Chapter 22
<24화>
The situation unfolded rapidly.
Dozens of knights subdued the remaining staff members at the circus grounds.
The ferocious monsters were swiftly eliminated according to orders, and the animals trapped in iron cages were returned to the wild on humanitarian grounds.
Early the next morning.
“The Duke has arrived at the castle entrance. Everyone, straighten your backs. Stay alert.”
The sound of impatient footsteps echoed at the entrance of the Duke’s Castle.
May, the head maid, stood at the very front of the lined-up maids and servants, preparing to receive the Duke alongside Brad, the butler.
Delta, the attending physician, was also there with them.
[Have a doctor on standby.]
The day before, an urgent message had arrived, though no one knew why, ordering a physician to be ready.
“Was he injured during the subjugation? That’s never happened before…”
Brad asked, fidgeting restlessly, but May remained deep in thought.
She instinctively knew that Calips wasn’t the one injured. Her master was not such a weak man.
What she was more curious about was the young child who hadn’t been seen since yesterday.
Knox had put Aisha into a carriage with an angry expression and left for somewhere.
Watching them leave, May had recalled a conversation she’d had with him previously.
‘You seem to openly dislike Lady Aisha, Sir Knox.’
‘Well, is there any reason I should like her?’
There was no reason to like her. It was the same for May.
An orphan brat who entered the Duke’s Castle claiming to know the young lady’s whereabouts, only to be treated to delicious food and fine clothes while living in luxury.
And then, the child who ran away when her lies were exposed.
Calips wasn’t the only one who had been searching for the lost direct lineage.
May, who had cared for the children since the moment they were born, had also desperately wished for their return.
And yet, what did Aisha do?
Not only did she lie, but she had the audacity to get herself adopted and take the position of the young lady.
‘The reason Sir Knox took Aisha away must be because she did something wrong.’
May’s politely clasped hands tightened into fists.
Calips’s sudden return from the subjugation and the summons for a doctor likely had something to do with it.
She wondered what on earth had happened—what Aisha had done this time—when—
“The gates are opening.”
At the gatekeeper’s words, the massive doors slowly swung open.
And between them, three men appeared.
‘…Three men?’
Between Knox and Calips stood a boy.
He looked to be about eight years old, wearing a robe with the hood pulled up.
The servants, momentarily puzzled, bowed in unison. Calips acknowledged them with a nod and made an announcement.
“I have found the direct heir, Lucas Crost.”
“……!”
Surprised by those words, May nearly screamed.
Beside her, Brad let out a short gasp as his breath hitched.
“Young Master Lucas?”
“Oh my goodness. I haven’t seen him since he was an infant.”
“The Young Master… the Young Master has truly returned…”
The servants, who had been standing like shadows, couldn’t hide their voices and began to whisper.
“Young Master… Young Master!”
Finally unable to contain herself, May approached the young boy and fell to her knees.
How could this be? He was so thin.
His black hair, which resembled Duke Calips’s, was a greasy mess, and his robe was covered in dust.
“…Young Master, it’s me, May. Do you reme—”
“Where is the doctor!”
But May’s heartfelt greeting was shattered by the boy’s shout.
Delta came running past her as she stood there awkwardly.
“H-here I am.”
“Save this child. Hurry! She’s not breathing!”
At those words, May’s gaze dropped lower.
Now that she looked, a small child was cradled in the boy’s arms.
‘…Aisha?’
May’s pupils dilated as she saw the face with eyes closed as if in sleep.
However, Lucas, who was holding Aisha firmly despite looking slightly overwhelmed, brushed past her and disappeared from sight.
Calips followed hurriedly behind him.
“Delta. Go straight to the infirmary and check Aisha’s condition. Her breathing is shallow, so check her thoroughly.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
Before anyone could say a word, the two men quickly vanished down the hallway with the doctor.
“……?”
May’s expression was clouded with bewilderment.
She never imagined her reunion with the Young Master after five years would be like this.
‘And he’s even asking to save Aisha.’
Why did that child keep bringing the people of the Duchy together?
‘Sigh.’
For now, the Young Master had returned.
She needed to understand the situation to prepare for anything.
“Sir Knox. May I ask what is happening?”
May, smoothing her wrinkled apron, approached Knox, who was standing alone. However—
“Lady Aisha found Young Master Lucas.”
“…Pardon?”
Who found whom?
