Cecilus pushed the clinic door open to leave, but just as it swung outward, he spotted a small girl standing there. Her eyes were glossy, and she looked like she was fighting hard not to cry.
"I–I need the doctor! Please! My grandma—she won't wake up!" she blurted, her voice trembling and loud.
Celtis darted out at once. "Damn! Her heart was already looking bad before! Kid, come with me—I'll help your grandmother right away."
He grabbed the girl's hand and sprinted toward town.
Cecilus, however, lifted his gaze above the village. A faint purple light shimmered upward, slowly drifting into the sky—a soul. Its thoughts unfurled in a voice only he could hear:
"I'm sorry, child... I won't see you grow up. If only I'd cared for myself better. If only I'd tried harder... If only I could start over. But I'll never forget you. We'll meet again in heaven. I love you with all my heart."
The soul's sorrow and regrets poured into Cecilus' mind. He stood silently, knowing the girl's grandmother had already passed. Yet he felt no sadness. Death was something he'd seen countless times on the battlefield—souls rising, whispering their last feelings as they slipped away. Only Cecilus could hear their cries. He never knew if the dead realized he was listening, but he absorbed every word until they vanished.
Marina watched him stand motionless. Why's he just standing there? Aren't we supposed to go? Would it be rude to ask?
Then Cecilus turned to her and flashed a wide grin.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. You probably have things to do yourself. I'll handle any punishment you get for this. Anyway—let's move!"
***
The Crow Manor loomed ahead as they walked the path. Cecilus was in thought about the grandmother's soul. I wonder what regrets I'll voice when my own soul leaves this world? No reason to think about such things right now, though, maybe in a few hundred years, this question will mean more. First things first, I have to figure out how to explain the plan to this girl. Well, I doubt she's stupid enough to mess up something so simple.
"Ok, so I'm gonna need you to create some weeds. Small, normal-sized ones should do."
Marina stared at him, puzzled. The hell? Weeds? Wait, does he think I can make weeds after I made that huge flower? Don't I need that crystal for that?
"Don't I need that crystal to make plants?"
"Oh, no. The crystal only reveals your magical affinity. You've already shown you can use creation magic. Just think of the plant, its size, and summon it like before."
Cecilus easily answered the question, but his mind had other thoughts. I have no idea how creation magic works... Hopefully, she can just figure it out. The base spell of a magic type is usually easy and is utilized pretty naturally after they use it for the first time with the crystal. Visualization helps me with my magic, so I recommended it to her. When summoning puppy, I just think about how he looks, and he shows up immediately. Actually, I guess it's Aldo now and not puppy...
Marina looked at the ground and tried to recall what had happened earlier with the giant flower. Her thoughts then shifted to visualizing a small weed, and her hands began to glow green. Some of the grass nearby turned grey, and directly in front of her, a weed had emerged out of the ground.
Cecilus then patted her on the back and congratulated her.
Cecilus patted her back. "Nice work! Your first independent spell is always special—even if it's technically your second. Be proud. Now, look at that garden over there."
He pointed to the sprawling garden at his family's manor entrance. His finger was directed at a patch of purple flowers.
"I'll need about a hundred weeds grown there. Sound good?"
Why the hell does he want weeds in his family's garden? Is he trying to test something? Or is he just crazy? Also one hundred! Just one weed is already making me tired. Can't he just hire a bunch of servants to plant weeds? Why is he stealing a slave for this? At least I've learned that I can use magic on my own now. Just need to power through this weird interaction and leave!
Marina lowered her head slightly and walked forward, about to attempt the growth of the weeds; however, she was stopped abruptly by Cecilus' words.
"Wait! We need a hiding spot first! The gardener's there—what if he spots us?"
What the hell does he mean? That's his gardener! Why the heck is he hiding from the gardener and planting weeds? Maybe he is testing his gardener? The activities of royalty will never be understood by me...
They both then hid behind some trees in view, yet far enough in the distance to not be caught. Marina then began to grow the weeds in the garden from afar. Between the colorful flowers, bushes, and evenly cut grass trails, dark green weeds began to pop up.
It didn't take long for the old gardener to notice. His shoulders sagged, and a heavy sigh escaped him as if he'd carried this weight a thousand times before. "Hmm... maybe my eyes really are failing... How'd I miss so many weeds?" he muttered in a dull, monotone voice, bending down to pluck out the bunch.
