CH 186

Roots (1)

Lily just looked back, following Talin. She did not meet her brother’s eyes.

“…I read the letter you sent me.” The end of her speech was muffled. Lily’s throat seemed to be full of sand. Her voice barely crawls out. “But if I had known that Rocus wasn’t going to be executed, I wouldn’t have come.”

“Sister….”

“It means that your apology is not accepted at all, Dandelion.”

The only thing Dandelion could look at was the cold profile of his beautiful sister.

As pale as the moon today, his sister was like a marble statue carved out gracefully. The fine hair hanging from her nape fluttered in the gentle spring breeze.

Jewelry like small berries refracted the sunlight in all directions. It was as if she was giving off a radiant light herself.

Even the horse, on which she sat, boasted lustrous wheat-colored fur and an elegant body. It was like an ornamental stallion bought by aristocrats just to show off their wealth.

Her sister’s figure was much nobler than the precious horse.

It was the woman who became small like a crumpled piece of paper in her hand when she was engulfed in her sorrow. She looked like she was about to fall, but she didn’t look dangerous. She was shattered to pieces by all kinds of winds and waves.

Was his older sister really that tall? Maybe it was because she was riding a horse?

He knew she was originally tall, but she looked so much taller today.

She became his sister and someone else. He had seen her all his life, so he realized it right away.

As Dandelion lost his words, Lily turned her head toward Talin. “Go back. Sir Talin.”

A wild wind swept through Dandelion’s head. It seemed that even his body was swept away.

He blinked, clenching and opening his fists meaninglessly. It was he himself who said she didn’t have to accept his apology. All his life, he had only seen a friendly sister. Seeing her so cold, his heart hardened like a stone.

He did not know such a sister. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t come up with a way to change his heart.

“No, Sister. Are you really not going to forgive me? Forever…?”

“…”

Silence took the place of the answer.

Talin lightly climbed behind Lily and grabbed the reins.

Dandelion had a cold sweat on his forehead. The sister he knew would easily fall apart if he cried or prayed for pity.

Even though he was crying, she did not look back. She didn’t even hesitate. She had someone else inside her heart, and she didn’t seem to have time to let anyone in anymore. She was cold

When Talin grabbed the reins, Dandelion’s spirit returned to him.

He shouted as he ran in front of the horse. “So I…!”

“Dandelion!”

“Woah! What are you doing, Prince Isles!” Talin hurriedly pulled the reins as the startled horse roared with excitement.

Had it not been a well-trained horse, it would have been a very dangerous situation.

Dandelion looked at his sister desperately. “So are you going to send me to Father?”

Lily really stiffened as if she had become a statue. Her breathing stopped for a moment and then returned slowly.

Talin frowned, wondering if this was some kind of revenge. Her menacing expression was quite ugly.

Lily stopped her from doing anything. “I do not know what you mean. You…” She was not feeling well and she had brief vertigo. She didn’t want to show her weakness in this situation, so she tried to be as calm as possible. “The more you do this, the further you will push me away. So stop doing the obvious, Dandelion.”

“It’s not a lie. Father’s wagon is really here. In this city!”

“…”

There was no room to doubt her brother. Dandelion knelt down on the ground. An extreme fear engulfed his whole body. His body trembled like an aspen tree, and even the people who were quite far away were startled.

Dandelion held his hands clasped over his lap. Like his older sister, his big eyes filled with tears. “I was r-really wrong. Sister. Sorry for talking to you. But sending me to Father… Can’t we just not do that? I’ll do anything really. I promise in front of everyone. Please…”

“Stop, wait. Father…”

Dandelion, who was holding back his tears, finally burst. “I saw it all. Father’s carriage passing by! Sister, your husband is meeting Father!”

He fell to the floor as if he had been sentenced to death.

* * *

One month before the execution. It was the day Shylock Isles heard of the death of his eldest son.

The white building, which was more magnificent than any lower-class nobleman’s mansion, reflected the summer sunlight in all directions. It was the residence of the Isles family. The clear golden light passed through the window and poured down obliquely. A dark shadow fell on Shylock’s face, which sat on the table in the office.

Shylock Isles.

His appearance was as if the tip of an awl had been made into a human. From tightly combed silver hair to viper-like eyes, and thin, bloodless lips. There was no humanity in any part.

Contrary to his obsessively neat appearance, his office was extremely glamorous. It was dazzling as if a greedy collector had stuffed it with rare objects.