“Should I get it for you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Flowers. If it’s just one, I might be able to get it for you.”
“Really? You’d get me flowers?”
Rosa’s eyes widened, and soon they sparkled with great excitement. Seeing the girl clasping her hands and looking at him like a hero, Niall felt determined to get the flower.
“Yes, I’ll get you a flower.”
With Niall’s assurance, Rosa’s face brightened like a flower. A kind girl who worked instead of her sick mother, learning to make flowers during breaks to make her mother smile. Niall had a weakness for women, children, and kind people, and Rosa happened to embody all three.
Leaving the kitchen, Niall headed towards the chapel. Flowers always adorned the altar there. Listening to the story of the kind girl, Niall was sure the chapel keeper would give him a flower.
“No, you can’t.”
Niall’s expectations were disappointingly shattered. The chapel keeper turned away from Niall with a dismissive attitude, not even giving Niall a chance to explain Rosa’s situation. The reason was the same as what Rosa had said: all the flowers in this castle were meant for the Duke.
“It’s just one flower.”
As Niall’s reasoning failed to convince, he raised his voice slightly.
“It’s for a young girl who wants to give it to her sick mother. As a servant of the gods, wouldn’t you want to show mercy?”
“Is she an outsider?”
The chapel keeper looked at Niall with disdain.
“The Duke only accepts orphans from the battlefield, refugees, those with incurable diseases, and families of fallen warriors. Being in this castle implies everyone has such a past. She has a sick mother? Consider yourself lucky; there are many abandoned children here.”
“…”
“Bow to the merciful lord of the North. We will consider this as an ignorant act committed by an outsider and overlook it. Please leave now.”
The chapel keeper politely dismissed Niall, who finally understood the true meaning behind the words of the toastmaster praising his luck.
For a moment, Niall stood alone, then shook his head and left the chapel. He still needed to get the flower.
“Sir.” Spotting Duke’s majordomo across the hallway, Niall hurriedly approached.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Sir, I need to talk to you for a moment. Can we?”
“Rbk? Jjc’a la kjla?”
Gexf’r wjpbgvbwb yglrxis kjixfv qjra Rljii. Rljii delmxis obiibkfv.
“P’v jqqgfmljaf la lo sbe mbeiv afii wf jr delmxis jr qbrrlyif, rlg. P tjnf j nfgs lwqbgajca wjaafg ab jaafcv ab.”
“Pa’r cba jcsatlcu vloolmeia. Jjc P ufa pera bcf oibkfg?”
Ca Rljii’r kbgvr, atf wjpbgvbwb jygeqais rabqqfv lc tlr agjmxr. Coafg jrxlcu, “C oibkfg?” jcv alialcu tlr tfjv, tf ibkfgfv la jujlc.
“That’s impossible. Because all the flowers in this castle are…”
“For the Duke, right? Yes, I’ve heard that too. But sir, what I want is not a freshly picked, vibrant flower. I want one that has been used and discarded, just before being thrown away…”
“Mr. Giles.”
The majordomo raised his hand to stop Niall. Niall fell silent.
“I heard that the capital in the central region has hot springs flowing underground, keeping it warm and allowing flowers to bloom even in winter. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Then do you know how flowers bloom in Shiralund Castle, where there are no hot springs in winter?”
“No.”
The majordomo smiled faintly, then continued walking briskly. Niall followed behind.
“There is a greenhouse in this castle. It’s secretly built in a place where no one can enter. To heat the greenhouse, we need heat, and if we cut down as much wood as we need, we’d have to strip a whole hill every day. So, we burn black stones, or coal. A handful of coal costs as much as a load of firewood, and we use those stones to heat the greenhouse floor.”
“You heat the floor?”
“Exactly. In Shiralund, the flowers bloom above an artificially made hot spring, with burning black stones, or coal. It’s not just a few flowers, Giles. They are literally things that bloom by burning money.”
Niall was left speechless.
“The Duke burns money to make flowers bloom. Therefore, each flower in the North represents wealth. Asking for a flower is akin to demanding the Duke’s money.”
“…”
“This place doesn’t yield beautiful flowers like the Central Region even in spring. Only seeds strong enough to withstand the cold survive here. We offer gold and silver to the central government and, in return, receive grains. Have you ever thought, Giles, about the value of a flower that blooms where wheat, as precious as gold, grows?”
