Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Gifts by the Bedside
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***
It was late evening. The Grand Duke's residence, which should have been bustling with busy servants even after dinner, was unusually quiet.
Creaak. The door to Lucillea’s bedroom on the fifth floor of the west wing opened.
Unable to step through the open door, Serdian hesitated at the entrance. Mei whispered softly from behind him.
“You can go in, Young Lord.”
“…”
Serdian glanced back and replied.
“I know.”
Then, as if he had finally made up his mind, he quietly stepped inside.
Once the door closed, the bedroom fell silent again.
The stillness was unfamiliar, hard to imagine in a space usually occupied by that child.
It had already been a week.
Lucillea, who had lost consciousness after her mana went berserk during a lesson, had not woken up for a whole week.
Irevan, the family doctor, said she was now past the life-threatening stage.
He explained that although she had suffered a mana overload, it had ended this way only because Noa had acted quickly.
Usually, the outcome for someone who experienced a mana overload was not good. It was considered fortunate if they merely lost all their special abilities.
Most died before anyone could even intervene.
But Lucillea was different.
Her life was not in danger, and according to Noa’s diagnosis, her vessel of mana was completely undamaged.
In fact, he said it felt as though it had become wider and stronger, like land after a storm had swept through.
It was a miracle, but at the same time, a riddle no one could understand.
However.
Despite this miracle, the child showed no signs of waking.
Every day, Serdian came to the west wing to see Lucillea’s condition for himself.
As he slowly walked toward her, his gaze fell upon a music box on the bedside table.
Serdian recognized it.
A music box that moved by magic.
It was a music box that the heir of the Marquis Sidrat had personally imbued with his mana.
-“When you open the lid, butterflies infused with mana fly out. Lucillea will love it. I want to show it to her first thing when she wakes up.”
-“When you open the lid, butterflies infused with mana fly out. Lucillea will love it. I want to show it to her first thing when she wakes up.”
-“When you open the lid, butterflies infused with mana fly out. Lucillea will love it. I want to show it to her first thing when she wakes up.”
The image of Reiden’s faint smile as he wound the music box came to mind.
Serdian wanted to scoff at the pointless gesture, but he held back.
Because, just as Reiden had said, Lucillea would be delighted to see that music box when she woke up.
Walking right up to the bedside, Serdian looked down at Lucillea.
He was holding something in his hand.
It was a small, worn piece of cloth, about the length of two fingers.
Originally a deep navy blue, it had faded to a worn-out gray from years of handling.
On the cloth, a single, small silver star, embroidered with clumsy yet heartfelt stitches, shimmered faintly.
The corners of the cloth showed clear signs of having been frayed and mended multiple times.
It was a one-of-a-kind charm, imbued with the creator’s desperate love and the passage of time.
It was also the last memento of Serdian’s biological mother, who had died a miserable death in a brothel.
Serdian had always kept it, believing it to be a good luck charm that protected him.
Indeed, he had faced many life-threatening moments, but he had survived them all.
Serdian clenched the charm tightly in his hand, then relaxed his grip.
But then.
‘What if she finds it unpleasant…?’
Because it was a charm made by his mother of low birth, a memento of a dead woman who had died horribly.
What if she hated it for that reason?
The thought came to him unbidden.
But soon, Serdian shook his head.
She didn’t seem like that kind of child.
He hadn’t known her for long, but he somehow had that feeling.
No, perhaps it was what he wanted to believe.
Serdian carefully placed the charm embroidered with the silver star next to the sleeping Lucillea’s pillow.
‘May the luck that has protected me now protect you.’
After watching Lucillea’s sleeping face for a moment, Serdian quietly left the bedroom.
The night deepened.
After Serdian and Reiden had visited, the footsteps of the maids, who had been frequently checking on Lucillea, also grew sparse.
As the early morning hours crept in, a deep silence fell over the Grand Duke’s residence.
It was then.
The door to Lucillea’s bedroom opened once more, and someone entered.
Mei, who had been waiting by the deeply sleeping Lucillea’s side, was startled by the unexpected visitor and shot up from her chair.
“Your… Your Highness?”
“…”
Elbadin gave a silent nod.
“The child?”
“…”
Mei looked bewildered for a moment before shaking her head.
“She is still unconscious.”
“…”
Elbadin walked to the bed and sat in the chair beside it.
Mei excused herself to give them a moment, leaving the bedroom. Only Elbadin and Lucillea remained in the room.
A soft, steady breathing sound filled the air.
