Don't Pick That Flower (2 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 8

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At the same moment. The outer wall of the Esper Territory.

Carlos spun around in a wide circle, his hand resting against the rampart.

Because the Esper Territory served as a passage connecting the human world and the underworld, a powerful barrier was firmly in place to prevent anyone from freely entering or leaving.

He had rushed back upon hearing news that the barrier’s strength had weakened.

“It’s definitely grown weaker.”

Though part of it was due to Carlos having been away for a long time, the main reason was the persistent attacks from outside attempting to break through the barrier.

The culprit was probably……

“That guy.”

It was certainly the same person who had transformed an ordinary rabbit into a monster and attacked Irene.

Carlos had relentlessly pursued the culprit, but by then, the other party had already vanished into the underworld.

Knowing Carlos couldn’t follow him there, he’d fled to that place.

“How annoying.”

If he wanted to fight Carlos, he should just challenge him openly—instead, he kept scheming from the shadows, which was incredibly irritating.

Regardless, the barrier needed to be repaired as soon as possible. He also had to deal with those fools loitering near the territory without understanding their place.

Carlos closed his eyes tightly, and the long shadow stretching behind him was absorbed into the barrier.

How much time had passed like this? While deeply focused on repairing the barrier, Carlos suddenly sensed someone’s presence and opened his eyes.

By now, a black veil had already draped over the sky. The slender crescent moon softly illuminated the world.

“I’m sorry, Master.”

Jesse emerged hesitantly from inside the rampart.

“I didn’t mean to disturb you…”

“It’s fine.”

As Carlos turned around, the shadow that had been absorbed into the barrier reappeared under the dim moonlight.

The shadow writhed like a living being before quickly vanishing. Hoo. His refined face, exhaling a long breath, was filled with exhaustion.

“What is it?”

“It’s about the young lady.”

Carlos nodded, and Jesse continued.

“While assisting the young lady with her bath, I checked the floral branch tattoo you mentioned. There are seven buds in total, three of which have already bloomed.”

It matched exactly what he’d seen at the Montro Inn.

Nothing had changed at all, it seemed.

Well, only ten days had passed, and nothing particularly unusual had happened—expecting any change would be as greedy as a thief’s wish.

“Also, from what I could tell, the young lady seems completely unaware of the tattoo on her back.”

Jesse went on.

“Still, just in case, I’ll enter her dreams tonight to verify.”

Jesse, a resident of the underworld and one of Carlos’s loyal followers, possessed the ability to invade someone’s dreams and extract the information she desired.

Anyone whose dreams were invaded would suffer from terrible nightmares for several days afterward.

“Don’t. Until I say otherwise, don’t invade her dreams.”

She was already unsettled in this unfamiliar place—if she also endured dreadful nightmares, Irene would become even more anxious.

Besides, she didn’t seem to be lying, so Carlos decided not to use Jesse’s ability for now.

“The young lady’s body is covered with countless wounds and scars.”

At Jesse’s next words, Carlos’s eyebrows, which had been slack with fatigue, shot upward instantly.

Though Jesse knew she hadn’t done anything wrong, she nervously swallowed hard.

“Wounds and scars?”

“Yes. It felt like too heavy a topic to ask the young lady directly about how they happened…but in my humble opinion, it seems she suffered abuse for a long time.”

Now that he thought about it, Baron Silas had claimed that Irene not only set fire to the Silas Territory but also killed her own parents.

Could it be that Irene, unable to endure prolonged abuse, had killed her parents and set the fire?

But more importantly—why didn’t I notice those wounds when I saw her naked body?

Carlos immediately understood the reason.

He’d been so fixated on the floral branch tattoo on Irene’s back that nothing else had registered in his mind.

“Should I ask her in detail how she got hurt?”

Carlos thought for a moment, then shook his head.

Trending

“No, there’s no need.”

If she truly had been abused, asking would only reopen painful wounds—it was better not to inquire.

He didn’t really need to know anyway. Who Irene had been in the past or what she’d endured didn’t matter at all.

“Make sure her wounds are treated so they don’t get worse.”

Still, the fact that she was injured bothered him—he had to ensure she received treatment.

“Can the scars be removed?”

The scars bothered him too. Carlos wished that small body bore no marks of injury whatsoever—though he couldn’t explain why.

“Well…I vaguely recall hearing from a wandering apothecary once that there’s a medicine capable of removing scars, but I’m not certain.”

“Look into it. No matter the cost, if such medicine exists, obtain it.”

“Yes.”

Jesse replied impassively, though inwardly she was greatly surprised.

The Carlos she knew wasn’t this attentive.

It seemed too suspicious to attribute this behavior solely to Irene being someone special.

For instance, back when they first discovered……

“Is there anything else you need to report?”

Snapped out of her private thoughts by Carlos’s question, Jesse immediately answered.

“No, nothing else.”

