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Chapter 75
A startled voice slipped out from Lucilea’s lips, almost in the shape of a question.
Before her stretched a paradise she had never seen before.
If a glass garden was a “refined beauty” perfectly sculpted by human hands, this place was “living art” shaped by nature itself.
The blades of grass beneath her feet were soft, and the moist earth had just the right amount of springiness.
With every step, the scent of grass burst into the air, mingling with the freshness of freshly fallen rain and the fragrance of nameless flowers that tickled her nose.
In the distance, the sound of a flowing stream blended with the rustle of leaves and the gentle sway of wildflowers covering a small hill.
“Wo—”
[Waaahhhh!]
Before Lucilea could even marvel, Cookie, perched on her shoulder, leapt high and shouted first.
[Lucy!! Is this heaven?! I’ve never seen a place this beautiful!]
What is happening?!
[How can the wind smell like honey?!]
Cookie flew freely, and watching him, Lucilea felt an inexplicable swell of excitement herself.
When Cookie landed, he bounced toward a flower, one of the many unnamed blooms.
Sssssnnnfff!
He closed his eyes, inhaling the scent as if savoring it, then squealed with delight.
[Lucy! Lucy! This flower smells like strawberries! And oh! This one smells like apples! Can I eat them all?!]
Suddenly, pollen exploded right in front of Cookie’s nose.
[Achooooo—!]
Cookie sneezed and rolled backward in a somersault.
[Wahaha! Did you see that, Lucy?! I got attacked! They said not to eat me!]
Watching Cookie, who had become even chattier than usual, Lucilea couldn’t help but smile.
“Cookie, I’ll get you some fruit later, so today, just enjoy it with your eyes.”
[Yeaaahhhh!]
Then Lucilea too ran freely through the paradise.
The grass felt as soft as walking on clouds, and no matter how much she ran, she never grew tired.
The wind pushed her back and wiped away her sweat.
The flowing stream quenched her thirst, and the warm sunlight kept her body from losing warmth.
She wasn’t out of breath at all. She felt as though wings might sprout, letting her soar through the sky.
For a while, she ran around the hill like a puppy seeing the world for the first time.
[Kyaaaahhh!]
Splash—!
Cookie, who had been darting through the air, now rolled and rubbed himself in the shallow stream, bathing.
Water droplets sparkled like jewels as Cookie shook himself.
Then, suddenly…
[Huh? Lucy! There’s a huge tree over there! I think it’s the biggest tree on this hill?!]
Lucilea turned her head at Cookie’s words.
There, on the highest point of the small hill, stood a gigantic tree, alone and majestic.
Cookie flew ahead and beckoned her with flaps toward the tree.
Finally, they reached the giant tree’s shade.
Wow… amazing.
That was her first thought upon seeing the tree.
It was as if it could remember all the time in the world.
The enormous tree radiated majesty while also exuding a comforting warmth that embraced everything.
Lucilea looked up at the tree for a moment, then lay down between the massive trunks rising from the ground.
Haaah…
A satisfied sigh escaped her.
‘This is so good…’
The thick grass softly cradled her back, and sunlight filtered through the leaves, warming her.
Ssssss—. The rustling of leaves sounded like a lullaby—or was it just her imagination?
Breathing in the breeze filled with the scents of flowers and honey, gazing at the slowly drifting clouds, her eyelids grew heavy.
At that moment, Cookie clambered atop Lucilea’s stomach.
[Lucy, I-I’m so sleepy…]
“I feel the same. I guess we played too hard…”
[Napping in a place like this isn’t so bad…]
“That’s true…”
Their conversation stretched lazily along the edge of consciousness.
Eventually, Cookie sprawled fully on Lucilea’s stomach and closed his eyes.
Lucilea herself couldn’t resist the heaviness of her eyelids.
Through the slowly descending lids, the tree leaves flickered like they were winking.
And then, darkness.
Though her eyes were fully closed, her consciousness faintly lingered.
[What… is this?]
[Th-this isn’t human?!]
