Chapter 4
The sacred site was located in the deepest part of the imperial capital.
It was the holy ground where the Creator God, descended to earth, had given birth to the World Tree, the first of all creations.
To the outsider Lilith, it was merely a nest where the cause of her death had taken root, but even to someone like her, the atmosphere emanating from the sacred site felt pure and divine.
“No wonder it’s the World Tree—the phytoncide production is on another level. The concentration is insane.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m curious how much photosynthesis one World Tree does compared to several ordinary trees…”
Lilith, who had been murmuring in admiration without realizing it, sensed someone’s approach and turned her gaze.
Three people were coming toward her: managers of the World Tree from the Mage Tower, the Grand Temple, and the bureaucracy.
One wore the robe of the Mage Tower, another a rosary, and the last a brooch symbolizing noble status, making them easy to identify.
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Lilith la Noella.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Duchess. But, um, did you just say ‘phytoncide’?”
“Pardon?”
“To refer to the World Tree as producing phytoncide—that’s a bit…”
The managers, who had started to say something, suddenly flinched and muttered under their breath.
“That’s, uh, quite a fresh perspective.”
“…?”
“I mean, we just wanted to say it’s… interesting…”
The managers, who had been working their mouths, quickly finished shaking hands and averted their eyes.
Lilith had expected them to foam at the mouth and accuse her of blasphemy.
Instead, they were surprisingly subdued, even treating her with extreme caution, sweating profusely as if she were someone to be feared.
‘Tsk, I guess it’s not going to be that easy.’
It seemed that true blasphemy required actions, not just words.
Lilith shrugged and looked for Edrion.
For some reason, he had been standing rigidly behind her since earlier, but now he naturally relaxed his expression and curved his lips into a smile.
“What’s the matter, Lilith?”
“May I take a closer look at the World Tree now?”
“Of course. Follow me.”
As Lilith followed Edrion toward the World Tree, she thought to herself.
She would treat it as ordinarily as possible, like any regular tree.
Spray some pesticide, do some pruning, water it.
She had just realized that mere words wouldn’t cut it, so now it was time to get serious—
“We’ve arrived.”
Lilith’s eyes widened.
She had felt it from afar, but up close, gazing up at the World Tree, it was truly overwhelming.
Was this the power emanating from a divine being?
“Wow…”
“Are you impressed?”
“Uh, um, no? Not at all?”
Lilith, who had been entranced by the overwhelming sensation, quickly shook her head.
Recalling the original Lilith’s gruesome death snapped her back to reality faster than light.
She carefully circled the area around the World Tree and completed her assessment.
“There’s definitely something wrong.”
“Oh, what kind of issue?”
The trio of managers, who had been trailing after her, reflexively asked.
Lilith replied.
“The most obvious problem is the discoloration of the leaves.”
“Pardon?”
“Look here.”
Lilith plucked a small leaf hanging from the World Tree.
The manager trio gasped as if they might faint, but ignoring them, Lilith continued.
“It’s faded to yellow, isn’t it?”
“We call this golden…”
“No, it’s just plain yellow.”
Lilith turned the dazzlingly shining leaf back and forth.
Not all broadleaf trees have green leaves, but most should be green in spring and summer—that’s normal.
But the one in her hand was yellow.
It shone brilliantly like a star in the night sky, but since it wasn’t green, she decided to call it yellow.
“There are several reasons why leaves turn yellow. Let me try to find the cause.”
“Golden…”
Ignoring the trio’s wistful protests, Lilith roughly scanned the World Tree up and down.
Reasons for leaf color change include water deficiency, excessive sun exposure, nutrient deficiency, overwatering, pests, exposure to toxins, and more.
‘Well, of course, none of that applies to the World Tree.’
Out of habit, Lilith crouched down to check the soil near the roots.
It was bone-dry, not a drop of moisture.
“How much water do you give the World Tree?”
“Pardon? Water?”
“With all due respect, Lady Duchess, the World Tree is not an ordinary tree. As a being created by ancient magic, it requires divine power and mana, not water.”
“So, how often do you water it?”
It was Edrion, who had been observing their conversation, who answered instead of the hesitant trio.
Lilith turned to him, and he continued.
“About once or twice a year.”
“You’ve answered well.”
With a sour expression, Lilith went on to explain.
“Broadleaf trees have high photosynthetic efficiency and active transpiration, so they consume a lot of water. Gardeners need to be especially attentive to providing moisture.”
