SUPER SIDE STORY 13…………………………………………….
Today was the day they were going boating with Selene.
Roselia and Ruamin were full of excitement because it was their first time going on a boat.
Of course, Selene felt the same way.
“Mom, hurry!”
“Dad, hurry!”
Roselia and Ruamin, who had already finished getting ready early, bounced up and down with excitement.
“Wait, Rosel, Ru.”
Arsene grabbed their hands.
If he didn’t hold them, it looked like they might run all the way to the lake.
Ivelina said,
“The queen hasn’t come down yet, so you have to wait patiently.”
Roselia and Ruamin nodded enthusiastically.
A few minutes later, Selene rushed outside.
“Sorry, did you wait long?”
“No, we just came out too.”
Ivelina shook her head.
The five of them got into a carriage together and headed toward the lake behind the mansion.
The lakeside looked exactly the same as the last time she had visited.
Perhaps because it was regularly maintained, there were no overgrown weeds, and the boat shone brightly.
Roselia jumped out of the carriage first and dashed off before anyone could stop her.
Ivelina widened her eyes in surprise at the sight of her running like a bullet, then chuckled.
She might fall, but it wasn’t an area where monsters or wild beasts appeared.
Ruamin got off a little later and ran after Roselia.
“Wow… this is amazing.”
Selene looked around with her mouth slightly open.
The grass swaying gently in the breeze and the large boat floating on the lake—
There was plenty of reason for the children to be jumping around in excitement.
After running around like little colts for a while, the children returned, panting.
Ivelina smiled.
“Shall we get on the boat now?”
“Yes!”
“Okay!”
Roselia and Ruamin answered at the same time.
“Come this way.”
Following Arsene’s gesture, the children trailed after him like baby chicks.
“The step is high, so I’ll lift you up.”
Arsene lifted Roselia and Ruamin up and placed them on the boat.
Roselia pressed herself against the railing, and Arsene warned her.
“Rosel, if you lean too close to the railing, you might fall.”
“Okaaay…”
As he said, the railing only reached about Roselia’s chest, so it was dangerous.
Reluctantly, she stepped back.
Only after Ivelina and Selene boarded the boat did it begin to move.
Originally, the boat had been one Arsene rowed himself, but since their family had grown, a larger boat powered by a magic stone had been built.
As the boat started moving on its own, Ruamin shouted in amazement.
“Mom! The boat is moving by itself!”
“It’s powered by the magic stone at the back. It’s dangerous, so sit down.”
At Ivelina’s gentle instruction, Ruamin—who had stood up excitedly when the boat started—sat back down.
Roselia, however, kept trying to stand up, unable to contain herself, so Arsene eventually picked her up and held her in his arms.
When the boat reached the center of the lake, it slowly stopped.
“Can we stand up now?”
“You can—but no running around, and don’t stick your hands outside the railing. Understand?”
“Yes!”
Ruamin answered energetically and jumped to his feet.
He immediately walked over to the railing and leaned over to stare into the lake.
The water was clear and transparent, so the bottom could be seen clearly.
Then he spotted a pretty, sparkling stone.
If he picked that up and showed it to his parents, they would surely praise him for finding something so beautiful.
Since he could see it so clearly, it seemed like he might be able to reach it if he stretched his hand just a little.
Ruamin hesitated and glanced back.
The adults were busy talking.
Roselia also wasn’t paying much attention to him.
Carefully standing on his tiptoes, Ruamin stretched his arm downward.
“Just a little more…”
The cold water touched his fingertips.
It was cold enough to make his body shiver instinctively, but Ruamin didn’t pull his hand back.
It really seemed like he could reach the stone if he stretched just a little further.
But what Ruamin hadn’t realized was that the lake was far deeper than he imagined—and the stone was in a place he couldn’t reach.
In truth, he wasn’t even touching it with the tips of his fingers, but Ruamin thought that if he stretched just a little more, he would reach it.
After thinking about it for a moment, he impulsively jumped.
His hand plunged deeper into the water, and Ruamin smiled brightly.
But in the next instant, his vision flipped—
and he fell into the water.
Ivelina and Selene had been chatting about things they hadn’t had the chance to talk about before.
They had exchanged letters many times, but it wasn’t the same as talking face-to-face.
Arsene couldn’t join their conversation because Roselia had dragged him away to show him something.
“Selene, are you seeing anyone yet?”
