Chapter 105
The Flower That Bears a Sword - Chapter 105
Translation: godsn
As if everything would be alright. The ever-present terror was fading into obscurity. Even the complicated circumstances and lingering questions now felt like nothing at all.
With dizzy eyes, Echinacea looked down at her soup before picking up the spoon. The soup was astonishingly delicious, and so warm it nearly brought tears to her eyes.
Act 9. What I Love and What I Cannot Deny (1)
The Summer Sun Festival was approaching.
Agenka was practically buzzing with excitement, eagerly awaiting the three-day festival running from June 20th to 22nd. Inns were overflowing, and the streets were noticeably more crowded. Fresh summer flower garlands adorned every shopfront alongside colorful fabrics embroidered with sun motifs.
Though the attempted assassination of Lady Diassant had thrown the knight order into turmoil, the incident hadn't spread beyond their ranks. Preparations for both the festival and the Saintess's debut proceeded smoothly. Distinguished guests from various nations began arriving at the Azure Sky Knights' headquarters in steady streams.
Alice and Fatima's dresses had been delivered early. They'd placed their orders together at the same atelier, yet Echinacea's dress was conspicuously absent. Hers didn't arrive until the afternoon of June 19th.
"Eki, your dress arrived from the atelier. Though... there are two boxes."
Alice had been returning from training when she encountered a servant making deliveries and accepted the packages on their behalf. At her words, Echinacea—who'd been reviewing books about Nodes stacked on her desk—rose from her seat.
"Could one of them be a mistake?"
"Both are definitely addressed to you."
Alice shook her head as she carried the large boxes toward the table. Echinacea reached out toward her.
"Here, let me take them."
"No. You shouldn't push yourself."
She lifted the boxes higher, preventing Echinacea from snatching them away. Echinacea frowned in exasperation.
"Honestly, I've fully recovered already. How many times do I have to say it?"
Alice had waited in vain for her roommate to return after leaving for squire duties, only to receive an unexpected visit from Nicole Sizton instead.
When Nicole came to the dormitory, she'd rummaged through Echinacea's wardrobe for gloves and clothes, leaving behind the bloodstained dress Echinacea had worn out. In her haste, she'd only added that Echinacea was unharmed and not to worry before disappearing. The pale dove-colored dress Alice had seen that morning returned without its owner, soaked in blood. Even with the reassurance of Echinacea's safety, Alice had felt her blood run cold.
It wasn't until the following afternoon that she heard rumors about what had transpired at the knight headquarters. Whispers had spread discreetly among the knights—passed along by the junior knights who'd been present—about how Echinacea had acted during the assassination attempt. Stories circulated that she'd subdued a royal guard despite vomiting blood from poison, collapsing only afterward.
When Echinacea finally returned to the dormitory late that night, she'd insisted she was fine despite her pallid complexion before sleeping the entire day away. After two days of deep rest, she'd recovered completely, but ever since, Alice had been treating her like a fragile glass figurine.
"You have a tendency to treat your body too roughly. It's only been a few days since you nearly died. Taking care of yourself is also fundamental to being a knight."
"The Saint—no, Her Holiness healed me completely. And I've rested plenty since then, so I'm fine now."
Alice pretended not to hear as she set the boxes down on the table. Echinacea sighed faintly.
'Well, I did cause her worry, so there's nothing to be done...'
Seeing only a blood-soaked dress return must have been quite the shock. It seemed she wouldn't escape being treated like an invalid for a while yet. Still, realizing there was someone who worried about her this much wasn't an entirely unpleasant feeling.
Echinacea began unwrapping the packages with Alice. The smaller box contained the dress she'd sent for repairs, neatly packaged. And in the larger box—one she'd never seen before—lay another dress.
"This is..."
The dress was made of pale purple fabric embroidered with transparent gems smaller than silken threads or fingernail clippings, layered with lace as thin as butterfly wings that cascaded in overlapping tiers. The purple deepened gradually until it became an inky blue at the hem, giving the voluminous, semi-transparent folds the appearance of waves on a midnight sea. It was subtly radiant yet undeniably opulent.
Echinacea was momentarily stunned by its beauty, but soon found herself shocked by something else entirely. She knew dress prices far better than sword prices. Even disregarding the fabric quality, this was undoubtedly a master artisan's work—handmade lace lavishly draped over diamond-embroidered stitching.
[Hey, that looks crazy expensive.]
Even the ignorant Magic Sword could tell. Echinacea estimated this single dress could pay the annual salaries of at least four knights from House Roaz. Alice, peering into the box beside her, gasped in pure admiration. Unlike Echinacea, she knew swords but had no eye for dress prices.
"This is incredible..."
"Y-yeah... In every way..."
"Eki, there's something else underneath."
Beneath the dress lay inky blue shoes and lace gloves tailored to match. As Echinacea lifted the gown to inspect them, a pearl-colored envelope tumbled out. Alice picked it up for her. The envelope bore no markings, but inside was a single card with a neatly penned note:
—Echinacea. Upon learning you visited the atelier, I indulged my whim and placed an order. I hope you will accept it.
Yurien's signature graced the bottom. She had vaguely thought of him upon seeing the dress, but never imagined he would actually send it. Had it been from anyone else, she would have refused out of sheer awkwardness—but because it was from him, she found herself unwilling to. If it was from him, she wanted to keep it.
