"So Flora walks around in great excitement, but I'm glad she's trying not to step on the flowers.

"Hmm, Elias's dream garden looks as fun as ever.

Master Daniel's wife, Annika, continues to twist my story. Today is a part-time job day at the Marquise of Wirt. In order to feed Annika, I've been eating lunch with Daniel and the others on work days for a while now.
Since I don't know anything about table manners, I was expecting her to feel uncomfortable, but since Elias, who is sickly and weak, hasn't had many chances to eat at the table, Master Annika told me that I should learn from now on. Annika seemed to be happy to teach me, so I think I've learned table manners at least. At any rate, I can now drink soup without making a sound. But when it comes to tea, I can't help slurping it up, so I've given up.
Recently, Annika has been lying in bed less and less, and has been eating three meals a day. She seems to be eating three meals a day. She has started to go out in the garden, and her color seems to be getting better. Daniel seems to be happy about that, and he's smiling a lot lately, which makes me happy too.

But is it okay for us to ask Gerald about the secret garden too?

"No, Daniel seems to be a tight-lipped bastard. I'm embarrassed to tell my father about .......

My father has given me permission to use his garden for my own study, so there's nothing wrong with telling him. I don't have any problem talking about it, but it's not as good as my father's garden, so I've never talked about it at home.
I'm doing the best I can, and the girls are happy, but I'm not confident that my father, the master, will see it.

I see. Well, I'm honored that you chose me to talk to.

Master Daniel smiled softly and didn't touch my embarrassment. It's moments like this that make me feel that Daniel is a kind person.

"Well, isn't my story boring ......?

The only thing I could talk about was my garden, so I was suddenly worried that I was talking too much.

I was worried that I was the only one talking about gardens.

"Yes, it is. Elias's dream gardens are always so beautiful.

Oh, thank you, .......

Daniel's eyes did not lie, and I was embarrassed when Annika nodded her head, thinking I was imagining things, but she was listening to what I was saying. I stumbled to say thank you.

"Yes. It's not like I'm thanking you for giving me something special to talk about.

When it was time for tea after dinner, Danielle had the maid bring her something, and she gave it to me instead of Danielle.

This is .......

It was a thick book with a solid binding. The reason for the thickness was written in the title, which made my eyes light up.
The title said it was a botanical book.

"Isn't Isak's birthday this month?　I was going to get him something, but Annika said this would be perfect.

"Dear Annika, ......

"Elias likes books, doesn't he?　I think this will give him more flowers in his dreams.

Annika smiled coyly.
Daniel told me that the late Elias loved stories, especially adventure stories. It's true that he might have liked the plants and trees in the garden, but if he hadn't listened to me, I'm sure that Annika would have given priority to stories.
She still can't accept that I'm not Elias, but I'm glad to know that she didn't ignore everything I said.
Then the weight in my hand brought me back to myself.

I'm flattered, but I can't accept something this expensive!

That's right. Books are so expensive that I hesitate to buy them. Especially thick illustrated books. That's why I've been reading them to my daughter when she goes to the library.
Lately, she has been going to the library when the chairperson is escorting her, where she has to be quiet so that we don't fight. I'm so happy to be able to read the botanical books that time flies by.
The young lady always says I can borrow it, but I refrain from doing so for fear of damaging the expensive book. There is no way I, a commoner, can take such an expensive illustrated book.
When I said no, Daniel smiled at me, as if he had expected my answer.

Are you happy?

"Of course I am.

"Of course." I nodded because I was very happy for Daniel and his friends.

We already have the same plant book at home. If Isak doesn't want it, I'll have to throw it away.

The word "throw away" made me choke up. I'm not sure if it's safe for the Marquis Daniel to throw it away, but it's not safe for me as a commoner.

...... is not fair, Daniel.

How could I not want it? If I hear you're throwing it away, it's like you're threatening me. I can't say no anymore.
I looked at Mr. Daniel with a bit of resentment and he smiled gently back at me.

If you're happy, take the offer.

I pondered for a few seconds and decided to accept it gratefully.

"Thank you, Daniel and Annika. I will treasure it.

