The Baby Sprout Who Bloomed in the Villain Duke’s Family - Chapter 104

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 104
“Wait, Jena……? You’ll stay at our place?”
“If Jena consents.”
“Clover loves it so much.”
In truth, Clover had taken a liking to Jena.
When a terrible person had appeared, Jena had shielded Clover first, pulling the child close against her own body.
She was barely old enough to protect herself. And yet she’d tried to protect Clover.
‘A good person.’
Clover, who had been gazing at Jena intently, carefully reached out her hand.
As she stretched her arms to be held, Sone—who had been hesitating for a moment—passed Clover to Jena.
Jena caught her, bewilderment flickering across her face.
“A-miss……?”
“Clover loves Jena!”
For some reason, Clover sensed that she could use her power now.
Clover’s power transformed hearts into seeds.
If she could turn Jena’s heart into a seed right now, it would surely become something magnificent.
The moment Clover, nestled in Jena’s embrace, used her power, the child’s ability swept around Jena in an instant.
“……!”
“Jena, wait a moment.”
Then a familiar sensation bloomed in her palm again. Clover now understood what that feeling was.
“Miss……!”
Jena started, holding Clover even more tightly.
Pop!
This time, instead of a seed, a round bulb appeared in Clover’s hand.
A bulb like the root of some plant.
“Huh?”
Since this was the first time something like this had appeared, Clover was blinking in confusion when——
[Oh!]
Lucky circled around Clover’s hand and added his own strength.
Then.
Shoot, shoot!
Just as the seedlings in the flowerpot had grown moments before, the bulb in Clover’s palm shot up, bursting into a yellow flower at its tip.
It was a flower neither Clover nor Lucky had ever seen before.
Sone, Demian, Arwin, and Pluto felt the same way. An Ancient Flower, one they’d never glimpsed, bloomed anew in Clover’s hand.
“Th-this is…….”
Jena, watching Clover use her power for the first time, gasped and sank down.
Clover bounced out of Jena’s arms and stood before her, clutching the bunch of yellow blossoms.
“Jena, it’s a beautiful flower.”
“……What is this? Could this be, by any chance, an Ancient Flower……?”
“Yes.”
Clover beamed.
“Clover doesn’t quite know what kind yet, so we’ll have to check when we get home.”
“……!”
“But you see, long ago, people found flowers so beautiful that they imbued them with meanings—good feelings, one in each.”
“Meanings, in the flowers……?”
“Since this flower is one Clover made from Jena’s heart, it must hold a wonderful meaning too.”
Clover handed the flower to Jena.
“What do you think the meaning here is?”
“…….”
“Clover thinks it might mean something like ‘the courage to vanquish evil.'”
Jena, receiving the yellow hyacinth, stared at Clover in a daze.
Jena didn’t know the flower’s meaning either. She’d only learned moments ago that Ancient Flowers could even hold meanings at all.
Until now, every flower she’d known had been ugly, foul-smelling, and filthy. She had never seen anything as exquisitely beautiful as this.
“If Jena has nowhere else to go, come home with Clover.”
Nor had she ever met a child who shone like this.
“……Yes……?”
A child like this.
“And let’s plant the flower together. Jena will help, won’t you?”
As Jena stared dazedly at the beaming Clover, her Summoned Creature spun round and round with delight.
The whole scene felt like a dream to Jena. A dream she never wanted to wake from.
And so, in this moment alone, it seemed any answer would be acceptable.
“……Yes.”
Jena returned the flower she’d received from Clover back to her, speaking softly.
“I will…….”
Jena looked at Clover, her words slow but deliberate.
“Thank you. Thank you, Miss. For saving me…….”
***
Rustle-rustle-rustle!
The bookshelf in the Claudian Mansion, which held Clover’s books, flipped through pages frantically before stopping at one in particular.
There, drawn on the page, was an image of the yellow flower Clover had summoned just moments before.
“Oh my?”
The maid, who happened to be cleaning nearby, read the words written beneath the flower’s image.
Yellow Hyacinth.
Below it, the flower language was inscribed.
‘Courage,’ it said.
***
Sone and Clover wanted to take Jena with them right away, but she chose to stay.
“Why? Even if you go, the people sent from the Imperial Palace will handle the rest of the event.”
“Still, it’s work I started……I’d like to see it through to the end.”
“Hmm…….”
