Chapter 6: "Scent of flowers"

When the carriage arrived at the gate of the palace, Gerl said:

“There you go, come down. I just brought it here.”

Jovie was surprised and asked:

"Wow, why don't you take me inside quickly?"

“I still have to go to the Giga area. I heard that there was a protest about the death of a liquor dealer.”

“Ah, the thing about the bartender named Arabell who died when a soldier pinned his neck to the ground? The case made headlines in the media. People are protesting to get justice for him."

“Yes, this case has caused a lot of notoriety to the Imperial soldiers. It's true that the 'worm makes the soup pot'. If the protests spread all the way here, I'll be tired."

“Well then, you go. Remember that carefully.”

Jovie jumped out of the car. The two guards standing there hurriedly opened the gate for Jovie. Jovie thanked him and continued to run inside

A florist in the royal garden saw him and waved his hand and called his name. Jovie stopped to ask:

“Hello, Miss Elli. How are you these days?"

“Very well. If you're not feeling well all day, how can you stay here, baby?"

Jovie went around looking at the different flowers, bent down to smell them all, and said:

“Acknowledge the fragrant flowers in the royal garden. But what I like the most is this blue flower. What's it called, miss?"

“Roli flowers, which are found in the state of Foks, are the most powerful flowers, able to adapt to any kind of environment. At first, she was a little worried that this flower would have trouble growing when planted here, but day by day the Roli flower is still lush, blooming into many beautiful flowers.”

“Ah, but can I ask what kind of flower Princess Elvina likes?”

 “The flower that the princess likes is the Silia of Dowan State. Of the 300 species of flowers in the garden, it is the most beautiful. But it can only grow in Merricrido, not elsewhere.”

Jovie nodded, pointed to a cluster of Silia flowers, said:

“Miss Elli, can you cut some flowers for me?”

“Okay, but what are you going to do with them? Or… are you going to give it to the princess?”

“Hey hey. Now that I made a mistake with her, I need to bring something to apologize for. Hopefully, thanks to it, I won't lose my job."

“It is true that young people today are the only ones who still have the habit of giving flowers to women. Anyone who can love me will be very happy.” - Miss Elli said while handing her beautifully decorated bouquet.

Jovie sniffed the flowers and said:

“I also hope to find my true love. A flower needs a suitable vase. I vow to be the vase that enhances the beauty of any 'flower' that will match me."

Suddenly, he felt a little dizzy. Some old memories came back in a light headache. I don't know why, I just know that I've never had this happen before. Miss Elli remembered something when she saw Jovie smell the bouquet, exclaiming:

“The Silia flower will make the person who smells it recall old memories no matter how long or long ago he wanted to forget. If you can't remember a certain memory, this flower will help you to remember."

"Oh my god, that's it."

Indeed, Jovie's headache was caused by old memories that had just flooded into his head when he smelled that flower. He instinctively reached into his pocket. He remembers everything about that day, 5 months ago, the day he met the person who gave him the sling... He wondered where the slingshot was now, wishing he could find someone to keep it. According to his conjecture, it probably be the men in black.

Suddenly, he suddenly saw Princess Elvina. Princess Elvina's sari bird named Iya flying over and sitting on his shoulder. He smiled and whispered:

“Why did you fly here, Iya? Or are you going to lead me to your master's place? So let's go."

Then he gently waved his hand to signal the bird to fly away. As expected, the bird flew in the direction of electricity. Jovie also followed. Iya flew very fast. In less than 2 minutes, she flew through the window into palace room 4. Jovie stood in front of the mansion's lobby, redecorated the bouquet, took a deep breath, and walked in. The inside of the mansion exudes a sense of luxury and nobility. At the entrance there is a device to measure body temperature, scan the whole body and check the identity to see if it is a person working in the palace. Usually everyone has to take the test twice a week, except for the king, who is exempt from this procedure. The scanner detected a suspicious object in Jovie's hand, checked it, it was a bouquet of flowers, and immediately announced:

“Jovie, you brought flowers from outside. That is not allowed!”

Jovie replied calmly:

"Why not? This is what the princess told me to bring in. This is perfectly valid, isn't it?"

“If it's the princess giving the order, fine. But next time watch out, this is classified as an item that endangers the royal family.”

“How can flowers be considered dangerous? For example, this flower only reminds people of old memories, that can't be called dangerous."

