My Dream Was of a White-Masked Boy in the Rain
The old book had been opened and closed many times over, its pages worn and frayed to the point of near disintegration.
I began flipping through page by page, but the content was far from satisfying my ever-curious teenage mind.
Alongside familiar anatomical illustrations, it described how spirits affected the bodies of men and women differently, how certain practices aided pregnancy, and more.
“Caught again.”
Well, of course. Chii.
I gave a wry smile and slowly closed the book.
Then, something slipped from between its pages and fluttered to the floor.
I bent to retrieve it.
“This is….”
It was a note written on ordinary paper.
I read it with trembling hands.
The scrawled handwriting matched the familiar style of my father’s pen everywhere in the estate.
Some people tried to control hearts through fear, while others sought to win them through respect. I had always wanted to be the latter. …My spirit arts existed to help people and nature, to nourish life, not to destroy or kill. So my path was the way to that purpose. Whether I succeeded or failed, simply cultivating a flower would make it worthwhile.
I read my father’s words to the end with eyes that shimmered.
It was only two short paragraphs, yet they seemed to reveal exactly who my father was.
“Dad’s spirit is for people, nature, and life.”
A gentle, steady, and firm self shone through those lines, making my heart pound wildly.
“Cultivating a flower… what lovely expression.”
I felt I could almost sense my father’s heart.
After reading the words again and again, and letting the gentle waves in my chest settle, I turned the paper over.
Light Spirit—the legendary source of all spirits. Only a spiritist with affinity for the Light Spirit can cure the Black Spot disease. Horizontal, fourth, vertical, vertical, horizontal, second, silver.
Scrawled there were notes that seemed unrelated to the previous text.
“Cure the Black Spot disease?”
What was the Black Spot disease?
The handwriting was the same, so it had to be my father’s writing, yet I could not grasp its meaning.
“Still, I’ll keep this safe.”
The area outside the Duchess’s manor was bustling. Most of the visitors wandering around were noble ladies dragging along daughters of their own age.
“Soon the esteemed guest will arrive.”
That was because the rumor had already spread that Lady Alence would come to teach me at this very hour.
When Lady Alence’s carriage finally pulled up, envious gazes all turned toward it.
“Oh my, look at those beautiful feather trims.”
“Lady, you are so beautiful!”
If high society were a pyramid, Lady Alence would sit proudly at the very top.
Everyone was desperately trying to catch the lady’s attention for their own daughters.
Some of the children stared at the Duchess’s manor with obvious envy.
Apparently, the Duke Maechert had finally given up on having Lady Alence educate his daughter.
“Then… is Lariel now seething at me?”
Lady Alence accepted the hands of the noble ladies gathered around her and greeted them with a smile, then finally stood before the Duchess’s manor.
I stepped down to meet her.
“Welcome, Lady!”
“Hong-hong-hong! Your steps are even more graceful than last time.”
Lady Alence placed both hands on her plump cheeks and acted as though she were looking at a cute little animal, waving her arms in exaggerated delight.
I had no idea what part of me made her see me as worthy of high-society status, but if the lady thought so, then that was simply how it was.
“I really can’t give up on you, you know… Giving up on Arinell is like burying the treasure you dug up from the box without even opening it.”
I pretended not to hear the muttering.
We climbed to the third floor, where a maid soon brought warm tea.
Today’s lesson was etiquette for afternoon tea parties.
In high society, noble ladies’ tea parties were everyday affairs.
Lady Alence taught us how to hold a teacup, where to position our gaze, how to pour the tea, and the proper etiquette for royalty.
What made her lessons especially special was that she knew the vast and intricate court etiquette of the Albreon Empire with terrifying precision.
That level of detail could not be found from any court instructor in the empire.
“Lady, how did the request I made last time turn out?”
After the lesson, while we sipped tea together, I asked with a face still flushed from the cold, as if I had been rubbing ice on my cheeks.
The lady corrected my small hand movements and laughed.
“Well, how do you think it went? Hong-hong-hong.”
The red sugar beets I had developed could become a delightful snack paired with tea.
At least for the nobles.
With only four years of tyranny and famine to survive on, they were enough for me back in Galnem village, but…
“Was it really that difficult? The nobles have such refined palates…”
Honestly, even though I had explained my plan to Lady Alence, I was not entirely confident it would work.
“I held a tea party and served red sugar beet slices, and not a single person realized the ingredient was red sugar beets. They simply praised me for the exquisite flavor they had never experienced before.”
Lady Alence was a trendsetter among the noble ladies.
She determined not only what they wore but also which furniture they preferred and which foods they ate—everything became the latest fashion because of her.
If Lady Alence, the trendsetter herself, showcased red sugar beet slices at an event for the noble ladies, the ripples would be enormous.
“When Arinell reveals that the ingredient of my dessert is red sugar beets is up to you. But I can guarantee…”
Depending on how the red sugar beet was introduced and consumed, it could become an elegant dessert just as a comedian’s quick-witted gag could become a punchline or an actor’s Oscars hairstyle could become a trend.
The noble ladies would follow Lady Alence’s lead even if she were riding a unicycle.
“Red sugar beets will become the empire’s most beloved dessert for the next few years! Hong-hong-hong!”
At her words, I broke into a happy laugh.
“You did wonderfully, Lady. Thank you!”
As expected, Lady Alence’s influence was beyond my imagination.
“Well, this is nothing. It makes me happy to be able to help my Arinell this way.”
I was steadily executing my business plan through the La Violette members I had met last time.
We were also hiring staff for my company.
“The jackpot will come when noble curiosity about red sugar beets peaks.”
The noble ladies’ interest in red sugar beets would help everyone when famine arrived.
“Because red sugar beet foods are easy to make and can be stored for a long time.”
In the original story, when famine struck, the nobles began to exploit the commoners even more, only making their suffering worse.
“Now we need to clear land for Arinell’s red sugar beet fields. Do you have a place in mind?”
I thought of the Aners Dukedom and nodded.
Adam, who had contracted through the Borden Baronage, was to meet with the Aners Dukedom today as well.
Everything was progressing smoothly.
By the time I prepared for bed, the sun had already set.
Standing before the mirror, I stared at my reflection as I prepared to sleep, when suddenly the Crown Prince’s voice echoed in my mind.
“Hmmm… I still don’t understand at all.”
That unconditional goodwill toward me felt suspicious. Honestly, it was strange.
To him, I was nothing more than a woman he had never met before, suddenly fallen from the sky as his fiancée.
“……”
Suddenly, as I turned away, my foot hesitated.
An inexplicable thought brushed past my mind.
What if… the day we first met wasn’t the first time we saw each other?
Would Briton have known me for a long time?
And then a boy with a build similar to Briton’s flashed through my mind.
“……”
Amid the scene of Galnem after everyone had left, with rain pouring down, I remembered a boy who had stayed with me.
Through the white mask that covered his entire face, the boy’s black eyes had left a lingering impression.