And he answered without hesitation.
'Make it however you want.'
'I heard that demons value customs, but is it okay if it suddenly changes?'
It would not look good for a human to come in and poke around here and there in the mansion.
But Belled nodded.
'I'm just following orders, so it's okay.'
Then he looked at me with those strange dark green eyes as if he was piercing through me.
As if he was watching me.
But I strangely read a certain... tickling feeling in that gaze instead of coolness.
I was confused as to whether it was because I had feelings for Belled, or because I liked the night, the time that Belled... gave me.
'...I understand.'
Before things got any more confusing, I left the office and started to look around the mansion from the 5th floor with Decarabia.
"First of all, it's better to have no decoration than to have excessive decoration. That's why."
“Should we just tear it all down?”
Decarabia suddenly said.
“That would take too much manpower.”
Decarabia shook her head at my words.
“That’s no problem.”
Then, she quickly stacked two safes in the middle of the hallway for some unknown reason and lifted them up.
...with one hand.
“...You’re incredibly strong, Decarabia.”
Decarabia blinked at those words. Then she looked up at the sky as if it was nothing.
“There are stars.”
The star demon, Decarabia, said that the more stars there were, the stronger she became.
But I didn’t know that it meant that she would become that strong.
I remembered that just two days ago, three or four demons had rushed in and struggled to lift the safe.
It certainly seemed as if she had said that I wouldn’t need any other manpower to remodel the mansion.
“Then let’s take out all the decorations in the mansion and go to the garden first... and come up with a concept for the mansion.”
In fact, this was my first time decorating a mansion in earnest. In my previous life and the one before that, I had lived a life far removed from my duties as a hostess.
However, when Decarabia rolled up her sleeves and helped me, and Belled unexpectedly showed interest, I felt motivated for some reason.
I wanted to change this place in a different way. So that not only the people in Vine but also those who came to Vine would be impressed.
“...”
However, I clearly read my desire at the end of it this time.
I wanted to impress upon myself that I was a useful being in this mansion.
To be exact, I wanted to stay here like that.
If others had had it, they might have thought it was a trivial desire. However, I was still embarrassed to face my own desire. Because that was how I had been taught.
I would have to change gradually. Thinking so, I walked.
To the garden.
“You said the gardener was Stolas, right?”
“Yes, it’s the ‘Stolas of Choice.’”
At Decarabia’s words, I remembered an important fact.
Stolas of Choice. At first glance, it was hard to guess what his ability was.
...fortune telling.
***
Among the demons that Decarabia had previously explained, Stolas was particularly unique.
‘He’s a demon whose thoughts are hard to fathom.’
That was Decarabia’s overall assessment. When I briefly asked Ronove about Stolas, he too had a troubled expression.
‘...I don’t doubt his loyalty to His Highness the Grand Duke, but he sometimes acts strangely.’
It was clear that he was an unusual demon.
However, I had thought that he was just an ‘unusual demon’ until we arrived at the garden.
Especially since I had seen him lying in the garden when I had first come to the mansion.
Who would lie so comfortably in a place where their master might pass by?
However.
“...Didn’t you say he was a gardener?”
I had to change my mind when I saw Stolas, who was called a gardener, not paying any attention to the vine-covered garden and only tending to the square vegetable patch.
Even if he were a human gardener, not a demon, wouldn’t this be an unusual sight?
“Hello.”
The gray-haired demon had the appearance of a middle-aged man.
“You’ve come, Decarabia.”
However, he was also polite to Decarabia, who looked like a fifteen-year-old girl. That meant that there was a clear difference in rank.
I greeted him like that and looked at Stolas, who was inspecting the garden again.
His fingertips were filled with sincerity as he tended to the small garden, no, flowerbed, that seemed too small to even lay down his entire body.
Stolas of Choice.
His back didn’t match such a grand name. However...
My gaze turned to the flowers he was tending. The flowers that seemed to have particularly abundant petals.
‘Stolas can see flowers.’
‘...Flower fortune-telling?’
Isn’t that something children do when they play in the fields?
However, Decarabia said that he could see the future with his flower fortune-telling. That’s why he’s Stolas of Choice.
Is it true? With that flower that seems to be visible anywhere?
“Do you have any questions?”
Stolas suddenly asked. I hesitated.
“...Ah.”
Originally, I came to ask him to work on the garden together.
But seeing that he was more interested in the flower than the garden, and thinking about his abilities... I became curious about something else first.
I became curious about my future.
Even though I didn’t believe in the ability to see the future, I couldn’t help but be drawn to Belled’s unique ability.
Could Stolas really see the future? If so...
“...I’m curious about Stolas’s ability.”
A thought leaked out between my lips as I was lost in thought.
“Are you talking about peeking into the future with flowers?”
Stolas, who immediately understood my meaning, smiled kindly. It was a warm smile that made me wonder if my father would have looked at me like that.
“...Actually, I was curious about whether you could really see the future.”
Most of the other demons’ abilities were intuitive, and Belled had read my past life, so there was no reason not to believe him.
But the ability to read a future that hasn’t even come yet?
That was a little questionable.
“To be exact, I don’t see the future. I can only answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the question asked... Since there are some flowers, would you like to try it?”
Stolas pointed to the garden. There were only four flowers left.
I originally didn’t believe the stories of those who claimed to see the future. It would be too sad if fate were to flow as someone else said.
But since I had the chance to glimpse the future, I was curious.
I wish I had heard a good story.
“...Umm.”
When I seemed about to ask, Stolas picked a flower and held it up.
“I...”
There were many futures she wanted to know. However, since Decarabia was right next to me and Stolas himself was listening, I couldn’t ask whether I could adapt safely here, whether there was anything I had to escape...
So I said this.
“Can I live for more than ten years?”
At least, the direction of my life would probably be decided in the next few years.
I could stay in Vine and truly be with Belled, or...
I could be punished by the temple for joining hands with the devil, or not.
I didn’t want to think about it, but Vine could betray me.
If I could live for about ten years after going through various possibilities, wouldn’t I be able to obtain a somewhat stable life?
“...?”
Decarabia looked at me quietly at my question. Stolas also opened his eyes wide as if it was a somewhat unexpected question, and grabbed the petal.
“...You can survive, you can’t.”
As he thought that, blue energy gathered around him and was sucked into the flower.
“...!”
Magic really was magic. Stolas began to take off the petals one by one in front of me, who opened my mouth slightly.
The countless petals that were impossible to count at a glance. As if there were so many hurdles I had to overcome to survive, the petals were uncountable.
“You can survive, you can’t survive...”
As the petals disappeared, my heart felt like it was pounding.
Even though I thought I didn’t believe in fortune-telling, I couldn’t help but be concerned about the results.
And. Soon, when there were only a few petals left, I opened my mouth slightly.
Because now I could see the future. This result.
“...You can live.”
Stolas said as he took off the last petal. He looked straight at me and said.
“You can survive for more than ten years.”
I let out a short sigh, even though I knew that the answer seemed to have no basis whatsoever. Even though I knew that the only basis was his ability.
That one word strangely reassured me. It seemed to give me some certainty about an uncertain future.
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