……Maybe he's kinda cool after all 030 "It's fine. Getting involved with someone who has a fiancé is a one-way ticket to hell."
"It's fine. Getting involved with someone who has a fiancé is a one-way ticket to hell."
I drew a hard line in the sand. No way in hell was I getting tangled up with this woman unless I lost my mind. I've only got one neck, after all. Well, technically two, but I'd already used one up.
……Could it be three? Nah, no chance. I'm not some lunatic betting my head on unknown possibilities.
"Hell…… That's a bit extreme, don't you think?"
"It's realistic. If His Highness the Crown Prince saw us, he'd get the wrong idea, and how am I supposed to deal with the fallout?"
"Then where's your heaven?"
Elisia von Rosenberg asked out of the blue. I jammed my hoe into the ground and tilted my head back to gaze at the sky. Through the greenhouse ceiling, a clear blue stretched endlessly.
"Heaven, huh."
One place sprang to mind without hesitation.
"My hometown. Parne Territory."
"Not the capital?"
"Nope. There, I sleep when I want, eat when I want. Get bored? I farm or fish. Live like a young master with zero worries."
A smile crept onto my lips unbidden.
"That was my heaven until I came up here. Until Father exiled me to this place."
"Exile? More like studying abroad."
"Same difference to me. The potato flowers are probably blooming right now……."
I was lost in wistful thoughts of potatoes when—
Thud, thud. Footsteps approached our plot. A hipster in a leather apron: the Muller Viscountess.
Arms crossed, she alternated glances between Elisia and me, grinning ear to ear.
"Quite the youthful scene."
"……Don't say dangerous things like that, Professor. This lady has a fiancé."
I shot back seriously, but she smirked slyly.
"Oh my, why so sensitive? I was just admiring the sacred moment of honest labor, sweat and all."
"……."
"What kind of dirty thoughts is the student having to jump like that? Got a guilty conscience?"
"None. Zero."
That sly grin of hers. 'Goddamn.'
Real married auntie vibes—like she'd suck a toe or something. Wait, should I just do it?! Nah. Behave yourself, Kasian. Yeah. Stop the married-lady jokes!
Elisia von Rosenberg fanned her mouth lightly with a fan, savoring the scene before her. At the end of her gaze was Kasian del Parne's broad back, silently digging and turning the soil.
Thud, swish. Crumble.
The steady rhythm of the hoe sinking in, soil flipping smoothly. That regular beat, mingled with the scent of rain-damp earth, strangely soothed her heart.
The surroundings were the total opposite.
"Kyaa!"
"Oh no, my dress!"
The other young ladies were frantic—wiping their partners' sweaty brows, brushing dirt from clothes, or grabbing hoes themselves. Their elegance and poise had long been buried in the dirt.
She alone.
In this chaos, she sat aloof, maintaining perfect grace against the backdrop of the most flawlessly tilled plot.
Elisia felt the stares piercing from all sides. Reading people's inner monologues from their expressions and vibes? She was beyond expert—practically a master.
Vaguely: jealousy, envy, admiration.
Specifically: 'Lucky…….'
'The lady doesn't lift a finger.'
'That barbarian—no, that guy's got some serious farming skills.'
Something like that. Elisia's lips curved upward.
'……Feels good.'
Lately, stares aimed her way always carried impurities. Ever since rumors of discord with Crown Prince Louis de Leopold started swirling.
Sneers at the unloved fiancée. Pitiful pity from inferiors. She hated those slimy gazes.
But now? Pure, unadulterated admiration! It felt like slipping back to childhood, when everyone simply revered her as Rosenberg's treasured flower.
And the one who created this peace?
"Hoo."
The man before her, wiping sweat—not from strain, but genuine enjoyment—as he tilled the soil.
He demanded nothing from her. No cheers, no handkerchief, not even acknowledgment of his efforts.
He just moved because he loved the dirt, loved the sweat.
Elisia propped her chin, staring at Kasian.
'Not even tired…… He's really enjoying it.'
A man who let her relax, gifted her envious stares as a bonus. And with zero pressure. Pure simplicity.
A few days ago, this heavenly farmer-looking guy got certified a genius by the magic department profs. Unbelievable.
