Desert Flower (2)

Translated by WookEdited by Wook

Tommy was shivering.

Everyone said that one can get their neck cut off even if they only make eye contact with ‘important people’. To see such important people looking at him right now was very.. very.. scary.

Tommy, whose brain had gone blank, immediately fell on his face and begged.

“P-Please forgive me. I have made a grave sin! I-I am so thirsty. I must have lost my mind because I haven’t drank water for so long..”

It was Leon who was rather embarrassed.

He actually found it difficult to comprehend straightaway what he had heard.

What does it mean to be thirsty enough to lose your mind?

It must be difficult, right?

Leon quickly found water.

But the water was too close.

Here,?isn’t this large container full enough for me to splash in the water?

For a moment, Leon, who bit his lip as if to cry without realizing it, put his hand into the water, shook his head, and looked for something else nearby.

“The water is..”

There it is!

When Leon jumped up and tried to get out of the wooden barrel, Elisha quickly put her hand under his armpits and lifted him.

As she carefully lowered him to the floor outside the barrel, Leon ran to the side, took the glass of water that Dorian had brought for him and held it to the child.

The child’s eyes widened, then he took it and poured it into his mouth.

Even though his body is small, he licked his lips with his tongue as if it was not enough even after emptying a glass of water at once.

Leon, who was looking for more water, felt the child looking at the water bottles placed in a row on the wall and quickly approached it. There was no shortage of water in the wooden barrel, and the bottles prepared to set the temperature were quite large, so there was no way Leon could hold them.

Dorian quickly noticed and helped Leon. When Leon brought the water in front of the child, the child quickly drank with his face half-submerged in the water.

“Umm..”

Leon was worried.

Drinking that much water. What if his stomach explodes? And..

Leon looked up not only at the child, but at the boy standing next to him.

“What about you?”

“Yes?”

“Are you not thirsty? Would you like some water too?”

It didn’t seem like the boy would be all right, still, the boy said it was okay and looked down.

“Haah.. haah.”

The child, whose face brightened as he had drunk a lot of water, raised his face and said thank you to Leon. Then he hesitated again and said to Leon.

“B-By the way.. Your Highness.”

“What is it?”

“This.. C-Can I take the rest of it?”

Leon nodded his head at the child, who was still holding the bottle of water he was drinking with both arms.

“If you don’t have enough, take the one over there, too.”

When Leon pointed to the remaining water bottles, the child smiled broadly.

Then he closed his eyes again.

“What else?”

When Leon spoke to him this time, it took the boy a little more time to answer.

“Can I take that too?

The child pointed to the wooden barrel Leon was bathing in.

“W-What are you going to use that for? You can’t drink that. It’s dirty.”

“It’s not dirty! It can be drunk! The prince is clean and noble. That water smells good, too. It’s not stained at all, it’s very..”

The boy next to the talking child grabbed his shoulders hard.

The child, who groaned in pain, finally realized what he had done and bowed his head again.

“I-I’m sorry! I-I deserve to die..”

Leon’s face turned red at the sniffling sound. The child cried even more sadly because he thought Leon was angry, but Leon had other thoughts. It was seen by Elisha. Leon was ashamed.

The fact that someone didn’t even have water to drink, but he took a bath and played with the water.

But from the beginning, life was unfair.

As Elisha reached out her hand, Dorian placed the thick, linen cloth she had been holding.

Elisha put the cloth around Leon’s body so that it did not cool down.

“You can think of them. It’s not a bad thing. They’re the ones you need to take care of. But don’t unfairly compare them with what you enjoy. It’s the result of my hard work for you, and it is something you have to protect yourself.”

It means that a person in such a high position is ignored if they are deemed unworthy of it. It is not mere contempt. It is both a direct threat and an attack. So, even if one does not enjoy their rights, they need strength.?No matter when or for what reason, even if it’s the kind of thing that breaks them down even more..

Freedom comes with a price.

“Mother..”

“Is it still difficult for Leon?”

Elisha bent her torso and placed her cheek against Leon’s top, as if to tell him that it was okay if he didn’t understand. She stares at the boy and child in front of her in that posture.

And she opened her mouth.

“Let’s do this.??Leon, you should do what you can in your place. Let’s show them that you deserve to eat something delicious and take a warm bath in front of them.”

“How, Mother?”

“There’s something that only Leon can do.”

At Elisha’s words, Leon’s blue eyes widened.

What could it be?

What is Mother talking about?

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As he was curious, the upset expression he had just before faded a little. Leon slightly pulled his mother’s sleeve.

Hurry up and tell me.

Facing that rare petulance, Elisha smiled softly, breathing warm air into Leon’s hair.

“You’re already good at it. You’re doing very well. You just have to stay like this.”

Elisha murmured, holding Leon’s cheeks with her hands and directed them toward the children opposite her.

