CHAPTER~48
The drawings Mela had brought were several in number, and not a single one of them was ordinary.
At a glance, they even felt grotesque, sending chills down one’s spine just by looking at them.
The first drawing Mela and I saw depicted the shape of a person vomiting something.
The round object drawn was a teacup, and next to it, a vivid red color had been smeared.
Just as Mela said, it had to be blood.
Reia’s brother had been poisoned after drinking tea.
“Still, this is……”
The shock was so great that the words wouldn’t come out properly.
Rather than being a neat drawing style, it was made up of wildly scribbled lines and colors, impossible to describe.
One thing was certain.
The mental state of Reia, who had drawn this, looked extremely unstable.
“You’re saying all of these drawings came from under Reia’s bed?”
“Yeah.
They were crumpled up in the corner under the bed.
They were so far in that I don’t think the maids noticed them.
If they had, they would’ve cleaned them up!”
“You’re right, Mela.
Then there might be more drawings underneath.
……Reia probably kept drawing like this.”
“For now, when I rummaged around, there were only these three!
Should I put them back?
I couldn’t tell Reia about it……”
“Mm.
No, I think it’s better if we keep these.”
After some thought, I reached a conclusion.
It would be right to return them to their owner, but there was a chance they could fall into Grimora’s hands or someone else’s.
And if that happened, there was no telling what kind of situation would arise.
Still, if there was any relief to be found, the remaining two drawings were relatively ordinary.
“You know, Mom.
Reia thinks her grandmother hates her.
She thinks it’s only natural to be hated because she couldn’t protect her brother.”
Mela drooped her eyebrows sadly and even let out a sigh.
To think that such a young child believed it was only natural to be hated.
Just hearing it made my heart ache, so how much harder must it have been for Mela, who heard it right beside her.
I stroked Mela’s head and said,
“So that’s why you comforted Reia, Mela.
You did well.”
“Mm-hm.
But honestly, I don’t know if it really helped!
Oh!
And Reia seems to like Grimora, the nanny.”
“Really?”
The unexpected information made me ask back without realizing it.
Still, it wasn’t entirely surprising.
Grimora was known to be extremely kind and gentle to those around her on the surface, so perhaps she treated Reia the same way.
“She said that since Grandmother relies on and likes the nanny, she likes her too!
So even when the nanny gave her tea that makes her fall asleep, she drank it without complaining!
Reia is like an angel, she’s so kind.”
“……What?”
So she knew that the nanny was feeding her sleeping medicine?
Then it made sense why Reia slept all day.
If she drank the tea and also inhaled the sleeping agent through the flowers in the room, her body wouldn’t have been able to endure it.
She must have had no choice but to go limp and sleep.
But I never imagined Reia knew all along.
It was the most shocking thing I had heard so far.
Hearing that made me feel even more sorry for Reia.
The reason she had turned a blind eye despite knowing the nanny was deliberately putting her to sleep was probably Artemene.
Because Reia loved her grandmother.
After a short while, breaking the heavy atmosphere, Mela spoke brightly.
“So I decided to help Reia.”
“Huh?
How?”
“I want to let Reia know that Artemene doesn’t hate her.
What do you think, Mom?”
“Mm.”
Mela spoke so energetically that I almost answered yes without thinking.
That’s right.
Artemene didn’t dislike Reia.
If anything, she cherished her excessively.
That much was clear from a series of events.
“……”
But at the same time, I could understand Reia’s feelings too.
Why she came to think that way.
Of course, there was the shock of witnessing death, but as she felt her own condition worsening day by day like her brother’s, she must have fallen into deep despair.
When you’ve been lying in a sickbed for a long time, the hardest thing is watching your family suffer.
It must have been the same for Reia.
She must have seen her grandmother’s sorrowful face more often than her smiling one.
With the guilt of not being able to protect her brother and her health deteriorating, it was only natural for her to think her grandmother hated her.
“Mom?
Are you okay?
Your face suddenly went pale.
If you’re tired and I kept talking……”
More than anything, Reia’s 모습 made me recall my previous life without realizing it.
As I grew lost in my thoughts, Mela’s voice reached me.
I snapped out of it and smiled it off.
“No, it’s nothing.
So, did you think of any plan, Mela?”
“Mm…….
I thought about it, and I think the only way is to make Reia get better as soon as possible!”
