5 Walking In The Lily Garden

Rosie let out a long sigh. Wearing a dress on a sunny day was really stifling. With a skirt dangling on her feet, it was difficult for her to walk. She wanted to lift her skirt to let the wind blow between her legs. This outfit was really hot. What's more, the paired corset was also extremely torturous.

She could not be reckless because wherever she went, two maids and four knights always walked behind her. One of the maids even held up an umbrella for her to keep the sun from touching her skin directly, so she didn't feel too hot.

"I can do it myself," said Rosie.

"No, Your Highness. This is our job."

Rosie wanted to scream in frustration, but she remembered she was now Roseanne Villiers. She had to behave herself for Howland and the royal family.

"What is your name?" Rosie asked the maid, who held the umbrella for her.

"My name is Sarah, Your Highness."

Rosie nodded and put on a subtle smile while looking at Sarah. "Nice to meet you, Sarah."

Sarah became nervous being given a smile by a royal princess.

"Oh, Sarah. Do you know the way to the river where I fell?"

Sarah's face suddenly turned pale. She glanced at her friends, but they lowered their heads quickly, avoiding Sarah's gaze. Like it or not, Sarah had to answer it herself.

"I-I am sorry, Your Highness. But His Majesty Prince Howland has forbidden you from coming back near the river."

"Huh? I didn't say I was going to the river. I was just asking where it was." Rosie thought quickly to find a plausible reason. Whatever was on her head, Rosie immediately threw it to convince Sarah that she had no intention of going near the river again. "Ah, I remember about the beautiful flower garden when I crossed the river yesterday."

"Did you mean the Lily garden?" Sarah asked enthusiastically.

Rosie didn't know which one the Lily garden was but still nodded with a smile.

"Ah … yes. I think that garden," said Rosie casually.

"Do you want to go there? Lord Montgomery has given you permission to visit the garden."

"Yes, I want to visit the garden."

Sarah showed Rosie the way. The other maids and knights still faithfully followed her behind. When she was strolling to where the garden was, someone called out to her from above. Rosie raised her head to find her brother, Howland, standing with Aslan Montgomery on the balcony.

"Rosie! Where do you want to go at this time of day? I told you to rest!" shouted Howland from his spot.

"I just want to go to the garden! I feel bored staying in the room all the time!"

Howland furrowed his brows, then spoke to Aslan and turned back to his sister. "I will keep you company!"

Rosie suddenly felt nervous. She was sure that if Howland came with her, the man wouldn't leave her alone. She just wanted to find out why Roseanne Villiers had fallen into the river. That was it.

"No need! I want to be alone!" Rosie shouted back louder.

Everyone there was quite surprised by Rosie's loud scream. Even Howland was startled to find Rosie screaming loudly for the first time.

"W-well… you can… enjoy your time," Howland replied, still not snapping from his shock.

Rosie looked at Duke Aslan, who was still looking at her with the same look she had in her room. That expressionless gaze seemed to show his disinterest in her.

Rosie raised her hand and waved at the man. Her best smile yet again only returned with a nod of his head. The two were still staring at each other in silence, challenging who would last longer in the staring contest.

Rosie won the unofficial contest because Aslan was distracted by Howland's sudden conversation. Rosie turned around and continued on her way to the garden Sarah had just referred to.

They arrived at a large greenhouse. In the center of the greenhouse, there was a fountain with a statue of Cupid pouring water from its love-sized arrow. There were various types of flowers that were so beautiful. However, what really impressed Rosie was how the roof of the greenhouse was covered with violet-colored wisteria.

At the end of the tree house was the main wisteria tree, which was quite large. The leaves propagate perfectly. Under the tree, there was a small table with two white chairs to enjoy the view of the greenhouse.

Rosie looked at the flowers one by one. She was a flower lover. Her dream was when she was old and no longer working as a corporate slave, Rosie wanted to open her own flower shop.

However, that seemed to be just a wish. After she checked the flowers in the garden one by one, Rosie didn't find a single Lily flower, as Sarah mentioned earlier that the name of the garden was Lily garden.

"Where are the Lily flowers? Didn't you say it was a Lily garden earlier?"

"That's right, Your Highness. This is Lily's garden, but the Lily here is Lord Montgomery's mother's name."

Ah… Rosie understood now. She never knew because the book she read never mentioned the names of Lord Montgomery's adoptive parents. It only told that Lord Montgomery was adopted at the age of one and lost his family at the age of ten.

Rosie could faintly hear the sound of the river coming down in the distance. It reminded Rosie of her purpose in leaving the room. She glanced back. Only Sarah and the two knights were left with her.

Rosie took a seat under the wisteria tree.

"Hm… this is the perfect place for a hot cup of tea," Rosie mumbled in a voice that was deliberately raised so Sarah could hear it.

The innocent Sarah immediately understood the princess's wish. "Ah, I will prepare tea and snacks for you. Please wait a moment, Your Highness."

Rosie clapped her hands enthusiastically, pretending to be happy with Sarah's offer.

"Wow… thanks, Sarah!" Her reply made Sarah blush.

Sarah left the greenhouse, leaving two knights standing near the entrance watching Rosie sitting alone. The girl was looking for a way to get rid of the two men.

Rosie held a black belt in karate when she was in school. Since watching one of Jackie Chan's films, Rosie had become obsessed with karate.

Every weekend, she would train at one of her mother's friend's dojos. Rosie was sure she could practice her karate skills on one of the knights, but wearing a dress like this only made her look like a clown.

Ah! Rosie got a new idea!

"Kyaaaaa!!!" shouted Rosie, then ran out of her chair, making the two knights run quickly to the princess.

"What is wrong, Princess?"

"I-I saw a snake!!"

"A snake? There's no way this garden has snakes."

"I saw it myself! Hanging from one of the wisteria branches and falling to the ground. There! There!!! Please get rid of that snake!"

The two knights immediately looked for the whereabouts of the snake that Rosie was referring to. Rosie's acting didn't stop there. Every time the two of them lifted their bodies, Rosie pointed in any direction while screaming in fear, making the two knights run here and there frantically.

Rosie slowly took a step back and summoned the two knights who were guarding the front of the greenhouse to help the search. While the four knights were busy searching for the whereabouts of Rosie's imaginary snake, Rosie took the opportunity to escape from the greenhouse.

She ran around the leafy tree and looked for the source of the sound of the river flowing.

She ran through the leafy trees and through some bushes. Every so often she cursed when her skirt got caught by the dry trunks of trees that fell on the ground.

Rosie arrived at a river with a fairly swift current. She saw a wooden bridge that still looked sturdy. It was just that the bridge was so dirty that it almost looked abandoned.

Rosie approached and climbed onto the bridge. She took a pebble and threw it into the riverbed. It looked like the river was also quite deep. Rosie sat on the edge of the bridge, looking out over the crystal clear water of the river.

She could see Roseanne Villiers' face. For a moment, Rosie felt familiar with this scene. She knew that this was just a fictional world, but she couldn't deny that there was something that attracted her.

Rosie looked at the surface of the water. Her eyes widened when she saw her real face appear in the same office attire the day she was hit by a truck!

Rosie stretched out her hand, but the mossy bridge was slippery and almost made Rosie fall into the water if someone didn't grab her right away.

"What made the princess so interested in the river?" asked a man right in her ear.

Rosie twisted her neck quickly and found Aslan standing behind her, holding her stomach so she wouldn't fall into the river.

"Oh hi, Aslan…"