Cecilus chuckled quietly. Aldo was already spying on the gardener and relaying everything through their soul link.
"Wait a second until he leaves that patch and then grow more. I can't wait to see the look on his face!" Cecilus gave his command to Marina while she was staring at him with wide eyes.
So he's just pranking his gardener? The hell is wrong with this guy? Does he just find it enjoyable being an asshole? He's crazy! And his eyes... they're gleaming with joy! Is this what nobles find entertaining, or is he just broken?
Marina complied, though she was panting from exhaustion. Noticing this, Cecilus waved her off.
"This is enough for now, we can resume the fun later on another day. Right now, let's just watch his reaction when I show up to check out the garden!" Cecilus' smile widened, and he ran past the tree, grabbing Marina's hand.
They both ran to this side of a few trimmed bushes, and he ordered Marina to stay there. He then took off to the main entrance of the manor, stealthily making sure the gardener would not see him.
Marina watched Cecilus run away as she listened carefully for voices.
This guy is the last person anyone should get wrapped up with. He's just using me as a tool for his games! How the hell am I supposed to get out of this now... If it were only today, I could deal with it, but he expects me to comply with his requests later on! At least it seems like he treats everyone like this, and my status as a slave doesn't feel like the driving point. I wouldn't be surprised if he grabbed some random villager kid and forced him to join us...
She heard the gardener's voice through the bush.
"Hello, young master Cecilus! Here to see the garden? Shall I show you around?"
"Yes! I'd love to. Let's start near the purple flowers," Cecilus said, pointing to the area Marina had planted with weeds.
He's actually going to walk him right into it. He really enjoys other people's misery. He won't punish the gardener... right? Marina's stomach tightened.
"Oh, what's this?" Cecilus said loudly. "Why are there so many weeds here? It looks messy."
Cecilus then looked back at the old man whose eyes grew wide in shock.
The old man's eyes widened. "Oh no! I swear I pulled all the weeds! Please forgive me, young master. I must have overlooked them!"
"No, no," Cecilus replied, sounding almost kind. "Sometimes eyesight fades. It's not your fault. I can take care of the garden myself."
He signaled for his rock golems. They emerged silently, beginning to pluck the weeds with mechanical precision.
"No, please—I can do it!" The gardener said, panic creeping into his voice. "If this gets out, I'll be punished!"
"Oh?" Cecilus tilted his head. "So you don't think you deserve punishment?"
"I'd never say that. I just... couldn't show my face here if it became known you did my work..." Tears began to well in the old man's eyes.
Shit, this dude is awful. How the hell can anyone stand this? Torturing this poor old man... I can't have this keep going! Marina started to rise, but what came next froze her in place.
"HAHAHA! GOT YOU!" Cecilus burst into laughter, pointing at the old man.
"I grew those weeds when you weren't looking! HAH! You should have seen the look on your face! It was hilarious! It looked like you were about to cry!" He continued to point at the old man whose face was shocked while laughing.
"I–It was you?" the old man stammered.
"Yeah, I got you good, didn't I?" Cecilus's grin stretched wide.
"Uh... y-yeah, haha..." The man's tense expression melted into an awkward smile.
"You don't have to hold it in. Laugh too! I can't believe you didn't realize!"
"Ha, yeah, young master. I noticed something was off, but I'd never dare complain..."
"Huh? You noticed but stayed quiet because of my status? Did you want to be punished? Also, drop the 'young master.' Cecilus is fine—unless my father's around."
"I didn't know exactly what was happening, but my eyesight's not so bad I'd miss weeds appearing like that."
"Damn. Maybe the scale was too big," Cecilus said, chuckling. "Thanks for the tip. That'll help next time!"
Behind the bush, Marina blinked. He went from seeming like an unempathetic upper-class lunatic to being buddy-buddy with his servant in the matter of a few minutes. What the hell! I heard that he doesn't come to his home often, so his servants being very unaccustomed to him makes sense... I didn't think he would reveal the prank, though.
"Okay, keep up the great work. The garden looks beautiful!" Cecilus said, raising a hand in farewell.
The old man then glanced down at a stray weed the golems had missed. What a strange boy. None of his siblings are like him. No one in his family is. He seems crazy. But why do I feel strange? Almost like I was a child again... The man bent down and grabbed the weed; however, this time, his lips were curved up.