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Chapter 30
As soon as she left the forest, the noisy calls disrupted her train of thought.
From a distance, children and young wolves were rushing toward her, running in a flurry.
“Lady Vice-Duke!”
But… when exactly had I gotten close with these kids?
She could say with certainty that she had no intention of becoming this friendly with them.
Her relationships with humans were always utilitarian—friendship existed only if it served a purpose.
There was no reason to befriend humans who were of no help.
Of course. She hadn’t come here for leisure.
Since she had set out to win over human hearts, young humans had never been her target.
“Lady Vice-Duke, where have you been?”
“I’ve told you several times not to come to the gardens alone. Come with one of your parents.”
“But we came to greet you!”
“Greet me?”
“Wow! Flowers!”
“You went to pick flowers… why didn’t you take me with you! Take me next time!”
“Are you going to pick flowers tomorrow too?”
“You’re not coming with me.”
But children generally had a habit of not listening to others.
“Hey, you know that place in the center of the forest… um… where there’s lots of summer lavender? There are so many flowers there, right?”
“Yeah! I saw a lot of flowers there!”
“Ro, Rondo de, deyo—!”
At first, they looked to Kyle and Jonathan for cues, but now they were so used to it they didn’t even bother.
Then, suddenly, the children who had been noisily following and chattering disappeared around her as if by some unspoken agreement.
Bella, who had been walking a few steps ahead, turned back in surprise and saw the children standing still.
“Not coming?”
No matter how much she asked, they just kept their mouths shut.
Kero tried to tug at John May’s pants as if to pull him along, but he didn’t move.
“…?”
Ignoring the children, she stepped toward the courtyard and saw a group of people gathered there.
In a castle this large, such groups were not unusual.
Because of the dazzling, overwhelming display of light, Bella couldn’t immediately recognize who was staring at her.
But her heart, sinking below her collarbone, recognized him first.
“…Huh?”
Theodore Calyps.
His face sharper than the last time she had seen him.
His gaze, redder than the sunset, hadn’t changed.
[Theodore…?]
Opaniel, who came and went as he pleased, recognized Theodore and acknowledged him.
[Bella, you have to greet him! Ask how his trip went! Oh! Don’t speak casually! Say, ‘Welcome back!’ Got it?]
“….”
[Hurry! Theodore’s approaching!]
Of course, she noticed. Who wouldn’t?
The problem was her own body.
As he approached, stepping on the gravel path, her heart pounded harder and harder.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Damn this wretched body.
Theodore stopped in front of her.
At that moment, one more reason for her body’s discomfort appeared.
He was so much taller than her.
If she looked straight ahead, she could only see his chest; to meet his eyes…
Damn it, she had to tilt her head all the way back.
If she were Hector Rodick, she could at least meet his gaze without such trouble!
“How have you been?”
“….”
Bella thought:
Ah, I’d rather you glare at me like before.
“Fortunately, you seem well.”
Your kind and gentle voice is dangerously affecting me.
Fortunately, Theodore didn’t linger.
After a polite inquiry about her well-being, he passed by Bella Dis.
The knights following him gave Bella shallow nods in respect.
Among them was Hector Rodick.
Bella’s lips curved upward.
Since there was no report of his death, she assumed he was alive. Seeing him alive in person felt good.
Hector, walking stiffly behind his master, shivered at the sight of the Lady Vice-Duke’s smile.
Afraid she might call him like before, he hastened his steps.
“Lady Vice-Duke, please give us the flowers. We’ll carry them.”
As the knights reached the spire entrance, a normal voice sounded behind them.
“Eek!”
A sudden scream pierced the air, causing the passing knights to quickly turn around.
It was a maid who had screamed.
The maid, having received the flowers from the Lady Vice-Duke, stood frozen, stretching her hands forward as if the bouquet were a terrifying monster approaching her.
“L-Lady Head Maid! There’s a spider here!”
“A spider? Where? Catch it!”
Upon hearing that, the knights and Theodore stopped paying attention to the maid.
Spiders were common in the fields; a few on wild flowers were nothing to worry about.
“Leave it.”
That was the case… until a clear voice interrupted.
“She brought them on purpose.”
“…Excuse me?”
While the maid stared blankly, another maid screamed again.
“Another bigger spider! Head Maid!”
Countess Filmore, the head maid, asked calmly,
“If you brought them intentionally, how many are there?”
“Four… no, five.”
“I-I can’t hold them!”
“Even if you ask why they brought spiders, just try holding them!”
But when Countess Filmore saw the flowers up close, she shuddered and became angry.
“Eek! I-It’s moving!”
“They’re alive, so of course they move.”
A commotion ensued.
Within five minutes of meeting Bella Dis, the ‘strangeness’ Edwin had mentioned became evident.
“These little ones keep the bugs that eat petals away.”
“Bugs… you mean?”
Nodding as if it were obvious, Bella Dis grabbed the flowers with a look of disdain.
“I-I’ll hold them properly, Lady Vice-Duke.”
“Enough! If you don’t want to faint, breathe properly.”
Only then did Theodore look at the flowers Bella Dis held.
“….”
But could one even call this a bouquet?
The flowers were there, yes, but the thick roots at the end of the sturdy stems stood out more than the blooms.
Usually, one picks flowers.
But these were uprooted, weren’t they?
“These flowers are for His Excellency, yes?”
At the mention of “His Excellency,” Theodore’s gaze shifted from the roots to Bella Dis’s face.
“But Madam, His Excellency’s office has no bugs. So these spiders are unnecessary. If the maids shudder every time they water them, it might actually disturb His Excellency.”
Bella Dis, who seemed to be considering it, quickly agreed.
“Indeed, that makes sense.”
Not only did she agree quickly, but she acted quickly too.
“Lady Vice-Duke!”
Despite a maid screaming from her spider trauma, Bella Dis reached into the flowers and took out a spider herself.
“Even yellow spiders exist.”
Hector muttered as if only just realizing this.
Bella Dis tossed the spider she had chosen from the flowers to the ground and shooed Kero away from watching it descend down the string.
“Don’t eat it, Kero. Don’t hunt it.”
Then she stopped with the last spider and called Jonathan.
“This one has babies on her back, so place her in that tree. Otherwise, Kero will kill them all.”
“Yes, Lady Vice-Duke.”
Theodore observed as an elite, hand-raised spider was carefully taken to the beech tree.
“….”
Then another information agent, standing to Bella Dis’s right, offered a basket forward.
The basket, hidden behind his large frame, had a pink towel covering it.
Theodore watched as another hand-raised agent lifted the towel and handed Bella Dis a water bottle.
“Lady Vice-Duke, it’s time to drink water.”
“….”
Bella Dis naturally accepted and drank the water.
Kyle, the agent, even had a handkerchief ready to wipe her wet lips.
Theodore let out a deep sigh at the absurdity.
Edwin, unable to fully explain this, tried to offer a half-hearted clarification.