“Divine power and mana…”
Once again ignoring the trio’s wistful protests, Lilith touched the soil.
It was so dry and crumbly that if this were an ordinary broadleaf tree, it wouldn’t last a year.
Moreover, no rain fell in the sacred site due to the Creator God’s power.
‘As expected, the World Tree isn’t an ordinary tree.’
Even better.
Now she could gleefully commit blasphemy and get herself banished. Perfect.
Inwardly flashing a confident smile, Lilith looked up at the branches growing overhead and continued.
“And there’s an issue with the tree’s form. This is definitely not good.”
“Form… D-do you mean you’re going to prune it?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“You’re saying you’ll cut off the World Tree’s limbs…?”
“It’s just trimming malformed branches.”
It seemed they had never properly pruned it before; the form was a mess.
Inward-growing branches, overgrown branches, tangled branches, and wheel-spoke branches where three or more grew from the same point.
It was in such terrible shape that it could be featured in a textbook as the worst example.
“This causes problems for the tree. When branches are tangled like this, it hinders growth. It’s bad for ventilation too.”
“But, even so…”
“There are so many spots that need attention; I don’t even know where to start.”
She had worried about how to effectively commit blasphemy, but that concern was utterly pointless.
Just one glance revealed countless irritating issues.
When Lilith gestured, Jenia appeared from somewhere and responded.
“You called, Doctor?”
“There’s a lake nearby; go fetch some water.”
“Understood, Doctor. I’ve placed the ladder and pruning shears over here.”
“Good.”
“W-wait a moment! Only holy water consecrated by the temple should be used on the World Tree… No, before that, who are you? How did you get in here?!”
The sacred site where the World Tree grew was strictly off-limits to outsiders.
Lilith had received the emperor’s permission in advance, but her maid Jenia had not.
That’s why she had been instructed not to leave the carriage, yet somehow she had slipped past the tight security and entered.
Ignoring the trio’s outburst, Jenia quickly disappeared to fetch water.
Now they were clutching their heads with both hands, wailing.
“Urgh, we’re done for. I’m so scared my heart might burst…”
“It’s okay. Hearts don’t burst that easily.”
After comforting the tearful weaklings, Lilith moved to grab the ladder.
That’s when Edrion gently grasped her shoulder.
“Lilith.”
“Yes?”
“Over there.”
Beneath the branch Lilith had pointed out as a bad example, a ladder was already firmly in place.
Meeting her gaze, Edrion smiled brightly and handed her the pruning shears.
“No need to worry. I’ll take responsibility, so cut as much as you like.”
“Don’t do that. It’s my action, so naturally I should take responsibility.”
“Lilith.”
“I’m not afraid at all. This is something I absolutely must do.”
To get myself kicked far, far away from this damned imperial palace.
For some reason, Edrion’s eyes sparkled meaningfully as he looked at her, but she decided to think about the reason later and focus on the blasphemy for now.
Climbing the ladder, Lilith gripped the pruning shears tightly.
These shears were a magical artifact that could cut thick branches with minimal effort—a pricey item she had splurged on after arriving in the capital.
‘First, this one…’
She identified which of the crossed branches to keep and which to cut.
Then, for the trembling trio below to see, she snipped—snap—the branch clean off.
“Eek!”
[Haah.]
“…?”
Lilith’s brow furrowed as she searched for the next branch.
She had heard a deeply relieved sigh, like a thousand-year-old congestion finally clearing.
But scanning around, no one seemed to have made the sound, so she decided to ignore it and aimed at another branch.
Snap—
[Huuh.]
Snap—
[Kuh.]
Snap—
[That’s it.]
“….”
Hmm.
By now, it was getting hard for Lilith to ignore the inexplicable sighs.
She could dismiss haah, huuh, and kuh as wind sounds, but ‘that’s it’ was definitely not something the wind could produce.
With a glimmer of suspicion, Lilith asked.
“Duke Akshard?”
“Yes, Lilith.”
“Do you by any chance know ventriloquism?”
“No, I don’t. But if you wish, I’ll learn it right now.”
“Uh… No need for that.”
It felt like she was possessed by a ghost.
Lilith stopped pruning, sat on the ladder, and let out a long sigh.
She was so flustered that she needed some time to think.
[Why’d you stop?]
“….”
[Hey, hey, you can hear me. Hey.]
