The Baby Sprout Who Bloomed in the Villain Duke’s Family - Chapter 86

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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 86
A wound unlike anything she’d ever seen before. Could that be why he was in pain?
Over Jiteaia’s shoulder, Kalid studied Peson’s condition.
He could see Tsunami’s Authority gathering around the boy’s heart as he breathed.
Both Jiteaia and Kalid were Authority Bearers, so they could tell.
That the flow of that Authority wasn’t abnormal, at least.
‘It’s flowing normally.’
The Authority was gathering normally. It simply hadn’t responded properly to Jiteaia’s call—nothing more than that.
The Authority within his body wasn’t harming Peson. Then why had he collapsed?
Jiteaia and Kalid exchanged glances, equally puzzled.
Knock, knock.
A soft knock sounded from beyond the door.
“The physician must have arrived!”
“Let them in at once!”
At Jiteaia’s command, the maid rushed to the handle and pulled the door open.
But there stood not a physician.
“My… Miss?”
The youngest mistress of the manor.
Clover was standing there.
“Naenia?”
She’d come with her too.
***
Left alone in her room, Clover turned the seed over in her hand, hesitating.
‘This… this…’
Shouldn’t she tell someone?
Wouldn’t that let them treat Peson more accurately?
“Lucky, should I give this to him now?”
[Yeah, better to give it. Don’t know what it is, but the little guy was definitely hurting because of it.]
At Lucky’s words, Clover gripped the seed tighter.
Yes. Give it and come back.
Go tell the Duke the truth, and hand him this seed.
Then the adults could handle the rest. Her resolve made, Clover reached for the door—
“…Clover?”
Naenia’s voice came from behind her.
“Naenia?”
Startled, Clover turned to find Naenia just waking, rubbing her eyes as she looked at her.
“What do you mean, give it?”
“It’s…”
Clover hesitated a moment, then uncertainly opened her palm to show Naenia the seed.
“It’s for the Duke…”
“…Where did you get that?”
Naenia’s sleep fell away as she stared at Clover with suddenly clear eyes.
Why was Naenia looking at her that way?
Unnerved by that gaze, Clover blinked and told the truth.
“It came out of Peson. Out of his body.”
“…What?”
“It came out of Peson’s body, and the moment it did, he just collapsed…”
And that’s why Sone left Clover here.
After hearing Clover’s story, Naenia murmured blankly.
“That doesn’t make sense…”
“…Naenia, do you know what this is?”
“This is what Manela had.”
Naenia continued in a voice unnervingly calm for a child.
“She said she was giving it to my brother especially…”
Naenia still remembered that day vividly.
The day Manela had been rattled—the only time Naenia had ever seen it.
A year ago, young Naenia had climbed onto a chair and found a Transparent Glass Bottle on Manela’s desk.
Inside that bottle lay a Black Seed—slightly smaller than the one Clover now held.
Curious, Naenia had reached for the bottle when Manela suddenly appeared and, looking flustered, snatched it from her hands.
‘Miss, you mustn’t touch things that belong to others!’
‘That one, Monde.’
Naenia asked with fresh curiosity.
‘Is it good? Can Nia have some?’
At that, Manela shook her head frantically, sweat beading and dripping down her flustered face.
‘Oh no, miss. This belongs to the young master. I brought it specially from my homeland—a nutritional supplement for his health.’
‘Then why can’t Nia have any?’
‘When you’re a bit older, I’ll procure some for you, miss.’
Manela coaxed her gently as she spoke.
‘Miss, seeing this seed today must remain a secret, yes? It’s a magical seed, you see, and if others learn of its existence, its efficacy diminishes. That’s why only I was keeping this knowledge close….’
Naenia nodded along, yet something felt odd about it.
A seed whose potency fades if spoken of?
The explanation seemed suspicious, though it didn’t quite strike her as impossible. Manela had indeed procured various tonics from different places and fed them to Jiteaia with Peson’s permission.
But that seed—a year had passed since then, and now, here in the capital, not even in Peson’s domain.
It had surfaced again, in Clover’s hands. When Naenia learned that it had come from Peson’s body, she was appalled.
“A strange seed….”
Naenia murmured to herself.
“Manela fed brother a strange seed!”
If it were a normal seed, there’s no way it could still be inside Peson’s body a whole year later!
Clover, seeing Naenia’s shock, nodded in agreement.
“Right, a strange seed.”
It was definitely strange. Even holding it now felt wrong.
Moreover, if this truly were a ‘seed,’ it should have reacted to Clover’s Authority.
But it showed no reaction whatsoever.
So it certainly wasn’t a real seed. Clover seized Naenia’s hand firmly.
“Nia, let’s go show this to the duke. We need to show him the bad seed.”
Clover recalled what Peson’s Summoned Creature had said.
<If you use your Authority recklessly like that, you’ll die!>
If Naenia was right and the nursemaid had given him this seed, then Clover needed to show it to him quickly and urge him to drive the nursemaid away.
That was the only way to prevent Peson’s death.
But she couldn’t tell Naenia all of this.
If she heard that her brother was standing at the threshold of death, she would surely grieve.
Although Naenia was somewhat more mature than Clover, she was still just a five-year-old child.
Even learning that her brother was ill would be hard enough for her to bear—she couldn’t burden her with news like this beforehand.
So then.
‘It’s enough that the duke hears this.’
Nia didn’t need to know.
Clover’s eyes blazed with resolve as she gripped Naenia’s hand.
Their eyes met. Naenia stared at Clover with wide blue eyes for a long moment, then gave a vigorous nod.
“…Yes!”
Naenia clenched her fist tightly.
“Let’s go tell him now! That it’s strange!”
Naenia tugged on Clover’s hand, pulling her forward.
Clover had been the first to extend her hand, but Naenia was the first to take a step.
The two small children dashed down the corridor hand in hand, evading the servants.
Brother, I’ll protect you.
Naenia’s eyes narrowed with fury directed at Manela.
***
And so, now.
Clover and Naenia, having arrived at Peson’s chamber, looked at him.
“Huh? Clover?”
“Clover, how did you get here…?”
Sone, Arwin, and Demian were taken aback at the sight of the two children, but there was no time to concern themselves with that now.
Naenia’s eyes sought out Manela, while Clover’s gaze searched for Jiteaia.
Manela looked bewildered as to why the two children had come, and Duke Jiteaia appeared equally confused.
“Clover, why have you come here? Are you worried about Peson?”
Kalid, spotting his daughter, approached her carefully. Clover glanced at him once, then at Jiteaia once more.
Then she looked in the direction Naenia’s gaze had fixed. There stood the nursemaid, Manela.
Clover had never seen Manela’s face before, but she knew who she was.
Because Naenia was glaring at her with eyes blazing like fire.
Clover tapped the back of Naenia’s hand lightly with the back of her own.
Naenia turned her head and gazed at Clover.
Three seconds.
For exactly that long, the children exchanged glances before turning their eyes simultaneously toward Kalid and Jiteaia.
“We have something to say!”
“We have something to tell you.”
Clover thrust a small fist forward toward Kalid and Jiteaia.
Then she carefully uncurled the hand that had been clenched tight.
And there—
“……What is this?”
“What…?”
The Black Seed, hidden deep within Clover’s palm, revealed itself.
It was the one embedded near Peson’s heart that Clover had extracted.
And it was what Manela had once fed to Peson, keeping it hidden from Jiteaia’s eyes.
Through the child’s hand, the seed had returned once more before Manela, Jiteaia, and Peson.
Manela’s face drained of color at the sight of the seed resting in the small palm.

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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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