/
Hydrangea is Still in Season
After leaving the palace, Kyrie met familiar people near the garden. It was Maria, Laura, and the heads of other families.
“Kyrie!”
Maria and Laura, who found Kyrie, ran to her and hugged her.
“Kyrie! I was worried. Where did you go?”
“Your body! Are you alright?”
Laura looked at Kyrie’s body with her worried face. Unlike the two, the heads of other families standing in the back avoided Kyrie’s gaze.  All of them were those who helped Nathaniel when he deceived Kyrie.  Maria spoke coldly to them.
“I’ll talk to her for a while. Go in first..”
As a courtesy, the heads entered the palace without a single way to refuse.
The three headed to the garden.  Laura was the first to shout with a fresh voice.
“What happened? I was so surprised when you used magic all of a sudden!”
“I took over the magic of the Lord Protector.”
“You took it over? Then, you’re going to use a sword?”
“No. It’s magic because Buchanans was originally a wizard family.”
“Is that possible?”
Kyrie held out her hand.  A magic circle was drawn on her palm, and small water droplets gathered and bubbled and burst.  Laura’s mouth fell open.
“The difference is whether rainwater falling on a mountain turns into a stream or groundwater, because the source of power is the same.”
(T/N: she means the difference between the power used by Leschaux and Kyrie is like rainwater falling on Mountain and turns into either stream or groundwater, the source is same but the ways is different)
“Then…..”
“Yes?”
“…..They’re both really dead?  The legend and the Lord Protector.”
Kyrie couldn’t answer. Maria let out a meaningless sigh, and Laura had a pitiful face.
“Ay! He said he would do it with his own mouth, so I’m sure it’s going to happen, but it’s not so refreshing again.”
One word made Kyrie stop.
“‘With his mouth’?”
“The legendary lord came. The day before that.”
It was Maria who answered.  Kyrie was slightly startled. She thought he had been away for quite a while, so how many people did he meet during that time?
“Nathaniel?”
“You don’t know how surprised I was when he was standing in my bedroom in the middle of the night. I thought he was here to apologize, but he wasn’t.”
“Sorry, my ass!”
Laura shouted.
“He only talked about you until the end!  Wasn’t it a face that didn’t feel sorry for us?  I’m saying this now, but doesn’t that person have some sense?”
After saying that, Laura lowered her body and looked around and became more annoyed.
“I got into the habit of swearing and looking around because of him!”
Maria giggled as she turned her head to Kyrie.
“More than that, Kyrie. Did you hear from Her Majesty?”
“I was on my way out after talking. She said she’d leave the Lord Protector title to me.”
(T/N: in previous chapter Kyrie declined this title because she had to handle Buchanan but now Gray is back so she will now become the new Lord Protector aka Patriotic Knight)
Maria nodded her head more seriously.
“There is a lot of talk among the people that it’s right to change the dynasty.  But Kyrie you wouldn’t want that, and for that to happen, the royal family would have to be a little more reliable.”
“So! So! So! They needed our support.”
Laura shrugged her shoulders and stepped out. It was a proud expression.
“I quickly secured the marquis position. I’m the marquis now! Is there anything you want? Just tell me! I’ll steal Rubinia’s crown too!”
After exclaiming that, Laura looked around her again.  Kyrie burst into laughter at her cruel attitude.
“Congratulations, Laura. I knew that you could do it.”
“I didn’t even know I could do it! You were the first to know because you have such good eyes!  My cutie!”
Laura smiled and wrapped her arms on Kyrie.  Then with a stern expression on her face, she threatened her.
“But I don’t think you have any eyes for men, right?”
Kyrie laughed again.  Maria, who watched her with a smile, opened her mouth quietly.
“It’s strange, Kyrie.  You always seemed to have a shackle on your leg, but now that the shackle is gone, somehow it feels like you will fly away.”
At Maria’s words, Kyrie had nothing to say.  She was still confused.
It felt like she was wearing red shoes from a fairy tale in which the wearer would dance until death.  Whether Kyrie wanted it or not, it was her aristocratic responsibility and the red shoe called inner solitude, guided her.
Nathaniel took off her shoes. Now she didn’t have to dance. The ground she stepped on with her bare feet was cold and unfamiliar.  It was an awful lot of freedom.
