17 Blood

Mr. Garrison was the Head Gardener for the family, having worked here for God knows how long. Apparently, he's been here way before I was even born, so it was safe to say that the family trusted him with his job.

Even I had to agree with their choice since Mr. Garrison did an excellent job maintaining and improving the gardens.

He was one of the few people I stumbled upon early on when I was exploring the gardens, and since he was the guardian of all things green, I made it a point to befriend him.

He taught me a lot of things, like the different types of trees, the flowers they had here, the fruits in the orchard, and even their uses in our daily lives.

I didn't know if he was aware of my situation, but since he never asked, I assumed he knew and kept quiet about it.

I liked that in a person.

My business is my business, and what's yours is yours.

In a world where everything is interconnected, the fine line of privacy is nowhere to be seen.

So imagine my surprise to know that Mr. Garrison has a son like this 'kid'. While his father was a private person, his son was the complete opposite.

I wondered if something went wrong somewhere in his upbringing, not that I'm going to ask.

If I'm going to intrude into someone else's personal life, I need to be ready if someone else did it to me.

Which is never going to happen, so I kept my curiosity to myself.

"Dad! I'm here, and I brought company."

"Felix! Great, you're here. Just in time."

Ah, so his name is Felix. I kinda forgot his name along the way. 😅

"Hi, Mr. Garrison."

"Oh, Kylin. You're here as well. How come?"

"Dad, you know Kylin?"

I shot him a sharp look. Luckily, he got my message.

"Um, her father and I are close associates. I got to know Kylin through him."

Well, that was technically true.

"I see. So you don't mind Kylin helping out?"

"Helping out?"

Mr. Garrison stared at me again. He should stop with the worried look. With him clearly not being able to lie so openly—a trait of his I discovered during my daily interactions with him—Felix would definitely find out something was wrong.

If a stranger can spot the difference, you don't think his own son won't be able to?

There was a reason why I didn't openly reveal myself.

That was because I hated being associated with the family.

Even though I'm temporarily staying here, it doesn't mean that I was going to be like them. Just because I shared the same blood doesn't mean anything to me.

Blood was blood. Everyone had blood.

With my own hands full of it, do you think the matter of blood relations would make me lose sleep over it? 😏

"Yes, helping out," I said, stepping in to save Mr. Garrison from further awkwardness. "Felix mentioned there were some decorations to set up for the tea party tomorrow."

"Right," Mr. Garrison said, nodding. "Well, there's plenty to do. We need to arrange the tables and chairs, set up the floral arrangements, and make sure everything is perfect for Lady Vivienne's guests."

"Perfect," I said, rolling up my sleeves. "Let's get started."

Felix and I spent the next few hours setting up the garden. It was surprisingly peaceful, and for a moment, I almost forgot where I was. Felix chatted away, and Mr. Garrison occasionally chimed in with instructions or anecdotes about the plants.

As we were finishing up, I noticed Lady Vivienne again. She was directing some servants, her presence as commanding as ever. I felt a pang of irritation but pushed it aside.

"Is everything ready?" Felix asked, looking around.

"Yeah, looks good," I said, wiping sweat from my forehead.

"Thanks for helping out, Kylin," Mr. Garrison said, smiling warmly.

"No problem," I replied, feeling a bit of pride in our work.

Felix grinned. "Now, about those desserts I promised..."

We headed back to the kitchen, and Felix handed me a plate with a selection of pastries and cakes. "Here you go. Try these."

I took a bite of a delicate lemon tart and couldn't help but smile. "This is really good."

"See? I told you it was worth it," Felix said, his green eyes sparkling with satisfaction. 😊

As I enjoyed the desserts, I realized that maybe, just maybe, I could find a bit of normalcy here. Even amidst the chaos and the complicated family dynamics, there were moments of peace and simple pleasures.

For now, that was enough.