On the road to Arios Town, a side path branched off, lined with wooden fences. Follow this path, and it led straight to the largest garden in the Evil Dragon Domain.
Or rather, flower field… though its size expanded every month. Maids skilled in gardening tended it, alongside bizarre magical creatures that planted and cared for the flowers.
Each flower bed burst with vivid colors and distinct varieties, left untamed rather than clipped into rigid squares. At first glance, they carried a wild air; yet nothing felt chaotic, as if the blooms had naturally clustered into lush, vibrant displays. Pebble-paved paths wound underfoot—if it were still autumn, they would feel oddly gritty beneath one’s soles, but now a thick blanket of snow softened everything, draping the scene in silvery white.
One garden in particular grew only winter-blooming flowers. This was Xuefei’s destination.
The moment they arrived, Leia’s lips curved upward of their own accord…
“Xuefei, remember when we saw plum blossoms before?”
“When?”
“A long time ago. You weren’t this cute back then.”
“Oh, that time…”
Back then, Xuefei and Leia had both still been human.
Amid the slaughter wrought by human traffickers in service to the nobility, they had rescued Leia—and run straight into a blizzard.
That blizzard was no natural disaster, but a man-made catastrophe: some “great magician” had botched a grand spell, then washed his hands of the mess, dodging blame at every turn. The storm had raged for a full two weeks before finally dying down.
Xuefei still remembered it vividly. Without the temporary little wooden cabin she had found for shelter, she would have ended up another of those countless ice-cold corpses (meow~). In the end, the cabin had collapsed under the snow’s weight, but the campfire’s warmth had held back the hunger and biting cold long enough to greet the next day’s sun—and the plum blossoms still blooming defiantly amid the debris.
Those had been long days indeed.
Now, that little wooden cabin stood transformed into a towering palace, and those few plum blossoms filled the entire garden.
“Does Leia like plum blossoms?”
“Mm, I wouldn’t say I like them, but it’s not like I hate them either.” A flicker of hesitation crossed Leia’s lovely features.
“I don’t care for how they bloom all alone. They’re beautiful, sure enough. In any case, they’re not bad.”
“What about snow roses, then?”
Xuefei paused after a cluster of plum blossoms, where vast swaths of them stretched on. She reached out to a branch, channeling magic to coax fresh green shoots before snapping one off.
“Snow roses… I love them.”
“They look so happy, blooming together like that. With friends to keep company, hearts to share.”
The snow roses of Camiran Continent differed greatly from the processed versions Xuefei remembered from long ago.
They were called roses, yet smaller and denser than true ones.
Their sturdy calyces held petals that faded from white to pink, layered in a beauty all their own—like white flames flickering amid the snow.
“Then these it is. Hold Tilly for a moment.” Xuefei gently placed Tilly in Leia’s arms and gathered a bounty of snow roses.
She knelt lightly in the snow. Leia hummed a soft tune as she came up behind Xuefei and settled down gently.
Xuefei felt a touch of nerves.
Was she watching her? Or just the child?
Xuefei often had the strange sense that Leia might pounce at any moment—though her “ambushes” were gentle as water, stirring no hint of threat, so there was no real cause for worry.
Soon enough, she put it out of her mind.
Xuefei cradled a few snow roses in her palm and smiled. “Sorry, mind if I borrow these?”
“Awoo~”
“Tilly?”
“I’m just soothing her~ No need to worry,” Leia replied.
“Mm…”
Xuefei resumed weaving the wreath. Suddenly, Leia leaned her full weight against Xuefei’s shoulder, her breath warm in Xuefei’s ear, eyes appraising her like a favored toy. Xuefei merely smiled, tilting her head until their dragon horns clinked together.
“Does Leia like snow lotuses?”
“Eh, so-so.”
“Same reason?”
“Yeah. They’re so lonely, all by themselves. Pitiful, even if they are strong—strong enough to stand proud and alone on some sheer cliff.”
“You really do love having company, don’t you? Though I get it. That fleeting need for companionship… a heart warped by Dark Filth could twist it into something permanent, a core trait all its own.”
“Why spell it out like that? Getting tired of me already, Xuefei?”
“You’re the one getting tired.”
Xuefei wove the Snow Roses onto the paper strips. Those seemingly lifeless blooms showed no signs of decay. Instead, under the influence of her power, they began to grow, gradually fusing together and bursting forth in colors that expressed their jubilant delight. It was through this grafting technique that she intertwined the Snow Roses with the branches. Catalyzed by Xuefei’s vital energy, the Snow Roses transformed into flowers of pure, blushing pink… Of course, everything had unfolded exactly as she had anticipated.
She had learned the skill long ago, specifically to make Leia happy…
This power differed from Life Magic, yet it proved remarkably effective on plants and Dark Filth alike. In any corner of the Human World, it would undoubtedly be branded as the wicked artifice of “black magic.” But no spell, whatever its nature, could spawn the cataclysmic disasters born from that mage’s botched grand incantation—and clearly, such a wretch would never face true retribution.
In the end, humans were nothing but a pack of snobbish, cold-hearted opportunists.
Back in the Human World, would I kill them?
If it were Leia, she wouldn’t hesitate for a second. After all, Heroes and Gods were cut from the same rotten cloth—none of them worth a damn.
“Eh, all done.”
Xuefei held up the peach-hued flower crown, intending to place it atop Leia’s head as she lounged against her shoulder. She had also crafted two smaller crowns especially for her two daughters.
But Leia had drifted off to sleep.
“Hu…”
Xuefei gently shifted her body, cradling Leia’s back with her hands. She stroked the rigid Dragon Wings before drawing both her and the children into her embrace. As the dragon tail coiled around her sensitive waist and tightened its hold on the child, Xuefei realized she had roused Leia from her half-dreaming haze. Her love’s eyes were already shut, her chest rising and falling in steady rhythm.
Truly, it was hibernation after all…
“Sorry.”
“Hee hee…” Leia let out a dopey giggle. “No worries~”
“Want me to set you down?”
“No~” Leia shook her head. “Carry me.”
“Mm…”
Leia donned the flower crown and began humming a cheerful melody, her voice brimming with delight.
At last, Xuefei laid another flower crown across her own chest, right beside the soundly sleeping Tilly.
“Where to?”
“Home~”
“Not Arios Town?”
“Nope~”
With that, Leia closed her eyes and slipped into slumber alongside Tilly.
“Mm. As you wish.”
