Episode 83

Chapter 83. The Wizard Who Makes Flowers Bloom (2)

Clip-clop, clip-clop.

The cheerful sound of hooves echoed as the carriage rolled on.

“I thought dates were supposed to be just the two of us.”

Cedric, seated across from me, muttered in a sullen voice. He cast a resentful glance out the window.

At the end of his gaze were Conrad and Felix, riding alongside us on horseback.

“…?”

Conrad, sensing the look, turned his head just then. Flashing a bright smile, he waved enthusiastically in greeting.

Cedric’s expression darkened even more at the sight. I gave a sheepish laugh.

“Sorry. You know how passionate Sir Conrad is about guarding me. He absolutely insisted on coming along and wouldn’t back down.”

“If it’s guarding Your Majesty, I can handle it alone.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

“I’m serious.” Cedric reaffirmed with earnest eyes.

“Of course I know. You’re the famous Guardian of Verdure, aren’t you?”

“…!”

Cedric’s ears flushed red in an instant.

Guardian of Verdure. I knew he was especially weak to that title.

“That was on purpose, wasn’t it? You were teasing me…” Cedric muttered, a step behind in realizing my intent.

“No way. Sir Guardian of Verdure.”

“Ah, Your Majesty!”

At his exclamation, I burst out laughing.

“But you know, the more someone reacts, the more tempting it is to tease them?”

When I grinned mischievously, Cedric’s face turned even redder.

Ah. It really feels like it’s been forever since I laughed this freely. I thought to myself. I was truly glad I’d come out with Cedric today. It was a sudden, unplanned outing, but I didn’t regret it. I had needed to escape the stifling palace.

‘And… there’s something I wanted to give him.’

I thought of the gift stowed in the back of the carriage.

“Come to think of it, it’s been quite a while since Sir Leonard left. Still no word from him?”

“…Ah.”

The unexpected topic caught me off guard. I had been trying not to think about Leonard. Truthfully, one of the reasons I’d been burying myself in palace work lately was because of him—because if I didn’t, I’d be too aware of the emptiness he left behind. It was only natural; the person who had always been beside me was now gone.

Forcing a smile, I replied.

“Yes. Unfortunately, not a single message.”

“You don’t know what business he left for?”

“Not at all.”

“To leave without telling Your Majesty… it must be something quite secret.”

Is he worrying on my behalf? Cedric’s expression turned grave. I even thought I heard him mumble something odd—‘Could it be a runaway romance…’—though he said it so quietly I couldn’t be sure.

Then, as if making a firm resolution, he spoke.

“Don’t worry, Your Majesty.”

“…?”

“I’ll never cheat on you.”

“Huh? Cheat?”

Was he talking about Jerome? Just like that? Caught off guard, I ended up nodding under his intense gaze.

“R-right. That’s… a good mindset to have.”

It was only later that I realized Cedric had actually been talking about Leonard.

‘Let’s Eat and Die’ Tavern.

More precisely, the secret hideout of the dark guild centered around Leonard.

“Master, aren’t we headed for serious trouble here?”

Today as well, Nox, a middle-aged man holding a bottle of liquor in one hand, plopped down next to Leonard.

He emptied the remaining drink in the bottle at once.

Then, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he asked Leonard,

“You don’t seriously intend to wipe out every assassin guild in the empire, do you?”

Just the assassin guilds they had already stirred up easily numbered over ten.

Originally, even touching one assassin guild caused a severe backlash.

They were like demons who would chase you to hell if you made a single mistake.

That was how dangerous it was to make assassin guilds your enemies.

“Why, are you scared?”

“If I had to say, I’m scared of Master.”

Of course, to the man before them—the merciless Leonard Hilbert, more fearsome than any demon—such worries were useless.

Nox clicked his tongue.

Leonard was a man more terrifying than even seasoned assassins.

How many went to the deity yesterday…

At this point, the assassin guilds almost seemed pitiable.

Watching assassins helplessly getting taken down by Leonard, I even felt a bit of sympathy.

Naturally, Leonard didn’t just barge into any assassin guild randomly and cause chaos.

There was one thing all those assassin guilds had in common.

They were all connected to the Imperial Palace.

“Master, I’ve found it.”

At that moment, with a knock, the door opened.

Another of Leonard’s subordinates entered.

His name was Aksion, wearing an eye patch over one eye.

Aksion pulled a report from his coat and handed it to Leonard.

“Good. Well done.”

“As Master expected, the person who commissioned the assassin guild used a fake identity. They disguised their identity so thoroughly. Since they commissioned under different identities for each guild, it took longer than usual.”

Though the report contained a considerable amount of information, Leonard read through it swiftly.