“Yes. It’s true. And…”
Knox seemed to be in a foul mood for some reason.
“It seems Lady Aisha collapsed while fighting the kidnappers to save Young Master Lucas.”
“…Who fought whom…?”
May’s eyes went wide.
Knox bit his lip and nodded as if he understood her reaction.
“Yes—well, it’s a difficult situation. I feel so guilty for misunderstanding Lady Aisha that I’m at a loss for words.”
“…I feel the same.”
May quietly agreed, her mind in a daze.
The days she had been cold to Aisha flashed through her mind.
What on earth had happened?
A mere five-year-old child had fought kidnappers—why would she do something so reckless—
‘He might have adopted you out of pity, but he won’t trust you. You’re the one who lied first, My Lady.’
…Could it be? Because of what I said?
It seemed like an overstatement, but if Aisha had gone to such reckless lengths, there had to be a reason.
If she had taken it as a challenge to prove her words true, it was entirely possible.
She was good at talking and walking, but she was still such a young child.
A child who had to stand on her tiptoes just to reach a tea bag in a drawer.
A child much smaller than the young Master Lucas, small enough to fit perfectly in one’s arms.
“…….”
May closed her eyes in guilt. She realized too late.
Aisha was far too young to be hated.
At that same time.
“I am truly sorry. I don’t know what to say…”
“…….”
“…T-truthfully, she seemed to be in that state from the moment Young Master Lucas brought her in.”
Delta explained helplessly in front of the dazed Calips and Lucas.
‘She has passed away.’
From the moment they heard those words, the two hadn’t even blinked.
“…Aisha, please! Open your eyes!”
“…….”
“Even the cat you told me to save is alive! Open your eyes right now!”
Lucas called out to Aisha as if vomiting up his tears.
But the girl remained silent, offering no response.
In the space frozen like thin ice, it was even difficult for Delta to breathe.
He simply lowered his head and gauged the Duke’s condition.
The Duke didn’t cry like Lucas.
He didn’t get angry, nor did he sigh.
Among all the clocks ticking at their own pace, it seemed as if his clock alone had stopped.
That night. While everyone was asleep, Aisha lay alone on her bed.
At Calips’s insistence, the room had been kept as cold as a freezer using his ice ability.
He had asked them to wait until he could accept the child’s death.
Then, someone approached the child who had quietly closed her eyes.
“So you died.”
He had been alone since birth; no one had ever stepped foot inside his heart.
Because of that, the boy’s world was flawlessly clear and transparent.
When a small foot touched that space, his world wavered like ripples on a calm lake.
The one who had caused such a ripple for the first time in his life now lay before him, devoid of a life force.
“You’ve died.”
Violet eyes that didn’t look human.
Feather-like white hair covering a neat forehead.
The boy with the mysterious appearance muttered the same words once more.
Soon, an unreadable expression appeared on his face.
If you die, you die.
While trapped in the iron cage, the boy had always thought that way.
When a terrified, trembling animal met its end in the cage.
When a monster that went on a rampage was killed by people.
Perhaps because he had watched so many living things teetering between life and death, he had become detached from death at some point.
But—
“I wanted to ask why you saved me.”
The boy, who had been staring blankly out the window, closed his eyes.
It was the first time since he was born.
That a human had looked at him with those eyes.
Humans either looked at him with dread or appraised him with greedy eyes.
But this girl—
“…Hmm. Why did you have that look in your eyes?”
She looked shocked, yet also as if she had lost her soul.
And yet, she even begged them to save him.
Did she even know what I was?
And thanks to that, I’m alive.
“But you died.”
This makes things uncomfortable. I can’t even satisfy my curiosity now.
‘Stupid.’
Feeling inexplicably sulky, the boy sat down on the spot with his arms crossed.
He was so curious he couldn’t stand it.
He wanted to ask her even if he had to bring her back to life.
If he could satisfy his curiosity, he could give a little of what was his.
“…So.”
Having made his decision, he stood up and stomped his foot firmly.
“Live a little longer.”
Vroom—
Along with a gust of wind, a massive vibration and tremor began to rise from beneath his feet.
Suddenly, the transparent world shook, and cracks appeared in the universe.
And through those cracks, a dark purple veil, similar to the boy’s eyes, surrounded the world.
“See you later.”
The corners of his firmly set mouth curved slightly.
After the boy vanished like that.
As the long night passed, morning arrived in Aisha’s world.
