Wildflowers Bloom on the Grand Duchy’s Wall - Chapter 101

Lilien couldn’t ignore the letter, sitting so prominently in her drawer, so she carefully read through it.

‘I’ll always be waiting for your words. —From your partner, who proudly claims to be Clarises’s greatest supporter in the Klatt Empire.’

The thought of having someone on her side, someone to share the lonely writer’s life with, sent a pang through her heart.

“I guess I can write now, can’t I?”

She was surprised by her own offhand remark.

Penetration.

Lilien realized she’d finally crossed the last boundary she’d always hesitated to put into words in her stories. Together with Cairn, she’d experienced that final act. Now, she felt ready to write sincerely about it.

But what would happen after she finished?

Her personal life had changed as much as her s*x life. She was now Lilien Headington—could she continue writing without Cairn’s permission? What if someone figured out that she was actually Clarisse? What then?

Back when she was Lilien de Bermore, she could write anonymously with a certain freedom, certain that she’d remain unmarried forever. Even if someone discovered her secret, no one would believe it was based on real experience.

Now, she found herself lost in thought.

Unable to make a decision, she fidgeted with her fingers, her gaze drifting to the invitations Cairn had written. She was supposed to handle all the invitations, but Cairn had kindly offered to write a few for her, thinking it would ease her workload.

She was grateful, but somehow, it made her uneasy.

Like a guilty cat, Lilien peeked around, then, without permission, opened one of the invitation envelopes.

“What… is this?”

She was taken aback by the short, rather curt message inside.

The note began, ‘Sending you news,’ and ended with, ‘Attend and brighten up the occasion.’

“Is this an invitation or a declaration of war?”

Apparently, all the manners he learned only applied to his actions, not his writing. With a sigh, she rewrote the card herself.

Her focus shifted to the invitations, allowing her to postpone the big decision about her writing career—at least for now.

* * *

Inside the old red-brick building, the scent of ink filled the air.

Miss Mauver, a new addition at the Halberton editorial office, stretched after finishing her editing work. She tidied up her papers, preparing to send them to the print shop for typesetting.

“Miss Mauver!”

The editor-in-chief called from behind the wooden partition. Sensing something good, Mauver hurried over with a spring in her step.

“It looks like your heartfelt fan letter to Clarisse worked—there’s a letter from her!”

Mauver’s cheeks flushed with excitement as she took the sky-blue envelope, sealed with a ‘C’ insignia.

“I thought it best for you to open it yourself. I haven’t looked at the contents.”

With a smile creeping up, Mauver returned to her desk, staring at the envelope for a long while. Only after clearing away her messy quill pens and capping the inkwell did she finally open it.

But her instincts were wrong. As she read through the letter, her face twisted with disappointment—so much so that everyone in the office glanced her way.

Forcing herself to speak, Mauver announced,

“The author Clarisse says she’ll be taking a break for personal reasons.”

A heavy silence settled over the office, but only for a moment. Soon, everyone returned to their work.

“Hmph… Sounds like she’s not planning on coming back.”

The editor-in-chief muttered, with a click of the tongue.

“Don’t be too upset, Miss Mauver. This sort of thing happens all the time.”

The chief added, placing rejected manuscripts into a box, trying to console her.

But she heard nothing. Mauver had joined this old-fashioned office just to work with Clarisse—now, it all seemed meaningless.

* * *

“So you’re really going to sell the Chesner villa?”

Christian tried to sound calm, but his tone was filled with emotion.

“There’s no choice.”

Christian knew there was nothing to be done, but he couldn’t help feeling anger at the Count for letting things get this bad. There had been plenty of chances to pull out before it came to this.