The nanny had bad knees and couldn't run very well. Julia, still too young to be a lady, ran down the stairs, leaving only a silver-bell-like laugh behind her...
The Ametrine Palace was as small as a small country, so even a young girl could quickly escape it by running. Julia went down to the first floor and approached the door stealthily.
"Welcome, Count Oberon! How many years has it been, huh?"
"I hope you have been well, Your Majesty! Haha, now that the tour is completely over, I will stick close to Ametrine."
"Ah, that's right! I haven't been able to play chess because you're gone. Even if I tell him the rules, Leo can't seem to remember them."
"Is that so? Let's go right away! I also have a special chessboard from Semele Mountain as a gift for Your Majesty."
"Haha, it's nice to hear that! Hurry up and get your taxes reduced... Oh, wait! By the way, that kid?"
"Oh, I'm late in saying hello. Say hello quickly! This is my..."
It was common for nobles to visit the palace in advance of the harvest festival. Julia ran away from the main gate to avoid the King and his visitors who were busy exchanging greetings.
She passed through the side door, which the attendant had forgotten to lock, and crawled through a hole in the wall of bushes into the garden in the blink of an eye.
"Dante, hello?"
Julia was greeted by an apple tree that had come to life noticeably in a few nights. Julia took the watering can she had snuck from the garden bench and carefully watered it, then covered it with soil.
"Good. You have to grow up like this and live with me for a long time, yes?"
The apple tree was dumb, but it swayed its leaves even without a breeze as if it knew the benefactor who had saved its life. Julia smiled brightly, lay down next to it, and began to chat while looking up at the sky.
"I hope you grow up well. I told you that my feet hurt because of the shoes, and Father said that when I grow up, I'll be 170 tashen tall, so I won't have to wear them then. My late mother was like that, so I'll be like that too. But honestly, how can Father be so short. Oh, that's a secret!"
Julia, who was dissatisfied with having to wear heels every time she danced because she was short, playfully winked at the apple tree.
The apple tree trembled as if it was holding back laughter. It now looked fresh and free of worries.
"Want to make a bet to see who can grow up faster?"
Julia lay down on her side, facing the other side, and began to babble innocently. The spring breeze that had come to the small but charming garden rustled Julia and the apple tree.
"Oh, right! I heard Father say that you can make golden apples too?"
She smiled bashfully and poked the branch, and the apple tree drooped its branches as if it were sullen. Julia, surprised, opened her eyes wide and quickly sat up.
"No, no. It's okay if there are no golden apples! I was just trying to compliment you..."
But the apple tree did not shake its leaves as excitedly as before. It seemed as if it was downcast and could not do so.
Julia, who was growing anxious, tried to comfort and soothe the baby tree, but it didn't respond. Julia bit her cute lower lip and rolled her eyes.
She felt sorry for her new friend who she had finally made. She also felt sorry for making it feel bad by saying the wrong thing.
"Ah!"
Then Julia had a bright idea.
'If I help my sick friends, they can get healthy. If I help them a little more, they might be able to bear wonderful fruit, right?'
It was a strange ability that she only realized about a month ago, and she didn't know exactly how it was possible or how to handle it.
Although animals had been particularly drawn to Julia since she was a baby, the golden aura that made plants and animals grow began to appear faintly like smoke shortly after her fifth birthday.
Julia was so excited to have a secret that she kept it to herself that she hadn't told anyone yet.
Julia spent her energy trying to cheer up sick or withered plants and animals, especially the quiet ones. Animals can tell when they are in pain, but plants can't.
Thanks to this, the Ametrine Royal Gardens have been increasingly filled with trees bearing vivid and beautiful flowers and plentiful fruits. The simple-minded royal gardener was in a state of shock at having unexpectedly won the King's favor.
Julia was delighted at the sight of the adults who were so happy without even knowing her secret. She promised herself that she would show them something more fun and interesting someday.
"I'll help you. So you can make the golden apples!"
And Julia felt that now was the time.
'Of course. Father said he would like to see the golden apples too. Even Leo, the squire, said that it would be an honor for Ametrine to live on!'
Julia knelt down in front of the apple tree, her purple eyes sparkling with anticipation. She held the entire trunk gently in both hands and closed her eyes.
The apple tree, which had been gloomy, shook its leaves and branches vigorously as if it had expected it to.
Slurp.
The spring breeze that had been watching with bated breath approached Julia, touching her hair.
Julla gathered her wits, feeling the tender stems against her fingertips, her heart pounding. And...
'Please let the golden apples grow."
She touched the object she wanted to energize and thought about what she wanted. This time, she even tried to picture it in her head especially clearly. She thought that it would have a clearer effect, and she was looking forward to it.
'A golden apple, made of gold.'
