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Chapter 15
“[Miss…?]”
Fortunately, this time Meidillion’s response was a little more positive.
As if Meidillion could actually see her, Winter nodded enthusiastically.
“Of course! I’ll definitely come to see you.”
[All right. I’ll wait.]
At last, hearing the calm reply, Winter let out a sigh of relief.
It felt as though she had somehow managed to survive a dangerous crisis.
[But Miss, how did you know that I would awaken my mana?]
“Huh? O-Oh, well… that’s… um…”
The crisis returned almost immediately.
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Winter’s eyes darted around in panic before she blurted out the first excuse that came to mind.
“T-The Wizard! The Wizard told me—”
Unfortunately, she never got to finish.
The moment the words ‘The Wizard’ left her mouth, Aisel broke into a bright smile.
The instant she saw that expression, an inexplicable sense of dread crept over Winter.
That grumpy person is smiling? Why?
[I thought so before too, but the Wizard is truly amazing. He healed you, Miss, and even created something as incredible as this.]
“R-Right? Hahaha.”
Winter forced an awkward laugh and looked away.
Yet she could still feel Aisel’s sparkling gaze fixed stubbornly on her from beside her.
Thinking it would be dangerous to continue this conversation in front of him, she hurriedly called out.
“Um, Mei?”
[Yes, Miss.]
“It’s time for me to take my medicine now. Let’s talk again tomorrow.”
[All right, Miss.]
Hearing his calm voice, Winter smiled softly.
She had worried endlessly after hearing he was such a crybaby, but seeing that Meidillion seemed to be doing much better made her both proud and relieved.
“Good. Don’t skip your meals, okay?”
[You too, Miss.]
Soon the communication stone’s light faded.
Silence returned to Winter’s room.
“Hmmm.”
“H-Haha…”
Before she realized it, Aisel’s shining eyes were right in front of her.
“W-Why are you looking at me like that?”
“The Wizard is quite incredible, isn’t he?”
“W-What do you mean?”
“He accurately predicted the exact timing of a mana awakening that even a Great Sage couldn’t possibly know. And from the beginning, he even knew who would awaken mana. Isn’t that remarkable?”
Winter clapped her hands together in exaggerated admiration.
She even put on the brightest childlike smile she could manage.
“Wow! You’re right! That’s really amazing!”
“Stop pretending, you little colt.”
“Pretending about what…? I was just worried about Mei, so I came up with an excuse that sounded believable…”
Was this what it felt like to sink deeper into quicksand the more you spoke?
At Aisel’s irritating chuckle, Winter couldn’t even finish her sentence.
Now leaning comfortably against his chair, Aisel’s eyes darkened as though recalling a distant memory.
“Do you know the very first thing my master said when we first met?”
“What was it…?”
“’I heard a promising wizard had appeared, so I came to see… but your hair isn’t black.’”
“…”
“Those were his exact words.”
At the time, Aisel had been called the once-in-a-century genius destined to succeed the Great Sage.
She was more exceptional than anyone else.
More talented than anyone else.
The entire world praised her.
Yet the Great Sage who appeared so late merely looked at her and muttered in disappointment.
Even as a child, it had wounded her pride so deeply that she could never forget those words, no matter how much time passed.
“The Great Sage Erquil Monestie made seven prophecies. Some are known, while others remain secret. My master entrusted one of those prophecies to me.”
Winter slowly edged backward.
It wasn’t a calculated decision.
Instinct alone told her that hearing what came next would be dangerous.
“One born with the mana to swallow the world… the raven with golden eyes. That one is…”
Like the guardian of hell, standing with the moonlight behind her, Aisel smiled brilliantly.
“’The One Who Escapes the Ending.’”
The words sounded like a divine sentence descending from the heavens, making Winter’s shoulders flinch.
The One Who Escapes the Ending.
For some reason, those words seemed strangely connected to everything she was trying to accomplish.
Meanwhile, Aisel looked down at the small child crouching before her.
Large golden eyes filled with unmistakable fear.
Black hair steeped in darkness.
This child resembled the Great Sage’s prophecy so perfectly.
Why had she appeared before her?
Why did she keep unsettling her heart like this?
Absurdly enough, Aisel realized the feeling resembled jealousy.
And so she laughed even louder, as though mocking herself.
“I think the raven from that prophecy… is you.”
“H-Hahaha… N-No way…”
“So, just as I promised, I’ll do everything I can to keep you alive, little one. Go ahead and struggle with all your might.”