“Some flowers have the potential to cause harm to the user, such as the Dwen flower of the Holiver State, which makes people suffocate because of its concentration, or the Imanto species of the state of the same name because it is cultivated. Popular in Imanto, this flower causes the person who smells it to hallucinate and fall into a high state, so its petals are used to make Fauk opium, which is what criminals consider '' gold mines' and 'panacea', using them for the purpose of selling to addicts for a profit or trying them out yourself."

"I see, then I'll pay more attention next time."

"Okay, then come inside."

Jovie went inside, thinking:

“Well, it's a coincidence that special flowers are all found in 'Federation J', right?”

He walked up the stone-encrusted and luxuriously carpeted stairs leading up to the floor. A special feature is that the carpet is designed with two colors of green and red, and Jovie knows the purpose it is designed like that. He is still subtle enough not to encroach on the green carpet. Suddenly, a maid accompanied the carpet down the stairs. As soon as she saw him, she smiled shyly and greeted him. Jovie also greeted him back. Unfortunately, she slipped, and the supporting leg was about to step into the green part. Jovie reacted very quickly and rushed to pick her up. The maid was shocked, her face was pale, and she was gasping for breath because she almost touched the "line of death". Jovie hugged her waist and pulled her up, saying:

“Next time you walk carefully. Try not to 'overstep' her limits, because whether intentionally or unintentionally, the only sentence for her is death. You must know well what I mean. The carpet of stairs has been separated into two clear red and blue parts, symbolizing two different worlds in this palace. You should know what world you belong to. Knowing your identity will help you survive in this mansion."

The maid was a bit confused and scared. She likes Jovie, but it's just a one-sided love. She doesn't expect a return because she knows she doesn't deserve someone who is working as a private tutor for the princess, and is teaching at a famous school, but she thought he should at least ask her if she was okay in that situation, not say that cold, emotionless sentence. She seemed to be disillusioned, because she thought Jovie was an emotional person. She sadly lowered her head.

Jovie didn't say goodbye but continued on. Reaching the 4th floor, he ran to the corridor connecting the main mansion and the annex. As soon as he reached the end of the corridor, he saw the silhouettes of Princess Elvina A. Sinclain and Duke Kinsley at the end. They were standing there and talking with rather serious expressions on their faces. Jovie immediately hid the bouquet behind his back and slowly approached, alerting the other two:

“I would like to see the princess and the duke.”

Kinsley saw it and patted Elvina on the shoulder and walked over to Jovie. He was quite pleased to see him, saying:

“Jovie, I heard you were scolded by Elvina a lot. Then remember not to offend the princess anymore. I have to tell you a lot.”

Jovie tilted her head to look at Elvina's sulky, sullen face that didn't even look at him once, and whispered to the duke:

“I didn't expect the princess to be so angry that she didn't even look at my face. Looks like you have to come and make peace with her too.”

“Did you bring something to please the princess?”

"Wow, how do you know that?"

“I smell a fragrant aroma. Is it the Silia flower?”

"You guessed it right."

“Since I heard from Elvina that she liked that flower, and you come with her often, I thought you would know too. This smell can only be the smell of flowers.”

"Then please let me go over there."

“Yes, go there to comfort. I believe that if it were you, the princess would be resentful and let it go.”

Jovie walked over to Elvina, who was sulking and said:

“Hello princess, are you mad at me?”

“Hmm, why are you angry? Didn't you have to save a Koko that got stuck on a tree branch so you were late?"

“Princess, please forgive me. Why are you making your face like that? You don't look pretty at all."

“None of your business!”

"If the princess doesn't mind, please accept my small gift as an atonement and then we can go to school."

“I don't accept gifts from a tutor. What good does a tutor have to offer?”

"This thing has no material value, but in terms of meaning, it is much better than jewels and ivory, because it contains the heart and mind of the giver."

"Really? What's so special about it?"

Jovie immediately took out a bouquet of flowers from her back and gave it to Elvina. At this moment, she smiled brightly, picked up the bouquet, and exclaimed:

“Oh, flower Silia, how did you get it?”

“I was given flowers by her. Do you like it?”

"I like it..."- Elvina knew she had made a mistake, corrected-"...Well, that's normal, but it's your heart anyway, I'll just accept it and let it go for you. .”

"Okay then, glad you received this rustic gift, so let's go inside." - Jovie said.

The two were going inside when a voice came from behind:

"What are you two doing out here?"

It was the voice of King Algorik III. He put on a python-skin robe, stroked his thick beard that reached his chest, walked majestically, with a fresh face, next to him was General Babilo, followed by a few of his servants. Jovie and Kinsley bowed respectfully to the king while Elvina did not move, only turned her grim face to the right.