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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: A Trip to the Flower Farm
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"If you say so, then it must be."
"Oh my. It's not just flattery—it's really true."
"Anyway, shall we get going now?"
Kaleo handed the sleeping Nibelria over to Seletrina.
"Mmgh..."
Nibelria, whose sleep had been lightly disturbed, struggled to blink her heavy eyelids as she looked around.
"Awake already?"
Seletrina whispered softly, pressing a kiss to Nibelria's forehead.
"Mommy..."
"Yes, sweetie?"
"Where... are we...?"
"At the temple."
Solles answered by tickling Nibelria's short, chubby calves with his finger.
"Eeeek!"
Nibelria scrunched up her face and swung her legs wildly.
Seletrina lightly swatted Solles on the head.
"You, teasing your little sister."
"Sorry. She was just too cute while she was sleeping."
"If you think she's cute, then love her gently. Tease her too much, and she'll grow up hating you."
Arep nodded quietly in agreement with Seletrina's words.
'Yeah. You shouldn't tease her.'
I know how tough it was when I got bullied at the orphanage.
Arep vowed that if Solles teased Nibelria again—or if anyone else did—he'd step in and stop it.
'Protecting the boss is a subordinate's duty.'
Fortunately, Solles didn't tease Nibelria any further.
He didn't have a habit of tormenting others anyway, so he ended up sightseeing around the temple with Arep instead.
"Arep, look over there. It's a statue of the sacred beasts."
"Sacred beasts?"
Arep looked where Solles was pointing.
There stood a bronze statue of a large wolf and a small cat standing side by side.
"They're the cat and wolf that fought together with Grandma and Grandpa in the war forty years ago."
"Th-that's... our names..."
"Right. Your name came from that wolf, and Nini's came from that cat."
"Whoa..."
Arep couldn't tear his eyes away from the statue.
"Kids."
Just then, Kaleo approached, waving his hand.
He ruffled Solles's and Arep's hair at the same time.
"Let's hop in the carriage and head to the Flower Farm. I just finished greeting Grandma and Grandpa."
"Aren't they coming with us?"
Solles asked.
Kaleo pointed at the line that still stretched on endlessly.
"It'll take all day. We'll head to the farm in the suburbs like this, and Grandma and Grandpa will go straight home to rest."
Right on cue, Muniel—who had just bestowed a blessing on one of the children—glanced their way.
She waved at the family with a kind smile.
Her mouthing lips formed the words, 'Have a safe trip.'
"It's run by a couple who started planting flowers for their sick daughter—that's how the farm began."
On the way to the Flower Farm, Seletrina shared some background on the place with the children.
Now fully awake, Nibelria munched obediently on the sandwich they'd packed ahead of time as she listened to her mother's explanation.
"Their daughter's sick? Being sick sounds hard..."
Nibelria drooped her eyebrows.
"But she's not as sick as she used to be, apparently."
"Is she still in pain, though?"
Solles asked, his tone laced with concern.
"It doesn't seem like an illness that heals easily. That's why they're experimenting with planting flowers and herbs that might help as medicine."
"And with this investment, they plan to set up a pharmaceutical research lab at the farm,"
Kaleo added.
"The technology to preserve cut flowers for longer is incredibly important. It's essentially the same as keeping medicinal ingredients fresh."
The children nodded in unison.
The carriage soon arrived at its destination.
A small building on the outskirts of the capital, in a quiet field, looked just like the house of a kind wizard from a fairy tale.
A weathered but charming orange roof.
Walls made of stones in slightly varying shades.
A faded wooden fence with a little sign hanging on it.
"Wow!"
As Nibelria admired the quaint cottage, she spotted Arep squatting in front of the fence.
She toddled over and plopped down beside him.
"Whatcha doin'? Tummy hurt?"
Arep pointed to a small spring flower blooming next to one of the fence posts.
"Just looking at the flower."
"Wow, so teeny!"
"This one will make your tummy hurt if you eat it. Don't eat it."
"Ohhh."
"And that one too. This one as well."
Arep pointed out unknown flowers growing along the path, one by one, explaining them.
They were all ones that would make you sick if eaten, but Nibelria listened intently.
"How do you know all this, Arep?"
"Uh... 'cause I tried eating them..."
"Why?"
"I was hungry..."
When he was really hungry, he'd sometimes pluck grass or weeds to eat.
But only rarely. Because eating grass often gave him a stomachache.
Then he'd vomit it back up or run to the bathroom over and over.
And in the end, it just made him even hungrier.
