"Admiration"

The Duchess was now bombarded with all kinds of questions from the others, and she stuttered with every reply she gave. I'll consider this as a win, hehe~

I walked out from there and decided to go to the mansions garden to get a breather.

Dahlia had a big butterfly garden, filled with various types of flowers, quite different from the rose garden in the palace.

I took a seat on a nearby bench and admired the view. I could smell the flowers from where I sat, but what surprised me was the sweet scent of vanilla that filled the air.

I don't think it came from the flowers.

I got up again and decided to follow the direction of the scent. There, I found a wooden door that seemed to connect to a different garden. I opened the door and discovered that Dahlia also had a lavender field.

From afar, I spotted someone. He didn't notice me open the door; he was smiling to himself while humming, and a butterfly rested on his finger. It seemed like he was lost in his own little world.

As I approached him, the smell of vanilla gradually became stronger.

Now, I'm positive this guy is an omega, although at a glance, you wouldn't even think so. He looks quite masculine and more on the handsome side, rather than the typical petite, pretty omegas.

I walked towards him, but accidentally stepped on a tiny branch, which startled him, and he proceeded to glare at me.

"Uh hi! I apologize for startling you like that. I just wanted to greet you," I smiled, trying to ease the tension.

"Good evening, Princess Zinnia. I apologize for not being aware of your presence," he bowed down respectfully.

"It's quite okay. May I ask what you're doing here?" I inquired.

Black hair with red eyes, damn he's handsome! He wore a black tuxedo with a long tail coat, it looks good on him.

"Oh, I just came here to clear my thoughts. It seemed that I got quite exhausted from greeting the others earlier," he smiled.

Just seeing his smile made my heart skip a beat.

"Oh, I see. Would you mind if I join you?"

"Not at all, Princess. Go ahead," he bowed down once more.

The only family with red eyes in this kingdom is the Grand Duke Xyriel Milliard Von Kazamir! Ade said they own a trading business and dominate the trading industry too.

In the novel, they only mentioned Xyriel in passing, so I don't actually know any information about him aside from when Zemislav talked to him once to convince him to invest in his own business. But other than that, none.

I looked at his face once more and walked a little closer. "Might I ask, are you Grand Duke Xyriel?"

"Yes, I am," he smiled once more.

Gosh, such a pretty face. I could stare at him for hours and hours and not even get tired.

It was apparent that I had been staring at him for quite some time now. He turned around, trying to hide his flushed cheeks.

"I-is there something on my face, P-Princess Zinnia?" He stuttered nervously.

"O-oh, I'm sorry. It's just that I find you charming. Sorry, that was rude of me," I said, turning away and laughing awkwardly.

"Cha-... Charming?" he repeated, clearly surprised.

"Yes, you're quite handsome," I smiled.

"M-me?" He pointed to himself, making sure he heard correctly.

"Well, is there anyone else here? Yes, you. I'm sure most people would think so too."

"N-no, no one ever said that to me," he muttered.

"Eh? You're kidding, right?"

"N-no."

Has the world gone mad? This creature standing beside me doesn't know how handsome he is?

"Wh-"

I couldn't finish what I was trying to say when a butler suddenly opened the wooden door.

"Princess Zinnia, it's time. The carriage is waiting for you in front."

Oh damn, I forgot about that. I had told the butler to fetch me in about an hour and make it seem like I had an urgent matter to attend to.

"Okay, please give me a few more minutes. I'll be there shortly," I said, and the butler bowed and left.

I looked at Xyriel again, and he was sweating profusely. He stared at the wooden door and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Is everything okay, Grand Duke?" I questioned him and gently touched his back, but he abruptly pushed my hand away and glared at me. I was shocked by his sudden change of attitude.

"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that," I said to him, feeling guilty.

His eyes widened, and suddenly he was teary-eyed, hiding his face with his hands.

"I-I apologize, Princess. I was just shocked," he quivered.

"It's okay. I must've startled you," I reassured him.

Now he was quiet, and he sat on the bench. I followed suit, making sure to put some distance between us to avoid invading his personal space.

Judging from what happened, he went from smiling to glaring, and now he was all quiet. I couldn't quite grasp his emotions; it's confusing.

I looked up and gazed at the wonderful lavender field, letting the wind do its magic to ease the tension.

The silence went on for a couple of minutes before he finally spoke.

"I... I apologize for my odd behavior, Princess..." He sighed heavily.

"It's just... I was caught off guard. The butler opened the door without even knocking first." He lowered his head and fiddled with his hands.

"You don't have to apologize for anything. In fact, I should be the one to do that. He is my butler, and I will have to scold him for that, Grand Duke."

"I-It's okay. I-I'm sorry again. My reaction from earlier was quite disrespectful."

"No, no, it was me who... Wait, this is getting out of hand. How about we both just forget what happened and forgive each other?" I suggested with a smile.

He chuckled a bit at what I said. "Perhaps you're right," he replied, giving me a gentle smile.

Damn, he is so freaking cute! I honestly just want to hold his cheeks and pinch them non-stop, but I shouldn't!

"Which do you like better, Grand Duke? The lavender field or the butterfly garden in front?" I questioned.

"If I have to choose, the lavender field has a more calming fragrance than the butterfly garden, I would therefore choose the former," he answered. "How about you, Princess Zinnia?"

"Hmm, I kind of agree with your answer, and even though it's nighttime, the scenery still looks astonishing."

"Do you have a garden of your own, Grand Duke?" I looked at him, and his eyes widened.

"Y-yes, the garden at my mansion has quite a lot of flowers growing all around, the garden also consist of a medium sized pond full of koi fishes, I sometimes feed them too." His eyes glimmered explaining to me the garden he has.

"Additionally, my garden is situated close to the forest, and occasionally, a fox or raccoon would venture inside. Surprisingly, these wild visitors proved to be friendly, and I even found myself petting them at times."

"So, I made a conscious decision to plant various vegetables and fruit-bearing trees. I instructed my maids and gardener to allow the animals to roam freely in the garden as they pleased." Xyriel now even used his hands to emphasize his words, which made me smile.

"Notably, the trees also attracted a variety of birds that came to rest and find shelte-." He suddenly paused and covered his mouth, blushing again.

"F-forgive me P-princess Z-zinnia! It seems that I was chattering a lot, I hope I-I did not bore you." He stuttered.

I raised an eyebrow. "Bore? On the contrary, I'm having a lot of fun just hearing you speak your mind out. I can tell you really love animals, don't you?" I remarked with a warm smile.

He was taken aback. "Y-you d-don't have to force y-yourself to listen to my worthless chatter, P-Princess," he stuttered.

I put my hands on my hips, "Grand Duke Xyriel, I'm actually quite an honest person. I'd tell a person to shut up or go away if I hated them! So please don't think that I don't enjoy your company. In fact, it made me happy that I managed to talk to you!" I assured him.

"I-I'm sorry, Princess."

"You really don't need to say sorry, Grand Duke! So please, continue with what you were going to say."

"Y-yes! Where was I again?" he said, looking a bit dumbfounded.

"Pfft, hahaha, you were gonna talk about the birds that would rest on top of the tree in your garden," I chuckled.

"R-right!"

After that, our conversation continued for a bit longer until we finally decided to end the night. We both waved goodbye, and Xyriel asked if he could write me a letter. Of course, I said yes right away!

He waved goodbye, and I also went home. We didn't go back to the banquet and just left the mansion like that.