The West Wind's Destination - Chapter 1
Spring’s west wind swept through the garden’s roses.
A servant, diligently maintaining the garden to match the meticulous owner’s temperament, absentmindedly followed the fluttering petals with his eyes. His gaze then shifted to the main gate.
A rare, unfamiliar guest stood there. The servant, leaving his garden shears behind, hurried to the gate.
“Pardon me, but may I ask who you might be?”
“I’ve come to meet the master of this mansion.
The elderly gardener, taken aback by the woman’s assertive demeanor, involuntarily checked his memory for any expected visitors that day.
At first glance, this woman seemed out of place to be visiting the mansion. Dressed in a long, dull robe, more common in the deserts beyond the mountains, and hooded deeply. The small child holding her hand was no different.
They appeared to be just an ordinary young woman and her little brother.
“Do you have an invitation?”
“Why would I need that?”
“If you’re not an invited guest, I cannot just let you in.”
The woman’s lips, visible under the hood, moved in dissatisfaction.
“I don’t need that. I’m here to demand compensation.”
“What kind of compensation…”
…are you talking about…..
But the servant’s words faded as he saw the child’s face revealed when the woman lifted the hood.
“This.”
The child’s expression was unnervingly impassive for his age.
He seemed about seven or eight years old, not older. His expression made him seem more mature than his small stature.
Fine silver hair contrasted his dark eyebrows. Sharp, clear facial features. Young, yet his eyes were sharp and piercing.
And the unique color of his irises.
He had heterochromia. One eye the color of light violet, like a pansy, and the other a shining gold, as if capturing the sun itself.
His eyes, rather than detracting, could be said to be even more beautiful than anything inside this mansion.
While the servant was captivated by the child’s appearance, the woman spoke again.
“Compensation for this.”
Such a visitor was unprecedented, especially recognizable to a servant of the mansion.
“It, it would be better for you to come inside.”
This child was the spitting image of Vilkanos’s guardian, Aseph Vilkanos.
❖
Vilkanos was known as the wealthiest land. Its guardian, formally referred to as Archduke Vilkanos, was its master. The mansion of the guardian was even larger than the rumors suggested.
Seated in the reception room, Bea Westwind looked out the window. The well-maintained rose garden was a sight to behold. A grand mansion and luxurious garden, sights rare in Bea’s desert homeland.
The sweet tea lingering on her tongue, the moist cookies, even the overly polite manners of the mansion’s servants were all unfamiliar to her. The mansion was unnervingly quiet except for occasional bird calls outside.
Bea glanced at the homunculus, who was busily eating cookies, as she sipped her tea.
Her ambitious creation, a homunculus.
Quite honestly, it was a failed experiment, yet its distinct features—silver hair, and mismatched gold and violet eyes—made it easy to identify the cause of failure.
That man she had once met, unbeknownst to her of high status.
“…Did I not order you all to handle such nonsense by yourselves.”
As Bea pondered, a commotion arose outside. Footsteps approached, accompanied by a nobleman’s irritated voice.
“I came here to escape such nonsense, and now what? Someone brought ‘my child’ here?”
Bang!
The door to the reception room flung open, the Archduke’s anger evident.
“Vilkanos’ prestige has fallen, it seems. What madness is this, bringing in a crazed woman…!”
His fiery gaze, searching for the uninvited guest, froze upon seeing them.
“Y, you……”
Bea stood up, maintaining decorum.
“It’s been a while.”
