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Chapter 5
“Pruning this much should be enough.”
Laughing lightly, Liris tossed aside the expensive scissors and quickly climbed down the ladder.
Right on time, Xenia returned carrying buckets full of water.
One in each hand, and one balanced on her head.
“Doctor, I’ve brought water.”
“Good.”
“B-but this isn’t holy water…! No, before that—how are you even balancing one on your head?!”
The trio of managers had already given up thinking, their faces blank.
Clicking her tongue, Liris reached to take the buckets from Xenia, but Edriyon stepped in.
Before Liris could say anything, he took the buckets instead and walked toward the exposed roots.
“Should I pour it here?”
“No, it’s better to water the soil around the roots rather than directly on them. Since the tree is this large, the roots must be deep and spread out widely.”
Edriyon spread the water across the area Liris pointed to.
All three buckets were emptied in an instant.
At this point, the trio had begun crying. This level of sacrilege seemed more than enough.
“That should do it. I’d like to rest a bit.”
[More.]
“I’m tired from moving around all day.”
[I said, give me more.]
“Now I’m even hearing things, haha.”
[Look here, miss. Over here.]
She had intended a bit of sacrilege, but it seemed she had done it far too well.
A sacred voice was pounding directly into her head—not through her ears.
She had expected to be exiled from the capital at worst, not to gain mysterious hallucinations or lose her sanity.
[…So this is how you’re going to act.]
The World Tree trembled slightly, which did not feel good at all.
Liris casually glanced down—and the root she was standing on began to turn black.
Whatever this was, it was bad. No, really bad.
At this rate, she might be torn apart before the original story even begins!
“Ah… haha.”
With an awkward laugh, Liris hurriedly dragged nearby soil over the exposed root, covering it.
An emergency concealment operation.
[…]
Of course, it didn’t work.
As nearby roots also began turning black, Liris immediately sprang to her feet.
“Water—get more water!”
“…?”
“Stop hesitating and grab buckets! Run to the lake! Move!”
At Liris’s urgent shout, Edriyon and the knights all rushed toward the lake at once.
Xenia also left, carrying three buckets again.
Now only Liris, the thug-like tree, and the trio of managers remained.
Seizing the chance, the managers spoke up.
“Since Duke Akshad is not present, we must speak.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“This is sacrilege. What you just did is clearly sacrilege!”
“Calling these beautiful golden leaves ‘yellowing,’ pruning the World Tree, and even pouring dirty water instead of holy water!”
“This is a serious matter that must be reported to His Majesty at once. We cannot overlook this any longer—! Ahem.”
They abruptly shut their mouths.
The knights had returned, charging like raging bulls.
With loud chants, they poured water again and again.
Before anyone noticed, Xenia stood behind Liris with her arms crossed.
“Why are your hands empty?”
“The Duke instructed me to stay by your side.”
“No, whose maid are you exactly…? Fine, we’ll talk about that later.”
The dry soil became completely moist.
Only then did Liris call for them to stop and patted the shoulder of the nearest knight.
“Good work, everyone.”
“N-not at all!”
[Ha… now I can finally breathe.]
Liris blinked blankly.
The golden leaves seemed to have taken on a faint bluish tint—but surely that was just her imagination.
Yes, it had to be.
“Liris, let us head back now. The sun will soon set.”
“It’s already that late…?”
The sky was already dyed red with sunset.
Liris glanced back at the World Tree just in case.
As if the earlier voice and vision had been a dream, the tree looked simply sacred and beautiful.
A normal tree—one without a mouth.
‘Well, whatever.’
By tomorrow, she would be exiled for sacrilege and never return anyway.
Smiling inwardly, Liris followed Edriyon down the hill.
Unaware that—
[Peep…]
Among her hair, the small leaf she had plucked earlier blinked tiny bean-like eyes.
“Ugh, I’m dying.”
Liris lay limp in the steaming bath like a soaked newspaper.
Someone who had spent her life at a desk suddenly doing this much physical activity—it felt like her lifespan had been cut in half.
As she groaned, Xenia, who was assisting her bath, asked:
“Did you enjoy your outing?”
“Outing my foot.”
“I’ve served you for six years, but this is the first time I’ve seen you so active.”
So struggling for survival looked “active” to her.
I see…
“Even when you go out, it’s usually just the academy. I think getting some fresh air once in a while is good for you.”
“Xenia, you… could it be…”
Liris lifted her gaze at a sudden thought.
‘Did she push me to go out on purpose? To help me get some fresh air?’
Recently, there had been many troubling developments in the capital.
The tyrant Razer had been dethroned only a few months ago, and at the start of the year, a new emperor ascended the throne, restoring the Akshad family.
That meant the day of Liris’s death in the original story was getting closer.
Since Xenia had always been by her side, she might have noticed even the smallest changes.
So—
‘Come with me.’
‘I manage your household. If I leave—’
‘I’ll double your salary.’
‘Welcome, dear customer.’
…Yeah.
No way.
“I want to bathe alone.”
“If you fall asleep in the water, I’ll lose my job.”
“Thanks for worrying. Now leave.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
After Xenia left, silence filled the room.
Only then did Liris recall something she had completely forgotten amid the chaos.
‘As your fiancé, I have been too neglectful.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘It was my fault. Entirely my negligence.’
Edriyon had referred to himself as her “fiancé.”
But their engagement had been broken off six years ago.
The former Duke Akshad had formally requested the annulment, and she accepted it in exchange for substantial compensation.
It was a mutual, legal separation.
‘So why now?’
Edriyon had not been present when she signed the annulment papers.
But there was no way he didn’t know.
There was no reason for the Duke to hide it from his son.
The more reasonable explanation was that he simply didn’t bother to attend.
After all, she was a fiancée he barely even met after the engagement ceremony.
‘Something’s off. I need to talk to him.’
After stepping out of the bath, Liris roughly dried herself and put on a light robe.
She didn’t know where Edriyon’s quarters were, but she could ask any passing knight to deliver a message.
Just as she stepped out of her bedroom—
“Liris?”
“…Duke Akshad.”
A voice echoed unexpectedly.
Leaning against the wall across from her room, Edriyon looked at her curiously.
He straightened up and approached her.
“You must be tired from the day. If you need anything, please tell me.”
“No, it’s not that…”
Liris tilted her head slightly.
‘What did I just hear?’
Was he offering to personally attend to her needs? When he could simply call a servant?
It felt excessive for mere kindness.
But what confused her the most was—
“Why are you in front of my room?”
“Because my room is here.”
“…What?”
“Here.”
Edriyon pointed behind him.
On the wall he had been leaning against—there was a door identical to the one of Liris’s room.