“Then go. Report to me immediately if anything unusual happens or if another flower blooms.”

“Yes.”

Jesse bowed deeply and quietly withdrew.

Carlos raised his arm again to resume repairing the barrier, but frowned when he noticed his hand had turned translucent.

Fortunately, it quickly returned to normal—but this omen meant his remaining time was running dangerously short.

“…They’d better all bloom soon.”

Because only then could he survive. Carlos tightly clenched his once-translucent hand.

*

Irene immediately noticed that some secret was hidden at the top of the northern tower, but she paid it no mind.

Whatever it was, it had nothing to do with her. Her only concern was how to escape safely from Carlos.

She’d already learned firsthand that fleeing recklessly without a plan was highly likely to fail.

If she tried to run this time and got caught, she’d probably be killed—so Irene carefully considered her escape strategy.

‘First, I need to map out an escape route.’

Pretending to familiarize herself with the castle layout or taking walks as an excuse, Irene wandered around Esper Castle.

She spent two full days exploring, yet the place was so vast she hadn’t even covered half of it.

Still, one thing was certain.

‘Escaping is impossible.’

The walls towered so high that even craning her neck couldn’t reveal their tops, and knights guarded them so tightly not even an insect could slip through.

There were still areas she hadn’t seen, but their situation was likely no different.

After all, it was the residence of a high-ranking noble—security would naturally be thorough.

As Irene sighed, Jesse, who had been following a step behind, asked worriedly,

“Shall we head back if you’re tired, my lady?”

“No, I’d like to look around a bit longer.”

Still, she might as well check—there was always a chance she’d unexpectedly find something useful.

Walking along the polished path, Irene spotted a large gray building and pointed at it, asking Jesse,

“What’s that place for?”

“It’s the barracks where the brave knights who’ve sworn loyalty to Master reside. There’s also a training ground right across from it.”

Since that wasn’t what she was looking for, she turned to leave—but Jesse asked,

“It’s about time the knights start their sword training. Would you like to watch?”

Irene hadn’t given it any thought until now, but Jesse’s words piqued her interest.

“Am I allowed to watch? Usually, things like that are secret and not open to just anyone…”

“Of course not just anyone can watch. But you’re not ‘just anyone,’ are you?”

“Then what am I?”

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“Why, you’re someone precious to Master.”

Jesse answered as if it were obvious, prompting Irene to tilt her head slightly and ask,

“Why do you think that?”

“Oh, well…”

Unlike her earlier confidence, Jesse now stammered and avoided Irene’s gaze before suddenly grabbing her hand.

“We need to go now if we want to catch the sword training—let’s hurry.”

She was clearly dodging the question. Irene, having anticipated this, let it pass without comment.

That didn’t mean she was indifferent, though. She desperately wanted to understand why Carlos had brought her here or why he treated her so exceptionally well—but no one would tell her, leaving her frustrated.

‘Should I ask that man again?’

Now that they’d arrived at the Esper Territory, he might finally explain this time.

The problem was that since reaching Esper Castle, Carlos had completely disappeared. The man who used to constantly show up was now nowhere to be seen, making her curious about his whereabouts—and she did have things she wanted to ask him.

“Jesse.”

“Yes, my lady?”

“Is it…possible to meet him?”

Jesse instantly realized “him” referred to Carlos and turned to Irene with sparkling eyes.

“Do you miss Master?”

“A—absolutely not!”

Missing Carlos? The absurdity made Irene gasp and shake her head vigorously.

“I just have something I want to ask him. Yes, that’s all—nothing more.”

Irene was sincere, but unfortunately, to anyone else, it looked exactly like someone denying their feelings out of shyness.

Flustered and blushing, she stammered out her words in confusion—making her denial appear even more unconvincing.

Jesse was no exception, and she smiled contentedly as she said,

“Understood. I’ll inform Master that you wish to see him.”

“N—no need to tell him if he’s busy.”

“Master has indeed been busy lately. He was away for ten whole days just to bring you here, so he’s now buried under a mountain of pending tasks.”

“Huh?”

What was this about?

Until now, Irene had assumed Carlos’s arrival to fetch her had been pure coincidence.

She’d believed he’d merely happened to pass through the Silas Territory and heard about her situation—but if Jesse’s words were true, it meant Carlos had set out specifically to retrieve her from the very beginning.

‘That’s impossible.’

A high-ranking noble like Carlos would never personally go out of his way to bring back a commoner like Irene.

The timeline didn’t add up either. Irene had been accused of arson, murder, and witchcraft roughly fifteen days ago.

Traveling from the Esper Territory to the Silas Territory and back took about twenty days—so it made no sense that Carlos could have acted upon hearing news of her.

“Was he really away from the territory for about ten days?”

“Yes. Precisely eleven days.”

Hearing Jesse’s firm confirmation, Irene grew even more confused and was about to ask something else—when something damp and squishy slowly licked up her cheek.

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