Niall now understood what he had demanded. Flowers symbolized the Duke’s authority. Useless but beautiful and grand, similar to the royal hall or crown.
“So, all the flowers in this castle belong to the Duke. However…”
The majordomo stopped abruptly and looked at Niall.
“It wouldn’t matter if you picked up a flower that fell on the ground.”
“A flower that fell on the ground?”
He smiled faintly, like a kindly old man Niall had never seen before.
“In the greenhouse, numerous flowers bloom. Among them, there are naturally fallen flowers. Picking those up wouldn’t be a sin.”
And the majordomo told Niall how to get to the greenhouse.
The greenhouse garden, made of glass, emanated a warm feeling as soon as Niall approached. The greenhouse was a kind of pit entirely buried with a heating system. They were digging the ground to create a pit, and there, they were using burning black stones or coal. Niall looked around in admiration. He was right; the Duke was indeed burning money to make flowers bloom.
Niall cautiously entered the greenhouse. No one was watching. Or perhaps, no one dared to enter here recklessly, Niall was sure.
The greenhouse was winding and spacious enough for a stroll. Because of that, the distance inside seemed immeasurable. Still, Niall, fearing he might get caught, crouched and occasionally walked inside to find fallen flowers.
Passing a path where lilies bloomed in pure white, tall magnolia trees adorned with pearl-like petals stood. Ivy vines densely covered the pedestals. Under an artificially created waterfall, clusters of hydrangeas were densely packed, and beneath the spray, a small rainbow formed and disappeared repeatedly.
How beautiful it is for a flower bud to bloom with the breath of burnt gold. Niall had never seen such a beautiful flower garden. All these flowers had bloomed for one person, the Duke.
In the space filled with the fragrance of flowers, butterflies fluttered like the Madame’s handkerchief. Even the buzzing of bees was lovely. Niall forgot the purpose of his visit and got lost in the sight, then slapped his cheek abruptly.
“No, this won’t do. If I don’t snap out of it…”
Duke’s majordomo mentioned that there shouldn’t be anyone in the greenhouse at this time, but you never know. He crouched again, tirelessly searching for fallen flowers until his bent waist hurt, and his throat tightened.
Suddenly, he met the gaze of black leather shoes. The exquisitely polished shoes couldn’t belong to a gardener.
“…”
“…”
After a moment of silence, Niall raised his head. Sure enough, the Duke was standing there. Like their first encounter, Niall was on the ground, and the Duke was standing in front, looking down at him.
“What are you doing?”
The Duke glared at Niall with an unpleasant look. It was a cold and somewhat disdainful gaze. In a hurry, Niall knelt down. Although he hadn’t come to steal flowers, his appearance was quite suspicious.
“Did you come to pick flowers?”
As Niall only mumbled his lips, the Duke spoke.
“I didn’t come to pick them. If there happened to be naturally fallen ones, I was planning to pick one… That’s why…”
For the first time in a while, Niall experienced being at a loss for words. He had had numerous jobs in his life, but thievery was not one of them. Naturally, he had never been caught red-handed during thievery.
“Your Grace.”
Niall swallowed dry saliva and lowered his head. He didn’t know how it was in the North, but stealing in the Central Region was a serious crime.
“I haven’t stolen anything yet. Please forgive me.”
“…”
“Your Grace, I…”
He was about to offer more explanations when, swish, a red rose appeared in front of Niall. He raised his head.
“Take it.”
“…”
“I’m giving you the privilege to pick as many flowers as you want. So, don’t grovel like a dog on the ground again.”
It seemed like the Duke didn’t like the sight of an Omega he would eventually bond with doing something disgraceful. Holding the flower the Duke offered, Niall carefully cradled it in his arms and asked.
“I heard that flowers are highly esteemed in the North. Can I really pick as many as I want?”
“Take as much as you desire.”
“Can I give them to anyone I like?”
“Sure.”
Niall fondled the rose in his arms. He could express his gratitude and leave now. The Duke would probably appreciate that. However…
“To whom should you give this flower?”
Vinagre? 🥗🥗