Even the hardest to win over in the Boreas household, Madam Hilda, was finally won over by Wood after two months of consistent effort, once he understood the reasons behind her initial dislike.
Hilda, the mother of Eris, had a deep-seated reason for her resentment towards Wood. It was because her own child, who should have been raised by her, was instead being raised by someone else.
Originally, the Boreas family had male heirs, meaning that Eris had either an older brother or a younger one. However, due to family customs, when Philip, her husband, lost the battle for the family's succession against his brother, their son was sent to be raised by the victor, Philip's brother, as a form of adoption.
This was essentially a form of "hostage," a common practice among noble families.
No mother would willingly see her child separated from her, raised by another woman, and forced to call someone else "mother."
For this reason, Hilda held a deep grudge against Philip, and when Wood arrived at their household, it only intensified her dissatisfaction.
The child seated at their dining table should have been their son, but instead, their son was being raised elsewhere, while they were raising another family's child. Was there anything more ironic than that?
Every time Hilda saw Wood, it reminded her of her own absent child.
The more polite and outstanding Wood was, the more painful it became for Hilda. She couldn't help but think that if her son had been with her, she could have raised him to be just as exceptional as Wood.
Hilda had a fondness for flowers and would take walks in the garden daily.
Once Wood understood the reasons for her coldness, he began leaving a bouquet of flowers at her window every morning, accompanied by small notes filled with well-wishes.
At first, Hilda didn't appreciate the gesture and would have her maid discard the flowers without a second thought.
But Wood wasn't deterred by this and continued to leave the flowers every day, never missing a single morning.
Then, one morning, after several weeks, Hilda woke up and noticed that there were no flowers at her window. She was surprised and a little curious as to why.
At first, she thought that perhaps her constant rejection had finally caused Wood to give up.
But during breakfast that morning, she noticed that Wood wasn't at the table. This prompted her to ask, almost absentmindedly, "Where is Wood today? He's usually back by now."
"The young master left early this morning," one of the servants replied. "By this time, he should've been back, but I haven't seen him since he left."
The entire household searched for Wood, but he was nowhere to be found. This caused Hilda to summon one of the guards at the gate, who explained what had happened.
"A child, not even eight years old, went out alone this early in the morning, and you let him go? What if something happened to him?" Hilda snapped.
The guards, having faced Wood's insistence many times before, found it hard to stop him. Wood's strength and skill made him difficult to refuse, and he had always returned safely, which eventually caused them to grow accustomed to his morning outings.
"But Madam Hilda, the young master goes out every morning. Given his abilities, we didn't expect there to be any issues..." the guard explained.
"Didn't expect issues? He may be strong, but he's still just a child!" Hilda's anger only flared, and she was on the verge of dismissing the guard. She quickly called for the household's retainers to go out and search for Wood.
Just as the household was preparing to search for him, Wood walked through the door.
However, this time, he looked much worse for wear. His once fine clothes were torn and dirty, and his chest bore several deep claw marks.
"I'm sorry I'm late today. I didn't mean to worry everyone," Wood said apologetically.
Even though he was clearly injured, the first thing on his mind was to apologize for causing worry.
Hilda, who had been furious moments ago, found herself stunned at the sight of him. Before she could reprimand him for his reckless behavior, Wood collapsed on the spot, unconscious.
It was only then that everyone noticed what he had been holding behind his back—a bouquet of flowers, glowing faintly as if kissed by the morning light.
"That flower… it's the 'Morning Star,'" said Ghislaine, who was nearby. "It only blooms at dawn, and if not picked and preserved immediately, it withers quickly. It's also known as the child of dawn—a symbol of hope, fleeting but brilliant. But if I remember correctly, this flower only grows deep in the monster-infested forest."
Being a member of the beast race and someone familiar with the forest, Ghislaine immediately recognized the rare flower in Wood's hand.
As Ghislaine spoke, Hilda stood frozen in place, feeling as if she had been struck by lightning.
She wasn't a fool. Recalling the flowers that Wood had left at her window every day, she suddenly realized that none of those flowers came from the family's garden.
Piecing together the guard's words—that Wood left the house every morning—Hilda realized what Wood had been doing all this time.
This child had been risking his life to venture into the dangerous woods every morning to pick flowers just to make her happy.
The Fittoa region had both a town area and a wilderness zone. While the town was safe, the wilderness was largely undeveloped, and wild beasts, as well as dangerous monsters, frequently appeared there.
In particular, the forests outside the town, while filled with valuable resources, were also home to many dangers.
Only registered adventurers from the guild typically dared to explore such areas.
Hilda should have noticed this sooner. If Wood had been buying flowers from town, they wouldn't have been nearly as vibrant or fresh.
Every morning, this boy had ventured into the perilous woods to pick flowers just for her—flowers she had coldly and carelessly discarded.
She had been trampling on his sincere efforts and, on more than one occasion, had thrown away flowers that Wood had risked his life to gather.
The realization struck Hilda hard, her body trembling with guilt. For the first time, she truly saw herself as the cold-hearted woman she had become.
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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 380+ at p@treon.com/Betek and change @ to a