Episode 83
"You two are truly siblings who get along so well."
With words that said watching them made one smile naturally, she placed the milk cup in Benio's hand.
"Ah, I'm fine though."
"The Young Lady doesn't like to drink alone, so please have it with her. It's warm, so it will be nuttier and more delicious."
"Haven't I graduated from milk at my age?"
"How can you graduate from milk when you're not even an adult yet? If you want to grow taller than the Duke, you need to take better care of yourself."
Elena left the space for the siblings to have a cozy ti together, and eventually, Benio awkwardly held the mug filled with milk.
"Cheers, let's do cheers."
When Flora extended her mug and spoke, Benio, who had been staring blankly at the white milk, snapped out of it and clinked his mug against hers.
Then, watching Flora drink, he also carefully drank his milk.
"Tasty?"
"……Yeah. It is tasty."
Whether it was the milk foam sared all around her mouth, Flora's face looked more mischievous than usual.
"You don't drink milk often? How long has it been?"
"I haven't even touched it since Mother passed away, so about five years, I suppose."
The lonely voice that escaped him contained a word common to ordinary families but rare for a Lucifer.
"Mom?"
"Yeah, Mother. She used to warm up milk like this and bring it to every night."
A reminiscent mory colored Benio's face. The faint smile on his usually stern expression was unfamiliar but nice to see.
'Right, he's still a child, at an age where he'd miss his mom.'
Even though he acts like a grown adult, Benio still suited his age-appropriate deanor.
'I wonder what Duchess Lucifer was like.'
Questions rose to the tip of her tongue, but Flora suppressed them, gulping down her milk.
A strange feeling, wanting to know yet not wanting to know, dominated her heart.
A quiet milk ti continued for a while, and ultimately, Flora never asked about Duchess Lucifer, even until her belly was full and round.
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"Young Lady, Young Lady! Our little treasure!"
The news related to the contest ca through Isaac, who visited late in the evening.
The mont he entered the room, he rushed over in one go, picked Flora up, and spun around in place, beaming brightly.
"Aide, have you gone mad?"
If the startled Elena hadn't stopped him, Flora might have vomited from the enthusiastic spinning.
'Ugh.'
"Look, the Young Lady's face has turned pale as a sheet!"
"She's a Lucifer, so she'll be fine."
"Before being a Lucifer, she's a five-year-old Young Lady!"
Elena held Flora preciously in her arms as if handling a glass bead.
"She just woke up! What if her condition worsens? Will you take responsibility? I wish you wouldn't commit such rudeness toward the Young Lady again!"
"I was so overjoyed that my reaction was excessive. Young Lady, if you are alright, would you accept my apology?"
At his polite, bowing apology, Elena seed to want to say more but gave up and closed her mouth.
"You should be a bit more careful. I'm…… weak, so you have to handle gently. I'm not like Dad or Oppa."
It was a statent her pride made her reluctant to utter, but she had no choice if she wanted to reassure Elena.
'After all, she's doing this because she's worried about .'
"I will rember, and rember again."
Flora smiled sweetly at Elena with a face that said she was fine now. At her defiantly bright smile, Elena could only smile back helplessly.
"Elena, Isaac will put to sleep tonight, so go and rest."
"Huh? But I should stay by your side."
"Elena, you haven't rested properly because of all this ti. I'm fine now, so don't worry and go rest properly. Okay? Should I ask Zamira and Daphne?"
At the rather sharp threat, Elena covered her mouth and laughed lightly.
"Yes, alright. I'll rest well today and see you tomorrow. Sweet dreams, my lovely Young Lady Flora."
As always, she left a goodnight kiss on her forehead, swallowed her reluctance, and left the room.
"That's an amount of affection that makes it hard to believe she once disliked the Young Lady. Honestly, I was worried about leaving her by your side, but it seems it was an unnecessary concern."
"Right. Don't you trust my judgnt?"
"Oh my, of course not. Who would I trust in this Lucifer Castle if not the Young Lady?"
Unlike his usual exhaustion-soaked appearance, seeing him so full of vitality ant the contest must have ended quite satisfactorily.
"Alright, now say what you have to say."
"Where should I start explaining from? Ah, shall I start with the most interesting part?"
"Say it however you want."
"Ahem, ahem, then I shall begin. It's about the events of a week ago, when you sent to the Ice Castle."
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After Flora suddenly collapsed from a terrible cold, Lucifer Castle beca chaotic again.
Saying it wasn't even this bad when she was kidnapped by the demon and returned, the servants, who had long been conquered by Flora's loveliness, wished for their flower-like Young Lady to wake up quickly and return to running around healthily.
It wasn't just the servants who were worried.
Atanas and Benio, worried about Flora's health, couldn't bring themselves to leave the child's room.
They stayed by her side, watching her breathe roughly or cry, their faces looking as if they might shed tears any mont as if they themselves were in pain.
