IACGD 23

 Chapter 23

Building a greenhouse was not as easy as it sounded.

Basically, the temperature inside the greenhouse didn’t rise easily.

Of course, Clémen solved this problem.

Even if she made it slightly warm inside, the heat wouldn’t escape quickly.

But that was as far as it went.

The North had problems beyond just the cold.

It was a region where it snowed constantly. Days without snow were easier to count than days with it.

Whenever it snowed, the greenhouse’s effect decreased, and snow kept piling on top of it.

The accumulating weight of the snow was too much for a glass greenhouse to bear.

No matter how many supports were added, it collapsed. Sometimes the glass even shattered.

The place where Laura and Loo had entered—the so-called greenhouse—was one of those spaces.

Broken glass scattered everywhere, snow melting into muddy ground, and dangerous construction tools piled to the side.

It was hardly a place suitable for children to play.

Of course, children didn’t care about that at all.

For them, it was just exciting.

“Sparkly! So warm! There must be flowers!”

Clémen chased after the children and looked up at the sky. For now, it wasn’t snowing, but dark clouds filled the sky. She frowned and grabbed Laura’s hand, worried that it could start snowing any moment.

“Laura, let’s go out.”

“Shh! Stove! Wait, I’m looking for flowers!”

Laura wrenched free and ran around, searching for flowers.

But the structure was barely a greenhouse. There were no flowers.

Clémen checked that Loo was standing quietly in a corner and grabbed Laura’s hand again.

“Laura, hold Stove’s hand. Aren’t you cold?”

“Flowers! I won’t leave until I find the flowers. Stove can go if it’s too hard!”

Laura pulled her hand away forcefully and ran off again.

Clémen sighed and forced a smile.

It was a face similar to what Ruby sometimes made when playing with the kids—a mixture of patience and exasperation.

A face that seemed to say, This is parenting.

Eventually, Clémen had to take charge of the children’s actions.

“No! I told you this place is dangerous!”

“Nooo! Let gooo!”

The tantruming children were strong. Clémen barely managed to grab Laura and hold her, then looked for Loo.

Loo was still standing exactly as before.

What is she doing?

Anyway, they had to get out quickly.

“Loo, let’s go.”

“Nooo.”

“No! I want flowers, flowers!”

Loo’s stubbornness and Laura’s tantrums made Clémen dizzy.

Ah… Ruby, you’re amazing…

Compared to playing briefly with the children before, this was nothing.

Clémen thought about what to do, then finally spoke the secret spell.

The secret word Ruby had told her at the start—the one that shouldn’t be used too often—was:

“Alright. If you come out now, I’ll tell you a secret.”

“A secret…?”

It was a secret.

Clémen placed her index finger over her lips, warning that it mustn’t be revealed. Perhaps her acting worked—Laura’s moist eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“Pretty?”

“Huh?”

“This.”

Loo pointed with her chubby little hand. There was a huge castle flower.

“Ah, that’s not as pretty.”

“Loo, come out.”

As quickly as Loo had entered, she left even faster than before.

“Stove unnie, come quickly!”

Laura ran, calling Clémen.

When Clémen followed, Laura placed her hands on her hips and scolded.

“You’re late!”

“Aren’t you too fast?”

“Humph! We are fast! So? What’s this pretty secret?”

For Clémen, coming from the South, there was only one thing that could be called a pretty secret.

“Here, look at this.”

Clémen sat on the ground, hugging the children in her arms. They sat comfortably on her thighs and looked at what she was pointing at.

“Monster! Stove, hide! There’s a monster living there!”

Clémen pointed at the third-floor office window.

The place where Zephyrus was always present.

So the “monster” was referring to the master?

Clémen tried to calm the children, who wanted to run away before being caught, telling them to wait.

“It’s strange. There’s a pretty secret hidden there.”

“No, it’s a monster. Like this—!”

Laura drew a circle with her arms and continued.

“It’s a big face but has no eyes, nose, or mouth!”

