Chapter 23
“If you say so, then I suppose that’s how it is.”
“Oh, it’s not just a feeling—it really is.”
“Well then, shall we head out?”
Caleo gently passed the sleeping Nivellia into Celletina’s arms.
“Mmnn…”
Nivellia stirred a little, her heavy eyelids fluttering open as she glanced around.
“Are you awake?”
Celletina softly whispered as she kissed Nivellia’s head.
“Mom…”
“Yes?”
“Where… are we?”
“We’re at the temple,” she replied.
Soles, sitting nearby, tickled Nivellia’s chubby little calf with a finger.
“Eeeek!”
Nivellia scrunched up her face and kicked out hard.
Celletina gave Soles a light smack on the head.
“Don’t mess with your little sister.”
“Sorry. She just looked so cute while sleeping…”
“If she’s cute, you should be sweet to her. If you tease her too much, she might start hating you later.”
Aref quietly nodded at Celletina’s words.
That’s right. You shouldn’t hurt others.
He knew how much it hurt to be bullied—he’d been through it at the orphanage.
Aref made a promise to himself: if Soles ever picked on Nivellia again—or if anyone did—he would protect her.
It’s a subordinate’s duty to protect their leader.
Fortunately, Soles didn’t tease Nivellia anymore.
He wasn’t the kind of boy who enjoyed that anyway. Instead, he strolled around the temple grounds with Aref.
“Aref, look over there. That’s the Holy Beast statue.”
“Holy… what?”
Aref looked where Soles was pointing.
There stood a bronze statue of a large wolf and a small cat, posed together.
“That cat and wolf fought alongside Grandma and Grandpa in the war forty years ago.”
“T-That’s where our names came from…”
“Yup. Your name came from the wolf. And Nini’s name was taken from the cat.”
“Wow…”
Aref couldn’t take his eyes off the statue.
“Hey, you two.”
Caleo approached with a wave.
He gently patted both their heads at once.
“Let’s get in the carriage now. We’re heading to the flower farm. I just finished saying goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa.”
“They’re not coming with us?” Soles asked.
Caleo gestured toward the long line still stretching across the temple grounds.
“They’ll be here all day. We’ll go ahead to the countryside farm, and they’ll head straight home and get some rest.”
At that moment, Muniel looked in their direction while offering blessings to a child.
With a kind smile, she waved to her family.
Her silent lips clearly said, Have a safe trip.
“The couple who runs it started planting flowers to help their sick daughter,” Celletina explained as the carriage headed toward the flower farm.
Nivellia, now fully awake, quietly munched on a sandwich they’d packed earlier and listened attentively to her mother.
“Their daughter is sick? Being sick is hard…”
Her eyebrows drooped with worry.
“They say she’s not as sick as she used to be.”
“So she’s still sick, then?” Soles asked, sounding concerned.
“It’s not an illness that goes away easily. That’s why they’ve been experimenting with growing different flowers and herbs that might help.”
“They’re planning to use the investment to build a pharmaceutical lab on the farm,” Caleo added.
“Being able to preserve freshly cut flowers is very important. That technology could help keep medicinal herbs fresh too.”
The children all nodded at once.
Soon, the carriage arrived at its destination.
On a quiet field just outside the capital stood a small house that looked like it had come straight out of a fairytale.
Its roof was a faded but charming orange.
The walls were built from mismatched stones of various shades.
A little wooden sign hung from a worn, pale fence.
“Wow!”
Nivellia was admiring the quaint cottage when she spotted Aref crouching near the fence.
She scampered over and crouched beside him.
“What’s wrong? Does your tummy hurt?”
Aref pointed to a tiny spring flower blooming next to one of the fence posts.
“I was looking at the flower.”
“It’s so tiny!”
“That one makes your stomach hurt if you eat it. Don’t eat it.”
“Ohhh, okay.”
“And that one too. And that one over there. Those are bad too.”
Aref pointed out each of the little flowers growing along the path and explained.
Everything he pointed out was apparently bad to eat, but Nivellia listened with wide eyes, taking him very seriously.
“How do you know all this, Aref?”
“B-Because I… tried eating them…”
“Whaaat? Why?”
“I was hungry…”
When he got really hungry, sometimes he’d try eating grass or leaves.
Only sometimes. Because they often made him sick.
He’d throw up or have to run to the bathroom.
And after all that, he’d end up even hungrier.
“……”
Nivellia gently reached out and held Aref’s hand.
“Are you still hungry right now?”
It was a quiet and gentle question.
Aref gave a small smile and softly replied.
“…I’m full.”
Now, he could eat delicious meals until he was satisfied. And when he felt like snacking, there were always sweet treats.
