#30. Greeting (1)
“Pavel? What’s wrong?”
When Sasha looked at him with surprised eyes, Pavel realized he was acting like a child.
Still, even as he rubbed his reddened neck, he didn’t back down.
The boy pouted and grumbled.
“We’re not done yet.”
“Huh? Really? Did I interrupt?”
“Yeah.”
Sasha gave an awkward laugh.
“Sorry, Pavel. Sorry to you too, Sir.”
“Not at all.”
Andrei quickly shook his head. That annoyed Pavel even more.
Grinding his teeth, Pavel used his poor riding posture as an excuse to pull Andrei away from Sasha.
“Oh-ho.”
From a distance, Nikolai watched the trio with amused interest.
Meanwhile, Pavel was consumed by self-loathing.
“Jealous? Like I lost a close friend? Even a child wouldn’t act this immaturely!”
Still, even when he tried to stop thinking about them, he couldn’t stand watching Andrei approach Sasha.
While he wavered between shame and jealousy, time passed, and his riding lessons continued.
Pavel actually started hoping the lessons would end soon.
He disliked the idea of seeing his father, Grand Duke Volkov, again—but compared to watching Andrei and Sasha get along, facing his stern father seemed easier.
While Pavel groaned through lessons, Sasha discovered the location of the Barudum flower.
“There~ it’s over there~!”
“Follow me! Hurry! Hurry!”
Following the excited spirits, she finally saw what she’d been looking for.
A bell-shaped blue flower shyly blooming in the shade beneath a cliff.
Its thin petals were translucent, almost like you could see through them, and gave off a frosty white glow like ice.
“It really exists.”
It was still in bud, but would bloom soon.
Once it bloomed, it would last a week without wilting, so it would be ready just in time for the Grand Duke’s return in three days.
But it couldn’t be touched yet.
The sensitive Barudum flower would drop its bud and wither instantly if disturbed before it fully bloomed.
So she had to remember the location and pick it only when it was in full bloom.
After descending the mountain, Sasha brought Pavel with her to show him the spot.
With help from the spirits, Sasha could navigate easily like using a GPS—but that wasn’t the case for Pavel.
The place where the Barudum flower bloomed was so remote, they had to walk a long, twisting path, until their clothes were soaked in sweat.
Sasha grew a bit worried.
“Will you be able to come here on your own?”
“Yeah.”
Pavel nodded. It was a calm but confident answer.
Sasha didn’t think he was bluffing.
From teaching him personally, she knew Pavel was smart.
His comprehension and memory were excellent. Even if the path was complicated, he would be able to remember it.
“Good. Then I’ll teach you how to pick the Barudum flower.”
The flower only bloomed under very specific, difficult conditions—and harvesting it also required care.
Touching it like an ordinary flower would cause it to wither and melt into water on contact.
“So you have to follow exactly what I say.”
Fortunately, as long as the precautions were followed, it wasn’t too hard.
The steps weren’t complex. If done in order, the flower could be safely harvested.
“First, wear these gloves…”
Sasha pulled out a thin pair of gloves from her pocket.
They weren’t made to handle spirits directly, but they had been infused with a spirit’s energy.
The energy wouldn’t last long—but it should hold for an hour or two.
“Hold the flower stem firmly, and break it off while making sure not to lose any leaves.”
She emphasized again: if the leaves fell off, the flower would wilt faster.
Then she asked:
“Think you can do it?”
“Yeah.”
Even with one explanation, Pavel memorized it right away.
Still, better to be over-prepared.
Back at the annex, Sasha told Pavel to go to the flower spot on his own as a test run.
Like a parent sending their child on their first errand, Sasha waited nervously.
“He climbed up~!”
“Standing in front of the flower~!”
“Now coming back down~!”
The spirit she secretly sent gave her real-time updates, but she was still nervous since she didn’t go with him.
Thankfully, Pavel returned safely without tripping or getting hurt.
“Good job, Pavel. You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”
“No.”
“Great. Then just do exactly the same next time.”
With everything ready, the plan came together like a completed puzzle.
Now only one thing remained—execution.
Meanwhile…
The army led by Grand Duke Volkov set up camp under a low hill to shield from the wind.
On the way home from a brutal war, the campsite buzzed with chatter from soldiers excited to see their families again.
All except for one place—the large central tent.
“…”
“…”
Inside, two large men sat silently across a small table, sipping tea. The atmosphere was heavy.
One was the tent’s owner: Dmitri Volkov, the Grand Duke of Volkov.
The other was his loyal knight, Igor Medvedev.
“Ahem!”
Unable to bear the silence, Igor finally spoke.
“My lord, are you not pleased?”
“…”
“I can’t help feeling excited thinking about returning home. I wonder how much my only son has grown.”
He looked into the air with wistful eyes, imagining his son Andrei.
“He’s still growing, you know. Last year we were about the same height—but when I see him this year, he might be taller than me!”
Igor laughed heartily. Dmitri stared silently for a moment, then spoke.
“You must be at ease, having such a fine son.”
“Well, yes.”
Scratching his head, Igor beamed with pride.
“People say I raised him well, and they’re jealous. Hahaha!”
“…”
But the laughter didn’t last long.
Despite his clumsy appearance, Igor was sharp and read the mood well—unlike his naive son Andrei.
As he laughed, realization hit.
“Crap! That was a poor choice of words!”
Igor winced inwardly.
He knew how much his lord was troubled because of young master Pavel, yet here he was bragging about his own child. What an idiot!
Clearing his throat, Igor quickly added, watching Dmitri’s face.
“But, well… he’s big, sure, but he’s quiet and expressionless. Honestly, he’s not that lovable. Sometimes I think I’d prefer a daughter like my wife—or a cute boy like the young master.”
“…”
“…”
Another painful silence.
Igor fumbled for a way to recover, lips twitching in panic.
Then, Dmitri finally spoke in his cool tone.
“That boy…”
He didn’t say who, but Igor instantly knew he meant Pavel.
“Yes, the young master?”
Dmitri continued, looking serious.
“I don’t know what the problem is. Even though Gregory is taking good care of him, he’s not improving—he’s just causing more trouble.”
Dmitri thought of his younger brother, Count Gregory Volkov.
Unlike him, Gregory was gentle and considerate—even as a child.
He’d trusted Gregory to care for Pavel after the loss of his wife.
Every report Gregory sent detailed how well he treated Pavel.
Whenever Dmitri returned to the castle, Pavel was always dressed nicely and treated like royalty.
Yet despite that, Pavel wasn’t growing into a worthy heir.
Instead, his terrible reputation had spread all the way to distant battlefields.
Dmitri’s expression grew darker as he recalled Pavel’s infamy.
Igor, sensing this, tried to lift the mood.
“Even so, I have hope. Change always starts small, doesn’t it? And now that he’s married… maybe the young master has grown up this year.”
“…”
Dmitri said nothing, quietly sipping his tea.
Igor cleared his throat and went on.
“Having a family to care for… maybe that’s brought him some change. I saw the young lady at the wedding—she seemed beautiful and strong.”
Still, Dmitri said nothing. But Igor kept trying.
“Maybe she’ll hold the young master’s heart and help shape him into a great man. They say a man matures when he falls in love, after all.”
“Hmm.”
Thinking of Sasha at the wedding, Dmitri slowly spoke.
“She was indeed… impressive.”
Igor was surprised.
Dmitri rarely praised anyone. To say “impressive” was practically the highest compliment.
If he said that, it meant he was quite pleased with the young lady.
