Chapter — 42
Not every story ends with a happy ending. Rosebell knew that very well.
Still, the Duke tried his best to explain things in the gentlest way possible. In short, her mother had protected the orchard with her power—but she had passed away.
“Taking responsibility for everything is admirable,” Rosebell said. “But not thinking about the people left behind is a bit… disappointing.”
The Duke was taken aback by her words. Throughout the story, her expression had barely changed, which worried him even more.
People say that when someone receives a great shock, they sometimes feel nothing at all.
The Duke thought Rosebell might be in that state. As he struggled to figure out how to comfort her, she spoke again.
“I think I understand what Father is worried about. But I’m different from Mother. With this power, I’ll protect our family—and you, Father, and the people.”
“Ah….”
“But to protect others, I need to take good care of myself first, right? So please don’t worry.”
Hearing his daughter say she would not walk the same path as her mother eased the anxiety in his heart, at least a little. But Ariel had once said the same thing.
She had smiled brightly and told him not to worry. And yet, in the end, she sacrificed herself for everyone.
He sincerely hoped that such a thing would never happen to his daughter.
“Actually, there’s something I wanted to tell you, Father.”
“What is it?”
“I found a strange ink shop in Ritten.”
“Oh! I know that place too. After the old woman there passed away, I stopped buying ink in Ritten.”
“…What?”
A chill ran down Rosebell’s spine. It might not be the same shop—but the clear, shining eyes and the delicate hands came back to her mind.
“What’s wrong?”
“I bought ink from that shop.”
“You did? But the old woman died quite some time ago… Did she have any family?”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Her eyes were too clear. And her hands were so fine.”
“The old woman’s?”
“Yes. It felt like she was wearing a shell. And for some reason, the townspeople treated the shop as if nothing was strange.”
“The residents, you mean?”
“Yes.”
“So you’re saying we should have someone look into it?”
“I think that would be best. But since rumors could spread, we should use someone very skilled.”
“Of course. Leave that matter to me.”
“I will. I’ll also look into it in my own way.”
“I’ll allow it—on the condition that you promise not to do anything dangerous.”
“Of course.”
Holding apple cores with only the seeds left, the two of them stood up from their seats. The fog was clearing. It seemed like it would be another hot day.
When flowers bloom, bees gather. And right now, it was summer, when flowers were in full bloom.
The scent of acacia drifted in on the breeze, and the apple blossoms were slowly falling.
That meant the fruit would soon set. From now on, it would be a time that required a great deal of human care.
“Father, what happened with the paper purchase I mentioned last time?”
“Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about…”
“Yes?”
“Marquis Ophelia wants to see you.”
“Me? Why?”
The Duke smiled awkwardly. Still, it didn’t seem like a serious problem. If it concerned her safety, he would have handled it himself.
“If you go, you’ll find many interesting things. There should be plenty of paper you’ll like, so it might be good to look around.”
“Alright… If you say so, Father, I’ll go.”
“She said she won’t sell the paper unless you come.”
“Then I’ll definitely go. Don’t worry!”
Realizing that the Duke had been away for several days because he personally visited the Marquis, Rosebell felt curious.
“Did you two usually keep in touch?”
“Not so much with me… Your mother visited her more often. But after Ariel passed away, their contact almost stopped.”
“I see.”
“Yes. But I understand her feelings. She lost her one and only friend.”
Hearing this, Rosebell thought she understood why the Marquis wanted to see her.
She probably wanted to find traces of her mother in Rosebell’s face. Sadly, Rosebell didn’t know her mother’s face at all—not even a single portrait remained.
“Then why isn’t there a portrait of Mother?”
“Ah….”
Caught off guard by the question, the Duke froze. The reason there were no portraits in the mansion was because of Rosebell when she was young.
As a child, Rosebell loved her mother deeply and couldn’t accept that she no longer existed. In the end, the Duke made a painful decision and removed all the portraits from the mansion.
He never imagined that as she grew, Rosebell would come to resemble Ariel so closely.
Seeing a daughter who looked just like her—from head to toe—was both a wound and a hope to him.
It made him vow never to lose her as he had lost Ariel.
“If you want, I’ll bring them out again.”
“You didn’t put them away because it was too painful for you, did you?”
“Of course not.”
In truth, if even one day passed without seeing her portrait, the Duke felt a dull ache deep in his heart.
His one true love. Ariel, who sacrificed herself to protect the man she loved and who loved her.
Knowing that she, too, had seen him as her only love made the feeling even more painful.
“Then please bring them out again.”
“You want to see them?”
“I’m curious too. It feels unfair that I’m the only one who doesn’t know what my strong mother looked like.”
“Strong?”
“That’s what the spirits said. They said Mother was strong.”
“I see…”
Hearing that the spirits—not anyone else—had said this left a bitter taste in the Duke’s mouth. They would know better than anyone what Ariel’s final moments were like.
And yet, they had appeared again. That meant what happened before could happen again.
How much had they told her? And how much had Rosebell herself experienced?
The subject was far too heavy to bring up carelessly. He feared that if he spoke of it, his daughter might feel afraid and want to run away.
“You seem to have grown quite close to the spirits.”
“After going through something big, I think we became closer.”
“Something big?”
Rosebell hesitated for a moment, but seeing the Duke’s expression, she knew she couldn’t lie.
Besides, she had already mentioned what happened in Ritten.
And if she was lucky, she might gain more information.
“I used purification power in the Demetra territory. They said it’s only possible when you use the spirits’ power all at once.”
She spoke as calmly as she could, but she still watched the Duke’s face closely.
After all, he had lost his wife using that same power. She needed to be careful.
“Then… why didn’t you contact me?”
“Pardon?”
“You must have collapsed after that! Why didn’t you contact me?!”
The Duke’s angry voice boomed like thunder. Rosebell swallowed hard and lowered her gaze.
Her heart raced. Is this what it feels like to have a father worry like this?
She had never experienced it before, and strangely, it made her a little happy. Being worried about by someone felt good.
“Well… I got caught in the rain too much…”
“Rain?”
“Yes. I’m sorry I couldn’t contact you right away. But after the purification, I collapsed, and after Aren carried me down, I slept for three whole days…”
As he listened, the Duke felt dizzy. Ariel had gone through the same thing several times.
And the fact that purification was needed meant there had been a corrupt force.
He was afraid that the same tragedy might happen again.
“If you slept for three days, that means your body was under enormous strain! Why didn’t you tell me something so important?!”
“I was going to tell you. But you were away… and I needed some time to sort out my own thoughts.”
The Duke was left speechless. It was true that he hadn’t been able to focus on Rosebell because of matters outside.
Between the issue of succession and the paper purchase from Marquis Ophelia’s estate, he had been completely absorbed.
Everything has an order, but the Duke had thought everything needed to be solved as quickly as possible.
And this was the same mistake he had made when Ariel was alive.
He had almost repeated it again.
