The Flower That Blooms Amidst the Plague
The flower that survives among the most ruthless beasts is bound to grow thorns. Yet, flowers that have grown thorns cannot embrace one another in the coldest of winters.
The adults' conversation did not conclude until late afternoon. After finishing the meeting, the Head Butler cast his gaze out the window for a moment. With dark clouds hanging over a city that already saw little sunlight, the distinction between day and night had become blurred. He shifted his gaze from the window to his own wrist.
18:24.
“...Won't you stay a while?” the Head Butler asked Shen, who was already donning his coat. But Shen, wrapping his scarf tighter, replied, “I am fine, sir.”
“It is late. And with the snow falling like this, if you were to go missing out there, it would be a stain on both the Young Master’s reputation and my own.”
At the mention of the ‘Young Master,’ Shen’s shoulders flinched. Yet, he shook his head, declining the butler’s offer. “I am no Mage, but I possess enough talent to be called a Magician. This much snow is no problem.”
Shen murmured a low incantation.
"Coalor carpolaris, sungel."
⟨ Body Temperature Regulation ⟩
With the short spell, a faint heat rose from his skin. “Unless I am conjuring fire outside my body, raising my own internal temperature is possible even without a magic tool. Above all else...”
Shen trailed off, tightening his scarf. “I am not yet qualified to remain within his fence.”
“...If you are uncomfortable, it would not be right for me to hold you back. Very well. Travel safely.”
“Thank you, sir. If you ever need us again, please do not hesitate to call.”
Shen bowed his head and left the drawing room. The Head Butler stood by the window, watching Shen disappear into the city’s white darkness. For a long while, his gaze followed the thin line traced into the white snow. And by the time that line carved into the snowfield was covered over again, the Head Butler drew the curtains and turned off the drawing room lights.
Time passed. By the time the intensity of the heavy snow had subsided, “Ugh, it’s freezing. Is this for real?” Erika muttered, pulling her coat tight as she left the annex.
Today was a regular check-up day. It was the day she was to meet Julian for the management of her chronic illness, PNH (Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria), and for her Heparin administration. Usually, Julian would come to the annex for a house call, but today she had been summoned to the main building for some business.
Crunch, crunch. She pouted, walking through the snow that sank up to her ankles. ‘Of all days for a check-up.’ Even though the blizzard had weakened, the wind was still biting. Erika sniffled as she walked toward the main building. It was located on the opposite side of the annex, separated by a single garden.
“Why on earth did the hallway have to collapse...”
Originally, there had been a proper roofed connecting passage between the annex and the main building that kept out the rain and snow. However, unable to withstand the weight of the insane snowfall over the past few days, half of the passage’s roof had collapsed with a crash last night. As a result, the passage was completely closed off, leaving no choice but to trudge honestly across the wide-open outdoor garden to get from the annex to the main building.
It went without saying that Julian, the precious Young Master of the Nihilit Barony, could not be expected to trudge through this snow for a house call. To be precise, he wouldn’t have minded, but it was impossible because a certain old butler had foamed at the mouth in opposition. Consequently, Erika, the patient, had no choice but to brave the cold for her treatment.
“Ugh... why is it so long?”
Crunch, crunch. After several minutes of walking through the garden, Erika finally arrived in front of the four-story stone building. ‘Come to think of it, this is my first time coming here.’ Standing in front of the building, she brushed the snow off her body. Since Erika had arrived at this mansion, her radius of activity had been strictly limited to the annex. It was the place where she had first opened her eyes upon arriving, and it was where she had been commuting ever since. To her, who had lived on the streets, a two-story brick house with her own room felt cozy enough, so she had no reason to explore the main building.
Then today, she had stumbled upon a chance to set foot in the main building.
“Whoa... the ceiling is practically touching the sky.” As soon as she opened the door and stepped inside, Erika’s jaw dropped. A cozy space filled with the light of brass chandeliers hanging from the ceiling stretched out endlessly. “Wait, was this mansion always this big?”
She tilted her head, looking at the hallway lined with marble statues and gold-rimmed frames. The Nihilit mansion she had seen from the outside was certainly huge, but it didn’t seem as vast as what she was seeing now. However, her curiosity didn’t last long. At the end of the long hallway, a small figure walking toward her caught her attention.
It was a little girl with silver-white hair neatly braided down. ‘Whoa, there was such a cute kid here?’ Erika was a girl herself. A girl just approaching puberty who couldn’t help but love cute things and wanted to get close to peers she discovered. To her, that small, cute girl was an existence she couldn’t possibly ignore.
The child was bowing her head toward an old maid passing by with a feather duster.
— “Tha██ you, █████” —
— “██, ██!” —
It was too far to hear exactly what was being said, but it was clear the child was greeting the old maid. A very reasonable and logical conclusion popped into Erika’s head as she watched the scene.
