Chapter 31

In that moment, his confident eyes widened in surprise.

“How soft and fluffy…”

As he spoke, he smiled mischievously. With his red hair fluttering in the wind, clear green eyes like a lake, and well-defined features, he looked like a doll. It was as if she was enchanted, completely captivated by his smile.

“Ah, dwon’t touch me so casually.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. You’re just so adorable that I couldn’t resist touching your cheek.”

Isaac seemed genuinely apologetic, his expression filled with concern. Moreover, from his playful choice of words, it was evident that he knew how to tease a lady. She felt that she should be cautious around him.

Elliana lightly brushed her hand over her plump cheek that Isaac had just touched and asked, “Lwions live here, so why is there a fwox?”

“Well, you figured out that I’m a fox. Guess why. It’s a secret.”

Isaac looked down at Elliana, his eyes glimmering mischievously as he playfully folded his beautiful eyes.

“Never mind. Let’s go to the High Priest’s field together.”

Ignoring the maids who were about to follow, Elliana arrived at the field behind the temple with Isaac that the High Priest Julius told her.

The color of the soil spread across the field was definitely not appealing.

“What would you like to grow, lady?”

“…I don’t know.”

“What do you like the most?”

“Pudding and cookies.”

“…Hmm, then maybe we should raise cows. But for now, how about planting what I have?”

Isaac took out a seed pouch from his brown leather bag. Inside were several small yellow seeds.

“What kind of seeds are these?”

“These are Lolo seed. Actually, the High Priest gave them to me…”

Upon hearing those words, Elliana narrowed her eyes.

Lolo seed!

If it was that, she knew about it.

In her recent dreams, she had recovered memories of a seed with the power to purify water, a highly valuable and difficult-to-grow seed. It was so precious that it was even conserved in the royal palace.

To think that they would ask a mere three-year-old child to grow it…

Especially since the most useful part of Lolo seed, its flower petals, could produce beautiful flowers depending on the grower’s discretion. It was said to be a jackpot if it bloomed.

However, the chances of successfully making the flowers bloom were extremely low. The difficulty level was extremely high.

‘Wait a minute, High Priest Grandpa. Did you plan to use me for your own gain?’

Elliana’s face momentarily darkened with disappointment. Just then, she heard the sound of someone approaching, footsteps thumping.

Julius, the High Priest, greeted Eliana with a bright smile.

“You can handle anything, right?”

“Liar.”

However, Elliana looked at him with eyes full of distrust.

“Why do you look at me like that?”

“Gwanpa, do you have a secret?”

“What is it?”

“Growing Lolo seed using magic.”

“….! How did you know that? No, how could you know?”

High Priest Julius was taken aback. It was not something a three-year-old child would know. Elliana quickly came up with an excuse.

“I learned it in my lessons.”

“I see. Yes, Lolo seed is a very rare plant. Actually, I also want to see the power of the golden seed once.”

High Priest Julius chuckled and smiled warmly.

“What can I even do with Lolo flower?” As the High Priest jokingly said, he discreetly wiped off a bead of sweat and answered.

“…The truth is, I have one purpose. I want to create a purification potion using the purifying power of Lolo seed.”

“Purification potion?”

“Yes, it is also known as Elixir. There are several places where that potion is needed. So, I shamelessly recommended to you to plant it and see.”

“Elixir…?”

As soon as she heard that name, one of the fragments of her confusing dreams came to Elliana’s mind.

“I must complete the ultimate Elixir.”

It was something Duke Biolark often said to Aquinas.

What was Duke Biolark trying to purify?

Suddenly, Elliana remembered what kind of errand Duke Biolark had given her.

“Even a foolish child like you can do it easily. Just go to the priest in the Riott temple and get the holy water. When you come back, use the hole I showed you and come out transformed into a dog.”

As a result, Elliana met a priest in a temple outside the palace and returned to the palace with a glass bottle containing a transparent liquid hanging around her neck.

She had done it at least once a week. Sometimes, she felt like something was floating inside the glass bottle.

As Elliana frowned at the old memory, she quickly returned to reality. To solve the mystery of her past dreams, she needed to grow the Lolo seed mentioned by the High Priest.

“Gwanpa.”

“Yes, my child.”

“I will grow it. But there is a cwondition.”

Elliana smiled mischievously, her lips curving upwards.

“It’s not free. I need money.”

High Priest Julius opened his eyes wide at Elliana’s audacious words. Isaac, who was by his side, perked up his ears.

“What do you need money for?”

“Without money, life tastes bitter.”

When she lived in the forest, money didn’t matter whether she had it or not. But things had changed just by going to the palace. Everything in the palace revolved around money.

Moreover, Elliana never received a formal salary. Although she worked in the palace as a maid, she received a very small amount of money.

So, with that money, it was impossible to buy clothes or save up for the future.

The past life of Elliana had been increasingly frustrating. The noble-born maids who were aware of her situation always looked down on her.

Elliana tightly clenched her fist, feeling a surge of anger.

The Duke’s household might be luxurious now, but it wasn’t all hers. Therefore, it was only natural to gather money.

In particular, since growing Lolo seed, which served as ingredients for the Elixir, seemed very difficult, she had to ask for as many as possible.

“I cwan’t be a beggar. I need to make an effort. I need to buy pudding and save money too.”

As Elliana complained, releasing a sigh through her plump cheeks, High Priest Julius rummaged through his sleeve and handed her a gold coin.

“This is your daily wage. From now on, for every Lolo seed you manage to grow, I will give you one gold coin.”

“Wow!”

Seeing the sparkling gold coin, Elliana unknowingly drooled. Then she grabbed Isaac’s priestly robe collar and shook it.

“Let’s plant it quickly!”

With a wide grin, Elliana spoke, and Isaac, rubbing his smooth brown hair, prepared for planting in earnest.

Observing Isaac, who had prepared a small shovel and a watering can, Elliana shouted, “Hold on.”

It seemed like she didn’t like the field. Perhaps her own power of the sun could have some influence on this dull and barren land.

Elliana looked at the blessing of the sun on the back of her hand and summoned a small sun.

“Fwoosh!”

Summoning a yellow, round sun, Elliana moved around, casting sunlight evenly in all directions.

Witnessing this sight, High Priest Julius and Isaac exclaimed in admiration. Seeing a child summoning the sun, she no longer looked like a young child but rather like a great deity.

“Awright, let’s get stawted. How many Lolo seeds do you have, Isaac?”

“I have about a hundred. Should we start by planting half of them?”

“No, pwant all of them.”