MCAV Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Adele slowly blinked.

She had tried to keep her distance, thinking they were destined to part ways anyway.

And yet, once again, she had received help.

‘He’s really a strange person.’

How could someone do so much for others?

Without realizing it, Adele let out a quiet smile.

Lucas, watching her silently, thought her smile was like a simple wildflower in a field.

He had always preferred bright roses, but for some reason, this wasn’t so bad either.

“And this.”

Lucas handed her a small gift package.

“The shop owner found it and kept it safe. The wrapping was a bit damaged, so they redid it.”

He also mentioned that he had given the kind shopkeeper a small reward.

“Good thing, right? Ronschka’s birthday is in a few days, isn’t it?”

Adele’s eyes widened.

She had been worrying about how to replace the lost gift, but now she didn’t have to.

“That’s really a relief.”

She made a mental note to thank the shopkeeper if she ever visited again.

Adele carefully held the package, determined to keep it hidden until Ronschka’s birthday.

***

Heirn stayed at the mansion, trying to meet Ronschka.

Lucas seemed to be blocking him at every turn, but a knight couldn’t stop a spirit summoner.

“Hello, Ronschka.”

A small red bird appeared in front of Ronschka, who was busy picking flowers in the garden.

Strangely, the bird spoke.

But Ronschka could tell—the bird wasn’t speaking on its own.

Someone was using a spirit to send their voice.

“Do you know who I am?”

“The spirit summoner from before.”

“That’s right! You’re smart.”

The little bird moved its tiny beak as it spoke.

“How… how are you doing that?”

“What do you mean?”

“The spirit… talking.”

“Oh, this?”

Inside his room, Heirn smirked.

Spirit summoners were born connected to nature.

That’s why they couldn’t help but love spirits, who were part of nature itself.

‘If I want to grab his interest, spirits are the best way.’

“Do you want to learn how?”

“Yes! I do.”

Ronschka nodded eagerly.

If he learned how, he could always talk to his mother.

No one would ever be able to separate them completely again.

“I’d love to teach you, but you’d have to become my student first.”

“M-my student?”

“Yes, my student.”

Heirn didn’t ask him to become his adopted son right away.

It was better to start with something less intimidating.

“But… my teacher is Lucas.”

Interesting.

Ronschka didn’t even use honorifics for Lucas.

That meant there wasn’t a strong bond between them.

That would make things easier.

Heirn gently pushed further.

“But Lucas is a knight.”

“That’s true.”

“Knights can’t train spirit summoners.”

‘But he’s already helped me a lot…’

At first, Ronschka could only use fire when he was emotional.

But after following Lucas’s advice on training and meditation, he improved.

Now, he could control fire without getting angry or crying.

He had even shown his mother his flames.

“I mean it. But how about this? I’ll teach you one skill.”

“Why?”

“Because you have great talent as a spirit summoner.”

Heirn said it smoothly, but Ronschka didn’t lower his guard.

So far, only Lucas and his mother had ever given him anything without expecting something in return.

Why would someone he met just once do that?

Ronschka didn’t trust Heirn.

But learning a new ability was too tempting to ignore.

“What will you teach me?”

“Is there something you want to learn?”

“How to make a spirit talk.”

“Great!”

Heirn agreed right away.

Teaching a spirit to speak was extremely difficult.

Even if Ronschka started learning now, it would take a long time before he could do it.

‘He’ll be lucky if he even understands the basics.’

Hiding his true intentions, Heirn began to explain the technique in a friendly manner.

“Here’s how you send words through a spirit.”

Ronschka listened carefully, occasionally nodding.

But Heirn couldn’t tell if he actually understood or not.

When the lesson ended, Ronschka smiled faintly.

In the past, his smile had seemed strange, but lately, he had been learning from others how to make it look more natural.

Now, he looked more like a normal child.

“Did you understand?”

Heirn asked, half-mocking.

