READING GUIDANCE
" This is a direct sentence in the present time."
" This is a direct sentence in the past time."
' This is a character's inner thought in the present time.'
' This is a character's inner thought in the past time.'
[ This is a direct sentence in sign language in the present time.]
[ This is a direct sentence in sign language in the past time.]
HAPPY READING!
While looking at the big windows with gallant patterns of the dragons dyed with impressive luxurious colors, Irisha wonders—or somehow disbelieves—the feelings and emotions that are now flowing like a waterfall.
She raises both of her hands, spreads them to capture the falling tears that she cannot stop.
—Something she never thought could be so refreshing and relaxing.
Beyond the grand window, the sky stretches endlessly with a calm, deep blue that slowly fades into gentle gold where the sunlight rests. The clouds move lazily as if they have all the time in the world, soft and light like drifting feathers. It is a scenery she has seen countless times before—something so ordinary that people rarely stop to admire it. Yet for her, it always felt distant, like a painting she could recognize but never truly feel. She knew the sky was beautiful. She knew the sunlight was warm. She knew the world held moments like this. But somewhere inside her, there had always been a wall that separated her from it.
Yet now—
For the first time, that wall feels as if it has quietly fallen apart.
The warmth of the sunlight that touches her skin, the quiet blue that fills the horizon, even the slow drifting clouds above—everything suddenly feels so vivid, so alive, as if the world has gently opened its arms to her. And the feeling that blooms inside her chest is so light, so peaceful, that it almost feels unbelievable. As if she is finally allowed to breathe in a world she once could only observe from afar.
She smiles while somehow giggling a little bit while looking at the man sitting in front of her, who is also looking at her eyes deeply.
'After so many therapy sessions, you always give me this look.' With his golden eyes sparkling from the lights coming through the window.
[You trust me?]
And he smiles very gently.
"I believe in you."
[...While I tell you about the unknown world that seems so ridiculous? Don't you think I am just a crazy woman?]
They are now sitting on single chairs facing each other, when suddenly he pulls her chair closer with both of his hands. Then he wipes Irisha's tears with his bare hands, holding both of Irisha's cheeks as he looks into her eyes again.
"...No. Somehow, I just regret it."
[What do you mean?]
"If I had known you sooner, I might have been able to stand beside you in this unknown, harsh world."
While he gently rubs her cheeks and gives her a genuine look as he bluntly says how important she is to him.
"...I regret I was not there..."
Her lips tremble as she bites them hard, while the tears slowly gather at the edge of her eyes when he says something she has always tried to hold inside her heart. To avoid the harsh world she is now living in. Ignore the fact that she was screaming every day with the unfairness of this world—covering it, tolerating it, and repeatedly saying:
'This is my punishment.'
...while the truth is...
'I am broken.'
"Now, you know that I will be with you, right?"
And she nods.
"So just tell me everything."
And she nods.
"I believe in you."
She smiles while holding his hands that are now wiping the tears falling down her cheeks.
"Let's end today's session, okay?" he said. "I will get you something to drink."
He then stands and walks away from her, who is busy wiping her tears with tissues.
Then suddenly, from behind her back, some lovely small hands hug her tightly.
She is startled, of course. Yet somehow she already guesses who it is.
"Are you done, sister?" With a very bright smile, Arisha welcomes her.
"I brought you flowers that I picked with brother Ash before he left for his classes."
Then she shows her a big bouquet that is nicely decorated.
[This is so beautiful. Thank you.]
She said it while enjoying the aroma of the bouquet and taking a glimpse of the concerned expression of Arisha, who realizes her tears. Yet whenever Arisha knows that Irisha is looking at her, she puts her worry away and smiles brightly.
It has been one month since she started doing therapy sessions with the prince, and yes, she is only able to do it with him now. Yet after several sessions have been done, Irisha somehow allows the professional therapist to know about her story too, so she can supervise Irisha through the prince.
It is so complicated and hard... yet... Irisha tries to open her closed heart even though it is slow.
She is now also trying to let her sister know about her feelings, even though it was so hard to do before.
[I am okay. I talked about something I was hiding for so long...]
And maybe because she realized exactly why she ended up in this situation, Irisha tries not to make the same mistake with her sister.
Because in her previous life, she chose to hide her feelings instead of telling her parents how much their distance was hurting her. Perhaps if she had been honest—if she had reached out and tried to open that door between them—the ending of their relationship would not have become something so painfully irreversible.
So she tries to open herself up... even though she signs it with her trembling hands.
[...It might be slow, but... maybe later, if I am brave enough... I will let you know.]
Yet Arisha holds her hands tightly and nods.
"I will wait for you."
With her emotional expression that somehow makes Irisha proud and at the same time feel so loved... something that once she could never freely feel.
.
.
It then somehow becomes her new daily routine.
After waking up in the morning in the most luxurious bedroom, she has breakfast with all of the Dragon's Blessing in the imperial dining room, does therapy sessions with the prince, and enjoys the tea prepared by the Imperial maids all day alone or sometimes—depending on the time—she will do it with the crown prince, the princess, the second prince, and Arisha.
It was mostly her daily routine before, as she stopped work for a while due to her circumstances.
Yet after coming back to her right mind and after she feels a little bit better about herself, she decides to come back to her previous life.
So it is not strange at all when Irisha comes to her office after quite a while- She looks at many surprised expressions coming from all the staff who are doing their work.
Even Tara cannot stop her mouth from gaping while looking at her now.
"Please, attention," said Sir Higrid, who stands beside her.
"Sorry to bother you in the middle of your work, but please welcome my new assistant. Please work respectfully as you always have before."
He says it with perfectly fluent sign language.
He then looks at her and signs,
"Welcome back."
Irisha spots a faint smile on him, who is known as a very emotionless person.
She nods while gripping her hands.
'I am surely surrounded by many great people, am I not?'
Suddenly, Tara runs toward her and hugs her so tightly while crying so hard. It is followed by many people who then surround her with emotional expressions.
'...Have I now become a melancholic person?'
As the tears that once were hard to fall are now streaming down like a river easily, making many people cry as well.
That day then just becomes a very emotional moment that this branch has ever felt together.
.
"...Well, I might somehow give my gratitude toward this matter," the crown prince says while spectating the emotional moment of the financial branch from afar.
Sir Higrid, who also looks in the same direction as him, then says,
"What do you mean?"
"You are not someone who will welcome the one who decided to leave," he says. "...And Irisha is not letting me help her either, so..."
"...Ah, don't misunderstand," he says.
"...Even though she might have caught my heart, Your Highness, she is also not letting me help her, even though I could."
He continues,
"She just offered me something that I, as the finance minister, could not even dare to refuse. Then she ended up in that position without anyone's help once again..."
The crown prince, who once frowned, laughs to his heart's content.
"A typical Irisha, isn't it?"
Then the finance minister nods.
"Yes. Exactly, it is."
***