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Chapter – 48
“Panteibe…?”
The voice of the man in the mirror, who had previously sounded irritated, suddenly grew sharper.
“Yes. The princess that the leader has taken an interest in suddenly collapsed. The duke even summoned four doctors.”
“I see. But how did she collapse?”
“I heard it happened while she was using her power on a tree. She overexerted herself all of a sudden, and her body couldn’t handle it.”
“…Using her power on a tree?”
The man in the mirror murmured quietly, then his eyes gleamed.
“That means the child’s power affects even living things…”
He fiddled with the ring on his elegantly long fingers.
“Um… Leader.”
Dylan, holding his breath, carefully continued, gauging the man’s reaction.
“Did the information I gave you this time… please you?”
“Yes. Very much so.”
“That’s… a relief. Then, could you perhaps give me a new body?”
Dylan pressed at the inside of his arm as he spoke earnestly.
Though hidden by his clothing, his arm was rotting away.
It had been several sleepless days, tormented by unbearable itching and anxiety.
“It seems the time for your current body has ended. It’s time for a new one.”
“Ah, I see. You’ve had this body for about a year, haven’t you?”
“Yes, that’s right. So, for a new body—”
“Ah… it seems that dolls inhabited by souls don’t last long. Such a pity.”
At the lament in the man’s voice, Dylan’s eyes widened.
“Le-Leader?”
At that moment, a pale hand suddenly shot out from the mirror.
“Ugh… ugh!”
The white hand gripped Dylan’s throat tightly.
Gasping for breath, Dylan quickly went still.
At the same time, his body began to crumble into powder.
Amid the whitened bones, a round black orb rolled out.
The pale hand retrieved it and returned it to the mirror.
The expressionless eyes swept over the black orb in the hand.
“The key will be synchronizing the soul’s time with the body’s time.”
He still hadn’t found a solution.
If a soul is placed into a dead body, the soul’s time remains stationary, but the body’s time cannot resist decay.
Even if the soul enters, the body’s lifespan could be delayed slightly, but at most only two or three years.
At first, they tried using divinity to prevent the dead body from decaying—
“Divinity is useless against the dead.”
Only by using magic could they maintain it somewhat, but the current magicians’ power was weak, making even this method difficult.
It was truly a massive, insurmountable wall—
‘Perhaps that child could be the solution to this long-standing problem…’
So he wanted the child in his hands. He wanted to test the child’s power to see if it could help him.
But the child’s background was an obstacle.
‘If only it weren’t Panteibe, things would be much easier.’
Currently, Panteibe was too formidable.
With the empire’s most talented duke and the still-healthy elder duke guarding them, abducting the child would not be easy.
However,
‘There’s no such thing as impossible in this world.’
If one remained patient, the opportunity would eventually come.
After all, they had completed all preparations four years ago.
All that remained was waiting.
“Ah, I hope the day comes soon.”
His humming voice was full of delight.
“Surely it should be around here…”
I crouched in front of the lush green tree, reaching my hand into a crevice.
‘My arms are too short… I don’t think I can reach it.’
I pressed my cheek against the tree trunk and stirred my arm with all my strength.
“Ugh… just a little more…!”
As my cheek grew sore from pressing against the tree,
“There! Got it!”
Finally, I found what I was looking for.
I pulled my arm out of the tree crevice, holding a small box tightly.
“Phew… that was tough.”
Sweat was already streaming down my forehead.
I plopped down on the grass, staring at the small box in my hand.
Yes, I had found it… but still…
“…I didn’t really think I’d find it.”
After the hectic day yesterday, only this morning did I recall the ‘scene’ I had seen while using my power.
‘Perhaps the tree I saw in the vision was the one I repaired…?’
Thinking this, I had rushed to the tree to retrieve the box—the very box that a woman in the vision had hidden in the tree crevice!
Before coming here, I had considered telling the duke about the vision I saw and coming together, but—
‘I’ve never seen anything like this before.’
I had used my powers countless times in past experiments, but never experienced something like this.
Thus, I couldn’t be sure if what I saw was real.
‘I don’t want to be seen as a kid who sees hallucinations.’
I had just gained recognition from Louis and the elder duke, so there was no need to risk losing points.
After deciding this, I had come alone to find the box.
Ugh.
“How should I tell them about this…?”
I stared at the palm-sized box, lost in thought.
“You found this in the tree?”
“Yes! I remembered it from when I was using my power, so I went there and got it.”
Meloni answered Carlos’s question with a prepared response.
“Do you know what this is?”
“…I’m not sure.”
Carlos replied vaguely.
But he already knew about the box.
Click.
As the old man opened the box, his eyes began to redden.
“As expected. This is a letter that Charles hid for me.”
“Charles…?”
Meloni tilted her head at the unfamiliar name.
“Charles was my wife. She passed away over 20 years ago.”
Wife?
‘Then the woman I saw back then was indeed the elder duke’s late wife. I had guessed as much.’
The two children running around her, and the names she called them—
“I’ll write for you and Conti too, so when your father returns from inspecting the estate, you can read it together. Alright?”
That’s why he had brought this letter to the elder duke and no one else.
“She used to write secret letters and hide them in jewel boxes here and there. I never imagined there was a letter I hadn’t found.”
His trembling hands opened the box.
However—
“Oh no.”
The letters were so damaged that they were unreadable.
Some parts were wet and dried, others seemed to have been eaten by insects. There were even patches of blue-green moss.
“Well… it is a 20-year-old letter. This is to be expected. I wish I had found it a bit earlier.”
Carlos muttered bitterly.
“Wait!”
Meloni raised her hand, rolling her eyes in excitement and smiling widely.
“I can help fix it!”
“Wait… what?”
“Yes. I can fix it using my power!”
She had even repaired a nearly dead tree before. Surely fixing a letter should be easy.
Carlos’s eyes trembled.
He wanted to shout ‘Please do it!’ right away, but—
“Ah, no, can’t do it!”
“Wha—why?”
“You collapsed just yesterday from using your power! What if something happens if you use it again today?!”
Of course, he was desperate to read the letter immediately. But he had to resist.
Carlos, glancing at the letter with longing eyes, clenched them tightly and shouted:
“Anyway, that cannot—!”
Fwoosh—
“Ah, I already did it.”
“……”
“I’m fine, don’t worry. Woohoo!”
The child added awkwardly, sneaking a cautious glance.
