The Cursed Beast Caught My Leash - Chapter 40

“It’s true, I am excited. The sound of the night bugs is pleasant, and the frozen lake is so beautiful that it fills me with anticipation, and, well…”

“I’m glad. I thought you might enjoy it.”

“This snowy landscape? …Oh my.”

Stella suddenly gasped and stopped walking. She had spotted a cluster of white flowers blooming along the lakeshore.

With eyes full of excitement, she looked up at Islay. He smiled, his handsome face softening, as if encouraging her to go take a closer look. He had led her here to show her the flowers.

‘He might be unexpectedly kind,’ she thought, adding this new impression of him as she led the way toward the delicately blooming flowers.

The white baby’s breath flowers were spread out over a considerable area, their bright buds standing out vividly under the serene moonlight.

Stella carefully walked among the flowers, making sure not to step on them, and then knelt in their midst. She took a deep breath of the fresh scent, a clear smile spreading across her face.

“So these are baby’s breath. They’re so pretty.”

Stella picked up the fallen flowers that couldn’t withstand the cold and began weaving the stems with her small, nimble fingers.

“What are you doing?”

“If you weave the toughest part of the stem like this, you can make a cute accessory.”

Islay didn’t join her among the flowers but stood still, looking down at her. “Watching a princess play with flowers in the middle of the night… Life never ceases to surprise me.”

“Playing with flowers? This is something I learned in a flower arrangement class, actually,” Stella retorted, feigning indifference. Of course, it wasn’t entirely untrue.

The noblewoman who had taught Stella flower arranging had, on a whim one day, shown her how to do this just once. Perhaps it was because the incident occurred the day after her guard had disappeared—when the princess, accused of having an improper relationship with him, had spent several days crying herself to sleep, her face swollen from tears.

“Look at this, Princess. If you tie two stems of clover together like this, they make a pretty ring.”

That brief lesson had stayed with Stella for a long time.

After that, she couldn’t bear to see the flowers discarded after her flower arrangement practice, so she would gather them and make them into various accessories in her bedroom. She made hairpins, rings, bracelets, and even watches, and then carefully stored them instead of throwing them away. As a result, a box under her bed was filled with dried flowers.

Stella was more interested in finding a useful purpose for flowers that had already served their decorative role than in learning the flower arranging skills that were supposed to cultivate her as a princess.

Perhaps she saw herself in the discarded flowers that had outlived their usefulness.

As Stella collected only the fallen flowers without touching the ones still blooming, Islay quietly asked, “You’re not picking the flowers to make it?”

“I can’t bring myself to pick the flowers that are still blooming just for my own desires.”

She continued to weave the stems of the fallen flowers, her nimble hands quickly crafting a delicate live flower hairpin.

“Look at this.” She placed the hairpin in her palm and showed it to Islay. “Doesn’t it look nice?”

Her voice was as clear as beads. Was she really that curious about what a man who had never paid attention to flowers thought?

Islay glanced down at the simple bundle of flowers before meeting her gaze. He wanted to keep her in his sight more than he cared about the crude flower pin.

“It’s pretty.”

Stella let out a small laugh at the compliment. Her tiny teeth showed between her crimson lips. “Isn’t it? Actually, the woman who taught me flower arranging told me that white baby’s breath has a very special meaning, so you have to be careful when giving or receiving it. It’s because…”

Islay felt her dreamy voice drift away from him. It was because the woman sitting among the pale wildflowers had distracted him.

Her soft golden hair was caught in the night breeze, and her golden eyes, which often filled with fear, now sparkled with a pure light.

The lake, holding the moonlight and the forest of cypress trees in quiet embrace. The woman sitting in front of it, her dress cascading around her, captivated his gaze. Simply looking at her was no longer enough to satisfy him.

Islay quietly took a step forward. His large feet managed not to crush any flowers as he approached. Stella looked up at him as he drew closer, her chin tilting upward.

Islay knelt on one knee beside her and took the flower pin from her. Slowly, he slid it into her hair above her temple.

She looked as precious as a princess who had been raised with only the finest things, and even the simple wildflower suited her perfectly.

Perhaps all flowers suited her well. When he had seen Stella wearing a flower crown during the last festival, he had thought the same thing. It was as if all the pretty things in the world belonged to her.

Finishing his thoughts, Islay let out a self-deprecating laugh. He knew he wasn’t acting like himself. He didn’t understand why he was indulging in such uncharacteristic thoughts.

Islay gently tucked a strand of Stella’s hair behind her ear as it fluttered in the breeze. Her clear eyes showed a hint of confusion. If he leaned in just a little more, their lips would touch.

“Tell me again. What does the flower mean?”

“Oh, well….”

As she tried to gather her thoughts, Stella’s lips moved without producing sound. He could feel her breath on his lips, and the thought of letting that breath slip away was unbearable. A desire to swallow up every bit of her breath rose within him. Surely, that wasn’t normal.

“It has several meanings. Pure heart, joy, and….”

“And?”

“And…”

Stella couldn’t bring herself to continue. Her delicate throat bobbed as she swallowed nervously.

She couldn’t bring herself to tell the man, whose face was now inches from hers, that white baby’s breath symbolizes eternal love and devotion.

At that very moment, a faint song came from somewhere.

Stella perked up her ears and turned toward the sound. The music felt familiar.

“This song….”

It was the same song sung by the women holding candles during the starry night ceremony. A beautiful melody that evoked the image of flowing lights, like a river of stars.

The sound came from beyond the walls surrounding the inner castle, and the sight of silver leaves fluttering over the wall suggested it was coming from the place where the millennium tree stood.

It seemed that some women had gathered under that mysterious tree to sing, perhaps feeling a sense of nostalgia for the festival that had already ended.

Tonight was another starry night. Though there was no grand display of candles, it was a beautiful winter night at the lake, like a dream she didn’t want to wake from. It was almost a shame to spend this time doing nothing.

Stella looked back at Islay. He was still gazing at her. Tonight, she was determined to embrace the impulses that kept surging within her.

“Hey…”

“My name.”

“……?”

“Call me by my name. I always call you by yours, don’t I?”

Stella blinked in surprise, realization dawning on her face.

Now that she thought about it, Islay had been calling her by her name ever since he brought her to the Ice Castle. Was that why she had subconsciously perceived him as a gentle person?

“Islay.”

His name slipped from her lips, forming a gentle curve. His dark red eyes lowered as he stared intently at her lips.

“Islay…”

She repeated his name to herself several times. The sound of his name rolling softly off her tongue felt unfamiliar. The unfamiliarity made her feel a little ticklish inside, but it wasn’t an unpleasant sensation.

As she repeated his name several times, Stella suddenly made a suggestion.

“Islay, if you don’t mind, would you like to learn a southern custom?”