“Right, right.
Then Mom needs to hurry and make the medicine.
That way, our Mela will also get better quickly and be full of energy.”
“Hehe.
I’m already full of energy!
Reia is the problem.
But, you know, Mom.
How did you know that old book was at the curio shop?”
“……Huh?”
How did she know I got it from the curio shop?
I’d never told Mela about that.
“……Th-that!
Loren told me!
When I tickled his side, he told me everything on his own!”
“So that’s Loren’s weakness.”
But how was I supposed to explain this?
I couldn’t exactly say I’d read it in a novel.
“Mm, well…….”
I racked my brain for a plausible excuse.
“Mela, you know I’m interested in pharmacology, right?
Of course, just as a hobby.
I once heard from Father that there was an old book containing all kinds of medicinal ingredients and formulas!
Since the curio shop deals in all sorts of items, I thought they might have it.
Haha!”
“Mm-hm, I see!”
Fortunately, Mela accepted it readily without saying anything else.
“I thought maybe, like me……”
Mela seemed to mutter something quietly after that, but I couldn’t hear it well.
“Hm?
What were you going to say?”
“Ah, nooo.
Nothing!
Mom, I’m sleepy now.
I have lessons tomorrow, so I’m going to sleep early!”
Mela shook her head vigorously and slipped right under the blanket on the bed.
I thought it was nothing important and tucked her in.
“Alright, lie down.
I’ll put you to sleep.”
* * *
Mela must have been extremely tired, because she fell asleep almost immediately after lying down.
I carefully covered her with the blanket so she wouldn’t wake up and quietly left the room.
“Still, thanks to Mela, I learned a lot about Reia.”
When I thought about it, I obtained quite a bit of information thanks to Mela.
Most of it was important information too.
These days, Mela sometimes seemed surprisingly mature.
I was glad she was doing well, but I was still worried.
Pushing those thoughts aside, I quickly entered my room and opened the drawer to put away Reia’s drawings.
“Wait……”
Just in case, I examined the first drawing again, and something I hadn’t noticed before caught my eye.
“Why is this flower drawn here?
I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere.”
Feeling a strange sense of dissonance, I hurriedly checked the other drawings again.
* * *
“Well, it seems a strange epidemic of unknown cause is spreading in the capital.
They say young children are suffering unexplained seizures.
Tsk, tsk.
What an ominous sign.”
“I hear that Second Prince Carlos is actively stepping in regarding the issue the imperial family has been keeping quiet about.
He may be young, but his spirit is truly impressive.”
“Ahem!
Indeed.
And yet His Highness the Crown Prince, who should be taking interest in such matters, is merely standing by and watching.
No wonder the empire’s authority is shaking.”
The disease that had been spreading like a trend recently was a major topic of interest even in the distant north.
Today’s council of elders was practically centered on that epidemic, with heated discussion going on for over thirty minutes.
“Come to think of it, I heard His Highness the Crown Prince and the Duke are close friends……”
At that, the faces of several elders who hadn’t known this fact turned pale in an instant.
The person concerned, however, was merely propping up his chin, radiating boredom with his entire being.
Before long, another voice was heard.
“If that epidemic spreads as far as Northcal, it will become yet another tragedy.
On top of that, the red moon has not risen, and the drought is already severe.”
The elders each let out sighs of lamentation.
Only Artemene maintained her silence.
“I fear this may disrupt the family banquet event.
We’ve held it every year, and if we can’t even do that, the gods will surely be greatly angered.”
At that moment, Anselmus, who had remained silent until now, interjected.
“Come to think of it, will Miss Reia not be attending the banquet this time as well, Lady Artemene?”
The sudden arrow aimed at her made Artemene’s eyebrows tilt sharply in displeasure.
“That’s understandable, isn’t it?
Reia has made excuses and skipped it every time.
I hear her health has worsened recently.
Has she perhaps fallen ill?”
No sooner had the words ended than Artemene slammed the table with a loud bang and rose from her seat.
“How dare you spread such nonsense!
Speak carelessly about my granddaughter again, and I will not let it slide.”
The atmosphere froze in an instant.
Since it was the first time they had seen Artemene so angry, the elders could only exchange nervous glances.
All except one.
“Then this time, she can attend together with Reia.
Isn’t it simple, Lady Artemene?”
