The murmuring servants slowly stepped aside as Cecelia moved past them, and the moment she reached the center of the courtyard, the reason behind everyone's astonishment finally revealed itself completely.
An entire flower field had appeared overnight.
Not a carefully arranged noble garden with trimmed patterns and measured elegance, but a soft, sprawling patch of blooming flowers spreading across the courtyard like a fragment of spring itself had descended upon the cold stone grounds of the Valecrest Manor. Countless flowers swayed gently beneath the morning breeze, their colors blending together beneath the golden sunlight—yellow, white, blue, pink, violet—forming a sea of warmth untouched by a single thorn or sharp edge.
For a moment—
Cecelia simply stood there.
Still and silent.
Then her small hands slowly lifted toward her chest as though afraid the scene before her might disappear if she moved too suddenly.
"…Warm…"