Elbadin’s gaze slowly drifted around the room. He paused, lost in thought, as he looked at the music box on the bedside table and the piece of cloth next to the pillow.
Then, he took a single flower he had brought with him and placed it in an empty glass vase on the table.
“You once said that coming to the glass garden put your mind at ease.”
Did she also say that looking at the flowers made her happy?
“Will you scold me for picking a flower you so cherished?”
“…”
“Fine. Wake up and scold me, then. I’ll listen quietly this time, without talking back.”
“…”
As expected, there was no reply.
Elbadin silently gazed at the sleeping child’s pale face before quietly rising and leaving the room.
The bedroom, with only Lucillea left inside, was utterly silent.
But it was not lonely.
On the bedside table, next to the pillow.
Gifts filled with various sentiments were waiting for Lucillea.
***
She was in a black void.
Her body felt as light as a feather one moment, then sank into a bottomless abyss the next.
‘Where am I?’
I was definitely in the training grounds with my master…
Following Noa’s instructions, she had tried to draw out the mana within her body.
Then, the mana inside her had flared hot, and her vision had flickered.
‘I don’t remember anything after that.’
What happened?
It was then.
As her consciousness faintly flickered, she heard someone’s playful voice.
“How long are you going to sleep?”
The low, gentle voice tickling her ear was pleasant to hear.
It felt somewhat nostalgic, yet somewhat sad.
An inexplicable emotion stirred in her chest.
At the pleasant complaint, her heavy eyelids slowly lifted.
As her vision cleared, the first thing she saw was the face of a man looking down at her.
She couldn’t see his whole face.
Just a few strands of black hair shimmering in the sunlight, a sharp and well-defined jawline, and the smile on his lips, which seemed to hold both amusement and a hint of trouble.
She could only see from his nose down, but that alone made her heart pound for some reason.
‘He’s handsome…’
Even without seeing half his face, she could tell how handsome the man before her was.
‘But who is he? I’m sure I don’t know him, so why does he feel so familiar?’
Frustrated, she tried her best to search her memories, but he was not a person she knew.
Just then, the man’s large hand reached out.
He carefully plucked a leaf that had fallen on Lucillea’s forehead.
The gesture was so familiar that Lucillea burst out laughing without realizing it.
At the same time, against her will, Lucillea’s mouth opened.
“How did you know I was here?”
Huh?
Lucillea was surprised. That was definitely not her voice.
Before she could even be startled by the words she had spoken, the nameless man chuckled and replied.
“Because I knew you climb the mountain whenever you have free time.”
“Oh, you know me well.”
“It’s only natural for a comrade.”
Hmph, Lucillea hummed before asking.
“Just a comrade?”
“…”
The corners of the man’s gently smiling mouth seemed to tighten ever so slightly.
Then, he smiled again and held out his hand to Lucillea.
It was a hand that was somewhat rough and rugged, yet sturdy and reassuring just to look at.
“Get up. We need to head down before the sun sets. Everyone is waiting for you.”
Then, once again, Lucillea’s body moved against her will.
Lucillea’s hand took the man’s large hand, and she pulled herself up.
Huh?
Just like her voice, the hand that held the man’s was not the size of a child’s.
No matter how many times she looked, it was an adult’s hand.
‘What is this?’
As Lucillea stared blankly at her hand holding the man’s, her vision darkened again.
The warmth of his touch and the scent of sunlight faded into the distance.
“Uh…?”
When she snapped back to her senses, Lucillea was in bed.
“What the.”
Lucillea shot up.
Owowowow!
A searing pain, as if every bone in her body was being crushed, shot through her from sitting up so suddenly.
Her stomach churned as if someone had scrambled it.
A cold sweat broke out on its own.
Lucillea clutched her stomach and looked around.
She was in her bedroom in the west wing of the Grand Duke’s residence.
“What, was it a dream?”
As always, it was not easy to recognize a dream for what it was while dreaming.
This dream had been the same.
‘Just a weird dream, I guess.’
What a strange dream…
‘Is it because I’ve never dated once in my past or present life?’
Though the dream was short and nonsensical, a small tremor in her chest lingered even after she had woken up.
It was then.
Cookie opened the cage door and flew out.
“Luluuuuu—!”
Cookie flew headfirst and crashed into Lucillea’s stomach in a hug.
Lucillea groaned in pain.
“Ugh!”
My stomach! My organs!
At the same time.
“Waaaaah!”
Cookie wailed sorrowfully, making a sound no parrot should be able to make.