“Lobel… Ah… My daughter… Lobelia…! Where the hell are you, my daughter…!”
“Calm down, mother. Lobel will be back soon. She’s not the kind of child who will get easily beaten.”
Robert comforted his collapsed mother and swallowed a heavy sigh.
It’s been three months since Lobelia disappeared, leaving only one letter—.
The house was turned upside down.
At first, he thought his sister, who was always mature, was suddenly playing a foolish prank.
The birthday present and all the things are left in the room, so there’s no way she’ll just disappear like that.
However, no matter how long he waited, his sister didn’t come back. There was not even a trace.
There was only one letter left on the desk, stating that she would travel to the destination she had wished to visit and ask them to wait for her. There was no news after that.
People in the family were blood dried by nature.
No matter how smart she is, she is only sixteen, and she is also a native of this city. She didn’t know what dangerous things she would get involved in other cities.
Because of that, his mother couldn’t do the merchant job properly and gave up food and drink, and his father even paid a lot of money to ask the White Shadow Guild.
‘I’m… going crazy!…I’m going to go crazy at this rate!’
Robert, who suffered the most in the aftermath, wrapped his hair.
His sister had already disappeared, his parents were in danger, and in this chaos, he had to take over even the merchant.
The temporary merchant owner’s position really had nothing to do with his will.
It was because he wasn’t greedy and didn’t have any objective qualities.
On the other hand, his younger sister was cautious as if she had matured, and she had exceptional sense in many ways as a merchant owner.
He even thought, in vain, that he would have preferred to disappear and that Lobel should stay.
‘But— I feel sorry that other merchants helped. If I had been alone, something really bad would have happened.’
Robert sighed heavily.
Fortunately, the nearby merchants heard the news and raised their hands, and the merchants, which had been trading for more than 30 years through his father’s generation, also showed their strength.
Thanks to this, he successfully completed the black magic stone trade that his parents had wanted to import for a long time.
Recently, he was busy signing every document even before he properly figured out what the items were coming in at the merchant, so he was grateful for the help.
“Please get some rest in your room.”
It was hectic to solve the problem, but taking care of his mother was his priority.
Robert entered the mansion with his mother hanging around in the garden.
As she entered the room, he looked depressed.
Even in this wealthy city, by far the largest mansion seemed desolate with each passing day.
It’s because he doesn’t have his younger sister, who always stirs up the house.
With bitter steps, Robert stood in front of his sister’s door.
[Robert Oraboni, would you like to make a bet with me?]
Still, he thinks his younger sister will laugh frivolously and touch the gold coins with her hand.
But when he opened the door, the empty room was filled with silence.
Robert’s shoulders drooped because he couldn’t bear the heavy atmosphere.
He soon covered his face with both hands.
“Lobelia…”
A voice mixed with resentment came out between the fingers.
“Where and what the hell are you doing right now—”
******
The Young Master had more problems than motion sickness on the long journey.
Perhaps the life of the running carriage was uncomfortable. He struggled when he fell asleep.
Even after he woke up, when he moved his arms, his face hardened as if he was trying to find where had been severely hurt.
“Are you okay?”
“…Ung.”
When asked with concern, he nodded—but he didn’t look okay at all.
It was the same today.
I leaned against the back of the carriage and looked anxiously at the Young Master sweating.
He almost lost his mind now—. I can’t let this happen.
‘…I need to get some medicine.’
It would be difficult to get a proper medical examination because there are no doctors, but I must have stocked up on regular medicine.
I was about to knock on the window to stop the carriage, Rimson Hyung, who was watching from the opposite side, jumped up.
“Here. It’s not medicine.”
Hyung, who was always trying to get out of the way, walked out with both arms and went out first.
“I’m a hippo.”
He approached us and pressed the Young Master’s shoulder and arm with a serious look.
The thick, rough fingers moved surprisingly well.
Seeing the Young Master’s expression, who had not yet woken up, gradually loosened, it seemed to be effective.
Wow. I guess he learned this while working as a mercenary.
Looking at him curiously, I asked.
“Hyung-nim. Can’t you tell me this separately too?”
“…Enough. It’s enough for one person to tell this.”
One person? Isn’t this more about giving than telling?
More than that, Rimson Hyung muttered with a tired face, saying that it was beyond his ability.
At the same time, he took good care of the Young Master’s condition until the end.
‘—It seems you two have become really close lately?’
Rather, the two of them would often leave whenever the carriage stopped, saying they had to go to the bathroom and take a bath.
This made me feel both sad and curious at the same time.
The excuse is that the Young Master is making an alibi that he is no different from an ordinary person, but what is a bath? I can take him all the way to the lake.
Also, the two often talked about something with their eyes. Obviously, there must be something I don’t know.
