In the morning mist, clusters of violet-colored autumn crocuses looked especially enchanting, their petals soaked in fresh dew.Young girls dressed in maid uniforms carefully wiped the moisture from each flower.
As the favorite garden of the Second Princess of Gordon City, this place was not only kept in eternal bloom through magic, but was also tended by at least twenty maids at all times.To them, even a single fallen petal was a serious matter.
"Move faster, all of you."
Behind the maids, a gloomy-looking head housekeeper barked coldly.
"If anyone dares to slack off or make a mistake, I'll bury her under the garden as fertilizer."
After scolding the maids, the housekeeper turned to the gray-haired girl beside her and said in a frigid tone:
"Imshi, your job from now on is to take care of the Second Princess's garden. Remember—do not let a single flower be harmed. Otherwise, you won't want to know what kind of consequences you'll face."
"Yes, Housekeeper."
Hel nodded, then moved closer to the flowerbeds and began working just like the other maids.
Seeing Hel's diligent attitude, the housekeeper snorted and left, swaying away.
Only then did Hel recall the message Niv had sent her earlier.
"Master, there's something wrong with this castle.The air is filled with magical dust—it seems to be part of a large-scale detection spell.Judging from the spell's scope and density, Niv estimates it has reached the level of a top-tier spell.This dust is extremely sensitive to both mental and magical fluctuations. If anyone infiltrates from outside, the caster will notice immediately."
Because of this intelligence, Hel had become increasingly cautious in her actions.
Anyone capable of casting a top-tier spell was either Saint-tier or King-tier. And it was very possible that the Garden Nation still had Saint-tier experts stationed here.
Once the caster detected a powerful intruder, they would certainly alert the city's Saint-tier defenders.
Against a Saint-tier enemy, Hel could instantly kill them if they belonged to the Death lineage.But if they had any other attribute, she could only pray that their Mental World wasn't too outrageous.
Of course, Old Chui-de didn't count.A so-called Saint-tier who could be controlled by Hel's Beast Authority was nothing but a disgrace to the title.
That was why, aside from initially controlling the inspection official to obtain her palace maid identity, Hel had not controlled anyone else.
She had blended in as an ordinary maid.
With no background, no power, and gray hair that everyone here despised, she was naturally assigned the hardest and most unpleasant tasks.
But…
Looking at the girls gently wiping the flower petals, Hel couldn't help but think:
"This doesn't seem like hard labor at all."
Could there be something hidden about this job? Is it the flowers?Autumn crocuses are toxic, yes, but you'd need to ingest large amounts to produce the deadly colchicine toxin. And these girls are just wiping petals, not harvesting them…
Just as she was thinking, one of the young maids—probably tired—nodded off.
While wiping a petal, she accidentally applied too much force.
The petal fell.
Her face instantly turned deathly pale.
The other maids stopped their work at the same time and stepped back in perfect unison.
Then, the fallen petal began to swell and split open, transforming into a grotesque, gaping mouth that devoured the unlucky maid in a single bite.
Like a man-eating flower that had just eaten its fill, the entire stalk bloated, even forming a vague humanoid shape.
The maid's anguished face was pressed against the thin plant membrane, distorted and screaming.
But it didn't last long.
With a swallowing motion, the autumn crocus-monster consumed her completely—in less than a second.
After letting out a satisfied belch, the flower shrank back down, returning to its harmless appearance.
Just as I thought. There's definitely something wrong with this job.
Hel frowned.
She sensed that the magical dust floating in the air was somehow similar to the mutated flower.
So the mastermind is the Second Princess?
She contacted Niv silently:
"Niv, did you find anything?"
"About the Second Princess?"Niv's voice soon echoed in Hel's mind.
"According to rumors in the city, she's known as the 'Flower of Gordon.'She's gentle, kind-hearted, and extremely popular—not just in Gordon, but in neighboring countries as well.Even a young prince from the Ymir Empire has fallen for her and stays in Gordon year-round."
"Is that so?"
Hel glanced at the flower that had just eaten a person and was now swaying innocently.
She didn't believe a word of it.
"Where is this 'Flower of Gordon' right now?"
"She should still be sleeping in her bedroom.It's on the second floor overlooking the garden you're tending.She can see the entire garden just by opening her window."
"I see."
Hel casually looked toward the balcony above, where someone standing there could observe the whole garden.
"What about the insect surveillance? Can you tell her strength?"
"Not really. There's a barrier inside her room.Our non-ranked undead insects can't force their way in."
Niv sighed.
"But ranked ones would be detected immediately by the monitoring system the moment they use magic.Even with aura concealment, any magical activity would be noticed."
"So… are you planning to act directly, Master?"
"No. Not yet."
As she spoke, Hel quietly inserted one finger into the soil.
Her mental power spread cautiously, seizing control of one underground insect after another.
At her command, countless subterranean insects swarmed toward the bloated autumn crocus that was lazily basking in the sunlight after its feast.