Chapter 81
At Elise’s voice, the gazes of Elbadin, Serdian, and Lucillea all turned toward her.
With eyes glistening, Elise looked up at Elbadin and continued speaking.
“I suddenly appeared out of nowhere… and it feels like my very presence is making everyone uncomfortable…”
She bit her lower lip slightly, lowering her gaze.
Her small shoulders trembled as if they might break at any moment.
“If I had known it would be like this… I shouldn’t have appeared at all.”
Clink— Serdian set his fork down with a loud clatter.
He openly revealed his displeasure, his brows furrowing.
Elbadin, too, wiped away the faint smile lingering on his lips and looked at Elise with an expressionless face.
In a blunt tone, he spoke.
“Don’t waste time on unnecessary apologies or self-reproach.”
“Your Grace…”
At first, it sounded as though he were comforting Elise.
She looked up at Elbadin, touched.
But his next words came immediately.
“If someone feels uncomfortable, then they should simply leave.”
“……”
The air above the table grew even colder.
Elbadin’s words weren’t meant to comfort.
He had bluntly expressed that Elise was the one making everyone uncomfortable, and if that was the case, then she should be the one to leave.
Gasp! Lucillea flinched in surprise and anxiously checked Elbadin’s expression.
“Are you trying to make her cry or what?!”
Lucillea hurriedly looked at Elise and blurted out,
“Not at all! Absolutely not, Miss Elise! You don’t make me uncomfortable in the slightest! Really!”
Pfft! Cookie’s mocking laugh rang out in her head.
[That’s actually true though!]
“Shut it!”
Finally, Elise relaxed her stiff expression and showed a faint smile.
“Really?”
“Yes, really!”
Lucillea forced an exaggerated laugh, trying hard not to seem awkward. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Serdian quietly shaking his head.
“What! What! Like I want to be doing this!”
I’m the one who feels like crying here! Me!
As Lucillea silently screamed in her head, Elise let out a long sigh of relief and smiled brightly, her eyes curving like crescent moons.
“That’s a relief. Honestly, I was so worried I might be in the way.”
Smiling like that, she finally looked like the eight-year-old child she was.
Could she not be a bad kid after all…? The thought flickered for a moment.
But Cookie cut in sharply.
[Lucy! Don’t be fooled! That could all be an act!]
……
An act? From an eight-year-old?
Unless she had memories of a past life like Lucillea, or had time-traveled back like in some other novel, was that even possible?
What was I like when I was eight…?
She couldn’t remember. Not even that, making it impossible to compare.
At that moment, Elise looked at Lucillea with a hopeful glance and asked,
“Then… could I see your private garden too? I’m very interested in herbs.”
Her calm, quiet eyes suddenly sparkled with curiosity.
Ooh?!
Lucillea’s eyes widened too.
What luck!
She had just been wondering how to get closer to Elise.
[It’s like a pumpkin rolled right into your lap!]
Lucillea quickly nodded.
“Yes! Ah— I mean, of course! I’d be happy to show you!”
“Th-thank you…”
Elise looked puzzled at Lucillea’s overly eager reaction, but that didn’t matter.
If this was a chance to get closer to her, even just a little!
Lucillea pressed on.
“Not just the private garden—I’ll give you a tour of the whole duke’s estate! Leave it to me!”
As the conversation flowed between Lucillea and Elise, the stiff atmosphere at the table seemed to loosen just a bit.
For some reason, though, Elbadin and Serdian still remained expressionless.
***
After the meal, Lucillea took Elise and Mei to her private garden.
For some reason, Serdian followed behind them as well.
“Why are you coming?”
Lucillea turned to ask, and Serdian replied flatly,
“I’ve never really had a proper look at it either.”
“Really?”
Lucillea gave him a side glance before walking on again.
That’s not true. He definitely used to come hang out whenever he was bored.
But she understood what he meant.
He’s acting indifferent, but Elise’s arrival must have caught his attention.
Whether out of curiosity—or caution.
Maybe, like me, he’s trying to figure out what kind of child she is.
[Exactly. The young lord is sharp like that.]
At Cookie’s whisper, Lucillea gave a slight nod.
Of course. That kind of wariness is exactly what you’d expect from a male lead.
She glanced at Serdian with a little tension.
But he won’t pick a fight for no reason, right?
It wouldn’t be good if Elise and Serdian suddenly became enemies.
If that happened, Elise might really end up playing the role of villainess, just like in the original story.
Soon, they passed a corridor beside the glass garden and arrived at a low stone wall with an arched gate.
On the wooden sign above the gate, the words “Authorized Personnel Only” were carved in red.
Click. Lucillea unlocked it with a gold key bigger than her palm and pushed it open.
A cool scent of grass and earth brushed past their noses.
“Wow.”
Elise stepped into Lucillea’s private garden and let out a short exclamation.
Lucillea rubbed her nose, a little bashful.
“It’s nothing compared to the duke’s glass garden.”
In truth, her private garden was about half its size.
If the glass garden was a grand and luxurious mansion, then the private garden was more like a scholar’s study—practical and efficient.
Inside, the garden was divided into two distinct sections, obviously different in style.
On the right side of the pebble path, herbs were planted in neat, dense rows, with name tags marking each area.
These were mostly ingredients for stamina-recovery potions used by knights.
But the left side of the path was what caught the eye.
It was like a miniature ecosystem transplanted whole.
There was an area of moss-covered rocks, a pile of hollow logs, a snowy patch mimicking a mountain, flowing streams and dry sandy soil.
Each section recreated different environments from across the continent.
And every area was equipped with humidity and temperature controllers and irrigation systems, powered by glowing magic stones.
Squawk! Chirp, squawk! Tweet tweet!
Suddenly, Cookie flew off Lucillea’s shoulder, chattering loudly.
[Ta-da! This is the glorious garden ruled—no, cultivated—by Cookie Choco the Cookie!]
Kyaa ha ha!
Like a proud landlord showing off their home, Cookie puffed up with pride.
[See this plant here? Do you know what it is? No? It’s Shadow Balm—the key ingredient in the potion that ensures His Grace’s sound sleep! And Cookie patrols it every day!]
Flapping and chirping excitedly, Cookie introduced the garden.
But Cookie… only I can hear you…
Still, Cookie chirped brightly.
[So what! I just want to brag about our garden!]
Lucillea let out a faint laugh.
Fine, do as you like.
This garden really did carry Cookie’s devotion.
His claim of being able to hear the plants’ voices wasn’t a lie—he visited constantly and reported their condition in detail.
Thanks to that, even rare herbs thrived here.
Elise, watching Cookie flap around and chatter at nothing, asked curiously,
“Why is the parrot acting like that?”
Lucillea just shrugged and smiled.
“He’s just bragging about the herbs.”
[Cookie can tell everything just from a leaf! What? You want water?! Huh?! Lacking fertilizer?! Sunshine! Wind! Pests! Just say the word—I’ll take care of it all!]
Kyaa ha ha ha!
Elise clapped her hands, laughing as Cookie fluttered about.
“What an adorable and lovely parrot!”
[That’s right! I’m the adorable, lovely, and brilliant Cookie!]
Seeing her laugh so innocently at Cookie’s show, Lucillea couldn’t help but smile too.
Maybe she really isn’t a bad kid after all—
Just then.
With sparkling eyes, Elise looked around the garden in awe and suddenly said with a bright smile,
“If they gave such a beautiful garden to someone who isn’t even their real child, I wonder what kind of grand, splendid gift they must have given to their actual child?”
…Huh?
