“Huh? What’s that?”

The eyes of the Duke’s subjects widened.

“A vine? A flower… carriage?”

A beautiful carriage adorned with various floral vines was entering the entrance.

The sides, the top, and even the back were so lavishly decorated that the inside wasn’t visible.

Only the front was open.

The horses pulling the carriage were also donned in grand knightly armor.

The carriage, as if it had transported a garden, harmonized well with the festival.

Women draped in festival merchandise blinked their excited eyes at the stand.

“Didn’t you hear? The Duke is making a pilgrimage in a special carriage.”

“Oh my, it’s so pretty!”

“It really looks like a carriage out of a fairy tale.”

The carriage moved along the wellmaintained road.

Originally, they planned to walk, but changed to carriage travel at Atia’s suggestion.

…

…

…

Casus always returned triumphant from every war he waged.

Thus, it was no surprise that the Wellington Duke’s family was highly reputable among the people.

Because, following Hidegger, Casus was also a hero of the empire.

So,

Prince Owen only had eyes for one person in the original story—Casus.

Owen hatched a plan to sabotage Casus on the festival day.

He ordered his minions to shoot poisoned arrows, which ultimately led to Casus’ death.

Atia, wellaware of this, suggested taking the vinecovered carriage, and this is how they found themselves in the current situation.

The aim of Prince Owen and the royal family was to turn all the Duke’s subjects against him.

So they wouldn’t necessarily attack the public.

Originally, around this time, Casus would lose a significant amount of wealth while purchasing the Barrel region.

Around the same time, Hidegger would go to war and die.

The 12th festival required couples, but Atia, even as the Duchess, would have been confined to her room, slowly dying in loneliness.

And Casus, who would have been on a solo pilgrimage, would ultimately get hit by a poisoned arrow, and the festival would be a total mess.

It would send the public sentiment about the Duke plummeting, a perfect flow of destruction.

This was the original story.

…

…

…

There’s no way to leave it to ruin when they’ve successfully held the 12th festival.

“Your Grace, the scent of grass is nice, isn’t it?”

Atia gently pushed aside a vine that was touching her cheek inside the carriage.

Even if arrows were to swarm like bees at this point, the vines would act as a shield.

“A moving garden.”

‘A moving garden’ was a codename that Atia came up with.

Casus mumbled and raised his eyebrows.

“Isn’t the meaning of the pilgrimage lost if we cover it all up? People who wish for the Duke’s blessings might be disappointed.”

“I’ve thought it all through. Don’t worry.”

It was not a common sight for the Duke to appear in front of the subjects, so this was unfamiliar territory.

Casus, surrounded by guards and confident in his skills, was uneasy with the precaution.

Though his pride was bruised,

he decided to follow Atia, who had been raising such a fuss.

He felt somewhat cared for by his wife.

“Quite flashy decor.”

Casus stroked his chin as he looked at the invasive floral vines inside the carriage.

Atia squinted her eyes and smiled. Though she took a deep breath inwardly.

The scent of grass was strong with each breath.

It was a relief that Casus didn’t complain that they had to go to such lengths.

‘…Still, the scent of grass is better than the scent of perfume, isn’t it?’

Being hit by a poisoned arrow could mean death.

Even if he was Casus, caution was needed if he wasn’t omniscient.

The big danger that hit the original Casus was because he was offguard.

And he got hit by a poisoned arrow on his arm.

‘Ugh, leaving the pain aside, how much muscle loss is from a poisoned arrow?’

Atia squinted as she glanced at the perfectly healthy arm of Casus.

Thump. Thump.
The faint sound of hooves mixed with people’s cheers.

Casus’s beauty overshadowed the sporadically blooming flowers entwined with the vines.

Atia reached for the flower petal attached to Casus’s hair.

The inside of the carriage felt cramped due to the vines.

“Hmm…”

Casus looked at Atia while swallowing his dry saliva.

When Casus stared back silently, the flower petal on his head, Atia’s eyes first caught his red lips.

“Ah…”

Unable to bear the awkwardness, Atia quickly averted her eyes.

“Hehe… I can’t tell who the flower is.”

With a frivolous joke,

Atia removed the flower petal from Casus’s hair and fiddled with it.

The petal, resembling his red lips, was incredibly soft.

Like his sweet lips had been.

Thinking of the kiss they had shared, Atia’s face unwittingly flushed.

Casus turned his body towards Atia, who was still playing with the petal while avoiding eye contact.

“So then I.”

“…”

“Even this close you don’t recognize?”

Though they were already close, sitting side by side,

Casus leaned even more towards Atia.

“People outside wouldn’t see us in here anyway.”

“What? They’d see us from the front though…”