Do Flowers Bloom in the Fallen Land?

“It’s pretty ugly, right?”

“Uh… No.”

For Seira, who spent more than half of the year on the battlefield, scars weren’t considered as criteria for judging whether they were good or bad. Many of Askan’s knights had bigger scars than Louis had, which they considered as symbols of luck in which they passed life and death safely. It’s just…

“Well, I have to admit it’s quite strange.”

“What do you mean?”

“Why does Franto’s duke, who could’ve negotiated, leave his successor’s wounds to scar?”

Most of Viseltium’s direct descendants had healing powers. Ordinary nobles or commoners would never dare, but Franto could’ve just asked for it. Of course, he’d have to offer an enormous amount of cash and donations, but couldn’t he do that much for his successor?

Seira didn’t know when and how he got the scars, but it must’ve been a critical condition. But with closer inspection, it seemed to have been abandoned and the wounds treated poorly.

“I know that look,” Louis said, “It’s quite bad, isn’t it?” he joked back.

‘…No way.’

“It would’ve been nice if they hadn’t hurt me.”

His nonchalant attitude made Seira realize who was the person who hurt him.

“I was actually worried that if you saw this, you wouldn’t want to touch me.”

“You think too much,” Seira stared up at him and smiled as she pulled him forward to sit down, “It’s all right, so come on in.”

Louis’ childhood, which Seira presumed had been without worry and princelike, had actually been bitter. It wasn’t easy to guess how deep and dark the shadow of controversy of Franto’s lineage must’ve cast over the young boy then. She assumed it must be one of the reasons for the contract they signed.

While Seira was lost in her thoughts, Louis got in the tub and sat behind her.

“Seira, if you don’t mind, would you lean on me?”

“Like this?”

At Louis’ request, Seira moved closer to him. His chest touched her back, and she was surprised that it felt much harder than she anticipated.

“You’d better stick closer. I need you to amplify my power.”

“…more than this?”

“Well…” Louis hummed, “Are you ashamed? The scruff of your neck has turned red.”

Seira puckered her lips and opened her mouth in astonishment. He seemed to be hugging her bare body while she wasn’t even that close to him. Although she pretended to be promiscuous, Seira actually didn’t tolerate such things.

“It’s hot,” she simply replied with a slight grumble.

At her answer, Seira heard Louis say with a laugh, “I’m glad to hear that. It’s much better if at least one person is fine.”

“…?”

“In fact, I’m embarrassed to death,” he whispered into her ears.

Louis leaned forward and hugged Seira in his arms. Because of that, Seira screamed internally when her shoulders, back, and hips touch Louis’ skin. Over thin cloth, she felt something like an iron club touching her.

‘Ugh… He’s kind of big too,’ she thought at the back of her mind.

Seira assumed it must have been hard carrying such a thing in his pants all day and night.

“I am sorry if this makes you feel uncomfortable,” he apologized shortly after hugging her.

“No, well… it’s by instinct, so it couldn’t be helped.”

It was even weirder if an Alpha in his prime hugged an Omega in her underwear and was still fine.

“Then shall we start now?”

Seira nodded and at the same time, his arms that held her turned tense.

‘Oh…’

Seira’s lips formed into a tiny circle at the force wave permeating through his skin. Her purple eyes, symbolizing the Askan lineage, began to calculate with a brilliant light.

Louis’ power was a clear turquoise like his eyes, resembling lush greenery. The amount of energy that filled up in a blink was astonishing.

Shortly after being enamored by his overwhelming power, Seira began to amplify. Her powers had no special color – the black made it darker, and the light made it brighter.

The color of the liquid rapidly changed according to the color of power reflected in Seira’s eyes. It sparkled like a jewel in full sunlight.

WHOOSH!

The glass tub vibrated lightly with a sudden surge of energy.

A brilliant light enveloped them afterward. Anyone who saw it would’ve been awed, but Seira had no time to pay attention to it.

She felt sick to her stomach.

A fishy smell climbed up her throat. It was a side effect of rapidly increasing her power, and for a moment, Seira but her lips and squeezed all her strength. At some point, she even thought of stopping.

‘No,’ she told herself internally, ‘Even if I have to know how far I could go.’

If she stopped in moderation, it would become a habit and only fear would grow. It was better for her to know exactly how far her limits were now that she could measure them using Franto’s magic tools.

“I can’t believe it’s this much.”

How long has it been?

Louis exclaimed and withdrew his power first. He thought that the glass tube wouldn’t last long if it took more than it was meant to.

“You didn’t covet the power of amplification for no reason.”

Seira’s power gradually faded after Louis.

“Three to four times? This is really…”

Louis was admiring her powers when all of a sudden, he stopped talking and looked down at Seira.

“Seira…?!”

Her face was ghastly pale with not so much of a trace of blood.