Chapter 40
For no reason, Flora tapped at the broccoli with her spoon when she heard a voice call to her from the side.
“Don’t you have an appetite, Flora?”
“Huh? N-no.”
Not wanting to hear a scolding about being picky, she hurriedly made an excuse.
But—huh? The look in Athanas’s eyes as he gazed at her seemed strange.
“…I see. You’ve seemed to have no appetite lately.”
‘Huh? Have I been like that usually?’
Thinking back to recent mealtimes, she remembered she had been so busy planning how to overthrow the imperial family that she hadn’t paid much attention to eating.
In the first place, Flora preferred snacks over proper meals, and since getting imperial approval was the priority, she had been squeezing out every bit of time to come up with ideas.
But then why was he looking at her with such apologetic eyes?
While Flora was puzzled, Athanas had been constantly worried since a letter arrived from the imperial palace. His daughter seemed dispirited ever since the setback, and he was sure it was because she was hurt and had lost her energy.
Of course, the truth was that Flora had been secretly shouting about overthrowing the imperial family whenever he wasn’t looking, and Elena, who knew, kept quiet—so there was no way Athanas could know.
All he could see was his seemingly downcast daughter, and it made him anxious.
Like father, like son—Benio, too, was looking at Flora with a pitiful gaze.
“Father’s right. Even if you’re upset, you still need to eat properly. You’re small, so you need to eat more and grow stronger.”
Flora, startled by the melancholic gazes of the two “big bears,” suddenly came up with a good idea.
‘Should I just leave it as it is?’
Since they’d already brought up that she looked like she had no appetite, maybe she could leave food on her plate without being scolded.
It would be like a little reward for all the hard work she’d put into plotting against the imperial family without rest.
Just as Flora was about to put her spoon down naturally—
The dining hall door was suddenly pounded on, and with a shout of entry, it flew open.
“Your Grace, the Duke!”
The rude intruder was none other than Athanas’s only aide, Isaac.
“Isaac? What’s going on all of a sudden?”
He had run so quickly that his normally tidy appearance was disheveled, his monocle askew. His chest rose and fell heavily as he caught his breath, clearly having sprinted from far away.
In his hand was a gold-embossed envelope—the reason he had come rushing so urgently.
Flora, who was about to lay her spoon down with disinterest, perked up as Isaac shouted excitedly.
“A permit has arrived from the imperial family!”
“Is that true?”
Startled by the unexpected news, Athanas’s eyes widened and he leapt to his feet.
“Yes! Along with this letter came official documents and a template for the guild proposal!”
Athanas snatched the letter from Isaac’s hand and tore it open at once.
He read for so long, forgetting even to breathe, before finally letting out a deep sigh of relief.
“It’s true. Thank goodness.”
“But they ignored us even when you said the northern projects were blocked—why the sudden change of heart? Could this be some kind of trick? Maybe they’re planning to completely strangle the north this time.”
At Isaac’s uneasy muttering, Athanas quietly replied:
“They must have been moved by the second letter I sent.”
“What? When? What did you write?”
“That I was so happy to have found my daughter again, that I was grateful for all the information and help they’d given. That lately, my greatest joy was reading bedtime stories to my daughter.”
“…That’s all it took to change the imperial family’s mind?”
“I also mentioned how deeply moved I’d been by a book I recently read. Something about a cat and a mouse.”
At those words, silence fell among those who realized which fairy tale it was.
Flora too knew immediately.
‘It’s that story where the mouse, always bullied by the cat, finally snaps and bites the cat—becoming the new top of the alley.’
A cornered mouse bites the cat—in other words, if they kept pushing him into a corner, he might just retaliate.
‘So the great Lucifer knows how to issue veiled threats of rebellion too?’
Apparently, he wasn’t just a softhearted man after all.
‘That’s all fine, but… why did the letter have to arrive right at this moment?’
She had been about to escape from the broccoli when the timing turned against her.
“Thank goodness, Flora. You were upset, so your father kept sending letters—and it seems thanks to that, the permit was finally granted.”
With Benio’s words, everyone in the dining hall turned to look at her.
“R-really?”
Flustered by the sudden attention, Flora stammered, and Benio gave her a gentle smile and nod.
“Yes. It looks like you’re our little lucky charm.”
“R-right?”
Well, it wasn’t bad news, and since they were even giving her the credit, there was no need to deny it.
Flora forgot about the broccoli for a moment, beaming triumphantly, and everyone else smiled happily at her radiant grin.