[A little kid politely using formal language to an old maid] = [A new, youngest maid who just joined.]
It was a very rational and valid conclusion. Erika’s lips curled upward. Unlike other noble families, the Nihilit family had a very low turnover rate for servants. Because of this, it was rare for new servants to arrive before the old ones retired, and as a result, Erika was still the youngest in the annex. Even after two whole years!
But that sad life as the youngest was finally over. ‘I finally have a junior!’ Erika wore a playful smile and crept up behind the child. Then, with a somewhat mischievous grin, she spoke up abruptly.
“Yo, yo, where did this cute young lady get lost?” Erika used the slick, greasy tone she had learned from the Wangcho’s subordinates. Startled by the tone that didn’t match her voice, the child whipped her head around. Her transparent, glacier-colored eyes widened as she met Erika’s gaze.
“Yes...?”
“Are you lost because it’s your first day?”
“What do you mean...”
“The family here are good people, so it’ll be fine, but even if you’re a servant, it’s not good to wander around too much. Big sister will...”
Erika subconsciously reached out and pinched the child’s cheeks. For a brief moment, the thought that she shouldn’t do this to someone she just met crossed her mind, but it vanished just as quickly. Once she felt the ecstatic softness under her fingertips, etiquette didn’t matter anymore.
“Waaa...”
“Hueeee...”
“Ah, what was I going to say?”
“E-excuse me...”
“Right. Which department are you in? The kitchen? Or the laundry room? Just tell me. If you let me touch your cheeks, big sister will take you there.”
Stretch. Erika excitedly pulled the kid’s soft cheeks this way and that. The silver-haired girl’s face turned as red as a tomato, and she could only gasp for air.
That was when it happened.
“Erika.”
A familiar voice came from behind her. Erika’s hands, which had been excitedly pinching away, stopped. Her head turned slowly, and she discovered Julian standing behind her. The teacher, wearing his usual gentle smile. But for some reason, Erika felt a chill run down her spine.
“Uh... Te... acher?”
“It was about time for our appointment, so I was going to come pick you up, but I didn’t know you would be doing this.”
Julian’s gaze shifted to the child whose cheeks Erika was holding. “However, Erika. You need to learn how to treat people you’ve just met with care, as I’ve told you before.”
Erika tilted her head. “Yes? What do you mean...”
Julian ignored Erika and spoke to the silver-haired child. “Freya, are you alright?”
Freya. As soon as she heard that name, Erika’s mind went blank. Even Erika, who had little interest in her surroundings, had heard of her. Freya Nihilit. The only daughter of the Nihilit family, and the young lady of this mansion.
“Uh... um...”
“Ah, hello...” Freya greeted her awkwardly, rubbing her reddened cheeks. “You’re Erika, right?”
“...”
“I heard about you from my brother. That you have the talent of an outstanding Mage...”
“...”
“My brother called me, saying he had something to tell me and my sister...”
However, Freya’s cautious greeting did not reach Erika’s ears. Erika stood frozen like a stone for a while, then lowered her gaze for a moment before reaching out toward Julian and saying, “Can... can we settle this with just one left hand?”
*Flick!* Julian’s flick to the forehead struck Erika’s brow.
“Ow, ow, ow...”
Inside my room. Erika sat in a chair, rubbing her reddened forehead. “Roll up your sleeve.”
“Yes...”
I sat Erika on a small stool and immediately prepared for the treatment. Meanwhile, Erika looked around my room. “I thought it felt familiar, it’s similar to our clinic.”
Indeed. My study was closer to a clinic than an elegant noble young master’s study. Since I organized patient charts and research records in my room, whenever I came to my senses, it had become similar to a clinic. I cast my gaze over Erika’s shoulder for a moment. Freya was sitting on a leather sofa in the corner of the room behind Erika.
“So this is what the Young Master’s clinic feels like...”
Freya, having heard Erika’s words, nodded slowly. Even so, she was still rubbing her stinging cheeks and keeping an eye on Erika. An awkward air flowed between the two.
“...”
“...”
And it was none other than Erika who broke the silence.
“Ow!”
As I pricked her arm without warning, Erika let out a cute scream. “It’s not like it’s your first time getting one.”
“Still, let me prepare my heart!”
“You tense your muscles when you prepare your heart.”
“But injections hurt.”
“I told you, it hurts more because you tense up...”
Having finished the injection as naturally as water flowing, I applied a cotton ball and said, “Press down on it.”
“Okay.”
While Erika was pressing the cotton ball, I looked at Freya, who was sitting next to her. “Freya, let me see you too.”
“Yes, Brother.”
As soon as I spoke to Freya, my voice became exactly half a tone gentler than when I was dealing with Erika. That was because to Erika, I was a slightly strict teacher, but to Freya, I was a gentle brother character. Perhaps noticing the difference, Erika pouted her lips. However, I ignored that silent protest and placed the back of my hand on Freya’s forehead to check her temperature.