“I want to see people’s faces when they receive the flowerpots and smile. Even though I didn’t do it all myself.”
Jena promised that once the distribution of flowerpots was finished, she would make her way to the Claudian Mansion in the Capital.
On the journey back.
Pluto watched Clover, who carried armfuls of yellow hyacinths, then finally spoke.
“You…….”
“Hm?”
“Why do you always want to help other people? You don’t have to, you know. Most people don’t bother.”
The same had been true for Pluto.
He’d stepped forward to help when there was no real need to, no obligation to do so.
To Pluto, such things were incomprehensible. That’s why he’d wanted to ask about it sometime.
Of course, now that Pluto—currently in the form of Tesha—was speaking to Clover so familiarly, Sone, Demian, and Arwin exchanged startled glances at him.
Pluto, however, chose to ignore their stares.
Clover, who had buried her face in the yellow flowers to think, suddenly lifted her head and answered brightly.
“Because there are people who need help.”
“……Is that really the reason?”
“Shouldn’t there be?”
But if there truly had to be another reason……
Clover, thinking it over carefully, continued.
“When Clover was at Aunt’s house, I thought about it all the time. I felt happy whenever someone helped Clover.”
“…….”
“In this world, there might be so many people who think like Clover…….”
So whenever she could help, she wanted to.
That’s why Clover was actually happy each time her Summoned Creatures asked her for help.
Not because she became a person they needed, but because she could help them.
Just as young Clover had hoped someone would help her, those creatures must have hoped someone would help them too, which is why they asked Clover.
She couldn’t bear to let those outstretched hands pass by—she had to reach back and grasp them.
It was the happiest thing this child had ever known.
Clover smiled at Pluto.
“Don’t worry, Tesha.”
“……What about?”
“If Tesha ever needs Clover’s help, Clover will help you too.”
So don’t be jealous that she helps other people!
Understanding Clover’s meaning, Pluto’s face flushed with embarrassment as he objected.
“……That’s, that’s not why I asked!”
“It wasn’t?”
“It wasn’t!”
Pluto snapped his response and whipped his head around to stare out the carriage window.
‘Wasn’t, he says?’
He’d thought that was exactly what he was asking about.
As Clover leaned in closer beside him, craning her neck to peek at his face, Pluto, his ears now burning red, pushed her away.
“Go on…….”
“But we’re not even…….”
“…….”
Pluto said nothing, resting his chin in his hand as he gazed out the carriage window.
Clover’s older siblings, who had been riding inside the carriage, watched with bewildered expressions as they pushed out their beloved youngest — “Tennison’s nephew” — in his stead.
And in the moment they decided they’d have words with Tennison later.
[Good grief, you kids…….]
Lucky shook his head disapprovingly.
***
They encountered Jena again when the Foundation Festival had nearly ended and everyone was preparing to return to the Duchy.
Kalid, who had already heard about Jena from Sone and Clover beforehand, went straight to the Reception Room where the girl was waiting the moment she arrived.
The girl, who had been waiting in anxious tension, sprang to her feet the instant Kalid appeared.
“Oh, good day, Your Grace!”
“There’s no need to stand like that. Be seated.”
Kalid sat down as he spoke, casting a brief glance at Jena’s Summoned Creature.
Judging by its lack of a distinctive form, she was not an Authority Bearer with great power.
In such cases, they were often exploited by the wicked, or sometimes even killed at the behest of aristocratic families with similar Abilities.
He understood now why Jena had kept her Authority hidden, and why the children had brought her to Claudian.
“Your Grace…….”
“I’ve heard the full account.”
Kalid looked at Jena.
“If you wish, I can arrange for you to work and live at our residence in the Capital. Or you may come north with us. The choice is yours, and wherever you are, you will be protected.”
Jena was still young — at an age when she needed an adult’s care.
If no one else would protect the girl, Kalid was prepared to step into that role himself.
After hesitating for a long moment, Jena lifted her head and looked at Kalid.
“I wish to follow the youngest lady.”
In that instant, the image of Clover’s bright, radiant smile bloomed in Jena’s mind.
‘Let’s plant flowers together. I’ll help.’
Remembering that smile filled her with an inexplicable courage — as if she had been given a flower all over again.
Jena spoke once more, her voice steady and unwavering.
“I want to work where the youngest lady is…….”
Kalid regarded Jena silently for a moment, then nodded readily.
“Then so it shall be.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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