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chapter 07
Thump, thump.
My steps toward the garden were light and excited.
Rita had kept telling me since yesterday not to get my hopes up too much, but there was no way I couldn’t be excited. The mansion was this huge—there was no way the garden could be disappointing, right?
She did say it hadn’t been maintained for a long time, but maybe she was exaggerating? Maybe they told everyone not to enter and secretly took care of it themselves?
“Hehe.”
The garden was only one floor above my room, so it was closer than I expected.
The door leading into it was large and opaque. Unfortunately, all I could see through the glass was a blur of green that looked like trees.
The pretty flowers must just be lower to the ground where I can’t see them!
When I looked up at her, Rita slowly opened the door. Even then, her expression didn’t look very bright.
And before long, I understood why.
“……”
“……Miss.”
I couldn’t believe my eyes. The garden inside the grand mansion of the White Dragon family, one of the Four Dragon clans… the garden was… the garden was…!
“……Dis garden realwy the garden?”
“……”
“Pwease tell me it’s not……”
“I did tell you not to expect too much……”
The garden was truly, genuinely, without a single exaggeration, completely neglected. Even though it was indoors, it looked gloomy enough that rain might start pouring down at any moment.
Maybe I’d gotten my hopes up too high.
No. Don’t get discouraged here. Don’t be disappointed. Even if the garden was full of dying trees and withered grass, I shouldn’t think negatively!
I could just decorate it myself, couldn’t I? Exactly the way I liked!
“Ritta, I wanna decorate the garden!”
“The garden?”
“Yeah! I’m gonna make it pwetty and show Daddy!”
Seeing me burn with determination, Rita let out a small sigh of relief.
“I wanna read pwant books!”
“Books? Hmm… there are more books in the lord’s study, but you’d need permission to enter. Shall we go to the library instead?”
“Okaaay!”
Rita guided me to the library.
The library inside the mansion was so vast that it hardly felt like a single family’s collection. It looked more like the imperial library.
And perhaps because few people used it, the scent of paper was thick in the air and the place was quiet.
“I wanna read flower encyclopedias!”
“Please sit here. I’ll go find some books.”
Eve sat me down on a soft velvet sofa before returning with several books in her arms.
Out of them, I picked one with a rosy red cover and opened it.
And only then did I realize something.
…I couldn’t read the writing in this world.
The letters were completely different from the ones I had used in my previous life.
When I looked at Rita with an awkward expression, she finally realized it too.
Ridiculously enough, neither Rita nor I had even considered the possibility that I might not know how to read.
The solution was simple.
“Just read the parts I point at for me.”
“That’s not difficult.”
Thankfully, the books had illustrations alongside the text.
Because of that, I was able to pick out all the pretty flowers that suited my taste.
I was going to show the garden to Hale, so I wanted to fill it with flowers beautiful enough to captivate him!
And so, for an entire hour, I diligently finalized a list of flowers to plant in the garden. Rita carefully wrote everything down on a memo sheet, so they’d probably arrive soon.
“Ah, but Ritta. Dere’s somethin’ I’m curious about.”
“Ask me anything.”
“Where’s Mommy?”
“……Pardon?”
“Why doesn’t Mommy come see Senica?”
It was something I’d meant to ask earlier but kept forgetting. I saw Hale, my father, fairly often as he moved around the mansion, but I had never once seen my mother.
I had only asked because I assumed she might be sick or visiting her parents’ home, but I didn’t expect Rita to react so visibly flustered.
I could tell from her reaction alone that it wasn’t something simple.
It wasn’t just that she was ill. Something had definitely happened to my mother in this life.
Part of me wanted to ask exactly what had happened, but outwardly, I looked no older than five or six.
Because of that, everyone treated me like a complete child.
Not that I hated it, but it also meant there was a lot they wouldn’t tell me.
So I came to the conclusion that now wasn’t the time.
I should pretend not to know anything.
“Hic… I was just askin’.”
“……Miss.”
“I’m tired. Let’s go back to my room, Ritta.”
“……”
Rita silently stared at me for a moment before nodding and closing the book.
Hmm… somehow, this felt like it was definitely going to reach Hale’s ears.
Even if I told her not to say anything, Rita’s master wasn’t me, so she probably wouldn’t listen.
Well… whatever. She could tell him or not.
The next day finally marked the first lesson in pheromone manifestation.
I’d been busy preparing since morning. I removed as many accessories as possible to keep my body light.
And at last, lesson time arrived.
“Eeb!”
The moment the door opened and I saw Eve, I immediately ran over and hugged her.
“So today is finally your first pheromone manifestation lesson.”
“I’ve been waitin’ forever!”
I could feel my eyes sparkling with excitement. I must have looked unbelievably cute to everyone else.
Every time I looked in the mirror, I thought the same thing.
