Crazy for Flowers - Chapter 1_1

Chapter 1

“I think sweet strawberry shortcake and white wine would be good for the celebratory party today.”

Dorothy, who had black hair that resembled the night sky which was also long and wavy, clenched the newspaper and danced around like a crazy person.

The place where she danced in excitement was in a small studio.

Although there was no sunlight, the room had lights shining very lightly and there were several photos and notes attached across the room.

The antique desk with the typewriter on it made it more atmospheric. (t/n atmospheric means that the atmosphere was romantic or mysterious, etc)

“First of all, how do you feel to make this woman known in the world, the smart and brave Miss Dorothy Den Lupaspin?”

A voice that was deliberately lowered to sound like an uncle filled the room. This made people think that she was having a party with just herself to talk to. Soon afterward, a high, elegant, and uncharacteristic voice rang out.

“I feel really good! This woman is like an onion with many rings so I’m very satisfied that there’s a lot to lay down. She feeds me and her insurance is very strong.”

Dorothy paused for a moment. Her eyes sharpened as if she was a tiger and someone was eating her prey.

“You’re done now, Alicia Nerunastan.”

Her job was to be a journalist. She was a figure as cold as winter, a person wrapped with mysterious secrets, and someone who looked at the Lupan Empire wide-eyed.

The definition of winter that everyone was curious about was a small woman. Two years ago, she insisted on being an ordinary resident in the novel『Crazy for Flowers』.

She was a righteous woman born in winter who loved sweet desserts and hated Alicia, who was the heroine and villain, the most.

***

The day Aru Han possessed a character in『Crazy for Flowers』was December 1st, when it was snowing heavily. It also seemed to be Dorothy’s and her birthday.

It was a common traffic accident. Aru Han was walking around, wondering what to do on her birthday, as there was no one to celebrate it with her, but then her memories got cut off. Once she woke up again, she was Dorothy Den Lupaspin, not Aru Han.

Dorothy was an orphan who didn’t have a different life from Aru Han. The head of the orphanage she lived in was neither kind nor unkind.

Perhaps because of Dorothy’s quiet personality, she didn’t have any friends. In other words, when Aru Han became Dorothy Den Lupaspin, no one noticed anything strange.

The life I got was very different from my previous life, but it wasn’t difficult to adapt. It’s just that the time period was different, and this life wasn’t regarded as more special or different.

Listening to the rumors about Dorothy, I figured that she wasn’t a sociable girl, but she was sincere when she worked. When she was asked to run errands, she didn’t refuse, and when she grew older, she worked hard at her part-time jobs.

I wasn’t an unusual child and I worked hard everyday. And surprisingly, a very pretty face was hidden behind the round glasses and long bangs I wore.

For the first few months, Aru Han, no— Dorothy, lived in daze. She walked here and there, and tried to adapt to this new world by learning its geography and meeting people.

She also cried because of the unfamiliar environment. The day she had awoken as Dorothy was after she had lived months of a meaningless life. The snow was piled up outside and the Sun was shining, making it hard for Dorothy to see.

For Dorothy, that day was still vivid.

In a little while, she would turn 19. She was getting ready to leave the orphanage as she was about to reach the age of an adult. She had a lot of worries riding on her back.

What type of part-time jobs can I do, where can I buy the cheapest things, and where is a house closest to a dessert shop?

If someone were to hear that, they would’ve laughed, but Dorothy didn’t care.

20 million lunar coins accumulated to around 20 million won. That wasn’t a small amount of money to get a room. If you worked part-time and paid 400,000 lunar coins monthly for rent, the chances of you having an empty bank account would be low. (t/n 2o mil won is about 1,800 usd and 400,000 won is around 360 usd. Daaang, your rent cheap)

Dorothy thought she was lucky so she went out to shop. While she was walking to the cafe, she overheard a conversation between a few middle-aged women on a picnic. She grabbed the light blue cloak she normally wore and raised it to cover her ears.

“Did you see that girl, Alicia’s dress today?”

“I don’t know much about dresses, but her’s was very pretty.”

“I’d love to see her. I heard there are many people who want to court her, is that true?”

“I work at Miss Alicia’s mansion, and I can say that rumor is true. Hundreds of letters are delivered there every month. Dozens and dozens of gifts and men come there, too! If you had to choose the men who are most commonly seen there, it’d be Master Pavalonen, Master Vessel, and Master Hernam.”

F***. (t/n originally the f-word, it still is, but now it’s censored)

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say, but Dorothy’s strawberry ice cream hit the floor. Her favorite flavor of ice cream had been dropped on the floor, but she wasn’t sad about it in the least.

It was because now, she couldn’t believe what they were talking about.

“I heard Master Pavalonen was popular. Where’d he come from? Where does he live?”