Winter’s eyes widened.
Only moments ago she had been laughing awkwardly, but now she simply stared at Aisel with a completely unimpressed expression.
“Actually… I don’t need that.”
She had been terrified hearing talk about ravens and escaping endings.
But after all that…
All Aisel wanted to say was, I’ll save you.
Caught completely off guard by the response, even Aisel looked genuinely bewildered.
“What? Don’t you… want to live longer?”
Winter answered with a quiet sigh.
“Of course I’d like to live. But I know even the Wizard can’t do it.”
Winter Vladimir would die once her mana awakening was complete.
She intended to change Meidillion’s life—and already was—but she had never expected her own fate to change as well.
It would have been wonderful if somewhere in the novel there had been even the slightest clue that she could survive.
But the Great Sage’s prophecy…
And everything about The One Who Escapes the Ending…
All of it sounded like nothing more than wishful thinking.
Especially when Aisel had already given up trying to cure her in the original story.
Winter didn’t want to cling to false hope now.
“As long as I’m not in pain, that’s enough.”
About eight more years would be enough.
Even if they weren’t, she would make them enough.
“…Even without me, that child will do just fine.”
After promising to save her, Aisel apparently hadn’t been making empty boasts.
She prepared a large supply of medicine before throwing herself into research.
Meanwhile, although Winter was practically confined to her room, she continued thinking of every possible way to help Meidillion.
The first person to confront Winter was none other than Duke Vladimir.
“No.”
“Mother!”
Winter pleaded for Meidillion to be allowed to return to the main estate.
She didn’t even need to meet him.
She simply wanted him to be allowed back.
Naturally, Duke Vladimir rejected the request without hesitation.
“As long as I don’t meet him, it’ll be fine. I promise I won’t. Please?”
“No matter how many times you say that, no means no.”
“Sigh… Why? Why not?”
“Because keeping that child close will bring nothing but trouble.”
Winter’s expression immediately changed.
If Duke Vladimir merely thought Meidillion was the stable keeper’s insignificant son, she never would have said something like that.
If…
If Duke Vladimir had already realized Meidillion was the Crown Prince, then he wouldn’t be allowed to remain in this castle much longer.
For generations, House Vladimir had stood in direct opposition to the Imperial Family.
The Ironblood Duke who represented the House of Nobles.
The infamous villain who clashed with the Emperor at every opportunity.
That was the master of House Vladimir—Ophelia Vladimir.
That was precisely why Winter had hurried to make contact with the Jenima Merchant Company before.
But now, her plans had changed.
As long as she herself remained trapped within the duchy, she needed to make use of not only the Jenima Merchant Company but also every bit of House Vladimir’s power.
After a brief silence, Winter revealed her own hand first.
“I know he’s the Crown Prince too.”
“You…”
Clearly shocked by her words, Duke Vladimir’s eyes widened.
“I’m not asking for anything else. Just let him stay here… until he’s grown enough to take care of himself.”
Even after Winter died…
Meidillion would still need a strong shelter protecting him.
Seeing the desperate look in her daughter’s eyes, Duke Vladimir’s resolve wavered.
After a long silence, she let out a deep sigh.
Winter’s face immediately brightened.
Whenever her mother sighed like that…
“…You won’t complain no matter how I put him to work?”
…it usually meant she was giving permission.
Watching her daughter already beaming with joy, Duke Vladimir put on a stern expression.
“I don’t raise freeloaders who can’t even earn their own meals.”
“Of course! As long as Mei agrees, anything is fine!”
Winter wasn’t worried in the slightest.
There wasn’t a more capable man in this world than Meidillion.
“I bet he’ll earn his keep far better than you think, Mother.”
She nodded enthusiastically as though it were her own achievement.
Watching her, Duke Vladimir’s expression gradually softened with sorrow.
“My child… when did you become so mature?”
For a ten-year-old, Winter’s words and actions had become astonishingly adult.
Of course, it was all thanks to remembering her previous life.
But Duke Vladimir had no way of knowing that.
Looking quietly into her mother’s eyes, Winter smiled sweetly before telling a convincing lie.
“The Wizard said he’ll soon find a way to save me. So I won’t die, Mother. You don’t have to worry so much.”
Comforted by the gentle words of the daughter who had always been nothing but kind to her, Duke Vladimir swallowed back her tears and nodded.
“All right. I believe you.”
