The Song of Flowers - Chapter 3: The Heir of the Great Family (1)

Luther Basil watched Alan bow, his eyes brimming with emotion. He had received Alan’s letter in advance, and ever since, he had been unable to focus on anything else. Hours before Alan’s arrival, Luther had been pacing around his office, anxious for the news.

“You’ve done well,” Luther said.

“I’ve only done my duty,” Alan responded, his calm demeanor reassuring.

“Make sure to tell Eric that he did well too.”

“You should tell him yourself.”

“He’ll have to come here for that, won’t he? Am I expected to go visit that brat all the way out there? Now he thinks settling this matter will wipe away the debt of raising him. That ungrateful boy.”

“…I heard that when he left home, you told him to pay back all you’d spent on feeding and clothing him,” Alan said with a small smile.

Luther turned his head and gave an uncomfortable cough, to which Alan briefly chuckled. But as soon as Luther looked back, Alan quickly wiped the smile off his face.

‘That loose-lipped fool,’ Luther thought. Yet, despite his grumbling, Luther had gained newfound respect for his son through this ordeal. He had always thought Eric was just a headstrong, reckless boy. When Eric left home to “find his own way,” Luther let him go, wondering how long the boy would last.

To his surprise, Eric had adapted well. He built an impressive network of connections that Luther had never anticipated. Eric’s social skills had proven quite valuable, helping greatly in this mission.

Luther hadn’t expected them to find the lord’s heir so quickly. At one point, he had feared the Levas family might come to an end under his watch.

Alan took a pouch from inside his cloak and carefully placed it on the desk. “This is the item I mentioned in the letter.”

Luther gingerly retrieved the contents of the pouch. He pulled out a velvet-wrapped ring, examined it closely, and let out a long sigh.

“It’s unmistakable,” Luther said, his voice trembling.

His eyes were filled with emotion as he stared at the ring.

“To see this again… We’ve finally found the lost heirloom of the Levas family.”

The ring had originally been a gift from Lady Shima to her eldest son on his coming-of-age birthday. It was meant to be worn by the head of the family and symbolized the heir. After Ethan’s death, the ring had gone missing, its whereabouts unknown.

Luther’s thoughts drifted back to half a year ago, to the day when he was summoned to meet the lord in secret. It had been a sudden call, late in the night.

“Luther,” Shima had said after a long silence, catching Luther off guard. Though they had been as close as siblings in their youth, Shima had not called him by his name since becoming the head of the family.

“…Yes, my lord?” Luther replied, startled.

“How have I been as the head of the family? Have I brought shame upon the Levas name?”

“You have been exemplary.”

“If you could go back in time, would you still help me?”

“Of course, my lord.”

Shima gazed at him for a while, then gave a faint, wistful smile.

“Good. At least I did one thing right. But as a person, I’ve failed. I have some troubling news to share with you.”

First, she told him of the news from the continent: the death of her heir, Paul.

Luther was left in a daze, but Shima delivered even more devastating news—news that made the first seem almost bearable by comparison.

“I don’t have much time left,” she had said.

Upon hearing of her son’s death, Shima had briefly fainted. The family physician had examined her condition closely and discovered that her illness had progressed beyond recovery. It was a quiet, insidious disease that had remained undetected until now. The doctor had given her only three months to live.

Luther had finally understood the meaning of the phrase “the sky is falling.” He had supported Shima for decades, through countless hardships, but nothing had ever felt as bleak as this.

“Here,” Shima had said, placing an old letter in Luther’s trembling hands. As he opened it and began to read, his hands shook even more.

“My lord, this letter…!”

“It’s about a year old. Someone brought it to me after finding it among their father’s belongings. They had planned to discard it, but something about it didn’t seem right, so they brought it here.”

The letter was written by her deceased son, Ethan, to his lover. It was dated shortly before Ethan’s untimely death.

A courier had been tasked with delivering the letter but had been killed by bandits en route. His body had been found much later, and his son hadn’t closely examined the belongings recovered from him until years later, when he was clearing out the attic.

“My lord, according to this letter…”

“It suggests that I may have another heir.”

In the letter, Ethan had professed his love to his beloved and added a postscript:

“Alice, our child, who is growing inside you, will surely be as beautiful as you. Before the baby is born, I will come and propose to you.“

The letter was proof that Ethan’s child may have been born and was possibly still alive somewhere.

“I never intended to keep this a secret forever,” Shima had said. “He is my blood, after all, but this is not just a personal matter. Still, I felt… betrayed by that boy. I needed time to come to terms with it.”

Shima had known nothing of Ethan’s lover, nor that they had conceived a child. Ethan had never told her. In the months leading up to his death, the relationship between mother and son had grown cold.

Shima had raised her two sons alone, with a strict hand. She had been especially hard on Ethan, her eldest, driving him with a relentless discipline. Her love had been shown through tough lessons, not affection. She had controlled every detail of his life, from sunrise to sunset.

Then, one event had changed everything. When Ethan was a teenager, he had fallen in love with a servant. Shima had thought her son too immature to start a family and had found the woman unsuitable. So she sent the girl away.

To this day, she didn’t regret her judgment that the girl wasn’t right for her son. But she regretted how she had handled the situation. She should have talked with Ethan instead of making decisions for him.

Their relationship had never recovered, and Ethan had died before they could reconcile.

“I know why he didn’t tell me,” Shima had said, smiling bitterly. “He didn’t trust me.”

She had laughed quietly, though her words were heavy with sorrow.

