The Engagement of the Baron of Flowers and the Withered Tree Lady.

Chapter 51 Hardis and the Green Spirit King

Hardis shed tears despite being in public. He couldn’t help but recall his own foolishness once again.

When his brother passed away, Hardis had thought of taking his wife and child to the capital, regardless of what his father might say.

However, the situation of not being able to return home had not changed at all. So, if he had welcomed Margaret into the mansion, she would have had to socialize as the Countess alone and even manage the household affairs.

It’s unclear how much of a burden that would have been for her.

In the end, even if the two had not left home at that time and had come to the mansion, Hardis might not have been able to make Margaret and Julia happy.

In the past, under the Woodcliff family, their mother had diligently provided servant education, and the mansion ran smoothly.

However, after their mother’s death and that woman, who married his brother, took over as the lady of the house, there was no proper servant education being conducted.

After his mother’s death, coupled with the busyness of work, Hardis rarely visited his family home. Therefore, he had no idea about the state of that house. No, he hadn’t even cared about it in the first place, and that attitude didn’t change even after he became the head of the household.

However, he couldn’t use that as an excuse. The affairs of the house were the responsibility of the head of the family.

First and foremost, he had to change his own environment. If he couldn’t do that, he wouldn’t be able to make the two of them happy.

Realizing this thought at this point, Hardis lamented in front of his beloved daughter.

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“Well, your family from the past had excellent servants just like us. You probably couldn’t even imagine having such cunning individuals among them. But that’s a tale born out of the fact that your mother managed the household firmly and took care of the servants.

Your father overlooked that, didn’t he? Certainly, he might have been a loving husband, but did he only see his wife’s role?

He probably had no idea about how his wife single-handedly managed the Earl’s household in his absence, the efforts, and struggles she went through. So, he casually married a woman with status and appearance as her only assets to the heir.”

Jade’s words resonated with Hardis.

Indeed, his father was unfit as the head of the household. Moreover, after his wife’s death, he probably ceased to be a true ‘Green Spirit User.’

Because he was a mere ‘Green Spirit User,’ he couldn’t cherish his beloved wife. Filled with guilt and a sense of loss, he closed his heart and refused to interact with the spirits.

Once a spirit forms a contract with a human, they cannot terminate the contract until the human partner dies. However, when there’s a breakdown in emotional connection, it’s only natural to create distance and lose interest. The spirit, understandably, would no longer try to help the human.

After his mother’s death, the father lost his vigor, stepped down as the head of the household, and delegated everything to his eldest son. However, when it came to the marriages of his sons, he forced his own desires onto them.

Harris and Hardis, as sons, were secretly angry with their irresponsible father, Gordon, but they had no room to point it out and admonish him. So, the sons simply told their father:

“Quit being a ‘Green Spirit User.’ At least, take proper care of this mansion that our late mother protected.”

Yet, in the end, Gordon, their father, ended up delegating the management of the mansion to the butler, Virgil Hunt, with the result being the current state of affairs.

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Now, Hardis regrets not consulting with their spirits along with his brother Harris. If they had sought their cooperation and had a conversation with their father’s spirit, maybe they could have changed their father.

However, back then, he had resigned himself, assuming that the sensibilities of spirits were inevitably different from humans. Since they valued senses highly, they were not very proficient in language. Consequently, they couldn’t understand the feelings behind human words, and they didn’t care.

Naturally, spirits never thought of meddling in human affairs, and they didn’t willingly involve themselves in things not requested.

Hardis had convinced himself that even if he explained, spirits wouldn’t understand human feelings, so the idea of consulting them about human conflicts never crossed his mind.

However, spirits aren’t inherently cold, nor are they uninterested in humans. If they had no interest, they wouldn’t lend their power for the sake of humans.

When he messed up in the western country, Hardis finally realized through his interactions with his buddy Filam that Filam had been watching over him with concern all along.

Why didn’t he notice this before?

Why did he forget the essence of being a ‘Green Spirit User’?

Those chosen as spirit users should have, at the very least, made an effort to convey their words and feelings to the spirits with care. Whether it actually got through or not was a different issue.

The ancient spirit users must have always been aware of that fundamental aspect. Yet, when exactly did they forget such a crucial thing? Was it due to overworking, leading everyone to lose the mental space for it?

In the past, the ‘Green Spirits’ and ‘Green Spirit Users,’ who used to be present in people’s daily lives, eventually became the country’s top-secret affairs.

Because of this, they could no longer openly discuss their troubles with their cherished family and friends. Yes, we ‘Green Spirit Users’ either sighed among our peers or shared a drink with high-ranking nobles as our only means of release.

Surely, spirit users in other countries must be facing similar situations.

Furthermore, in the western country, they didn’t express awe, respect, or gratitude towards the ‘Black Spirits’ and ‘Black Spirit Users.’ It’s natural to think, “Well, what did you expect?” However, committing crimes that would affect the general population is out of the question.

Even in such harsh conditions, Hardis realized that he was still fortunate. This awareness struck him, particularly right after the incident in the desert of that western country.

In a daze of self-loss, Hardis muttered words of frustration, thinking, “If only you had stopped me…” To this, his partner, the Green Spirit King Filam, spoke.

He wanted to let out everything that had been bottled up…

Those words, filled with compassion, seeped into Hardis’s heart, which had become as dry as a desert. Then, warmth overflowed, streaming down his cheeks.

It was the first time he had experienced such tender words since losing his wife, Margaret.

Hardis considered Filam a partner and a dear friend. After all, they had been together for over thirty years. However, in the beginning, communication was almost non-existent. It felt like they were connected solely through senses.

Nevertheless, Filam gradually began responding to his attempts at conversation, and their relationship evolved to the point where they could speak informally, and Hardis even learned Filam’s name.

So when he heard that Filam had become the Green Spirit King, he was genuinely surprised and felt as if his legs were about to give way.

And at that moment, he couldn’t help but think:

As a mere user, he needed to draw a clear line and not casually involve himself with the ‘Green Spirit King.’ The ‘Green Spirit King’ is a special figure who protects the country, and he shouldn’t use his power for personal matters. Consulting him about private troubles was strictly off-limits.