The King's Lover-Chapter 274: Can You Play?

Rose stared at the woodwork in her palms. There was no doubt about it—this belonged to her father. However, she was sure this was not something she had seen him make, and it didn’t look too old. It must have been made in the past two months.

"You have sharp eyes," the old man who seemed to be the seller finally spoke.

Rose had been oblivious to his presence until he spoke. She jerked a little, lifting her head to look at him. He was pretty old and used a stick to walk. His clothes looked bigger than he was, and he looked like he had just wrapped fabrics around himself rather than wearing clothes.

"Where is this from?" she asked the man.

"Edenville," he said, and scratched his white beard. "It was difficult to get it here, not with the bandits on the way."

Rose heard whispering again, but as before, no one approached them. She looked at the carved object. It was a swallow. Swallows were her favorite birds. They were small and a little difficult, especially if she wanted to get all the details but it was something her father did easily.

Rose flipped it as she stared. There was no way she could be wrong. There was an almost identical one sitting in the drawer of a dresser in the estate.

"It’s pretty," Lady Deana said and leaned in for a closer look. "You sure you don’t want me to buy it from you?"

"I hear it is from a famous woodworker," the old man said, further advertising it.

Rose tried not to show any expression at this. Her father was pretty well known for his work in Edenville, but she was certainly surprised to hear someone call him famous.

"Did you bring it from Edenville?" Rose asked. She knew without a doubt who made it, but she was more curious about how this old man, who didn’t look like he could walk far, made it to Futherfield.

"Yes, the main roads are dangerous. It took me almost two weeks for a journey that wouldn’t have taken more than a few days."

Rose nodded, grateful that he was pretty chatty. This was the most information she had gotten about the roads. It wasn’t useful, but it confirmed that she could get to Edenville safely if she followed the right path.

"Would you buy it?" Lady Deana asked.

Rose internally swore. She knew she was taking a lot of time to decide if she wanted to buy the swallow or not, but she couldn’t just leave without asking him the path he took. Still, it would certainly be suspicious if she went ahead and asked.

"Yes, please," she reluctantly said.

"Wonderful!" the old man said with glee. "That would be one silver coin."

"What? That’s too expensive!" Rose yelled. Her father had never made anything that expensive. To sell a single swallow for that amount was practically robbery.

"Yes, but this is a rare swallow and can only be found in Edenville. The roads are dangerous and I had to struggle..." he paused as he showed his limp.

"It’s fine," Lady Deana said and reached for the purse one of the maids held.

"No, it’s not," Rose said and started to drop it.

The old man had called it rare. It wasn’t that rare—she had one sitting inside—and she thought it was annoying that he was selling her father’s work this expensively when her father didn’t even make that much from it.

Lady Deana grabbed her hand and smiled at Rose’s face. At the same time, she noticed the friendly smile on the trader’s face get even wider. Rose was annoyed, but at the same time, she wanted it.

"Are you sure it is really from Edenville? You could be lying. How did you get here?"

The old man immediately looked offended. "I wouldn’t dare lie about something like that. I came through the rocky path and it was especially hard. It made my limp worse. The main roads are dangerous, especially at night."

"Rose," Lady Deana called, impatience in her voice.

Rose knew she couldn’t stall for information any longer. She was sure she seemed absurd and didn’t want Lady Deana to have weird thoughts about her. She made a note to properly explain on the ride home.

She nodded and said, "Thank you, Lady Deana."

The woman smiled at her and handed a single silver coin to the old man. His eyes twinkled as the coin fell on his open palm. He looked like he had never seen a silver coin in his life.

"We should go," Lady said.

Rose nodded and started to walk away, the swallow in her hand. It was a finished work, unlike the one sitting in the dresser. She didn’t know why she wanted it. The swallow wasn’t even sitting on a branch, nor was it taking flight. Rather, it was simply resting on its claws, its wings closed.

The walk to the carriage was quiet, and if Rose wasn’t in deep thought about what the old man said, she might have thought Lady Deana was angry with her. But she was too busy trying to consider what rocky path he was talking about.

She wished he had given her more information, or at least a name. She was heading out tomorrow, and there were still a lot of things she didn’t know.

"It is a pretty bird," Lady Deana said, breaking Rose from her thoughts as they rode in the carriage. "I can see why you don’t want to let go of it."

Rose looked down and realized she was squeezing it to herself. "It’s not just that," she mumbled. "This was made by my father. I haven’t seen him in a while."

"What?" Lady Deana asked. "Are you sure?"

Rose was shocked by her reaction and obvious interest. "Yes."

"May I?" she asked, stretching out her hands.

Rose nodded and handed it to her. Lady Deana took it and moved it closer to the window to the light to get a better look.

"It’s such great craftsmanship. Are you sure about it?" she asked, glancing at Rose.

Rose thought about it for a moment but decided it was fine to show her. "Yes, I have a very similar one. My father made it for me." There was no reason to say why, so she skipped that part. "Placed side by side, you’ll see the similarities."

Lady Deana’s eyes twinkled. "Can you show me?" she asked.

"Of course, I brought it with me."

"Wonderful," Lady Deana replied with delight, still holding onto the swallow without any intent to give it back.

Rose realized she didn’t mind much. If Lady Deana wanted it, she could have it. She had bought it more for comfort than anything else. The letter was the only sort of communication she had had from home. Seeing her father’s work had been relieving. Knowing that he was still able to carve, even while taking care of his wife too, gave her a little joy.

As the carriage pulled to the front of the main house, Lady Deana bolted out without waiting for the coachman. Rose was worried she might fall, but she was surprisingly agile. She followed after her, and Lady Deana briskly walked towards the house. Rose could barely keep up with her.

Beatrice ran forward past Rose. "My lady," she cried.

"Tell the cook to start preparing lunch. I don’t know if the men will be back on time, so for now, just make lunch for me and Rose."

"Yes, my lady," she said and glanced at Rose.

"Rose," Lady Deana called as Beatrice headed in a different direction with the rest of the maids. "Where is it?"

Rose blinked. She didn’t know if Lady Deana was actually interested or perhaps liked to indulge in gossip, but it wasn’t as though it mattered. She had no aversion to showing the gift to her.

"In the room," Rose replied.

Lady Deana nodded excitedly, the swallow still in her hand. She glanced down at it and walked in the direction of the room.

They got to the front, and that was the only time she seemed hesitant. Rose realized she didn’t want to go into the room—it was the crown prince’s private quarters. Rose could understand why. However, she didn’t give Lady Deana a chance to hesitate.

"It’s right inside," she said and stepped forward in a way that made Lady Deana walk into the room with her.

Rose walked into the room and gestured for her to come towards the dresser. She opened it, and the Lady looked at it with wide eyes. She dropped the swallow she held at the top of the dresser and picked the ones on the branch.

"You’re right," she said, then her expression fell. "Is something wrong with this one? It’s missing some features."

"It’s not complete. When next I see my father, I think he will finish it," she said with a smile, but Rose couldn’t help but flinch at the pain in her chest.

Lady Deana looked at her for a few moments and looked like she was about to say something, but the flute in the drawer caught her eye. "Is that also yours?"

Rose looked down and saw what she was pointing at. She slowly nodded as the twinkle was back in Lady Deana’s eyes.

"Can you play?"