8

From the next day onward, Noel went into town every day to hold meetings with Felix’s medical team.

This was because the village did not have facilities large enough for the entire medical team to stay, and because they wanted to keep Felix’s health condition as secret from the public as possible. It was obvious what sort of rumors would spread if a large number of the country’s highest-ranking doctors gathered in the village where Felix, the heir to the throne, was staying.

“I finally had the chance to relax leisurely with Beth in a rustic hot spring area.”

After somehow sending Noel off as he lingered unwillingly at the entrance, reluctant to let go of Beth, Beth had time to herself.

Noel felt a strong sense of guilt for leaving Beth alone and bored during their precious vacation, but Beth herself was actually spending an extremely fulfilling and enjoyable time.

(Shall I walk through the eastern part of the forest today?)

To the local people, it was an ordinary forest that looked perfectly normal and unremarkable at first glance, but to Beth, the forests of this region, thick with volcanic plants, were full of rare things, so she was not bored in the slightest.

When this girl, who was loved by spirits, entered the forest, she was greeted by rare spirits with bodies of fire, and she also met angry-looking red-faced gnomes who served the volcano.

In the forest, she also found yellow nuts that contained the components of hot springs, and plants with hard petals that allowed them to withstand heat. Every last one of them was a rare plant Beth had never seen in her life.

“If you are lucky, you can find fire crystals in the forest.”

A talkative spirit taught her that.

Every day, Beth walked through forests filled with volcanic creatures that did not exist in her country, making new encounters and discoveries, and it was a very enjoyable life, but because Beth was not very talkative, she had not told anyone about it.

She intended to take some of the plants she had found in the forest back to her country and try growing them in the Magic Institute greenhouse.

She had potted several plants that caught her interest, and the large room at the inn was already filled with green living things like a greenhouse.

(I wish there was a greenhouse somewhere.)

There was probably no place with a proper greenhouse in such a rural area.

She was taking careful care of them, but if there were a greenhouse, she would be able to raise these dear plants in good condition, and Beth missed the Magic Institute greenhouse just a little.

(I wonder if Oberon-sama is well.)

Beth was spending truly fulfilling and enjoyable days, wandering through the forest every day and meeting rare volcanic spirits and plants.

(Huh? It is a turtle.)

One day, after seeing Noel off, while she was wandering through the forest every day and playing by collecting plants,

Beth found a large turtle in the forest with a slight injury to its leg.

It was rare for a turtle to be walking in the forest, but an injured turtle was even rarer.

Beth thought,

(I wonder if there is anything I can do to treat it.)

Thinking that, she followed after the turtle for a while and waited for it to stop walking.

Among the plants Beth had gathered today, there were some that were effective for cuts and injuries. If it stopped walking, Beth thought she would wrap that plant around its leg, but the turtle showed no sign of stopping at all.

The turtle seemed to be heading somewhere. Apparently, it had a destination in mind.

(I wonder where it is going.)

After all, she had plenty of time.

She had only just sent Noel off to town a short while ago, and the innkeeper’s wife had given Beth a lunchbox, so Beth would be perfectly fine playing in the forest until the sun went down.

(It is fine to have a day like that too.)

Beth decided that today would be a day spent accompanying the turtle.

Beth followed behind the turtle and walked slowly, slowly into the depths of the forest.

The turtle pushed through the bushes and walked slowly.

(Unpleasant though it is, Count Saratoga’s diagnosis does not seem to be wrong.)

Crown Prince Felix let out a deep sigh and walked through the forest at the back of the detached palace.

Felix, who did not want anyone to see him, had not taken a single step out of the detached palace grounds for years.

The grounds of the detached palace were connected to the deep volcanic forest.

However, the forest around here lay within land owned by the royal family, so none of the local people entered it.

It was not as though rare plants grew there, nor were there any fruit trees with good harvests, so there was no worry of running into anyone.

On days when there was no wind and the weather was cloudy, Felix could walk through this forest for a short time without disturbing the peace of his skin.

On such days, he strolled through the forest alone and immersed himself in thought.

Here, there should have been no need to worry about meeting anyone.

Felix walked through this forest in light clothing, wearing only a shirt and trousers, without bandages or anything else, just as he did when he usually shut himself in his room.

There was no one in this forest. No one would see Felix’s appearance and call him a monster. No one would pity Felix’s appearance.

The maids at the detached palace feared Felix, and Steward Mason, who had attended Felix ever since he was born, always cried in pity whenever he saw Felix’s face, so Felix had grown quite depressed.

He wanted to be alone. He wanted to forget that he had become an ugly creature.

That was what he should have been brooding over, but.