Chapter 63
There was only one person who came to mind.
But…
‘No way, that can’t be true.’
I tried to deny it. At least until I took Cedric out for a walk that afternoon.
“Whoa, look at that, unni. Our neighbors must be super rich.”
“What?”
“The house looks shabby, but the stuff they’re moving in is no joke.”
Laura pointed at the house next door. People were going in and out, moving boxes in a constant stream.
The house looked similar to ours, just a little bigger with a second floor.
In other words, it was still a rundown place, yet the items being carried inside by the servants were all unmistakably luxurious.
Unless a rich person was trying to experience poverty for fun, there could only be one explanation for such an odd scene.
“…That can go over here instead.”
I turned my head toward the familiar voice that reached my ears—and couldn’t help but sigh.
‘So I wasn’t hearing things earlier after all.’
The voice sounded just like the man who’d run away after giving me a cake as a housewarming gift.
No—he didn’t sound like him. He was him.
‘Ian Cedric. What the hell is he doing here?’
It was Ian, Mikhail’s aide.
And if Ian had moved, then it could only mean the person he served had moved as well.
“…So the rumors about the narrow alleyways here were true.”
“…”
“Imagine running into a neighbor like this, in a place like this.”
A low, mellow voice. A man with such a massive build that just approaching was enough to cast a shadow over me.
I looked up, and standing there was none other than—
“Don’t you think so?”
…Mikhail.
It was only then that I understood what he meant by what he’d said yesterday.
“Also, Bell, I’m thinking of moving soon.”
“…Moving?”
“Yeah. But as you know, I’m not in great health. This area isn’t exactly safe, so if some bad guy shows up, you’ll have to protect me.”
At the time, I’d thought he was oversharing for no reason. I figured it was just more useless information, so I hadn’t paid much attention.
Who would’ve thought the “move” he mentioned meant next door to us?
“…What on earth are you thinking?”
Unable to react in front of Laura and Cedric, I’d ignored him and gone back home. Then I came back out with the excuse of having forgotten something.
Mikhail Rochester.
There were things I had to say to him.
So now I was sitting face to face with him on a luxurious sofa that looked completely out of place in this shabby house.
“Not going to have some tea?”
“Don’t change the subject. Answer me. What were you thinking, doing all this?”
Mikhail answered with a calm smile.
“What do you mean, what was I thinking?”
“Why did you suddenly move here? You’re from the East. There’s no reason to buy a house up North, is there?”
“Houses don’t have to be limited to just one, do they?”
That’s when I remembered—this man had more than ten mansions in both the East and South.
But even so, it made no sense.
“If it were for your businesses in the East and South, fine. But there’s nothing for you up North. Doesn’t this seem like a waste of money?”
“Sure, to some it might be a waste. But to me, it’s an investment.”
“What did you just say?”
“I haven’t done a single thing with the merchant group for the past three years. The reason? Poor condition. Which means, if my health gets better and I return to work, I’ll be earning several times more than I used to. So how is this a waste? It’s an investment.”
I let out a hollow laugh.
That might sound logical on the surface, but really, it was just a roundabout way of dodging the question.
And yet, despite how absurd it was, I couldn’t bring myself to argue—because something about it bothered me.
‘Mikhail hasn’t worked in three years?’
That couldn’t be right.
The Mikhail I knew was married to his work. More accurately, he loved the money that came from work above all else—so much so that he was indifferent to everything else.
In fact, he started hating me because of the 100 billion Eckart debt my family dumped on him.
So the idea that he hadn’t done any work for three years… I couldn’t believe it.
“Is that really such a shock to you?”
“But you…”
I started to speak but then fell silent.
‘What’s the point now?’
Mikhail and I were already over. No truth would change anything at this point.
And besides, this man was using every trick in the book to win me over again. What’s one more lie?
“…What could I even say at this point.”
A wave of emptiness rushed over me. Everything from start to finish felt wrong.
If he were truly sorry, this is not how he should’ve acted.
He should’ve at least knelt and apologized—or managed to say “I’m sorry.”
But even now, this man remained proud.
Even though I was the one who’d been hurt, the things I’d endured at the mansion suddenly felt insignificant before him.
Looking back, everything had always been easy for him.
Giving me hope, snatching it away, dragging me through the mud…
He would take something as precious as a healing potion—something that could be a lifeline to someone—and destroy it out of spite, just to mock.
“Mikhail, let’s get one thing clear.”
A man like him would probably treat my words like a dog barking.
“I don’t care if you move here or not. That’s your choice. But…”
“…”
“Let’s not run into each other, if we can help it. We’re nothing more than a bad memory that ended long ago, and seeing your face doesn’t make me happy at all.”
At those words, his calm, dark blue eyes seemed to waver just slightly.
“I’m going.”
I turned to leave without hesitation.
Click.
“Unni!”
Suddenly the door flew open, and a familiar figure appeared.
“Laura? What are you doing here…?”
It was Laura. But she didn’t look like her usual neat self—her hair was messy like she’d just woken up, and she was still in her indoor clothes.
It was clear she’d run out in a hurry.
“What’s going on?”
“Unni, it’s bad.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s Cedric. He collapsed. His body is burning up—I think he has a fever. You know how dangerous high fevers can be for kids.”
As soon as I heard Laura’s words, I ran back home.
I’d only been out talking to Mikhail for maybe twenty or thirty minutes at most.
And in that short time, Cedric had suddenly come down with a fever?
‘He seemed totally fine just a while ago. How could he suddenly get so sick?’
Then I remembered what Cedric said before I put him to bed.
“Mom, I’m coooold…”
I thought it was because he went out dressed too lightly.
So I’d hugged him tightly and tucked him in under two layers of blankets before I left.
‘Was he already starting to get sick back then?’
How could I, as his mother, not notice something like that?
But there was no time to dwell on guilt.
“Cedric’s unconscious.”
Cedric was lying in bed. He was in the same position he was in when I’d left to meet Mikhail, but when I got closer, I could hear his hot, shallow breathing.
“No matter how much I shook him, he wouldn’t wake up.”
I quickly placed my hand on Cedric’s forehead—and immediately yanked it away in shock.
Cedric had been sick a few times when he was younger, but never like this.
His body was burning hot.
“This is bad. We need to call a physician immediately.”
But physicians were expensive.
Each visit cost at least 100,000 Eckart. And that’s not even counting the cost of medicine.
Thankfully, I had saved up some money from selling flowers, so money wasn’t the issue.
If I just cut down on spending and saved a little more, we could manage.
“Laura, I’ll stay with Cedric. Can you take a carriage and bring back a physician?”
“I thought about that too but… it’s snowing really hard outside right now.”
