Fixing the Garden

Frederick worriedly watched as Lumina and Francesca started calling out to their sister when Diana looked like she was having a nightmare. They shook her awake when her breathing became too erratic that it scared them.

He gritted his teeth. He was sure that curing Diana was a success so he did not understand why she was suddenly having some kind of difficulty. If something went wrong, it surely was his fault. Perhaps he had made a mistake somewhere.

Frederick was immensely relieved when after gasping for air, Diana finally woke up. She coughed and looked around when she noticed that she was surrounded by people.

Her eyes lingered at each one of them as if, she was analyzing them. Her sisters were talking to her but she did not seem to hear them.

The way she stared at everyone, Frederick noticed that she looked like she did not recognize them. She was staring at them blankly with no sense of recognition at all.

Her expressions did not change when she was looking at her sisters, at him, or at the servants in the room. She was just staring at them.

Diana looked around the room once again, and Frederick realized that she glanced at his sword. His eyes followed hers and he realized that she was wary of everyone’s weapons.

Frederick concluded that Diana must have grown distrustful after she was poisoned. There was a look of distrust and fear in her eyes. She was on guard even with her sisters. He also theorized that she might have temporarily lost her memories.

She suddenly stiffened and yanked her hand away from them. She held her head like she was in great pain and lost consciousness again.

Frederick then forbade any sort of weapon or pointed object in the room. Lumina and Francesca instantly agreed. They feared that Diana might have been traumatized due to nearly dying of poison.

Everyone also agreed to hide any form of weapon from Diana when she wakes up to prevent alerting her and making her distrust them. Frederick’s estate was safe from attackers so they had nothing to fear.

Lumina and Francesca were so depressed when Frederick pointed out that Diana might have even lost her memories.

Before they even had time to calm down, Diana’s mana suddenly went out of control. It surged past her normal capacity and continually increased.

Some of the servants passed out and they would have died if Frederick was a second late in putting up a barrier. He was grateful for the fact that he did not need to chant at all. Diana’s mana still leaked though and Frederick had to put up a multilayered barrier.

“Just how strong is her mana?!” he exclaimed when she broke barrier after barrier.

“Her mana capacity is rapidly growing. Although she had room to grow, it had never been this strong before. If she was having a nightmare, something must have triggered her,” Lumina pointed out and Frederick could not agree more.

His brothers and her sisters put out barriers as well but some of Diana’s mana still leaked out. Her mana continued surging up to a level that was too much for a twelve-year-old like her until it seemed to have reached a peak and finally settled down.

Everyone sighed in relief. But just as they did, the ground shook. Raphael and Herbert rushed outside to check what caused it.

Meanwhile, Frederick and the sisters checked Diana’s condition. They were relieved when they realized that her vitals were now in a stable condition. Rather, she was suddenly so healthy that it was almost like a miracle.

“The forest seemed to have absorbed Diana’s mana that leaked from our barriers. The trees closest to the mansion had tripled in size,” Raphael explained when they returned.

“It’s that potent?” Frederick knew that the daughters of the Evymeria ducal family were especially blessed in bringing forth growth but he did not know how strong it was.

“Apparently, the legends were true,” Raphael said as if reading his mind.

“Indeed. It seems the stories from the elders were not made up,” Herbert agreed.

Frederick eyed his brothers. They must have meant the tales about how Duchess Evelyn once came to Varondel with Duke Cedric and her mere presence sent the barren lands sprout with life. That was how potent Evymeria's daughters’ affinity to growth was.

But Frederick wondered why his brothers seemed troubled. It was supposed to be a good thing, yet they did not seem happy at all.

Lumina and Francesca also went out to check what Frederick’s brothers were talking about.

“As expected of my sister,” the sisters beamed with pride. The two returned with smiles on their faces compared to Raphael and Herbert who looked concerned.

Puzzled and filled with curiosity at the same time, Frederick also went out to check what the others were talking about and he instantly had a throbbing headache.

‘The Evymeria family does indeed pamper Diana. How could her sisters be so proud after seeing what had happened here?’

All vegetation outside the mansion had tripled in size. The trees, the shrubs, the flowers, even the grasses. Frederick’s estate was a wreck. No wonder Raphael and Herbert looked troubled.

