The Baby Sprout Who Bloomed in the Villain Duke’s Family - Chapter 59

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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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Chapter 59
Before Clover went to meet her mother, she wrote a letter to Anernia.
To the Empress Dowager,
Hello, it’s Clover.
I’m going to see my mom.
You’re so amazing.
I’ll tell mom you said hello.
Goodbye.
When Anernia received Clover’s letter, she sent a reply from Claudian.
To Clover,
Not even five years old, yet you can write letters already—what a clever little thing you are.
Are you doing well?
I’m doing wonderfully because of you. The Sunflowers still bloom in the Empress Dowager’s Garden.
The gardeners tend them with great care, so you must come see them again next time.
If they’re still in bloom by then.
Yes, pass along my regards to Elisia as well.
Tell her about the wonderful things you’ve done,
and she’ll be absolutely delighted.
Clover, after you return from seeing your mother, come visit the Imperial Palace again.
Next time, I’ll have even more delicious treats prepared for you.
And I’d like to hear all about your meeting with your mother.
I’ll be waiting.
P.S. I’m counting on you to look after Pluto. Perhaps you two can become good friends.
After Anernia’s letter arrived, Clover visited Pluto more frequently than before.
‘You… you’re coming by more often these days?’
‘Yep.’
Whether Pluto was pleased by her visits, Clover couldn’t say for certain, yet it still made her feel proud.
‘I feel like I’m doing what the Empress asked me to do.’
The day Clover spent more than an hour talking with Pluto for the first time, and was introduced to Pluto’s Summoned Creature, a creature called Kal.
Clover went home and wrote another letter to Anernia.
Clover here.
Your Highness, I did what you asked.
Pluto and I became friends.
Pluto introduced me to Kal too.
And he let me pet it.
So don’t worry too much.
Pluto’s doing well here.
I’ll take good care of him.
Your Highness, see you next time.
Bye.
It was only natural that Anernia broke into a broad smile upon receiving that letter.
***
Elisia dwelled in the White Forest.
Currently managed by the Duke of Claudian, the forest held Elisia’s tree at its heart.
The Spirit who inhabited the tree, Elisia, slumbered within it.
To meet Elisia, one had to venture all the way to the deepest part of the White Forest.
Yet that journey presented one complication.
The White Forest was infested with Demonic Beasts.
Ferocious monsters that devoured people and preyed upon animals—Demonic Beasts.
The Demonic Beasts did not rashly attack Authority Bearers who possessed strong Authority, so Kalid was able to move freely through the White Forest.
But the children’s Authority was still not as formidable as Kalid’s, and Clover’s Authority in particular was so weak that she would make perfect prey for the Demonic Beasts.
For this reason, Kalid had been unable to bring Clover to the White Forest immediately, choosing instead to clear out the surrounding Demonic Beasts first.
‘Now that I’ve dealt with them, it should be safe enough.’
Besides, with Kalid accompanying them, no problems would arise.
Kalid had everyone prepared—Sone, Demian, Arwin, and Clover—and loaded them all into a carriage.
Even though Sone, Demian, and Arwin were older than Clover, these three were still children.
All three needed their mother. They carried themselves with composure, but surely they missed Elisia dearly.
Indeed, the moment Demian and Arwin heard they were going to the White Forest, they grew excited—four days in advance.
Sone too, though she showed no outward sign, was clearly anticipating the journey.
But among them all, it was Clover who trembled with the most excitement.
Clover accepted the paper and pen, and in her careful fern-like handwriting, she wrote out everything she wanted to tell her mother.
Kalid, watching her, asked why she was writing when she could simply go tell her mother instead.
“Because I love her so much, I might not be able to say everything I want to.”
So I’m writing it down.
she answered.
Even after her reply, Clover continued to deliberate, filling the entire page with a torrent of words.
Of course, being written by a small child, the letters weren’t perfectly neat, but still—the paper spoke volumes of the child’s heart.
