Garden of May - Chapter 127
“What’s wrong?”
“I thought I saw someone I know… No. I’m pretty sure it was someone I know, actually, but that doesn’t make any sense…”
“Someone you know? Among the navy officers? Who?”
At that, Mary finally pulled her distant gaze back toward Vanessa. She stared at her for a moment with strangely knowing eyes before slowly shaking her head.
“Not a navy officer. And not a man you’d know either, Miss.”
It was an answer so perfectly timed that Vanessa almost wondered if Mary had somehow read the thought she’d been hiding, whether River Ross might be here.
Suddenly embarrassed for no reason at all, Vanessa bit into a piece of chocolate and turned her attention toward the sea instead. By the time she had finished about half the plate, Mary abruptly grabbed her by the elbow.
“If you’re not attending the dance, could you return to your cabin now? I have to stay with you until you’re safely inside. Then I need to lock the door from the outside.”
Mary looked deeply anxious as she spoke. She kept nervously biting her lip, and there was an unmistakable urgency in her expression.
Vanessa didn’t know who Mary had seen, but it was obvious that person mattered to her a great deal. Seeing that Mary’s thoughts were completely elsewhere, Vanessa nodded readily.
“All right. I should probably rest for a bit anyway.”
“Then please hurry.”
Mary suddenly seized her wrist and pulled. Vanessa nearly dropped the plate.
Only after chocolate pieces and grapes scattered noisily across the deck did Mary seem to realize what she had done.
Startled, she immediately crouched down on the spot, her face turning red as a carrot. She hurriedly began gathering the fallen fruit and chocolates as though trying desperately to fix the situation herself.
Vanessa crouched beside her maid without hesitation.
Calmly signaling a nearby steward with her eyes, she pulled out a handkerchief and gently took Mary’s sticky hands, wiping them clean herself.
“Calm down, Mary. It’s fine.”
“You don’t need to help me. You’ll only dirty your hands too, Miss.”
The sharpness in Mary’s voice came out almost like a reprimand. Then she let out a long sigh, immediately sounding regretful.
“…If you wait in the cabin for a little while, I’ll bring your dinner before long.”
“Dinner’s fine. What you brought me already is more than enough.”
“How could fruit and chocolate possibly fill you up? Besides, most of it ended up on the floor anyway. I heard the banquet food is supposed to be excellent.”
Maybe so. But right now, Vanessa didn’t really want to eat anything heavier.
The smells drifting from the banquet hall were so rich and oily they made her stomach churn, and the spices were overpoweringly strong.
Honestly, what disappointed her more than the food was leaving the night sea behind so soon.
Even now, if she closed her eyes, she could still feel the soft wind brushing against her cheeks, hear the powerful churn of the propellers slicing through the water, see the crystal-clear night sky above the Altempose River overflowing with stars.
And later tonight, they were supposedly setting off fireworks from the deck as well…
“Come on. Let’s go now.”
At Mary’s urging, Vanessa handed the recovered grapes and chocolates to a steward and hurried after her.
However, unlike earlier the corridor leading toward the cabins was now packed shoulder-to-shoulder with people. Apparently there had been some issue communicating with foreign passengers regarding the third-class cabin assignments.
“Those shameless, damned Turtan bastards… Ah—sorry, Miss.”
Mary returned after briefly leaving to assess the situation, muttering curses under her breath.
“I think we’ll have to take another route. This is the fastest way, but if we go toward the front of the ship, there’s a staircase reserved for first-class passengers.”
“Will that really be all right? You’d have to walk all the way back here alone afterward.”
“Well… yes, but…”
“Then don’t worry about me. Go ahead first. I can find my cabin on my own.”
A shadow darkened Mary’s freckled face. The expression that usually seemed so mature slowly crumpled, until she looked almost lost.
“I shouldn’t have brought you all the way over here. If I hadn’t gone on and on about finding a good place to watch the fireworks…”
“I liked it here. On the upper deck, there would’ve been too many eyes watching. I probably wouldn’t have been able to relax.”
Vanessa smiled as she lightly patted Mary’s elbow.
For the first time, Mary finally looked her age. Not the calm, overly worldly young woman she usually pretended to be, but simply a girl. After chewing nervously on her lip for a moment, Mary seemed to make up her mind.
She took Vanessa’s hand and placed something into it.
A small round golden token tied with a green ribbon.
- Protected: Garden of May Chapter 152 - Jun 16, 2026
- Protected: Garden of May Chapter 151 - Jun 16, 2026
- Protected: Garden of May Chapter 150 - Jun 16, 2026
