The words were spoken so flatly, so matter-of-factly, that Eileen and the others were stunned for a moment before they grasped the meaning.
Eileen listened from the side, and her heart suddenly stirred. She also looked at Flora.
Flora was currently lowering her head to eat. Sunlight fell on her profile, softening that faint layer of distance. She looked no different from an ordinary girl, just quiet, speaking little.
But Eileen knew she wasn’t.
She remembered Flora’s solitary figure walking out alone last night, the bit of dust on her skirt when she returned, the three words “it’s resolved” she had said, and just now, when she squatted in front of the purple flame flower and said “the roots are a bit dry” with that serious expression.
This person… just who is she?
Eileen snapped back to reality. “Huh?”
“Eileen?” Kaan called her.
“What are you thinking about? The food’s getting cold.”
“Oh, I, n-nothing.” She hurriedly lowered her head to eat.
When the meal was almost finished, Flora put down her chopsticks.
Eileen was startled. “So soon? Stay a bit longer. We should be going. Have a cup of tea…”
“No need.” Flora stood up. Eileen also stood, wanting to say something but swallowing it back.
She walked up to Flora and said softly, “Miss Flora, today… thank you for coming.”
As she spoke, she got up, preparing to head towards the door. Flora looked at her and nodded. Those eyes were exactly the same as in her memory—clear, carrying a hint of cautious expectation.
“You’re growing the flowers well. Keep it up.”
It was just an offhand, small piece of advice from Flora.
“Mhm!”
But Eileen seemed touched, a genuine sense of satisfaction and delight transmitted through her nerves into her mind.
She didn’t think much; it seemed this sentence was the encouragement left behind as someone departed.
Eileen nodded vigorously.
Kaan and Cole also stood up, seeing them off to the Fence Gate. Kaan opened his mouth, wanting to say some words of thanks, but felt anything he said would fall short.
In the end, he only said, “Be careful on the road.”
“Miss Flora, Lady…” He struggled for a long moment.
Flora nodded.
Ilya had already walked out a few steps and was waiting for her by the roadside.
Flora turned and followed Ilya.
After walking about a dozen steps, she suddenly looked back.
Eileen was still standing at the Fence Gate, looking in their direction. Seeing Flora look back, she quickly waved.
Flora didn’t wave.
She just looked at her one more time, then turned her head back and continued walking forward.
The time spent with her younger sister was so brief, and a thick barrier still lay between them. Though she had tried, she didn’t know if she had truly reached her heart.
Her real feelings couldn’t be spoken aloud. While expressing what she could, looking at Eileen’s face, her heart felt as if placed over a fire—an itchy impulse and a searing, burning pain.
These matters… weren’t easy to discuss with Ilya either, after all… well.
She knew the general direction to go, yet felt a thread of confusion.
Would Eileen and the others just live on like this? Never telling them of my existence? That sounds too cruel for Eileen.
Then when should she be told? And how should she be told?
Just stand there, face to face, and say “I am your brother, it’s just that I’ve become like this now”?
That would be too strange.
Flora’s steps slowed a little, the distance between her strides shortening. Her heart was in great turmoil, and the almost imperceptible rise and fall of her chest became visible again.
Ilya seemed to notice something and turned her head to look at Flora, who was walking with her head lowered.
“Flora, let me tell you something.”
Ilya’s tone was somewhat serious, carrying a hint of a senior’s instructive flavor. Her gaze was calm as water, yet profound as an abyss.
Flora was taken aback for a moment, then raised her head, her eyes showing surprised puzzlement. More surprise, less confusion.
“What is it, Mother?”
“I ask you, where are we heading now?”
Ilya said calmly, as if she had already envisioned the entire conversation in her mind.
“Uh, heading back to the Inn. What’s wrong, Mother? Why ask that?”
Flora’s confusion deepened. What was Mother doing, asking such an obvious, strange question?
“…In which direction are we heading? I asked wrongly.”
Ilya fell silent for several seconds, seemingly thinking and hesitating.
“Ah, heading north. What about it? Mother, why are you asking these meaningless questions?”
Ilya’s hand moved slightly. It was unclear if she wanted to press it to her forehead to express her speechlessness, but the small motion was suppressed by her strong “willpower.”
She pursed her lips, a strong stream of air rushing from her nose. She turned her head away, no longer speaking, and continued walking forward.
“Mother, is something the matter? Why don’t you want to say it now?”
Flora still maintained her “calmness.”
But Ilya remained unmoved, continuing to walk forward.
“What’s wrong, Mother? Tell me. Did I make you angry…”
Flora couldn’t help but grow nervous now. Her speech speed noticeably quickened, and her tone gradually lowered towards the end.
Ilya finally spoke. She didn’t want Flora to continue worrying, so she said it.
“Flora, we are walking forward now, correct?”
After walking a while, they reached an Intersection.
“Yes, that’s right. What does that have to do with just now…”
“Oh! I’m sorry.”
Right at that moment, they turned right at this Intersection and continued forward.
“Are we still walking forward now?”
Ilya said slowly.
“Mhm, yes.”
“Then, no matter how we walk, we are walking forward, correct?”
“Mhm, that’s not wrong when you put it that way.”
“So, no matter what the matter is, as long as you are walking, you are walking forward. Continuing to act will always mean moving ahead.”
“No need to worry about anything, no need to be confused about where to go. It’s all moving forward.”
“Uh… I understand what’s going on now. It’s mainly, Mother… I would have understood if you just said it directly. No need to explain in such detail, making it so concrete. I thought something was wrong.”
Flora thought for about half a minute, her subsequent speech somewhat halting, perhaps thinking about how to phrase it appropriately as she spoke.
Ilya fell silent.
“Sorry. Well, the only other time I explained this to someone, she had great difficulty understanding, so that’s how I explain it now.”
Ilya’s apologies were usually as steady as her normal communication, without excessive emotional display.
But today her apology seemed a bit different from usual, though it was unclear exactly how. Perhaps her tone was a bit heavier?
Flora detected this slight oddness, but she didn’t dwell on it.
“Mother.”
Flora quietly moved a bit closer. The two were now closer together, almost able to feel the wind stirred by the other’s forward steps.
Flora’s fingers curved slightly. When they touched Ilya’s hand, Flora felt a slight tremor in Ilya’s fingers.
Tiny, yet real, gentle like a dragonfly skimming the water, stirring a small ripple.