“This is…”

When he reached the last page, Leonard’s eyes narrowed.

“Are you certain?”

“Yes. I confirmed it several times.”

Leonard lowered his gaze to check the name again.

“…”

He remained silent for a long while.

“Master? Why do you look like that? Your expression is so grim, as if you saw some mortal enemy… huh?”

Nox sneakily glanced at the report Leonard held, his eyes widening in shock.

Pointing with his hand, he exclaimed,

“Wh-why is this name written here? Could it be someone impersonating them?”

“Who in this empire would dare impersonate that name?”

Aksion answered for him.

“No, even so, come on. Surely, no one in the empire doesn’t know how much this man cherishes his daughter?”

Nox shrugged and denied it.

“…Who knows.”

Leonard tilted his head expressionlessly.

“We’ll find out when we meet him in person.”

Finally, when the carriage stopped, Conrad and Felix made way, telling us to enjoy our time comfortably.

But they said they’d be watching carefully from out of sight, so don’t worry too much.

― “Huh? What kind of talk is that? I’m supposed to stay right by your side! If you’re going, you go alone…!”

Thud!

― “Huh? What was that dull thud just now…?”

― “It seems Lord Conrad fainted.”

― “Looks like he’s tired from riding the horse too long.”

― “The person who was so lively just moments ago?”

― “Don’t worry too much. Well then, I hope you have a pleasant time, Your Majesty.”

Of course, I wasn’t sure if that was really what they both agreed on.

Still, perhaps because the unfamiliar people were gone, Cedric’s expression looked much more relaxed than before.

I followed Cedric’s lead and started walking.

He had chosen today’s outing spot.

“May I ask where we’re going?”

“It’s a place I discovered by chance while gathering herbs before, and I really wanted to show it to Your Majesty.”

In the dense forest,

We pushed through lush green bushes and came to a wide-open area.

“Here…?”

It was truly a boundless flower field.

There were flowers I had seen at the Imperial Palace, and many mysterious flowers I had never seen before.

If I were to paint a picture with flowers, would it feel like this?

The colorful hues delighted my eyes naturally.

Nearby, a clear stream trickled gently, and butterflies fluttered freely among the flowers.

Just looking at it filled my heart completely.

“Do you like it?”

“It’s my first time visiting a place like this. Thank you for bringing me here, Cedric.”

Though I had often visited botanical gardens in my previous life, this beauty was incomparable to those artificial landscapes.

My heart fluttered like a child visiting an amusement park for the first time.

“Would you like to walk a bit?”

“Yes, I would.”

I wanted to remember this sight for a long time, even just with my eyes.

While strolling with Cedric and looking around,

I noticed something fallen on the ground.

A small, pale purple flower bud.

One that never bloomed.

“Your Majesty?”

Cedric approached when I stopped walking.

I showed him the flower bud in my hand.

“It looks like it fell from the wind. If it had stayed a little longer, it would have bloomed—what a shame.”

It must have been very beautiful, just like the other flowers around us.

Watching me quietly, Cedric reached out his hand.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

With that, he placed his hand over mine, which held the flower bud.

His large hand completely covered mine, and I couldn’t help but flinch.

Soon, a white light leaked out between our overlapping hands.

I felt a warm sensation.

A warmth that brought peace to my heart.

When the light finally faded, Cedric withdrew his hand.

And there was…

“Wow…”

A fully bloomed flower greeted me.

I smiled brightly.

“That’s amazing, Cedric! I had no idea such magic existed.”

The mysterious sight before my eyes made me admire it naturally.

“With this magic, you could make any flower you want bloom whenever you want. Do you use it often just to look at flowers?”

“No. I don’t use it much normally. To be honest… I don’t really like the method.”

“Really? I thought it would be useful magic for you, since you like flowers. Is there another reason?”

“Flowers made by magic don’t last very long.”

Cedric explained that their lifespan was roughly half that of flowers blooming by nature’s power.

I tilted my head.

“Then why now…?”

I worried I might have caused him to use a magic he disliked because of me.

Since he was such a considerate person, I thought that was very possible.

“Curious?”

When I nodded, Cedric made an unusual request.

“Then, please close your eyes for a moment.”

Close my eyes?

I didn’t see what closing my eyes had to do with this, but it wasn’t difficult, so I obediently shut them.

At that moment—

“…!”

Something warm and soft touched my forehead.

The tickling sensation made me open my eyes wide.

He parted his lips and smiled beautifully.

His earring hanging from his ear reflected light and jingled.

Underneath the white mask, his clear, golden eyes looked purely at me.

Then he shyly confessed,

“Because today… is a special day.”