Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: The Secret Greenhouse
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Just then, Baron Jaeger continued speaking.
“Having been born into a family that serves the gods, I have never married. A life of prayer and service has always been the natural calling for my house.”
Baron Jaeger gently swirled the wine in his glass, his gaze drifting indifferently toward the darkness outside the window.
“But... at some point, a thought occurred to me. I wondered if someone other than myself could carry on the beliefs I have held so dear, the legacy of this house.”
The baron paused. The room was silent, and even the children held their breath.
“Then, by chance, I met a child. She had been abandoned by her parents, left all alone with a frail body. Strangely... from that day forward, I couldn't get her out of my mind.”
Lucillea's hand froze over her plate.
“That child is now my daughter. She is currently recuperating in our temperate southern estate, but... I hope that once she recovers her health, she will have the opportunity to meet Your Highness, just as I have today.”
Elbadin watched the baron for a moment before setting down his glass and replying.
“I am concerned the northern climate would adversely affect the child's health, but if the opportunity arises, it would not be unwelcome.”
At this, the baron bowed his head in gratitude.
***
*Ah, I'm stuffed.*
After the meal, Lucillea retrieved Cookie from her bedroom and headed to the garden just in front of the main building.
She wanted to see the gardens while she was at the barony.
*Did I eat too much?*
The food at the baron's residence was quite different from that of the north.
Perhaps due to its proximity to the capital, it felt as though ingredients from all corners of the empire had been gathered in one place.
Lucillea rubbed her full stomach as she walked along the polished stone path.
*Wow, what a nice atmosphere.*
As she walked the stone path connecting the gardens, each of her small steps echoed with a crisp *clack, clack*.
The path was lined on both sides with statues that appeared to be carvings of gods.
Some stood with their eyes closed and hands clasped in prayer, while others looked up at the sky with their arms outstretched.
Marble slabs, like steles, stood before the statues, engraved with prayers. They lent a reverent atmosphere to the entire walk.
Even a stranger could tell how devout the master of this estate was.
[It's kinda creepy, don't you think?]
*You too? I was just thinking that!*
While the atmosphere was indeed reverent, constantly seeing the statues frozen in their various poses was also somehow unsettling.
*It's like they might suddenly move!*
[Eek! It's scary, Luci!]
Cookie chirped in a panic.
With that, she stepped back into the garden proper.
Upon reaching the center of the garden, she took in the sight of a cobblestone path, a wooden bench, and the small lights dotting the space between them.
“Wow, this is beautiful.”
[Woooooah!]
Cookie, apparently pleased as well, left Lucillea's shoulder and fluttered over to a branch on a nearby tree.
He must have felt cooped up, having been unable to fly freely for so long.
*That's right! Fly to your heart's content, Cookie.*
Fly all night if you want!
From a distance, Cookie's faint voice drifted back.
[Ah, that might be a bit much.]
Lucillea let out a small chuckle and sat down on a nearby bench.
She took a quiet breath in and out, savoring the moment of peace.
Lucillea's gaze drifted toward the distant, dark blue sky, glittering with starlight.
As she sat there, catching her breath, she recalled the days since leaving the grand ducal estate.
Her first field training, Irnel and Keilin, the griffins and the monsters.
And.
*Serdian and Reiden.*
Thinking back, the children's rate of growth was frightening. She was beginning to understand the purpose of field training.
Irnel's wind magic grew more refined with each passing day, and Reiden's fire magic became ever more powerful.
*Well, Keilin is still using her injury as an excuse to avoid combat.*
And then there was Serdian...
*What's there to even say?*
Perhaps because he was the male lead, Serdian was already stronger than most adult knights.
Lucillea grinned.
*Well, well. If I stick with Serdian and Irnel's group, I'll never have to worry about sourcing alchemy ingredients again!*
For a moment, an image of herself buried in boxes of ingredients flashed through her mind. It was a happy thought.
This field training had greatly improved Lucillea's own skills as well.
She would continue to learn magic, and her mana capacity would grow.