‘—Well, it will be fine.’
I could have listened carefully to find out what it was, but I didn’t and just shut my mouth.
At least if it’s Rimson Hyung, he’s not the one who will harm the Young Master.
On the other hand, I felt relieved.
I am leaving soon. Even if not right now, the importance of others besides myself had to be high on the Young Master’s side.
If he depends on me for everything, the Young Master’s shock will be great when I disappear.
I wished that there would be many people who would be by the Young Master’s side and take care of him.
‘—By the way, the person of closest blood is still like that.’
I looked at the Duke’s distant back with tired eyes.
As soon as he arrived at the mansion, he headed for the front door. It was a very elegant and leisurely walk, as if there was no motion sickness.
It looked so—annoying.
He must have heard at least a little bit of the Young Master’s story from his aide, but he won’t even look at his own son.
‘It’s the same even after he brought him here. Is he not worried about our Young Master?’
But maybe the father and son had some resemblance in appearance and inside?
Our Young Master didn’t change either. He didn’t seem to care at all what his father was doing. There was no sign of sadness.
The Young Master got off the carriage and looked around the townhouse for a while with a strong summer scent.
Although he was sitting in a wheelchair, he didn’t look like a sick person, thanks to his upright posture and strong eyes.
I felt relieved to see it. It was fortunate that the first thing the new servants saw was a good impression.
Soon, the servants, including a young butler, who seemed clever, approached and bowed their heads to the Young Master.
The Young Master didn’t show any indifference like before and even greeted them briefly.
It was like a true nobleman who could come out of a fairy tale.
‘Wow—. Our Young Master has grown up really well.’
If it weren’t for the Crown Prince, it would be no exaggeration to say that he would really grow up to be the best groom here.
My mouth was itchy. My proud smile seemed to be leaking, so I gently lowered my head.
Then, I suddenly wondered while touching the Young Master’s wheelchair for no reason.
‘—The Young Master seems to be a little taller?’
As I kept looking at the back of the Young Master’s head, it didn’t seem to be just my feeling.
In the past, when I was behind a wheelchair like this, I had to lower my head a little more to see the back of the Young Master, but now I could see it well just by looking down a little.
So, it means that the Young Master has definitely grown in height.
I heard from the doctor that his condition was getting better quickly, but I didn’t expect that he would grow taller.
‘Does it have anything to do with being on the same leg?— Then it might be as big as the Duke later on.’
For a short moment, I pictured the Young Master as an adult. I’m sure he’ll look even better—and he’ll be a lot taller.
It’s definitely going to be a great handsome guy who’ll go down in history even though it was a bit disappointing to leave without seeing it with my own eyes.
‘But later— If I ever get a chance, I’ll try to sneak a look at him from a distance.’
However, since he is the Young Master who will live in the Imperial Castle, I don’t know if there will ever be an opportunity.
On one thought or another, the butler guided us.
I push the wheelchair and carefully examine the internal structure explained by the butler.
“This place also follows the structure of the Denkart mansion.”
As the saying goes, the furniture and accessories here felt more new than those of the original estate, but the location of the entrance and the stairs were definitely the same.
It was also said that it was inconvenient because I couldn’t push the Young Master’s wheelchair.
Rimson Hyung held the Young Master because it couldn’t be helped, and I took the wheelchair and went up the stairs.
The eyes of the servants as they watched the Young Master climb up in the arms of the servants changed slightly.
I followed quietly, hoping that the Young Master didn’t notice that much.
“Now, this is the Crystal Room.”
The Young Master’s room is on the second floor like before.
One wall had a large window with a view, and the terrace was in the same location.
The furniture that the sensible aide had sent by a carrier pigeon in advance or prepared for the Young Master stood out.
There was still a peculiar smell of new furniture. Even though all of the windows were opened and ventilated, the smell didn’t seem to have completely gone out.
I sniffled my nose and looked around, then my eyes lit up.
‘Oh—. Isn’t this a special product I haven’t seen in our city?’
It was interesting to see white foreign furniture, not antique furniture, at the old Denkart residence.
‘When people go out, I should try touching it.’
But the butler did not come out easily because he wanted to make a good impression on the Young Master.
“If you need more or need to change anything, please let me know. Oh, and that string—”
It’s boring, it’s boring—.
While holding back a yawn, the Young Master suddenly looked back.
“Lobel, how is it?”
And he asked me in a voice mixed with tension and anticipation for some reason.
“Do you like this room?”
—Suddenly, I was wide awake.
It was because the gaze of the butler and the servants in the hallway was also focused on me instantly.
Rimson Hyung, who was among them, said with an expression, ‘I knew this would happen.’
When I looked blank without answering anything, the Young Master actively asked.
“Why? What don’t you like? Should I tell him to change the wall lamp?”