Let’s Block the Ruined Route in Advance

A particularly sleepless evening.

 

Eileen had long since found Theresia’s greenhouse. It’s a place she rarely visits because she wants to keep her traces as intact as possible, but unfortunately there’s only so much she can hold onto a plant.

 

The staff had all been bitten, and Eileen worked long hours alone cleaning the greenhouse. She trimmed vines that had grown too long and plucked wilted flowers. As she trimmed each branch of the overgrown tree with her scissors, she was reminded of the memories she had shared in the greenhouse.

 

She thought it would be great to plant a bunch of dragons in that greenhouse in the spring. They wouldn’t bloom for long, but she could almost see how happy Felix would be when the petals caught the light, and Eileen smiled a little.

 “Eileen?” 

The greenhouse door opened, and Felix walked in, dressed in white pajamas and a pale pink cardigan. His unexpected appearance startled Eileen and she jumped to her feet.

 “Felix, weren’t you asleep?” “I woke up and looked out the window, and there was a light on in the greenhouse, so I thought it might be you.” 

And it was.

 

The smile on his face reminded her of someone. Eileen, who couldn’t help but smile back, put down her seedling shovel and took his hand, leading him to sit on the swing in the greenhouse.

 “This is Lady Theresa’s old greenhouse.” “Lucian’s mother, you mean?” 

Theresia, the Duke’s hostess and the Marquis of Eldium’s honored daughter.

 

What Lady Katarina, Eldium’s other victim, must have thought of her was beyond Eileen’s comprehension. The good news was that Lady Theresia took pity on her.

 

It was only because of her that Felix was able to get here in time.

 “Yes, come spring, we’ll plant many of Felix’s favorite flowers here. It’ll be beautiful in the moonlight.” “It’s a precious place. If you plant my favorite flowers, you’ll ruin it.” 

Eileen smiled as if it was the least of her worries.

 “It won’t. Plants grow back every year. It’s just a different kind.” 

Kicking out the dead plants and planting new ones wouldn’t change the significance of the space she and Theresia shared. It wasn’t a bond that would just fade away.

 “Don’t worry. We’ll plant our favorite flowers, the duke’s favorite, me and your favorite, Cordelia and Lucian’s favorite.” 

Everyone’s favorite plants would be mixed into Theresia’s beloved greenhouse. The more she was loved, the more special the greenhouse would be. This was not a place to memorialize, but to make memories.

 “Ah, the next plant.” 

Eileen and Felix sat next to each other and talked. They talked about books they’d read, how they planned to organize their garden, and their favorite foods. It was small talk, but the little distraction of talking instead of sleeping at night amused them both.

 

Finally, late at night, as the moon began to fade, Eileen said, “Oh my God, can you believe how much time has gone by? Let’s go to bed!”

 “Yeah.” 

Felix swallowed hard and slowly rose from his seat. The two children were about to leave the greenhouse, holding hands.

 “Kyaak!!!” “Star?” 

Star, who had been playing in the dirt, began to growl. His narrowed pupils dilated uneasily. The momentum was so fierce that Eileen reflexively wrapped her arms around Felix.

 “Eileen?” “Wait. I think there’s something here.” 

Eileen caught her breath. She focused on the flow of the earth, as Orgen had taught her, and began to scan her surroundings. The faithful earth spirits alerted her to the intruder’s location.

 “You, where did you come from?” 

The black cloaked man melted down from the ceiling as if he sensed he had already been discovered.

 “Unfortunately, that’s why elemental love doesn’t work.” “He’s a mage.” 

Eileen swallowed hard. They weren’t a good match.

 

In terms of overall power, elementals who harnessed the power of nature itself were far superior to mages, but elemental power was harder to control.

 

The odds were not in their favor, especially for a young elemental like Eileen to defend someone against an experienced mage.

 “Lord Lobel…?” 

With her back to Felix, Eileen was startled by the small voice behind her.

 “Does Felix know him, and

what

about him?” 

The man scratched his head nervously.