I bowed my head and thanked them both.
I asked if I could take a look inside, and Daniel gave me permission, so I opened the appropriate page of the plant book.
I was delighted to see the detailed drawings of the plants and the detailed descriptions of their names and habitats. I'm thrilled that this is mine. That means I can read it whenever I want. That's great.
I don't know how Daniel and his friends were looking at me while I was absorbed in the plant book. I just noticed that when I looked up, my eyes met Annika's, who looked dumbfounded.


However, I still called her Elias after that, so I guess we haven't made much progress. I've gotten so used to my speech being misconstrued that I can't imagine Master Annika realizing that I'm not Elias.
On the way back from the Marquis of Veit's residence, I realized that I had fallen into a state that could be described as resignation, and I slapped my cheeks as hard as I could. I can't just give up on something that Daniel hasn't given up on yet.
I reassured myself that I would do my best.
When I got home, I found that it was swollen more than I thought, and my mother laughed and cooled it down for me.


A few days later, I was working in a flower bed that had not yet been replanted with summer flowers.
My father was replacing the grass in the lawn area. He inspects the lawn and replaces only the areas that have gone bad, so he can manage the area by himself. He said that next year he would teach me the standards of inspection and how to replace the lawn, so I'll just do what I'm supposed to do.

"Zerk!

What?

Suddenly I was thrown backwards, and I fell forward with my shovel in my hand. I felt a familiar arm wrapped around my neck and turned around, calling out my name.

Nico.

You're still doing the same humble work, aren't you?

He was impressed that I could do this without getting bored with greetings. On the other hand, there is no such thing as a fancy gardener's job. The finished product may be beautiful, but the process is an accumulation of simple work.
Nevertheless, I understand Nico's impression. In my previous life, I thought the same thing about a tofu maker who just did the same work every day. I wondered what was so good about such a simple and unchanging job.
Now I think I understand.

As long as it makes the girls happy, that's all that matters.

The garden of the Ernst family is for the pleasure of the Ernst family. That's why I'm a gardener, so it doesn't matter if the preparation work is simple or tacky.
I guess my stubborn father and mother in my previous life kept doing the same thing because they had customers who said it was delicious. I can admit that my parents were cool craftsmen in their previous life, as I am aiming to be cool in my father's work now. But at the same time, I can't stand the fact that I was uncool in my previous life when I challenged them for being lame.
I'm still an apprentice gardener, but I've realized that when you have a clear purpose, you don't care what people think of you. In my previous life, I used to get angry at my stubborn father for not paying attention to anything I said, but now that I'm on the receiving end of it, it doesn't bother me at all.

Hahaha, you're not just dust, you're covered in dirt!　You're not dusty, you're covered in dirt!

Yes, just like this.
The girl's bodyguard, the boy, I forgot his name because it was hard to say. Let's just call him Pochi, as Nico calls him. Porgy always says something to me when we meet, but I don't mind.
Rather, I felt his arm around my neck tighten, and I patted him on the arm to calm him down.

You're right. You'll get your beautiful dress dirty.

He smiled and replied, not wanting to deny it, and Pochi choked on his words. I know it's not the reaction you were expecting, but I don't want to get in trouble with my colleague Pochi, so I'm just going to give him what he wants.

You are not worthy of ...... you, you are not worthy of Lydia!

Yes.

I'm not sure what I want to do, but I'll do my best.
I don't know what she deserves, but I nodded my head, not only because of our differences in status, but also because she's more human than I am.
For some reason, Pochi was shocked by my reply and searched for words again. I grabbed Nico by the back of his collar to stop him, as he wobbled away from me, wrapped his fist in one hand and began to snap his fingers.
When I looked over at her to stop Porgy, she bit her lip to keep from getting angry and kept quiet. Her cheeks are a little red.

"Miss?

"......!　What is it?

When I called out to her, she noticed me after a short pause and looked up at me. It seems that she hadn't heard our previous conversation.

No, I need you to take care of Porgy while I keep Nico under control.

When I asked her to do so, she understood what was going on and immediately threw words at Porgy.

"Yeerk, again?　I told you that Zak is my friend. I told you that Zaku is my friend.

"Yes!

The young lady reprimanded him, and he saluted and stood behind her.

You're so good at answering, you know that?

When Nico clicks his tongue, Pochi sticks his tongue out where the lady can't see it. He was clearly not sorry, and Nico gave him a pale stare. Can't we do something about Nico's low boiling point about me?
In order to distract Nico, I asked him what was on my mind.

"Hey, Nico.

