Chapter 6
The Flower That Bears a Sword - Chapter 6
Translation: godsn
Eki left the training ground and stepped into the inner garden. Though it had been nearly fifteen years since she'd last seen it, the layout came to mind with familiar ease. The realization brought her such joy it nearly brought tears to her eyes.
'If not for this damned thing, I could've enjoyed this moment in peace.'
Glaring at the black sword mark on her palm, she headed deep into the garden where others rarely ventured—a small grove densely packed with tall arborvitae trees. Still uneasy, she leaped up into the lush canopy. One kick off the ground, a twist midair to push off a tree trunk, then another step on a branch—exactly three leaps brought her to a perch near the very top of the towering trees.
Perched on a thick branch, she stared holes into her palm before speaking.
"...Val. Answer me."
[Thaaat's nooot my naaame. I aaam Valdergiosaaa!]
The voice that resonated through her soul was slurred and twisted like a drunken fool's. She'd hoped for no response at all. Eki's face contorted in disgust at the familiar sensation of the magic sword. Not welcome in the slightest.
"What kind of idiotic speech is that?"
[I'm sleeeepy. Hey, time moooved. Sooo, I'm gonna sleeeep now.]
"No, don't sleep! I'm saying time rewound, so why the hell are you still stuck to me?!"
[Compliiicated... maaatters...]
"Hey, explain first! Hey! Hey! You damned magic sword!"
With one last slurred mumble, Valdergiosa's voice faded entirely. Eki gripped her palm and screamed in frustration before irritably thrusting her hand outward. Following her will, a sword sprang forth from the black mark.
The Giosa Series used their owner's soul as a sheath. That's why she could summon a Giosa from empty hands anytime. Even if discarded, they'd return as a mark if the distance grew too great. Normally an advantage, but to Eki, it was closer to a curse—one she couldn't even shake off no matter how sick of it she grew.
"Wake up, Val."
Gripping the black hilt, she tapped the smooth blade. She knocked on the markings, shook it wildly, and finally gathered mana in her hand with the intent to strike.
"Huh...?"
The mana meant to form a blade failed to coalesce, scattering away instead. A sharp pain coursed through her entire body like a sudden cramp. Hunched over with a short groan, Eki quickly realized the cause.
'My body... Was it always this weak?'
Of course—she'd moved like she used to in a completely untrained body. She'd even forced mana usage despite lacking a mana core, something every Master-level Knight forms. Her mind, accustomed to realms beyond Master, had instinctively attempted the impossible.
After assessing her condition, she sighed. This body had never lifted anything heavier than a teacup. Her soft soles already burned from this minimal movement, and her muscles screamed in protest. The body forcibly subjected to mana was overheating. She was the very picture of a delicately raised noble daughter.
'First, I need to form a core.'
Power was always better than none, no matter the situation. Deciding to get it over with now, she settled into position.
Closing her eyes in concentration, she guided the mana. It didn't take long. Soon, the mana within her gathered in one spot, drawing in surrounding mana. It pooled naturally near her solar plexus, forming a mana core. Though fragile from being newly formed and lacking accumulated mana, it was unmistakably a core.
The internal mana repository that Master-level Knights create—something most could never achieve even with a lifetime of effort—took her less than ten minutes. For her, it was simple. So simple that Eki found herself distracted while making it.
"The youngest Master in history was Yurien, wasn't it? At twenty-three? Even twenty-three caused such an uproar... and my age now—since it's March 17th, 1629 in the Divine Era... I'm twenty. I should hide the fact that I'm a Master for now."
Then, she suddenly remembered something.
"Divine Era 1629, March 17th..."
The date Lancelid had told her earlier. A date she remembered. Echinacea buried her face in her hands with a groan.
She had obtained the Magic Sword fifteen years ago, in the early hours of March 17th. Which meant, by the current timeline after her regression, it was this very dawn. The most horrific dawn of her life.
In the original timeline—before her regression—on the early morning of March 17th, 1629, Echinacea had woken up long past midnight. Unable to sleep, she had thought of drinking some warm milk.
It was laughable compared to who she was now, but back then, Echinacea Roaz had been a young lady who couldn't even warm a glass of milk by herself. She had tugged the cord beside her bed to wake Nora, her personal maid, and ordered her to heat some milk.
Nora had left to warm the milk—and never returned. Growing impatient, Echinacea had stepped out of her room wearing only a shawl over her nightgown and gone down to the kitchen herself. Irritated, she had called the maid's name and pushed open the kitchen door. What greeted her was Nora—holding the Magic Sword.
She didn't remember clearly how she had managed to dodge Nora's attack. Only fragments remained: the pitch-dark kitchen without a single lamp, the faint outline of a figure barely illuminated by moonlight seeping through the window, her blurred vision, screams, the translucent gleam of the blade.
