2

That night, Noel had no memory of how he had made it to the greenhouse.

On the way back from his visit to the marquis family, where he had felt as though his soul had been gouged out, Noel, exhausted to the limit, desperately needed the greenhouse.

It was already deep into the night, but Noel did not stay at the marquis family’s residence and headed straight for the dark greenhouse.

His father’s words gouged their way down to the very depths of Noel’s soul.

The cursed words he had sealed deep at the bottom of his heart attacked Noel and tried to reap his life.

He could not breathe, as though he were underwater.

Gasping, he finally managed to throw off his cloak, then stumbled and collapsed onto the sofa as though falling over.

Gentle moonlight streamed down from the ceiling of the greenhouse and stroked Noel’s cheek.

With the familiar scent of medicinal herbs rising from the sofa, Noel finally breathed out deeply.

—I am alive.—

It was midnight. Beth had naturally already returned to the dormitory and was probably now in the world of sleep.

Not only Beth, but there was no human presence at all.

The greenhouse was pitch-dark, with only moonlight shining in, but Noel did not feel lonely.

In the greenhouse, many plants were breathing as they pleased, and the greenhouse was filled with the joy of life.

He felt the plants breathing. He felt the workings of the lives of small creatures.

He heard the sound of one, then two small nocturnal magical beasts brushing past him.

They were magical beasts that ate the leafy parts of valuable medicinal herbs, and Noel had once told Beth to exterminate them.

Beth had refused to remove all of them from the greenhouse, saying that a plant stock that had been nibbled a little was better for the plant.

And, just as Beth had said, it had been surprising that the medicinal herbs with nibbled spots had improved in quality compared to those that had not been nibbled.

Noel turned over and looked up at the sky.

In the sky, the moon and a full canopy of stars spread out.

(It looks like that magic.)

Noel closed his eyes and remembered that night when he had shown Beth magic.

To Noel, it had been only signal magic, but Beth had said it looked as though the starry sky had fallen, her face crumpled with tears of joy.

Her large eyes had been full of tears, and she had even had a runny nose from being so moved. It had been truly unsightly, and yet it had been the most jewel-like and beautiful crying face in the world: Beth’s crying face.

Thinking of Beth’s face, Noel overflowed with a smile.

Before he knew it, the darkness melted away, and before he knew it, Noel had fallen into a deep sleep.

“Noel-sama, good morning. It is morning.”

When Noel slowly opened his eyes, what awaited him was not a full canopy of stars, but small rainbows born from the soft morning sunlight, birdsong, and Beth with a beaming smile.

(…I see. I came back alive.)

It seemed Noel had returned once again from the world of darkness.

As though the heavy, painful night Noel had fought through alone had never happened at all, Beth continued leisurely.

“The weather is good today! When I looked at that one, I somehow felt like eating banana muffins, so I baked some today. I will bring them with herbal tea later.”

At the foot of the young medicinal tree that Beth pointed to with a beaming smile, an unusually large banana slug was crawling around freely.

Noel was startled when he looked in the direction Beth pointed, but to Beth the country girl, insects seemed to be nothing worth fussing over.

The banana slug was one type of magical insect, and although it was not particularly harmful, it looked like a ripe banana, and because its appearance was unpleasant, it was something targeted for extermination in flower gardens.

Beth left it alone without minding.

Far from that, Beth was apparently giving the slug red berries, and the slug twisted its body, expressing the joy of receiving the red berries with its whole body, growing as large as it pleased.

Whether they were slugs, plants, or magical beasts that caused a little harm, everyone in this greenhouse seemed happy and free. And the finished quality of all the medicinal herbs was nothing but S-rank.

—Here, I and the slug are both simply lives.—

While gazing at the slug, Noel felt a gentle sympathy for this creature considered ugly.

He felt something in his heart slowly melting away.

Here, he could become free from the curse of words that had tormented Noel.

—Your pointlessly high magical power must all be of use to the family.

—If you are not excellent, there is no meaning in you being alive.

—Never neglect your efforts. Devote yourself to the nation.

—Atone for the sin of your birth.

The cursed words engraved into his soul were being erased before Beth’s smile.

Words were not needed in this greenhouse. To Beth, words were not something important.

If it was Beth. If it was this greenhouse.

Noel as a boy, who had truly loved admiring flowers like a girl, and Noel the coward, who had been terrified of thunder and cried in fear in the corner of his room, too.

—If it were Beth, surely she would smile and accept it.

The herbal tea Beth had brewed soaked through his entire body.

Come to think of it, he had only now realized that he had not eaten anything since yesterday.

(At Beth’s side, we are happy.)

The fragrant aroma of banana muffins drifted over from afar.