Eizan stared unblinkingly at the moonflower at the center of the garden. It was dead, but at the same time not. Its stem and leaves were completely green now, although the flower was still drooping. Its way of recovering was strange indeed. He reached out his hand to stroke the leaves gently; they must have struggled so hard to survive.
"You are very caring towards my dead flower," someone said in a flippant voice behind him, and he didn't have to look back to know it was the bald man. He found out the man was an elder, and his given name was Cornish, but he was used to referring to him as the bald man, so he didn't bother changing the address. The bald man's eyes settled on the flower, and surprise flashed across his golden eyes. "My, my, it has come back to life!"
After the bald man, a cloaked man came in, dragging a struggling girl. The man was new, and the girl... Eizan's eyes widened in surprise. Wasn't that... Bachiko? "I brought a companion for you; tell me, aren't I simply wonderful? The bald man let out a euphoric expression on his face.
"Indeed, you are," Eizan replied flatly.The bald man, with no regard for Eizan's flat tone, took a walk around the garden. At every stop, he would grunt in satisfaction and glance at the cloaked man. "Your stay in this garden has been more fruitful than all other apprentices' since the founding of the Tower."
At that, Eizan rolled his eyes. He may not know when the Tower was established, but he imagined it to be long, long ago, and for this man to say it like that, he must have been there for the founding, which was impossible. "What do you know about the moonflower?" the bald man asked.
"It blooms only at night under a full moon," Eizan recounted, recalling what Meredith had explained to him.
"And?" the bald man urged.
"It is a flower."
The bald man's eyes twitched, but he continued pacing. "The moonflower is the symbol of the royal family of Yogtharlarth, famed for its excellent healing properties and—" he paused to give them a conspiratory smile "—its poisoning abilities. But the folktales have it that the moonflower was brought from Glotulzcha by the first foreign crown princess of Yogtharlarth; her magic was the strangest of all, bringing fear to the people of Yogtharlarth.
"When angered, her rage brought endless night to the kingdom, which was only to be lifted by her death. Three magicians, talented and shrewd in their arts, joined hands to battle her, but her powers were too strong, so she was sealed in the closest thing they could find, and that was the moonflower. That is how the moonflower got its other name, Queen of Night."
The bald man stopped pacing, and the cloaked man threw Bachiko onto the ground. She scampered away, the hatred in her eyes barely veiled.
"But it is just a folktale; who knows if it truly happened?" And with that, they disappeared, leaving Eizan with a sniveling Bachiko.
Eizan sighed with emotion and handed the list he had found when he first came to the garden to her, saying, "These are all you need to know. Do your work diligently, and don't worry; I will not make things hard for you."
Bachiko snatched the list out of his hands, and he noticed the frost that coated her fingertips. He ignored it and focused on his work; nothing good comes out of poking into others' businesses.
Subarasii Raito
Meanwhile, a carriage found its way to the Goto mansion on the lonely hill where it sat. The gates were pulled open without delay, and the carriage was dragged in by the weary horses. An elegant lady stepped out of the carriages, supported by a maidservant who draped a thick fur coat on her shoulders. If Meredith was still at the mansion, she would have recognized this elegant lady. Her eyes swept across the entire mansion as if she could see past the brick walls, her frail body emitting faint traces of magic. She sagged against her maidservant, the exercise having taken its toll on her mind. Lord Goto hurried out of the mansion, his facial features contorted with worry.
"My lady Letitia, you are finally here!" Lord Goto wanted to weep with joy. The past few days had been hard on him. Letitia raised a hand, and her maidservant immediately set up a barrier, blocking his advance.
"Where are my girls?"
Lord Goto suddenly found the wheels of her carriage fascinating, the patterns on them captivating him completely. She grabbed the arm of her maidservant tightly, earning a grunt of pain from the latter. After everything she did, they still got to her children."What is this I am hearing about the councilman?" Letitia narrowed her eyes at the father of her children. Back then, her family had no choice; otherwise, she wouldn't have married this sloppy man.
"The bill has been passed, but it is difficult to get the people to agree." Goto explained.
Letitia fiddled with the ring on her finger as she listened. Lord Goto was still meek; all their years of hardship hadn't toughened him up one bit. She thought back to when she and her family had been forced to flee from the imperial city and the things she had to do. She blinked her eyes to wipe the image away and rubbed at the ring furiously.
"I will take care of it," she said, suddenly tired. The strength she had gotten from her short rest was well spent. She tried to enter the carriage but was stopped by Goto pulling on her coat. His eyes held a pleading look. "I am not coming back," she said to him gently, and her maidservant pried the cloth out of his fingers. As the carriage pulled out of the mansion, Letitia's body once again emitted a faint trace of magic, and her eyes teared up. The maidservant wiped the tears away for her and called to the coachman, "My lady wants you to avoid the city."
"Yes, milady!" the coachman answered and made a turn, following another route. An hour after they left that area, a troop of heavily armed men with their swords dripping blood matched them towards the Goto mansion; behind them, the city was soaked in blood and the wails of the people. Letitia, in her carriage ahead, rubbed on her ring furiously. What she hadn't told Goto was that the councilman had reached out to her first, offering what she most desired at the price of not interfering as well as adding a veiled threat. She opened the curtains of the carriage and looked out. Everything she did was for her family, and some sacrifices were inevitable.