Chapter 23
“If you say so, then I guess that’s how it is.”
“Oh my. It’s really true, you know.”
“Well then, shall we get going?”
Caleo handed the sleeping Nibelia over to Seletina.
“Ung…”
Nibelia, who was half-awake, blinked her heavy eyelids with some effort and looked around.
“Awake?”
Seletina kissed Nibelia’s head and whispered softly.
“Mom…”
“Hm?”
“Where… is this place?”
“It’s the temple.”
Soles tickled Nibelia’s short, chubby calves with his fingers and answered.
“Ughh!”
Nibelia frowned sharply and swung her leg hard.
Seletina lightly tapped Soles’s head.
“You little rascal, teasing your little sister.”
“Sorry. She was just so cute while sleeping.”
“If she’s cute, you should just adore her. If you keep teasing her, she’ll hate you later.”
Aref quietly nodded at Seletina’s words.
That’s right. You shouldn’t tease her.
I had a hard time when I was bullied at the orphanage.
Aref vowed that if Soles ever teased Nibelia again—or if anyone else did—he would protect her.
It’s the subordinate’s duty to protect the leader.
Fortunately, Soles didn’t bother Nibelia any further.
He wasn’t the type to tease anyway, so he and Aref explored around the temple together.
“Aref, look over there. That’s the Holy Water statue.”
“Holy water?”
Aref looked toward where Soles pointed.
There stood a bronze statue of a large wolf and a small cat together.
“That’s the cat and wolf your grandparents fought alongside in the war 40 years ago.”
“Th-That’s… my and Nini’s names…”
“That’s right. Your name comes from that wolf, and Nini’s from that cat.”
“Wow…”
Aref couldn’t take his eyes off the statue.
“Kids.”
Just then, Caleo waved as he approached.
He patted both Soles and Aref on the head.
“Let’s get on the carriage and head to the flower farm now. We just greeted your grandparents.”
“Aren’t they coming with us?”
Soles asked.
Caleo pointed to the still long line.
“It’ll take all day. We’re going to the nearby farm, but your grandparents will go straight home to rest.”
At that moment, Muniel, who had just blessed a child, looked this way.
With a kind smile, she waved at the family.
Her softly moving lips said, Have a good trip.
“A couple runs it, and the farm started when they planted flowers for their sick daughter.”
On the way to the flower farm, Seletina explained the story behind the farm to the children.
Now fully awake, Nibelia quietly munched on a pre-packed sandwich as she listened.
“Their daughter was sick? Being sick is tough…”
Nibelia’s eyebrows drooped.
“But she’s not as sick as she used to be.”
“So is she still sick now?”
Soles asked, worried.
“It doesn’t seem to be a disease that heals easily. So they plant medicinal flowers and herbs and experiment with various things.”
“They’re planning to establish a pharmaceutical research institute with this investment.”
Caleo added the explanation.
“The technology to preserve cut flowers for a long time is very important. It means they can keep medicinal ingredients fresh too.”
The kids nodded in agreement.
The carriage soon arrived at the destination.
A small building on a quiet field outside the capital looked like a kind wizard’s house from a fairy tale.
An old yet charming orange roof.
Walls made of stones in slightly varying colors.
A small sign hung on a faded wooden fence.
“Wow!”
Nibelia, admiring the quaint cabin, spotted Aref crouched by the fence.
She quickly ran over and squatted beside him.
“Why? Does your tummy hurt?”
Aref pointed to a small spring flower growing beside a wooden fence post.
“I was looking at the flowers.”
“Wow, so tiny!”
“This one will hurt your tummy if you eat it. Don’t eat it.”
“Ohhh…”
“And those too. And that one.”
Aref pointed out unknown flowers blooming by the road.
They were all flowers that would make you sick if eaten, but Nibelia listened carefully.
“How do you know all this, Aref?”
“Well… I tried eating them…”
“Why?”
“I was hungry…”
When he was very hungry, he sometimes ate grass or leaves.
Only very rarely, because it usually gave him stomach aches.
Then he’d throw up or visit the bathroom often.
Eventually, that made him hungrier.