“Well… not yet.”
Selene cleared her throat.
Arsene knew she liked women, but Ivelina didn’t.
Selene knew Ivelina wouldn’t hate or reject her for it, but she still didn’t feel like talking about it.
She thought she would mention it if the opportunity arose someday and quickly changed the subject.
“Actually, there’s something I’m curious about.”
“What is it?”
“Well… when you first found out you were pregnant, how did you feel?”
“Hm…”
Ivelina thought for a moment.
“I was very happy. It felt miraculous. In the beginning, my stomach didn’t show at all, so it was strange to think there was really a life growing inside me.”
“I see.”
“Actually, I didn’t know they were twins until I gave birth.”
“What? Really?”
Ivelina laughed softly and nodded.
“Yes. My stomach was bigger than most pregnant women, so there was a chance it could be twins, but we couldn’t know for sure.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”
Selene nodded thoughtfully.
She was about to ask how the birth had been when suddenly—
Splash!
Everyone’s heads turned toward the sound.
“…Ru?”
Ivelina slowly stood up.
The place where the sound came from—where Ruamin had been—was empty.
Her eyes trembled with anxiety.
Ivelina hurried to the railing.
She could clearly hear splashing.
Ruamin was in the water, struggling.
“M-Mom! Mom!”
“Ru!”
She screamed.
Ivelina felt her vision turn white.
Her body lost strength and she staggered, and Arsene quickly caught her.
“Ivelina!”
“Ru… we have to… we have to save Ru.”
She panicked.
She could use magic—but her mind had gone completely blank, and she couldn’t remember anything.
Beside them, Roselia began sobbing loudly.
Arsene rushed to jump into the water.
But Selene moved faster.
She leaped into the lake in an instant.
Her movement was clean and precise.
Ruamin was drifting farther from the boat as he struggled, but that posed no problem for Selene.
Even though her clothes must have been cumbersome, she swam quickly toward him.
“Ruamin!”
Ruamin was starting to sink after swallowing a lot of water, but Selene quickly grabbed him.
Then she returned to the boat almost immediately.
Selene laid Ruamin down on the floor, and Ivelina rushed forward with tears streaming down her face.
“Ru! Ru! Open your eyes! My baby!”
His face was pale, and his entire body was ice-cold.
Seeing Ivelina panic, Selene spoke calmly.
“I think he swallowed a lot of water. We need to do artificial respiration. Excuse me.”
Selene quickly positioned herself.
She gently tilted Ruamin’s chin upward and pinched his nose.
Then she took a deep breath and blew air into his mouth.
Ruamin’s chest rose.
She repeated it several times.
Suddenly Ruamin coughed violently, and water poured out of his mouth.
The bluish color of his face slowly returned to normal.
“Oh my goodness, Ru!”
Ivelina grabbed Ruamin and hugged him tightly, bursting into tears.
Selene collapsed onto the floor and let out a sigh of relief.
Ruamin, now fully conscious, began crying loudly as well.
When he cried, Roselia—who had barely stopped crying—started crying again.
In an instant, the boat was filled with tears.
The boating trip ended immediately.
They didn’t even eat the lunch they had planned and returned straight to the mansion.
Noah, surprised to see them return earlier than expected, widened his eyes.
But after noticing Ivelina’s red, tearful eyes and the soaked clothes of Ruamin and Selene, he quickly understood the situation.
“I will bring Anais.”
Arsene nodded.
He hurried upstairs carrying Ruamin.
Ivelina followed behind in a panic.
They quickly changed Ruamin’s wet clothes and dried him off.
Just then, the door burst open and Anais rushed in.
She was the family’s personal physician and had accompanied them to the capital for that reason.
Anais immediately began examining Ruamin.
After checking him carefully, she let out a quiet sigh.
Ivelina asked anxiously,
“What’s wrong? Is something wrong?”
“No, he’s fine. Because someone quickly performed first aid and he expelled the water, there’s no damage to his body. However…”
“However…?”
Anais pulled the thick blanket up higher over Ruamin.
“The lake water is very cold. The young master is shivering badly… I’m afraid he won’t be able to avoid catching a cold. It would be good to warm him with hot water.”
“I see… Thank you, Anais.”
“Then I’ll prepare some medicine.”
Anais bowed slightly and left with her bag.
Ivelina let out a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the chair beside the bed.
