Maseki Gurume – 007a
Is this such a gem?

This gardener must be incredibly skilled, to harmonize all these different kinds of flowers almost as if it were art.

With those thoughts in mind, I walked here along with a beautiful woman.

Any men who could see me right now would surely look at me with envious eyes.

And as I held my hand with hers, we walked together across this paradise of flowers.

But if I could ask for one thing, I only I could ask for one more thing……

Why is it that it’s you, and not mom, Krone?

In short, she took a liking to me.

And quite strongly at that.

“Ain! Hey, shall we hold hands? ”

“Y-Yes, thank you.”

“Fufufu, it’s so cute you two are getting along.”

She completely took a liking to me, oh god, why did this happen……?

＊

“To think miss Krone would be the one to guide us, I’m sure my son is happy.”

“Please don’t be so formal with me, Olivia-sama. To have someone as beautiful as you, who is called the flower of society here…… I’m afraid my garden will be overshadowed. I’m just happy to be able to show the person I admire, around.”

What is she? A fan of mother?

Ohh, Krone…… you’re a nice girl!

To be able to understand this much about mother’s splendor……

Alright, I’ll give you the honor of walking next to mother! Be grateful and thoroughly enjoy this happiness!

“……I really don’t get where those rumors came after all.”

Krone murmured, rumors? Just as I thought that, mother was the first to react.

“……About Ain, right? ”

“Yes. It’s just something that I always hear, whether I want it or not…… But I bet it’s something Olivia-sama doesn’t want to hear right now.”

“What are you two talking about? ”

“The person in question is the only one who doesn’t seem to know, right? It’s nothing. Just by being Olivia-sama’s son I never thought you’d be someone disgraceful, so there’s nothing you need to worry about.”

“T-Thank you…… is that so?”

I heard something nice.

Embarrassing mother would be equivalent to hurting myself, at least for me.

＊

“(……Isn’t this the complete opposite of what I heard? Doesn’t know manners, unattractive appearance…… I was always told things I couldn’t care less about, so I somehow wondered what kind of boy he was.)”

The eldest son of the famous general Logas was a failure, at best, with the worst of the gossips questioning if he was a child born of Olivia-dono’s infidelity. There were many similar stories that Krone had heard.

And thus, Krone was thinking about his impressions of this boy named Ain.

And the fact that reality was completely different from the rumors she heard.

“(Doesn’t know manners? At least compared to the other noble children here today, isn’t he a head above the rest?

Unattractive appearance? He has Olivia-sama’s gentle looks, and his brown hair is also beautiful like Olivia-sama’s.

Rather than being someone who doesn’t care about others…… I’ve never seen such a caring boy in any social circle.)”

Krone thought it would be difficult to find someone who could say such cheesy lines…… like when Ain bowed before Olivia was humiliated, and saying that she found something as beautiful as his mother, he asked them to see it together.

“(That is? It might be that because I really love Olivia-sama, that I’m finding him somewhat appealing?)”

Krone saw Ain in a favorable light, him being a good boy, and she knew it was inevitable that there were people in a position like the second wife who were scheming and with their own agenda, Still, she couldn’t stop feeling sick at those thoughts.

“Truly…… Beautiful.”

Ain muttered as he looked at the flowers in the garden with bright, clear eyes.

Seeing Ain honestly loving the flowers, Krone felt a bit touched.

“(With such beautiful, honest eyes, I really can’t believe the lies that have been told about this person.)”

“Beautiful indeed.”

“I thought the flowers were shinning with magic, until I came closer…”

“That’s not entirely right, as you can see, this rose…… It shines on its own.”

The Bluefire Rose.

As its name suggested, it shimmered like a blue flame.

It was very difficult to grow since it had specific requirements of water, soil and climate…… And would only grow once all these conditions were met.

And once the buds were ready, they were given a large amount of fertilizer, to allow the flowers to finally bloom.

Once the flowers bloomed, they absorbed magical power from the surrounding area little by little, causing the flower to glow in a blue light.

“However, be careful, okay? After they bloom…… every part of those flowers is poisonous after they bloom.”

“Yes.”

“And the poison is incredible too. The poison from just one flower is strong enough to kill 500 people! ”

＊

When Ain heard about the poison from Krone, he then thought:

‘Then, don’t plant such a dangerous flower in such a place’.

“You might be wondering why such a dangerous flower is planted here, right? ”

“……I can’t say I haven’t thought that.”

“You surely know the reason why it’s not really a problem, right, Olivia-sama? ”

“Why, of course. Ain? You see…… there are only a few people who are allowed to enter the Archduke’s garden. That’s why even though it’s dangerous for people, it’s fine since they are told about it the first time they come. And also, the poison won’t come out unless you touch it or pull it out.”

“I-I see…”

Archduke Augusto really cherished this garden. Since this was his only real hobby, for him this was almost like a sacred place.

“Also, they are usually covered with a glass, they are uncovered today since it’s a special occasion. He wanted to make them easy to see since a lot of people would be coming.”

“So, that’s why we can be this close to them today?”

“Just as you say, well, there are still many things I’d love to show you. I hope you’ll have fun. ”

Ain and Olivia followed after the high-spirited Krone.

They felt this would be a fun occasion.