Chapter 23…………….
Kiernan lifted Kyler up with ease and set him down on the other side of the fence, flashing him a grin.
“After you finish your lesson with Miss Eurenia!”
“Okay! I will!”
Kyler answered confidently while tightly holding Eurenia’s hand. Then he waved goodbye to Kiernan.
“See you tomorrow, Kiernan!”
“Review what you learned today in your head! Got it?”
Kiernan winked and tapped his temple with a finger. Eurenia gave him a small nod of greeting before walking toward the mansion with Kyler.
Under the blazing sunlight, Eurenia opened her parasol to create shade for the child.
Kyler hummed cheerfully as he strode along energetically.
“You look especially happy today, Kyle. Was sword practice that fun?”
“Well, actually…”
At Eurenia’s question, Kyler stopped walking. After glancing around cautiously, he gestured for her to come closer.
When Eurenia bent down and offered her ear, he cupped his hand over his mouth and whispered.
“My mom’s birthday is coming up.”
“Really? When is it?”
“The 12th! So I’m going to give her a present.”
“Have you already decided on the gift?”
“Hehe. Yeah.”
Kyler shrugged slightly with a shy smile, then lowered his gaze bashfully.
What could it be?
Eurenia tilted her head while looking at him. A rosy blush spread across Kyler’s cheeks, unable to hide his excitement.
“So the gift is…”
“What is it, Kyle?”
Kyler twisted his body nervously. After hesitating for quite a while, his lips finally parted.
“…A letter.”
“A letter?”
“Yeah. I can write now, right? So I’m going to write a letter to my mom.”
So that’s why he was so excited today.
A gentle smile spread across Eurenia’s face.
When she had first learned that Kyler couldn’t write yet, Eurenia had promised that one day she would help him write a letter to his mother.
Since that day, Kyler had practiced writing every single day without fail. As a result, he had completely mastered spelling and now had better sentence skills than most children his age.
That was thanks to reading books every night before going to bed.
She had wondered why he was so determined to learn writing.
But it turned out that the reason was simply because he wanted to write a letter to his mother.
“Teacher, you’ll help me, right?”
“Of course!”
Eurenia nodded firmly. Then she tilted her head and asked,
“But Kyle, you’re already very good at writing now. Is there anything I can help with?”
“What if I write something wrong?”
“But you can even read difficult newspaper articles.”
“This is the first letter I’m giving my mom. I’m really nervous…”
Kyler fidgeted with both hands clasped together. Eurenia looked at him warmly.
“I promised I’d help you, didn’t I? Let’s write a wonderful letter that will surprise your mother when she reads it.”
“Thank you, Teacher!”
Only then did Kyler beam brightly, his worries melted away. Eurenia straightened up and took his hand again.
* * *
“…This isn’t enough.”
In a storage room of a mansion within the imperial palace’s annex.
Maeve muttered while staring at the boxes stacked in the storage. Her face looked gaunt as she checked the herb inventory.
“To think that drying 1 kilogram of Bellamo only leaves a handful.”
Bellamo.
Bellamo was a medicinal herb known to help purify mana, and fresh herbs were also used as food.
With its distinctive aroma and flavor, the herb was an extremely expensive ingredient, comparable to truffles.
People even called it “gold that grows in fields.”
But the price meant nothing to Maeve.
If it was for her child.
“At this rate, it’ll be cutting it close.”
Maeve’s insides burned with anxiety.
What she needed wasn’t fresh herbs, but dried Bellamo. It had to be burned as incense.
However, even if she bought a large amount of fresh herbs, the quantity shrank drastically once dried.
Thanks to the emperor’s favor, she had managed to obtain more dried Bellamo, but even that wasn’t enough.
“The Bellamo purchased from the Eastern Continent is scheduled to arrive next week. I’ll carefully calculate the amount so the incense won’t run out until then.”
“…Alright.”
Maeve gave a faint smile at Nadia’s words.
In truth, Bellamo wasn’t particularly effective for Lillian’s illness. At most, it slightly suppressed the mana raging within the child’s small body.
Still, it was better than nothing.
Despite pouring countless medicines and spells into her, they had been unable to stop Lillian’s mana rampage.
That was why Maeve had to stay by the child’s side day and night, pouring her own mana into her.
Otherwise, the immense mana that the child’s small body couldn’t bear would devour her.
“How is Lily? What’s she doing right now?”
“Fortunately, her seizures have eased compared to this morning. But she lost consciousness again.”
“Tell the physician not to stop burning the incense. Say that I’ll find more somehow.”
“Yes, my lady.”
After giving the order to Nadia, Maeve left the storage room.
She had come down because she was anxious about the Bellamo supply running out, but even the short time away from Lillian made her uneasy.
Maeve, the Marchioness Dalton, was also an aide to the emperor. Having been granted the title of marchioness as the emperor’s goddaughter, she had taken leave from her duties after Lillian fell ill—thanks to the emperor’s consideration.
Still, she couldn’t stay away from work forever, so today she had planned to have an audience with the emperor.
But just then—
Right when Maeve was about to depart for the emperor’s palace, Lillian had another seizure.
The tiny five-year-old child coughed up blood while tears streamed down her face.
The sheets of the large bed were stained red, and pain swirled in the child’s blue eyes that resembled her late husband.
Maeve couldn’t bring herself to leave.
How could she go while her child cried out for her mother?
So she committed the disloyal act of making the emperor wait. Yet he understood generously.
The emperor wasn’t displeased at all and sympathized with Lillian’s illness as if it were his own family’s matter.
‘Hugo is deeply worried as well. Maeve, you look terrible. Is there anything I can do to help?’
Maeve had declined, but he was stubborn.
The emperor gave her Bellamo from the imperial warehouse and even granted her the special privilege of privately summoning the High Priest from the temple.
“Nadia, the High Priest will be visiting soon. His Majesty granted special permission.”
“The High Priest?”
Nadia was greatly shocked at the news.
The empire’s temple was a sacred place that literally served the gods, and the High Priest moved only for the imperial family.
Ordinary citizens couldn’t even approach the temple, and meeting a priest—let alone the High Priest—was nearly impossible.
To summon such a person for Lady Lillian.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Nadia said,
“That’s wonderful news! The High Priest is just as skilled in magic as the Tower Master. If the High Priest comes too, Lady Lily will surely recover.”
“Yeah.”
Maeve replied weakly as she headed toward Lillian’s room.
Seeing that the emperor had even allowed the High Priest to be called, it seemed he felt guilty for not paying enough attention when Lucien had fallen ill.
But Maeve didn’t resent him.
Back then, everyone believed that Lucien—young and strong—would soon recover from his sickbed.
However, the mana rampaged with terrifying force and devoured his life.
Having immense mana wasn’t always a blessing.
Sometimes, it could be more terrible than any curse.
Maeve had learned that painfully back then.
Mana was as cruel and merciless as a starving beast.
Until the High Priest arrived, would Lillian be able to survive without being devoured by her mana?
Please—just endure one more day.
Hoping she could survive today and see tomorrow, Maeve headed toward Lillian’s room.
But then—
“Ugh… hic—cough! Hack!”
When Maeve entered the corridor where Lillian’s room was, an ominous sound echoed from afar.
“Lily!”
Maeve’s face turned pale instantly as she called the child’s name and ran toward the room.
If you want, I can also summarize Chapter 23 or explain the characters and plot so far, which makes this scene much easier to understand.
