LSBVF ~ 05

Chapter ~ 05

The Dempfer estate was suddenly engulfed in silence.

But that lasted only for a moment.

Rumble!

In an instant, the sky darkened and a violent storm swept in.

FLASH!

Lightning flashed so fiercely that it seemed capable of splitting the Dempfer mansion in half.

CRASH!

A tree, bent beneath the force of the wind, was helplessly pushed over and toppled to the ground.

“D-Daddy…”

The moment Kalid saw Clover crying bitterly in his arms, tears bursting from her eyes—

“…Clover, my daughter.”

Kalid’s heart began pounding violently.

The power of the storm within him whispered that he should tear this entire mansion down right now.

The madness flowing through his blood and divine power commanded him to slaughter everyone in this estate except his tiny, precious daughter.

And so, Kalid was desperately holding himself back.

But then—

“Why did Daddy come now?”

Clover wrapped her tiny arms around Kalid’s neck.

“Didn’t Daddy wanna see Clover?”

Tears welled up from Clover’s enormous eyes.

“Did Daddy abandon Clover?”

Four years old.

Only four years old—the age when a child should be praised and loved simply for eating well and sleeping soundly.

“Because Clover is useless…?”

Yet this little child was desperately clinging to his neck.

She had only just met her father, so naturally, she might have been shy around him or even tried to run away.

But instead, she acted as though he were the only person who could save her tiny body.

As though if her daddy left too, there would be no one left to take care of her.

Kalid’s entire body trembled with rage.

No child should ever be treated like this.

Even if Clover truly had been an ‘abandoned’ child by the Cloudian family—

Count Dempfer had no right to treat a child this way.

“Count.”

Kalid carefully cradled the sobbing child in both arms and spoke.

“D-Duke Your Grace!”

The count, sensing the tremendous killing intent in that single word, immediately prostrated herself.

“Clover’s room was under repair, so she was only staying there temporarily!”

“……”

“And, a-and children tend to exaggerate things, you know…”

The moment Count Dempfer finished speaking, a powerful bolt of lightning slammed into the wall of the mansion.

RUMBLE—BOOM!

One side of the mansion wall was struck by lightning and shattered violently.

“KYAAAH!”

“W-WAAAAAH!”

“M-Mom! S-Save me!”

As wind and rain poured through the broken wall, many people began trembling like frightened leaves.

Some even screamed and ran away.

The Duke of Cloudian calmly watched the entire scene before speaking.

His cold gaze was fixed on Count Dempfer.

“You will pay the price.”

Kalid wiped the tears from Clover’s face as he continued.

“The price for making my daughter cry.”

BOOM!

The Butcher of the North—the man said to be capable of slaughtering a hundred people with a single gesture.

Another bolt of lightning struck behind the Duke of Cloudian.

And at that very moment—

“D-Daddy…”

Clover, who had been shedding tears in Kalid’s arms, suddenly lost consciousness.

“…Clover!”

It all happened in an instant.

[Clover, you have a ‘mission’ given to you by God.]

“A mission?”

[That’s right. From now on, you’re going to make a great many sprouts bloom throughout the world.]

Lucky’s words sounded like a dream.

And they sounded wonderful.

But there was one problem.

“But I can only make two…”

Clover’s divine power was so weak and insignificant that it seemed impossible for her to make the ‘great many sprouts’ Lucky talked about.

On top of that, Clover’s sprouts never grew any larger.

They would bloom for a brief moment, then wither away.

That was all.

“How many do I need? Ten, maybe?”

[More than that.]

“…Twenty?”

[Even more!]

“Eek! S-Surely not a hundred…?”

Lucky sparkled, telling her that she needed to make even more than that.

Clover was a little surprised.

But—

‘Still, it’s wonderful that God gave Clover a mission!’

Then I have to work hard.

Clover, practice hard every single day!

More than anything, she was simply happy to know that her power had a purpose.

Auntie always scolded Clover, saying that her divine power was useless and had no purpose whatsoever.

But Clover couldn’t make more than two sprouts.

Clover’s sprouts bloomed by gathering the good feelings of the people around her.

And there were hardly any people in the Dempfer estate who had good feelings toward Clover.

