The Baby Sprout Who Bloomed in the Villain Duke’s Family
Chapter 5
Silence fell over the Demper estate in an instant.
Yet that lasted only for a moment.
Rumble—!
In an instant, heaven and earth plummeted into darkness as a tempest raged.
Flash!
Lightning flashed violently, threatening to cleave the Demper manor in two.
Crash!
A tree leaning in the fierce wind was thrown helplessly to the ground.
“D-Daddy…….”
The moment he saw Clover in his arms, bursting into tears and weeping sorrowfully.
“……Clover, my daughter.”
Khalid’s heart pounded furiously.
His Authority of the Storm whispered to tear this manor to the ground this very instant.
The madness coursing through his blood and Authority commanded him to slaughter everyone in this mansion—sparing only his tiny, precious daughter.
In truth, Khalid was holding back with every ounce of his will.
And yet.
“Why did Daddy find Clover only now?”
Clover wrapped her tiny arms around Khalid’s neck.
“Didn’t you miss Clover?”
Tears welled up and spilled from Clover’s large eyes.
“Did Daddy abandon Clover?”
Four years old.
Barely four years old—an age where eating well and sleeping soundly was more than enough to be praised and loved.
“Is it ‘cause Clover is useless……?”
Such a little child was desperately clinging to his neck.
Meeting her father for the first time, it would have been only natural for her to be shy or even run away.
Yet she held on as though this father she was meeting for the first time was the only one who could save her small body.
As if, were her father to leave as well, there would be no one left in the world to care for her.
Khalid’s whole body trembled with rage.
No child in the world deserved to be treated this way.
Even if Clover had truly been a child ‘abandoned’ by Claudian.
Count Demper should never have treated the child like this.
“Count.”
Cradling the sorrowfully weeping child tenderly in his arms, Khalid spoke.
“Y-Your Grace!”
Sensing the terrifying bloodlust in that single word, the Count dropped flat to the floor.
“Clover’s room was undergoing repairs, so she was only staying there temporarily!”
“…….”
“B-Besides, young children tend to exaggerate things……”
Before Count Demper could even finish speaking, a violent bolt of lightning struck the manor wall.
Crash, rumble!
One side of the manor’s wall shattered and crumbled mercilessly under the lightning’s wrath.
“Aaargh!”
“Aaaagh!”
“M-Mom! S-Save me!”
As the wind and rain swept in through the collapsed wall, people trembled like aspen leaves.
Some fled while screaming in panic.
Watching the scene unfold with an impassive gaze, the Duke of Claudian spoke.
He glared down at Count Demper with a chilling look.
“You will pay for this.”
Khalid continued, gently wiping Clover’s tears away.
“The price for making tears fall from my daughter’s eyes.”
Boom!
The Murderer of the North, said to slaughter a hundred men with a single gesture.
Behind the Duke of Claudian’s back, lightning struck once more.
And in that very moment.
“Uh, Daddy……”
Clover, who had been crying nonstop in Khalid’s arms, lost consciousness.
“……Clover!”
It had all happened in the blink of an eye.
[Clover, you have a ‘mission’ given by God.]
“A mission?”
[Yes. In the future, you will sprout so very many buds across the world.]
Lucky’s words sounded dreamlike and wonderful.
However, Clover had a problem.
“But I can only make two…….”
Because Clover’s Authority was so trivial and insignificant.
It didn’t seem like she could sprout ‘so very many buds’ as Lucky had said.
Besides, Clover’s sprouts never grew beyond that.
They would bloom for a moment, then wither away just like that.
That was the end of it.
“How many do I need? Don’t tell me, ten?”
[More than that.]
“……Twenty?”
[Much more!]
“Eek! N-No way, a hundred……?”
Lucky sparkled, saying she had to sprout even more than that.
Though Clover was a little surprised:
‘Still, having a mission given by God is a wonderful thing!’
So I have to work hard.
Clover, train hard every single day!
More than anything, she was happy that her Authority had a use.
Because her aunt had always scolded and berated Clover every day, saying her Authority was useless.
Yet Clover had never been able to sprout more than two.
