The Baby Sprout Who Bloomed in the Villain Duke’s Family - Chapter 9

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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 9
[Yes.]
“But they said they might not send me. You heard that too, didn’t you, Lucky?”
[Yeah, I heard that too.]
Clover’s leaf hadn’t brought good fortune to Cherenio, but it had allowed her to eavesdrop from a distance—and through the connection she shared with her Summoned Beast, Lucky received the conversation as well.
Through the faint Authority lingering in the leaf, Clover heard the exchange between Kalid and Cherenio, and her cheeks flushed red as she covered them with both hands.
“Oh wow, so maybe I don’t have to go back after all…….”
The part about exploring ways to hire a governess and have her stay at the Villa—Clover had already forgotten all about it, and now she grinned widely.
“Great, let’s go, Lucky.”
[Huh? Um, where to?]
“Well, obviously.”
Clover planted her hands firmly on her hips.
“We’re going treasure hunting!”
***
If she found treasure, she could stay here.
Then everything would be fine.
A four-year-old’s logic was refreshingly simple—there was nothing more to it than that. And Clover’s reasoning was sound.
But.
“……But where should I look?”
Clover slipped away while the servants weren’t watching and flopped down in the middle of the Lawn.
Plop.
Grass clung to her knees and palms. She picked it off piece by piece, muttering to herself.
“My legs hurt……”
[That’s why I told you to stay quietly in your room…….]
“But I don’t want to just sit around waiting quietly.”
What if Father couldn’t find it in the end, no matter how long he waited?
Then she’d have to go back to Demper.
“I’ve already waited this long……”
And now she had to wait again? For an uncertain outcome, a murky future?
‘That won’t do.’
Clover was the kind of child who handled everything deftly on her own.
So such a thing didn’t align with a four-year-old Clover’s values.
Sitting still and waiting for someone to spoon-feed her pudding—her pride wouldn’t allow it.
But her legs ached. That had nothing to do with Clover’s pride.
“I’m going to rest for a bit.”
After a short break, she’d search again.
Clover turned her gaze to a shrub where fresh green leaves were sprouting.
And then she spotted something, her eyes going wide.
“Huh? This spot—no one picked the flowers here.”
She pointed at the pitch-black blooms and murmured.
There, a single dark and grimy flower had blossomed.
A faint, sickly stench drifted from it.
Right now it was just one blossom, so the smell was bearable, but if they bloomed in clusters, the reek would be unmistakable.
[……That’s right.]
The leaves and grass grew lush and beautiful, yet the flowers that bloomed from them were filthy and reeked.
It wasn’t just one or two kinds—every flower on this continent was like that.
So the Empire Citizens considered exchanging flowers a grave insult, and the nobles had their gardeners maintain their Gardens meticulously, ensuring not a single blossom could appear.
Of course, you could still see unchecked flowers growing in fields and mountains.
But this was a noble estate. Flowers blooming in a noble’s Mansion were a rare sight. So this one had probably appeared by some gardener’s mistake.
It would likely be plucked soon.
“But I like flowers that people threw away.”
However, Clover couldn’t smell the flower’s stench very well. And the “ugly” bloom looked rather handsome to her eyes. She couldn’t fathom why anyone would dislike it.
[Trust only what your eyes show you. You don’t need to believe anything else.]
Lucky said this was Clover’s unique ability—Inner Nature Perception.
Hmm.
‘Clover has so many powers, so why did Aunt hate her?’
As she mulled this over, the memory of the Demper family surfaced again, and Clover shook her head vigorously.
No—she’d decided not to think about it.
‘But I really, truly won’t think about it anymore.’

