MCAV Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The game was repeated several times until Rosaline fully understood the rules.

Now all her attention was on her back.

What if the towel drops behind me?

Rosaline was very tense. Leon wasn’t much different, while the birthday boy, Ronschka, just clapped along to the song with a calm expression.

“Ronschka, have you played this before?”

“No. First time.”

He was so calm that she had to ask, and he replied it was also his first time.

Then it happened—a small thump behind her. Startled, she turned to see the towel lying on the floor.

“Rosaline, run!”

Someone shouted, and Rosaline ran as fast as she could, forgetting to even pick up the towel. The gardener, Bain, who was moving slowly since it was just a child chasing him, was caught quickly.

“Hoho, I’m ‘it’ again.”

Her chest rose and fell as she caught her breath. She had never run like that except during training.

Rosaline’s cheeks flushed red. She felt so happy she wanted to shout.

Everyone looked at her smiling face, finding it adorable.

It was like a magical moment.

The excited children soon grew tired. Leon rubbed his sleepy eyes and went back to his room, and Rosaline left as well, guided by a maid.

Her pretty clothes were all messy, but she still couldn’t stop smiling as she left.

Adele let out a deep sigh as she carried a drowsy Ronschka on her back. Since they had come here, he had been eating and living well, and now he felt much heavier. But she thought it had been a good day.

Even though she had met that man from her past, she had hidden her emotions well. The children had played happily, and Ronschka’s birthday wasn’t ruined. At least that’s what Adele believed.

But Ronschka was sharper than she thought—especially when it came to his mother.

“Mom.”

“Yes?”

“Do you not like that man?”

Adele stopped walking for a moment.

“Who?”

“The red-haired spirit master.”

Yes, I hate him. I wish he would disappear from this world.

But she couldn’t say that to Ronschka.

“No. I don’t even know him, so why would I dislike him?”

“Really?”

“Really.”

It was enough that she suffered alone. She only wanted to show good things to Ronschka.

So Adele decided to hide everything. She just needed to kill her own feelings—then everything would be fine.

She would cover up and forget the hatred and resentment. She would hide the storm raging in her heart.

She would think of Ronschka’s father as dead. He was someone who would only make Ronschka unhappy.

That’s what Adele told herself, pressing her feelings down, over and over.

“Liar.”

“It’s true.”

Thankfully, Ronschka didn’t ask more. He just pressed his face into Adele’s neck and breathed softly.

He seemed very tired—it was probably the first time he had ever really played with another child his age.

Adele had brought out every game she knew for the children, and thankfully, the birthday guests had joined in to help.

Please, let this be a happy birthday for Ronschka.

Adele sincerely wished for that.

Back in his room, Heirin carefully went over his memories. Digging deep, he finally remembered something.

But the woman he recalled and Adele now—she was similar, yet not the same. That’s why he had been unsure.

Is there even a need to worry?

Heirin was the head of the great Weatherfield family. There were very few places beyond his influence. If he wanted to know something, he could find out anything.

He sent an order through a carrier pigeon to his subordinate.

“If we check the villages I visited before, something should come up.”

In his younger days, he had traveled under the excuse of training. During that time, he had brief encounters with certain people.

Could it be…

He suddenly thought of Ronschka’s red hair and red eyes. Even with the burn scars on his face—what would he look like without them?

He imagined it. And at the end of that thought, Heirin smiled, raising the corners of his mouth.

Maybe it will be easier to take him.

Once the information came, he could test Adele. If his suspicion was true, Ronschka would be his—Heirin’s.

That would guarantee the future prosperity of the Weatherfield family.

After Ronschka fell asleep, Adele looked again at the papers Kish had given her.

Even just from the documents, she could see that Heirin was far greater than she had imagined.

The head of a powerful marquis family in the empire. A great spirit master. What he possessed far outweighed what Adele had.

I can’t let him find out.

If he did, she would lose Ronschka without any way to stop it.

It was unavoidable—Adele was a commoner, and he was a noble. A commoner couldn’t refuse a noble’s will.

If it were revealed that Ronschka was his son, Lucas might be able to block him for now, but even Lucas might not be able to stop it completely.

I can’t let him go.

Ronschka had to be happier—far happier. She couldn’t send him to someone like Heirin, who saw his own child as nothing but a tool.

If Ronschka were ever to go to the Weatherfield family, it should be after he grew up—when he could judge and decide for himself.

Right now was not the time.

So in terms of family… Ronschka would be Rosaline’s younger brother.

Half-sibling, but still. Adele closed the papers and shut her eyes, burying all her emotions.

When she opened her eyes again, she was back to being her usual self.

Several days passed.

Lucas spoke to Heirin coldly.

“Isn’t it about time you told us your purpose here?”

In truth, Lucas already had a good guess. But the person who was supposed to say it kept silent, and it was frustrating—especially because Lucas was still wondering if sending Ronschka away would be right.

“No, it’s not time yet.”

“And when exactly will that be?”

Lucas’s voice sharpened.

“Soon. Don’t worry.”

Heirin looked out the window with a meaningful expression.

That morning, the sky had been cloudy. Now, dark rain clouds filled the gray sky, and raindrops began to fall—soon turning into a heavy downpour.

The children, who usually played outside, were indoors today. Leon was training with his sword in the indoor practice hall, while Ronschka meditated beside him.

Leaving the adults’ tense conversation behind, Rosaline gazed out the window at the falling rain, thinking about the gift she still hadn’t given Ronschka.

Half a day passed, and in the late afternoon, another guest arrived at the mansion.

Knock knock—the quiet sound came, and the servant who answered found a man in a black oilskin raincoat.

“Who are you?”

“I am a retainer of the Weatherfield family. I have come to see the master.”

After a brief check, he was let in. Removing his raincoat and wiping off the water, he went straight to Heirin.

“Master.”

Seeing Heirin, the man knelt on the floor.

“So, Albert. Did you find what I asked for?”

“I found it all.”

Albert spoke calmly.

Carrying out Heirin’s orders hadn’t been difficult. The village was deep in the forest, so it took some time, but many remembered a woman with a distinctive hat.

Ah, you mean Adele? Yes, I remember. She was a proper young girl, but one day she had a child without anyone knowing who the father was, and she started to change.

I remember. That child was terrible. Fires often broke out wherever he was. He must have been a demon’s child.

Ignorant people gossiped freely for a few coins.

A demon-possessed child. And the mother who went mad after giving birth to him.

The boy had been abused by the villagers—his mother among them, according to the collected accounts.

The boy’s father? I don’t know. Now that I think of it, she seemed close with a handsome young man who stayed in the village for a while. Could it have been him?

Through a talkative gossip, more information came.

I think so! I heard she became pregnant not long after that man left. And it seemed like Adele was waiting for him.

Albert gave a full, detailed report of everything he had heard.

When he finished, Heirin recalled part of a memory he had buried.

I love you.

A woman with rich brown hair smiled, her round squirrel-like eyes curving like a crescent moon.

I love you.

Blinded by love, she had given him everything as he passed through the village.

A foolish woman. Still, it had been to his benefit.

Ronschka is my son!

A child born from a reckless fling in his youth—poor Ronschka.