Chapter 53

***

Ronny ran hastily, looking at Melody with a ‘why?’ expression on his face. However, the girl, pale as a ghost, couldn’t manage a proper explanation. Her mind was too frantic with worry.

Loretta must never be caught alone in the rain. No matter what.

Melody recalled this fact, her feet pounding with urgency. Her face looked like she might burst into tears at any moment.

Ronny bit his lip hard. He was concerned about the butler rushing towards them with a stern face, but…

Seeing Melody cry was not something he wanted.

“I’ll be in trouble later because of you, just so you know!” Ronny shouted, then started running again, this time heading outside the mansion.

The servants, unable to hold the children back, awkwardly held umbrellas over the young boy and girl. But with the heavy rain pouring relentlessly, it was almost pointless.

The ground became soggy, and their clothes, heavy with water, made running increasingly difficult. Soon, white breaths escaped Ronny’s lips, and he finally arrived near the spot where he had hidden Loretta.

Seeing the carriage, Melody’s face turned even paler.

“Hurry.”

She mouthed the words, urging him on.

Amidst the stinging rain, the two children finally reached the carriage where Loretta was hidden.

“Loretta!”

Melody was the first to violently open the carriage door.

“…!”

Loretta was lying on the carriage floor, unresponsive even as Melody called her name with a significant volume.

Could something have gone wrong?

Melody, filled with fear, climbed into the carriage. When she pulled the collapsed body into her arms, it was chillingly cold.

“Loretta!”

Melody gently stroked the child’s cheek and repeatedly checked for any sign of breathing. But Loretta showed no signs of regaining consciousness.

“Today is really a lucky day. On my way back from the auction, I found a carriage that had an accident due to slipping in the rain. Look at this, Melody.”

Melody remembered a story her mother told her long ago.

Rain and a carriage.

Imagining the fear Loretta must have felt during the moment that changed her life was unbearable.

Melody bowed her head and hugged Loretta’s body tightly.

Unable to even offer an apology, the only thing Melody could do was hold her.

The rain poured down even more fiercely, as if to shatter the carriage itself.

***

The servants, who had followed the children, were shocked upon seeing the interior of the carriage. They knew Melody and Loretta were playing hide-and-seek but never expected it to turn into such a grave situation.

They wrapped Loretta in thick clothes and hurried back inside the mansion

Shortly after laying the child down, the Duke arrived with a doctor. Fortunately, the doctor said Loretta was healthy.

It seemed she had just fainted from shock. With some rest, she would soon be back to normal, the doctor added.

The Duke, still anxious, couldn’t show his worry in front of the frightened Ronny and Melody and simply nodded.

“It will be okay.”

After the doctor left and a relative calm settled in, the Duke assured the two visibly shaken children that it was okay. It was alright.

At his words, as if on cue, both children burst into tears, probably holding back until that moment. The Duke of Baldwin slowly patted their small backs with both arms around them. Even though Loretta was in such a state, he didn’t feel like scolding the children. Perhaps because he knew they were likely blaming themselves more than anyone else.

“It’s not your fault, you two.”

Despite his reassurance, the children’s sobbing didn’t cease. And the rain continued to fall. All through that night and into the next morning.

***

Contrary to the doctor’s reassuring words of ‘She’ll get better,’ Loretta didn’t open her eyes for several days. The sight of her lying in her pretty bed, sometimes feverish, worried the entire mansion.

Doctors came and went numerous times, but there was no improvement. Melody always stayed by Loretta’s side, pondering over the contents of the original story, “The Duke’s House has Three Sons and One Daughter,” hoping to find any information that could help in this situation. But there was none.

In the story, Loretta did face numerous challenging situations, but there was no mention of her being asleep for such a long time. So Melody could only faintly guess that it was Loretta’s last memory with her mother that had caused this.

‘The Duke seemed to think so too…’

As she sighed softly, a knock came at the door. The maid attending to Loretta went to open it, revealing Ronny with a large bouquet of flowers in his hand. Despite the cold weather, he had brought flowers for Loretta.

