Chapter 010
“Ah, Mom!”
When Ronschka called out cautiously, Adele turned around with a smile.
Was it the sunlight streaming through the window? She seemed to be glowing.
“Ronschka.”
Mom hadn’t changed yet. She wasn’t the cold woman who used to look at him indifferently in the past. Without the witch’s influence, she was kind and always reassured him that everything was okay.
Ronschka grinned and stepped closer, holding out a bouquet.
“A- a gift.”
“Oh my, is this for me?”
Adele took the bouquet with a soft smile and smelled the flowers. Her gentle expression made Ronschka beam, staring at her with a wide grin. But then, he saw her expression change. Wrinkles formed on her smooth forehead, and her eyes widened in concern.
“Ronschka, what happened to your hand?”
Ronschka held out his hand and explained.
“I- I fell.”
“How?”
“While running.”
“You need to be careful.”
Adele looked at him with worry, placing the bouquet down to gently hold his bandaged hand. She carefully examined it and then kissed the spot softly.
“Get better soon, my dear son.”
It was a simple gesture of care, something many mothers might do. But Leon, who had been watching from outside the room, felt an ache in his chest.
He just felt pain, an unfamiliar feeling that made him retreat and run away.
After running for a while, Leon finally managed to catch his breath in his room.
“What was that pain?”
Muttering to himself, Leon glanced outside and noticed Lucas searching for him.
“Ah, that’s right!”
Leon quickly dashed out of his room to find Lucas.
“Master! I’m here!”
“Leon, did you take care of Ronschka’s injury?”
“Yes, it’s all treated.”
“Good.”
Lucas looked relieved, but seeing that expression made Leon’s chest tighten again. Was something wrong with his body?
He lightly patted his chest, shaking his head. If it got worse, he’d see a doctor. Right now, the important thing was focusing on the training that his master had assigned to him.
As Leon followed Lucas, he glanced back momentarily. His eyes fell on the open window of the room where Ronschka and his mother were. For a brief moment, his expression grew unreadable before he turned away again.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
“A skilled swordsman and a knight.”
That had been Leon’s dream ever since his parents passed away and his relatives took everything from him.
A knight protects the weak, respects ladies, and serves his lord. He wanted to become a great knight and reclaim his family name.
So, he had to work hard. Leon made that decision as he followed Lucas.
But recently, he had been having strange thoughts.
Ronschka was nothing like Leon. He was blunt and cared only about his mother. No matter how kind others were to him, he barely acknowledged it.
Even towards Lucas, his master, his attitude remained distant, and it seemed to have worsened recently.
After training, covered in dust and sweat, Leon found himself watching Ronschka, who was picking flowers as usual.
Since his mother woke up, Ronschka seemed to be doing better—healthier, happier. He’d gained weight too. The other day, Leon saw Ronschka’s mother gently coaxing him to eat, praising him when he finished his meal.
I eat well too, Leon thought, he felt a strange jealousy toward him.
Meanwhile, Ronschka finished arranging a clumsy bouquet.
Hesitating for a moment, Leon decided to speak up.
“You know, there are prettier flowers on the south side of the garden.”
“Prettier flowers?”
“Yeah, roses. They’re really beautiful.”
Ronschka glanced at his nearly finished bouquet, then looked at Leon.
“Where?”
“Over there. I’ll show you.”
Their master, Lucas, liked roses. But his favorite was the Blood Rose, known for its sharp thorns. No one but the gardener was allowed near them because they could easily cause injury.
Still, Ronschka always acted as he pleased, and Leon found himself justifying his intentions. Yet, as Ronschka moved toward the roses, Leon panicked.
“Ronschka!”
Leon ran after him, grabbing his hand just as he reached for the roses.
“Actually, these roses are dangerous.”
“D-dangerous?”
“They have really sharp thorns.”
Hearing that, Ronschka quietly stared at the roses, still holding Leon’s hand.
“I-I can burn them.”
Thanks to Lucas’ lessons, Ronschka had learned to handle small flames. Carefully burning away the thorns was tricky, but he thought he could manage.
“No. These are Master’s roses,” Leon insisted.
Ronschka frowned, as if to say, Why should I care? That expression stirred up a storm of emotions within Leon.
“No,” Leon repeated firmly.
“W-why not?”
“Because they belong to Master.”
They argued for a while. Then, suddenly, Ronschka reached for the rose with an angry expression.
Leon didn’t know what made him act that way, but when he saw it, he unintentionally shoved Ronschka aside.
Ronschka fell to the ground with a thud, and only then did Leon realize what he’d done.
He opened his mouth to apologize, but before he could, a hot burst of flame struck his hand. It was Ronschka’s spirit.
The guilt he’d felt was quickly replaced by anger.
“Ronschka!”
“Why-why are you yelling at me?!”
“You just attacked me!”
“You-you pushed me first!”
Ronschka wasn’t wrong. In fact, he was completely right, which only made Leon feel more embarrassed. His face flushed red with frustration.
“That’s because…!”
Leon started to make excuses but stopped. Clenching his fists, he stared at the ground, his teeth grinding.
What was I about to say?
He realized he had been trying to blame Ronschka and justify his own actions. Was that honorable? No, it wasn’t.
He knew he should apologize, and help Ronschka up, and make things right. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
The weight of his emotions felt suffocating.
And then, they were caught.
Standing nearby, watching everything, was Adele.
‘Why her?’ Leon thought, his heart sinking. He would have preferred Lucas or even the maids like Madeline or Quiche to witness this instead. But not Adele.
Leon clenched his hands tightly, staring at the ground.
“Ronschka?”
Adele’s soft voice called out as she hurried to Ronschka’s side, kneeling beside him.
Maybe she thought he had fallen on his own, Leon hoped. But Adele, having experienced the corporate world in her previous life, quickly pieced together what had happened.
“Leon pushed Ronschka,” she realized.
Adele tried to stay calm. Leon was Lucas’ disciple, and though Ronschka had recently started training with them, nothing was set in stone yet. That uncertainty made Adele even more anxious.
“Ronschka, let’s get you up,” she said gently, helping him to his feet and dusting him off. Ronschka smiled, enjoying the care his mother gave him.
Even in this situation, he managed to smile. Adele felt both pity and affection for her son.
Tears welled up, but she held them back. Turning to Leon, she noticed he was trembling.
Madeline’s words came to mind.
“Leon is a good boy. But sometimes, he tries so hard to be good that it seems to hurt him.”
Adele looked at Leon thoughtfully, her heart aching for the boy. Then, a loud rumble from Ronschka’s stomach broke the tension.
Growl.
He must have been hungry. Ever since he started training with Lucas, his appetite had grown, and he often got hungry quickly.
Adele reached out her hand to Ronschka, who naturally placed his small hand in hers, making her heart swell with warmth.
Ah, right.
Adele then extended her other hand to Leon.
