Episode 43
[ Hateful Argen. ]
A note left by his mother before her death.
The handwriting, slanted and scribbled so poorly it was barely legible, seemed to reek of deep irritation and rage.
The boy’s pupils darkened as he looked at it.
‘……Why would she leave behind a keepsake if she hated me this much?’
She even left a message telling him to search well, as she had hidden it somewhere in the palace maid’s quarters.
Argen’s biological mother had been a low-ranking maid in the imperial palace, but because of her exceptional beauty, she became the emperor’s concubine.
The emperor loved the maid’s beauty.
But he didn’t love her blood.
Once she realized this, the maid hid the fact that she was pregnant. Afterwards, she fled the palace, gave birth to the child in a slum of the capital, and sent him to the emperor before she passed away.
Argen was born as a stain the emperor wished to erase, and a tool for his mother’s revenge.
At first, the emperor tried to reject Argen.
But then——
— You seem to carry the strongest trace of the dragon bloodline, even though it has weakened considerably over time. If you grow properly, you could become incredibly powerful…
Because of those words from a priest, Argen’s fate changed 180 degrees.
The emperor falsified his origins and gave him the status of the “Second Prince,” claiming he was the empress’s child.
The kind empress, feeling sorry for the young Argen, accepted this at first.
The problem was that the position of crown prince was still vacant.
— Empress. When are you planning to name the First Prince… Robert, as the crown prince? Hm… I think it’s still too soon to choose a successor. Besides, Argen is still young, isn’t he?
— …Your Majesty. This isn’t what we agreed on…
— I hear Arzen is quite clever? I have high hopes for the future.
The empress acted the very next day after that banquet.
The nanny Argen relied on was bribed by the empress and mixed poison into his tea. After waking from a terrible fever, Argen realized—
‘If I want to survive, I must not stand out.’
He had to become a child who pretended not to covet his brother’s or sister’s position.
‘So, I must eat the jelly Her Majesty secretly sends me without complaint…’
He held his breath as if his magic had vanished.
‘I won’t die like this.’
Being alone wasn’t scary.
What truly frightened him was dying like dust without leaving behind even a name.
Just like his mother had.
Argen hated such an end. So, instinctively, he decided to struggle and protect his own life.
‘I’m still weak and young to fight against enemies.’
So for now, the best he could do was keep a low profile and wait for the right time.
If he did that, perhaps someday he would learn how to swim in this vast ocean and find land where he could stand tall on his own.
Of course, sometimes, the thought of having to survive in such a vast and distant world brought tears to his eyes, but he held them back.
‘It’s fine even if I’m alone. I’m used to being hated.’
Being alone truly didn’t scare him—at all.
Like a vow, the boy reaffirmed his thoughts.
‘I don’t need anyone to love me.’
[ Hateful Argen. ]
Rustle. The note crumpled in his hand.
Even this… didn’t matter.
Of course, the first time he saw the note, it felt like his heart had dropped to his feet. But after seeing it over and over again, even that feeling had dulled.
‘The reason I’m searching for a keepsake from a mother who hated me… is because I can’t leave a weakness behind in the palace.’
That was all. It wasn’t because he missed the traces of a maid mother. Nor was it because he held onto a faint hope.
‘Because I’m going to become a strong adult, even on my own.’
The boy suppressed his emotions out of habit, trying to steady himself.
Sometimes, his heart felt like an empty cup, but Argen thought that was a good thing—because it made him feel lighter.
Just as he was passing the time by controlling his emotions—
As he peeked out the curtain to glance outside, Argen tilted his head.
“…Ah.”
He caught sight of a pink flag fluttering over a store.
He hadn’t meant to think about it, but now the thought came rushing back.
‘That kid… She was unusually clever for someone so young.’
Surely not…
‘…It can’t be, right?’
***
[ All Kinds of Herb Seeds Shop ]
“Chirp.”
I confidently entered the general store near the toy shop.
