet eyes carefully studied my expression.

“……”

I stopped glancing around the square and lifted my gaze to him.
His neatly brushed golden hair shimmered beneath the sunlight.
Danel’s violet eyes met mine, and only then did I realize that he had been anxious all this time.

He realized the truth.

Today, Danel was dressed more splendidly than usual. Though it was still a black outfit with restrained decoration, the sharply tailored shirt and coat outlined his broad shoulders, slender waist, and straight arms. His neatly pressed trousers, without a single wrinkle, emphasized his long legs.

To think he would go to such lengths to dress up just for a visit to the cathedral. Perhaps he meant to comfort me with his own appearance if the western square didn’t please me.

The thought made me smile without realizing it.
“…Hehe.”

It was a funny thing. That he couldn’t be sure I’d like this long flower bed that reminded me of a spring garden.

I leaned my head against Danel’s shoulder. His clothes already carried a faint scent of flowers.

“So all of this is just a row of potted plants? Not an actual flower bed? I can’t tell if that’s clever or just impressive.”
“Does it please you?”
“Yes, I like it. It feels less like a city and more like a giant garden. Even the roads feel like little paths.”

At my words, Danel smiled.
In the violet eyes gazing down at me, a familiar heat flickered.

If this were a garden path instead of a corner of the square where the Spring Festival was held, he might have leaned down to kiss me right then.

He looked as if he might have done so.
…Perhaps my face looked much the same.

But instead of following our hearts and sharing a kiss, we simply walked side by side down the road. There were too many people around us for anything else.

Walking arm in arm along a road uneven with pebbles was a little uncomfortable, but I stubbornly kept my arm linked with Danel’s.
He walked a little slower than I did. His wrist, where my arm rested, felt oddly firm, and its warmth spread down to my fingertips.

As I admired the decorated flowers along the way, I occasionally turned my gaze sideways to steal glances at Danel.

A man with such neat, composed features walking along a flower-lined street was a beautiful sight.

Perhaps because of the dark color of his clothes, he looked like a tall, straight tree standing alone in a garden bursting with blossoms.

Just then, a gust of wind scattered flower petals, and a few strands caught in my hair. The violet petals clung to the braids the maids had so carefully woven for me.

I tried to loosen my arm from his to brush them away, but Danel pressed down gently on my right hand, which was looped through his arm.

Then, one by one, he plucked the petals from my hair with his fingers. His little finger brushed lightly against my cheek and the nape of my neck.

For a moment, that faint touch drew my gaze downward. Though Danel’s fingers had already withdrawn, warmth lingered where they had grazed my skin.

Feeling a bit embarrassed for some reason, I finally spoke the question that had been lingering on my mind.