*At this rate, I don't think I'll be kicked out of the grand ducal family.*
Just then, Cookie, flying over from a branch across the way, chirped.
[Of course! The other kids are growing at a monstrous pace! You're the normal one, Lucillea!]
*Whoosh—!* he cried, zipping past Lucillea to land on a branch behind her.
Lucillea burst out laughing at the comfort delivered at the speed of light.
*Yeah, that's right. I don't need to have such monstrous growth.*
What she had now was enough. No, it was more than enough.
She'd gotten Choco and twenty gold, she'd been the first to notice the monsters attacking the carriage, she'd stocked up on alchemy ingredients, and—.
Listing it all out, she realized her days had been busier than anyone's.
“Oh, my. I've actually accomplished quite a lot, haven't I?”
[Of course! I saw it all! I saw how much our Luci accomplished! I saw it with my own eyes!]
Lucillea stroked the round head of Cookie, who had flown back to her shoulder.
*Yes, you're the only one who—.*
Just then.
*Creeeeak—.*
As Lucillea was talking with Cookie, an unpleasant sound reached her ears.
It sounded like an old, rusted door swinging open.
Naturally, both Lucillea's and Cookie's gazes turned toward the sound.
Across from where Lucillea sat on the bench, a small greenhouse, previously hidden by the garden trees, came into view.
The sound she had just heard was the old door of that greenhouse opening.
[E-Eek. L-Luci. The door opened all by itself...!]
Cookie cried, hiding his head in Lucillea's hair. She could feel his two thin legs trembling against her.
“...”
Lucillea glanced around.
The previously still leaves and thin branches were now swaying in a gentle breeze.
“The wind must have blown it open.”
[Th-the wind?]
At that, Cookie peeked his head out from her hair and looked around.
Lucillea rose from the bench and walked toward the open door.
Peeking inside, Lucillea tilted her head.
“Looks like a greenhouse.”
[A-are you going in?!]
“Just a quick look.”
Cookie grabbed a few strands of Lucillea's hair with the tip of his beak and tugged.
[I have a bad feeling about this, Luci. Let's just go back to the bedroom!]
But Lucillea stepped into the greenhouse anyway.
“Just for a moment.”
On her shoulder, Cookie's legs were trembling.
The air inside the greenhouse was thick with humidity and the smell of plants. Various herbs were planted in neat rows, and an old workbench held scissors and glass bottles.
The floor was made of damp stone slabs, and she could feel a slight slickness with every step.
It looked ordinary on the surface.
But.
*This feeling is... unpleasant.*
[Me too...]
It was a completely different feeling from the one she got when entering the glass garden at the grand ducal estate.
If the glass garden invigorated her with its warmth and vibrant energy, this greenhouse felt heavy, its damp, gloomy aura weighing her down as if her body would collapse.
*This is no good. I should just get out of...*
As Lucillea turned to leave, her eyes caught a strange symbol drawn on the floor at the far end of the greenhouse.
*What is that?*
As if drawn by some unseen force, Lucillea walked toward the symbol.
In the very back of the greenhouse, a strange, circular symbol was inscribed on the stone floor.
It had a round border drawn in red dye, with multiple lines intersecting within it according to some specific rule.
*A magic circle?*
Even Lucillea, who knew little about the elements of fantasy, could tell this was a magic circle.
However, she had no idea what it was for or the purpose for which it had been drawn.
*Something's not right...*
It was completely out of place with the devout atmosphere of the baron's house.
Just then, Cookie spoke, his voice on the verge of tears.
He had already been whining that the greenhouse felt ominous, but the appearance of the bizarre magic circle seemed to have terrified him.
Cookie fluttered up, grabbed the end of Lucillea's sleeve in his beak, and started to pull.
[Let's go! Let's go! I hate it here!]
This time, Lucillea allowed herself to be pulled along, nodding.
“Okay, I get it. I get it, Cookie.”
Even as she was dragged out of the greenhouse, Lucillea committed the symbol's appearance to memory.