Besides the whisper of wind in her ears, new sounds began to emerge.
[No way! How did a human get here?!]
[Sniff sniff, is it really human? Smells different.]
[I’ve seen humans! They look like this. But this one’s smaller.]
[A small human! A small human!]
What… was happening?
Lucilea tried to open her eyes at the voices of unfamiliar children, but her eyelids seemed stuck.
[Wow! Really a human?!]
[Sh-should we report this?]
[Then we might get scolded. You know how cranky they are!]
[Then should we leave it as is?!]
[W-what do we do?]
[Wait. It’s disappearing! Look! The small human is disappearing!]
[Really? It’s disappearing…!]
[….how…]
[….no… really…!]
Suddenly, the voices faded.
The warmth of the ground, the sweet breeze, the sun on her cheeks, the sound of the stream—everything.
In that instant, the world she had sprawled in vanished.
“Huh—!”
Startled, Lucilea shot open her eyes.
She was in the library.
“Uh…?!”
For some reason, she was leaning over a desk.
W-what?!
‘Was it a dream?!’
Blinking rapidly in the bent-over position, she wondered,
‘When did I get to the library?’
She was sure she had napped on the sofa in her bedroom after visiting the market…
‘Could it be sleepwalking?!’
Lucilea cautiously lifted her upper body.
Across from her sat Serdian.
Serdian paused flipping through a book and looked at Lucilea.
“If you want to sleep, do it in your bedroom.”
Lucilea, feeling embarrassed, scratched her cheek.
“When did you get here?”
“Three hours ago.”
“Then why didn’t you wake me?”
“You were sleeping soundly.”
Serdian lowered his gaze to the book again, answering matter-of-factly.
Lucilea pouted and muttered.
“Just watching a lady sleep… how rude, young master.”
“…wipe your mouth. Lady, my foot.”
Mouth?! Lucilea hurriedly wiped her lips with the back of her hand.
Hehe…
Blushing, Lucilea spoke.
“Did you wait because you were worried about me?”
Serdian turned the page and replied bluntly.
“I wasn’t worried. I came to read. I don’t know who came to sleep.”
A quick denial and scolding. Lucilea peeked around the library.
It was just her and Serdian in the whole library.
‘There’s so much space, yet he sat right in front of me?’
Lucilea grinned inwardly.
He really is a bit cute.
Serdian closed his book and nodded shortly.
“If you’re up, let’s go. It’s time for dinner.”
“Okay!”
Lucilea quickly straightened her coat.
Cookie fluttered from the windowsill and landed on Lucilea’s shoulder.
The two children left the library side by side, and the door closed quietly behind them.
And the place Lucilea had left?
Under the chair she had been sitting on, small colorful petals gently scattered.
Six Months Later
In Lucilea’s laboratory today, the sweet, bittersweet aroma of herbs mingled with occasional small explosions.
In the new greenhouse next to the glass garden, rare herbs were taking root one by one. Some already looked ready for harvest.
One day, shortly after lunchtime, Arkel visited Elbadin’s office.
But today, his attire was noticeably different. Having stayed comfortably at the Grand Duke’s mansion for a long time, he now wore the robe bearing the Magus Tower insignia once again.
Elbadin noticed the meaning behind this and asked,
“Are you leaving?”
Arkel nodded.
“I said I would stay for half a year, didn’t I?”
He had worried that the word in the cipher might bring misfortune to the Grand Duke’s house, so he promised to stay for six months.
And six months had passed.
Fortunately, no threat had arisen for the Grand Duke’s family. With the Magus Tower master staying there, they could not act easily.
“I can’t leave the Magus Tower unattended for too long. I must also take care of the tasks Your Majesty requested.”
Now that six months had passed, it was reasonably safe.
“Lucilea will be disappointed.”
“It’s not like we’ll never see her again. She’ll be fine.”
Arkel laughed heartily and placed a small wooden box on the table.
“These are the herbs Lucilea made.”
Elbadin, sitting across on the sofa, raised one eyebrow in surprise.