That was why Clover wished her daddy would come and take her home soon.

Maybe once she returned home, she could make a hundred sprouts.

Or even two hundred.

It was such a hopeful, dreamlike thought!

While savoring that pleasant dream, Clover flailed her little body and suddenly opened her eyes wide.

“Oh my, you’re awake?”

A maid Clover had never seen before suddenly popped her face into view above her.

“Eek!”

Startled, Clover immediately sat upright.

Wh-What?

Where am I?

Clutching a handful of the blanket, Clover trembled and asked,

“Wh-Who are you?”

Was she another one of Evil Auntie’s minions?

If so, Clover had to run away right now.

Auntie would never forgive Clover for insulting her in front of Daddy!

“It’s all right, young lady. No one here will hurt you. This is your real home.”

But unlike Evil Auntie’s minions, the maid spoke in a gentle voice.

With a kind smile and a soft voice, the maid slowly continued,

“The master brought you here after you lost consciousness. A doctor came to see you just a little while ago, so you should be all right now.”

The master? A doctor?

The maid kept saying things Clover found difficult to understand.

Clover sat there blankly, listening to her, before cautiously asking,

“D-Daddy…?”

“Yes?”

“Wh-Where is Daddy…?”

Clover sniffled.

“Wh-Where did Daddy go? Did the master bring Clover here while Daddy went somewhere…?”

Could it be that Daddy had left Clover behind again?

Was that really what happened?

Clover hadn’t properly heard the maid when she said that this was her real ‘home.’

Instead, she grew frightened and a few tears slipped from her eyes.

Clover woke up and she was in another strange place again.

‘Daddy isn’t here, and Lucky isn’t here either.’

If Clover had known this would happen, she wouldn’t have fallen asleep!

Why had she fallen asleep at that exact moment?

Overwhelmed by sadness, a tear rolled down Clover’s cheek.

The flustered maid wiped away Clover’s tears and hurriedly said,

“Oh, my. My master is actually Clover’s father!”

“Master…?”

“Yes. His Grace, the Duke of Cloudian. Now that you’re awake, I’ll go and bring the duke to you right away.”

Daddy hadn’t left?

Clover rubbed her damp cheek against the maid’s handkerchief before asking,

“Th-Then where’s Evil Auntie…? And Louis?”

Lucky had said that the most important thing for survival was figuring out where your enemies were.

Clover faithfully followed Rule Number One of Lucky’s Survival Guide.

The maid, who had been wiping Clover’s tears, smiled sweetly.

“She isn’t here. And she won’t be able to come here anymore. The same goes for your cousin.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. So first, you need to wash your face. Once you’ve washed up, I’ll take you to His Grace the Duke.”

“The Duke…”

“It’s an honor to serve you. My name is Belze, and starting today, I’ll be taking care of you, young lady.”

Belze whispered in an extremely gentle voice as she picked up the tiny Clover.

Then she gently pressed her cheek against Clover’s damp cheek.

“Mmm, Belze.”

Until now, Clover had thought that maids were bad people.

The maids had bullied Clover every day, avoided her, or casually hit her.

But Belze was different.

Belze didn’t avoid Clover.

She didn’t poke or hit her.

And she didn’t steal Clover’s food.

Instead, she gently wiped the tears from Clover’s eyes and carefully held her tiny body.

And then—

“After we wash you, I’ll put you in some pretty clothes. Do you like rabbits?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“That’s a relief. I’ll put you in rabbit pajamas with little rabbit ears. Now, up we go.”

Belze removed Clover’s clothes and slowly lowered her into the warm water that had been prepared and heated beforehand.

She wasn’t forceful at all throughout the process.

Whenever Clover squirmed a little, Belze simply patted her tiny back and told her it was all right.

‘This is strange!’

It was such a strange feeling.

A maid who didn’t hate her, dislike her, or find her bothersome.

For that brief moment, Clover felt as though her heart had already been stolen by Belze.

And then—

Poof!

While Clover was warming herself in the bath, a single sprout covered in bubbles suddenly bloomed in her hand.

‘Gasp! A sprout! It grew right in Clover’s hand!’

But because it had bloomed beneath the bubbles, Belze didn’t notice it.