I’m Just a Counselor Chapter 108

Jeremiah’s words were so clear in their intent that I felt a little embarrassed. I pretended not to hear him and opened my mouth again.

“Anyway, that’s it… for now, because I don’t see why you’re working with me in front of you, and I think it’s best if I just leave.”

“You want me to focus on you?”

“No, I don’t want you to focus on me, …I mean, why else would you be so…”

“Okay, I’m done.”

 

Jeremiah shuffled his papers and put them to one side. I pursed my lips in frustration and sighed.

‘After I rewrote my employment contract, Jeremiah would call me in the guise of a consultation, but all he would do was make small talk. Today was no different.’

 

“Estella said there was something I could help her with. Was there anything Jeremiah needed from me now?”

“How are you sleeping these days?”

 

‘I don’t really think there’s anything I can do to help, since his insomnia seems to be over. I should have asked when I wrote the contract.’

 

Jeremiah studied my face carefully before speaking.

“If I still don’t sleep well, will you put me to bed like you used to?”

“What? Of course I’ll be there if you need me…”

 

“Ah, but I don’t know if I want you to read me bedtime stories like you used to.”

“…….”

 

Jeremiah’s tirade continued. My mouth dropped open, and I leaned my head back. My ears perked up.

 

‘The Jeremiah of today was definitely more brazen and brash. He wouldn’t have made that joke back then…’

 

“Storybook!”

I exclaimed, trying to fight off the rush of embarrassment. Jeremiah, who had been watching my face with amusement, tilted his head at my sudden comment.

 

“Fairy tales?”

 

“That… collection of fairy tales I read in the Duke’s bedroom?”

“…..”

 

I hesitated, then confided my plan to him.

“You know, the last fairy tale I read to you, the one about the princess and the dwarf in the winter castle.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, there’s an illustration of the winter castle in spring, and the stranger offers the princess a flower, and it’s a real flower.”

“You mean the aurora borealis rose?” Jeremiah said right away. 

 

He’d read the book far more times than I had, and he was the owner of this land, so there was no way he could be ignorant of the flower here. 

 

I nodded obediently. Jeremiah’s eyes narrowed as if he sensed something suspicious in my demeanor.

 

He studied me carefully for a moment, then spoke.

“You’re not going to tell me you’re going to go pluck an aurora rose, are you?”

 

Sadly, he was right. 

 

I said, slipping away from his gaze. “It’s a flower given to a very noble and precious being…”

“…….”

“I want to give those flowers to Estella as a gift, because it’s someone special’s birthday… and I want to give her something special.”

 

Jeremiah crossed his arms, then sighed in disbelief. 

 

I looked at him and tried my best to explain why I wanted to give Estella an aurora rose. Still, Jeremiah frowned, as if he didn’t understand.

‘Because he doesn’t know Estella’s secret. He doesn’t know how determined she is, and he doesn’t know how much I love and support her. Other than that, it was hard to convince him.’

 

Jeremiah nudged me.

“Vanessa, you don’t realize, do you? Even if the snow is melting at the bottom of the mountain, there’s still tons of snow up there, and it’s going to be very cold, and it’s hard for any man to climb a mountain in that weather.”

“I suppose so, but there are people who hike in the mountains in the winter, and there are paths they’ve cleared.”

“The aurora borealis only blooms once every 50 years. You never know if you’ll find it or not.”

 

“You don’t know until you go, and I want to at least try.”

 

Jeremiah raised his eyebrows at my stubbornness.

“Don’t you dare treat me like I’m an accident…”

 

He muttered under his breath. I looked at him, somewhat dumbfounded.

‘I knew the dangers of winter mountaineering, of course, so of course I wasn’t going to try to climb the mountain alone. The first thing I thought of was Shane, because he’s a wizard, he’d be able to handle anything that happened, and he’s someone I could rely on. But I’ve been asking him for too many favors lately. I figured I couldn’t bother him anymore, so I wrote to…’

 

“Duke.”

“Why?”

“…would you like to come with me to find the Aurora Rose?”

 

At my cautious suggestion, Jeremiah removed his hand from his forehead. He glanced up at me and gave me a light smile.

“You did well.”

“What?”

“Good for not trying to do this alone, and I’m glad you asked me to do it with you.”

 

This time, he didn’t mince words and told me how he felt. I quickly averted my gaze from his again, feeling the light green of his gaze tickle me.

‘Jeremiah was the owner of this land, and he would know it better than anyone. He was strong, …and above all, he was someone I could trust more than Shane, which was why I’d spoken to him for all the right reasons.’

“…….”

 

‘It suddenly occurred to me that maybe there was another reason, one I hadn’t even realized.’

 

“I saw the northern lights once with my parents when I was a kid, and it was so magical and beautiful. I still remember it sometimes.”

“I see.”

“Aurora roses bloom under the Northern Lights, so maybe if you go looking for them, you’ll see the Northern Lights, even if you don’t find any roses.”

 

His soft voice magically caught my attention. 

 

I stared blankly into his face, forgetting that I had been avoiding his eyes. 

 

The corners of Jeremiah’s eyes curved up at the corners. 

 

His eyes twinkled like stars as he recalled memories of his family. It was almost like he was back to being a boy, marveling at the Northern Lights.

 

When Jeremiah finally came out of his reminiscing, he looked at me again, his eyes still sparkling. They were still shining, full of affection.

“Thank you, for giving me the chance to see it with you.”

 

I looked into his eyes and let out a small groan.

‘I had never seen the northern lights before in my life. But… I felt like I’d already seen it shining brightly in his eyes before I’d even seen it myself.’

 

 

* * * 

 

 

The next day we decided to go searching for Northern Lights roses together. 

 

Jeremiah picked me up and rode to my front door. Dismounting from his horse, he wore a thick cloak over his jacket. A longsword hung from his waist. 

 

He didn’t look much different from his usual self.

 

“You don’t look at the mountains in winter lightly,” he said, “dress up a bit more.”

 

Jeremiah scolded me as I stepped out of the house. I reluctantly ran back into the house, packed more winter gear, and got the okay.

 

“You get cold a lot, Vanessa.” Jeremiah said as he helped me sit on the horse. 

 

Sitting on the horse was much easier in my riding clothes. Once I was settled, Jeremiah jumped up and settled behind me. His arm wrapped around my waist.

 

Resting my head in his warm embrace, I fiddled with the flute around my neck. Jeremiah, driving his horse, spotted it and asked.

“Why did you bring that? I’m right next to you.”

“Just, you know, in case.”

 

‘In addition to this, I also brought the self-defense tool Shane had given me years ago. I hope I never have to use it, but you never know.’

“I’m pretty well prepared.”

 

I glanced at Jeremiah, not seeing any tension in his face.

‘He looks at me as if I’m making fun of the winter mountains, but I think he’s the one who’s making fun of them. It’s his land. Jeremiah often goes out to hunt beasts, and a winter hike in the mountains might as well be playing in his backyard.’

 

Realizing once again that I was in good hands, I relaxed a bit more.

“We should probably walk up from here.”

 

Jeremiah said at the beginning of the mountain. Jeremiah dismounted first and offered me his hand.

 

I took it and started to jump, but suddenly the horse reared back.

 

Momentarily off-center, I stumbled and fell into Jeremiah’s arms.

“Aah!”

I let out a short scream and squeezed my eyes shut. Jeremiah looked confused, as if he hadn’t seen it coming.