“Um…”

Yet, the boy hesitated to enter the room. Standing by the door, he addressed Melody with a question.

“How is she…?”

When the girl shook her head, Ronny bowed deeply among the flowers.

“…Because of me.”

With words full of self-reproach.

“It’s not your fault,” Melody approached him, her words not meant as comfort.

“It was my fault. Mine.”

She clutched the hem of her dress tightly.

“How could it be your fault? You were just playing with her.”

“Lady Loretta is afraid of something, and I knew that. But I didn’t tell you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Ronny snapped, raising his head sharply, his stubborn expression in full display.

“Loretta Baldwin is my sister! It’s my responsibility!”

“But still…”

“You’ve done nothing wrong. Not knowing what she was afraid of included!”

He quickly lowered his rising voice to continue.

“…It’s my fault too.”

“Sir.”

Melody called out to him with sympathy, and he awkwardly extended the flowers he was holding.

“Put them by her side. She likes such things.”

True to his words, Loretta did adore beautiful things. If she woke up to these bright pink flowers beside her, she would surely be delighted. Melody quickly took the flowers from him.

“Aren’t you going to see her… before you leave?”

“Well, I have lessons and…”

He awkwardly diverted his gaze and scratched his head. Melody knew that Ronny had no lessons today…

‘Maybe he’s too guilty to come closer.’

That was what Melody thought. He must be feeling a deep sense of responsibility for this incident.

“Still, if she wakes up, anytime is fine.”

He hesitantly offered the words, and Melody nodded promptly.

“I’ll let you know first.”

“Okay.”

He nodded. It seemed like he almost said ‘thank you,’ but it was barely audible. After he left, Melody returned to Loretta’s side.

“Loretta, see? Ronny brought you flowers because he’s worried. They smell really nice.”@@novelbin@@

She tried speaking in a cheerful voice, but there was no response.

***

Jeremiah Baldwin, known as the prodigy of the Magic Tower, was a rather exceptional being. Magic was about embracing the power of nature within oneself and materializing it in a desired form. Therefore, magicians often referred to their ‘bodies’ as vessels, containers for the necessary power. The difference between magicians and ordinary humans started from here – the ability to accumulate and store natural power in one’s body was exclusive to magicians.

This made ‘magicians’ inherently special. Among them, Jeremiah stood out for his seemingly limitless capacity to store power. Considering the nature of magicians using their bodies as vessels, it was natural for adults to store more power than children. Magic, though invisible, didn’t completely defy physical laws.

But Jeremiah was different. From his arrival at the Magic Tower, he could hold a quantity of magic power in his ‘vessel’ similar to that of adult magicians, and it didn’t take him long to reach the level of senior magicians. Considering he was still a growing boy, his power was frighteningly strong. The extent of power he would possess as an adult was unimaginable.

Thus, the Magic Tower cherished him, trying to instill as much understanding of the world’s principles as possible. It was certain that unhappiness would ensue if great power was not accompanied by a beautiful spirit. Fortunately, Jeremiah loved learning and cherished humans, justice, and peace.

However, no matter how much he was praised in the Magic Tower, his status remained a ‘trainee,’ not a ‘magician.’ Some magicians argued that it was a waste to keep such a talented child as a mere trainee. But the wise old Tower Master Owen had different thoughts. The boy was undoubtedly beautiful and strong, fit to be called the successor of the Tower Master.

However, the old man saw darkness still lurking in the boy’s heart, hidden deep enough to never be revealed by any persuasion. Until that was resolved, he couldn’t bestow the title of ‘magician’ and set him free.

“You’re back, Jeremiah.”

The bearded Tower Master Owen spoke towards the firmly closed door. It would seem strange to an onlooker as there had been no knock or sound of footsteps from his room.

“I have returned.”

But Owen’s prediction was not wrong, as soon the door opened, and a beautiful boy with light sky-blue hair entered.