Chapter 245 - I Am His Mistress

"... This flower is your gift?"

"Yes. I tried to put a little creativity into it, inadequate though it may be."

Maia fell silent as she looked at the white flower Limon held out to her. It was not merely the exquisite detail of its stem, leaves, and petals—so fine that it seemed impossible to have carved them from stone, as though a real flower had been petrified.

Cold and without warmth, fragile enough to fade away, and all the more aloof and noble for it. The flower embodied a perfect beauty that seemed to have sprung straight from the imagination, leaving her momentarily speechless.

'Someone who only started learning sculpture a day ago made this?'

Barely suppressing the groan of admiration that nearly escaped her, Maia gave a faint snort.

"Are you trying to bribe me with a mere flower?"

"Bribe you? This is purely a gift. I merely included a little hope that my mistress might look kindly upon her slave."

"Hmph. You certainly have a glib tongue."

"A jester's or a slave's lot in life depends on how well he can talk, after all."

Maia stared hard at Limon and his utterly shameless manner for a moment before finally reaching out. Carefully avoiding contact with his hands, she took the stone flower he respectfully offered in both palms and slowly turned it over. Her eyebrows twitched as she belatedly noticed something strangely out of place that had escaped her from a distance.

'... A fragrance?'

One fragrance reached her with unusual clarity, even amid all the flowers blooming in the garden. It was so faint as to seem almost nonexistent, yet sweeter than a real flower. She inwardly scoffed.

'How ridiculous.'

Whether he had applied perfume or used some other contrivance, Maia scorned the deception of deliberately carving a flower from stone, only to scent it like a real one.

Yet even knowing it was a deception, she found the fragrance so sweet that she drew it closer and closer...

"I'm glad you seem to like my gift."

Maia stopped the hand holding the stone flower. Then she spoke coldly to Limon, who was watching her with a gentle smile.

"I never said I liked it."

"But you haven't refused it, have you?"

"Whatever belongs to a slave is the mistress's property. Naturally, I would collect what is mine."

"Hmm. You have a point."

Limon nodded once, as though she had stated an indisputable truth. Then a suggestive look crossed his face, as if a good idea had suddenly struck him.

"Then perhaps you could model for me next time."

"... What did you say?"

"Working only on things found in nature hasn't given me much inspiration, so I thought I might try sculpting a person."

No two people were perfectly alike, making human beings the best subjects for creative work. And naturally, a sculpture modeled on a beautiful woman would be better, so he hoped she would cooperate in increasing the value of her "property." Maia glared at his shameless explanation and spoke coldly.

"You dare spout such nonsense to me? You must place little value on your life."

RUSTLE.

This was no empty warning uttered in a moment of anger. Her sharply raised eyebrows, her darkened eyes, and above all, the flower beds slowly withering around them attested to her resolve: unless he immediately retracted his insolent words and begged forgiveness, she would not let him off.

Limon's answer to Maia's threat was simple.

"Thank you for agreeing."

"What nonsense is that?"

"What you just said means I may sculpt you if I'm prepared to stake my life on it, doesn't it, mistress?"

"... What drugs would you have to take, and how badly would you have to misuse them, to interpret my words that way?"

For a moment, Maia stared at him as though his reply were too absurd even to anger her. Then she waved a hand as if shooing away a dog.

"No, don't answer. Just leave. I have no desire to hear any more of your nonsense."

"Then shall I bring you something to eat? You look particularly pale today, even compared to usual. I think you ought to have breakfast."

"There is no need."

"Come now, have something. Food is the best medicine, as they say. Skipping meals like this isn't good for you."

Maia flinched for an instant, then snapped at him in an even darker voice.

"... I told you to leave."

"Well, if that's your order."

What did he find so disappointing? Limon shrugged, but ultimately gave her a respectful bow and left the garden. Maia shook her head and murmured.

"What a strange man."

She had been observing Limon all this time. Yet the more she watched him, the deeper the mystery surrounding him grew. His sculpting alone was a case in point.

It was not unusual for experts of the Seven Dragons Society to be versatile or to learn quickly in particular fields. Her own Green Dragon Clan, for example, displayed talents in medicine and related disciplines that ordinary people could not hope to match. But even by the Society's standards, Limon learned skills at an utterly unreasonable pace.

There were many other oddities, too. Despite staying awake for an entire night in this garden, he had not collapsed or even shown a trace of fatigue. His attitude was growing increasingly insolent. And...

'How dare he lecture me.'

That she should eat properly was a simple thing anyone might say. Yet neither the other members of the Green Dragon Clan, nor even her close attendants Barbara and Arbella or the elders, dared casually nag her about such things. There had been only one exception.

'Was he the reason I had that dream today?' Maia wondered inwardly.

Their clans, sexes, ages, personalities—nothing about them matched. Yet something about Limon reminded her of that woman to a peculiar degree. Enough that the mere admonition to eat properly had made her flinch before she knew it.

As she pondered how he could treat her with such ease, a sneer finally touched her lips.

"Recklessness born of ignorance?"

Surely Limon knew little about the Seven Dragons Society. Only a lunatic desperate to die could behave that way while knowing what the Green Dragon Princess was.

That made her curious whether he could still act as he did now once he knew everything about her. Of course, the answer was obvious. In all likelihood, he would look at her with fear in his eyes and grovel for forgiveness for all his past insolence.

