“What on earth have you done to this garden?”

Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Roxiana looked around the garden. She couldn’t understand what aspect of it Eledrun found unsatisfactory.

“It’s too beautiful.”

“Pardon?”

“This garden, it’s excessively beautiful.”

It was unclear whether her tone was accusatory or complimentary. As Roxiana searched for a response, Eledrun stepped closer.

“How did you manage to cultivate it so beautifully?”

“Well, the gardeners put in a lot of effort…”

“No, young lady. Gardeners alone cannot maintain a garden this beautiful. I guarantee it, as the winner of last year’s Fairy Garden Competition. This is your doing.”

As Roxiana was thinking, ‘So there’s even a Fairy Garden Competition,’ Eledrun moved even closer.

“Please tell me. How can you make such flowers bloom in this weather?”

Roxiana turned to look at the flower bed Eledrun was pointing at. It was filled with a variety of colorful blooms. Some flowers Roxiana recognized, others she didn’t.

Come to think of it, she had once overheard the gardeners discussing, “The plants in this garden don’t seem to follow the seasons. Is it because the soil is fertile? Or is it thanks to Her Highness?”

Roxiana hadn’t realized that the flowers blooming in this bed were out of season.

-It’s because we’re here together.

-We want to show Roti only the most beautiful things in the world.

-It’s thanks to the gnomes that those children are thriving.

The spirits chattered.

Only then could she understand what had happened in the garden, but she couldn’t explain the reason to Eledrun.

Seemingly misinterpreting Roxiana’s troubled expression, Eledrun said,

“I see, you must be dealing with various hardships, and here I am being rude over trivial matters. I’m sorry, it’s just that I’m so stressed about our garden… We probably won’t even be able to enter it in this year’s competition. Just thinking about how Countess Tibrang will gloat makes my blood boil… Oh my, what am I saying?”

The spirits giggled.

-Eledrun must be worried about the garden. Henaraya brought in a famous gardener from far away this time.

-Eledrun dislikes Henaraya. That woman has a loose tongue.

-She also spoke ill of you, Roti. Eledrun defended you.

Once again, it was difficult to grasp the full situation from the spirits’ arbitrary chatter. She could only guess that ‘Henaraya’ was the name of the ‘Countess Tibrang’ Eledrun had mentioned.

“Head Maid.”

Eledrun, who had been turning to leave, stopped at Roxiana’s call. Her eyes sparkled with expectation as she looked up at Roxiana. Though feeling a bit burdened, Roxiana didn’t show it as she spoke.

“Would you like to come in for a cup of tea and tell me more about it?”

+++

Sir Arsen Chetek, the captain of the White Eagle Knights, was walking along the path when he glanced towards the arch leading to the Lily Palace garden. He told himself he wasn’t trying to peek at the Lily Palace, but checking for any suspicious individuals.

Just then, he caught sight of Roxiana and Eledrun entering the building together.

‘Where’s the baby wolf?’

Arsen quickly scanned the garden.

He spotted the ash-gray wolf, like a rain cloud, rolling around on the lawn. Seeing its plump, glossy coat, he was relieved that Roxiana seemed to be taking good care of it.

Arsen was about to move on when he thought,

‘I can’t tell just by looking at its fur. I need to check its teeth and hind leg muscles to be sure.’

He wasn’t trying to trespass on the Lily Palace without permission. The Lily Palace garden was open to everyone in the Grand Ducal Palace. One only needed permission to enter the building.

Moreover, he was none other than the captain of the knights. Thinking that there was no place off-limits to him, the one responsible for the Grand Ducal Palace’s security, Arsen passed through the arch and entered the garden.

Noticing the intruder, the wolf sprang up, hunched its upper body forward, and bared its teeth.

To show ‘I don’t mean to threaten you,’ Arsen crouched down and extended his hand with the back facing up. After confirming no one was watching, he parted his lips.

“Chu chu chu.”

At this incredibly soft and affectionate call, the wolf’s expression seemed stunned for a moment. Although wolves shouldn’t have expressions, that’s how Arsen perceived it.

But the expression appeared only briefly before disappearing, so Arsen thought he must have imagined it.

The wolf growled as if about to pounce, then abruptly turned and ran into the building.

