Reincarnated as the mother of an otome game's villainess?!

Chapter 8. Feasting on the flowers.

—Don't worry —I said with a smile—, please continue.

She told me more about herself and her companions, and she opened herself even to the point where she started to vent up about having to deal with his brother and his grandfather all the time. Both were reckless in her opinion, each on their own way.

From what I could gather, Old Man Marcus was once a pretty respected adventurer, but had retired when he got married. His son followed his steps, but he continued adventuring even after he married and had kids, Anna and Neil. They were mostly raised by Marcus and his own wife, until she passed away. Anna and Neil's parents also passed away.

Neil was pretty good with magic, but liked to do research more than actually using it, and since he had just bellow-than-average stamina, his performance dropped after using two or three spells. Anna was a decent fighter with a sword, though she was mostly self-taught. She wanted to become a member of the royal guard, so she became an adventurer to get experience, but...

—Fighting monsters is pretty hard —she admitted, sounding defeated.

I sighed, understanding completely what she meant. I haven't fought or even met an aggressive monster once during my life as Rosanne, but I remember being frustrated on the few events that involved dealing with one in the game. Adventurers are normally the ones that kept wild monsters in line, eliminating those that came close to human settlements, but some managed to pass through them and cause troubles. There was a golem that attacked the protagonist and her class during an expedition to the desolate wasteland, and a pack of horned wolves attacking the farms near to the city, just when the protagonist went to look for some cooking ingredients. And there were also Violett's dragons, but seeing those involved a bad ending.

It was pretty strange that Anna's party hadn't progressed after 5 years, though. In the end, nothing that they told me made me remember anything of the game, so they probably didn't played any important part on its story. Still, I kind of enjoyed their company, and their skills could be useful.

—Please come back whenever you have time, I can come up with some jobs for you to do —I said—, of course, I'll pay you for them. Or we can just chat and have some tea.

—We are deeply grateful for your invitation —Anna said, bowing towards me and waving goodbye.

It was only after they left that I came up to realize I was alone with Victor on the gazebo, aside from the still sleeping Violett.

—A-ah! I'm sorry, you took the time to come up here and I got distracted, I'm very sorry!

He looked a bit stumped, but after a few seconds, he smiled slightly.

—Don't worry, I got to see something interesting —he said—, you act very different when you are a host instead of a guest, don't you?

—That's... only natural, isn't it? —I managed to say, trying to hide my embarrassment.

Was this person trying to get revenge on me for teasing him the other day?

I somehow managed to keep my composure and guided him to our sparkling yet empty greenhouse. He then shared his secrets and recommendations to grow all kinds of plants, how to germinate the ones we had brought on the market, as well as how to get a few more from fruits and vegetables. I was really interested in growing some exotic trees, having a source of mangoes, papayas, and oranges would be delightful. I also taught him a little about what I remembered from my previous life, mostly about compost and grafting. Of course, I only gave him the general idea, passing it as a though that had occurred me, and let him figure the rest. Before we realized, a few hours have passed and Victor had to return to the city.

—Before I go, I would like to present you with a gift —he said, taking a small envelope of his pocket.

—W-what? —I said, genuinely surprised—, you sho-shouldn't have.

—To be frank, it is not an entirely selfless gift —he said—, it is a seed of a Rose Nymph. It is very rare to get them to actually sprout; legends say that they only respond to certain kind of people. No matter what I did it didn't germinate. But I got the feeling that you might be able to make it bloom. Also, it is related to your name.

I nervously laughed. That was a huge expectation to put on me, and there was nothing like that on the game. But the topic had picked my interest.

—Then I shall take it. Of course, I will be expecting you to help me make it grow.

—It shall be my pleasure.

After that, I and a few maids accompanied him to the piers and bid farewells. As we were returning home, a thought come to my mind.

—I should have asked him about the Ygdrassil seed —I muttered, chastising myself for my own forgetfulness—, well, I'll ask him next time we meet.