“Up there!”

“And, and it’s got scribbles on its face. It doesn’t even greet you!”

Listing all the reasons the monster was scary, Laura pulled Clémen again.

“Come back before the monster eats you, Stove!”

“Ah.”

Clémen finally realized.

The “castle monster” was just an excuse.

Laura simply wanted Clémen to come back.

She had assumed Clémen couldn’t return because the monster had caught her.

Somehow, it made Clémen’s nose tingle.

“Hmm… what to do? I can’t go.”

“What? Why?”

“Stove is needed for the pretty secret hiding there too.”

Laura’s lips tightened. She remained silent, tears glimmering, and then asked,

“How pretty is it?”

Clémen smiled and covered Laura’s ears again.

“Master—!”

Look at it!

Look at ittt…

The voices echoed like a reverberation.

“It hurts.”

Loo covered her ears, frowning. Clémen, having neglected Loo, awkwardly patted her head and said,

“Now, you’ll see how pretty it is.”

“Monsters are monsters.”

Laura grumbled, but there was a subtle gleam of anticipation in her eyes. Loo was the same.

Clémen also anticipated their reactions.

Even if the monster was a monster, knowing a little about it made it less frightening.

Zephyrus even looked like sparkling snowflakes.

An adult and two children waited anxiously.

Finally, the curtain was drawn.

“Ah, no!”

What appeared wasn’t Zephyrus’s fairy-like mystical face.

As Laura and Loo had said, a monstrous snowman with a huge face emerged against the pitch-black background.

This isn’t good!

Clémen immediately knelt to check on Laura and Loo.

Looking them in the eye, she called out desperately.

“Kids…”

“…Liar!”

It was over. Laura’s voice carried deep disappointment.

“Did you lie so much that you made me hate you?”

“No, Laura—”

“Laura! Loo!”

There was no time for excuses.

Ruby and Ameti, the children’s parents, came running breathlessly, looking for them.

“Mom!”

Laura glared at Clémen in frustration and ran to Ruby, stretching her arms but unable to reach her.

“Bad.”

“Loo.”

“Hit!”

Loo also firmly tapped Clémen’s thigh before returning to the family.

While the family shared scolding, worry, and relief, Clémen looked toward the third floor.

Zephyrus, hiding behind the curtain, saw her and drew the curtains over the window again.

Sighing, Clémen looked down to see Ruby walking toward her.

“Clémen! Sorry, and thank you for watching the children.”

“No, it seemed they came looking for me anyway.”

“The children missed you a lot. They played together every night, and it felt empty without you.”

Clémen had assumed that if she wasn’t there, the children would just accept it.

But now, it felt like she had lied to them.

“Mom, let’s go.”

“Huh? Okay?”

Ruby gave her a puzzled look and waved goodbye.

“See you tomorrow, kids. Say goodbye.”

“Hmph.”

“It’s okay. Ruby, go rest.”

As Clémen sighed again, Ameti hesitated nearby and gave a late greeting.

“Ah, yes. But aren’t you leaving?”

“I will! But didn’t the kids bring anything with them?”

Clémen and Ameti had only exchanged formal greetings before, so it was awkward. Ameti’s fear of her made it worse.

But asking a question despite that fear meant it was important.

Clémen immediately understood.

“The kids were carrying something like shields.”

“That’s right!”

“To make themselves invisible?”

“Yes. They became invisible.”

Laura’s hands had been free for some time.

Since they met.

Clémen pointed her finger upward and said,

“They should be on the third floor. Wait, and I’ll bring them down.”

“No! Please tell Ruby tomorrow instead!”

Bowing slightly, Ameti ran off. Loo turned, waved her hand, and ran after him.

Clémen laughed briefly.

“Ugh… how should I calm Laura down?”

She couldn’t just leave it like that.

Tomorrow, when Ruby arrived, she would have to ask for help.

Clémen made up her mind, eyes wide open.

What had to be done was already clear.

“Master! Why did you wear that stupid hat again?”