Translator: Nox
(45) The Dead Forest and the Fairy Garden (2)
“What on earth did you do to this garden?”
At the unexpected question, Roxana looked around the garden. She couldn't figure out what Eldred found so displeasing about it.
“It’s too beautiful.”
“Pardon?”
“This garden, it’s excessively beautiful.”
It was hard to tell if he was criticizing or complimenting. As Roxana searched for a response, Eldred stepped closer.
“How did you cultivate it to be so beautiful?”
“Well, the gardeners put in a lot of effort…”
“No, miss. Gardeners alone can’t maintain a garden this beautifully. I guarantee it, as the winner of last year’s Fairy Garden Competition. This is your power.”
‘There’s even a Fairy Garden Competition,’ she thought, as Eldred moved even closer.
“Please, tell me. How can you make those flowers bloom in this weather?”
Roxana turned to look at the flowerbed Eldred was pointing at. It was filled with a variety of colorful flowers. Roxana knew the names of some, but not others.
Come to think of it, she had once overheard the gardeners saying, “The plants in this garden don’t seem to be affected by the seasons. Is it because the soil is fertile? Or is it thanks to Her Highness?”
Roxana hadn’t even realized that the flowers blooming in this flowerbed weren’t supposed to be in season.
-It’s because we’re together.
-We want to show Lotty only the most beautiful things in the world.
-The Gnomes are helping those kids thrive.
The Spirits chattered.
Only then did she understand what was happening in the garden, but she couldn’t explain the reason to Eldred.
Misinterpreting Roxana’s troubled expression, Eldred said,
“Yes, you must be having a hard time with many things, miss. I was being rude, bothering you with such trivial matters. I’m sorry, I’m just so worried about our garden… I’m sure we won’t even be able to enter our garden in the competition this year. Just thinking about Countess Tivran flaunting her success makes my stomach churn… Oh, what am I saying?”
The Spirits giggled.
-Eldred must be having a headache because of the garden. Henaraya brought a famous gardener from far away this time.
-Eldred hates Henaraya. That woman has a loose mouth.
-That woman insulted you too, Lotty. Eldred defended you.
Once again, it was difficult to grasp the full story from the Spirits’ rambling words. She could only guess that ‘Henaraya’ was the name of the ‘Countess Tivran’ Eldred had mentioned.
“Head Maid.”
Eldred, who was turning away, stopped at Roxana’s call. Eldred’s eyes, looking up at Roxana, sparkled with anticipation. Roxana felt a little burdened but didn’t show it, and said,
“Why don’t you come in for a cup of tea and tell me all about it?”
+++
Sir Arsene Chetekh, the commander of the White Eagle Knights, walked along the path and glanced at the archway leading to the Lily Palace garden. He was pretending to check if there were any suspicious people around, not to peek into the Lily Palace.
Just then, he saw Roxana and Eldred entering the building together.
‘Where’s the baby wolf?’
Arsene quickly scanned the garden.
He spotted a gray wolf, like a dark cloud, rolling around on the grass in the garden. Seeing how plump and glossy its fur was, he was relieved that Roxana seemed to be taking good care of it.
Arsene was about to pass by when he thought,
‘I can’t tell just by looking at the fur. I need to check its teeth and the muscles in its hind legs to know for sure.’
It wasn’t like he was intruding into the Lily Palace without permission. The Lily Palace garden was open to everyone in the Grand Duke’s residence. He only needed permission to enter the building.
Besides, he was the commander of the royal guard, no less. Believing that there was no place he couldn’t go as the one responsible for the security of the Grand Duke’s residence, Arsene passed through the arch and entered the garden.
The wolf, noticing the intruder, jumped up, lowered its upper body, and bared its teeth.
Arsene crouched down and held out the back of his hand, facing upwards, to show that he ‘didn’t mean any harm.’ Then, after making sure no one was watching, he parted his lips.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
At the very soft and affectionate call, the wolf looked momentarily dumbfounded. Wolves couldn’t possibly have expressions, but that’s how Arsene felt.
But the expression flashed and disappeared so quickly that Arsene thought he must have imagined it.
The wolf growled as if it were about to pounce, then abruptly turned around and ran into the building.
