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

Chapter 55 Julia and the Rose Garden

The Marquis Rudolf and his wife, upon hearing Ruffie’s words, mutually reflected on the fact that they had mimicked insulting the other based solely on their positions.

Moreover, they further saddened Hardis by inadvertently causing a dispute between the grateful couple who were their benefactors.

However, Liana was a resilient woman who quickly recovered. After apologizing to Hardis and her husband, she immediately posed a question to Julia.

“Hey, Julia, since the spirits are always by your side, protecting you, right? Then why didn’t they protect you from the Woodcliff family?”

“They were protecting me all along. If Lord Spati hadn’t been with me, I would have died of starvation long ago.”

“……….”

The room froze once again.

After Julia was brought to the Woodcliff family and, after a while, one day, unable to endure hunger any longer, she unconsciously sought help from the spirit Spati. As if guided by something invisible, Julia’s body staggered toward the rose garden.

The Woodcliff estate was so vast that it seemed unimaginably expansive compared to the Earl’s residence, and wandering alone, one might easily get lost.

So, Julia hadn’t noticed such an impressive rose garden within the estate. She had been somewhat disappointed because there were not many plants around the mansion.

However, beyond the garden, not only was there a spacious rose garden, but also a variety of plants were planted.

Julia regretted not realizing this place earlier. At the moment, she didn’t have the energy to appreciate roses.

“The rose garden is filled with tremendous energy, and overwhelmed by that power, I collapsed right there,” Julia recalled with a wry smile. Ruffie continued, sharing his experience.

“I was truly surprised at that time. Moreover, even if I wanted to go to help, it felt as if there was an invisible barrier preventing me from getting close to the young lady.

I sought help from the mansion’s residents, but no one responded.

Actually, it seems they couldn’t approach the rose garden from before.”

“A sacred place, isn’t it?”

“Exactly, Lady Liana. That place was originally the center of the forest in this country, a sacred ground for the spirits.

Because it’s too pure, those who are excessively tainted are expelled.

Unfortunately, humans are not purely good. Everyone has a bit of ugliness within them.

However, when humans with more malice than usual lose all of that malice, they lose their human selves.

Our Woodcliff family built a house in that place to protect the spirits. But at the same time, it was also to protect humans.

In other words, the harmony between the excessively pure spirits and humans harboring malice is the original purpose of our family.

It wasn’t about defending against invasions from other countries.”

“Therefore, the most crucial duty of our female head of the household was to protect the rose garden, the only remaining sacred ground.

In other words, it was expected that only women with the ability to perform this task would become the female head of the household through generations.

However, without properly confirming whether Lady Cindy possessed that ability, my father welcomed her into this mansion.

Moreover, he didn’t convey the responsibilities of the female head to Lady Cindy properly… It’s unbelievable.”

“Perhaps Grandfather didn’t know much about Aunt Cindy, I think. And even now.

Aunt Cindy doesn’t like plants, so she is rejected by the spirits.

Because of that, I believe she hasn’t been able to approach the rose garden since she married.

I’ve heard that until I came to the mansion, the care of the rose garden was left entirely to the gardener.”

“But it’s strange for Ruffie to be rejected too. Ruffie is a good person, and he cares about plants.”

As Robert muttered discontentedly, Romand nodded in agreement.

Feeling that they trusted him, Ruffie became very happy.

“It’s not like that anymore. However, I think it’s because the young lady has come to trust me.

When I started guarding her, she tried to escape from the mansion many times and was quite resentful of me, stopping her each time.”

Saying this with an unusual chuckle for his usually stoic demeanor, Ruffie was met with a surprised expression from Julia as she retorted.

“I never disliked or hated Ruffie-san from the beginning. Ruffie-san was just earnestly doing his job, you see.

I may look frail and weak like a withered-up tree, but originally, I had pretty good agility.

Since childhood, I never lost at tag, and a few times I almost got kidnapped in the town, but I managed to escape every time.

So, I had respect and trust for Ruffie-san, who could easily catch me every time.”

However, a blizzard blew through those who heard her.

It was true. It was something that became apparent with a little thought. Living in the common folk, this lovely and cute girl was constantly in danger.

Even if she used cheap materials, dressed in her mother’s splendidly designed clothes that could easily belong to a top-notch designer, and carried herself with elegance, Julia would never appear to be just a commoner’s daughter.

“I’m glad you’re safe!”

Romand suddenly knelt down and hugged Julia tightly from behind, making even Julia blush.

“Safe? Cindy Aunt ordered me to take care of the rose garden and go shopping in the morning market, thanks to that, I managed to survive without going hungry. I was lucky. What’s wrong, Lord Romand… It’s so tight… It hurts.”

Being embraced by her beloved fiancé made her happy, but as Romand’s hug gradually tightened, Julia complained in a small voice. However, the strength of the embrace did not diminish.

Then, Ruffie whispered to Romand’s ear.

“It’s a bit scary that the young lady’s body, like a delicate twig, seems like it might snap…”

Hearing that, Romand hastily eased the strength of his arms. However, he didn’t let go of her. In that position, he spoke to Lady Liana.

“Lady Rudolf, the spirits do not react aggressively towards humans on their own accord, except when they are attacked with malicious intent. This is because the spirits are well aware of the clear disparity in power between themselves and humans.

Therefore, unless they are attacked with malice, the spirits do not use their powers autonomously. They recognize the differences in values between spirits and humans. Hence, the judgment of whether to use those powers or not is entrusted to us, the ‘Green Spirit Users,’ who inherit the blood of the Woodcliff family that originally led to reconciliation with humans.”

“So, does that mean Julia didn’t wish for punishment towards the mansion’s residents?”

Lady Liana, looking surprised, asked Julia, who nodded.

“Yes. Until I met Lord Romand, I didn’t harbor any resentment towards them.”

“Eh?”

“Well, you see, Liana Mama, until Lord Romand taught me, I thought of myself as my father’s illegitimate child. Since my father suddenly took me in, born from an affair, I thought it was inevitable to be harassed by the legitimate wife and children, so I didn’t hold any grudges.”

“Julia…”

“But that was a mistake. Everyone in the mansion deceived me. Father only loved Mother. I was the only child of Father. And Father didn’t dislike me at all.”

“”……..””

“When I learned that, for the first time, feelings of hatred arose in my heart, and I was bewildered. But Lord Romand and Lord Robert taught me that it’s not a bad thing. Forgiving mistakes is admirable, but that alone is not enough.

Moreover, I realized that the mistreatment extended not only to me but also to Kent and Ms. Viola. So, with the cooperation of Father and Ruffie-san, I had been gathering evidence all along. Because lynching is wrong. We should properly judge through the law, shouldn’t we?

And I never intended to seek revenge from the spirits for my personal grievances. That would be disrespectful, wouldn’t it?”

Julia spoke calmly and methodically.