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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: A Foreseen Accident (2)
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Duke Adrian rushed to Rosette's room, carrying her in his arms. Just as he laid her on the bed, the commotion brought the other children bursting in.
“Father, what's wrong?”
“Is Rose sick?”
“What happened... Good heavens! Kid! What's wrong with the kid? Why is she bleeding?”
Duke Adrian had no time to spare for his three children. He knelt by the bed and checked Rosette's condition.
Her already fair face was pale, and her lips, usually rosy like cherries, were blue. Her breathing was so faint it seemed it could stop at any moment, and her entire body was burning up.
Uncharacteristically, Duke Adrian swore under his breath and took Rosette's hand.
A moment ago, when the carriage had exploded, he had managed to deploy his mana just in time to block the flames. There had been no time to wonder who had done this or how.
He was a swordsman, through and through; he couldn't manipulate mana for long.
As his mana weakened, the flames began to close in on him. The first priority was to escape safely.
But something had been done to the carriage door; it wouldn't open with simple force. He tried to break it down, but every attempt shattered his concentration, threatening to dispel the mana barrier.
He had no choice but to hold on, but then, as if by a miracle, the flames vanished in an instant. Until that moment, he had assumed Celine had come to his aid.
-Dad!
But the voice he heard was clearly Rosette's. And indeed, the one who opened the carriage door and entered was his beloved youngest daughter.
Why on earth was Rosette here? But before he could even ask, the child collapsed.
Duke Adrian realized it was Rosette who had extinguished the fire in the carriage. It seemed impossible even to him, but the circumstances pointed to no other conclusion.
If so, could something have happened to Rosette's body?
Fearing something terrible had happened to this small, fragile child, Duke Adrian had rushed back to the estate in a frenzy.
“Rose, please open your eyes.”
He whispered pleadingly, but there was no response from Rosette. Just then, the door opened and the family physician rushed in.
“What has happened?”
“The child seems to have used magic, after which she coughed up blood and collapsed.”
“She coughed up blood, you say?”
The physician hastily examined Rosette. He gently pressed the child's abdomen with his fingertips and answered cautiously.
“It appears she has suffered severe internal injuries. This will require a mage...”
“I'm here!”
Just then, Celine ran in, panting for breath. After hearing the situation from the Duke, Celine took Rosette's hand and channeled mana into her.
“Yes, the young lady did indeed use magic. The mana in her body is in disarray. We can find out how she used it later; let's treat the internal injuries first.”
This time, she placed her hand on Rosette's abdomen and cast a healing spell. As a yellow light seeped into Rosette, the child's breathing noticeably improved.
However, the color did not return to her cheeks or face. The Duke asked urgently.
“Is she all right now? When will she wake up?”
The physician examined the child again and replied.
“For now, her wounds seem to be fully healed. She should wake up if we wait a little longer.”
But Celine had a different opinion.
“The young lady's mana is severely disrupted. It may be difficult for her to regain consciousness until it returns to normal.”
“Then can't we just stabilize her mana? I've had that done before.”
She shook her head cautiously.
“This time, her internal mana is practically depleted. Tampering with it rashly could make things worse.”
“Then what should we do?”
“It would be best to wait until the young lady's internal mana replenishes and she stabilizes it herself.”
“How long will that take?”
“At least a day. However, the more internal mana the young lady originally possessed, the longer it could take.”
“A day...”
Duke Adrian looked at Rosette with a troubled expression.
“Is there any chance she might not wake up?”
“Well...”
Celine chose her words carefully.
“In the worst-case scenario, that is a possibility.”
Duke Adrian swallowed a groan.
“Find a way to wake Rose, no matter what it takes.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Before leaving the room, Duke Adrian looked back at Rosette one more time.
But Rosette still did not open her eyes.
***
“I'm sorry. We failed.”
A subordinate clad entirely in black knelt on one knee before Viscount Shane, his head bowed low. The viscount, who had been on edge, slammed his fist on the table.
“How could you possibly fail? Didn't you say Duke Adrian took the carriage laced with the substance!”
“We were certain he did, but...”
“And?”
“Duke Adrian returned to his estate, alive and well.”
“Hah...”
Viscount Shane ran his hands through his hair in frustration. Then, the subordinate spoke cautiously.
“I don't know if this will be of any help, but they say Duke Adrian brought a pink-haired girl with him when he returned to the estate.”
“A girl?”
“Yes. According to our informant, it was the youngest daughter he recently adopted.”
“The youngest daughter was with the Duke?”
“Our source wasn't sure. They said they would look into whether she was in the carriage from the start or if she followed him later...”
“And you call that a report? You came to me without even finding that out!”
“I'm sorry.”
