Chapter 18
“Bring back Sir Lucas, my loyal subject.”
When the Emperor first gave this order, Heirn almost frowned without realizing it.
The Emperor truly missed that foolish man who had abandoned his power and left the empire. He had sent people to bring Lucas back many times, but Lucas refused every time.
“So this time, I ask you, Sir Heirn. You were friends, werenāt you?”
The Emperor seemed to think that sending someone who knew Lucas would be better than sending a stranger.
But in reality, they had never truly been friends, and their relationship wasnāt good.
Heirn wondered how he could refuse, but he knew that no excuse would work on the Emperor.
‘So stubborn.’
He barely held back from saying something improper and accepted the Emperor’s letter.
‘Fine, I’ll just think of it as a trip.’
Trying to convince himself, he prepared for the long journey. But somehow, his daughter, Rosaline, found out about it and came to see him.
The child who was born after killing her mother.
His marriage had been purely political. They hadnāt had a bad relationship, but it wasnāt good either.
So when his wife died giving birth, he hadnāt felt sad. He had only felt sorry for the child.
‘This child has no talent.’
He had used a rare spirit stone and given her the best resources, but the only spirit she could control was a low-level water spirit, Undine.
On top of that, her spirit was the opposite of Heirnās, who controlled fire spirits. In their fire-optimized mansion, she couldnāt even summon her spirit properly.
She was at least pretty, like her mother, so she could be used for marriage with another noble family. But that was all.
No matter how hard Rosaline tried, she could never catch Heirnās attention.
‘What I need is a child with great talent.’
To make the Weatherfield family stronger and more powerful, he needed someone better than Rosaline. So he searched everywhere for a talented child.
But no matter how many promising children he found, none met his expectations.
‘Until now.’
Here, he had finally found such a child. The burn scars on the childās face were slightly bothersome, but if he wanted to, he could heal them easily.
Lucas was strongly against it, but Heirn wasnāt worried.
“The woman is the child’s mother, right?”
It seemed that Ronschka was very attached to his mother. If that was the case, all he had to do was convince the mother.
There was no one in the world who couldnāt be swayed.
Gold, powerāif those didnāt work, then even appearance could be used.
Heirn knew better than anyone how powerful these things were.
If he wanted, he could give anything.
And so far, he had never met anyone who could refuse everything he offered.
“This will be even easier than I thought.”
He was confident. He had many cards to play, and he was sure he could convince Ronschkaās mother.
At that moment, a small girlās voice spoke.
“Father.”
It seemed the maids had cleaned and treated her. She looked much better now.
“Yes, Rosaline?”
Rosaline was one of his cards, too.
Becoming the heir of the noble Weatherfield family by marrying its only daughter was a very tempting offer.
Of course, he would start with something smaller at first.
“Tsk, you even got a wound on your face?”
At his words, Rosaline touched the gauze on her cheek and replied.
“Itās not a big deal.”
“No. No, Rosaline, I told you before. Never hurt your face. What kind of noble lady looks like this?”
“I’m sorry.”
She looked sad, but Heirn didnāt care much. Rosaline was a quiet and obedient child.
That was the only reason he paid her any attention.
***
This time, Adele woke up a little earlier.
The dark mage had punched her, but Lucas had blocked his magic with his own body, so she hadnāt suffered any internal injuries.
And unlike when she was hurt by the bear, Adele was in better health now. She had been eating and resting properly at the mansion.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Ronschka right beside her.
He was staring at her with an unreadable expression. He wasnāt crying or shouting, but she could tell how he felt.
“I’m sorry,” Adele said.
She had told Ronschka to live and had been ready to sacrifice herself.
Even if she went back to that moment, she would make the same choice.
But that didnāt erase the pain Ronschka had felt.
She had promised to make him happy, yet she had only hurt him.
Feeling guilty, Adele said again, “I’m really sorry, Ronschka.”
“Don’t do that again,” Ronschka said in a rough voice, as if something was caught in his throat.
“Never do that again.”
“I’ll try.”
“Not tryāpromise me.”
“I’m sorry, Ronschka.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
There were no absolutes in this world.
If Ronschka was ever in danger again, and if she could save him by sacrificing herself, she would do it again.
But what if it was the other way around?
What if Ronschka got hurt or died trying to save her?
She couldnāt even imagine it.
Thatās why she apologized.
“Don’t apologize,” Ronschka said, tears falling down his face as he carefully hugged Adele.
***
Lucas had looked into the open doorway without thinking, and he saw everything.
He knew he shouldnāt, but he stood there like a statue, hearing every word.
In a way, Adele had hurt Ronschka. Even she admitted it.
But after spending so much time with them, Lucas had come to realize something.
‘She wants to change.’
Lucas wasnāt trying to forgive Adeleās sins. That was something only Ronschka could do.
He had simply projected his mother onto Adele.
A mother who never changed. A mother who saw him as nothing more than a tool until the very end.
A mother who would never love him, not even a little.
But Adele was different.
Maybe, just maybe, he could trust her a little now.
Lucas gave a faint smile as he looked at the small gift package in his hand.
After treating his wounds, he immediately started investigating what had happened.
He found out that the dark mage hadnāt kidnapped the children for a specific reason. He had just needed test subjects, and unfortunately, the children had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
During his investigation, Lucas also discovered something elseāwhy Adele had gone outside in the first place.
She had gone out to buy a gift.
‘It must have been for Ronschka.’
And he was right.
He also learned that Ronschkaās birthday was coming up soon.
Adele had left the house just to buy him a birthday present.
Luckily, the shop owner wasnāt a bad person and had kept the gift safe. Now, Lucas just had to return it to Adele without Ronschka knowing.
But there was another problemāwhat to do about Heirn.
He couldnāt just tell Adele to reject Heirnās offer because it was too good to ignore. But asking her to blindly trust him wasnāt an option either, since their bond wasnāt strong enough yet.
Lucas took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
***
āRest for a little longer?ā
Adele blinked at the unexpected words.
She was hurt, yes, but not so much that she needed more rest.
She could stand, walk, and even continue her work.
It was just paperwork, after all.
She cautiously asked,
āWhy?ā
Where should he begin?
Lucas carefully organized his thoughts before explaining,
āThere is a family of spirit summoners called Weatherfield in the empire. The current head of the family is a man named Heirn, and he wants Ronschka.ā
āA family of spirit summoners? That sounds like a good thing, doesnāt it?ā
āNormally, yes. But Heirnā¦ heās like a snake. Of course, Iām not asking you to believe everything I say.ā
People often hated each other for no real reason.
Sometimes, hate didnāt need logic.
So Lucas didnāt insist that Adele take his words as truth.
āBut I want you to think about it carefully. Iāll bring you information about the Weatherfield family and Heirn.ā
Adele thought Lucas was acting strangely.
He was the one who had saved her and Ronschka, the one who had given them a place to live.
And he always treated Ronschka with true sincerity.