But the outcome, she remembered vividly. Nora had stumbled while trying to stab her, and in her desperation to survive, Echinacea had grabbed the sword Nora dropped. The memory of its grip—black, cold, and unnervingly smooth—rose vividly in her mind. The moment her fingers closed around it, she had felt something serpentine slither up her entire body. Guided by that sensation, she had plunged the blade into Nora as the maid lunged at her. That had been her first kill.
She didn't want to recall what came after.
By morning following that horrific dawn, no one in the mansion had been left alive except Echinacea. But unlike then, this March 17th morning was unfolding normally—the gardener tending to the garden, Lancelid receiving training from the family's knights.
'It's different... How did it change?'
Echinacea pressed a hand to her forehead. A morning completely unlike the one before her regression. Yet the Magic Sword was still in her possession. What had happened at dawn?
'Nora. I need to check on Nora.'
The first person she had ever killed. Her pulse quickened. Echinacea leapt down from the tree. The pain that had been scattered throughout her body vanished the moment mana began flowing from her newly formed Core.
She headed straight for the kitchen. Located on the outer edge of the mansion's first floor, the kitchen had a backdoor leading to the rear courtyard for daily deliveries of fresh ingredients. It was morning, and perhaps a delivery had just arrived—a deliveryman and a maid were chatting by the entrance. The maid's eyes widened when she spotted Echinacea.
"Young Lady? At this early hour—oh my, you're still in your nightgown!"
"Nora? Where's Nora?"
"Nora?"
The maid tilted her head, and the brief pause before she spoke again felt agonizingly long to Echinacea.
"You mean her over there? Nora! The Young Lady is calling you!"
The freckled maid who had been talking to the cook came running, her face spreading with surprise.
"Young Lady! You're already awake?"
"...Nora."
"Good heavens, your clothes—and barefoot! Come here! You—look away!"
Nora grabbed Echinacea's arm and glared at the deliveryman, who flushed and yanked his cap down over his eyes. Dragged inside by Nora, Echinacea was pulled toward the bathroom as the maid scolded her nonstop.
"You should've called for me if you woke up early, why were you wandering around like that? It's most improper! What if your delicate feet got injured? But are you feeling unwell? Waking up this early... You said you couldn't sleep at dawn too, didn't you? If anything hurts, tell me, I'll call Doctor Smith right away—"
It had been so long since Echinacea last heard her personal maid's nagging. The vivid memory of Nora collapsing, pierced through by a transparent blade and bleeding out, contrasted sharply with the living, breathing woman now chattering before her. Echinacea listened to the scolding as if entranced, until one particular part snapped her back to attention.
"Nora, wait. Did I call for you at dawn?"
"Don't you remember? You asked for warm milk because you couldn't sleep."
The exact same situation as before. Her heart nearly stopped. Echinacea swallowed dryly and asked again,
"S-so what happened?"
"Huh?"
"What... what happened then?"
"I brought it to you, didn't I...? Didn't you fall asleep after drinking it? Don't tell me you stayed awake? Sleep deprivation is the enemy of good skin!"
Nora frowned and scrutinized Echinacea's face. Only after confirming that her young mistress's skin remained as smooth and flawless as she'd meticulously maintained did she sigh in relief. Still dazed, Echinacea muttered,
"You... brought me the milk? And I drank it and slept?"
"Yes. Don't you remember?"
"...Then Nora, did you see anything strange back then?"
"Strange? Well, now that you mention it..."
Nora tilted her head thoughtfully before nodding as if remembering something.
"There was this long package in the kitchen I'd never seen before, so I unwrapped it out of curiosity. There was nothing written on it. Turned out to be completely empty."
"An empty package? Why would that be in the kitchen?"
"Exactly! I thought maybe someone forgot to clean up after a grocery or bread delivery, but when I asked the kitchen staff just now, they said they'd never seen or ordered anything like it. I was about to take it to the butler."
That empty package must have originally contained the Magic Sword. The realization hit Echinacea instinctively. Perhaps this time, because the sword was already with her, Nora had found nothing. That might explain why this morning was different from before.
'I distinctly asked to be sent back before I killed anyone. That should mean before dawn today, when I hadn't killed Nora yet. So why is it already morning, and why is this damned Magic Sword with me instead of in its original package?'
"Do you have that package now?"
"Yes. Here it is."
Nora rustled through her things and produced a folded bundle of paper. Echinacea immediately reached out.
"Give that to me."
"Huh?"
"I'll take care of it."
"Oh... okay..."
Though puzzled, Nora obediently handed it over. Echinacea moved aside while examining the paper—ordinary wrapping paper and twine like what shops use, but unusually long, as if meant for an extremely elongated object. She unfolded it to gauge the length. No doubt this had contained the Magic Sword.
Who in the world would leave a Magic Sword in the Roaz family's kitchen? Why? What were they after?
They couldn't have been targeting her. Not even Echinacea herself had known about her sword genius potential back then. No one could have known about the talent of a girl who'd never even practiced swordsmanship for exercise and planted a Magic Sword accordingly.
Then why? She absolutely had to find out.
'Whoever you are... I won't forgive you.'