The Baby Sprout Who Bloomed in the Villain Duke’s Family - Chapter 44

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

Chapter 44
“An—an Ancient Flower!?”
At dinner that evening, Arwin nearly jumped out of his seat as he heard the details of what had transpired at the Imperial Palace.
“You’re saying our youngest brought back an Ancient Flower? That the child has an Authority like that?”
“It doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t make sense. The Ancient Flower went extinct centuries ago, Father. We don’t even have clear records of what it looked like back then. And now you’re telling me that Clover, who’s only four years old, made one bloom in the Imperial Palace?”
Arwin and Demian forgot to chew the food in their mouths, pelting questions at Kalid one after another.
Kalid, in the middle of feeding Clover another bite, furrowed his brow and spoke.
“Raise your hand for the floor first.”
Sone was quick to raise her hand.
Arwin and Demian looked at her with expressions of betrayal, but Sone didn’t spare them a glance—her eyes were fixed on Kalid.
“Then Clover’s Authority isn’t the Sprout Authority?”
Sone Claudian asked, looking at Clover once, then at Kalid.
“It’s a completely different Authority?”
‘Hmm…’
Was that it?
Was Clover’s Authority not the Sprout Authority?
‘So really, it’s an even cooler Authority…?’
Clover’s eyes brightened as she chewed the carrot and meat that had made their way into her mouth.
But Lucky, who had gleaned Clover’s thoughts from her expression alone, settled down with a soft sigh and spoke.
[No, it’s definitely the Sprout Authority.]
‘Aww…’
[Don’t be disappointed and keep listening. What I’m saying is, seeds, sprouts, flowers—they’re all under your Authority.]
As Lucky spun around, golden light scattered softly across the table.
‘Is it cool now too?’
[It’s cool enough as it is.]
At Lucky’s words, Clover broke into a bright smile.
And she looked toward Sone.
“The Sprout Authority, right?”
“Right? Who told you?”
“Lucky did.”
Clover pointed at Lucky with her small finger.
Sone’s eyebrows twitched.
“Lucky? A Summoned Creature told you?”
“Oh, you haven’t heard yet? About our youngest’s special ability!”
“Clover can communicate with Summoned Creatures. She can talk to her own Summoned Creature, and she can also talk to other people’s Summoned Creatures.”
“…Is that even possible?”
“It is.”
Sone’s gaze fixed sharply on Clover.
Clover, suddenly the object of her sister’s intense stare, let out a bashful laugh.
‘Hmm, how embarrassing.’
Clover, who had already picked up Kalid’s manner of speaking, nodded in agreement.
“…Why didn’t you tell me about this?”
“Wasn’t it in the letters?”
“No.”
It wasn’t. If it had been, she would have remembered.
Sone had read the letters about Clover more than seven times over.
“Things have been hectic since the child arrived—I suppose I forgot. I’m sorry, Sone.”
Kalid wiped the corner of Clover’s mouth and apologized to Sone.
Sone heard his apology with half an ear as her mind worked.
‘So she can communicate with Summoned Creatures, and she can also make Ancient Flowers bloom…?’
A thin trickle of cold sweat ran down the back of Sone’s neck.
‘…Isn’t that dangerous?’
The ability to communicate with another’s Summoned Creature meant the ability to interfere with another’s Authority.
The fact that she could make Ancient Flowers bloom meant her Authority was strong enough to rival ancient power.
Even this alone would bring those who would check and fear her.
But would Clover’s Authority truly end there?
‘An Authority Bearer’s Authority continues to grow alongside the body until the age of twenty, the point of full manifestation.’
In other words, she had to account for the possibility that Clover’s Authority could grow further still.
Sone cut a piece of meat without comment and placed it in her mouth.
***
“Father.”
Sone set down her utensils and opened the door to Kalid’s study, stepping inside.
“Have you dealt with Demper? I thought I heard you mention handling him before—what came of it?”
“Ah, Demper.”
Kalid adjusted his glasses as he spoke.
“I cut off his stipend and demanded repayment for all the child support he embezzled over the years. That alone will keep him occupied for quite some time. On top of that, we’re conducting an investigation into his illegal enterprises, so we’ll settle that account as well.”
By Kalid’s reckoning, the Demper household was already half-ruined.
“Then Demper poses no real threat to us any longer.”
“That’s the measure of it.”
Kalid removed his glasses and set them aside.
“You’re anxious, Sone. Suddenly so.”
“She can converse with Summoned Creatures and manifest Ancient Flowers—greedy wolves will circle Clover relentlessly.”
Sone’s voice turned sharp.
“The Imperial family, no less, has now seen her bloom Ancient Flowers in the Empress Dowager’s Garden itself. There’s no hiding it anymore. By tomorrow’s dawn, the entire Empire will be awash in this rumor.”
He had believed Clover’s Authority was merely the ability to coax buds into sprouting—nothing more.
He had been grateful for that, in truth.
A powerful Authority only brought unwanted burdens in its wake; there was little benefit to be gained.
But she had manifested an Ancient Flower?
“A Sunflower, they tell me,” Kalid said, wiping his glasses clean with a soft cloth.
“A flower that yearns for the sun. In ages past, they say, entire fields would bloom golden with them.”
“Father, please don’t comfort yourself with pleasant words—!”
“If her Authority has begun to bloom, if it truly sets the fields alight in golden radiance, then there is nothing we can do to stop it, Sone.”
Especially not an Authority of that kind.
“We cannot confine her. We cannot forbid her from using it. The Authority will grow, and perhaps afterward she will manifest even more Ancient Flowers.”
Kalid regarded his daughter calmly.
“We cannot react this way each time it happens.”
……
“Late at night, you slip into my study seeking my counsel—yet there is nothing I can solve for you here, my daughter.”
Kalid tilted his head, studying Sone’s face.
“I understand your worry. But you need not act in haste. Not at this stage.”
“Father, I—”
“If you truly cannot bear it, go to her instead. Be honest with her. Hold her close.”
Do not let her be shackled by a past she cannot even remember.
Sone’s pupils trembled at his words.
“Hold her, tell her you will be at her side. That will serve your sister far better than this fretting ever could.”
His voice turned cutting.
“I do not delight in watching you cower like a child, Sone.”
……
“You are destined to become the Household Head of this family. Think clearly. Think rationally. Judge which course truly serves you better.”
“Father…….”
“Now go.”
Kalid’s gaze followed her to the door.
A silence settled between father and daughter.
“I shall take my leave.”
Sone bowed her head and departed the study.
A cool breeze swept through the space she had occupied.
***
“Sun-flower.”
Clover sat cross-legged, swinging her legs as she pored over a thick book.
Belze broke into a radiant smile and began to clap.
“How wonderfully clever our young mistress is! At only four years old, to read so many words—surely no one else could manage such a feat!”
As Belze lavished praise upon her with genuine warmth, Clover’s shoulders rose in pride.
Clover really might be a prodigy.
Making flowers bloom, crafting seeds.
Clover giggled—*hee-hee*—remembering the Sunflower that had unfurled in brilliant gold.
[From now on, you must make many more things bloom, Clover.]
Lucky fluttered down and perched beside her hand.
“Chirp?”
[That is the Mission the Divine One gave you, after all. You can do it, can’t you?]