When Kyrie couldn’t answer, Laura again put her arms around Kyrie. It was a cheerful voice.
“You know what, Kyrie?  We’re going to have a great time!  Isn’t it pretty?”
Maria laughed.
“Sure.”
“If Maria is right, she is right!  know?  To be honest, the Lord Legend and Lord Protector are a bit inhumanly strong, but usually the duke and marquis are the strongest, right? In a human-level fight!”
Laura laughed, waving her fist with her other free hand. However, Laura’s expression, which had been smiling cheerfully for her, soon faded. Laura’s voice trembled.
“But will you leave?”
Kyrie was speechless. After all, they were Kyrie’s friends.  Kyrie hugged the two of them.
“I just want some rest. I don’t think I’ve had a proper rest since meeting Nathaniel.”
“Have you decided where you are going?”
“That, I haven’t.”
Then Maria said kindly.
“Kyrie.  I made your estate in the southwestern part of the continent.  It was agreed upon by the royal family and other nobles.”
“south-west?”
“It’s not your original land, but Count Archibald helped me. He doesn’t have a face to talk to you because everyone feels indebted to you.”
Kyrie recalled the gazes of the people who had passed by a moment ago. It was probably guilt. They were afraid of the Lord Legend, so they cooperated with his play, but the main actor in the play was the one who saved them.  It was obviously ironic. Although she herself no longer cares about those feelings.
“You didn’t even have to do that.”
“Just take it!”
Laura intervened. Her slightly wet eyes gleamed cheerfully.
“I asked people to take a look at it in advance. It’s absolutely the best! You can see the sea, and the house is spacious and clean! It’s Twenty-two billion dollars, and you know what I stuffed the furniture and decorations with? As soon as…”
“Hmmmm, Laura…..”
“I love you! I love you, cutie!”
Looking at Maria’s eyes, Laura hugged Kyrie again. She was smiling with excitement.
“Maria is really…. I am the owner of the business, how can I explain it?  But Kyrie, you would like it even more if you see that there are hydrangeas and jacarandas planted by the window!”
Laura smiled brightly and lightly poked Kyrie’s shoulder with her finger.
“Will you refuse? There must be an address where I can send a letter.”
Kyrie smiled at Laura’s joke that brightened up her mood.
“Where will the twenty-two billion dollar bill go if I say no, Marquis of Fort Duquesne?”
Laura and Maria’s faces brightened at her playful words. The Kyrie they knew wasn’t that serious of a person. In their eyes, Kyrie was just a friend who still liked to joke around, was good at sarcasm, and was a little zealous in her work.
“Isn’t that my secret business?”
“Laura.”
“Ahaha! It’s a joke, Duke!”
At Laura’s eloquence, Maria burst out laughing as if it had nothing to do with it.
“Kyrie. When you become Lord Protector, you don’t have to do anything officially, then what are you planning to do?”
Kyrie stopped. It was something she thought about all the time after it was all over. Still no answer came.
“I don’t know yet.  But maybe…….”
She looked down at her toes and opened her mouth with her hesitation.
“I think I will do things that are difficult to understand.”
Laura and Maria’s eyes widened.  Kyrie’s face was still full of hesitation. Laura saw her and grabbed Kyrie’s hand. Contrary to her decisive speed and gentle gestures, she had a slightly upset face.
“This is foul. He hasn’t been with you for that long, so why does that person know you so well?”
“……”
That person. That. Legend.
These days, it’s all over the place. She couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t feeling as bad as before.
“Are you talking about Nathaniel?”
“Yeah! Legendary lord said that if you say those words then, tell her this!  Originally I was going to pretend to tell you this, but a merchant shouldn’t cheat on the citizens of their own country.”
Laura winked.  And she smiled bashfully.
“Do what you want to do, Kyrie.  It’s okay now.”
***
Kyrie, who left the royal palace after seeing off the two who were headed for Rubinia, hid herself with magic.  It was convenient for her to have magic. She remembered Nathaniel’s words that one day, a quiet life belongs to the strong.
Familiar voices were heard in Kyrie’s ears, wearing the magic.
“I heard from a man who worked in the palace, and it turned out that the Emperor was the worst.”
Kyrie stopped her steps and listened to the story. She saw an excited boy gathering people and talking.
“Believe it or not!  In fact, since the founding of the country, the legend has sealed the End, but he was eaten at the end and stained with evil.”