"......"
Nibelria tightly gripped Arep's hand.
"You hungry now?"
It was a quiet, gentle question.
Arep smiled softly in response.
"...I'm full."
Now he ate delicious meals until his belly was stuffed, and sweet treats whenever his mouth felt idle.
Arep still didn't understand why he'd suddenly become so happy. He couldn't recall any great favor he'd done for the Dayamor family.
"Huh?"
Nibelria tilted her head at Arep, who was staring at her intently out of nowhere.
"What's up?"
"I'll protect you no matter what, Miss."
"Yup! Nini knows. I trust you!"
"Yes. I'll definitely protect you."
Arep vowed once more.
"I heard kids like you get sold to nobles and treated like dogs!"
Just like the stories he'd heard at the orphanage, Arep had thought the Dayamors had brought him home as Nibelria's dog.
But those stories were wrong.
No one treated Arep like a dog.
And he didn't want to be one, either.
'A cool knight.'
Like the handsome knights in fairy tales.
He wanted to swing a sword coolly, defeat enemies, grow tall and dashing. That way, he could protect Nibelria properly.
"Nini! Arep!"
Just then, Solles called them over.
The two children, hands clasped tightly, headed toward the adults.
Kaleo and Seletrina positioned the approaching children beside them.
"Perfect timing. Our daughter here is very interested in this place."
"It's an honor to meet you, Lady Dayamor."
"Welcome to our Flower Farm."
The kindly looking couple greeted them warmly.
"H-Hi."
Nibelria returned the greeting.
The shy girl hadn't run away to hide.
Her family was genuinely impressed.
"I want to invest here."
Nibelria remembered to state her purpose.
"Nini invest lots! Okay?"
"Thank you so much."
"Would you like to take a tour of the farm?"
The couple led the way.
They introduced themselves as the Proud couple.
They showed them a small field behind the building, planted full of flowers.
One side bloomed with spring flowers in full splendor, the other with summer blooms just beginning to open.
The simple hues contrasted with vibrant colors, delighting the eyes.
The couple explained how they'd started the flower farm.
"It began when we planted flowers as gifts for our sick daughter. Later, we sold them to cover her medical bills and medicine."
"We built our home here, away from the city, for her health. The soil must be good—the flowers thrive."
"Our daughter has trouble moving around. All we could do for her was this..."
Mr. Proud gently stroked his hesitating wife's shoulder.
"...We understand the love of parents all too well."
Seletrina smiled warmly, showing her empathy.
The Proud couple had planted countless flowers for their ailing daughter, and in hopes they'd stay fresh a little longer, they'd begun all sorts of experiments.
"Cut flowers last ten days at most, no matter how much care you put in. And that's only with tremendous effort."
"But with the technique we developed this time, they can last up to a month."
"That's truly impressive."
Kaleo exclaimed in genuine admiration.
Even flowers planted in soil rarely lasted beyond a month. And that was only thanks to gardeners' hard work and expensive fertilizers.
'If we adapt that technology a bit further...'
We could maximize fertilizer efficiency.
'It wouldn't just benefit the flower or landscaping industries. Medicines, and even broader agricultural yields...'
Kaleo glanced at Seletrina.
She, deep in conversation with the Prouds, sensed his gaze and looked his way.
Kaleo hid his swelling emotions and lightly kissed her cheek.
"Thanks to my wife, we get opportunities like this."
"The Dayamor family will give this serious consideration."
"Thank you so much."
While the adults talked, the children explored the farm's flowers.
Nibelria stopped in front of a fully bloomed purple flower.
"Oppa, what's this one?"
"That's an anemone."
Solles explained.
"Anemones have different meanings depending on the color."
"What's a flower meaning?"
"The special message each flower carries. Hmm, this purple anemone means betrayal or love that must be abandoned."
"Why?"
"Legend says it used to be a fairy. The fairy king of the winds confessed his love, but she rejected him. He kept confessing, so she got scared and turned into a flower."
"Aww..."
Nibelria felt sorry for her.
Arep frowned beside her, pitying the flower-fairy too.
"If Nini was the fairy, I'd chop off the fairy king's head and put it in that spiky box Aunt gave me!"
"Th-that makes sense..."
Having learned about flower meanings, Nibelria asked Solles about the others.
Solles answered everything he knew, but midway through, he tilted his head with a strange expression.
"Oppa?"
Nibelria mimicked him, cocking her head.
"What's wrong?"
Arep asked.
"Something feels off."
Solles looked around at the flowers planted on the farm.
