Golden Moth Orchids (Middle)

The carriage wheels creaked and groaned on the road, occasionally bouncing as they rolled over a protruding stone.

The surrounding woods rustled softly, a sound that was long and pleasant, soothing the soul.

The midday hours are so leisurely and pleasant at this moment.

At least for this couple who are currently free from mundane affairs and crowds, this is the case.

Zack sat in the front seat driving the carriage, looking at a rein in his hand.

Meli sat to his left, resting her head lightly on Zack's shoulder, humming a cheerful tune.

He seems to be in a good mood.

To make his wife more comfortable, Zack subtly and considerately lowered his left shoulder.

This would allow the shoulder height to better match the posture of Meli leaning back, preventing her from experiencing neck pain after using it for a long time.

But how could his little movements escape the girl's keen senses? Even if she noticed,

Meli remained silent, pretending not to notice.

Then, secretly, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly, like a beautiful crescent moon.

She quietly enjoyed her lover's favoritism and indulgence.

A faint fragrance emanated from Meli's brown hair and lingered around Zack's nose. It smelled wonderful; he could smell it several times when he was near Meli.

That doesn't smell like the soaps you make... Is it a floral scent?

Driven by curiosity, he asked the question that had been buried in his mind for a long time.

Because Meli inherited her family's secret soap-making method, she often took over her father's soap business with caravans traveling to various cities.

To enhance the competitiveness of her products, she always tries to research and develop new products using various natural ingredients and then personally tests them after they are made.

Therefore, she always exudes a variety of rich and different fragrances.

But the scent I'm smelling right now is special; it's a very unique and elegant scent, and it's the one that appears on her most frequently so far.

It was obvious that his wife had a particular fondness for this flavor.

This also piqued his curiosity.

Guess~

Upon hearing her husband's question, Meli didn't answer immediately. Instead, she turned her head slightly, tilted her head back, and looked up at Zack's troubled expression as he racked his brains to think.

She rolled her eyes slyly, like a cunning little fox, and gave him a playful smile.

Even if I told you this is the scent of flowers—

Can you guess what kind of flower that is?

After much deliberation Zack revealed an almost helpless expression.

Seeing the almost teasing expression on Meli's face, he finally chose to surrender.

"Spare me, Meli... You know, I know absolutely nothing about this kind of thing..."

He really didn't know anything about flowers, and he had no interest in flowers, which were something that little girls liked.

As the son of a hunter, his only skills and interests lay in archery and hunting.

This was all his father could teach him.

Before Meli came along, these two things could be said to have accompanied him throughout the entire past ten years.

After Meli came into his life, Zack devoted all his time to her, except for the work necessary to make a living.

Not only did his mother pass away early after giving birth to him, but she also left him with almost no impression of him.

Zack had hardly interacted with other children his age growing up.

His home was on a small farm quite far from the village, so he didn't interact much with the villagers or children.

Occasionally, we would have the opportunity to come into contact with them, which was when we hunted valuable game and sold it in the village or town.

Therefore, the only living things he came into contact with were the cattle and sheep raised at home.

Growing up in this environment, their experience with the opposite sex is almost zero.

But if we include animals, then he has had quite a few encounters with the opposite sex.

So even though he is now married to Meli, his lack of experience interacting with women in the past has made many of his behaviors in daily life very unnatural.

Sometimes, when things got really intimate, Meli would press her face against his and whisper sweet nothings in his ear, making Zack's face burn like a hot coal.

He always made Meli laugh out loud, but she was also quite helpless about her husband's almost boyish behavior.

You're my man! Can't you stand up for yourself a little? Where did that ruthlessness you had when you slaughtered wolves go?!

"Hmph! I told you to go and catch up on your studies, but you clearly weren't paying attention."

Meli turned her head away in a huff, as if she was angry that Zack hadn't studied the knowledge about flowers properly.

But before Zack could react and explain, she pressed her head back against him.

"It's Butterfly Orchid."

"That's my favorite flower, um... the golden variety."

"By the way, didn't I have all of these in my hands when I went to get my portrait drawn? How come you didn't even notice?"

She started angrily poking Zack's nose with her fingertip again.

It's like punishing a clueless husband who doesn't pay much attention to his wife.

"Huh!? So that's what Butterfly Orchid is --"

Zack paused for a moment and then recalled that when they went to town to have her portrait drawn, Meli did indeed have a lot of flowers in her hands.

However, in his eyes, the only difference between these flowers might be their color.

So he didn't pay much attention to it at all.

"After all, there shouldn't be much difference, right? You haven't never seen them before, have you?"

Seeing Zack's reaction, Meli was both amused and exasperated, never expecting him to be so clueless about romance.

"No—it's just that this is the first time I've ever heard of the name of this flower."

Meli remained silent, simply leaning quietly on his shoulder.

"You must remember this from now on, it's my favorite flower!"

A long time passed,

Like a sulking little girl, she leaned close to Zack's ear and said it again.

However, this time Zack's face surprisingly didn't turn red.

After listening, he turned to look at Meli very seriously and said, "I will definitely remember it."

This sudden seriousness caught Meli off guard.

I never expected that my simple remark would be interpreted by him as if he had heard some incredibly important agreement.

Zack's vow-like reply, coupled with his incredibly solemn expression, even gave Meli the fleeting illusion that he had actually said "I love you."

Hey! Why are you being so flirtatious at a time like this?!

She slowly lowered her head, and a blush crept onto her cheeks unnoticed.

However, Zack wasn't perceptive enough to notice his wife's expression at that moment, much less possess the rich inner world that Meli had.

He just felt that his wife seemed to have a lukewarm reaction to his answer.

It's neither good nor bad... let's just say it's passable.

I really don't understand what she's thinking.