 “Ah, I see camouflage artifacts don’t work on you, Master.” 

The man roughly removed his mask, revealing dark gray hair and inorganic black eyes. Felix opened his mouth, shaking.

 “Did Brother send you?” 

The man, Lobel, laughed bitterly.

 “I came because you ran off without finishing your game, and I didn’t want to be bothered. Who taught you to be a spoiled brat and run off with another master? Oh, I didn’t say that, the second master told me to tell you.” 

Eileen ordered Star secretly behind her back,

“Split the energy and send it to Cordelia, she’ll know what happened in the greenhouse.” 

 Star was just about to sneak out of the greenhouse.

 “Well, well. Kids who do things behind the adults’ backs are bad kids.” 

Star halted in midair, as if caught in a transparent membrane, and then burst into flames. 

 

Eileen felt her lips go dry.

 

He wasn’t usually dangerous.

 

Felix, who had observed the situation, moved shakily to stand in Eileen’s way.

 “You’re here to pick me up. Just let Eileen go.” “Ahaha!” 

Lobel laughed, bending at the waist to see what was so funny.

 “Master, I’m not just here to pick you up.” 

Although the Duke had been away for a few days on business, his knights and bodyguards were far superior to those of a normal family.

 

The fact that he had managed to trick them into entering Theresia’s greenhouses was proof that he was some kind of high-ranking wizard. The man’s black eyes narrowed.

 “I have come to punish you, Master.” 

The man grinned, his mouth forming a gleeful smile.

 “Killing this young lady will make you suffer to the point of death, won’t it? Alas, pity. Alas, thrill!” 

Black smoke rose steadily from the grotesquely cleft man’s mouth. Ominous currents of air hung in the smoke, like dark clouds before a storm.

 

Something was about to emerge. More time was dangerous.

 “Felix. I’m going to draw attention to this, and the first chance you get, run.” “But Eileen!” “We have to get out and tell the Knights!” 

Felix gritted his teeth, feeling helpless for the first time in this situation where he could only watch.

 “Star!!!” 

The spirits responded to their master’s will, and soon the greenhouse shook violently, as if there had been an earthquake, and the roots of the old trees, thicker than the waist of an average adult man, poked their heads through the ground.

 

Sharp branches and stones rained down on the man, but he deflected them all back into nothingness without so much as a glance.

 “Well, well. There’s no point in making a fuss, you’ve taken up all the space here.” “I didn’t expect that, so shut up.” 

Eileen snapped back at the man nervously

, releasing the tension that had held her emotions in check for so long. The walls that had consciously held back the young elemental’s uncontrollable energy crumbled, and a golden glow began to form in her orange eyes.

 “Felix, stay behind me and run as soon as there’s an opening.” 

I said, struggling to control myself.

 “Are you going to turn into an Athrox? Just for a toy like that? Funny, young lady, you want to make a bet with me?” 

The black energy flowing from Lobel’s mouth soon coalesced into the shape of a giant scythe, its tip curved inward, and the man holding it smiled wickedly.

 “I don’t know what comes first, you turning into an Athrox and blowing up this room and me, or me beheading you and decorating the greenhouse.” 

Eileen didn’t answer, concentrating on the movement of his scythe.

 

‘I can’t be crazy and become an Athrox, I know what happened to Cordelia with that power!’

 

She didn’t give up hope. That was Eileen’s goal: to drain as much of her power as possible, but to inflict enough blows on the man to keep him sane.

 “Shall we begin the game?” 

And with that, a giant scythe that seemed to cut through space soared into the sky.

 

The walls of the greenhouse collapsed with a massive, building-crushing crash.

 “Now.” 

A blood-soaked man entered the greenhouse. Judging by the amount of blood on his sword, it was more of another being’s blood than his own.

 “What will you do to my children?” 

A heavy voice, seething with rage, echoed through the ruined greenhouse. A voice that was all too familiar to Eileen.

 

It was Gladius Igaro, Duke of Gaudium.

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