“Even in death, he still drives a stake through his mother’s heart.”

Luther had been at a loss for words.

Shima had inherited the Levas family title at the tender age of twenty, after the sudden death of her father. She had defied all expectations, becoming a steadfast and capable leader. Not even the death of her husband had broken her. She hadn’t shed a tear when her eldest son died. She had always remained the unshakable pillar of the family.

This was the first time Luther had seen such vulnerability in her.

“If there is blood of mine out there, we must find it.”

“You’re absolutely right.”

“Can it be done?”

“…I will find them, no matter what.”

Even if it were like finding a needle in a haystack, he had to succeed.

“I never expected my time to run out so soon. I should have started the search much earlier.”

“…”

“That’s why I’ve come up with a plan. I’ll use magic to prolong my life for as long as possible.”

“Ah…”

Luther sighed deeply.

The magic of slumber.

It was a spell designed to induce a coma-like state, slowing the body’s metabolism to prolong life. However, it was only a temporary solution. It couldn’t extend life indefinitely. The magic simply delayed the inevitable; during the slumber, life force would slowly diminish. The spell had side effects, too. Waking up from the slumber required expending a significant amount of life force, and after waking, the individual could only survive for a few days at best.

Three months. It wasn’t a long time. The Lord had chosen to forgo the final moments of reflecting on her life.

“Request it quietly from the Mage Tower. I plan to keep this matter a secret from the outside. Officially, I’ve fallen into a coma due to the grief over my son’s death.”

“…Understood, my lord.”

“When that happens, there will be much confusion. It will be a burden for you.”

“That’s not true. It’s my duty. I will find your heir and bring them here.”

“I’m counting on you. Even until the end, it seems I’ve only ever piled more work onto your shoulders… Luther, I’ve been able to endure all this time thanks to your support. Thank you.”

“…Sister…”

Luther eventually broke down and wept in front of her.

Thinking back to that moment, Luther still felt warmth around his eyes. He fought to keep his emotions in check as he stared at the ring.

“Is the young master being kept at the Coe family estate?”

“No. Actually…” Alan hesitated. “I’ve brought him here to the castle.”

“What?” Luther’s eyes widened.

“I apologize for acting on my own. But I figured the best place to hide someone is often right under everyone’s nose. He’s been housed in the southern tower.”

“The southern tower…” Luther nodded slowly.

“Yes, that’s probably for the best.”

Shima’s previous order to place knights at every entrance to the southern tower, to protect Adele, was still being enforced. Strengthening the security wouldn’t raise any suspicion, and the southern tower was a place out of the public eye.

“We must keep the young master hidden until he can meet the lord.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“If the lord were still in good health, the young master’s return would have been celebrated with great fanfare. Now he’s being kept hidden like a criminal. It’s shameful. I fear we may not be able to visit the lord today.”

“I’ll meet with him and explain everything carefully.”

Luther didn’t ask what the young master was like, and Alan refrained from giving his own impressions. The reserved nature of both men was evident in their mutual silence.

As Alan prepared to leave, he stopped again before Luther’s desk.

“I heard the lord cannot wake immediately.”

“Yes. The mage said the preparation would take some time.”

“In that case, might it be wise to involve Miss Adele in assisting while the young master stays in the southern tower?”

The thought had occurred to him after his recent encounter with Adele. Despite her fear earlier, she hadn’t shed a single tear, maintaining her composure. She had left quite an impression on him.

“Miss Adele… That’s a good idea. Having an ally on the inside would be helpful.”

Luther had been quietly monitoring the movements of people within the castle, tracking both the major powers and even the servants who could potentially pose a risk.

Adele had been part of that surveillance—not because Luther distrusted her, but because everyone had to be scrutinized. Yet, Adele remained isolated, never having made contact with the figures of concern.

“Still, it’s better if fewer people know about the young master. Don’t reveal everything to her, but explain enough so she understands the situation. Show her respect. Don’t judge her by appearances.”

“Yes, I will be careful.”

***

The Levas Castle was divided into two major sections: the outer and the inner fortresses. The inner fortress lay within the walls connecting the four towers positioned in each cardinal direction. Of these, the west tower was used by the administrators, and all the offices of the castle’s officials were located there.

After leaving Luther’s office, Alan ascended the tower and stepped out onto the rampart connected to the upper levels of the west tower. As he walked along the walls, he encountered several knights on guard duty. He acknowledged their greetings with a nod as he made his way toward the southern tower.

There were three entry points for outsiders into the southern tower: the main gate, the bridge connecting to the central tower, and the entrance from the wall. As the captain of the knightly order, it wasn’t unusual for Alan to inspect the guards stationed along the wall. Having just returned from an extended mission, no one would find his frequent visits suspicious. Alan casually made his way into the southern tower.

The southern tower was rarely visited, making it an ideal place to hide someone for the time being.

Standing in the empty hallway, Alan scanned his surroundings once more. After confirming that no one was watching, he quietly opened the door and slipped inside.

He quickly surveyed the room. The parlor was empty. He opened the door leading to the bedroom. The bed and sofa were both unoccupied. Walking further in, he spotted a half-open balcony window.

Through the window, Alan saw the person he had been searching for. Leaning against one of the tower’s massive pillars, the man was gazing out beyond the balcony.

Alan tapped lightly on the window frame to announce his presence before approaching.

“Young master,” he called.

The man with blue hair turned his head, his violet eyes meeting Alan’s with an expression of detached indifference.

***