MCAV Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Ronschka frowned and spoke to Leon.

“Stop clinging to Mom.”

“But Lady Adel said it’s okay.”

“You… You have your teacher!”

Leon suddenly thought of his teacher, Lucas.

“Well… that’s true, but…”

He looked confused and turned to Adel.

Recently, Adel had become more important to Leon, and he often acted this way. Whenever that happened, she tried to help him.

Of course, most of her advice came from memories of her past life. In this life, she had grown up struggling in a small mountain village, so she didn’t have much experience to share.

“What does your teacher mean to you, Leon?”

“A teacher is… a teacher.”

“But don’t you think he might see you differently? Why don’t you ask him? And for now… why don’t you sit here and think about it?”

Adel smiled and pulled out a chair. Leon sat down and went deep into thought.

Seeing that, Adel quietly left the room. She knew that once Leon started thinking, he would stay like that for a long time.

***

Adel found Lucas in the training ground, swinging his sword.

“Sir Lucas.”

Sensing her presence, Lucas lowered his sword and turned to her.

“What is it?”

Was it just her imagination, or had Lucas become a little softer lately?

“It’s about Leon.”

“Leon?”

Lucas walked toward her in large strides. His tall figure was a bit intimidating, but Adel didn’t back away.

“What about Leon?”

“He seems to be thinking a lot lately. About what his teacher means to him.”

Lucas tilted his head slightly before answering.

“A teacher is a teacher.”

“And?”

“What do you mean, ‘and’?”

Did there need to be more?

Lucas looked confused. A teacher was just a teacher—wasn’t that enough?

But he didn’t ignore Adel’s words. Deep down, he knew one thing for sure—Adel’s love for Ronschka was real.

There are still things I don’t understand about her.

But now wasn’t the time for that. Right now, he needed to focus on his student, Leon.

“Sir Lucas, how old is Leon?”

“He’s eight.”

“What do most eight-year-olds do?”

“They work or learn something.”

At that moment, Adel realized she had been thinking too much based on her past life.

In this world, even young children helped their parents if they were strong enough. They weren’t forced to work all day, but they had responsibilities. And noble children spent their time studying instead of working.

“Hmm. But an eight-year-old still needs love from their parents.”

“Leon’s parents are dead.”

“I know that. But even if his parents are gone, isn’t there someone who can be like a parent to him?”

Adel looked directly at Lucas.

“What do you think?”

“Are you saying a teacher can be like family?”

“Aren’t they?”

Lucas fell silent.

Leon was precious to him—so precious that calling him family wouldn’t be wrong. But he had never thought of it that way before.

Lucas looked at Adel with a curious expression. She usually wasn’t so talkative, yet here she was, speaking up for Leon.

Could someone like this have really hurt my son?

The doubt he had always carried surfaced again.

“Leon will be here soon.”

Leaving those words behind, Adel walked away.

Not long after, Leon arrived.

“Teacher!”

His face was flushed with excitement as he ran up to Lucas.

“What am I to you, Teacher?”

Lucas smirked and answered,

“Do you really need me to say it?”

“Yes, I want to hear it.”

“Then I’ll tell you. Leon, you are my only family.”

Leon’s face lit up with happiness.

“You’re my family too, Teacher!”

The small boy threw himself into Lucas’s arms.

Lucas had thought Leon had grown a lot since coming to the mansion, but now he realized—he was still just a little child.

Why didn’t I see that before?

As Leon sniffled, Lucas hugged him tightly and patted his back.

“I’m happy to have a family.”

Leon whispered.

“So am I.”

“But… I think having more family would be even better.”

“More?”

Lucas frowned in confusion. What did he mean?

Leon hesitated, then shyly murmured,

“Lady Adel… could be our mom.”

She didn’t know what to say.

***

While Leon was talking about his bold wish, Adel was lost in thought. She had been too sick before to think properly, but now she wanted to organize her thoughts.

She calmly wrote on a piece of paper. But it wasn’t in the writing of this world.

Adel’s mother had been an unusual person. She seemed to care for her daughter but sometimes pushed her away. She also didn’t want Adel to learn how to read or write.

Well, in their small village, even boys rarely learned to read.

“Right, this is the kind of world I’m in.”

So, she needed to prepare properly for the future. First, she listed the events that would happen.

Ronschka’s story wouldn’t appear in the novel until the main character showed up. But since he had been her favorite character, she remembered every little detail about him.

“Ronschka is abused by his mother and then abandoned. Then, he meets an evil wizard, and…”

Adel paused and bit the end of her pen.

That evil wizard would later meet Leon as well. He was a dark magician who worshipped demons.

A person who committed terrible crimes without hesitation.

That man kidnapped Ronschka and tormented him endlessly.

In the novel, it was described in just a single paragraph. But now, Adel understood how much suffering was hidden in those few words.

“But the story has changed.”

Adel hadn’t abandoned Ronschka. She had left her village and moved into Lucas’s mansion. That meant they were far from the dark magician’s hideout.

“So… it should be okay, right?”

It should be okay.

She let out a deep sigh.

She decided to keep a close watch on Ronschka as he grew up. She would do everything to make sure he never got hurt or suffered.

Adel wasn’t strong, but she would do her best. And for that, first…

“I need money.”

Right now, she was living in Lucas’s mansion, receiving everything she needed. But she couldn’t just take and take forever—it wouldn’t be right.

She needed to work and earn money.

But if she went somewhere else to work, she would have to leave Ronschka behind. That made her anxious.

The best solution was…

“Finding a job in this mansion.”

Recently, Madeleine had mentioned that one of the maids left to get married and returned to her hometown.

Maybe Adel could take her place?

Both in her past life and this one, she had done plenty of housework. Cleaning such a large mansion would be difficult, but if she worked hard, she could manage.

It was worth asking.

Thinking that, she continued writing.

In the novel, the main character had always been Leon.

Ronschka, who had been a villain, had a small role in the story. And Lucas… his story was barely described at all.

“Lucas is Leon’s teacher. He is a Sword Master and a nobleman. But later, he is killed by Ronschka, who becomes the Great Spirit Mage.”

Next was Leon.

He was the character Adel knew the most about.

*”Leon is the main character. He was born into a noble family, but his family was destroyed due to a conspiracy.

After barely surviving, Leon wandered alone. Lucas found him, not knowing who he really was. But when Lucas learned the truth, he helped Leon in every way possible.

Around that time, the female lead from the Spirit Mage family appears. She quickly falls in love with Leon and even betrays her family for him.”*

That was the general outline.

All these events were connected. And at the very end, there was a mastermind behind it all.

The problem was…

“I can’t remember who the mastermind is.”

She was sure she had finished reading the novel. So why couldn’t she remember?

Adel clutched her head in frustration.

“I don’t know.”

She thought about it for a long time but finally gave up.

One day, when Ronschka was older, she would leave this mansion with him.

She felt a little sorry for Leon, but his childhood seemed peaceful, so he would be fine.

Even if she was being selfish, she didn’t care. Right now, the most important person to Adel was Ronschka.

Leon was the protagonist—his life would be hard, but in the end, he would find happiness.

Lucas… he was a little worrying, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Once she finished thinking, Adel took the paper she had written on and burned it.

“It would be bad if someone saw this.”

She didn’t want to do anything suspicious.

For now, she would just focus on what she could do.