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Chapter 5
After hearing my answer, Belkas stayed silent for a moment before mumbling quietly.
“…I’ll try ta like Witch-nim little by little too.”
At that moment, emotion welled up inside me. Children really did have such big hearts.
Even though he had every reason to hate me, Belkas was slowly forgiving me and opening up to me. I felt so grateful that my eyes unknowingly reddened a little.
“…Thank you for trying.”
As I gently stroked the head of Belkas, who had buried his face against my shoulder, I felt my shoulder growing damp again somehow.
After some time passed, the rain stopped.
I quietly looked at the sleeping Belkas in my arms and smiled faintly.
‘Belkas really resembles both his mom and dad.’
After coming here, I had happened to see a portrait of Isiana Glade, the mother of the three siblings, and I could tell that Belkas’s nose and lips resembled hers.
Though I wasn’t sure which parent he got those mischievous eyes from.
‘To think this child grows up to become a 9-circle mage.’
Among the genius siblings of the century, the youngest, Belkas, would one day become the first 9-circle mage in the history of the Hellarium Empire.
The problem was that he grew up to become a rather twisted… no, an extremely twisted mage.
Hot-tempered and ruled by his moods, Belkas always prioritized his feelings above all else. He had clear likes and dislikes. And as his mana grew stronger, his affection for humanity decreased in equal measure. If something displeased him, he killed without hesitation.
Because of that, he was eliminated from becoming the next Magic Tower Master, but since he was the one and only unprecedented 9-circle mage, no one could lay a hand on him. Even the future emperor had to personally beg him whenever asking for favors.
Of course, Belkas was uniquely gentle toward his siblings. That seemed to be a common trait among the Glade siblings.
Maybe it was because they had all suffered through gloomy childhoods because of Sierra.
Anyway, the future candidate for Magic Tower Master and future 9-circle mage was sleeping peacefully in my arms. Not wanting to wake him, I carefully carried him out of the greenhouse.
If I walked a little farther, I’d reach the main building. I planned to take Belkas there and then return to the annex where I stayed.
But there was one thing I had overlooked.
Both Belkas and I were covered in mud and looked like drowned rats.
“M-My lady? Your clothes…? W-Wait, isn’t that Young Master Belkas you’re carrying? Why are the two of you together…?”
As soon as I approached the main building, the butler Aiden spotted me and hurried over in shock. His eyes darted between Belkas’s sleeping face and mine.
“Shh, Aiden. The child’s asleep. We happened to meet, but then it started raining… Ah, Belkas injured his knee. Please treat that first.”
“Understood, my lady. Jason, come here and carry the young master. My lady, please head into the main building and change your clothes as well.”
After handing Belkas over to Jason, whom Aiden had called over, I waved my hands and declined.
“No, it’s alright. My clothes are all in the annex anyway. Please take care of Belkas first. Then I’ll be going.”
I turned to leave, but then remembered something and looked back at Aiden with a small smile.
“Ah, when Belkas wakes up, please tell him it was nice meeting him.”
“Understood, my lady. But you might catch a cold on your way back, so… please at least take this.”
Aiden’s expression subtly changed at my request, but he soon handed me a shawl.
I was already freezing, so I gratefully accepted it.
Before leaving, I unconsciously looked around the main building.
As expected, it was incomparably more luxurious and elegant than the annex I stayed in.
The silver deer sculpture wrapped in laurel leaves embedded at the center of the building reminded everyone that this was the Glade family’s estate.
After watching Belkas disappear inside, I turned around and walked for about twenty minutes before reaching the annex.
The moment I arrived, I was greeted by the loyal servant I had temporarily forgotten about.
“Jane? What happened to your face?”
As if her tear-and-snot-covered face didn’t matter at all, Jane grabbed onto me and immediately started scolding me.
“My lady, where have you been? D-Do you know how worried I was? Oh dear, what happened to your clothes?”
While dusting off my mud-covered dress, Jane spoke in a sulky voice.
I stared at her before letting out a small laugh.
Because in this place, Jane was the only one who worried about me.
That was why even her nagging didn’t feel unpleasant.
“Why are you laughing? My heart nearly dropped! Do you know how terrified I was thinking something happened to you?”
“Alright, alright. I’m sorry. I got distracted following a very cute rabbit. It’s cold, let’s go inside.”
“A rabbit? My lady, you hate animals though. First, wash up in warm water. You’re hungry too, right? Once you’re done, have some warm soup.”
“Okay. Thank you, Jane.”
By now, Jane no longer reacted with shock whenever I complimented her. Instead, she simply smiled softly and left the room after closing the door.
