“…Rita, who are these ahjussis?” (uncles?)
“They are your bodyguards, young lady.”
Bodyguards? I had those?
I hadn’t even noticed their presence—they were so quiet, I didn’t realize they existed.
“It’s an honor to finally meet you, young lady.”
One of the five man who’s in the middle stepped forward and bowed as the representative.
“…Umm.”
I instinctively hid behind Rita. Okay, maybe not fully hiding, half my body was still peeking out.
“Young lady…”
All five of them had identical reactions, eyes widening in surprise. Their faces showed a mix of emotion: blank, sad, smiling… but all of it transparent.
It was obvious what they were feeling.
From the looks of it, my reaction hurt their feelings.
I didn’t mean to avoid them. I was just shy around strangers, that’s all… Oh—wait. Is this that?
“Alright, let’s get to work. We’re not here to chit-chat with the young lady, remember?”
Just as things were getting awkward, Rita smoothly stepped in and broke the moment.
I dove back into the flowers and began directing them one by one, pointing out where each flower should go.
Thanks to the plan I’d already made, arranging the flowers wasn’t hard but planting them was the real issue.
“Nooo!”
I ran around the garden while watching the guards as they planted the flowers. And really… What in the world were they doing?
Were they planting flowers or killing them?
Well, I guess they were warriors, not gardeners. Of course they didn’t know how to handle delicate tasks like this.
“Everyone, gather ’round!”
I ended up calling all five of them to the center of the garden.
I sat on my special white swing that Rita had made for me with arms folded, looking down at them as they knelt.
Their posture was so awkward it made me uncomfortable. I even told them to relax, but they wouldn’t budge.
“Are you seriously planning to keep doing it like that?”
“We’re doing our best, young lady…”
“If you’re that rough, I already told you, the flowers are gonna die!”
“We’re very sorry…”
My scolding wasn’t even that harsh, but they all looked so crestfallen.
The authority Hale wielded must be really powerful—how else could these warriors be so obedient to a child like me?
I decided to save the warm feeling of power for another day. Right now, I had to fix the disaster unfolding in front of me.
I wasn’t about to let my garden dreams die!
“Ugh, fine! I’ll show you how it’s done. I’ll be merciful!”
“…Excuse me?”
“Merciful?”
“Yup! But I’m only showing it once, so watch carefully!”
“Uh… yes, ma’am.”
They all looked awkwardly confused. What’s with the blank stares?
I put my hands on my hips and raised my voice again.
“Say it louder!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Leave it to us, young lady!”
“We’re good at physical labor!”
Says the ones who nearly buried the flowers alive… Still, I liked their answer, so I let it go.
I grabbed a white flower seedling, the same shade as Hale’s hair, and marched to the spot I’d chosen.
Step one. Dig a hole that’s not too deep, but not too shallow with a shovel (that was honestly too big for me).
Step two. Gently place the seedling in, being careful not to damage it.
Step three. Cover the roots with dirt and flatten the top.
Step four. Water it, pat the soil, and say a few kind words for good luck.
Once I finished, I straightened up, brushing the dirt from my hands with a proud look on my face.
Clap clap clap—
Applause rang out around me as I wiped my nose proudly.
“See? It’s easy! Why couldn’t you do that?!”
“Now that you’ve shown us, I think we’ve got it!”
“Ahem, y-yes, ma’am!”
“Let’s go, everyone!”
“We’ll finish this quickly and perfectly for you, young lady!”
The sudden surge of enthusiasm made me a little uneasy.
“Just go slow! Don’t you dare kill the flowers!”
“Don’t worry, young lady!”
Yeah, no. Watching you all bounce with excitement like that makes it impossible not to worry…
“Young lady.”
Rita returned from an errand just ten minutes after I’d sat on the swing, sucking on a big rainbow lollipop and watching the flurry of planting activity.
“Yeah?”
“It looks like it’ll take a while. Would you like to take a nap while they finish?”
“But I wanna see it all done…”
“I know, but you’re getting sleepy, aren’t you?”
Now that she mentioned it… I did feel a little drowsy.