The one who worked hard in place of those two until the contest officially began was Isaac, who served the kind-hearted Atanas as his master.
Rembering the words Flora had spoken just before collapsing, he headed to the Ice Castle secretly, avoiding people's eyes.
And in the basent where the Shalias trees were gathered, he found Count Vittora, collapsed and unconscious.
"Count Vittora. Excuse , Count Vittora. Are you alright?"
"Huh? Uhh? Oh, oh, I'm fine. I just fell asleep, intoxicated by the ecstasy for a mont."
Insisting he was fine as he held his head and got up, his appearance was quite pitiful.
As if he had been rolling around on the floor here and there, his dirty, disheveled state prompted Isaac to lightly flick his hand.
Then his soiled clothes returned to their original state.
"Oh, nice and clean. Thank you."
"Not at all. More importantly, the Young Lady Flora sent , so I'd appreciate an explanation."
"Ah, well, it's a bit long if I explain...... Where should I start from?"
Seeing his worried face, wondering if it was okay to reveal everything, Isaac brought up the information he knew to keep the conversation flowing.
"I was the one who recomnded you to the Young Lady, so you can speak freely about anything."
"Oh? Is that so? Well, I did think it was strange that a five-year-old knew such detailed things about a re Count like . So you were the adult helper."
Nodding as if his curiosity was solved, he then began to recount the incredible events he had experienced.
Losing consciousness after the al with Marquis Strode, the fact that he had been eyeing his business plan covetously, being chased by suspicious assassins.
The long story only ended after he relayed the successful test results of the protective item made from the Shalias fruit, combining Flora's assets and ideas with his own technology.
"Hmm, I see. Succeeding in the research and surviving the monsters is truly good news. Winning the contest is practically a given. But how did you think to take refuge in the Ice Castle? And how did the Young Lady know about it and tell ?"
At Isaac's sharp questions, Count Vittora, who had just finished his story excitedly, moved his lips.
〈Rember. If you talk about Janet, I won't let it slide.〉
〈Don't ntion eting either. Everyone thinks I'm sleeping in my room right now.〉
〈Then how do I explain how I got here? I brought you to the refuge, so you need to think of a reason, okay?〉
The admonishnt, saying that to lead a business one must also be eloquent and to handle it well on his own, was so fitting he couldn't retort.
〈This is the final test. If you pass it safely and get through the contest, I'll make you my subordinate.〉
Though it would sound like nonsense to anyone listening, it was a statent quite appealing to the Count. Flora left without looking back, utterly heartless.
No, she pretended to be heartless.
Count Vittora recalled the ti not long after he entered the Ice Castle.
After arriving in the Ice Castle basent, while he was still engrossed in the Shalias, a hawk of unknown origin appeared before him.
The hawk, with its lead-grey, fierce eyes, held a bundle of paper tightly gripped in its sharp talons.
'This hawk......'
Its exact nature was unknown, but it was clearly Flora's companion, an intelligent, well-trained bird.
Thinking what the hawk brought might be helpful, Count Vittora hurriedly unfolded what appeared to be bundles of letters.
Then, at the unbelievable contents, his eyes widened greatly.
〈She told to solve it on my own. Hehe, she said that, but she wanted to help, didn't she.〉
Anyway, just like her cute appearance, her actions are adorable and ticulous.
〈It's such a sha she's still so young. If she were a bit older, she could control Lucifer and grow it even bigger.〉
No, perhaps it was because she was young that soone as insignificant as him was chosen as a subordinate.
〈I don't want to disappoint her. I must definitely deliver a satisfactory result to her, who believes in .〉
The excuse he crafted with Flora's help was excellent, so the clever Isaac would have no choice but to be fooled.
Finishing his recollection, Count Vittora opened his mouth with a tense expression.
"Actually, not long ago, soone stole my business plan."
"……Huh? Don't tell information related to the Shalias fruit was also leaked?"
He was soone judged to be quite prudent, whom he had subtly recomnded to Flora; he never thought he'd bring disappointnt with such a foolish act.
Isaac frowned and asked, given his rather relaxed deanor for soone whose information was leaked, and he waved his hands dismissively.
"No way. How could soone in business be that careless? Actually, that was an ordinary business plan I deliberately created as bait. I had a feeling soone might try sothing upon seeing my passionate efforts."
He had prepared it just in case, but he didn't hope for soone to steal it.
However, once he confird there were hyenas eyeing his business plan, he couldn't just stand by either.
"So I secretly observed the other vassals, and lo and behold, no one was as composed as Marquis Strode. The others were moving to get even the smallest crumb."
Letting out a sigh with a tired face, he stared seriously at Isaac.
"I also investigated the Marquis. And then I ca across unbelievable news. Naly......"
"Naly……?"
"That he is colluding with external forces!"
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