‘There’s no way he got it.’

This was the moment when Ronschka should say, “I don’t get it,” and ask for more help.

Then Heirn could patiently re-explain and gain Ronschka’s trust.

But Ronschka didn’t ask anything.

‘Is he too proud to admit it?’

Maybe he was pretending to understand.

Instead of responding, Ronschka summoned a small flame and started playing with it.

He brought it close, sent it far, and even made it appear suddenly.

It looked like he was trying something new.

Of course, even a talented child wouldn’t be able to master this quickly.

‘Still, he’s persistent. That’s good.’

Heirn smiled in satisfaction as he watched the future apprentice who would soon be under his control.

“Ah!”

After a while, Ronschka suddenly gasped, as if remembering something.

He carefully picked up the flower bouquet he had left on the ground.

Then, without hesitation, he ran toward the mansion.

“He really does love his mother.”

Heirn had heard that Ronschka picked flowers for his mother every day.

He watched the boy run off, then withdrew his spirit.

He had learned something useful today.

“His birthday is soon, isn’t it?”

What kind of present would be best?

Heirn began thinking of things children might like.

***

“Mmm.”

Adele looked at the round, baked cake layer with a serious expression.

She carefully tore off a piece and tasted it.

Beside her, Madeleine did the same and then smiled brightly.

“It’s perfect!”

“Really?”

“Yes! Now we just need to put the cream on properly!”

But that wouldn’t be easy either.

‘I used to just buy cakes in my past life.’

Now that she had to make one herself, it was quite difficult. But imagining how happy Ronschka would be made it all worth it.

‘What else should I prepare besides the cake?’

As Adele happily thought about the dishes she would make, a small flame suddenly floated toward her.

She blinked at it for a moment, then gasped. She knew that only her son, Ronschka, could control fire.

Adele immediately looked around, but Ronschka was nowhere to be seen. That made her even more nervous.

If the fire was appearing without him, it meant he had lost control of it.

‘What should I do?’

As Adele panicked, the flame suddenly spoke.

“Ah!”

“Huh?”

The fire actually talked. Adele stared at it in shock.

“Mom!”

It even called her “Mom.” How was this possible?

“Ronschka? Is that you?”

“Yes.”

The fire was transmitting Ronschka’s voice, like a telephone. It was amazing.

“Oh my, the fire is talking?”

Madeleine, who had also noticed, was equally surprised. After listening to what Ronschka had to say, they figured out the reason.

“So, the spirit master staying at the mansion taught you this?”

“Yes.”

But why? Adele was confused. The spirit master wanted to take Ronschka as a student—was that the reason?

But Lucas didn’t want Ronschka to meet the spirit master. Then how did they meet?

Countless questions ran through her mind. Then she realized—

The spirit master must have used the same trick on Ronschka.

‘A cunning snake.’

Suddenly, she remembered something Lucas had said.

Maybe that was why she immediately had a bad feeling, even though she hadn’t met this person yet.

She knew she shouldn’t judge someone without meeting them first, but her trust in Lucas was strong.

“What do you think of that person, Ronschka?”

As soon as she asked, she regretted it. Since that person had taught him a new ability, Ronschka would obviously have a good opinion of them.

But then Ronschka answered.

“I don’t like him.”

Right after that, the flame disappeared.

Adele rushed to find Ronschka, worried. She found him in his room, arranging a bouquet of flowers.

“Ronschka!”

Luckily, nothing was wrong—he had simply reached his limit in maintaining the ability.

“I just learned it,” Ronschka muttered in frustration.

“That means you did great.”

“I want to be even better.”

“You’re already doing well.”

Adele gently patted Ronschka.

“Why don’t you like that person?”

“I don’t know.”

Adele wanted to tell him not to dislike someone without a reason, but she held back. Ronschka must have felt something.

A strange uneasiness settled in her heart. And even as Ronschka’s birthday approached, that feeling only grew stronger.