“Yes, Brother. After taking the syrup you made for me yesterday, my sore throat is all better.”
“That’s a relief. Still, don’t expose yourself to cold wind for the next few days.”
For reference, the syrup I gave Freya was Thyme syrup. I had originally intended to use ginger, but Freya couldn’t stand the scent of ginger at all, so I changed the ingredients. ...Tsk. It’s hard to even find ginger inside the walls. At least Father and Mother seemed to like the taste, so I decided to use it for cooking fish.
“Well then, the check-up is over.” I closed the chart and turned my chair around. In truth, there was another reason I had called Erika and Freya here. Actually, Freya only had a simple cold, so it wasn’t a situation that strictly required my medical attention. The reason I called both of them at once was none other than ‘magic.’
“Erika. You’ve learned to read Runic, and Freya, you have as well, so I suppose it’s time to learn Exception Handling.”
Exception Handling. It was the absolute foundation of magic, used to set spells so that neither the caster nor their allies would be caught in them. I had intended to teach Erika as soon as she arrived at the mansion, but the timing was delayed slightly because Erika couldn’t read. But since Freya had reached the right age, I decided to teach her as well.
“Now, I’ll teach you the basics of Exception Handling.”
“I have a question!” Erika raised her hand high before I could even start the lesson. “Wasn’t it supposed to be another tutor, not the teacher, who was going to do this?”
“Look out the window. Does it look like a tutor could come?”
“Ah.”
“Then let’s start again.”
I immediately stood up and walked to the blackboard. Picking up a piece of chalk, I began to write on the board without a moment’s hesitation.
Scratch, scratch, scratch. The sound of chalk running across the blackboard echoed through the room.
「Si jactor = amicus, tunc effectus = nullus.」
「Si jactor ∈ {socii}, tunc damnum → 0.」
「Si objectum.signum = [protectum], tunc penetratio = negatur.」
「∀x ∈ zona_effecti : (x.factio ≠ hostilis) → exemptus(x)」
「Quando vis_refluxus > θ, tunc jactor.exemptus = verus.」
「Si tempus_initii < t₀, tunc omnes_socii → salvus.」
「∃y : (y.distantia < r) ∧ (y.intentio = neutrum) → y.status = immunis.」
⟨ Exception Handling Formulas ⟩
“...Huh?” As I filled the portable blackboard with text, Erika let out a stupid noise. “...Teacher, you memorized all this?”
“I have to. It’s the basics.”
It’s not that I’m special. This level of formula is something all Mages memorize. The only difference is that while other Mages only memorize the one or two conditional statements they use frequently, I have memorized even the more detailed ones.
“Waaa...” Freya stared at my back, lost in thought. Hmph. How about that? I may not have the talent of a Mage, but I have the confidence that my theory is second to none. Do you think a genius who processed a 3-year curriculum in 3 months is a joke?
‘Si... jactor... what was next?’
Of course, my mind was busy reciting the first letters of those formulas, so I didn’t have the luxury of being smug. I spent 20 minutes without rest, scratching away at the blackboard. *Clack.* Only after drawing the final stroke did I put down the chalk.
‘Yeah. It’s art.’
I realized this after transmigrating, but the hardware performance of this body is incredible. Maybe it’s because it’s a fantasy world. It seems like my brain runs well, as if mana has seeped into it. ‘Did I miss anything...’ What should I call this? A Memory Palace? Recently, I’ve been able to use a technique similar to that. I managed to fill the blackboard with these formulas using that technique. Anyway.
“Now, this is a collection of conditional statements for Exception Handling.” I tapped the blackboard lightly and said, “When using magic, to keep allies from getting caught in it, you have to attach these conditions to the spell. The combinations change depending on the situation, and once you’re skilled, you can use just a few of them, but...”
I tapped the blackboard with the chalk. “For now, you need to master the basics, even if you can’t memorize them all. That’s how the range of your magic will change.”
“A-all of them?”
“All of them.”
I’ll say it again, the reason Mages are rare isn’t because of anything else. It’s incredibly difficult to break through from a Magician. The world isn’t kind enough to let you become a Mage just because you have a talent for sensing something. ‘It’s not for nothing that noble families rush to adopt children if they have the talent of a Mage.’
I handed a piece of paper to the two people who were overwhelmed by the text and said, “At least memorize the top five.”
“...I’m asking just in case, but how long did it take for you to memorize this, Brother?”
At Freya’s question, I counted on my fingers for a moment. Let’s see... ‘I memorized 10 sentences a day, so...’
“Four days?”
At my calm answer, both of their jaws dropped. Watching their reactions, I barely managed to suppress the lips that kept trying to curl upward. This is why I can’t give up the genius persona.