Clover’s sprouts bloomed by gathering the good will and warm feelings of the people around her,
and at the Demper estate, there was almost no one who harbored any kindness toward Clover.
That was why Clover had wished her father would hurry and come pick her up.
Perhaps once she returned home, she might even sprout a hundred or two hundred buds.
That was such a hopeful, dreamlike thought!
As Clover lingered on that pleasant dream, she flailed her small limbs and snapped her eyes open.
“Oh my, are you awake?”
A maid she had never seen before suddenly popped her face over Clover.
“Eek!”
Startled, Clover sprang right up.
Wh-What is this?
Where is this?
Clutching a handful of the blanket, Clover trembled as she asked,
“Wh-Who are you?”
Was she another one of the villain aunt’s minions?
If so, Clover had to run away right now.
Because her aunt would never forgive Clover for badmouthing her in front of her father!
“It’s all right, young lady. No one here will hurt you. This is your real home.”
Unlike the villain aunt’s underlings, however, the maid had a sweet and gentle voice.
Wearing a warm smile and speaking with a soft voice, the maid said slowly,
“The Master brought you here after you lost consciousness, young lady. The doctor just stopped by a moment ago, so you’ll be quite all right now.”
Master? Doctor?
The maid was speaking in words Clover found hard to understand.
Clover sat dazed, listening to the maid, before asking cautiously,
“Wh-What about Daddy?”
“Pardon?”
“Wh-Where is Daddy……?”
Clover sniffled.
“Wh-Where did Daddy go, and why did the M-Master carry Clover here……?”
Could it be that Daddy had left Clover behind again?
Was that really what happened?
Having failed to properly understand the maid when she said this was her real ‘home,’ a terrified Clover let tears well in her eyes.
I woke up and Clover is in a strange place again.
‘There’s no Daddy, and no Lucky.’
If only I’d known, I wouldn’t have fallen asleep!
Why did I have to fall asleep right then?
Overwhelmed by sorrow, a tear rolled down Clover’s cheek.
Flustered, the maid wiped Clover’s tears and said,
“O-Oh dear! My Master is your father, Lady Clover!”
“Master……?”
“Yes, the Duke of Claudian. Since you are awake now, young lady, I will go fetch His Grace right away.”
Daddy didn’t leave?
Clover rubbed her wet cheeks against the maid’s handkerchief and asked,
“Th-Then where is the villain aunt……? What about Louis?”
Lucky had said:
The most important thing for survival is identifying the enemy’s location.
Clover faithfully adhered to Lucky’s Survival Rule Number One.
The maid wiping Clover’s tears beamed softly.
“She is not here. And she will never be able to come here again, nor will your cousin.”
“……Really?”
“Yes. So first, let’s get you washed up. Once you’re clean, I’ll take you to His Grace.”
“Duke……”
“It is an honor to serve you. My name is Belze, and I will be attending to you starting today.”
Whispering in a tender voice, Belze gently lifted tiny Clover into her arms.
She then softly pressed her own cheek against Clover’s tear-dampened cheek.
“Mm, Belze.”
Until now, Clover had believed all maids were bad people.
Because the maids had always bullied Clover, avoided her, or roughly shoved her aside every single day.
Belze, however, was different.
Belze didn’t avoid Clover, shove her, or snatch away her food.
She tenderly wiped the corners of Clover’s teary eyes and held her small body with utmost care.
And then.
“After you’re all washed up, I’ll change you into pretty clothes. Do you like rabbits?”
“Uh-huh.”
“What a relief. I’ll dress you in pajamas with rabbit ears on them. Up we go, heave-ho.”
Belze undressed Clover and slowly lowered her into the pre-warmed water.
There was not a single rough or forceful movement throughout.
When Clover squirmed slightly, Belze patted her small back and reassured her that everything was all right.
‘This is strange!’
It was a truly bizarre feeling.
A maid who didn’t hate her, dislike her, or find her a nuisance.
In that brief moment, Clover felt as though her heart had been completely won over by Belze.
And right at that moment.
Pop!
In Clover’s hand, soaking in the warm water, a single sprout covered in foam blossomed.
‘Gasp, a sprout! It appeared in my hand!’
Yet because it had bloomed amid the bubbles, Belze did not see it.