Not that his looks were lacking. His path just didn't add up.
'With such insane talent, why live dismissed as a barbarian?'
Didn't want the fame? If it were her, she'd shout it from the rooftops.
But watching his back commune silently with the soil, it clicked.
'……He just doesn't care about that stuff.'
Others' opinions? Less than a passing breeze to him.
No showing off, no bragging, no pretense. He found joy in quietly doing what he loved, sweating it out. Unguarded, unpretentious.
Yet superior to anyone.
To her, weary of noble society's pretensions, Kasian's raw authenticity was a fresh shock—and comfort—every time they met.
Elisia's cheeks flushed ever so slightly.
She recalled it anew.
'……Maybe he's kinda cool after all.'
That thought from the carriage ride home last week.
Two days later. Thursday. Herbology Basics B-Class.
The Muller Viscountess, wide-brimmed hat low, arms crossed, keenly observed her students as usual.
The difference? Her gaze lingered extra sharp on one.
In the greenhouse corner, a tiny girl crouched: pink hair tied tight, dirt-caked hands gripping a trowel, delicately digging.
Lily.
"……Definitely."
The viscountess murmured low.
Last class, Kasian—that massive, bizarre typhoon—had blocked the view. Now she saw clearly.
Lily's approach to soil differed from Kasian's, but worth his recommendation.
'Reverent.'
No wasted trowel strokes. Scrape, scrape. Like unearthing a mandrake—gentle hands.
Hit a hard clump? No forcing. She picked it apart softly, caressing.
Embracing dirt-smeared hands naturally. Pretty, grow well…… Even pre-planting, surely that's her mindset.
'That's why she's the saintess.'
Wholehearted even to mere soil. Respect for life-bearing earth.
'Definitely recommendable.'
The viscountess smiled satisfied. Lily fit perfectly, easing last week's regret over missing Kasian.
'She's in.'
Trudge, trudge. Post-class greenhouse emptying out.
Students shook off dirt from clothes, filing out like ants. Amid them, a tiny pink ponytail stood out.
The viscountess pointed at Lily, just turning to grab her bag.
"Miss Lily, stay a moment."
Twitch! Lily's shoulders popped like popcorn.
Deer-in-headlights eyes rolling, she shuffled forward timidly.
"M-Me……?"
"Yes, you."
Viscountess lifted her hat brim slightly, flashing her signature bold grin.
Once alone, she cut straight to it.
"Straight talk: Want to be my direct disciple?"
"……P-Pardon?"
Normally, the family would send a dinner invite. But Lily's reaction was off-script.
"P-Pardooon?!"
She jolted back, face etched not with joy, but deep suspicion and wariness.
'Why me? What did I do?'
Regression trauma. After 1st round ordeals, she instinctively rejected unearned favor.
No freebies in this world. Kindness without strings? Just bait.
Her hard-learned lesson from pre-regression life.
Of course, the offerer knew none of this.
Viscountess stroked her chin. 'Hmm…… Trickier than expected.'
Not the money-or-fame type, judging by those survival-hardened eyes. Time for a new angle.
What bait, then? 'I like how you handle soil!' Yeah, that'd just deepen distrust.
As she pondered, Lily mustered courage, voice trembling.
"Th-The real reason you're offering someone like me this honor……?"
She clutched her bag strap tight.
"I haven't shown anything special…… Unless you have some other motive……."
'Hmm.'
Her pride wouldn't allow begging twice. Answer might be simpler.
'He said keep it secret.'
Kasian del Parne. That cheeky, charming freshman. He'd begged: absolute secret.
But.
'Never promised. Just said no guarantees.'
Merchant math: ice-cold. She'd left it vague to tease him anyway.
For efficient deals, flexibility—what folks call betrayal—was key.
"Kasian del Parne. You know him?"
"……!"
His name hit; Lily's eyes ballooned to green apple size.
"Huh? How do you know Kasian……?"
"He recommended you. That's why I suddenly took interest—no need to suspect or worry."
"……Ah."
Instant effect. The prickly hedgehog vanished; color bloomed on Lily's face.
Her pastel light-green eyes sparkled like stars.
"Kasian…… recommended me?"