7

It had probably already been three days since Noel began blankly holding the lily day and night.

Unexpectedly, the lily was growing smoothly.

Normally, when Noel handled a plant that was difficult to manage, he managed it in a laboratory layered with countless formulas, generously giving it various medicines and magic power.

However, Beth’s method was different.

She merely listened to the plant’s voice and cared for it unstintingly, so that the power the plant possessed could be displayed to its utmost.

“Ah, little hairs have appeared on the second root. We will transplant it into soil soon.”

The members of the Magic Institute, who had only been scolded by Beth at first, seemed to be gradually growing used to her instructions.

Right now, beautiful blue butterflies flew about in the greenhouse, and for the sake of the Immortal Lily, a stray cat was napping on the mat Ezra had woven from straw.

This mat had been woven to cover the washtub at night, but since it was not used during the day, apparently it was perfectly fine to lend it to the cat for a nap.

A ripe fruit fell onto Naranda’s head with a plonk, and Beth laughed loudly at him.

Naranda, who smiled wryly at his own uselessness, looked truly happy.

“Stay back! Watch me.”

The lazy girl, who had grown tired of rushing back and forth to the well countless times a day, activated attack magic said to be unrivaled in the kingdom for its perfect accuracy, and astonishingly dug a small spring right beside the greenhouse that shared the same water source as the well.

“That is amazing, Eloise-sama. When laziness is taken to its extreme, it becomes art.”

Her eyes sparkling like that, Beth happily soaked her feet in the new spring filled with cold water.

“Now I can give it freshly drawn, cold, delicious water whenever I want. I will never let Beth call me lazy or slow again.”

As if to say, “How about that?” Eloise was full of confidence.

Everyone was relaxing around the greenhouse in such a harmonious and cheerful way that they hardly looked as if they were engaged in the great task of artificially cultivating the Immortal Lily.

Noel had never seen everyone at the Magic Institute look so lively and happy since he had taken charge of this institute.

Everyone had always looked pale, competed for results, and there had always been a prickly atmosphere in the air, with everyone suffering from some kind of physical or mental trouble.

Even Noel himself, despite this being the great task of cultivating the Immortal Lily, had done nothing since it sprouted except hold the washtub containing the Immortal Lily, rock in the rocking chair, and blankly follow the sunlight.

At times, Beth came to check on it and cared for it in truly careful detail, opening the windows to let the wind through or giving it fresh water, but Noel himself was doing nothing. He did not know what he should do.

He understood that accustoming this lily to his own magic power was the most important matter that had to be prioritized above all else, but when he stayed still, his feelings grew impatient, and his heart could no longer remain calm.

As he blankly sat in the sunlight, Noel closed his eyes and sank into thought.

(Princess Eugenia’s life depends on this blooming.)

When he emptied his mind, a scream he normally kept sealed away slowly raised its head from the depths of his soul.

Suddenly, fear and anxiety, and words fastened to his soul like curses, arrived in Noel’s chest like a storm.

In order to escape that voice from the depths of his soul, full of fear and anxiety, Noel had worked himself to the bone every day.

—You should have been the one to die.

—You bring misfortune.

—Someone like you has no value at all.

The cursed words of the past he had sealed away brought with them anxiety for the future.

(If the flower does not bloom, Princess Eugenia will never awaken again.)

Suffering attacked him from both the past and the future. Noel writhed in the agony of a thirst like a hole had opened in his chest.

It was the same as the suffering of awakening that attacked him at dawn when Noel woke from a short sleep.

(It will disappear after a while.)

Greasy sweat flowed down him.

Noel had been clenching his teeth and enduring the pain alone, but his chest suddenly, unexpectedly grew lighter.

When this attack began, it usually continued for around four hours.

However, this attack subsided remarkably quickly.

(…What happened?)

When Noel opened his eyes, Beth was there.

Beth stood by the window, adjusting the position of the crystal displayed by the windowsill and filling the entire greenhouse with small rainbows.

The small rainbows danced with the wind, and dropped seven-colored light over the Immortal Lily as they danced.

Noticing Beth’s mischievous gaze, Noel suddenly looked down at his chest, which had suddenly grown warm and easy, and there, a particularly large rainbow Beth had made was reflected together with the warmth of gentle sunlight.

“Noel-sama. Rainbows are beautiful, aren’t they?”

Beth laughed brightly and happily.

The hole that had opened in Noel’s chest had been filled to the brim by Beth with a warm, seven-colored rainbow.

“…Yes, they are.”

Noel closed his eyes once more.

The cursed words, the anxiety, and the fear no longer came. The thirst had been satisfied.

What slowly came to him from far away like gentle waves was a sense of relief.

(It will be all right. It will surely go well.)

He did not know why. But Beth was smiling.

Noel surrendered himself to an absolute sense of relief, as though he had immersed himself in the sea.