The large, round pale-blue eyes identical to Hale’s, and the silver hair softly tinted with gold as it curled around my face—
Even I thought I looked absolutely adorable.
But Eve was firm. Cute was cute, and lessons were lessons. She separated business from affection perfectly.
“Miss, what did I say was important when handling pheromones?”
As she set me down on the floor, Eve reminded me of the previous lesson.
The sudden question startled me so much my mind went blank for a moment. I remembered soon after, but… who knew she’d launch a surprise attack like that?!
“Stabiwity, concentwation, and, um……”
In the last lesson, Eve had told me there were three important things. Each time I listed one, I folded down a finger.
Then I got stuck on the last one.
What was it again…?
“And the last?”
“Uuh, that……”
“Calmness, wasn’t it?”
“Dat’s right!”
Thankfully, she hadn’t asked just to scold me.
“Do you think you seem calm right now, Miss?”
…Nope. She was scolding me after all.
Even the way Eve scolded people suited her personality perfectly.
I had definitely been too excited. Ever since learning that pheromones were similar to magic, I’d been waiting for this day alone.
If I wanted the lesson to go well, then just like Eve said, I needed to stay calm. Calm!
I hopped onto the sofa and sat down. Bringing my legs together, I rested my hands atop them and slowly exhaled to calm my excitement.
“Good. Then let’s begin with the basics first.”
“Mhm.”
As I gradually calmed down, Eve approached with an approving expression and gently held my shoulders.
“Now then, shall we begin? Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, hold my hand, and close your eyes.”
I climbed down from the sofa and did as she instructed. The firm texture of her skin brushed against my fingertips where our hands met.
“The first step is feeling the pheromones inside your body. Only after that will you be able to control them once they leave your body.”
No matter the field or skill, the basics were always the hardest.
I felt a little nervous.
I didn’t expect myself to succeed immediately. Even in my previous life, I had always been the hardworking type rather than a natural genius.
Of course, there were people who were good from the very start.
But I wasn’t one of them.
“It’s okay if you fail, so don’t pressure yourself too much. First, slowly let out your breath.”
As though she had noticed my anxiety, Eve seemed to be trying to soothe my uneasy heart.
“Hooo…”
I slowly exhaled deeply and focused my mind on the center of my body.
Every flow in the body passed through the heart, its center.
Surely pheromones followed the same rule.
But no matter how hard I concentrated—hard enough for sweat to bead on my forehead—I felt absolutely nothing.
That couldn’t be right……
The moment Eve released my hand, I slowly opened my eyes.
“……Eve.”
“Yes, Miss?”
“I can’t feel anything.”
“Very few people succeed on their first try.”
“But still……”
My very first attempt had ended in complete failure.
My father was the head of the White Dragon family, and yet I, his daughter, couldn’t even manage something this basic.
More than disappointment, I felt disappointed in myself.
I’d waited so eagerly for this lesson that I couldn’t help feeling discouraged.
“Miss, do you know how much time passed while your eyes were closed?”
“……Ten minutes?”
Eve smiled faintly and shook her head.
“Then?”
“One hour.”
“What?! A whole hour passed?!”
“Yes. You didn’t realize, did you? That means your concentration was excellent. The higher your focus, the greater your chances of success. You’ll succeed in the next lesson.”
She was probably trying to comfort me, but her words gave me genuine strength too.
Eve wasn’t someone who offered empty praise.
Right. If I couldn’t do it the first time, then I could succeed the second time! I still had plenty of time ahead of me!
I clenched my fists tightly in determination and straightened my slumped shoulders again.
Being this gloomy didn’t suit me at all!
“Eeb! I’m hungry!”
“Should I ask Rita to bring you some snacks?”
“Yeah! The sweetest ones in the world!”
“What if Rita refuses because she says your teeth might rot?”
“Tell her I’ll bwush my teef afterward!”
“Woooow!”
The flowers I’d ordered the other day had finally arrived, and I immediately dashed toward the garden.
Near the entrance, countless flower seedlings of every color and variety were lined up. Butterflies from who-knew-where even fluttered around them.
I was so excited that I ran between the flowers, flapping my arms like a butterfly.
“So manyyy!”
At this rate, there might even be flowers left over after decorating the whole garden!
I happily wandered between them, checking each type one by one.
Then—
“Gasp!”
A terrible realization suddenly struck me, and I froze on the spot with my mouth hanging open.
“Miss?”
“Ritta… what do I do……?”
“What’s wrong? Is there a flower you can’t find?”
“No, it’s just……”
Biting my thumbnail, I stared sadly across the countless flowers.
Rita followed my gaze, then seemed to realize what I was thinking because a mysterious smile spread across her lips.
“Don’t worry. I brought people today to help with the gardening.”
“No way, really?!”
Clap, clap—
With a proud look, Rita clapped twice, and people dressed in black began appearing one after another.