The moment Kalid climbed into the carriage, he noticed Clover’s excitement and gently stroked her hair as she gazed out the window.
“Whee.”
“You’ll hurt yourself if you keep leaning out like that.”
“Okay.”
Clover, who had been craning her neck to see outside, settled back into her seat obediently.
Fidget-fidget.
But staying still proved impossible.
This was the first time in her life she was going to meet her mother.
How could she possibly sit still?
‘Mother, I’ll see you soon.’
Clover placed her small hands over her chest.
Thump-thump, thump-thump—she felt her heart racing.
After a long journey, the carriage came to a halt at the entrance to the White Forest.
Living horses could provoke the Demonic Beasts, so they couldn’t take the carriage any farther inside.
From here on, they would have to walk.
“Let’s get down.”
Kalid descended first, followed by Demian and Arwin, who leaped from the carriage in quick succession.
Sone waited until the very last moment, then jumped down from the carriage with the squirming Clover cradled in her arms.
For Sone, Demian, and Arwin, the White Forest was not unfamiliar ground.
They had been here many times before.
Yet Clover, seeing the strange forest for the first time in her life, gasped and opened her eyes wide with wonder.
‘This is where Mother is…….’
Trees that seemed ten times larger than ordinary ones stood towering, their canopy blocking out the sky.
Sunlight filtering through the thick foliage shattered like glass, casting a dappled glow across the children’s faces.
One might easily believe that something other than a Spirit lived in a forest like this.
And besides—
‘Wow, it’s really white…….’
Clover looked up at the sky, marveling at the pale undersides of the glittering leaves.
They shone white in the sunlight, living up to the name “White Forest.”
Ah, so that’s why it was called the White Forest.
[It’s been so long since I’ve seen this forest…….]
Lucky drifted gently upward, taking in the sight of the trees. Clover carefully received Lucky into her hands and asked.
“You’ve been here before?”
[A very long time ago.]
Lucky had never been separated from Clover—so when had he been here?
But such things hardly mattered in the end.
Before the vast trees and mystery of the forest, Lucky’s experiences were no more than a wisp of wind.
As Clover, nestled in Sone’s arms, gazed in wonder, Kalid took his first step forward.
Soft-soft.
Fallen leaves crackled beneath his feet with a tickling sound. The Lion of the North Wind resumed his true form and strode forward, while currents of wind wrapped themselves around the White Forest.
It was a greeting Kalid sent to Elisia.
To the master of this forest, the king of all its trees, his beloved—a devoted lover’s greeting that said: I have come here to see you.
White leaves trembled all at once in response to the wind, chiming like rolling pearls with a clear, sweet sound. Birds native to the White Forest took flight in unison, all in the same direction.
Feathers and leaves swirled together, weaving a vortex that embraced the surroundings. Butterflies of the White Forest fluttered their wings and soared into the air.
“Oh…….”
Nestled in Sone’s arms, Clover gazed transfixed at the beautiful whirlwind.
When the child reached out her hand without thinking, a butterfly drifted down and alighted gently on her palm.
It beat its wings a few times, regarding Clover, then rode the wind and flew away.
Every moment of this sight filled the young Clover with endless wonder.
In the meantime, Kalid, Sone, Demian, and Arwin came to a stop.
“Clover, we’re here.”
Sone gently rocked the child to capture her attention.
Only then did Clover slowly turn around and look forward.
In the heart of the White Forest.
The only place in this wood where sunlight poured through unobstructed.
A towering tree, grown as if nourished by the luminous rays, reflected perfectly in Clover’s eyes.
“This is Mother’s tree.”
Sone whispered like the wind itself.
Then.
Whoooosh.
A wind both strong and gentle, supple as silk, swept softly across Clover’s bangs and caressed Elisia’s tree with invisible fingers.
“Mother…….”
The butterflies and birds that had brushed past Clover moments before now lined up in procession and flew toward Elisia’s tree.
Clover could not tear her gaze away, staring numbly at her mother’s tree.
At that magnificent, beautiful tree reaching skyward.

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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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