Chapter 46

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 46

Chapter Title: The Dead Forest and the Fairy Garden (3)

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So, even if we took another region, it would be the same. It might cause problems if Roxiana held it, but if Floyd did, there wouldn’t be any major issues.

‘If I help bolster Torkan’s power, I’ll become a valuable figure to this country’s people as well. At the very least, everyone in this grand ducal palace would have no choice but to acknowledge me.’

She didn’t demand anything grand in exchange for that land.

‘Just return my family to God’s embrace. If they grant me that much land, it wouldn’t be too much to ask.’

To achieve that, the first step was confirming whether the spirits could truly purify contaminated land. She needed to gauge if they had the power to revive dead zones—and if so, to what extent.

Roxiana turned to Elledrun, who was gazing worriedly down at her teacup.

“Head Maid, may I visit your residence later and take a look at the garden?”

+++

Once she realized there might be a way to put her power to good use, her heart churned so fiercely that sleep eluded her.

‘If I can confirm I can purify the head maid’s garden, next I should try that dead forest.’

That forest hadn’t been tainted by corruption—it had burned to death in Floyd’s flames—but she wanted to test if she could revive an area killed that way, too.

‘It has to be possible. If they could expel the corruption from a person’s body...’

The memory surfaced of how close she’d come to dying in the process.

‘My stamina’s recovered a lot now, so I won’t collapse like last time. If I take it slow, bit by bit, it should be fine.’

She wanted to retrieve her family’s corpses from that well as soon as possible. For that, Roxiana would stop at nothing.

Elledrun had gladly accepted her proposal, promising to prepare properly for guests and send a formal invitation. From the energy she’d shown leaving the drawing room, the invite would arrive in a day or two—but Roxiana couldn’t just sit idly by until then.

Even the plush bed and thick blankets felt irritating against her frayed nerves. She wanted to try something right away. To prove she could do it.

For my family.

In the end, Roxiana gave up on sleep and climbed out of bed. She threw a coat over her nightgown, slipped out of her bedroom, and padded down the dark corridor to exit the building.

She’d never paid the garden much mind before, but now that Elledrun had mentioned it, the Lily Palace garden struck her as unnaturally lush. Even in this biting wind, every leaf brimmed with vitality, and not a single fallen one littered the ground.

Roxiana passed through the Lily Palace archway. A nearby guard seemed startled to see her wandering so late but merely dipped his head in salute without stopping her.

Trees lined the path to the main palace as well. True to winter, they stood barren, stripped of leaves save for their skeletal branches.

‘So it really was just the Lily Palace garden trees thriving.’

If only she’d glanced around a little sooner, she could have noticed ages ago. She regretted the time wasted overlooking it.

Roxiana approached a withered tree and gently placed her hand on it.

‘The Lily Palace garden brimmed with life even without me intending it. So waking just this one tree shouldn’t take much power. Right, everyone?’

She couldn’t hear the spirits’ reply, but she took the silence as affirmation and whispered earnestly.

‘Help me, everyone. Let this tree open its eyes.’

For a while, nothing happened. After several quiet minutes, a faint vibration began deep underground—but Roxiana didn’t sense it.

“What are you doing?”

The voice came from behind.

Roxiana startled, yanking her hand from the tree and whirling around. The sight of the man standing there shocked her breathless.

Floyd stood shirtless, bare torso on full display.

Broad shoulders, rippling muscles, a chest and abdomen taut without an ounce of spare flesh, a narrow waist. Fresh from rough training, his bronzed skin glistened with sweat, sparkling like jewels.

His chest rose and fell sensually with each breath. She knew she should look away, but she couldn’t tear her eyes from the overwhelming vitality radiating from his body.

A bead of sweat gathered at his collarbone, tracing a slow path down his chest—the scene etched itself languidly in her mind.

Heat poured off him. Not mere warmth from a sweating man’s body, but a thick, intense blaze.

