Chapter 9 – Levisia’s Garden

“Let’s plant the seedlings first.” Pel handed her the seedlings he had brought, and Levisia transferred them to the field. After the seedlings were transferred, Sheila would plant them skillfully to the watered soil. The planted seedlings would then grow crops like potatoes. She could tell that from her experience after working on them for a few years now.

“What’s next?” she queried, turning to Pel.

“Come out, I’ll take care of the rest.” Pel pointed to the outside of the field with his soiled hands.

Levisia walked straight out of the field, not wanting to work any longer. She didn’t want to argue with Pel, who was drenched in sweat. As she sat down quietly with her knees bent, she asked while her fingers toyed around with the horn whistle on her neck, “By the way, where did you get this?”

The whistle that Pel gave her was of a peculiar shape. Though it was bent like a tiny horn, it didn’t make any sound no matter how hard she blew. However, Pel would find her whenever she blew on it, no matter how far they seemed to be apart. It made not even the slightest of sound and thus, it was a mystery to her.

“It’s a special one. You can’t find those anymore,” he replied.

“Then where did you get that?”

Pel briefly looked at her and said, “It was left by my mother.”

‘Not even given by her but “left” by her?’ Feeling odd, she accidentally let go of the horn she was holding. “Then it’s an inheritance?” 

Pel’s avoidance of answering the question only meant that it was true. She pondered and immediately unraveled the necklace. “Why did you give me such an important thing? Take it back.”

“Just keep it with you. I have no one to give it to anyway.”

“Why isn’t there anyone to give it to? You should keep it.”

“It’s better than keeping it to myself and having no use of it.”

Once again, his answer left her pondering. Then, she realized that Sheila couldn’t hear the sound of the horn; only Pel was able to hear the sound of the whistle. How it worked remains a puzzle to her, but it seemed to be the reason why it was of no use for Pel.

“And your majesty…” After sitting hunched while working in the fields, Pel stood up to stretch his back and glanced at her. While she inspected his face smudged with dirt, her eyes locked with his golden eyes, gazing at her. His eyes deepened for a moment as if it were the vast sea but shortly disappeared in his eyelids. “Never mind. Just keep it.”

His face looked tired, so she didn’t say anything. How long has it been since then? The sun seemed to float in the middle of the sky. Pel, who was working silently, suddenly raised his head and frowned.

“What is it?” Levisia asked.

“I remembered something that I didn’t finish.”

“That you didn’t finish?”

“I’ll go finish it up and be right back.”

“Wait, all of a sudden?” Her head whipped to his direction. Sheila had left first to prepare lunch, leaving Levisia alone with Pel in the field. If Pel left, it meant that she had to be drenched in sweat again, working alone in this lonely field. “You can do it later. Finish this first-“

“Sister?” 

But before she could complete her sentence, a voice resounding from behind interrupted her speech. Judging by its gentle tone, she thought it must be…

“I have to finish it now.” Pel, who stood up before her, bowed and disappeared.

“My sister, it’s me.”

Levisia wiped the sweat off her temples and stood awkwardly. Unsurprisingly, when she turned around, she found Siaphyl with his eyes wide open. She trembled at the betrayal of Pel and looked towards the direction he left. Pel must have escaped knowing that Siaphyl had arrived.

“Oh, your Majesty. You came…”

‘Pel, how could you escape alone? You should have taken me with you!’

“I was wondering where you were since you weren’t in your room, but you’re here,” Siaphyl said, looking at her differently. In a slightly startled voice, he asked, “By the way, what are you doing?” 

Looking around a place even difficult to be called a garden, Levisa answered in a neutral tone, “As you can see, I am tending the garden.”

“A garden… Is it?” the boy trailed off. His eyes seemed to say, “Are we looking at the same thing?” 

Still, she steadfastly insisted that it was indeed a garden. “I like to take care of the garden myself.” If Pel had heard it, he would scoff at her, but he wasn’t here right now. ‘Because he ran away, leaving me alone!’ It’s a virtue of the servant to take care of the boss, but Pel did not, after all, resemble a servant. 

As she was looking for a way out of the situation, she found a shovel that was laying on the ground. “It’s pretty fun. Would your majesty like to try it?” She picked it up, roughly brushed off the dirt, and handed it to Siaphyl. 

He only stood with his eyes blinking blankly. 

‘Huh, perhaps it was too much for him.’