What?

"Hey, Nico." - "What?" - "Miss, are you feeling bad? You had a difficult expression on your face earlier, like you were thinking.

In response to my question, Nico's expression became one of dismay, as if he had been drained of his poison.

It's because of ...... Zach's opening words that he said that.

I?

The only thing I said to the young lady was that I asked her for some peaches, but I'm not sure if that was a bad idea. But I was worried about the way she looked before she asked for it.

You're saying it's a bad idea because it's like telling your boss?

It's amazing how many bombs you drop and don't even know it.

"Did I say anything dangerous?

You'll be able to find a lot of people who are interested in this sort of thing. In the end, he didn't tell me which one was the bomb, as Nico called it. I guess we were just talking about what went wrong.


But if today's escort is Porgy's day, we can't go to the secret garden. I don't have much of a problem with being found out, but the lady seems to prefer to keep it a secret, and Nico has no intention of showing Porgy his true colors.
I thought I had to keep it a secret when my dad first told me, but I told Nico, and I told Daniel and the others, although I didn't tell them where it was. Now that I've revealed this much myself, I'm ready to be scolded for abusing my authority over the Ernst family's property, even if only partially.
At any rate, I asked her to wait while I talked with her to finish replanting the flower bed I was working on, and sat her down on a bench under the shade of a tree since it was near the promenade. While we were talking and waiting, Pochi was preparing a rug for her to sit on and a parasol for her, but just in case.

So, what's up today?

I bent down in front of her, looked at her, and asked, and she wandered her eyes, then dropped her eyes to her knees and started to worry about something. I nodded my head, not expecting her to be so troubled since it was our usual exchange.
As I waited patiently, she squeezed her hands in her lap and turned away.

She turned away, her hands clasped in her lap, and said, "You're not allowed to come in here unless you want to?

"No?　I'm just happy to see you, that's all.

I'm happy to see you, but I've come here before because I had something to report, so I figured I'd do the same this time, and I don't mind if you don't need me.
I just said there was no problem, but the lady's face turned red.

Why do you have to say so much?

"What?

Zaku, it's the way you say it.

"The way you say it?

I don't know why I was scolded. Nico gave me some advice, but I couldn't figure out what was superfluous in my simple answer.
Nico patted her on the head and praised her for a job well done, or rather appeased her. The words were certainly strong, but I wondered what she was trying to do.
Pochi, who was standing by, glared at me for upsetting the young lady, but I was fine. The chairperson's glare was sharper and more painful. It's more like Johan's puffy face after a tantrum.

"Oh yeah, I have something for Zak.

After a certain amount of coaxing, Nico got up from the bench, pulled something out of his pants pocket and put it in both of my hands.

"My birthday present to you.

"Oh, thanks .......

He smiled and handed me the present, and I tried to thank him, though I was caught off guard. But when I saw what was in his hand, I was momentarily lost for words.

"Nico, this is .......

"You're a gardener, you shouldn't hurt your hands.

Well, yes, but...
It's true that there's a lot of manual labor involved, so there's nothing wrong with hurting your hands. But Nico's gift of four metal rings was no everyday object.
They're knuckles.

I'm not planning on damaging anyone's skull. ......

I don't know how to react to a gift that's more practical than a wooden sword you might buy on a school trip. A friend of mine in a previous life once gave me a cheap utility knife, saying he couldn't afford a butterfly knife, but I've never wanted a weapon. Incidentally, the utility knife was useful in camping. Especially the can opener.
He looks at the knuckles in his hand and looks up at Nico. He has a very nice smile.

"Thanks for the ......, I'll take good care of it.

"You can use it if you want.

I'm not going to use it. I don't use it, but I take it as a good luck charm or something. I didn't answer whether I would use it or not, but just smiled back.

"Now, it's your turn, Miss Dia.

When Nico clapped his hands and called out to her, she cowered.
She hesitated for a moment, then gave a small cough and pointed to the spot next to her where Nico had been sitting earlier.

Zaku, sit here.

Zaku, sit here.　Yeah.

She gave me a glare and although I didn't understand her intentions, I did as she said and sat down on the bench. The benches on the promenade are reserved for the Ernsts and their guests, so I wonder if it's okay for me, a commoner, to sit on one of them, even if it's at the end. I wondered if I should sit on the bench, even if it was at the edge.
After I sat down, I looked at the lady, wondering what she was going to do, and when our eyes met, she became frightened.