That’s right—the Mission!
There had been so much happening since arriving at Claudian that I’d momentarily forgotten about it.
As Clover stood in a daze, Lucky asked sharply.
[You forgot about it?]
“Oh, n-no?”
[You did forget…….]
Caught red-handed.
Still, at least I remembered now—that had to count for something. That’s what Clover told herself, anyway.
“So if I practiced, could I make more Sunflowers?”
[You could make other flowers too, not just Sunflowers.]
Lucky said.
[Didn’t I tell you? Your seeds are special. You might be able to create as many flowers as the thickness of that book there.]
Clover gaped at the thick tome, her mouth hanging open.
The book was so heavy she’d never finish reading it in a lifetime.
In fact, it was too cumbersome to carry around now.
Yet she could create flowers equal to the number of pages in that book?
‘That’s incredible. Amazing!’
Clover’s eyes sparkled.
“If I could make them faster, that’d be really good…….”
[Why?]
“Because I want to give them to my sister…….”
Clover pressed her face into the book.
She wanted to give a gift to her sister.
Maybe then her sister would look at her a little more.
‘When my sister talked about flowers, she looked at me so hard…….’
So if she gave her flowers, maybe her sister would look at her a bit longer.
“As long as my sister doesn’t hate it…….”
Clover spoke softly, her words stumbling over themselves with uncertainty.
But then.
Whoosh.
A cool breeze swept past the crown of Clover’s head.
<I don’t hate it.>
And from somewhere, another unfamiliar voice reached her ears.

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