Chapter 51
No matter how quietly she held her breath or strained to listen, Abelline couldn’t hear a sound.
‘What…’
A massive iron door suddenly opened, sending a slight shiver down her spine.
But she couldn’t turn back now.
‘Ah, whatever.’
Abelline summoned her courage and pushed the iron door with a little more force.
To her surprise, it opened more easily than she had expected.
Cautiously, she stepped inside.
—Clank!
As both of her feet crossed the threshold, the door slammed shut behind her.
Once fully inside, an overwhelming sense of pressure seemed to pour down onto Abelline’s back.
She had read in books that great archmages often set all sorts of traps in their homes.
Of course, Theron wasn’t an archmage, but he still possessed immense magical power.
‘Well, let’s go.’
She couldn’t just stand still forever.
Abelline took a step forward. Luckily, nothing happened.
“Phew.”
A sigh of relief escaped her lips.
However, there was one problem…
“Where does this even end?”
The fact that the path to the mansion’s entrance was still so far away weighed heavily on her.
And it was her first time seeing a mansion entrance designed as a forest rather than a garden.
When she had told the coachman to take her to Duke Rieves’ mansion, he had been so terrified that he had practically run off, leaving her at the entrance.
Perhaps she should have just ridden straight in.
With a soft thud, Abelline eventually collapsed to the ground.
Not only was walking exhausting, but trying to find her way through the dense trees was nearly impossible.
Far ahead, the outline of the enormous mansion shimmered like a mirage, almost taunting her.
The sun was slowly setting.
‘Maybe I should have listened to Ares about taking the horse.’
Perhaps this was a punishment for her pride in not notifying anyone in advance.
Should she just turn back now?
Her mind raced with conflicting thoughts.
“Haa.”
“Ah, I wondered who it was.”
Suddenly, a shadow fell over Abelline from above.
Looking up, she saw a face shaded against the sunset.
“That… is you?”
“Oh, you remember my face?”
The person appeared genuinely pleased.
It was the same man who had been with Theron when he had raided Abelline’s mansion the last time.
And the same man who had grabbed Ares by the neck in the alley.
“Barom.”
A man with long red hair draped over one shoulder introduced himself casually.
“Ah.”
“You must be Miss Herols.”
Abelline hesitated, unsure if she should introduce herself, but Barom went on as if he already knew.
“How do you… know that?”
“You came through that iron door by yourself, didn’t you?”
Before she could finish her question, Barom answered as if it were obvious.
“Anyway.”
Barom looked down at Abelline sitting in front of him.
‘Huh.’
Abelline swallowed nervously as she looked up into Barom’s red eyes.
While Crown Prince Cerio’s eyes were also red, they were different from Barom’s.
If Cerio’s eyes were a vivid blood-red, like a high-grade ruby, Barom’s were darker, more muted.
The sunset blazing behind him made the color even more intense.
After staring at Abelline for a while, Barom took a step back.
“I’ll guide you to where Ther is.”
He then turned and began walking ahead.
His slow pace seemed designed so Abelline could keep up.
As they went deeper into the forest, the garden and mansion gradually came into view.
‘What is this?’
Another curious sight appeared.
‘A maze?’
One corner of the garden had a small maze formed by tall hedges.
“Go in.”
Barom spoke, surprising Abelline.
“Go in there?”
She asked incredulously, and he nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“He’s in there now. We’ll meet again later, yeah?”
With that, Barom lightly pushed her from behind.
Abelline, startled, stepped into the maze without thinking.
“Wait!”
She tried to turn back, but Barom had already vanished.
‘When did he disappear?’
He moved so quickly it was as if he had never been there at all.
Looking ahead, Abelline saw the maze.
Covered in thick foliage and leaves, it looked eerie even in daylight.
She worried that if she stepped incorrectly, the bushes might lash out at her.
But she had come too far to turn back.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
Summoning her courage, she stepped further into the maze.
Thankfully, nothing happened, just like when she had pushed open the iron door.
She kept moving forward.
“Duke Rieves…!”
She called out repeatedly, hoping to find Theron, but there was no sign of him.
‘Did I even come to the right place?’
The maze confused her, and she began to feel uneasy when she couldn’t find him.
‘Am I being tricked?’
Should she turn back now?
Her worries continued until a small clearing appeared.
A single bench sat in the grass, and someone was lying on it.
‘Could it be…’
As Abelline approached carefully, she saw the person resting with a book on their face.
It seemed they had fallen asleep while reading.
Could this be Theron? She stepped closer and paused when she saw the title.
‘…This is strange.’
“The Hateful Five-Year-Old, Not as Scary as You Think!”
When Abelline lifted the book, she finally saw the person’s face.
It was none other than Theron, asleep while studying “the hateful five-year-old.”
As she fully removed the book, his face was revealed under the sunlight.
‘He’s really handsome.’
Bathed in sunlight, Theron’s face seemed to glow.
His fair skin, sharp sculpted nose, long eyelashes, and faintly pink lips—all in perfect proportion.
“Duke.”
Abelline carefully called his name.
But Theron didn’t stir.
“Um… Duke?”
She poked his shoulder twice with her finger.
“….”
Still no response.
‘How deeply is he sleeping?’
As she studied his sleeping face, her gaze shifted back to the book in her hand.
“Teaching ‘No Means No’ to our child… like this…?”
The book’s content matched its unusual title.
It was about understanding children’s feelings and how to respond when they throw tantrums.
“Why would he read a book like this…?”
Abelline’s thoughts suddenly flashed back to her previous dream.
‘No way…’
It was likely because she had taken on the form of a child in that dream.
“No, no way…”
…but she realized, yes, it was entirely possible.
‘This is insane…’
Abelline swallowed hard, her eyes fixed on the sleeping Theron.
‘If I hit him now, would he even notice?’
She remembered how startled she had been by some of Theron’s strange remarks before.
Now seemed like the perfect opportunity.
If she missed it, who knew when she would get another chance.
Her curiosity almost got the better of her, but she cautiously glanced around.
She was relieved that Barom wasn’t nearby.
‘Don’t wake up…’
Just as she raised her hand to give him a playful flick,
“Ugh…”
A sound escaped from Theron’s lips.
‘Oh no, did he hear me?’
Abelline quickly withdrew her hand, her feet tingling nervously as she watched him.
“Uuumm…”
Theron continued to move his lips, seemingly uncomfortable.
Was the sunlight bothering him?
“Sniff…”
Again, a sound came from his lips, but it carried emotion, not just sleep noises.
‘Wait.’
Looking closer, she saw moisture glistening in his eyes.
He was clearly having a bad dream, moving his lips as if trying to speak.
‘Should I wake him?’
Abelline hesitated, unsure what dream he was having, but it was definitely unpleasant.
She gently shook his shoulder.
“Duke?”
“Mother…”
A single word escaped Theron’s lips.
‘Mother?’
Abelline knew that Theron’s mother had died in a tragic accident when he was very young.
‘Is he dreaming of his late mother?’
Tears streamed down Theron’s face.
Startled, Abelline quickly tried to remove her hand from his shoulder.
“Ugh…!”
Theron suddenly gripped her wrist with strong force.