Viscount Shane wiped his face with his large, thick hands.
“I have no face to show 'Him'.”
“...”
“But it's fine. We still have that child in our hands.”
Viscount Shane let out a cruel smile. He thought of the blonde child who would be sleeping in the villa he had purchased under a false name.
“Melody Oser, was it? She's quite the prize.”
“But, my lord. Wouldn't it be best to dispose of the child now?”
“Dispose of her!”
Viscount Shane roared.
“If we send that child to Him, He might overlook this failure. So keep a close watch on her. Understand?”
“Understood.”
“No. Let's go see the child now.”
Viscount Shane rose from his seat and headed straight for the villa. He opened the door without knocking and entered, startling the child who had been sleeping in the room.
“Who...”
Spotting the large figure, the child, Melody, wrapped herself in the blanket and trembled. Viscount Shane approached her.
“Shh, be a good girl.”
He grabbed Melody's face, turning it this way and that, and smiled with satisfaction. Melody asked in a trembling voice.
“Wh-when is my brother coming?”
“Your brother will be here soon. So just wait quietly a little longer. And don't even think about running away.”
“Okay.”
Viscount Shane left the room after telling the knight waiting outside to keep a close watch on her.
Left alone again, Melody got out of bed and went to the window. She watched the sun rise and made a wish.
“Brother, please come see me soon.”
I miss you.
The child's green eyes filled with sorrow.
It was a lonely morning.
***
The entire Duchy of Adrian fell deathly silent.
Duke Adrian stayed by Rosette's side for a short while before leaving to investigate the incident, while the three Adrian siblings set everything aside to watch over her.
The three siblings didn't know exactly what had happened. They only knew that Rosette had used magic to save their father and had collapsed as a result.
“I'm going to see Father. Let me know when she wakes up.”
Daniel, who had been silent, left the room.
“I should go too. The estate is in disarray; I need to calm the staff.”
Isabelle left the room with heavy steps. Soon, only Rosette and Lucas remained.
Lucas, who had been barely holding back his tears, finally let them fall, sobbing as he took Rosette's hand.
“Hey, kid. Wake up.”
There was no answer.
“Wake up, you idiot. You think I trained you for this? You're so weak. I'm going to train you even harder from now on.”
[Chirp, chirp.]
Mumbling to himself, Lucas turned his head at the sound of a bird chirping. A small white bird was crying mournfully outside the tightly shut window.
He went to the window to shoo the noisy bird away. But his heart softened when he saw the unknown bird's beady little eyes. For some reason, it looked as if the white bird was crying for Rosette.
“Did you come to see the little one?”
[Chirp!]
It was as if the bird was chirping, 'Yes, yes!' After a moment's hesitation, Lucas opened the window wide, and the bird fluttered over to perch on Rosette's head.
“Hey, don't do that.”
Lucas flailed his arms, trying to catch the bird. It dodged him, soaring high before circling above his head.
[Chirp, chiiirp.]
Lucas stopped trying to chase the annoying bird away and let it be. The bird seemed to test the waters before fluttering down to sit on the headboard of the bed.
“Yeah, just sit there. Don't bother the little one.”
[Chirp...]
Talking to a bird... he must be losing his mind. Lucas sighed deeply and kept watch over Rosette with the bird.
And so, the first day of Rosette's slumber passed.
***
With a cold expression, Duke Adrian looked down at Joseph Oser, who was prostrated before him. Though he tried to suppress it, a palpable killing intent seeped from the Duke.
Though he was a promising knight-aspirant, Joseph was still a youth, not yet an adult. He had never been subjected to such killing intent before and trembled uncontrollably.
“Explain yourself, Joseph Oser.”
A little while ago, Duke Adrian had heard a rough account from Sebastian. Joseph and Rosette had suddenly appeared, claiming the Duke was in danger.
Due to the urgency of the situation, Sebastian hadn't heard any further details. But from that brief story alone, the Duke had astutely pieced together a general idea of what had happened.
“Were you trying to betray me and the House of Adrian?”
Duke Adrian's voice was low and heavy as he asked again.
He was quite fond of Joseph. The boy was young but diligent, showed great promise in swordsmanship, and he pitied him for having to raise his younger sister alone without parents.
He had even planned to sponsor his younger sister's admission to the academy once she was a little older.
It wasn't that he felt betrayed. To live as the head of a family, especially a ducal one, meant trusting no one and constantly harboring suspicion.
So, it wouldn't be surprising if a youngster like Joseph were to stab him in the back.
However, he was furious at the fact that he had nearly lost Rosette.
“I...”
Joseph, trembling like a leaf, apologized instead of explaining the situation.
“I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Your Grace.”
But the Duke didn't even blink at his tears.
