Chapter 142

Lily of the valley...?

Greyson, who had been looking into the box in puzzlement, discovered a card inside and took it out to unfold it. To my beloved child, Greyson. Koi's writing came into view. Greyson slowly followed the letters with his eyes.

The scent is really nice, isn't it?

I heard that perfumers try so hard to imitate this fragrance, but it seems they can't capture the natural scent after all.

I was recommended several perfumes with similar scents, but to me they didn't seem to resemble it at all.

So I asked them to put fresh flowers instead.

They say lily of the valley is poisonous.

Isn't it amazing that something with such a wonderful fragrance contains poison?

They say it means happiness that will come someday - could it mean that pain is necessary to become happy?

Here in France, they say lily of the valley symbolizes love and good fortune.

Hearing that reminded me of you.

Like the meaning of this flower, happiness will surely come to you too.

P.S.) Lily of the valley is poisonous so you have to be careful, but they say it doesn't work on someone with your phenotype, so it's safe. Smell the fragrance to your heart's content.

The message ended there. Greyson put the card down on the table and brought the box to his nose. Inhaling deeply, an indescribably profound fragrance permeated his lungs. Like Dane's pheromone scent, it had a cool and fresh grass fragrance with subtle sweetness hidden within. Greyson pleasantly buried his nose in the flowers and took deep breaths several times.

<Cute.>

Dane's words suddenly came to mind. His good mood immediately became uncomfortable. He had casually dropped a meaningful comment, but Dane's reaction was neither here nor there. He didn't get angry, didn't find it absurd, and didn't agree that it sounded reasonable. Of course, Greyson knew the last case was nonsense, but anyway, Dane's reaction somehow missed his expectations.

What did that mean?

Greyson stared down at the flowers. Such a pure flower that contained poison, a poisonous plant crouched in such a profound fragrance. And its meaning was 'happiness that will come someday.'

<You won't understand what I'm saying now.>

Ashley's face looking at him came back to life in his mind.

<You'll want to deny it, saying such a thing will never happen.>

He spoke as firmly and confidently as usual. Looking straight at his son with an unwavering gaze.

<But if you truly love Dane, it will definitely happen. Remember my words then.>

And Ashley added lastly.

<It's much better to see him alive than to kill your partner and follow in death.>

Why did he say such things?

Greyson fell into deep thought. Moreover, Ashley had surprisingly even patted his shoulder a couple of times. As if telling him to cheer up.

What was that about...?

It was just incomprehensible. Usually Greyson would accept Papa's words without a shred of doubt, but this time was different.

What is he talking about, is he crazy?

Greyson truly thought Ashley Miller was intoxicated by pheromones. The fact that part of his brain was already broken was known to the entire family. So it wasn't entirely impossible.

"Why would I kill Dane? What nonsense."

Greyson muttered irritably and smelled the flower fragrance again. The rich scent soon comforted his heart. I should tell Daddy that Papa is acting strange, so it would be good to have him get a brain scan.

<If you think you might harm your partner, rather let them go.>

"Tsk."

Greyson clicked his tongue briefly and dismissed the thought. It was nonsense whether he listened or not. He took the box to the bed and scattered the flowers on the mattress. And surrounded by the lily of the valley fragrance, he fell into a comfortable sleep.

21

"Hose, the hose is short! Extend it more, more!"

At Dane's shout, DeAndre quickly ran and pulled out the hose that had been coiled beside the truck. Seeing Dane holding up the hose and pouring water with the extended length, Greyson hurriedly approached.

"Should I do it?"

"Move aside, I'll do it. You go ask Wilkins if there's anything to do."

At the words spoken without taking his eyes off the fire scene, Greyson had no choice but to turn around. When he found Wilkins and asked, he looked around and soon pointed to one side.

"There might be embers left over there, so go check. Don't forget the fire extinguisher."

