Witch's Daughter And The Devil's Son

When Seren and Rayjin came out of the dining hall after having a meal, Seren felt it was not good to keep little Rayjin out in the cold. Despite the midday sun shining overhead, the cold wind blowing from the lake from time to time still caused Seren to shiver. They only stayed in the hanging garden for only a short while before she took the little girl to the greenhouse behind the palace where the temperature was maintained.

"Where are we going, Seren?" Rayjin, who was holding her hand, asked.

"Remember what I told you earlier?"

Rayjin touched her chin as she tilted her adorable head. "The greenhouse?"

"Smart girl," Seren replied. "Yes, we are going to Grandmother's greenhouse. It's really pretty and I am sure you will like it more than you like the hanging garden."

The Crystal Palace had two main gardens, the hanging garden at the front and the one on the back of the palace where the greenhouse was located. However, when viewed from the boat, the entire palace seemed to be one large garden in itself and many garden areas were interconnected. The path made of cobblestone connected all the gardens, and one could simply follow it to leisurely appreciate the wonderful landscape.

Rayjin soon saw a large dome-shaped structure with transparent walls and a roof. She let out an excited squeal. "Is that it? That glass building?"

Seren nodded. "That is the greenhouse where we grow rare plants."

"But why are the plants inside the building and not outside in the open?" Rayjin questioned.

"Because there in that greenhouse, what we grow are plants which are not used to the cold temperature here in the North. Many of them need to grow with warmer weather conditions since the seeds were from plants taken from the South or the kingdoms in the central regions. Also, there are some rare ones that you would not find anywhere else, only in this greenhouse, so they will receive more care than ordinary plants."

"Oh!" Rayjin sounded amazed. She liked beautiful things, and never really paid attention to the particulars of flowers and plants. "I would like to see them. Are there also butterflies inside?"

"Last time, I saw lots of them. Normally, you see them in spring because only in spring do these flowers bloom, but I am sure this time too we can see them. See? Even from where we are standing, we can see the colorful flowers" Seren replied as she pointed at the glass walls.

"Waah! It's really warm here! I think I can take off my winter coat!" Rayjin laughed as soon as the two entered the transparent dome-shaped structure.

"Careful, Rayjin! Don't run around too much, or you might break something."

"I will behave well, Seren!"

Seren merely smiled as her gaze followed the girl who looked like a butterfly herself, flitting from one flower pot to another, admiring their beautiful shapes and fragrances. Everything looked more beautiful under the bright sunlight entering through the glass roof, and the refreshing scent of sweet flowers and earthly soil made the atmosphere within the greenhouse more relaxing.

Seren had already been here before, but even so, her eyes didn't stop taking note of each and every plant. The same went for Rayjin as they walked further inside. Rayjin's attention in particular was at the top of the dome ceiling until they reached the central part of the large greenhouse.

The middle of the ceiling had flower pots hanging in the likeness of thick curtain vines, and the style was something Rayjin had never seen before. She felt as if one big sneeze from her, and there would be a shower of colorful petals around her.

"It's really beautiful… but where are the butterflies?"

Seren looked around, unable to bear the sight of Rayjin's disappointment. She was someone who loved to garden, and she had knowledge about these colorful winged insects. 'In the wild, they normally go into hibernation or they migrate to warmer places during the cold season. But this greenhouse is warm all year long, and I think Grandmother raised butterflies in captivity. Though there shouldn't be many, there should still be some since autumn had just ended.'

"Seren, so I can't see butterflies?" Rayjin asked again.

Seeing her sad face with a cute pout, Seren patted her head. "Even I wish we could see lots of butterflies here."

Just as she spoke those words, they saw a small butterfly flying towards Seren. Seren lifted her hand and it sat on her palm.

"Ahh! A butterfly! It was hiding from us!" Rayjin exclaimed happily. The butterfly sitting on Seren's palm had wings that were black on the edges, and the middle had a gradient of bright red to deep orange and then sunny yellow with dainty white spots. It looked so much like a delicate painting that it was difficult to take one's eyes off of it.

"Seren, gently, gently! I want to see it closer," Rayjin said as she pulled at her sleeve and Seren lowered her hand to let Rayjin have a better view of the winged insect. As if it realized that the two females were harmless, the butterfly didn't fly away but let the two admire its beauty.

"Ah, it's so pretty. I've never seen one this close before. They always fly away whenever I try to catch them," Rayjin said as she tried to touch the butterfly. However, the butterfly seemed to know her intention so it flapped its wings, dodging her finger, and playfully hovered around her hair, causing the girl to let out a ticklish laugh.

"I hope this butterfly calls out its friends so we can see all of them," Seren said, only to see lots of butterflies of various colors and sizes gathering around them.

"Whoa! It really did call them! They are here!" Rayjin exclaimed happily while jumping a little from one foot to another, clapping her glove-covered tiny palms in the air in an attempt to catch one.

Seren was surprised to see a swarm of butterflies in this cold season. She was only expecting to see a couple or three, but it seemed like dozens of them were playing around them, their wings of various gradients of blues, reds, and violets looking like a splash of rainbow color amidst the greenery around them. She smiled brightly and turned around to see all of them gathered around her. Just as she turned, the butterflies changed their path and turned in the opposite direction to match Seren's movement.

"Seren, they are following your movements!" Rayjin called out in wonder.

Seren felt doubtful and wished to check it. She turned around the opposite way, and again, the butterflies changed their direction to match her movement. Seren walked a few steps away and they followed her there.

"See, I told you!" Seren heard Rayjin say as she herself was sure now.

"You are right, Rayjin," Seren agreed.

Rayjin was now deeply impressed. "Try something else."

Seren raised her hands and lightly waved them like she was holding a wand and conducting some kind of music. The butterflies followed the movements of her hands and followed them, seemingly dancing together to a music only they could hear.

Rayjin laughed excitedly while Seren could not help but giggle at the magical sight. Just like Rayjin, she found the unexpected situation fascinating. She had tended her own garden in Abetha for years, yet this was the first time she was seeing something like this. Though she was almost an adult now, there were so many things she had never experienced in life, let alone what she was witnessing now was something mesmerizing to anyone lucky enough to see it.

The sounds of laughter, squeals, and giggles spread across the greenhouse. The two girls were immersed in what they were doing without caring for anything else. Seren spread both arms on her sides and turned around in a circle as all the butterflies gathered above her head, dancing along with her in the center of the dome, surrounding her like they found the sweetest flower in existence.

The stunning sight was so breathtaking, even the naughty Rayjin forgot to play. She stood with her mouth open in awe, her eyes fixed at the sight of the colorful butterflies seemingly worshiping the flower fairy in their midst.

"Seren… you look like a goddess."

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