Though his outstretched hand was ignored, Arsen didn’t despair. Young ones are always rude, after all.

+++

It was Eledrun’s first time entering the Lily Palace since Roxiana had begun staying there. The reception room on the first floor was as luxurious as ever, but there was something different from before.

‘Why are there Adelia flowers decorated everywhere?’

Adelia flowers were embroidered on the cushions, carpets, and even around the fireplace. Eledrun knew the Lily Palace had undergone major remodeling on Floyd’s orders, but she had no idea it involved adding Adelia flower motifs everywhere.

‘What a unique taste.’

Eledrun assumed this peculiar interior design was to Roxiana’s liking.

Even the white teapot and cups brought by the maids had Adelia flowers painted on them. Since Adelia flowers are typically used to honor the deceased, Eledrun felt as if she had come to a funeral.

She wondered if Roxiana could maintain her sanity living in such a place, but Roxiana was calmly pouring tea from the teapot as if nothing was amiss.

Roxiana’s delicate and respectful gesture as she offered the teacup on a small saucer to Eledrun made her feel like an honored guest. Eledrun cleared her throat unnecessarily.

“I hope I’m not troubling you needlessly, young lady.”

“Troubling me? I have nothing to do in the Lily Palace anyway.”

“That’s different from what the employees say. I heard you’re quite busy helping with kitchen work, cleaning, and even laundry.”

“I’m just doing work befitting my position. Everyone does these things.”

Only then did Eledrun remember that Roxiana bore a slave’s brand. It was something she knew well, but she had forgotten about it at some point.

“His Grace the Grand Duke ordered that you be treated with honor, so there’s no need for you to seek out such work.”

She meant to say that Roxiana should earn her keep, but somehow those words came out instead. Roxiana merely raised her teacup, not even offering a polite smile.

Now that she had been given the opportunity, Eledrun found it difficult to broach the subject. As Eledrun rambled on about other things, Roxiana asked,

“So what happened to the Head Maid’s garden?”

“Ah, about that.”

Eledrun spoke about her garden that had been devastated by demonic energy. The blackened, fallen leaves and the stench from the soil, plants that wouldn’t revive no matter how much the soil was tilled or fertilized.

“But I can’t complain about the garden at such a busy time, which is giving me a headache. I’ve heard that once land is affected by demonic energy, it’s difficult to recover even after years. No matter how much you turn over the soil, as long as the demonic energy has seeped deep inside, it won’t improve.”

Roxiana had heard about this too.

Torkhan wasn’t the only place where cracks had formed and monsters had flowed out, contaminating the land. There were several places in other regions that had been abandoned, giving up on subjugation.

Even if the monsters were removed, it didn’t mean the land became habitable for people. Only when powerful clerics gathered to perform large-scale blessing prayers could the demonic energy be purified.

‘But now, the number of powerful clerics has decreased. That’s why useless lands are left abandoned.’

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Roxiana’s mind.

‘Right, there are abandoned lands.’

Lands that countries couldn’t protect were declared ‘monster-infested areas’ and people were prohibited from approaching. If left unmanaged for three years, these lands became ownerless. Anyone who could purify the demonic energy in that land could become its owner.

For this reason, the Empire, which had joined hands with the Great Temple, inevitably held immense power. Each country needed the power of clerics to purify contaminated lands, and for that, they had to remain in the good graces of the Empire’s emperor. Only then would the emperor request the Great Temple to send clerics to the contaminated lands.

However, most lands remained abandoned. Even if holy knights killed the monsters and clerics purified the contamination, as long as the cracks existed, they would be engulfed by demonic energy again, repeating the same cycle. Rather than continuing meaningless purification attempts, it was more beneficial to give up.

‘If the spirits could purify that land…’

One could claim ownership of the land.

‘There must be usable lands that have been abandoned. If I purify those areas and acquire them… No, if my power becomes known, I’ll make an enemy of the Empire before I can do anything. Then…’

A stepping stone to approach Lucas and Elise emerged in her mind.

‘I’ll give it to the Grand Duke. He must have ways to make those regions his own without issues.’

Torkhan, too, was once an abandoned land where cracks had formed long ago. But Floyd had driven out the monsters in this land and made it habitable for people.

Neither the Empire nor any other country questioned his ability.