Would he think her pretty if he saw her wearing the dress he chose? The unbidden thought brought a faint flush to her cheeks.
[Hey, how'd he even know you went to the atelier? Suspicious. Is he spying on you? That's creepy—ow! Ow!]
"He probably heard it from Teresa. Don't speak carelessly of him."
[So mean! I didn't even say to kill him yet! Well... okay, I was gonna say it, but—!]
The Magic Sword grumbled into silence. Alice gave her a puzzled look.
"Did you say something just now, Eki?"
"Nothing important. It's... from the Lord."
"I thought so."
"Huh? How did you know?"
Alice's gaze flickered briefly to the Amethyst at Echinacea's waist before she smiled faintly.
"Just a guess. Eki, try it on. I'll help."
"Ah, thank you!"
With Alice's assistance, she slipped into the dress. Thanks to the atelier's measurements, it fit perfectly—and suited her beautifully. Despite its lavish appearance, the gown was light as clouds and impossibly soft. With every rustle of the fabric, the words she'd left unspoken to Yurien clattered restlessly inside her.
Lancelid Roaz arrived at Agenka Station on the morning of June 20th, the first day of the festival. Two knights of House Roaz and a single attendant accompanied him.
The mana train shuddered as it pulled into the station. The moment he stepped off, the brown-haired boy's face lit with excitement.
Agenka Station wasn't as ornate as the capital's, but it carried an air of ancient grandeur. The massive hall—once a gathering place for countless pilgrims and knights who debated gods and swords—had been repurposed into the station, and centuries of history lingered in its bones.
Legends of gods, the Blacksmith, and the Giosa Series adorned the vaulted ceiling. Arching marble pillars bore inscriptions in archaic tongues, praising deities and the art of the blade. Below, amidst the bustling crowd, flashes of white uniforms and sword-bearing figures occasionally caught the eye.
The holy land of knights, Agenka. A land where legends lived and breathed, where the strongest knights and sword prodigies gathered. For a boy who once harbored dreams of knighthood, this city made his heart race even more than the imperial capital.
"Lancelid!"
The boy, who had been gazing around with dreamy eyes, turned his head at the familiar voice. The unmistakable pale pink hair stood out no matter where you looked. Echinacea Roaz was pushing through the crowd toward him. The boy broke into a wide grin.
"Sister!"
"Welcome. Nick came too."
"It's been a while, my lady."
Lancelid's personal servant bowed respectfully. After exchanging greetings with the two escort knights, Eki examined Lancelid. In the erased past, this younger brother—who had died by her hand before seeing the 1629 Sun Festival—was now looking at her with a healthy face. Eki swallowed the surge of emotion that momentarily welled up and smiled.
"Have you been well?"
"I've been fine. But you, Sister..."
Purple eyes, the mirror image of his sister's, swept up and down Eki before his expression abruptly darkened.
"...don't seem to have been doing well at all. Why have you gotten so thin? You look even skinnier than when you were meticulously managing your figure. Look at your wrist—it looks like it'd snap if I grabbed it."
The boy clicked his tongue openly before grabbing Eki's wrist and shaking it. Though three years younger than her, Lancelid was both taller and had larger hands than Eki.
[If anything snaps, it'd be his wrist, not yours. Right?]
The Magic Sword muttered. Eki easily pulled her wrist free from her younger brother's grasp.
"You shouldn't grab a lady's wrist so carelessly, Lancelid."
"You're not a lady to me. Stop dodging and be honest—you haven't adjusted to the academy, have you?"
"I've adjusted just fine!"
"You don't look fine at all. You've lost so much weight. If our parents saw you, they'd drag you home immediately."
"I went through a bit of hardship a few days ago, that's all. Don't tell them."
"What kind of hardship could— Whoa."
Lancelid's jaw dropped. The reason was Alice Winterbell emerging from the crowd. Neatly dressed in her deep blue cadet uniform, she was the very image of an ideal officer cadet. Her tall stature and elegant demeanor only reinforced that impression.
Spotting Lancelid and Eki, Alice approached them cheerfully.
"You've found your younger brother, I see."
"Yes, this is Lancelid Roaz. Say hello—this is Cadet Alice Winterbell, my roommate."
"Uh, ah, hello! I'm Lancelid of House Roaz."
Lancelid bowed deeply in greeting. Alice returned the gesture with a light Agenka-style salute.
"Ar Sebat-tiem. Alice Winterbell, at your service, Lancelid Roaz."
"Wow. Just... wow."
The boy stared dumbfounded at her flawless salute before turning to look at Eki beside him. Even he had to admit his sister in her lace-adorned dress was quite beautiful, but by no stretch did she look like a military cadet—especially when compared to Alice before them. Lancelid sighed.
"It seems my sister is indebted to you. She's lacking in many ways, but please look after her."
"The indebtedness is all on my side, Roaz."
Alice replied with a voice tinged with amusement. Lancelid looked entirely unconvinced. Instead of pressing further, she addressed Eki.
"Eki, my family will likely be on the next train, so you should head back first."
"The next train's only about an hour away—we could wait and go back together."
"We can't keep the newly arrived Roaz waiting like that. Go ahead and show him around the Blue Sky."
"Hmm... Alright. See you later, Alice!"
After saying goodbye to Alice, Eki led Lancelid out of the station. They hailed a carriage and headed toward their pre-booked inn.