“I’m so glad things went smoothly. Now, with such good news, doesn’t your appetite return?”
But at those words, Flora’s smile froze.
Wait a minute. This isn’t how it was supposed to go.
Before she could rise from her seat, Athanas approached her side.
“The matter you were worried about is resolved, so you don’t need to fret anymore. Let’s eat in peace now.”
He gently patted her head.
In the warm atmosphere, Flora stared down at her plate with trembling eyes.
The green broccoli seemed to be beckoning her to eat it.
With all the expectant gazes fixed on her, if she refused now, they’d surely think it strange.
With shaking hands, Flora lifted her spoon, scooping up cream soup along with the smallest broccoli she could find.
Under everyone’s eager eyes, she had no choice but to finish all the soup assigned to her.
The imperial family, for sending that permit at this very moment, would not be forgiven.
And as her rage shook through her, Flora noticed something—
Elena, avoiding everyone’s eyes, had slyly raised her thumb.
She knew Flora hated broccoli, and yet she hadn’t helped—just sat back and watched. Elena too would not be forgiven.
“Ah, my lady. Seeing you eat everything without being picky, it makes me so happy.”
As soon as the meal was over, Flora fled the dining hall, and Elena quickly followed behind.
“Hmph, I’m not talking to you anymore.”
Still fuming over the broccoli incident, Flora grumbled without even turning her head.
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. Why would I lie?”
Her angry, stomping steps gradually slowed. Unconsciously, she slowed her pace to match Elena’s, and Elena had to suppress a laugh.
She absolutely couldn’t laugh aloud. If she did, the adorable young lady would really get sulky.
‘She’s too cute.’
The thought slipped in unbidden, and Elena quickly shook her head.
“But aren’t you happy that the news you wanted came?”
“Of course I am!”
“Then you could’ve spent a bit more time with His Grace, no?”
Flora had ignored Athanas’s disappointed call, leaving the dining hall without looking back.
At Elena’s curious question, Flora clicked her tongue inwardly.
‘Seriously, do they realize I’m five years old?’
No matter how mature she acted, the truth was she was still a five-year-old child.
Sure, she could throw out ideas, but any follow-up would all be about money, money, and more money—far too serious.
If she got any more involved in the real business discussions, she’d only end up seeming like a bizarre child.
‘I should step back now.’
She had already done enough. From here on, it was up to the “bear-like” Lucifers to handle things.
“I need to tell Basil the news too!”
“Oh, that boy?”
“Yeah! Basil will be just as happy as I am!”
Basil had been the one to agree with her that the mercenary guild project could be a profitable venture, so she definitely needed to share it with him.
‘Speaking of which, how much money will it bring in?’
The permit was only just granted, so the conclusion was far off—but at least it was a step forward.
‘Come quickly, money, money, money.’
Humming to herself, Flora imagined a future not of frugal living, but one of reckless indulgence with wealth, and skipped along.
Her destination was the training grounds where the Lucifer knights trained.
Amid the hard-working knights, she spotted a small boy.
“Basil!”
Overjoyed, Flora waved her hand high and ran toward him.
“My lady, it’s dangerous to run like that!”
At the shrill voice that had no place in a training yard, Basilian, who had been wiping his sweat, turned his head.
The girl who had made flowers bloom in his heart came running toward him, pink hair streaming behind her.
“You’ll get hurt if you run like—!”
Like the maid chasing frantically after her, Basilian raised his voice—then panicked as Flora stumbled forward, about to fall.
“Whoa, she’s fast.”
Catching her just in time, Basilian felt his heart drop to the floor and spring back up again before letting out a sigh of relief.
“That was dangerous!”
“Heehee, but you caught me, didn’t you? I trusted you, Basil!”
As Flora buried her cheek against his chest, giggling, Basilian’s face turned red.
“You sure know how to talk.”
“You must’ve been working hard. You’re sweating all over.”
When she pointed to the sweat on his brow, he grew flustered.
“That’s because I was running drills earlier. I’m all sweaty, so I must smell. You should step back.”
He tried to gently push her away, but Flora deliberately stiffened her body.
“I’ll wipe it for you!”
“…What?”
Before he could say another word, Flora pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and began dabbing at his forehead.
Her touch was rough rather than careful, but unlike before, Basilian couldn’t brush her hand away—he just froze awkwardly, flustered.
“All done!”
“O-oh. Thanks.”
“I would’ve been hurt if you didn’t say that!”
Repeating the words he had once used when they reunited, she made him blink before breaking into a small, shy smile, as if he’d never been flustered at all.
