Chapter 75 – First Marriage Trip

Perhaps they thought about it too much ahead of time. Now news about the trip had spread to the maids and servants. After a late breakfast, Tiana immediately got ready for the trip, giddy in excitement.

Even though it would be a short trip, it was her first time leaving the capital. More importantly, it was special because it was prepared by Lucius just for her.

Tiana still couldn’t believe that the two of them were about to go on their first trip.

“Finished, madam.” Jane, the head maid, stepped back after brushing and styling Tiana’s hair.

“Thank you, you did great,” Tiana replied gratefully.

Accepting a hat from another maid, Tiana put it on and looked at herself in the mirror. Since it was her first trip with her husband, she wanted to look especially nice today.

With a satisfied look on her face, she went out of her room and went down to the first floor, where she found Lucius waiting for her with the butler and a group of knights.

“Tiana, you look amazing.”

“Thanks, Lucius. It isn’t too flashy then?”

“Never. It fits you well. I think it’ll match well with the mood of our trip.”

“Oh yeah?”

It didn’t seem like Lucius was going to tell her what kind of place they were going to. Looking at him with questioning eyes, she was met only with a smile. Then he took her hand and walked her to the carriage.

“I’ll introduce you to the knights that are coming with us. They’re from the grand duchy.”

Five of the knights were waiting at the front of the carriage.

The leader, standing in front of the other four, greeted them, “Theros De Eltheim, commander of the escorts. My team and I will be accompanying you on your trip, ma’am.”

“Thank you, Theros.”

Theros had green hair and a firm-looking body. Tiana was amazed by the shapely muscles that were very visible even through his knight uniform.

After she acknowledged the other escorts, Lucius said carefully, “It’s not going to be a long journey, but they’ll escort us nonetheless. You don’t have to worry because they are the best of the best.”

“All right.”

“I’m sure we should be fine, but in case something happens on the way, please don’t leave my side.”

“Yes, of course. Don’t worry, I won’t let go of you.”

“Tiana . . .”

“Don’t let go of me either, Lucius.”

“I never will.”

Once again they squeezed each other’s hands tightly and smiled. Hand in hand they boarded the carriage, sitting next to each other.

“We will return soon.”

Warren and the other servants saw them off as the carriage slowly moved forward.

***

About two hours after leaving the capital, they arrived at the destination. Tiana had been curious about this destination too long. But now she was looking at the view of the small city through a window in the carriage. The view was just like straight out of a painting.

From the entrance, the streets were filled with flowers and trees. Slightly opening the window, she was welcomed by many different sweet scents of flowers filling the carriage.

“Wow . . .” she gasped in delight.

As they entered the village, she was surprised that there were many gardens and flower shops next to each other. More than half of the pedestrians were holding at least one flower, and a large proportion of the merchants seemed to be selling them.

“Are flowers special here or something?”

“Right. Because of this region’s temperature, many flowers bloom here, so the whole city is in the flower business. As they have lots of rare flowers here too, the city is famous for its beautiful scenery.”

“The whole city is in the flower business? How exciting.”

“It’s like a botanical garden jointly managed by the people and the city, which distributes seeds and flower seedlings to the merchants. You could say it is a business that takes advantage of the unique characteristics of this city.”

“I can see that.”

In such a small city with plenty of features, that kind of business surely was possible. The entire city was working together to maintain itself. It definitely wasn’t something you commonly see elsewhere.

“Shall we get out and take a closer look?”

“Let’s do it!”

Tiana couldn’t take her eyes off the view outside her window, so Lucius knocked on the carriage wall, signaling that they’d like to get out now. Soon after they stopped, and the knights outside opened the door for them to step out.

Lucius, who got out first, extended a hand to Tiana. “Step carefully now.”

“Yes, thank you.” She exited slowly, smiling at him and holding his hand. Certainly, the scent outside was thicker than when they were inside the carriage.

Tiana crossed her arm with Lucius’s. Holding his hand tightly, she walked forward with him, the knights on guard following behind them.

“A new variety of summer snowflakes has arrived!”

“How about a bouquet for the missus?”

“I have seedling pots that are simple and easy to grow!”

Merchants sang in the streets vending their wares. Indeed, the entire city was running a flower business. From shops that specialized in one kind of flower to ones that sold a variety of rare flowers, small business ranged in volume and variety. Some even sold only seedlings and pots.

“Come get your tulips!”

“Come get a red rose!”

There were plenty of shops and vendors to choose from, but there was one in particular that caught Tiana’s eye. It was a young girl holding a basket, selling single-stemmed flowers. The girl, around the age of ten, was walking between shops selling flowers, accompanied by a younger boy.

“Those kids . . .”

Lucius was looking in the direction where she was staring at.

“Many kids sell flowers here. Some are hired by shops, and some are working alone. They usually sell regular flowers that you can get almost anywhere.”

“So they are selling flowers here to make a living?”

“That’s right. As there is a lot of foot traffic, the profit is more stable than you’d think, and it’s much safer than other jobs.”

“I see.”

She understood that it was sort of a modern-day part-time job. But certainly, it might be different from the way normal people made a living. Many kids were usually assistant staff at stores, restaurants, and bars, and there were a lot who couldn’t even do those.

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