Even now, Aref didn’t quite understand why he had suddenly become so happy. He couldn’t remember doing anything that deserved the kindness the Deiamor family had shown him.
“Hm?”
Nivellia tilted her head as she noticed Aref staring at her intently.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’ll definitely protect you, Miss.”
“Yeah. Nini knows. I believe you!”
“Yes. I promise I will.”
Aref reaffirmed his vow.
“I heard kids like you get sold off to nobles and treated like dogs!”
That’s what he’d once been told at the orphanage. For a long time, Aref thought he’d been brought here to be someone’s pet.
But that was wrong.
No one treated Aref like a dog.
And Aref didn’t want to be a dog, either.
I want to be a real knight.
A noble knight, like the ones in storybooks.
One who wielded a sword with strength and grace, defeated enemies, and stood tall and proud. If he became someone like that, he could truly protect Nivellia.
“Nini! Aref!”
Just then, Soles called out to them, beckoning.
The two children stood and walked hand-in-hand toward the adults.
Caleo and Celletina welcomed them with warm smiles and placed the children by their sides.
“Perfect timing. Our daughter here has taken a strong interest in this place.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Nivellia of House Deiamor.”
“Welcome to our flower farm.”
The couple greeting them had kind faces and spoke with gentle tones.
“Ah, hello.”
Nivellia returned the greeting politely.
Normally shy around strangers, it was impressive that she hadn’t tried to run away.
Her family quietly admired her bravery.
“I want to invest here,” Nivellia said, not forgetting the purpose of their visit.
“Nini will invest a lot, okay?”
“Thank you so much.”
“Would you like to take a look around the farm?”
The couple led the way.
They introduced themselves as the Plaude couple.
Behind the building, they showed the group a wide stretch of land filled with blooming flowers.
On one side were fully bloomed spring flowers; on the other side, summer blooms were just beginning to peek out.
The contrast of soft pastels and vivid colors was a feast for the eyes.
The couple explained how their flower farm began.
“At first, we planted flowers as a gift for our sick daughter. Later, we sold them to cover her medical bills and prescriptions.”
“We built our home away from the city for her health. The soil here is rich, and the flowers grow beautifully.”
“Our daughter has limited mobility. This… this is all we can really do for her.”
As Mrs. Plaude faltered with emotion, her husband gently rubbed her shoulder.
“…As parents, we understand that kind of love well,” Celletina said softly, her smile filled with empathy.
The Plaudes had begun experimenting with ways to preserve flowers longer, wanting to keep them fresh for their daughter’s sake.
“Even with the utmost care, a cut flower lasts no more than ten days. And that’s with a lot of care.”
“But with the new preservation technique we’ve developed, they can last up to a month.”
“That’s remarkable,” Caleo said in honest amazement.
Even potted flowers didn’t last a full month without effort. Only with expert gardeners and expensive fertilizers could they be kept alive that long.
If that technology could be applied more widely…
It could greatly improve the efficiency of fertilizers.
And that would benefit more than just florists or gardeners—it could help preserve medicinal herbs, and even boost agricultural output…
Caleo glanced at Celletina.
She, still in conversation with the Plaudes, seemed to sense his gaze and looked at him briefly.
Caleo leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, trying to hide his overflowing pride.
“It’s thanks to you that we found this opportunity.”
He smiled.
“House Deiamor will review this investment very favorably.”
“Thank you very much.”
While the adults continued talking, the children wandered around the flowerbeds, admiring the blooms.
Nivellia stopped in front of a fully opened purple flower.
“Big brother, what’s this one called?”
“That’s an anemone,” Soles answered.
“Anemones have different meanings depending on their color.”
“What’s a flower meaning?”
“It’s like a message or feeling the flower represents. Hmm… this purple anemone means betrayal, or a love that must be given up.”
“Why?”
“There’s a story behind it. It used to be a fairy. The king of the wind fairies confessed his love, but she didn’t like him and said no. Even after that, he kept asking, so she got scared and turned into a flower.”
“Oh no…”
Nivellia’s face fell with sympathy.
Beside her, Aref frowned as well, clearly feeling sorry for the fairy.
“If I were the fairy,” Nivellia declared, “I would’ve chopped off the fairy king’s head and put it in that spiky box Aunt gave me!”
“I… I see…”
Having learned what flower meanings were, Nivellia eagerly asked Soles about the other flowers.
He answered everything he knew, but then paused mid-explanation, tilting his head in confusion.
“Big brother?”
Nivellia mimicked him and tilted her head too.
“What’s wrong?” Aref asked.
“Something feels… off.”
Soles looked around at the flowers growing across the farm.
