Chapter 79 – Different Meanings

“All I did was buy her a flower,” said Tiana.

“But to that little girl, it was a figure of hope.”

“I should be the one who feels like that.”

It wasn’t like Tiana had given her a bunch of money. From the kid’s point of view, it might have been a lot of money, but to her, it was just loose change. She hadn’t paid much for the flowers, but she had received the kid’s big heart in return.

“You bought the blue roses, right? The siblings put their heart and soul into growing it, especially the younger one. They were over the moon that you happily accepted it, Lady Tiana.”

“What a relief.”

As Tiana was listening to Lona’s words, the flowers that she had left at the hotel came to mind. She had urgently looked for a vase and put them in water. She hoped they didn’t wither.

The two siblings appeared far off in the distance. The younger one was further away, so all that she could see was his back, but the older sister turned around to look Tiana’s way. Raising both hands in the air, she waved and smiled so preciously.

*

After the tour of the botanical garden ended, the couple together with the three guides returned to the entrance. A bell from a nearby church was rung to signal that it was lunchtime.

“Shall we prepare lunch for you? We would love it if you had lunch with us.”

Viscount Grassel offered, while Lona and Kenil looked unsurprised. It seemed to have been discussed in advance. Tiana studied the three of them for a moment, then shifted her eyes to her husband.

“Lucius,” she called.

“Yes?”

“Is it okay if we stay?”

“Of course.”

When she smiled after seeing him nod, he grabbed her hand with a reciprocated smile on his face; the man who knew everything she wanted to do and speak. Tiana smiled at the warm feeling of his hand and answered the three guides waiting for their reply.

“That sounds good. We’ll have lunch here.”

“Thank you for the honor, your Highness. Right this way please.” He gestured.

“But I would like to have a few more guests, if it is okay with you.”

“Pardon me?”

“I think we’ll need a large place. Can you prepare the table in the flower garden? Oh, and I think it’ll be good to have a rug or a groundsheet rolled out on the floor.”

Viscount Grassel looked confused. His two employees next to him, also puzzled, stared at Tiana.

“I was wondering if I could get some food to go from the restaurant we ate at. If the three of you don’t have any problem, we want to eat with those two kids over there.”

“You mean those kids, Lady Tiana?” the Viscount gestured at the pair.

“Yes.”

The three of them all had the same flustered look on their faces, their eyes as wide as food plates. A flatter response than Tiana had thought. After they’d seen the kids looking at her earlier, she thought it would be okay, but maybe not. But they still hadn’t refused her request.

“I know the kids will either have lunch at the orphanage or somewhere else on their own, but I thought it would be nice to eat with them,” said Tiana.

“But…are you really sure? Do you really want to eat with those two kids?”

“What’s the problem? It’s just eating lunch together.”

“That is the problem.”

Seeing the way Viscount Grassel, unable to hide his embarrassment, was trading looks at her and Lucius, Tiana knew what he was worried about; it didn’t make any sense for the famous Grand Duke and Duchess to have lunch with such kids, orphans to be more precise.

But Tiana and Lucius weren’t the type of people to be bothered about that. Even while being royal citizens, they wanted to live without caring about other people’s image of them. Besides, there were multiple reasons why she wanted to have lunch with the children. Tiana knew about the children’s situation. She had interacted with them a little bit, so she felt bad about leaving them without a proper goodbye. She really wanted to see the cute kids again, and she wanted to talk to the sister more. The couple wanted to eat with the kids and the team together, but if anyone objected, they could easily order them to get out.

“Understood. I will notify the orphanage director. As the kids are already in the flower garden, I think it will be good to make the arrangements over there.” Lona, who had been looking at the confident Duchess for a while, said in a slightly hoarse voice.

“Lona!”

“Viscount Grassel, please get the tables in the annex storage ready. There are some long tables used for experiments, so if we put them together, we can all sit together.”

“Wait, hold on…” Kenil began.

“Oh, Kenil, go get the kids together in the garden. If they are still working, make sure they wash their hands.”

“A-alright.”

At Lona’s words, Kenil silently nodded. Viscount Grassel, stuck in the middle not knowing what to do, sighed deeply as if giving up.

“Ah… Understood. Then I’ll go gather the tables.”

“Thank you, and I apologize for suddenly making you do this.” Tiana said.

“It’s nothing, Lady Tiana. Rather, I ought to thank you for doing this. But is it really okay? Word about this will spread quickly.”

“It’s completely fine. I’m not doing anything bad.”

“That may be true. It is a very good act. However…”

Even though he’d accepted the duty, Grassell’s frowning brow would not relax. Tiana knew that he was worried, but spreading the word about this was what she was hoping for.

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