The First Patriarch: Streaming My Cosmic Harem

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Rosalind’s Garden

Azriel leaned back slightly against the stone frame, shifting his gaze from the vibrant, chaotic sea of petals below to the elegant profile of her face.

The fading twilight highlighted the delicate slope of her jaw, throwing her long, dark eyelashes into sharp relief.

For a woman who spent her days trading death sentences, commanding armies, and balancing the heavy, cutthroat politics of an entire empire, this hidden sanctuary felt like a rare, precious glimpse into her completely unguarded soul.

"Every single one?" Azriel asked, a soft, teasing lilt returning to his voice, though his violet eyes remained intently fixed on her.

"Don’t tell me the terrifying Crimson Duchess spends her rare free nights sneaking down here with a little trowel and a tiny watering can."

Rosalind let out a breathy, quiet laugh.

Her furry white ears pinned back slightly against her silver-white hair in a display of vulnerability that made Azriel’s heart skip a beat.

She didn’t look away from the garden below, her voice dropping into a nostalgic, deeply vulnerable cadence.

"This office actually used to be my personal bedroom when I was a child," she murmured, her golden eyes reflecting the soft, bioluminescent glow of some of the exotic flora below.

"And the garden you see down there used to be just like all the others, perfectly curated, and mathematically structured."

She paused, the cool evening breeze gently rustling her white hair.

"We noble women are trained for combat from the very early age of five. And since we are beast-kin, our bodies and instincts develop much earlier than humans. I was only ten years old when I went out for my very first true hunt in the Irida Woods. It’s the largest, most dangerous primeval forest in the Sekhmet Empire, and it lies entirely within my eastern jurisdiction. "

She leaned her chin on her palm, a faint, bittersweet smile playing on her lips.

"That was my first time leaving this prime, proper mansion. It was the first time I had ever stepped outside a world where everything was rigid, organized, and color-coded. And out there, in the deep woods, I saw chaos for the first time. I saw an un-structured world. The trees and plants grew without any rules or forms, yet they grew massive. They were so vibrant. So incredibly colorful."

Her gaze shifted to a cluster of deep crimson, vine-like flowers pulsing faintly in the dark.

"During that hunt, I encountered a plant-type monster. It was an incredibly vicious thing, and it was a nightmare to kill. At the end of a grueling fight, I finally managed to destroy it, though I came back covered in my own blood and deep lacerations. But I brought back its core, which was also its seed. I came right back to this window and planted it in the dirt below."

She turned her head slightly, meeting his gaze with a soft, warm look.

"That was my very first time planting anything. As I grew older and took on more responsibilities, I continued the tradition. Even though I eventually grew to appreciate my clan’s clean, minimalist aesthetic, a part of me still craved the organized chaos of the wild forest. So, every time I conquered a dangerous botanical beast, I brought a piece of it back. And now, there it is. My garden."

Azriel took a slow, deliberate breath, his gaze shifting from her beautiful face back down to the swirling, aggressively pulsing patch of untamed colors below.

A sudden realization hit his modern, gaming-system brain.

He gulped slightly.

"So... what you’re saying is, every single beautiful flower and glowing vine down there is actually a lethal, high-tier plant-type monster you personally executed?"

Rosalind turned fully toward him, her white tail giving a happy, incredibly satisfied swish behind her.

She flashed him a blindingly beautiful, radiant smile.

"Yes," she said cheerfully. "Exactly."

Azriel let out a sharp, slightly nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his neck as a cold drop of sweat rolled down his spine.

"Hahaha... It makes it even more beautiful, Rose," he stammered, offering her a strained but charming grin.

’Beautiful? More like a terrifying botanical graveyard,’ he thought frantically, looking at the glowing thorns and predatory petals swaying innocently in the evening wind.

Rosalind’s smile turned positively wicked at his blatant nervousness.

She leaned in closer, the faint scent of wild berries and the crisp iron of her Aether drifting over him.

"What’s the matter, Azriel? Afraid one of my little pets might mistake you for a midnight snack? Don’t worry. As long as you’re with me, they know better than to snap their jaws."

"Good to know," Azriel muttered, smoothly recovering his playboy composure.

He reached out, his fingers gently brushing a stray lock of silver-white hair behind her twitching cat ear.

"Because I’d hate for a rogue vine to interrupt our... late-night refinement."

Rosalind’s furry white ears flared a brilliant, burning pink at his shameless callback.

She opened her mouth to deliver a sharp retort, but before the words could leave her lips, a crisp, melodic chime echoed through the quiet office like a silver bell.

A subtle frown instantly marred Rosalind’s elegant forehead.

Her golden eyes narrowed slightly, she had given explicit, absolute orders to the entire estate staff that she was not to be disturbed under any circumstances.

Controlling her irritation, she stepped away from the window and glided gracefully back to her massive desk, sinking into her high-backed white leather office chair.

Azriel followed her movements with a smile, stepping up to stand casually right beside her shoulder.

Resting her hands on the clean white surface of her desk, Rosalind projected her voice toward the entrance.

"Come in."

The heavy double doors smoothly parted, pushing open to reveal a tall, slender woman dressed in a pristine, sharp business uniform that accentuated her professional, high-society posture.

She was the assistant of Rosalind, Karina Bastet.

Her long, silky black hair was already turned a stark, brilliant white halfway from the roots, a testament to her advanced cultivation baseline.

A pair of matching black-and-white feline ears peeked through her hair, and her long striped tail swished with practiced discipline behind her.

In her hands, she carefully carried a sleek, lacquered black box that was slightly larger than the size of an adult’s palm.

The woman stepped into the office with measured, silent strides.

Stopping a few paces before the grand workspace, she lowered her head and bowed deeply and deferentially to Rosalind.

Then, her sharp gaze shifted slightly toward Azriel.

Though her eyes carried a flicker of hidden curiosity, her professional mask didn’t slip.

She offered him a polite, slightly shallower bow.

Straightening her posture, she addressed the desk, her voice smooth, formal, and perfectly controlled.

"Madam, I have brought the custom Rune-Pad for Sir Azriel as you requested."