After she left, I sank into the bathtub filled with warm water.
“Haa… this feels nice.”
As I relaxed in the warmth, even letting out a sound like an old man enjoying a sauna, the tension naturally melted from my body.
“Belkas… was so adorable.”
I had thought I’d never even get close to the children in this place.
So maybe meeting Belkas today was a kind of luck.
The moment I recalled his cute face again, a soft fluffy feeling bloomed in my chest.
“…I should treat him well from now on.”
What about the other children?
What kind of wounds had Sierra left on them?
Could I heal those wounds?
Could I become a good… mother to them?
‘A mother… me?’
In my previous life, I’d never even had children. I wondered whether I could really become a good mother to them.
More than that, I wondered whether the children could even accept the changed me.
‘Even if I can’t become their mother… maybe I can at least become a good adult for them.’
I needed to treat the children kindly to avoid the route where they brutally killed me, but more than that, as one person to another—and as an adult—I genuinely wanted to guide them down the right path.
After sorting through my complicated thoughts a little, I finished my bath and ate the soup Jane had brought me.
“Jane, let’s go out to the shopping district tomorrow.”
“What? My lady, you got soaked in the rain today. What if you catch a cold? Please just rest tomorrow.”
“No, there are things I need to buy.”
“Then let me go do the err— Ah, goodness. If you look at me like that, what choice do I have? Fine, we’ll go.”
When I frowned slightly at Jane’s attempts to stop me, she immediately gave in and nodded.
As expected, the villainess passive skill was amazing. Even a slight frown made me look intimidating.
Fluffing up my pillow, Jane looked at me curiously.
“But what are you going to buy? The newest jewelry collection?”
“No. I just need materials to make something.”
Jane stared at me in horror.
“M-Materials? My lady is… making something? No, just leave things like that to me!”
“No! I have to make this myself. Ah, it’s a gift for the children.”
At the word “children,” Jane looked even more stunned.
Was that really so shocking?
“F-For the young masters and young lady? Gifts? My lady, are you sick? I’ll call a doctor!”
I calmed Jane down as she started overreacting again.
It seemed strange to her that someone who had never cared about the children before was suddenly taking interest in them.
Once she finally settled down, she asked,
“But have you thought about what you’ll make?”
“Hm, that’s the problem. I want it to be practical and something they can keep. Maybe I should make dolls?”
Jane shook her head.
“Only Young Master Belkas would play with them. Young Lady Briana and the eldest young master are far too old for dolls. Ah! What about accessories? Apparently it’s trendy these days to enchant them with blessings or magic before giving them as gifts.”
“It’s not like I can do metal crafting… Still, accessories sound nice. I’ll think about it.”
The two of us stayed up late discussing what I should make before finally falling asleep.
But despite all our passionate brainstorming, it ended up being completely useless.
Because I came down with a terrible fever and cold and couldn’t even get out of bed.
Cough, cough.
Maybe it was because I got soaked yesterday, but I couldn’t stop coughing.
Jane looked at me worriedly as she placed a cold towel on my forehead.
“You already had a weak body. I should’ve known the moment you came back soaked in the rain… This is my fault.”
“How is this your fault…? Cough.”
I wanted to tell her it wasn’t her fault, but the constant coughing stopped me from finishing my sentence.
Haa… Maybe Sierra was one of those frail, delicate beauties after all? One rainstorm and she ended up with a high fever and a cold.
Wait. If I caught a cold, then didn’t Belkas catch one too?
The thought suddenly struck me, and I tried to sit up, but Jane quickly pushed me back down.
“Why are you getting up? You need complete rest when you’re sick.”
“Haa… Jane, send someone to the main building and ask about… the youngest young master. Whether he’s alright.”
“You mean Young Master Belkas? Why are you suddenly worried about him?”
“We happened to meet yesterday… If I caught a cold, then Belkas probably did too.”
“Oh my? Then the rabbit you mentioned yesterday was Young Master Belkas?”
Instead of answering, I simply nodded.
Honestly, I didn’t even have the energy to speak.
The physician had come earlier and left me fever medicine and cold medicine, but the mild fever and body aches still remained.
“Understood, my lady. Please rest.”
After fixing my blankets again, Jane turned toward the door to leave.
At that moment, loud commotion erupted outside.
“Dooon’t waaant toooo!!! Let me gooo!!!”
“Young master! You mustn’t! Her ladyship cannot see you right now!”
Hearing the voice of a child throwing a tantrum along with the servants trying to stop him, I slowly sat up with a bad feeling.
Then, the moment Jane opened the door—
Soft silver-gray hair came into view.
“Bel…kas?”
Why are you here?