“…”
Nibelia grabbed Aref’s hand tightly.
“Are you hungry now?”
Her voice was quiet and gentle.
Aref smiled softly in reply.
“…I’m full now.”
He now ate enough tasty food to be full, and when bored with meals, he enjoyed sweet snacks.
Aref still didn’t know why he suddenly felt so happy or remember what favor he had done for the Deiamor family.
“Hm?”
Nibelia tilted her head as Aref stared at her intently.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’ll definitely protect you.”
“Yeah. Nini knows. I believe you!”
“Yes. I will definitely protect you.”
Aref vowed once again.
“I heard that kids like you get sold to nobles and treated like dogs!”
Like at the orphanage, Aref thought he was brought as Nibelia’s dog.
But that was wrong.
No one treated Aref like a dog.
And Aref didn’t want to be a dog.
A cool knight.
Like in fairy tales.
A cool knight who swings a sword and defeats enemies, tall and handsome.
That way, he could protect Nibelia well.
“Nini! Aref!”
Just then, Soles called them over.
The two kids held hands and headed toward the adults.
Caleo and Seletina placed the children next to them.
“You came just in time. Our daughter is very interested in this place.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Deiamor.”
“Welcome to our flower farm.”
The kindly couple greeted them warmly.
“Hello.”
Nibelia responded to the greeting.
Despite being shy, she didn’t run away.
The family was sincerely impressed.
“I want to invest here.”
Nibelia didn’t forget to state her intention.
“Nini will invest a lot! Okay?”
“Thank you very much.”
“Shall we take a look around the farm?”
The couple led the way.
They introduced themselves as the Plaud family.
Then they showed the small farm behind the building where many flowers were planted.
One side bloomed with spring flowers, the other with early summer blooms.
The modest colors and bright colors contrasted beautifully.
The couple explained why they started flower farming.
“At first, we planted flowers as a gift for our sick daughter, then sold them to pay for medical and medicine expenses.”
“We built our home away from the city for our daughter’s health. The soil is good, so flowers grow well.”
“Our daughter’s mobility is limited. All we can do for her is this…”
Mrs. Plaud hesitated, and her husband gently comforted her shoulder.
“…We understand the love of a parent.”
Seletina smiled kindly in understanding.
The Plauds planted many flowers for their sick daughter and started experiments hoping the flowers would last fresher longer.
“Cut flowers last at most ten days, even with great care. Ten days is already impressive.”
“But with the technology we developed this time, they can last up to a month.”
“That’s amazing.”
Caleo admired sincerely.
Even flowers planted in soil rarely live past a month.
It took gardeners’ efforts and expensive fertilizer just to keep them for a month.
If that technology could be applied further…
It could maximize fertilizer efficiency.
Then it wouldn’t just benefit the flower or gardening industry, but also medicine and even agricultural production…
Caleo glanced at Seletina.
She noticed his gaze and glanced sideways.
Caleo lightly kissed her cheek, trying to hide his rising emotions.
“Thanks to my wife, we have such a great opportunity.”
Caleo said.
“Deiamor will review it positively as well.”
“Thank you very much.”
While the adults talked, the children explored the farm flowers.
Nibelia stopped before a fully bloomed purple flower.
“Brother, what’s this?”
“This is an anemone.”
Soles explained.
“Anemones have different meanings depending on their color.”
“What’s a flower meaning?”
“The meaning each flower holds. Um, this purple anemone means betrayal, and love you have to give up on.”
“Why?”
“This flower was originally a fairy. When the wind fairy king confessed he liked her, she refused. But the king kept confessing, so she got scared and turned into a flower.”
“Oh no…”
Nibelia felt sorry.
Aref frowned, sympathizing with the fairy who became a flower.
“If Nini was a fairy, I’d cut off the fairy king’s head and put it in that sharp spiky box aunt gave me!”
“Oh…”
Learning about flower meanings, Nibelia asked Soles about others.
Soles answered all he knew, but then frowned with a strange expression.
“Brother?”
Nibelia also tilted her head, following his lead.
“What’s wrong?”
Aref asked.
“It’s a little weird.”
Soles looked around the flowers planted on the farm.
