The Baby Sprout Who Bloomed in the Villain Duke’s Family - Chapter 100
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Episode 100
If they find out I’m an Authority Bearer, will I die?
Clover still found the world of nobility bewildering.
Rightly so. Even when things appeared simple, countless interests tangled beneath the surface.
In Rosipheron, most Authority Bearers were nobles. Some commoners possessed Abilities, but the vast majority were illegitimate children of the aristocracy.
So Jena was likely someone’s illegitimate daughter as well. That was why she had to be careful not to be discovered.
Clover didn’t know all these facts, but she listened intently anyway. It was all she could do.
Jena’s Summoned Creature fidgeted once more in Clover’s palm.
Then it happened.
The Summoned Creature nestled in Clover’s hand began to grow damp.
“Whimper.”
Clover gently kneaded the damp Summoned Creature. The child was quiet in thought.
It was crying.
Worried about its master, the Authority Bearer—so desperate it came to find Clover and ask for help.
That’s why it was crying. Clover lifted the Summoned Creature to face height and pressed her ear softly against its body.
[Clover, what are you doing?]
“Soothing… trying to soothe it……”
The child whispered hesitantly. Clover spoke with her soft cheek pressed against the creature’s body.
“Where is Jena?”
“Clover will help, it’s not hard.”
Clover’s Authority had grown incomparably since before.
So a problem like this was something she could solve.
Besides.
‘She said a bad adult is tormenting Jena.’
She couldn’t simply stand by and watch a child being mistreated by an adult.
Whenever Clover thought that people like her aunt still existed in this world, sorrow crept over her. Such people shouldn’t exist.
Adults who bullied children and made their lives miserable deserved punishment.
So she couldn’t refuse to help. A girl named Jena whom she’d never even seen.
“Clover… where are you going?”
Sone hadn’t heard the conversation between Clover and the Summoned Creature, but from Clover’s response, she could roughly guess what the child was plotting.
As Sone looked at Clover, the child gripped the Summoned Creature in both hands and looked up at Sone.
“To help Jena.”
“……”
“Will you come too? With Clover?”
Clover held out her small hand.
Sone stared at Clover as if deliberating, then sighed and took that small hand.
She couldn’t refuse a request from her beloved youngest sister. Especially when it was to help someone in need.
The damp Summoned Creature wriggled in Clover’s palm.
“But there’s a condition.”
After a moment’s thought, Clover brought the Summoned Creature from her cheek back down to chest height.
“Jena must not know that Clover is helping.”
At this, the Summoned Creature stopped moving, seeming puzzled.
“Can’t stand out……”
Clover glanced at Pluto.
Pluto, currently disguised as Tesha, was with them as well. If she carelessly used her Authority and drew attention, things would certainly become difficult.
Upon hearing Clover’s answer, the Summoned Creature finally seemed to understand, brightening slightly.
“You understand?”
***
After hearing the full story from Clover, Demian and Arwin didn’t try to stop her.
Given how urgent the situation was, it was only right to help.
But unlike her two brothers, Sone had much to worry about.
‘Should I even help Jena this way?’
If she was being exploited right now, Clover’s Authority could certainly smooth things over for the moment—but that would only leave her vulnerable to exploitation again in the future.
It wasn’t a real solution at all.
Still, Sone said nothing and simply followed Clover and Jena’s Summoned Creature.
‘The best approach would really be to find evidence that the man exploited the child and have him punished for it.’
But without proof, it was useless. A Summoned Creature’s testimony couldn’t be used as evidence in court. That would just be poking a hornet’s nest for nothing.
And according to what Clover had relayed from the Summoned Creature, Jena was in a state of panic, afraid that she might ruin an important Foundation Festival event because of all this.
Even if they punished the man and helped Jena now, she’d still believe she’d ruined the Festival—that thought wouldn’t change.
So the priority was to understand what situation the girl was actually in. The children followed the Summoned Creature to what looked like a Temporary Warehouse.
“H-here, she’s… here…… The flowerpots too, and Jena…….”