“Ask them: What should I do for you?”

“And?”

“If you want to do it after hearing it, you can just ask this mother. Only Leon can do this in the empire. Oh, we left out your older brother. It’s only possible for you and your older brother.”

Leon, who had only licked his lips like a crucian carp, bent his eyes at the mention of Ascencio.

But he didn’t do anything that Elisha mentioned just now.?Elisha could guess what Leon was thinking with that tiny head.

“Just hear them out for now.?If you think it’s going to be hard after hearing it, why don’t you reject it??Even this mother won’t accept anything that could endanger you.”

It’s not easy for a kind-hearted Leon to listen to other people’s difficult circumstances and reject them, but it’s something that needs to be continued in the future. Although he is still a child, he is the younger brother of the Crown Prince and the biological son of the 2nd Empress who has begun to gain power.

People will constantly flock around Leon. It would be better for him to set his own standards early.

When his center of gravity goes awry, he will not let himself be swayed by others, and he will not allow others to act recklessly. That doesn’t mean there won’t be any problems, but he can exert some deterrence. He is the best thing to protect himself and others.

If it’s going to have a bad influence on Leon or Ascensio, there’s no way Elisha can just leave it alone.

It will be better if they can grow up and live in peace.

“Umm..”

“Do you think being rejected would hurt them? But Leon, if you don’t listen, they won’t even get a chance to say what they want. Which would hurt them more?”

As soon as she finished saying those words, the older boy on the other side fell to his knees and shouted.

“Please, just listen! If it doesn’t work, I won’t be greedy. I won’t force it! Other important people have never even listened to me!”

“That’s right, Leon. What would you do?”

If Leon said he couldn’t do it, Elisha would accept it as it is. She gave Leon a choice, so it’s okay if the outcome isn’t what she wants. If necessary, Elisha can talk to the boy separately.

But Leon was brave.

“I want to hear it, Mother.”

Then he got away from Elisha and went to the boy who was lying on the floor. Leon, who had lifted the boy up, looked at the boy and asked.

“What do you want?”

The boy who had been biting his molars slowly opened his mouth.

***

When the bath was over and time passed and the surrounding area became quiet,?the back door of the village chief’s house was gently opened.

A few people came out the back door and headed somewhere.

Two black shadows hiding around them pursue them.

“Whoa, where are they going? It doesn’t look like a simple night walk.”

Despite Perry’s grumbling, Hein just moved silently. He wished it had been his best friend, Miller, but that ogre-like guy had a different mission.?But, seriously. Why did Leader put me together with this gloomy guy? I’d rather be comfortable alone.

While Perry grumbled, the 2nd Empress’ party, which had been moving continuously, stopped at the outskirts behind the village where the village chief’s house was located.

[T/N: If it is not clear enough, the?“few people came out the back door and headed somewhere”?are Elisha and some other people. I put this here because it took me a while to realize.]

“Hoo.”

Perry sighed in shock.

“It’s dirty.”

The sight was so terrifying that even Hein, who is normally quiet when not holding a sword, could spit out some words. Half-collapsed houses and trash were dumped here and there.?The rotten smell from all sides poked the nose.

If they are like this, what about the 2nd Empress?

No matter how insensitive she is to anything, she will have a hard time enduring it.

Besides, what are they trying to see, or are they waiting for someone?

People appeared one by one from the nearby crumbling houses. As they approached the place where the 2nd Empress was, they couldn’t stay still any longer.

Perry reached out for his sword and was trying to run right away to where the 2nd Empress was.

“Stop.”

Hein stopped him.

Perry frowned and tried to turn to Hein, but his eyes were caught by what was in front of him, making him unable to move.

The 2nd Empress stood alone with no sign of reluctance or withdrawal from them.

“Is she going to kill them all?”

Perry spoke his thoughts without even realizing that he was talking like Rohan.

In the meantime, as she stood still, those people, who were crawling like bugs, suddenly noticed her, and started bowing their heads while hugging their bodies.

The 2nd Empress looked around her and knelt on one knee regardless of the filth. She then slowly lowered her open hands.

The transparent water glistened between her hands and the dirt floor. The light was slowly absorbed into the ground and disappeared.

However, the movement of energy did not disappear. It took root deeper and farther to find something.

The 2nd Empress was emitting light alone in the dark night, where even the moonlight could not reach.

That’s what happened.

Wetting the ground and touching people’s hearts.

It’s not warm, but it washes down coolly.

Only then did Perry realize what the 2nd Empress was trying to do.

Aah.

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“I really want her to be our empress.”

Despite the fact that he is not usually close to Hein and that it is a sensitive story to talk about as a member of the 1st Knights under the direct control of the emperor, Perry seemed to be unable to bear it without saying it at this moment.

Hein was as quiet as ever, but somehow it felt as if he had heard an answer.