Roxiana marveled that a person could emit such scorching energy. It was so vivid she half-expected to see the red aura with her own eyes.

She wanted to know its source.

Mesmerized, Roxiana stepped closer and reached for his chest. Her hand halted just shy of touching.

The palpable heat vanished the instant her hand neared, but she was certain its origin lurked somewhere within him.

‘Who are you, really?’

Floyd gazed down at her in utter bewilderment, but she didn’t notice. She focused intently on the presence coiled inside him.

‘Are you really just toying with this man? Tormenting him? Or helping him?’

As Floyd had said, the ‘mad presence’ within him offered no answer. It didn’t seem absent—just stubbornly silent.

Floyd frowned down at the concentrating Roxiana, then seized her slender wrist and pulled. Her hand, which had hovered just before contact, pressed flat against his chest.

Roxiana gasped in shock and looked up at him. Too absorbed in the ‘mad presence,’ it hadn’t occurred to her how bizarre her behavior must seem.

Seeing her flustered, he quirked a corner of his mouth.

“You seemed hesitant to touch, so...”

In that instant, Roxiana’s face flushed crimson. To Floyd, it bloomed like springtime double cherry blossoms—dainty pink petals tinting the blue sky.

He couldn’t look away from her, neck scarlet as well. For some reason, where she touched felt scorching. Her body temperature was far cooler than his—why this sensation, he couldn’t fathom.

Something soft and fuzzy gathered in his lower abdomen.

“Th-that’s... not it.”

Roxiana whispered through her parched lips. Her voice didn’t feel like her own.

His heartbeat throbbed fiercely through her palm, scrambling her thoughts into chaos.

“I was just...”

She fumbled for words with unresponsive lips, then realized—even after he released her wrist—her hand still rested on his chest. Feeling her face burn hotter, Roxiana yanked it away.

She clutched her touching hand with the other and dropped her gaze.

“Trying to speak to the presence inside Your Highness...”

“Ah, I see.”

He replied flatly, raking sweat-dampened hair back.

“So, what were you doing? Scouting a sturdy branch for hanging?”

“Your Highness has such a kind way with words.”

Roxiana retorted before she could stop herself, and Floyd grinned.

“High praise. I was about to have a beer—care for a drink?”

“Moderately.”

“Then keep me company. I’ll just wipe off this sweat and be right back.”

Only after he vanished did Roxiana realize her heart was pounding wildly. She pressed her right hand to her chest, stroking her heated cheek with the left, struggling to calm the unfamiliar sensations roiling her mind.

But once ignited, the feeling refused to fade. Too late, she noticed the hand on her chest was the very one that had touched his.

It was her first time touching a man’s bare chest.

The smooth, hot, damp skin clinging to her palm. The steady rhythm pulsing beneath.

She floundered, unable to comprehend why she fixated on such things—then her eyes caught the tree branch she’d just caressed. Where nothing had been, tiny green leaves now sprouted.

‘It’s awake!’

The moment she saw it, all those strange, subtle, sensual sensations vanished like a lie. The feel of his chest against her hand, the ensuing flutter—wiped clean.

Roxiana’s eyes fixed solely on the leaves the revived tree had borne.

Someone might scoff at what those frail little leaves could do, but she found immense hope in them.

‘I can do something.’

The crushing defeat that had trampled her scattered like storm clouds after rain. The thick fog clouding her vision lifted, revealing the path ahead.

Absorbed in pondering her newfound potential, Roxiana didn’t notice someone approaching from behind.

“Excuse me, Princess.”

She snapped around at the voice. A man stood there with a black eyepatch over his left eye. Jet-black hair, slightly tanned skin—his remaining eye was a pale green, like the fresh leaves.

He seemed to have come from training too, sweat-slicked. Fortunately, more considerate than Floyd, he’d hastily donned his shirt before addressing her.

“Ah, I’m Kain. Kain Tellis. Um, I’m the captain of the Black Bear Knight Order.”