The Summoned Creature stammered as it spoke. Sone, Demian, and Arwin peered through the dust-covered window into the temporary storage building.
Sure enough, the spacious warehouse held countless flowerpots.
And among them, a girl crouched with trembling shoulders came into view. Her frame was extraordinarily small—she looked about the same age as Demian or Arwin.
But according to the Summoned Creature, Jena was fifteen years old. So her small stature was decidedly unusual.
“Hup!”
Arwin hoisted Clover up high and showed her the interior of the warehouse through the grimy window.
Clover gazed into it for a long moment, then turned back to Jena’s Summoned Creature.
“So what do we do?”
“M-maybe I could take Jena outside? And while I’m doing that, what if you slip in……?”
The Summoned Creature offered its suggestion.
“That’s a great idea!”
Clover broke into a wide smile.
While the Summoned Creature led Jena elsewhere, Clover could slip inside and use her Authority.
‘That way it’ll look like a fairy paid a secret visit.’
She wouldn’t have to reveal who she was, and she wouldn’t need to explain anything about her Authority.
“What are you plotting?”
Sone poked Clover’s cheek. Clover repeated to Sone exactly what the Summoned Creature had just suggested.
“You’re going in alone? That’s dangerous.”
“But you’ll all be watching from outside…….”
It was just a quick trip in and out of the warehouse. Clover didn’t think it would be that dangerous.
“Dangerous things are all bad.”
“Then go with Harna.”
As Sone snapped her fingers, the noble storm bird appeared and perched gracefully on Clover’s shoulder.
“Is this all right?”
“Mm, yes.”
Clover grinned widely. Sone shook her head as if to say ‘I can’t stop you.’
Just then, Pluto quietly tugged at Clover’s sleeve.
“I, I too.”
“Hm?”
“Can I come along too……?”
Pluto’s voice trailed off as he thought of all the flowerpots that must be inside the warehouse.
“That won’t work…….”
It wouldn’t—she was going to use her Authority.
Pluto’s Authority would be nothing but a hindrance, not a help.
But knowing her friend might be in danger, she didn’t want to send her alone.
Noticing what Pluto was feeling, Clover blinked for a long moment before hopping down from Arwin’s arms.
Then she gently stroked Pluto’s head.
“Stay here and be good. Don’t cause any trouble.”
……
“I’ll be back in no time.”
As Clover’s words finished, Jena’s Summoned Creature quietly slipped into the warehouse.
Everyone watched in silence as it trotted toward Jena’s side.
***
“…… Sniff.”
Jena lifted her head, tears still flowing, and looked at the Summoned Creature. Her eyes were red from crying so much.
“…… Where did you go? Leaving me alone like this.”
The Summoned Creature fidgeted and circled uncertainly before nestling into Jena’s arms.
A Summoned Creature could not speak to its master.
But it could convey feeling.
Just as it could share what it had seen and heard, it could pass along comfort to its master. The Summoned Creature burrowed into Jena’s embrace and trembled softly.
Jena embraced her summoned creature, tears streaming down her face.
“I can’t use my Authority anymore.”
……
“It’s over now, I think. I want to abandon everything and run away…….”
Before Jena lay hundreds, thousands of unsprouted flowerpots stacked like a massive fortress wall.
All of it was her responsibility, her burden to bear.
Yet she could not accomplish a single one. The mere thought of it made her want to leap up and flee on the spot.
But she could not. They had said if she ran, they would report her immediately.
Then the nobles would hunt her down like dogs, twenty of them at her heels.
“I can’t even run away…….”
As Jena wept bitterly, her summoned creature pressed its cheek against hers, longing to wipe away her tears.
But its translucent, insubstantial form could only grow damp alongside them, powerless to dry even a single tear.
The summoned creature, despairing at its inability to comfort her, suddenly realized there was no time for such things.
Rising gently into the air, the summoned creature hovered near the entrance, signaling urgently for Jena to follow.
“……What?”
Jena lifted her head and looked toward her summoned creature.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————