His gaze went to the forest. The trees had tripled in size indeed. It grew taller and thicker. Not that he minded. With the forest even harder to navigate, any intruders were unlikely to reach them.

Frederick had let his mana flow to the forests several times for that purpose. He had nurtured the forest before, to make it thick and tricky to scare away intruders.

‘But more importantly, my garden!’

It was a total mess now. Everything was overgrown and there were cracks on the hallways and pavement. It did not look elegant and beautiful anymore. It was more like a garden left unattended for decades.

‘How could I welcome my betrothed properly with my place now this disorderly? I cannot possibly have Diana think that I am lazy and sloppy.’

Diana was still twelve, but Frederick knew from encountering her in Evymeria and the travels with Anthony, that Diana had elegant and exquisite taste. And she was rather sharp-tongued if he was being honest.

“You two are going to help me restore the garden,” Frederick glared at his older brothers when he went back into Diana’s chambers.

“You could have asked a bit more nicely little brother,” Herbert teased. He must have picked up on why Frederick wanted the garden restored immediately.

“Fine. You can just laze around if you want to. I have no time to waste. Fidel, Veryll. Come with me.”

“Yes, milord,” his servants immediately followed him. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Herbert and Raphael follow with grins on their faces.

“Alright. I shall help you out too. You are worried about Your Lady getting disappointed in you, right?” Herbert asked in a loud voice.

Frederick wanted to send his brother out of his estate. They were already out of Diana’s chambers but with Herbert’s loudness, he was sure that Lumina and Francesca heard it. His suspicions were confirmed when he heard the two giggling together.

“Herbert, you should not tease Frederick so much. Look at how tense he is just from the thought that Lady Diana might wake up anytime now,” Raphael chided Herbert but Frederick did not feel assured at all. He wondered if their oldest was actually making fun of him too.

“I am not tense. I just need this garden restored. I would rather not be the shame of Varondel. I believe you two recall that Lady Diana is straightforward. As Anthony put it, she would do and say as she pleases,” he reminded his brothers.

“She might not even honor the edict if she finds me displeasing. And with her title as The Treasure of Evymeria and the recent events, even His Majesty might issue another edict if she appealed,” just the thought of it was already making Frederick pale.

“Just how much shame would it be to Varondel if the so-called best magician and the only Archmage in the Kingdom was dumped for some reason despite an edict? I would not even have a face to see Anthony in the next life,” he glared at his brothers.

“Calm down. You are too nervous,” Raphael gently patted his back. Frederick must have been nervous indeed since he felt himself calm down. Raphael must have used his calming magic on him.

“I’m fine.” Frederick insisted meekly this time.

“Let’s clean this up before Lady Diana awakens or your fears might come true,” Raphael smiled.

“Right.”

With that, the three started working along with their servants to restore the garden to what it used to be. It took some time and a lot of mana before Frederick’s estate finally started looking like how it used to be. Caring for plants was never their expertise after all.

However, Frederick still could not shake the feeling that something bad might happen. He could not feel rest assured at all.

Unlike Lumina and Francesca who were both adults and could understand the situation easily, Diana was still young so she might not accept the edict.

More importantly, Diana was pampered and got everything she wanted. Thus, she tended to have a selfish streak and a sharp tongue. Just the thought of informing Diana that he was now her fiancé, made Frederick’s head spin.

“You do not have to worry too much Frederick. Relax a little. We will help to make sure Lady Diana takes an interest in you,” Raphael said when he noticed that Frederick was still nervous.

“Leave it to your older brothers. You are inexperienced with women after all,” Herbert wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

“I am not,” Frederick instantly denied and shoved away Herbert’s arm.

“Ah, so cold as always. You could be a bit cuter like when you were young,” Herbert sighed.

“Stop it, Herbert. We are not as frivolous as you, after all. Do not put Frederick and me on the same level as you.”

“F-frivolous?!” Herbert stared at their oldest brother in disbelief.

“Yes. Just what do you call your former actions? You are married now so you better behave,” Raphael chided Herbert who suddenly looked like a hurt puppy.

“I was just enjoying my youth! And I am not doing anything of that sort now!” Herbert quickly denied it. Raphael and Frederick ignored him.

A/N: This is a peek at what was going on with the male’s side. Hope you like it.

Do share your thoughts in the comments section.

Thank you for reading. More blessings to you guys.