Seven-Day Flower

The midday sun baked the iron fence until it was scorching hot. Wao's leather vest clung to his back, and sweat ran down the groove of his spine into his waistband.

He squinted at the fence in front of him and casually patted one of his underlings on the shoulder.

The underling understood and hurried forward to push the gate open.

"Hey! This is the church, right?!"

Sophie tugged at her lace gloves. The rising waves of heat made the makeup on her face run.

Ever since Pike had given her a scolding, she'd had a miserable two days!

Not only had the family made her spend half of every twenty-four hours learning etiquette and how to deal with people.

She had finally finished her morning lessons, and now she had to rush straight to the church to deliver a gift!

"Y-yes, it's the church."

Curled up inside the scorching iron cage, Sheila was deathly pale. Her cracked, peeling lips barely moved as she spoke.

"Miss, should we give her some water?"

"Otherwise, she'll die in the cage before she reaches the church."

Wao stepped forward and spoke respectfully to Sophie, who stood beneath a parasol.

After handing in the lead last night, he had thought all he needed to do was wait for his reward...

To his surprise, his boss had dragged him out of bed early that morning and given him a strict order: accompany a member of the Keike Family to the church on a mission.

"Give her some!"

Sophie nodded. The person in the cage was crucial to her mission this time. If she died on the way, Sophie wouldn't be able to explain it to the family.

Hearing that, Wao took the military canteen from his waist, unscrewed the cap, and held it inside the cage.

"Drink."

Wao held the canteen to Sheila's lips and spoke softly.

"Gulp, gulp."

The girl gulped down two mouthfuls of ice water. Water spilled from the cracks at the corners of her mouth and sizzled on the scorching iron plate.

"Let's keep moving!"

Wao pulled his hand back, screwed the cap onto the canteen, and hung it from his belt. Then he turned and gave the underlings beside him an order.

"Heave!"

Two underlings stepped forward to take over carrying the iron cage, hoisting it onto their shoulders. The group continued along the dirt road.

"Knock, knock."

"Is anyone there?"

After knocking on the church door, of which only half remained, Wao stepped back and waited quietly for a response.

Only a brainless brute would barge into a building without knowing what was inside!

A little while later, the sound of heavy footsteps approached.

"You are...?"

A boy with short green hair pushed the door open and looked at the crowd gathered on the steps.

"Hello. Are Ms. Lianke and Carl at the church?"

Sophie stepped forward with a smile.

The long pinewood stick in her etiquette teacher's hand had already taught her sufficiently good habits.

"I'm Sophie of the Keike Family. Sorry for the trouble, but could you let them know we're here?"

"What do you want with me?"

Hearing her name, Carl came slowly down the corridor and reached the entrance in a few strides.

He had received a request from Chrollo and had been busy putting the church's bookshelves into the manor.

She had just finished and was about to go to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

"Madam Luona was held up by some matters, so she sent me to pass along some information."

Seeing the familiar black-haired boy, Sophie pressed her knees together and pulled her shoulder blades back with all her might, trying to make her posture more elegant.

Sophie knew perfectly well who the family had arranged those etiquette lessons for!

"May I come in and explain?"

"Franklin? Carl? Is that you?"

Inside the iron cage, Sheila heard her companions' familiar voices and struggled as she cried out.

"Sheila?"

The moment she spoke, Franklin's heart skipped a beat. He stared toward the source of the voice-a large iron cage on the steps, covered with black cloth!

"Help me, Franklin! Help me!"

Hearing her companion answer, Sheila suddenly broke into hoarse cries, her nails scraping shrilly against the bottom of the cage.

Seeing the familiar companions she hadn't seen in a month, she broke down at once.

Without hesitation, Franklin pushed the door open and raced toward the cage.

"Out of the way!"

Seeing the boy charging over, Wao's eyelid twitched, and he hurriedly told his underlings to move aside.

Even Sophie hadn't tried to stop him. What right did lowly thugs like them have to block his path?

If they offended him, what if the Keike Family stuffed Wao into an incinerator afterward?

"Sheila, how are you?"

Franklin rushed up to the cage and tore off the black cloth, his face full of anxiety.

"Help me! They're bad people!"

Sheila reached her blackened hands out of the cage and gripped Franklin's vest tightly.

In moments, several black handprints appeared on the white vest.

"This is information from the Keike Family. You can take a look."

Ignoring Franklin behind her, Sophie pulled a stack of documents from the small bag in her hand and gave them to Carl.

"Tsk."

Carl took the documents but didn't look through them. Instead, she studied the girl in front of her with a curious expression.

Strange. This girl can talk after all?

Why was she stuttering last time?!

Carl glanced out of the corner of her eye at Franklin, who was crouching in front of the cage, and pursed her lips.

After all, Sheila was a companion he had known for years. He couldn't very well try to persuade him otherwise.

"Let's open the cage first. You can come inside with me too."

"All right."

Sophie nodded, then looked at Wao:

"Give him the key."

Wao hurriedly pulled the key from his belt and bent down to hand it to Franklin beside the cage.

"Click."

The iron lock fell to the ground.

Franklin lifted Sheila with trembling hands. The usually silent boy's eyes were bloodshot, and the knees of his work pants, which had been shortened by half, were now covered in dirt.

The festering wounds on the girl's calves rubbed against his upper arm, and the smell of pus and blood mingled with rust.

"Let's go."

Carl sighed and turned toward the church interior.

When the library's mottled wooden door was pushed open, dust danced wildly in the shafts of light.

Two newly moved wooden chairs faced each other, and Sophie sat in one of them with her back ramrod straight.

Across from her were Lianke and several members of the Phantom Troupe whom Carl had summoned back at short notice.

"Go on. What message did Luona send you with?"

Feeling the breeze brush past her ears, Lianke glanced at Carl beside her before turning her gaze to Sophie.

"Yes. This is a gift Madam asked me to bring Carl."

Sophie shivered and hurriedly pulled a pouch wrapped in a silk handkerchief from inside her clothes.

"They're very rare and precious seeds."

As she spoke, she unwrapped the silk handkerchief, revealing a small, multicolored pouch inside.

With a single glance, Carl could no longer tear her eyes away.

Inside the pouch, five rainbow-colored seeds were wrapped in membranes as delicate as human skin, each one shining brilliantly.

"Madam said..." Sophie pursed her lips, her voice growing serious. "Although these seeds no longer have an environment where they can be grown, they are still extremely valuable as collectibles."

"She found this gift especially for you. She hopes you'll like it."

Outside the window, the incinerator roared to life at that very moment, and black smoke swept past the various exquisite figures on the stained glass.

"Hum..."

A mechanical hum sounded inside Carl's skull.

[Single-season crop: Seven-Day Flower]

[Maturation period: 1,680 hours]

[Irrigation requirements: one drop of the user's fresh blood, manor spring water]

[Effect: The dead cannot be saved. Revive for seven days, the departed soul returning, that lingering attachments may be resolved.]

"Ah?!!"

After seeing the description on the panel clearly, Carl's pupils contracted sharply, and she cried out in surprise.