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Episode 15: The Villainess Returns (XIV)
When they arrived at the greenhouse, the maid attached to Kiana was politely blocking the door.
“Sorry.”
The maid lowered her head and firmly said.
“The princess told me to not let anyone into the greenhouse for two hours.”
“Get out of the way.”
The way Seukali spoke was terrifying. His eyes were full of anger. Still, in his own way, it was a pretty kind order.
“Sorry.”
But the maid didn’t get out of the way.
“I have already been criticized a lot today, like for being slow with coffee runs. If I can’t carry out this order, I might really be fired.”
“Have you forgotten your position and who you should listen to?”
Seukali, who rarely lost his composure, shouted.
“No, you should have taken care of it before this happened!”
“She was so determined that I couldn’t even bear to touch her. And…”
Trembling, the maid bowed her head.
“According to the princess, I have to endure for a month to be able to use my experience as a spy somewhere.”
“What?”
“She has already noticed that Your Grace ordered me to keep an eye on her.”
At that, Joshua, who had followed Seukali, hurriedly asked.
“But it doesn’t fit? You said you were caught.”
“Yes, yes. But every time she says it, I feel like I’m being beaten.”
The maid replied sullenly, thinking of Kiana, who had begun to add ‘Spy’ to her words whenever she spoke to her.
Joshua muttered as he stroked his chin.
“As expected… I mean, she hasn’t changed at all.”
At Joshua’s words, the maid hesitated a little, but then courageously expressed her convictions.
“But she didn’t make me feel too bad about it. No, rather… Well, as strange as it may sound…”
“Keep talking.”
“It was cool, but also a bit refreshing. It’s obviously criticism, but again, it’s not wrong, I look back on it… Even so, I felt like I was receiving very minimal, occasional consideration.”
Joshua nodded slowly at the maid’s expression.
“That’s right. I felt that way too… I was accused of being addicted to luxury goods in front of others, but during which, I also felt as much kindness as a chick’s tears.”
“What accusation? It’s a fact that you are addicted to luxury goods.”
Seukali responded with firmness.
Then, the maid spoke cautiously.
“Yes… Well, anyway, Duke, nothing was untrue, so it wasn’t unfair.”
Straight away, the maid bowed even deeper.
“D, Duke…”
She was such a sharp-eyed and quick-witted maid that the head maid personally chose her as Kiana’s watchdog. So, with her animal-like senses, she had already decided what to do now.
Although trembling at Seukali’s anger, she did not run away.
“From what I’ve seen from the side, the princess isn’t one to bluff. So…”
Mustering up all her courage, she barely insisted.
“I think now is the time for you to trust the princess.”
“…What?”
“She will not do anything that will harm Hou. Apparently, the princess said she would heal him herself.”
“What, a kid who is neither a doctor nor a vet…!”
Joshua intervened in Seukali’s wrath.
“Anyway, neither a doctor nor a veterinarian can fix a summon, Grandpa.”
While Seukali was speechless, the maid continued her words, bending her back even more.
“The princess took care of the preparations without hesitation. She seemed sure. Besides… She’s a genius at the academy, she probably knows a lot of things we don’t know. How about you trust her for now?”
A moment of silence passed.
Seukali stood still for a while, as if he had froze.
“…Now that I think about it…”
He murmured as if he had realized something very new.
“…I’ve never trusted Kiana.”
And beside him, Joshua shrugged his shoulders.
“That’s nothing new, Grandpa. Grandpa cared for us, but he never trusted anyone. It’s not just Kiana. You also only use Alex to settle some things.”
“That’s because all of you are one and the same even though you’re so big! What would have happened if I had entrusted this family to you guys?”
(TL/N: in short, they’re all immature even though they’ve grown up.)
“Then it would have already been irreversibly ruined.”
“So it seems that I, despite being old and sick, will die of overwork! To pass on a whole family to you guys! Do you know this great love?”
“No, those condescending… Grandpa, why do you keep saying things that you haven’t said in your whole life…”
“This is very good! I’m expressing my heart, but why is my heart feeling relieved?”
The face of the head maid who had been hurriedly chasing after the two men contorted with guilt.
‘He looks so relieved… I can’t tell him directly now that he isn’t supposed to declare it like that!’
Seeing that the blunt charisma unique to Seukali was breaking, the head maid was frustrated inside.
It was then. The three heard a distinct sharp sound from inside the greenhouse. It was the sound of flapping wings.
Kiana’s voice leaked out, very faintly.
“Don’t get excited! There’s still more to do! The toxin is still in the body! Don’t act like you’re all right!”
Seukali couldn’t stand it any longer. The maid couldn’t stop him either.
The door burst opened, and Seukali, Joshua, and other servants, including the maid attached to Kiana, ran into the greenhouse.
<But my body is moving properly after a few years!>
And at the sight of the deepest part of the greenhouse, in front of Hou’s nest… Seukali was stunned for a moment.
<So exciting!>
Hou, who had been mostly lethargic with his eyes closed, was flapping his wings slowly in the air.
<I think I will live!>
“You’ve already been living. Well, just warm up a bit until the calculation is over.”
And beside the nest, Kiana was frantically scribbling equations on the parchment on the floor. It was quite an impressive sight, Hou taking flight.
“…Kiana?”
A few cups of coffee, candies, and empty pill bottles were scattered all over the place. And in the middle was Kiana in her glasses, her head buried in a mountain of parchment.
Each sheet of parchment was filled with formulas that seemed difficult even at a glance.
There were also a few strangely shaped magic items rolling around. Instantly, both Seukali and Joshua understood the meaning of the words, ‘I couldn’t bear to touch’, which the maid said earlier.
“Ah.”
Joshua muttered lowly.
“If it’s cool to be absorbed in something, is it like that for me, who is publishing  <Lorelai> article…”
The person who answered that was his pet, the green snake.
<Nope.>
Joshua slowly bent down and picked up one of the empty pill bottles that were rolling around. It was stomach medicine.
He was about to say something, but Kiana snapped.
“Hold it.”
She muttered irritably, not even raising her head from the parchment.
“Don’t interrupt. I’m concentrating right now.”
And Hou supported Kiana.
<Didn’t you hear? Don’t disturb!>
Seukali hardened as it was. Because it had been too long since he had heard Hou’s lively voice. The great bird even had a thrilled expression on his face.
Seukali was silent, so Joshua couldn’t say anything either.
The two men, who were growled at when they simple stared, remained quiet.
The glasses-wearing flicked her quill non-stop until she occasionally said ‘I need a candy…’ and reached out for one.
Before long, candy wrappers were piled up next to her. It’s a little… She seemed a little crazy.
The maid discreetly went out and brought portable chairs.
For a while, Joshua and Seukali had to remain silent and still in the chair.
Ame: Gramps being honest with his feelings but it came off as condescending… pfft…