Extra 01 First Meeting

Mirabelle of the Acosta County, the Flower of Society, was supposed to be engaged to the Duke of Southstate after she served as the handmaiden of the Cercia Duchy's princess.

Many envy her beauty, but much more were enthralled by her grace and kindness. She's the epitome of beauty and nobility, given how proud her parents were for raising such a good chess piece in their political plans.

Of course, there were also quite a few who tried to pry her away from their grasp but failed due to how they have an iron grip over Mirabelle's heart.

One such person who tried to save her from her fate of becoming a tool for the family is the princess of the Cercia Duchy, third-in-line to the throne and the daughter of the Duke of Cercia, Vanche Cercia.

"Princess, aren't these flowers lovely?" the flower of society, Mirabelle, is now sitting in front of the Cercia princess, sipping on her hot tea as she gazed upon the blooming flowers in the middle of winter.

"The gardener did a great job at planting winter pansies in the fall, enough for them to bloom and show us their beauty in the white landscape. How I envy the majestic gardens of the Cercia Duchy. It must be refreshing to see these flowers in the cold ground even in this type of weather," Mirabelle continued.

"You should not envy our gardens, Mirabelle. Envy is a sin, after all," Vanche replied.

"But they are indeed lovely," she continued, smiling gently. Unbeknownst to Mirabelle, Vanche was referring to her twinkling eyes, instead of the blooming flowers.

Mirabelle smiled upon hearing Vanche's approval on the loveliness of the winter pansies. Soon, Vanche remembered something.

"I will have the butler arrange a bouquet with the winter pansies, Mirabelle. You seem to like them very much," Vanche offered, remembering the meaning of the flowers. With a knowing smile, Vanche beckoned towards the servant in the back to order the butler for a bouquet that Mirabelle would bring back home.

"If it is a gift from the princess, this body shall gladly receive."

"Since it is a gift from me, you should do your best to figure out the meaning of the winter pansies in the language of flowers soon, Mirabelle," Vanche offered, with her ears reddening.

Vanche was about to say something more, but the old butler came in the room without a sound and went to whisper something in her ears. What he brought was not a bouquet of winter pansies but news.

Vanche's smiling face soon turned solemn, as she faked a cough and offered Mirabelle to her quarters.

"A guest came in a hurry in this cold weather. Father is not here, so I will welcome the guest. You should rest in your quarters first, Mirabelle. This might take a while."

Mirabelle smiled in understanding before following the servant. Her eyes, however, are still glued on the Cercia princess' back.

"Such a rude visitor, interrupting my time with Vanche," Mirabelle murmured.

"I'll visit the library first. I'm getting curious about the meaning of winter pansies in the language of flowers," Mirabelle said to herself as she beckoned the servant to lead her towards the library of the estate.

***

A woman with thick dark hair lazily looked at the sea of books in the Cercia Duchy's library.

"Your Highness, the Cercia princess would be looking all over the estate for you if you continued to stay here. Please remember what His Majesty ordered you to do here in the far north in this time of the year!" The lanky old man courageously berated as he felt his blood pressure rising again.

"I know, I know. My father the Emperor ordered me to fetch his beloved brother in person to attend the Imperial Family's private family banquet in the palace. However, I, the Crown Princess, of all people, knew just how much of a snake my beloved uncle is," she reminded as she picked out a book from one of the shelves.

"You Highness! How can you say about the Duke! His Excellency was such an angel growing up! He would not have even a single shred of betrayal in his bones!" the old Steward complained. If he had a cane in his hands at the moment, he would have hit the woman with it, although his head might be rolling in the gallows if he ever did that.

"Whatever. Since uncle is not in his estate as of the moment, that means that I have the freedom to move about while waiting strenuously for his return," she reasoned as she opened the book with interest.

The old steward resignedly sighed, as he followed the Crown Princess to the second floor the library. There's a reading bench near the window, so the woman sat there as she read her book.

"Sigh. Your Highness, the weather is cold here in the far north. This steward would fetch some chocolate with white marshmallows on top from the Duchy's kitchen for you," the old man offered.

The woman smiled. She knew that the old steward might be harsh in his naggings, but he still cared for her in the least, as a subject would for their monarch.

"Sure. And bring some cookies as well. I don't care if this is a library, but I'm not a child who would spill my food over a book," she ordered. The old steward bowed his head in understanding.

