Chapter 68

***

What mischief is this imp planning in the mansion today?

“Why are you wandering around when you haven’t fully recovered?”

Ronny extended his hand towards the child.

“Come on, I’ll take you back to your room.”

“Loretta has a great secret!”

Ronny frowned momentarily at the mention of a ‘great secret.’ It brought back unpleasant memories.

The last time he helped Loretta hide in the carriage, this mischievous child came to him, proposing they create a ‘great secret.’

“From now on, creating great secrets in our mansion is forbidden.”

He sternly told Loretta, ensuring she couldn’t stir up any trouble.

“But there’s already one.”

“…What is it?”

“It’s about the night Jeremiah brother left.”

The child cautiously looked around and then beckoned Ronny closer with a gentle gesture. He leaned in as if entranced.

“Loretta saw Grandma fetch the sky ladder.”

The ‘Grandma’ she was referring to had to be Mrs. Higgins.

“Sky ladder?”

“Yes.”

“What is that?”

“It’s a ladder that goes to the sky.”

Then Loretta pointed towards the ceiling in a corner of the second-floor corridor.

“It came out from there. Grandma climbed up the ladder.”

Ronny stared at the ceiling Loretta was pointing to, but couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

“Perhaps she was cleaning a stain on the ceiling.”

“But there was a hole in the ceiling. A hole that leads to the sky.”

“Are you sure you didn’t dream this?”

To his question, Loretta poked Ronny’s nose with her small hand.

“It was Melody and brother who were dreaming. Loretta was the only one who saw off Jeremiah brother. They are both sleepyheads.”

Well, he couldn’t avoid being chided for falling asleep that day.

It was understandable, given how many sleepless nights he had spent worrying about Loretta.

“So, you’re out here trying to investigate that?”

“Yep. But Loretta is too short.”

She stretched her arms high above her head.

“My arms can’t reach the ceiling, so I was wondering what to do…”

Now the child started to hop up and down, bringing her feet together. But even with all her effort, the ceiling was simply too high to reach.

After trying for a while, the child reached out towards Ronny.

“Big brother, lift Loretta up. Hold me tight!”

“What, all of a sudden? Why?”

“Because big brother Ronny is tall.”

Ronny felt a little moved by Loretta’s full-hearted trust in him.

It felt wonderful to be someone’s hope. Ronny, wanting to appear even taller and stronger, tiptoed slightly.

“Of course, I am very strong.”

“Yes, taller than Melody.”

“But not tall enough to reach the ceiling.”

Loretta looked terribly disappointed at his response, so Ronny quickly continued to avoid letting her down.

“Not just me! Father wouldn’t be able to reach the ceiling either. The ceilings in our duke’s mansion are very high.”

“But Grandma climbed up the ladder…”

“You’re really naive, Loretta.”

He gently patted the still disappointed child’s head.

“Even if you’re short, there are plenty of ways to check if the ceiling opens.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I can think of two methods right off the bat.”

He spread two fingers, and Loretta’s eyes sparkled again.

“Big brother Ronny is a genius.”

He shrugged his shoulders and shared the first method.

“Stack items like stairs, climb up, and touch the ceiling directly.”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh.”

“But that’s risky. We might get caught. And it’s too much for the two of us to move something that big.”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh.”

“So, the second method we should choose is…”

He looked around, just like Loretta had done before whispering her secret.

When he whispered ‘that method,’ the child hung onto his neck, cheerfully shouting,

“Big brother Ronny is a genius!”

Of course, the praise sent Ronny’s spirits soaring.

***

In fact, the method he chose wasn’t anything extraordinary. It was just finding a large stick and tapping the ceiling with it.

If there’s a place that opens as Loretta said, it would sound different from the rest of the ceiling. Maybe they could even slide it open a bit.

‘And, it might be that place.’

According to what Ronny learned from Claude, ‘Truly precious records, those you absolutely don’t want others to see, are well hidden.’

Indeed, when Ronny had slightly overstepped his boundaries and sneaked into Butler Higgins’ records, he could access everything except for June, five years ago.

Meaning ‘the records you absolutely don’t want others to see’ were exactly those.

‘If it’s up there.’

Proving this might help his brother Claude.

When they were very young,

Claude suggested to Ronny, “Let’s take turns getting the June records from Higgins’ office.”

Until recently, Ronny thought of it as a sort of ‘game.’

But considering his intelligent brother’s character, it seemed unlikely he would specify June without a reason.