Just imagining that insolent man truly treating her with respect was so delightful...

'How strange.'

... Irritation welled up instead. All she had done was imagine Limon looking at her with the same fear as everyone else. Unable to understand why it suddenly made her feel unpleasant, Maia furrowed her brow.

Was it because revealing who she was merely to control a lowly slave felt beneath her? Or...?

["Your Highness, do you have a moment?"]

"What is it?"

["I'm contacting you because the test subjects you wanted have arrived."]

Perhaps worried that she had interrupted her, Arbella hastily added something.

["Of course, I can conduct the experiments myself, so there is no need for you to come in person..."]

"I will be there shortly. Have everything ready."

["Yes, Your Highness."]

Maia cut Arbella off in a cold voice that permitted no argument. Then she entered the passage behind the jade throne leading to the private chamber she had emerged from and pressed a button cleverly concealed in one wall.

WHIRRR.

A secret door on one side of the passage opened to reveal an elevator. She rode it up to the laboratory, where Arbella and the other Green Dragon Clan researchers greeted her.

"Are the preparations complete?"

"I'm sorry. There are so many subjects in this batch that we're still preparing."

At Arbella's answer, Maia turned her head. After sweeping her gaze over the dozens of securely restrained test subjects in the isolation room on one side of the laboratory, she spoke.

"Why have so many subjects arrived at once?"

"The police station handed them over. They were caught during a deal involving a fairly notorious gang. The police asked a high price, saying we wouldn't need to worry about cleaning up afterward."

"Give them whatever they ask. That will ensure they continue supplying us with subjects."

"Yes. Leave it to me."

Arbella answered confidently. Although she always made a fool of herself in front of Maia, she was still Quetzalcoatl's chief researcher. She could easily handle something as basic as procuring test subjects.

"By the way, Your Highness, what is that flower?"

"What flower?"

"The one in your hand."

Maia frowned. Only after Arbella asked did she realize she had brought the stone flower Limon had given her along with her.

"Come to think of it, that man Lee took a great deal of sculpting material yesterday, saying it was on your orders... Did he make that flower, too?"

"He did."

"I'll admit he's somewhat good with his hands, but to offer you something like this as a gift when he's only been learning sculpture for a few days? He doesn't know his place."

Arbella scoffed derisively. Though she had not taken a proper look at the stone flower, Maia was a princess of the Seven Dragons Society. Having always seen and experienced only the very best, she was certain to regard the work of someone who had only just learned sculpture as trash. That very certainty kept Arbella from noticing the tips of Maia's eyebrows rising higher and higher.

"Just give the order, Your Highness. I'll dispose of that trash and discipline him thoroughly so he never does anything like this again..."

"Arbella, I am his mistress."

"Pardon?"

Arbella blinked, not understanding what she meant. Maia regarded her with dark eyes and spoke quietly.

"I am the one entitled to judge his work, and I am the one with the authority to discipline him."

"Of course you're right, but..."

"If you know that, do not presume to interfere. Is that understood?"

She would not forgive anyone who dared lay a hand on what was hers. Rather than her usual sneering or barbed tone, Maia spoke calmly, as though merely explaining a fact. That made the quiet warning all the more chilling, and the look in her eyes was utterly savage. Arbella involuntarily swallowed, bowed her head, and answered.

"... I'll remember that."

"Then that is enough."

Only after hearing her answer did Maia look away from Arbella. Toying with the stone flower in her hand, she continued coldly.

"And do not concern yourself with this flower. I am only keeping it because it smells pleasant."

"It... smells pleasant?"

"Is there a problem?"

"N-no. Of course not."

There were plenty of problems. A real flower was one thing, but the very notion of a flower carved from stone having a fragrance was strange. And even with her keen Green Dragon Clan sense of smell, Arbella could not detect anything resembling a scent. She simply dared not point that out to Maia.

Sensing the subtle emotion in Arbella's gaze, Maia snapped at her.

"Then finish preparing the experiment. How long do you intend to keep me waiting?"

"Yes. I'll have it ready right away."

Maia watched Arbella hurry to prepare the experiment with a sharp gaze for a moment. Then she toyed with the stone flower as though wondering what to do with it, before finally slipping it gently into her hair like a hairpin.

Perhaps it had been designed as a hair ornament from the start. Touching the stone flower, which nestled naturally among her strands of hair, Maia muttered inwardly.

'I don't like this.'

In truth, Arbella's remarks were entirely natural for a close attendant—indeed, they were part of her duty. However unusual the circumstances, the very idea of the Green Dragon Princess personally managing and disciplining a slave was normally absurd.

And yet she had felt displeasure when Arbella dared offer to discipline Limon. She did not know why she had felt that way, either. She liked none of it.

Soon, however, Maia's furrowed brow relaxed again. The faint fragrance drifting from the stone flower had soothed her displeasure.

Perhaps because her mind was at ease, she felt a refreshing sensation, as though even her poor physical condition were improving on its own. As Maia gently closed her eyes and lost herself in the flower's fragrance, Arbella spoke to her.

"Your Highness, everything is ready."

Maia opened her eyes and nodded. Then she looked at the gagged test subject struggling with its entire body securely restrained—from neck to waist to arms and legs—and spoke coldly.

"Begin the experiment."