Soon, it was silence all over the library.

"Yellow carnation, disdain. Mint, virtue, White roses, innocence. Rue, grace," the woman silently recited the contents of the book, as if on a spell.

She was reading the book with interest when she noticed the presence of somebody else in the library. She was about to ignore it, thinking that it was just her steward, but the scent of lavenders filled her nostrils. The old steward would not smell like this.

Standing up, she then peeked her head from the shelves to peek at the newcomer to the library.

With hair as white as snow and red eyes that gleamed with the light, she thought that what entered was a snow fairy and not human.

Her heart that was beating normally just a while ago started beating crazily. Every single piece of her being is shouting at her to just pounce on that snow fairy in the first floor. It's as if she walked in the midst of the desert and had finally found the oasis. She wanted to quench the thirst that she never knew she had.

When she was puzzled at her own behavior, words from her mother rang into her mind. Realization then set itself in her.

The snow fairy strolled around the shelves in the first floor seemingly looking for something. What else could someone look for in a library but a book? She laughed at her own thoughts.

After a few minutes of searching, the snow fairy made up her mind to climb to the second floor to look for her book but found another person staring at her from the rails of the stairs.

"Hello. What book are you looking for?" the Crown Princess greeted before asking in curiosity. The Crown Princess' eyes turned into slits as she thought of ways to lure this snow fairy into her hands.

"Hello to you too. I'm looking for the book 'Flora Symbolica' or any book about the language of flowers," the snow fairy politely answered.

"Why would you be looking for the book? Is it for research purposes or pure interest?" the Crown Princess of the greatest empire in the continent smoothly got herself a conversation buddy in the silent library of the Cercia Duchy.

"I have gotten curious about the meaning of a flower," the snow fairy replied.

"What flower is it? I might know the meaning without you having to look for the books," she offered. After all, she was reading that book just a while ago. She had great memory, so she can recite it well. And if anyone would see the Crown Princess converse casually like this to a stranger, their jaws would have dropped.

The snow fairy hesitated for a moment while mumbling, "I need to get back to my quarters early" before accepting her offer.

"A friend of mine gifted me a bouquet of winter pansies and I got curious about what it signifies since she mentioned something about its meaning to me," the snow fairy answered.

The Crown Princess' footsteps following the snow fairy paused for a while before she continued.

"Winter pansies? Is it really just a friend?" the Crown Princess' voice sounded forced as she gritted her teeth.

Who is it?! Who dared set their eyes on her snow fairy?!

Rage and possessiveness set themselves in her mind as she remembered the meaning of the flower.

Winter pansies. Or just pansy flowers in general, had the symbolic meaning of all kinds of love, both romantic and platonic. Gifting it to someone means affection and thoughtfulness, but the Crown Princess had a feeling that the person who gifted the bouquet had some feelings for her snow fairy.

And she didn't like it one bit.

"You must be a librarian here in the duchy. I envy you," the snow fairy changed the topic while continuing her search for the books.

Somehow, the Crown Princess can feel that the snow fairy really did envy her, or her position as the librarian, even if it was just a misunderstanding.

"Why would you even envy me?" the Crown Princess asked in a somewhat confused tone.

"You can stay in the Duchy all-year round. It's something worth envying for," the snow fairy said as she shook her head in disappointment. It seems like she did not find the book she was looking for.

"I will take my leave now. I cannot find books related to the language of flowers, so I will not take your time further. Thank you for briefly accompanying me," the snow fairy said in farewell and left in a dash before the Crown Princess can even say anything back.

Looking at the disappearing back by the library's doors, the Crown Princess contemplated.

After the old steward returned, he saw her staring at the doors, which creeped the hell out of him.

"Count Rotam, I want you to find a girl in the duchy with hair as white as snow and eyes as red as rubies glistening under the sun," the Crown Princess' eyes once again turned into slits as she thought back at the snow fairy's mesmerizing appearance.

"And have the authors of the books about the language of flowers change the meaning of winter pansies. Order them, in the name of the Crown Princess, to change the meaning into ignorance and disdain. I don't want to hear or see about the romantic symbolism of this flower in the future."

The old steward, Count Rotam, can only scratch his almost bald head over the bizarre orders of the Crown Princess.

"What's going on inside the Crown Princess' head? I was only gone for a few minutes."