A luscious, glossy golden apple appeared in Julia's tiny mind. It was a beautiful golden apple that anyone would fall in love with, as big as a baby tree could hold.
As vivid visions unfolded in her mind, she put more strength into the hand that held the stem.
'I'd like just one.'
Julia wanted to see her new friend, the apple tree, happy, her father happy, and even her nanny, the valet, and the gardener happy.
Julia wished earnestly, her cheeks flushed crimson.
"The golden apple, just one..."
A deep golden aura flowed from her fingertips.
Phew-!
Instead of the gentle spring breeze, a gust of wind blew. When Julia opened her eyes, startled by the fluttering hair and hems of her clothes, she was in the middle of a quiet garden, with only Julia and the apple tree swaying madly.
A flustered Julia tried to get up, but she felt as if she was chained and couldn't move.
"Ah?"
And hands.
Instead of the billowing smoke like before, a huge golden aura flowed like a waterfall. There was no pain, but the golden aura pouring down was so dazzling that it felt like she was going blind.
Saaaaaaaaa
"Hey, stop it now..!"
Julia's white, delicate hands were clinging to the tree trunk as if they were tangled, pouring out their energy in a hectic manner.
Until now, whenever she thought about stopping, her energy would stop on its own. But now, like a wild horse, she couldn't control it at all.
The apple tree, covered entirely i ln deep gold, shook its leaves as if to say, "Don't worry." so Julia was able to keep herself from screaming.
Julia, who had been held captive for several dozen minutes without knowing what to do, finally discovered a solid lump forming under her hand.
"Golden apples?"
Alright! Julia said with a relieved face.
Now that they've succeeded in making golden apples, the tree, her father, and everyone else will be happy, right? Julia sighed in relief and looked down proudly at the apple tree that she thought was finished.
"Huh?"
Saaaaah!
But the energy showed no signs of stopping. It kept flowing out endlessly as if a dam had burst.
As if a flood had come, an endless, thick energy like concentrated molten gold was dyeing the apple trees, dyeing the ground beneath them, and finally overflowing to dye Julia's hands and arms.
"What, what is it..."
Julia was suddenly frightened. Something was wrong. She was stamping her feet and was finally about to scream for the gardener.
Julia was astonished to see the one golden apple under her hand grow into five and grow in size.
'Wow, so scary...!'
The golden apples, once splendid and jewel-like, had grown to a hideous size.
It wasn't the small apple she had originally thought of. Julia was afraid that the apple would grow as big as a person, which was growing like crazy. The tree was also bending as if its trunk was about to break, unable to support the weight of the golden apple.
Finally, Julia cried out.
"Stop it, stop it!"
She put all her strength into her trembling hands. At first, nothing changed, but as Julia clenched her teeth and tried to force herself, her strength gradually began to diminish.
But the gold was still dark, so Julia whined and whined.
"Please, stop now!"
At that moment, the energy that had been pouring out like crazy disappeared along with white smoke. In an instant as if the spring water that had been pouring out endlessly had dried up.
Julia was thrown backward and fell on her butt as her grip disappeared.
With her face wet with tears, Julia looked at the baby tree laden with golden apples. It was too heavy to shake the branches any longer, but a leaf rustled and asked Julia if she was okay.
"Ha, ha. Yeah, I'm fine..."
Julia wiped away her tears, panting heavily. But just as she was about to stammer an answer, her head throbbed.
'Uh?'
Without realizing it, her body began to sway and she fell sideways. At some point, her vision became blurry and she started spinning...
"Okay. Ah..."
And then the vision went black.
***
"Umm..."
Julia came to her senses just as the blue sky began to turn crimson.
Julia blinked her blurry eyes in disbelief at the dusk that had come before she knew it. Then, her vision became clearer and she saw the back of someone.
'Who is it?'
A boy with silver hair tied in a ponytail, a little taller than her. But he was someone Julia didn't know.
He was wearing clothes of similar fabric to hers, but he was not the familiar Young master who often visited the palace. Julia, puzzled, watched the boy reach out to the apple tree that was shining brightly with gold.
The boy took off the silver ring he had been wearing on his hand and put it in his other hand. Then he immediately bent down.
"Go back."
As soon as the boy's hand touched the tree, a silvery energy spread out.
Julia opened her eyes wide.
The silver energy that followed the boy's instructions, surging like a giant wave, was truly spectacular. It was as thick as the one Julia had emitted earlier, but unlike the golden energy that had been raging, it was slow and majestic.
"Back to your original self."
The boy commanded in a quiet voice.
Then, Julia's golden energy flowed out from the golden apple that had been touched by the silver energy. And it began to flow as strongly as it had been pouring down earlier.
So, in reverse.
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