Clover’s cheek, which she’d slapped quite soundly, had swollen slightly pink. She touched it gently as she glanced around.
Where on earth would she look next?
Didn’t you need a treasure map to find treasure in the first place? But Clover had neither a map nor a shovel to dig with.
Besides, if she ransacked the Mansion too thoroughly in search of treasure, she might earn more resentment.
She really didn’t want to be resented again.
As she sat rubbing her legs and pondering the problem—
Meow.
A strange cry echoed from somewhere nearby.
And then—
Soft padding of paws.
Before Clover appeared a creature that was white, blue, and rather large.
“Oh! A cat!”
It was the same cat that had brought her Clover’s Diary when she’d been at the Demper estate.
It was also Kalid’s Summoned Beast, the one that had followed him when he came to the Demper estate.
Clover’s face brightened with joy, and she reached out toward the cat.
“Hello, little one. Have you been well?”
Meow.
Clover sprang to her feet and pulled the cat into a tight embrace. The creature, twice the size of an ordinary cat, nuzzled her neck affectionately against her cheek.
‘Oh… it smells so cool.’
The cat’s body carried the scent of crisp wind. Holding it close, Clover felt drowsiness creeping over her in the most peculiar way.
Now that she thought about it, Father smelled almost the same.
‘Like wind.’
Perhaps it was because it was Kalid’s Summoned Beast—they shared the same scent. And since a Summoned Beast was created from a fragment of Authority, being close to it didn’t make her body ache.
[You seem to tolerate this much Authority just fine.]
Lucky murmured.
Hearing those words, Clover’s grip on the Summoned Beast tightened slightly.
‘I wish Father had only this much Authority. Just enough.’
Enough that holding her wouldn’t hurt him.
‘No, don’t think like that.’
She couldn’t weaken Father just because she wanted to be close to him.
Collecting herself, Clover stroked the cat’s fur and then turned back to Lucky, remembering the treasure.
“Lucky, do you think it knows where it is?”
[Where the treasure is hidden?]
“Right.”
[Hmm… if this creature knew, wouldn’t your father have found it already?]
Lucky had a point.
It made no sense for Kalid’s Summoned Beast to know something Kalid himself didn’t.
“That’s true.”
And if it did know, it would have told Kalid where the treasure was. Then Clover wouldn’t be struggling like this now.
With a disappointed sigh, she was still stroking the Summoned Beast’s fur when—
<Claudian’s Ring.>
An unfamiliar voice flowed directly into Clover’s mind.
<I know where it is.>
It was neither Lucky’s voice nor her own.
She’d confirmed there was no one else around, so it couldn’t be someone nearby speaking to her.
Then this meant—
“You… you’re speaking to me?”
Clover’s eyes widened. The Summoned Beast, sitting with proud dignity, gazed at her gracefully while licking its front paw.
<Kalid cannot find it. He is under the protection of Storm Guardianship.>
Even as it spoke, the Summoned Beast’s voice continued without pause, flowing endlessly into Clover’s mind.
<But you can find it.>
!
<If you wish to find it, I will show you.>
***
“So, where did it go?”
Demian Claudian, the eldest son of House Claudian, gazed out the window as he spoke.
Beyond the transparent, spotless glass, something small and lime-green like a bean moved busily about.
It was so tiny and colored like freshly sprouted leaves that it would vanish from sight if Demian so much as squinted his eyes.
Demian tapped the window lightly with his finger.
“I don’t know yet. Father seemed to be thinking hard about something.”
Then Arwin Claudian, the second son of House Claudian, leaned against his side with his arms crossed.
“Wherever you send her, anywhere near House Demper is absolutely out of the question.”
And watching the small, restless creature—a pale green pea of a child—he muttered under his breath, grinding his words.
Clover Claudian.
The youngest and only daughter of House Claudian, precious beyond measure.
The two of them had seen Clover only once in all these years. The last time was when she was bundled into a cradle and lifted into a carriage shortly after her birth.
Demian and Arwin had parted from their youngest sister without ever managing a proper greeting.
‘Ah, ah-ooo.’
That soft smile, though her eyes had barely opened.
Demian and Arwin had been only seven and six years old then, yet the moment Clover left House Claudian remained crystalline in their minds.

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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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