It was to buy herb seeds needed for the meeting.
However—
“What? You don’t have mintmary seeds?”
The store owner, a kind-looking older woman, nodded regretfully.
“Yes. There was a fire in the storage where those herb seeds were kept, and they all burned down.”
“What the—!”
‘I thought I’d easily be able to get mintmary herb seeds…’
What a bolt from the blue!
“I could get some from another region, but… It’s not a very popular seed, so it might take about three weeks to restock.”
“Three weeks…”
‘That’s way too late. The meeting will be over by then.’
Mintmary herb.
Also known as the “20-day herb.”
Once planted, it typically takes around three weeks for its leaves to turn pink and mature enough to harvest.
It was already known to grow fast, but I was planning to use my magic to shorten that time to about two weeks.
‘But if there are no seeds, I can’t do anything.’
Seedlings wouldn’t work. I needed to germinate them using my magic.
“What should I do…”
“If you’re looking for other herb seeds, I have some in stock. How about those?”
“Other herbs?”
“Yes. You’re still young, so you might not know, but mintmary, while pretty, has too strong of a scent to grow alongside other crops for a long time. Didn’t you say you planted tomatoes and potatoes in your garden?”
“Oh, yes… I know that, but…”
It’s precisely because it’s strongly scented and pretty that it’s meaningful.
‘I was planning to grow them with my magic and then transplant them into pots anyway.’
“Hm? Is there a specific reason you need to grow that herb?”
I pressed my lips together.
The reason I needed to grow mintmary wasn’t anything special.
‘I just need plants that will serve as my eyes and ears around the mansion.’
To know what’s going on in the Wintervalt duchy.
To report every behind-the-scenes scheme and gossip spoken by visitors.
So-called tattletale plants!
‘There’s the method of asking the trees, but bedrooms and such are difficult… And not all trees can communicate with me.’
The ones I could communicate with were limited to old trees or mystical herbs from sacred mountains.
In other words, only plants that had absorbed magic over a long period or had gained dense magic from their environment.
‘But there’s an exception. Plants grown from seed with my magic!’
Maybe because I awakened them with my magic from the very beginning, I could communicate with them without issue.
Honestly, when I first learned that, I couldn’t eat anything for a while. I felt sorry for the plants in my garden.
Seeing me withering away, Daddy Alec got really worried.
‘But the plants told me—Nature is about cycles!’
So, they said it’s okay to receive what’s given without greed and, in return, sow new seeds again with a grateful heart.
That was something I learned from tending the garden in the village of Lepi.
‘But still… What should I do? Mintmary is the easiest to grow.’
While I was pondering alternatives, the shopkeeper suddenly said, “Oh.”
“Come to think of it, the gardening shop over in Southon Market might have them… The one run by the Florin count’s family.”
“Oh?”
“But only nobles are allowed in there…”
The woman glanced at me. I was wearing a modest dress.
From my appearance, it was hard to determine my status.
But maybe because she assumed that if I were a noble, I would’ve gone to the Florin gardening shop first, she seemed to think I was a commoner.
‘Hmm…’
I only came here because it was close.
‘Should I try the nobles-only gardening shop? But my identity is kind of complicated.’
I wiggled my toes inside my leather shoes that just covered my ankles. As usual, my socks were well-hidden.
‘The daughter of Alec Valt is a commoner, but the daughter of Duke Kalec Wintervalt is a noble…’
Sadly, Duke Kalec Wintervalt never acknowledged me as his daughter.
“Ugh. Still a long way to go…”
“Hm? What did you say?”
“Nothing! I’ll pass on the rest. Thank you!”
I gave a quick bow and dashed out.
‘All good! There’s still the easiest way!’
Nobles only?
I’ve got someone who can get me in!
The moment I stepped outside, I saw a back like a boulder.
A figure whose appearance alone screamed “Wintervalt’s noble family!”
“Grandpa!”
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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