“Haaam.”
“See? Let’s go rest.”
I didn’t last long.
Soon enough, I was nestled in Rita’s arms, and as soon as I was laid on my bed— Sleep swept me away.
I shot awake.
Maybe I’d been subconsciously thinking about the garden even while I slept. I hadn’t napped as long as usual, but it shouldn’t affect my growth.
Technically, I should wait for Rita to come get me but I was still a child, after all. Patience wasn’t exactly my strong suit.
Or rather, I was just really curious!
Rita always told me not to wander off alone, but I wasn’t the same kid I was at the start.
“I’ve got the layout memorized now!”
My heart pounded. I wasn’t sure if it was the thrill of sneaking off alone or the excitement of seeing the completed garden.
Squeak, squeak, squeak—
I was just about to go up the stairs when I heard voices below.
Startled, I instinctively ducked into a side hallway.
I was a little scared being alone… but curiosity won out.
Peeking just one eye around the corner, I spotted three people coming up the stairs.
”…Gasp!”
One of them was a familiar face.
Richt, the elder.
I could never forget him, the man who had left me such a terrifying first impression.
The two beside him were a man and woman I didn’t recognize, but they were walking too closely, they were definitely close allies.
Which probably meant they hated me too.
“Lord Rict, so… what do we do about the young lady?”
My entire body flinched at the word young lady.
I quickly ducked back into hiding.
What—what did they just say? What to do about me?!
What does that mean? Kill me?! Just because they don’t like me?!
Is that allowed?!
No, no. Calm down. Listen to the whole thing.
I could be misunderstanding something if I only caught part of it.
I peeked out again, watching the three of them closely.
“I was thinking—”
“Wait.”
Rict suddenly cut the man off and spun around.
I yelped internally and ducked away again.
Gulp.
…He didn’t see me, right?
I hid before he fully turned.
I pressed my back flat to the wall and held my breath. Stupid squeaky shoes made running impossible.
Thank goodness—the footsteps eventually faded. They must’ve kept going.
Just as I was about to peek out again—
“KYAAAAH!”
Richt’s face was right in front of mine.
I shrieked and fell backward in pure shock.
Thankfully, I landed on my butt and didn’t hit my head, but my heart was racing.
“Young lady.”
“R-Richt…!”
“What are you doing here like a rat, eavesdropping in the shadows?”
His eyes were cold. Piercing.
It’s even worse than before, now with a hint of disgust.
Even in my past life, when assassins came into my room at night, I hadn’t been this scared.
My gaze darted, unable to settle anywhere.
“You heard everything, did you?”
“Wh-what…?”
“Don’t bother pretending. I know when someone’s acting.”
Pretending? I didn’t hear anything! You’re accusing me of something I didn’t do!
Yet I couldn’t say that out loud.
My lips trembled.
Richt just stared at me in silence… then flicked his eyes toward the stairs.
When he looked back, his gaze wasn’t dragon-like—it was snake-like. Cold, wet, and slithering.
“Sigh… you’re more of a nuisance than I thought. I should’ve convinced him to just kill you right away.”
“Wha…?”
I didn’t mishear it.
He hadn’t even tried to hide it.
He wanted me dead.
That pushed me over the edge.
I knew he didn’t like me but to say something like that to my face?
“You can’t kill me! Who do you think you are?!”
“You’re unfit to be the heir, that’s who.”
There was weight in those words. He wasn’t the only one who thought that way. People like him didn’t accept me because I was half-human.
Why were they so obsessed with bloodlines?
Shouldn’t leadership go to the most capable, not the purest?
However, with this child’s body… I couldn’t argue it. Even if I could, they wouldn’t listen.
My little fists clenched and shook.
“Let me give you some advice.”
“…”
“Keep your head down. Eyes shut. Ears closed. Pretend you don’t exist.”
“…”
“That’s the only way you’ll survive next to the Lord.”
He said it so casually, as if offering weather updates.
He then turned and walked away. The moment he disappeared, I scrambled to my feet.
I needed to run to Rita—right now.
Yet my body… frozen with fear… refused to move.
