* * *
“Sorry, but I can’t join you today.”
He hadn’t been able to visit the herb lab yesterday.
With winter approaching, he needed to finish organizing the herbs.
Spending another day outside wasn’t an option.
“…Really? It’d be nice if you came too, Ed. That’s too bad.”
As Ronen’s bright face clouded over, Jaynon and Tens comforted him.
Luckily, Ronen, with his ever-energetic personality, soon shook off his disappointment.
“Alright! I’ll have fun for you too and bring back a present!”
After helping Ronen prepare and seeing him off, Ed hurried to the herb lab.
He remembered forgetting to water a plant yesterday, and his heart pounded.
‘I’ve been watering that plant daily, and I forgot because I got distracted.’
Berating himself, Ed burst into the lab.
And froze.
The Grand Duke was standing by the window, examining the soil of the plant.
Sensing Ed behind him, the Grand Duke turned slowly.
When their eyes met, Ed quickly bowed.
“Your Highness.”
Ed stepped forward, but suddenly stopped when he recognized the plant—the one he forgot to water.
‘It hasn’t already started wilting, has it? Was His Grace waiting to scold me?’
As Ed hesitated, the Grand Duke smiled faintly.
“Ed, are you just going to stand there? It’s fine if you want to. But if you stay so far away, I’ll get lonely.”
“Ah, yes.”
Ed quickly moved to his side and asked, “But Your Highness, isn’t today a meeting day?”
“It was.”
Today was the bi-weekly meeting with the Northern estate’s administrators.
‘Did he give the others a break too, like he did for Jaynon?’
The Grand Duke explained, “Jaynon, who usually leads the meeting, is on leave, and there wasn’t anything urgent. So, I kept it short and told everyone to rest.”
“Oh, I see.”
Ed glanced up at the Grand Duke’s face and sighed in relief.
‘You must’ve gone to bed late after the night market, but you look well. I’m glad.’
As Ed smiled without realizing it, the Grand Duke wiped the dirt off his fingers.
“The soil isn’t dry yet. You don’t need to water it.”
“Is that so?”
Ed sighed in relief, and the Grand Duke thought:
‘I wish you’d relax a bit more. But you’ve come a long way since we first met.’
Seeing Ed’s brightened expression, the Grand Duke smiled.
“I saw Ronen, Jaynon, and Tens leaving earlier. Why didn’t you go with them? It’s still a holiday.”
“I already saw a different side of the market, so I’m satisfied. I thought I’d spend the day reading.”
“You’re not just here to read, though… But even if I stop you, you’ll just find somewhere else to work, so I won’t try.”
Ed scratched his cheek sheepishly.
“Uh… Thank you. I can’t focus anywhere else.”
Ed’s interest in herbs began as a way to help the Northern residents, but he found himself genuinely enjoying his studies.
‘Before, I didn’t have the chance to study. Now, I can set goals and work toward them. It’s fulfilling.’
As Ed smiled at the books on his desk, the Grand Duke stepped forward, picked up the notebook on top of the pile, and said:
“Your notebook has a lot more pages than last time.”
“T-That’s just because I copied notes over! I’m sleeping and exercising, really!”
If the Grand Duke found out he was staying up late to study, he’d end up confined like Jaynon.
Seeing Ed flustered, the Grand Duke sighed and handed the notebook back.
“We promised to share something when your herb research is done, didn’t we?”
On the way back from the night market, the Grand Duke finally revealed his intentions to Ed.
He, too, had something to say to Ed.
“……Yes.”
“Since you won’t listen even if I stop you, the only way to keep you from overdoing it is for me to stay by your side and help you from now on.”
‘Ahh…’
Had he been sitting in the same position for too long?
Ed closed the notebook he had been scribbling in with his fountain pen.
Stretching his sore neck, he leaned back deeply into the chair.
The sun had long since set, and the herb research room was being swallowed by darkness.
‘Time’s gone by so quickly.’
Taking out the pocket watch from his coat, Ed checked the time and lit the lamp on the desk.
It was already the end of November.
More than a month had passed since he began organizing herbal research data in this room.
The once-thin notebook had grown thicker, and what was supposed to be one volume of research had expanded into two, then three, without an end in sight.
A lot had happened during that time.
The temple had sent a vast amount of herbal data, and he had struggled through books written in unfamiliar languages to cross-check the herbs’ properties.
But what stood out the most were the secret evenings he spent alone in the research room with the Grand Duke, working together late into the night.
Thanks to that, his research progressed faster than when he worked alone.
Yet, when the set time ended, he was always forced to return to his room — the Grand Duke never allowed him to stay up all night after that one incident.
It was disappointing.
With a gentle pat on his shoulders, Ed got up and walked to the window, looking outside.
The blizzard, which had seemed to hesitate for a moment, was raging once again.
‘The snowstorm has been relentless for days.’
The harsh wind rattled the window loudly.
The North had fully embraced winter.
‘I wish I’d finished the herbal research sooner. But at least, thanks to completing the preparations for the flu and common northern ailments, we’re ready.’
Just then, the research room door opened, and a gust of cold air swept in.
“Alright, starting tomorrow, we’ll join the soldiers to inspect and repair the residents’ houses.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
When Ed turned around, the Grand Duke finished exchanging a few words with Irtel, then closed the door and entered.
“Hey, Ed. How far are you planning to work tonight?”
“It’s already quite late, and it’s getting colder. I think we should stop here and head back.”
Ed accepted the steaming cup of tea the Grand Duke handed him and replied.
Unlike before — though that was understandable, considering this was now a daily occurrence — Ed had grown more comfortable accepting the Grand Duke’s small acts of kindness.
Studying in the same space made the Grand Duke feel less like a boss and more like a senior or an older brother who took care of him, like back in the orphanage.
“Then let’s wrap up after this.”
The Grand Duke handed Ed a thick book he had been holding.
“……Oh, is this the first draft of the herbal compendium you took to distribute earlier?”
“Yes, I added a cover to that draft.”
Ed’s eyes sparkled as he accepted the book, his fingers tracing the names on the cover — his own and the Grand Duke’s initials.
The Grand Duke couldn’t take his eyes off Ed’s emotional gaze, recalling everything that had led to this moment.
The nights of hide-and-seek when Ed stayed up late, avoiding his watchful eye while sorting through temple data.
The countless meals shared in the research room when Ed forgot to eat at the proper times.
The days Ed collapsed from exhaustion after insisting on working, and the times the Grand Duke carried him to his room.
All those moments they shared were woven into the very pages of that book.
“Do you like it, Ed?”
And in the moment Ed lifted his head, the Grand Duke realized something.
The conditions he had set to express his feelings no longer mattered.
* * *
OH! IS THIS IT?!