I didn't say anything else. I walked past her and ignored the fact that she was following me in secret.
Outside the mansion, the garden stretched wide and green.
Flowers of every kind bloomed in neatly arranged beds.
Mom took care of them personally and had made me learn their names and meanings too.
She liked to quiz me on them.
I only really paid attention to the ones I could use for something later, especially poisons. Peonies wasn't one of them.
I picked a few peonies and started searching for Seris.
She was sitting by the edge of the artificial pond, legs drawn up, sniffling quietly.
Her head was lowered, and her shoulders were trembling.
I walked over and sat next to her, setting the peonies between us.
She didn't look at me at first.
But I saw her eyes flick toward the flowers.
After a few seconds, she picked them up and hugged them to her chest.
"Those are peonies. They're for you."