There must be something he wanted to check. Quietly, without father or the butler knowing.

“Being able to help my brother.”

Ronny was somewhat moved and clenched his fists tightly.

“I must find it. A stick long enough to reach the ceiling.”

He had actually tried with a wooden sword, but since it was made for children, it wasn’t long enough.

He wandered around the mansion but eventually couldn’t find anything satisfactory, so he went out to the garden.

He looked around trees that had only branches left and rummaged through piles of firewood collected by the servants.

He did find a long-cut branch, but it was too thin and flexible to be of any use.

“Big brother.”

Perhaps worried about how long it was taking, Loretta, who had been waiting for him in her room, couldn’t stay put and came down to Melody’s room and was looking out the window.

“Did you already tell Melody about the great secret?”

When he asked with a tone of disappointment, Loretta shook her head vigorously.

“No, Melody is with Grandma. Loretta wants to help big brother.”

Saying so, the child bravely climbed up to the window.

It was surprising how she managed to climb up to the windowsill with her small stature, but Loretta had applied the wisdom Ronny taught her earlier.

She had dragged a chair to step on.@@novelbin@@

“Hey, what? You’re trying to come out here?!”

“I’m going to find a wide stick.”

Ronny, flustered, couldn’t even correct ‘wide stick’ to ‘long stick’ and approached the window.

It was understandable, considering Loretta was still supposed to be resting and wasn’t allowed to go out yet.

“You’re not supposed to come out yet, you’ll get in trouble.”

“But Loretta is healthy.”

“It’s not for you to decide.”

He tried to dissuade his determined little sister. Of course, Loretta’s stubbornness was formidable, and she was dangerously standing on the windowsill.

“Big brother, hold me.”

The child stretched her arms forward, pleading. It seemed she was a bit scared to jump down.

In a moment of dilemma, Ronny was deeply conflicted.

‘What should I do?’

He knew Loretta wasn’t supposed to roam outside. But the brave Miss Loretta would undoubtedly jump out of the window if he didn’t catch her, possibly getting hurt in her frail condition.

‘I have no choice.’

First, he decided to catch Loretta and then quickly take her inside the mansion.

“Don’t struggle, understand?”

“Okay.”

As the child nodded, Ronny stretched out his arms.

With a “whoosh,” he caught Loretta. His arms hurt a lot, but he endured it, not wanting his little sister to get hurt.

“Lady?!”

Just then, a maid’s voice calling from beyond the room where Loretta had been echoed.

“What, what?!”

Startled, Loretta wriggled and looked back, and a surprised Ronny accidentally stumbled backward.

“Ahh!”

Ronny let out a pitiful scream as he fell backward. Immediately, a tremendous impact hit his stomach. Loretta had fallen on top of him.

“Oof!”

The pain was so intense he saw stars, his beloved mother, and it even seemed like he saw the ladder ascending to heaven.

“Master! Lady!”

The maid who witnessed the situation screamed, and soon people started rushing in from all directions.

Through Ronny’s grimaced vision, he saw Butler Higgins, and somehow…

His look was one of disappointment.

Ronny was so embarrassed he wished he could just faint right then and there.

***

Regardless of the situation, it was a fact that Ronny took Loretta, who should have been in her room, outside. So, he thought he was going to be severely scolded by his father.

Surprisingly, that didn’t happen.

Loretta was the one who got scolded.

Though she wasn’t punished severely due to her illness, she was told she had to write a reflection.

“Um…”

With a feeling of unease, Ronny sought out his father, wondering if there was still some scolding left for him.

“I came because you didn’t call for me. I was worried I might have done something wrong…”

As he timidly conveyed his concern, the duke asked a servant to bring some warm lemon tea and muffins.

Soon, the sweet snack was placed in front of Ronny.

“Eat up. Take your time and chew thoroughly.”

Noticing the child hesitating, the duke picked up a piece of muffin with a fork and offered it to him.

Ronny couldn’t refuse his father’s offering and reluctantly ate. Despite the circumstances, the muffin tasted really good.

He devoured an entire muffin as if in a trance.

“Well done.”

Then, his father patted his head, offering words of praise.

Usually, Ronny would have relished such acclaim, but today it only made him feel sad.

While his brother received praise for being top of his class, and his sister for becoming a magician,

Ronny was being praised just for eating a muffin.

“Why is that?”

“…Don’t praise me.”

“Hmm?”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

Ronny hesitated, unsure how to articulate his complex feelings. The duke waited patiently for his response, not breaking eye contact.