Greyson, who had strapped the fire extinguisher to his back as instructed, hurriedly ran in the direction Wilkins had indicated. The fire that had started in the morning showed no signs of going out even in the late afternoon. In a house standing alone in the outskirts where there were no proper roads, an elderly man lived alone. Lighting a fire to burn trash was something he had done countless times, but today his luck was bad. The flames flew and caught onto the dry trees, becoming a huge blaze in an instant.

When the fire truck arrived, the area had already turned into a sea of fire. They scattered in all directions, spraying water and extinguishing fires to prevent the fire from spreading to a forest fire. Fortunately, with effort and luck, although it took quite some time, the fire was gradually being extinguished.

"Whew."

Greyson exhaled and wiped his forehead with his forearm, then stopped. It was because he belatedly discovered his sleeve, blackened with dust and ash. Thanks to this, he could tell without looking what his face must look like now.

Ah, damn it.

He let out a sigh and curse simultaneously, grumbling as he looked around. No sparks were particularly found, but as Dane had taught him, he sprayed the fire extinguisher water around to prevent any possible re-ignition.

Is this enough?

After checking the wet ground and completely burned trees, he backed away and returned to his position. Even during this, he didn't forget to continue looking around and checking.

I'm pretty good at this.

Pride welled up inside him. It's nothing much, as expected I'm good at being a firefighter too.

Humming and about to run lightly toward Dane. He suddenly made eye contact with an elderly man sitting on the ground looking at him. At the unfocused gaze as if his soul had left him, Greyson was puzzled. In the midst of such chaos, there was only one person with the privilege to sit doing nothing.

The owner of this house. No, the person who had been the owner.

His house no longer remained. Only the blackened wooden framework that had been the pillars of the house remained, burning brightly. Greyson had already been to fire scenes several times, so such expressions were familiar. So he was about to turn around and leave without much thought, when he suddenly saw the man staggering to his feet at the edge of his vision. Greyson tried to run toward Dane without caring. It was such a natural action. If it had been the previous him.

...Huh.

Greyson stopped moving and looked back at him. The man was walking toward the flames that were still not extinguished. All the other guys were too busy putting out the fire to notice his actions at all. Greyson was the only one who saw the man.

...Ah.

Greyson turned his head to look again in the direction where Dane was. There was no reason to hesitate. What that man wanted was clear, and there was no particular reason to stop him.

But.

He hesitated uncharacteristically.

What would Dane do in this situation...?

Surprisingly, Greyson thought something he had never thought before. Then what to do next was decided.

"No, stop!"

Greyson shouted and grabbed the man's shoulder. Because of this, the man swayed greatly and almost fell backward. Having barely regained his balance, as soon as he came to his senses, he immediately showed anger toward Greyson.

"You bastard...!"

Greyson quickly dodged the fist swinging while shouting. It was an absurd situation. He had only stopped someone from committing suicide, yet they were attacking him instead.

That wasn't the end. The man swung both fists wildly with bloodshot eyes, screaming.

"You bastard, you were laughing earlier, weren't you? Is it funny? Huh? My entire fortune is burning and it's funny? Fucking bastard, die, just die...!"

The man continued to scream and rampage. Greyson regretted it, but it was already too late. The other guys were too busy putting out the fire to notice this situation at all.

Right then, the man spotted an axe someone had left beside the fire truck. The moment Greyson saw him reaching for the axe, he reflexively kicked the man in the stomach.

"Ugh!"

The man screamed and tumbled. Greyson chased after him and this time kicked his head to prevent him from getting up again. Just as he was trying to grab the collar of the man spitting blood and take him far away.

"Miller!"

DeAndre shouted, turning pale. He immediately snatched the man Greyson was holding and laid him on the ground.

"Get a grip, hey! Here, everyone help!"

The guys who belatedly discovered them ran over in surprise.

"What are you doing? What's suddenly happening?"

"There's an injured person here! Hurry!"

"Bring something to stop the bleeding!"

"We need a stretcher, hurry! Over here!"

Beyond the paramedics running urgently, Greyson just stood there dumbfounded.