“Ai’er, you…”
Seeing Elena’s hesitation, Ai’er suddenly realized something.
Before she had left the villa, Fina and Anna had blocked her path, saying that Elena had forbidden her from leaving.
“Don’t blame Fina and Anna! I was the one who insisted on running out; it isn’t their fault!”
Elena did not respond.
The Witch remained expressionless, setting down her documents and walking silently toward Ai’er.
‘Is Elena angry?’ Ai’er wasn’t sure, but she instinctively took a step back.
In the next moment, however, Ai’er pulled her retreating foot back.
‘What did I come here for? I came to give Elena the gift I prepared!’
‘Why should I retreat? I should just go for it directly, shouldn’t I?’
At that moment, Ai’er remembered a famous quote she had heard back on Earth—
‘Just go for it directly, she won’t be able to handle it.’
Borrowing the wisdom of the ancients, now was the time to put it into practice! Go for it!
“Elena, I came here to—!”
Ai’er tightened her grip on the object behind her back, but just as she was about to pull her hands forward, Elena’s hand touched her cheek.
A moment later, Ai’er’s silver-white hair was gently brushed aside, revealing her fair forehead…
Eh?
“Ai’er, don’t do this next time. Your health is poor right now, so don’t wander around.”
Elena’s breath brushed against Ai’er’s eyelashes, making her heart flutter.
As her dark blue eyes fluttered closed, Elena pressed her forehead against Ai’er’s.
It was cool, but it felt very comfortable.
“Your face looks a bit red, but at least you don’t have a fever.”
When those dark blue eyes reappeared in Ai’er’s vision, Elena was wearing a smile.
Ai’er could feel that her face was likely flushed red.
Heat continuously gathered in her cheeks and earlobes, and the words she had prepared were now stuck in her throat.
“Why did you suddenly think to come here? Is there something you need?”
Something? Something…
Right, the gift!
Braving the heat on her face, Ai’er brought her hands from behind her back to the front.
“I… I only just found out that tomorrow is your birthday, Elena. I didn’t know what would be best to get you, so… so! This is your gift!”
A pure white envelope appeared before Elena’s eyes.
Blinking, Elena gently took the envelope.
Inside, there seemed to be a piece of paper and a small, round solid object.
“Can I open it now?”
“O-o-o-open it! ⁄(⁄⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄⁄)⁄”
Seeing Ai’er become visibly embarrassed, Elena grew even more curious about the contents.
Moreover, for some reason, looking at the silver-haired girl before her, Elena suddenly felt a mischievous urge.
‘Why is this? Why do I feel like teasing her a little when I see her shy and lovely posture?’
‘But this is wrong. How could I want to bully her? She is clearly… clearly a being like moonlight that gave me salvation.’
‘How could I… how could I tease her… how could I…’
‘B-but…’
‘No, no, stop thinking about that, Elena! Don’t let Ai’er’s kindness go to waste!’
Deciding to stop her wandering thoughts, Elena carefully opened the envelope.
Inside was a handmade voucher and a seed.
“That voucher is… is… the ‘At Your Command’ Voucher! If there’s ever something you want me to do, but I’m a bit reluctant… you can pull out this voucher!”
Even though it was basically like a “back-rub coupon,” Ai’er didn’t know why it felt so embarrassing to explain.
Furthermore, for some reason, an image like ‘Madam, you wouldn’t want…’ flashed through Ai’er’s mind.
‘These two things have absolutely no connection! Why is my head filled with such trashy thoughts right now QAQ!!’
While Elena wasn’t looking, Ai’er grabbed her head and shook it quickly, then locked her gaze onto the seed Elena had pulled out.
“And that seed… I asked an old lady at the Academy named Madame Felier for it. As soon as I said I was preparing a gift for you, she gave me this.”
Ai’er had originally gone to the library with the library card Tina gave her, just hoping to test her luck.
She hadn’t expected to run into Madame Felier.
“Madame Felier said—what kind of flower was this again? She said that as long as someone’s Mana is infused into it, the flower will stay in bloom forever. I… I figured girls would like flowers.”
“And a flower that never withers is pretty romantic, isn’t it? Ehehe~”
Listening to Ai’er’s silly laughter, Elena fixed her gaze on the round seed.
She recognized this flower. In the Imperial Capital, it was considered a very precious gift.
As long as Mana was infused into it, it would remain in full bloom until the donor passed away.
Furthermore, there was a legend—although the flower would wither after the donor’s death, it would bloom again when the donor was reincarnated.
But that was likely just a legend. Perhaps it was that very legend that gave the flower its name—
The Rebirth Flower.
And the language of this flower was—
I give my whole life to you.
“… Thank you.”
The words were soft, like a gentle breeze.
The moment she spoke, Elena slowly raised her head.
“Eh?! Elena, you, you, you—why are you crying O.o?! Did… did I make you angry?!”
“I know! Elena, you can just take your anger out on me—huh?”
Ai’er closed her eyes and offered her cheek to Elena.
However, the response was not pain, but a warm embrace.
Tears slid down Elena’s cheeks and dripped onto the corner of Ai’er’s eye. But these tears were so warm, seemingly carrying the temperature of joy, like dew that had absorbed the morning light—
Melting away the frost of the previous night.
—
“Um… Head Maid, is there anything I need to do?”
The new maid had stood out among hundreds of candidates to earn the privilege of serving the “Witch of Time.” However, standing inside the manor of that great Witch, she was still incredibly nervous.
“Normally, Lady Elena would come to see the newcomers personally at this time.”
“However, Lady Elena is busy elsewhere right now, so I will show you your future working environment and tell you a few things to keep in mind,” the Head Maid said, stepping toward a closed door.
“Considering you will be on cleaning rotation in the future, let us start with this room.”
Usually, the first room shown was a very important one, so the new maid assumed this must be the Witch’s bedroom.
But as she looked closer, she noticed something strange.
While the door looked clean, the style was from several centuries ago. If one looked closely at the gaps in the door, there were even signs of weathering.
“I think I know what you want to ask. This is indeed not Lady Elena’s room, but rather the room of another person. The manor staff only learned her name yesterday.”
As she spoke, the Head Maid gently opened the door.
“You must listen carefully. When cleaning Lady Ai’er’s room, you must be extremely diligent.”
“Lady Elena is usually very gentle, but where this room is concerned, absolutely nothing can go wrong—unless you wish to witness the power that once destroyed a Leviathan.”
The Head Maid stepped into the room first and pointed out a safe position where the new maid could stand without touching anything.
“First, you must understand that everything in this room only needs to be dusted.”
“Pay special attention to the potted plant on the windowsill. You must absolutely never throw it away, even if you see that the flower has withered.”
The Head Maid remembered something her predecessor had mentioned. Roughly 100 years ago, a servant had almost disposed of that potted plant. Fortunately, the Head Maid at the time had arrived just in check to prevent a catastrophe.
This case was an important lesson that every generation of Head Maids in the manor had to memorize.
“Um, excuse me, Head Maid… where is the withered potted plant you mentioned?”
“Hmm? It’s right there on the windowsill, in the silver-white pot—eh?”
There was no withered plant on the windowsill.
On the windowsill, bathed in the morning light—
A blue and white Rebirth Flower was silently in full bloom.