You don't need to look at me, ......!

I'm just curious.

I don't care what you say. - Shut your eyes!

I was scolded, so I quietly shut my eyes. For some reason, I heard a deep breathing sound next to me. I wondered if he was going to pull off some kind of surprise with that much enthusiasm.
I waited patiently, and a few beats later, I felt something in my hair. It went gently back and forth across my head with a slight tickle.
It was different from my father's coarse touch or my mother's covering touch, and the area was so small that I didn't immediately realize I was being stroked.

"Ma'am?

Realizing that she was being stroked, she opened her eyes and looked at her without asking for her permission. She was startled, stopped for a moment, and made a pretense of pulling back, but in the end her hand never left my head.

I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one who can't wait to get started.

I'm not sure what to make of that. It's hard to reach her when she's sitting down, so she gets down on her knees and looks a little higher than I do.
Apparently, this is her birthday present to me. I've just been doing what I can do, but I'm simply happy that I've gained something that she can recognize.

"I'm so happy. Thank you, sweetheart.

"......!　Don't look at me, it's too hard.



I looked up at the young lady and thanked her, but she scolded me again. I nodded my head and looked forward to meditate again.
Then he stroked her for a while until she stopped. When I was done, I opened my eyes and saw Pochi out of the corner of my eye, looking very frustrated.


A few days later, Ms. Catlin came to call me.
I had heard beforehand that it was a day when she was expecting a visitor, so I thought I wouldn't see her. But it was unusual for her to call me.

"Well, it's not Master Ludia who wants to see you, it's .......

"Not?

I'm a guest.

What?

It's not unusual for someone to call you by your name. I can't think of any customer of hers who would go to the trouble of specifying me. Nico will come on his own.
I'm sure he's a high class aristocrat, and I feel bad for Katrin for calling me, so I follow Katrin to the garden where the lady and her guest are having tea.

I'm here as you requested.

I bowed my head and bowed before I could see who it was. After showing her the way, Katrin also bowed and stepped back.
I thought it would be better to ask her permission first, so I kept my head down and heard her chuckle and make a funny sound.

I heard a chuckling sound as he kept his head down, "Well, you're quite polite, aren't you?

The laughing voice sounded familiar, and I raised my head to check, only to see a blonde hair dazzling in the sunlight.

"......, you know I'll be seeing you on my tour.

When I recognized the caller, I felt weak. The young lady, who had apparently been kept in the dark by Leo, looked at him with a subtle expression of amusement.
My brother Matheus, the guard, is holding back, but his eyebrows are lowered as if he is a little weak. As for Pome, ......, she is chasing a fluttering butterfly. He's free to do as he pleases, though he doesn't like to sit still.

It was the only chance I had to give it to him.

"Give it to me?

When I tilted my head, Leo handed me a rose-colored cloth bag tied with a white ribbon. The packaging alone looks expensive, but the obviously feminine coloration is so strange that I get a dubious look on my face.

"It's from Phil.

"From Erna?

When Leo answered the question on my face, there was a thud. When Leo and I turned toward the sound, the young lady had stopped in a standing position with her hands on the table.
Noticing our eyes, she sits back in her chair and gives a small cough.

It's nothing.

When the lady urged him to continue, Leo explained the situation.

When Phil found out about Isak's birthday, he wanted to give him a present to thank him for the other day.

How did Erna know about it?

"Because I asked him about it.

Leo replied in a matter-of-fact manner, but I had no idea why he was mentioning me. And you don't know what I like when I ask Erna for advice.
Even in a previous life, she used my birthday as an excuse to buy what she wanted. For example, she gave me a hair cream that she thought I should dress up a little, but my sister used it in the end.
There are some things that need to be pointed out, but anyway, I untied the ribbon to check the contents. What came out from inside was a white teddy bear with pale yellow and green eyes reminiscent of fresh green.

What am I supposed to do with this?

It's too expensive, it's too dirty, it's too fancy, and it's too difficult to handle. It's too expensive, too messy, too fancy, too difficult to handle.

I helped make it, so it's from me.

What, ......, do royals learn to sew?

That's about it.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

...... Not happy.

I'm not sure. I'm not sure what I'd give you, so I took advantage of Phil.