Dorothy spoke in a loud voice as she found a place between the few aunts.

As a stranger tried to join their conversation, the aunts looked at each other with confused faces.

Actually, all three of them were strangers.

As the silence continued, Dorothy sat down comfortably and laughed while covering her mouth.

“Hohoho, since my older sisters were very polite, I decided that I’d join them for a while. The older sisters in front of me and beside me, how old are you all? Around the age of 20?”

It became noisy again with Dorothy’s flattery and her use of honorifics.

As soon as the conversation started again, Dorothy quickly grabbed a chocolate chip cookie in front of her and took a bite out of it. She really liked how crunchy the cookie was.

Maybe because Dorothy was eating a lot of cookies that the woman with grey hair took a cookie and answered her question from before.

“Yes, Master Pavalonen is very nice.”

“That’s right. I heard Master Pavalonen was cool, too. After all, he’s from…”

Dorothy deliberately trailed off in the end, and the grey haired aunt who had an impatient personality continued her sentence.

“It’s Resell. Resell. Resell is famous for its rich and fresh fruits.”

“Oh, that’s right! As expected, you’re smart. You’re the best, and I mean the best of the best.”

“What’s wrong with you? I mean, it doesn’t really matter to me.”

Dorothy threw her hand up and laughed along with the grey haired aunt. But Dorothy wasn’t really laughing. Although her face was as clear and bright as the sun, her mind was more confused than ever.

I have to find more information.

After Dorothy’s forced laughter, the chocolate-like conversation continued.

“The second person I admire is Bochon Hernam. He looks very cool in a uniform. Sister, you don’t know how much I drool just thinking about him.”

“It’s not just you, my daughter does the same thing. She talks about Master Hernam all the time, which makes her act more like a friend than a daughter.”

“That’s right. His birthday was…” (t/n if you’re confused, Dorothy is speaking rn)

“It’s May 8th! Gosh, my daughter talks about that so much that even I began to remember.”

In a world she wasn’t used to, the sweet conversation didn’t end in just a few hours.

Dorothy recounted the terrible facts she learned from talking to the aunts. She was in a novel and she possessed a character in it.

The title of the novel was『Crazy for Flowers』. It was the first and last novel she read and she wondered how the book was published in the first place. She only read it because an acquaintance recommended it to her, but she didn’t like how the book developed.

Especially Alicia— the villainous heroine’s absence and her talking to herself creeped her out. Nevertheless, the reason she bought the book and read it many times was because of the attractive male protagonists. Even if she hated it, she couldn’t stop reading it. Therefore, she studied every character, from the main characters to the supporting roles to the extras.

The worldview of the Lupan Empire was not very complicated. A long time ago, titles didn’t exist and it was an unknown fact that you had to be polite to those older than you. But when war broke out and the emperor changed, many other things changed.

Thus, the status system was created.

Among the nobles they were divided into, the royal family, duke, marquis, count, viscount, baron, and then commoners, which was the largest populace. People of higher ranks have come to use their dignity and put more importance into etiquette. If you weren’t close to the nobles, then using honorifics was necessary.

Alicia’s family reputation was high and they were known to be smart and beautiful. With all three of these things, Alicia was known as the Goddess of the Lupan Empire. There were hundreds of men who tried to woo her, but there were only three men who could catch Alicia’s eye.

Pavalonen Resell. He’s the precious son of the duke who’s close to the royal family. He was a man who didn’t speak a lot, but when he did speak, a fascinating medium-low voice could be heard from his mouth.

The man with indigo hair was well-mannered and kind, but he had an iron wall. The only person who ever broke that iron wall was Alicia.

It’s said that he fell in love with her kindness to commoners, children, and the elderly. It also stated that this was his first time that he saw a woman with such a warm heart.

Vessel ne Lowdenta. He’s well-known in society with a playful personality which made him popular among the men and women. He was also a well-known pianist.

Rumors have it that not only was he known in the Lupan Empire, but the other empires knew him and wanted to hire him. It’s also known that he was amazing in playing other instruments.

Some examples of instruments he played included the violin, flute, clarinet, and cello. He often played instruments for Alicia.

The man loved Alicia because he thought she was more angelic and naive than anyone else. She was so pure that he wondered what would happen if she had been tainted.

Hernam Warnard. He was a strong playboy who had an older and younger sister. He had uncommon silver hair that was as clear as the sky and had twinkling eyes that made him sparkle.

He stole many women’s hearts when he wielded his sword and showed off his swordsmanship. In this world, he was a prosecutor and a handsome person.

Alicia captured his heart by helping his younger sister.

These men were honestly very cool. They were so attractive that I didn’t want to hand them over to the villain named Alicia. I couldn’t dream of either of them loving me, but it was honestly very frustrating.