Although his outstretched hand was ignored, Arsene didn’t despair. Young ones were rude by nature.
+++
It was Eldred’s first time entering the Lily Palace since Roxana had started living there. The reception room on the first floor of the Lily Palace was as luxurious as ever, but there was something different.
‘Why are they decorating everything with Adelia Flowers?’
The cushions, the carpets, even the edges of the fireplace were all embroidered with Adelia Flowers. She knew that Floyd had ordered a major remodeling of the Lily Palace, but she had no idea it involved embroidering Adelia Flowers everywhere.
‘A unique taste.’
Eldred assumed that this bizarre interior was Roxana’s taste.
Even the white teapot and teacups brought by the maids were painted with Adelia Flowers. Since Adelia Flowers were usually associated with mourning the dead, Eldred felt like she was at a funeral.
She wondered if Roxana was maintaining her sanity living in such a place, but Roxana was nonchalantly pouring tea.
Roxana’s gesture of handing Eldred the teacup on a small saucer was delicate and respectful. Feeling like a VIP, Eldred cleared his throat for no reason.
“I hope I’m not bothering you, miss.”
“Bothering me? I have nothing to do at the Lily Palace anyway.”
“That’s not what the servants say. They say you’re very busy helping with the kitchen work, cleaning, and laundry.”
“I’m just doing what’s appropriate for my station. Everyone does it.”
Only then did Eldred remember that Roxana was branded as a slave. It was something he knew well, but he had somehow forgotten it.
“His Grace, the Grand Duke, has ordered that you be treated with the utmost respect, so there’s no need for you to seek out such work.”
She should be thinking about earning her keep, but for some reason, those words just came out. Roxana simply lifted her teacup, not even offering a polite smile.
Now that he had been given the opportunity, it was difficult to bring up what he wanted to say. So, as Eldred made pointless small talk, Roxana said,
“But what happened to your garden, Head Maid?”
“Ah, about that.”
Eldred began to talk about her garden, which had been tragically destroyed by Magical Energy. The leaves that had turned black and fallen, the foul odor coming from the soil, and the plants that wouldn’t revive no matter how much she tilled the soil and fertilized it.
“And I can’t very well complain about the garden when I’m so busy right now, so it’s really giving me a headache. I heard that once a land is affected by Magical Energy, it’s hard to recover even after several years. No matter how much you turn over the soil, it won’t get better as long as the Magical Energy is seeping deep inside.”
Roxana had heard stories about that as well.
Torkan wasn’t the only place where Rifts had opened and monsters had poured out, contaminating the land. There were several other areas in various regions where subjugation had been abandoned.
Just because the monsters were removed didn’t mean the land became habitable again. Only when priests with strong powers gathered and performed large-scale blessing rituals could the Magical Energy be purified.
‘But the number of priests with strong powers has decreased. That’s why useless lands are being abandoned.’
A thought suddenly flashed through Roxana’s mind.
‘That’s right, there are abandoned lands.’
Lands that each country failed to protect were declared ‘monster-infested areas’ and access was prohibited. If they failed to manage it for three years, the land became ownerless. Anyone who purified the Magical Energy in that land could become the owner of the area.
For that reason, the Empire, which had joined hands with the Great Temple, had no choice but to wield immense power. Each country needed the power of priests to purify contaminated land, and to do that, they had to be on good terms with the Emperor of the Empire. Only then would the Emperor ask the Great Temple to send priests to the contaminated land.
But most of the land remained abandoned. Even if holy knights killed the monsters and priests purified the contamination, the same thing would happen again, engulfed in Magical Energy as long as the Rifts existed. It was more profitable to give up than to keep repeating meaningless purification attempts.
‘If the Spirits could purify that land…’
She would be able to claim ownership of the land.
‘There must be abandoned lands that are still useful. If I purify those areas and get my hands on them… No, if my power becomes known, I’ll end up turning the Empire into an enemy without being able to do anything. In that case…’
A stepping stone to approach Lucas and Elise was drawn.
‘Give it to the Grand Duke. The Grand Duke would have a way to make that area his without any problems.’
Torkan was also a land that had been abandoned long ago due to the appearance of Rifts. But Floyd drove out the monsters in this land and made it a habitable place.
Neither the Empire nor any other country questioned his abilities.