I don't need that kind of insincerity. Then you can choose not to give it to me.
Leo's very nice smile is so bright, it physically hurts my eyes. It's an innocent smile, but I can't help feeling that Leo is amused by it. I think Leo has a good personality.

"Well, yeah. Thanks.

I'll let Phil know.

I thanked him for the congratulations, and he smiled dazzlingly back.
Once I was about to put the teddy bear in the bag, I felt his eyes on me. I followed her gaze and saw her staring at the bear.

"Do you want it, young lady?

No, I don't want it.

I thought she liked the bear because she liked pretty things, but she turned away and denied it. Then why was I looking at it?
As I was putting the bear back, I remembered something.

I was just putting the bear away when I remembered something: "Well, you still have plans to visit this month, right?

Leo had said he wouldn't get a chance to do it until today, but there was still one more day in the letter I'd gotten for this month. If he just wanted to give it to me during my birthday month, he could do it then.
When I questioned him, Leo smiled at me.

"It'll be less trouble later if it's right in front of you.

I don't understand.
I could tell he was thinking about it, but he didn't seem to want to say anything else. I didn't understand the meaning of Leo's words after all.


Leo looked at the lady once, as if to ask for her consent, but she just turned away again, saying she didn't know.
The bear was kept in the servant's waiting room until the work was finished. When I brought the bear home, I noticed that this time there was a message card attached to it.
At night, before going to bed, I poured a little wind magic on the bear, or more precisely, on the magic stone used for the bear's eyes, as written in the message card.
Then, both of the bear's eyes lit up slightly.

"Whoa, I've been waiting a long time!

The bear spoke.

"Erna. You're disturbing the neighbors, turn down the volume.

I was somewhat surprised that he could actually do it, even though it was exactly what I had written, but I was more concerned about the volume of his voice.

But it seems that you can handle the distance. It's just as well that it's a magic circle that Brother Roy has put together.

Erna's voice sounded more proud than before, but at a lower volume. It's easy to imagine her smug expression, and I half-look at her in disgust.

I think your stupid amount of magic power is pretty good too.

What do you mean, "stupid"?　If you're going to compliment me, do it right.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes.

I'm not sure what to make of this.
In the event you're not sure what you're looking for, there are a few things you can do. In short, it's a cell phone.

But what's going on here?

I know how it works, but the mechanism is so mysterious that I poked the bear with my finger.

"I told Brother Roy what I wanted to do, and he came up with a magic circle. The sound is the wind, and the light makes it fly, so it's like a light phone.

Leo is amazing because he can put together the exact system he wants with your fluffy explanation. ......

I'm not very good at difficult things, so I'll leave that to Leo and say that Erna just put magic power into it. I'm not sure what to make of this. He's a guy who shows off his high specs in the strangest places.

So, why the bear?

It should work if all you have is a magic stone with a magic circle built in. I wonder why he made it into a stuffed animal. The magic stone alone is expensive, so I'm sure he was reluctant to accept it.

Because it's cute. It would be natural for me to have it.

"This is unnatural.

It would be too embarrassing if my mother saw me talking to a bear at my age.
It's not natural for me to have a bear.

I'll be able to talk for 24 hours with this.

Calm down. You and I don't work 24 hours a day.

I don't have a taste for carrying bears, and I'm sure Erna leaves hers in her room. I'm working and Erna is probably learning like a lady. We'll probably only have time to talk once in a while at night.

"Don't worry about the details!　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to get in touch with me in the future.

I've been told not to be bothered, but I'm already getting a little bothered. I don't have anything in particular to say to Erna.

"Answer!

All right. I don't know why I sent you this.

You'll be able to find a lot more information on this subject in the following article.

I'm not sure what to make of this.

I'm not sure what to make of this. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it. It's only natural for a princess to miss the common people.
She smiled as she realized that the bear was probably peeling at the other end of the phone. I patted the bear on the head, even though I knew he couldn't feel me.

I'll try to remember to call you.

"Good to know.

"Thanks for the present.

"How can I help you?

It was funny that the bear's expression didn't change, but I could tell from his voice what kind of expression Erna had on her face.

In the event that you have any questions regarding where and the best way to get in touch with your loved ones, please do not hesitate to contact us.

"I don't know.

I don't know." Apparently, Erna's rudeness towards me has not changed at all.