18 Do You Know What Anemones and Sweet Pea Flowers Mean?

Carlisle was in a good mood these past weeks. For one, he did not need to be so on guard and uptight since his sister has stopped following him around. It was not that he hated her. Celestine was his only sister after all.

It was just that being the personal knight of the Crown Prince and Captain of the Order of the Cyan Knight, there were many confidential things that he needed to deal with. Constantly worrying for the safety of his sister and fearing that she would get in the way does not contribute to a good performance on his part.

At first he was still fine with it. Carlisle knew she just wanted to be with her family.

After all, their parents were often busy paying attention to them. This escalated when Clarion was born even before Celestine was able to enjoy the coddling of our parents. Carlisle, being the heir, has come to terms with it. Their father was the head of a Protector House whilst their mother was a trusted lady-in-waiting of the current Empress. He understood the duties that are expected of them.

Their family was in a delicate situation, especially with the brewing succession struggle. But his sweet and innocent sister found this hard to understand. She constantly sought their attention, often making a fuss. Quarelling with Clarion, creating scenes in tea parties and gatherings.

This may seem like mere trivialities but it may very well become a source of weakness for their family. There are hidden daggers beneath the smiles in high society. But there was a tacit understanding between us that she is to be kept from all these problems. At the very least she must remain the only pure land in their family.

Well, it seems that Celestine has finally realized that they have their own reasons for keeping her in the dark and leaving her alone for the most part. Wilhelm mentioned that she has changed. She stays in and often reads in the library. The farthest she would go is the garden, often taking afternoon strolls. She has even begun to ignore Clarion's pestering and has refrained from arguing with him. She has stopped demanding their parents to stop going to work and blaming the royal family for said work.

His good mood would have continued if not for the sudden foreboding feeling from god knows where that just refused to go away. Carlisle did not know when exactly it started. But he felt as if it stemmed from the first night that Wilhelm sent him a slice of lemon créme cake with a glass of milk accompanied with a bouquet of unusual blooms. Anemones and Sweet Pea flowers.

In fact, every vase in every room within their entire mansion was filled with them. They looked quite beautiful but it was unsettling. It made him feel as if he was missing something crucial.

Add the fact that Wilhelm kept sending the dessert and the milk and the bouquet like they were some sort of set for five days now. It was on the third day that I found that he has been sending these to both mother and father as well as Clarion. And he does not seem to have any plans of stopping until now. Father did not want to reprimand the old man since it was ultimately a considerate gesture on his part. Even if no one in their family liked lemon créme cake and milk is suited mostly for Clarion.

What he was curious about was the bouquet. Why give them anemones and sweet pea flowers?

"You've been frowning all morning, Lyle. Is something bothering you?" Carlisle turned to the source of the voice. It was one of his childhood friends and Captain of the Order of Emerald Knights, Alastair von Virens. He was the heir to Earldom of Virens.

"I was just wondering about something. Right, Al. You are well-versed in the language of flora. Do you know what anemones and sweet pea flowers mean?" He asked in passing, not expecting any significant answers. In the end, they were just flowers anyway. At least that was what he thought.

Carlisle was slightly surprised when he saw Alastair's grim expression. He began to feel anxious after the latter's next questions.

"Those flowers may look beautiful. But compared to most, they do not have as much of a bright meaning. What color is the anemone?" Alastair asked. I have not bothered looking at the bouquet sent to me each evening. But since the whole mansion was full of them, it was hard for Carlisle to forget what color they were.

"They were red anemones. The sweet pea flowers did not have a specific color. Only the anemones." He replied with lips pursed in curiosity.

"Red, huh? Red anemones usually mean forsaken. Sweet pea flowers symbolizes goodbye. It is still well and good when these flowers are sent individually. And if the anemones are blue and not red. Basically, red anemones coupled with sweet pea flowers are telling you this single statement. [I forsake you. Farewell.]" Alastair explained in a solemn tone. Carlisle was frozen stiff. His brows furrowed in thought.

A scary thought.

'I forsake you? Farewell? Why would Wilhelm decorate the mansion with flowers of such meaning? Why would he give mother, father, Clarion, and me a bouquet of them?' Carlisle wracked his brain for the reason. The answer was almost at his grasp. Almost.

"Lyle, who gave you the flowers? Was it a spurned lover of yours? Tsk. You should really be more gentle to women. But what are we to expect? You do not even spare your sister from your chilling attitude. Now that I think about it, I have not seen her tailing you for a while now. Seriously, if I had a cute sister like that I would never be able to resist doting on her unlike you." Alastair droned on but Carlisle stopped hearing the words that followed after he said sister.

It dawned on him.

It was true that no one from their family liked lemon créme cake and milk.

No one except... Celestine.

Lemon créme cake was Celestine's favorite evening dessert and she always, always pairs it with milk.

Red anemones and sweet pea flowers.

I forsake you. Farewell.

Carlisle felt ominous the longer he thought of the strange circumstances in the past weeks. Celestine changed so suddenly. And now this kind of covert message.

Unable to bear it any longer, Carlisle gave Alastair a perfunctory explanation and headed home as fast as he could.

He rushed in the mansion and headed straight to Celestine's bedroom, Wilhelm at his tail. An orderly pink room with an untouched bed greeted Carlisle. It looked as if no one had been in it for a while now. He turned to the old butler with a questioning gaze.

"Where is my sister?" He asked with an anxious voice. Wilhelm answered him in confusion.

"Lady Celestine left five days ago, Young Master. I found a note on her door in the morning saying that she had to go somewhere important. I think she will be back by the next morning, more or less. As she always does." Wilhelm politely replied. Carlisle's ominous feeling grew.

"Did she bring any escort with her?" I asked grimly.

"Well, I wanted her to. But my lady replied saying that there was no need since she will only be in the city. I consented since that conforms to the usual arrangements." Wilhelm looked uneasy while Carlisle's face turned darker and darker. His lips in a grimace. He then asked the question he had been itching to ask but was afraid of the answer.

"Was it my sister's arrangement? The lemon créme cake with milk and the anemone and sweet pea flowers?" Carlisle saw Wilhelm froze and stared at him stunned before nodding. The former felt as cold to his bones when his suspicion was finally confirmed. He approached the vase of flowers neatly arranged in her desk, holding the fragile blooms in his rough hands.

"Wilhelm, do you know what these two flowers together mean?" Carlisle spoke, gasping, as if choking on his words.

"I forsake you. Farewell." He continued, unaware that he had crushed the flowers he held along with an inconspicuous tear sliding his cheek.