“Ah, so he even did that to Kyrie Buchanan…?”
“Yes! But even though the Emperor knew that, she wanted to use that power!”
“How?”
“Do you know? I guess I just have to squeeze it like this with magic!  Anyway, the Emperor made a bad choice, and this is where Lord Protector and Kyrie Buchanan appeared!”
“I can understand Lord Protector, but in fact, Kyrie Buchanan was an ordinary person with no magic. Then how?”
“Did you forget that Buchanan was originally from a wizarding family?  Although it’s an old story. Because the moment of crisis is approaching!  Could it be that her magic was unleashed?”
“If that were the case, wouldn’t it have been manifested sooner? As you know, the play…..”
The middle-aged man who was answering could not finish his words and coughed.
“So Kyrie Buchanan is even better!  It is said that heroes always come out in difficult times, but it must be true.”
“Yes, I saw her using magic afar that day, and I cried. I thought God had come. As expected, Trevereum seems to be a country loved by almighty god.”
“Ugh. I actually did too. I felt bad that I pretended not to know when she was in the Legend’s play.….”
The man who said to the boy scratched his head awkwardly.
“That’s because the opponent is the legend……  we thought anything would be right as long as the Founding Heroes do.”
Then a fat man who was listening to the story raised his hand.
“So what happened? Lord Protector is all invisible.”
“Uh, well…….It is said that the Legend is definitely dead, but the Lord Pro…..”
When the boy who was leading the conversation acted foolishly, people started talking among themselves.
“Then will they (royal family) create another title? Is she going to be the third hero?”
“It would be too much to give the existing title (Lord Protector), right?”
“Hey, they have to make a new one.”
“What if she doesn’t get it?”
Someone among them actually raised a conspiracy theory that all of this was a play written and played by the royal family, the Legendary Lord, and Kyrie Buchanan, but it quickly faded after being criticized by people.  Because they all knew how cruelly Kyrie Buchanan had been deceived, how she had been imprisoned and tied up, and how shaky the capital had been since Kyrie Buchanan had fled.  It was definitely a tension that couldn’t be made into a play.
“I heard that Rubinia Cassner was amazing too?”
“Ah! That’s right! It is said that when everyone ran away, she went to the Crown Prince first?  To be honest, it started with an affair…….”
“Hey, watch your mouth, kid. She is the Empress now.”
“Hehe.  It’s not even an insult!  To be honest, Who will take care of Orewinbridge in such a beautiful way?”
“If you do that, someone might knock on the door at night….”
Kyrie moved her steps again. The roaring voices faded away, but on the street, one in six people was talking about Lord Legend, Lord Protector, Orewinbridge, and Kyrie Buchanan.
Surprisingly she didn’t care.
Rather, she had a place to go. She had been thinking about it from the beginning, but it was a place she couldn’t even dare to go.  Knowing Kyrie’s feelings, Maria said carefully before she left the palace.
‘Oh yes. There is a place I think you should stop by.’
‘Where?’
‘Otium National Cemetery.’
Kyrie looked at the panoramic view of the National Cemetery. The white tombstones gleamed white under the blue sky. With a bouquet of flowers she had bought on the road, Kyrie moved her feet, which hardly ever fell off, and approached the tombstone.  Then, suddenly, in front of the tombstone, something white and transparent reflected the light and twinkled.
It was a hydrangea made of ice. Transparent flowers that did not melt even under the sun shone brilliantly in all directions.
Her head got a little dizzy.
[Hydrangea is still in season.]
A soft voice that spoke like that came to mind and then disappeared.
Kyrie hesitated and touched the petals with her fingertips. It was cold just like someone’s (Nathaniel’s) finger.
“Where were you wandering around like that….”
He met Maria, Laura. He met Rubinia, and maybe he met Gray.  While she was shivering down, he seemed pretty busy.
If Nathaniel had really thought about breaking up with herself, he wouldn’t have wasted his time by being apart. Still, he chose the one that Kyrie seemed to like even a little bit more and not his own greed.
(T/N: okay, this seems to be a little confusing, what she is trying to say is that, if Nathaniel has really decided to suicide and break up with herself he would have been a little greedy and spend his time with her but he chose not to be greedy and do what Kyrie would have liked it, even if it was a little bit)