~Chapter 12~
“Grandfather said that?”
“Yes, would I lie to you?”
No matter how Ruby thought about it, she still felt like Balt was joking.
“If you get better later, how about visiting him to say thank you?”
“Mm, sure.”
She still didn’t believe it, but Ruby thought she’d know if it was true or not once she met Duke Lux in person. So she answered vaguely.
“Um, is the treatment finished?”
A maid knocked softly on the door and spoke from outside.
“Yes, come in.”
Balt sent the doctor out while letting the maid in.
“I’ll come back tomorrow. If you feel uncomfortable before that, please call me anytime.”
“Okay, thank you.”
Even as he left, the doctor looked back at Ruby with concern.
As he left, the maid entered with a food tray.
Right behind her, Calix and Sasha followed quietly into the room.
“Calix, Sasha.”
Ruby smiled to keep the kids from worrying.
But they both clearly saw the thick bandages on her leg.
Even little Sasha could tell Ruby was seriously hurt.
The kids stood awkwardly at the entrance, watching the maid serve the food to Ruby.
“Did you both eat already?”
When Ruby asked, they nodded at the same time.
“Okay. Then would you help me eat?”
When Ruby reached out her hand, Calix and Sasha quickly ran over to her.
“Noona, what should I do?”
“Unnie, what should Sasha do?”
“Hmm, then will you feed me?”
Actually, Ruby wasn’t hurt in her arms—she could eat by herself.
But she wanted to help the kids feel less guilty, so she gave them a task.
Calix picked up a big spoonful of the carrot soup the maid had brought.
“Here, say ‘ahh.”
He imitated how Ruby usually fed Sasha.
Ruby smiled, tucked her hair behind her ear, and carefully took a bite of the soup Calix gave her.
“Mm, yummy carrot soup. Did you both eat this properly, too?”
She glanced at them with a teasing smile. Both nodded.
“I ate it all, noona.”
“Me too!”
“Good job, my sweet siblings.”
Ruby reached out and patted both of their heads.
“Does it hurt a lot, noona?”
Calix looked like he was about to cry when he saw the bandage on Ruby’s head.
“I’m not in pain. The bleeding had already stopped. The doctor said I’ll heal quickly.”
“What about here?”
Sasha pointed at Ruby’s leg.
Ruby had been hit in the thigh area.
Sasha had swung her wooden sword down and accidentally hit that spot.
Even Sasha knew she had hit hard, and that Ruby must be in pain.
But Ruby didn’t want to scare the kids by saying how badly she was hurt.
“The doctor is just being too careful; I’m fine.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I’m totally fine. They just wrapped it up really thick.”
She tried to move her leg to show she was fine, but the sharp pain stopped her.
Balt rushed over right away.
“Miss, you must not overdo it.”
Hearing that, Sasha’s eyes filled with tears.
“I’m sorry, unnie…”
She buried her face in the blanket and started crying loudly.
“Don’t cry, dummy.”
Calix tried to comfort her, but he sniffled too.
“Oh, come on, both of you. I said I’m okay!”
“I’m sorry, noona. It was my fault. I shouldn’t have played like that with Sasha…”
“Waaaah… Sorryyyy…”
“Calix, stop crying. Sasha too. If you keep crying, I might get even more hurt.”
Ruby pretended to be in more pain.
The kids instantly turned pale.
“Are you okay?”
Calix stopped crying right away and looked at her with worry.
“I’ll be okay if you both stop crying.”
Ruby handed a handkerchief to Calix.
He obediently wiped his tears and nose.
Balt also pulled out his own handkerchief and gently wiped Sasha’s face.
“From now on, no more dangerous games like that, okay?”
Ruby said firmly to the kids, who had now stopped crying.
“Okay, I won’t ever do that again.”
“Me too.”
“Good kids.”
Even though they caused trouble, Ruby could tell they were good children at heart.
She couldn’t believe these same kids would bully Maria in the future.
But she wouldn’t let that happen.
She’d make sure of it.
“By the way, could you bring Maria here?”
“Please leave Miss Maria to us. In your condition, it’ll be hard to care for her.”
Ruby realized they were right—she couldn’t move around well yet.
Even changing a diaper would take forever like this.
“Then I’ll leave her to you. But can I still see her face regularly?”
She trusted the maids to take care of Maria but still wanted to check on her herself to feel at ease.
“Of course. We’ll bring her often.”
“You really care for your siblings, even when you’re sick.”
Balt sounded amazed as he shook his head.
“I’m the only one they have left now.”
Ruby spoke with a serious face.
“But now you have Duke Lux too.”
“Well, that’s true.”
She still wasn’t sure if the Duke truly cared about the kids, but at least they had someone to rely on for now.
“Though I still need to prove my worth.”
Ruby smiled bitterly.
“Don’t worry. I believe you can do it, Miss Ruby.”
Balt gave her the same unwavering faith as always.
She didn’t hate that kind of trust.
“I’ll go thank Grandfather soon.”
“He’ll be happy to hear that.”
Duke Lux always had a cold, serious expression.
Ruby couldn’t even imagine what his “happy face” would look like.
But it was true she should thank him for sending the doctor.
Especially since she planned to live under his care now, she needed to build a good relationship.
“When we go to thank him, let’s take Calix and Sasha too.”
“Why?”
“He sent the doctor for me. Wouldn’t it be nice if you both said thank you, too?”
She also thought this might help score some points with the Duke, so the kids could live more comfortably here.
Calix didn’t look happy about it, but he nodded, still feeling guilty about hurting Ruby.
“Okay.”
“Sasha, too?”
“Okay.”
“Good kids. Come here for a hug.”
Ruby opened her arms wide, and the kids each hugged one side of her.
Balt looked at them with a touched expression.
***
Maybe it was because she was only ten, but Ruby recovered quickly.
In just three days, she could walk without canes.
“You heal so fast, it’s amazing.”
The doctor, who had first told her not to move around, now gave her permission after seeing she was truly fine.
Ruby didn’t want to just lie in bed when her time to prove herself to Duke Lux was rapidly running down.
As soon as she could walk again, she started exploring the mansion.
“Good morning, Miss Ruby.”
“Hello, Diana.”
Ruby had learned the names of the maids who came in and out of her room and became friendly with them.
“The roses are blooming so nicely today. Should I pick some and bring them to your room?”
“Hm, no—it’s okay. Sasha has a pollen allergy. But thank you for telling me.”
After chatting with Diana, Ruby headed downstairs.
“What would you like to eat today, miss?”
“Anything the chef makes is always delicious.”
She was friendly with the kitchen staff, too.
Little by little, Ruby was getting closer to everyone in the mansion.
Of course, she didn’t forget to care for her siblings.
As soon as her leg healed, she started taking care of baby Maria again.
She couldn’t be a mother, but she wanted Maria to feel like she had a loving family.
She also made sure Sasha didn’t feel left out while she played with Maria.
If she spent too much time with the baby, Sasha would start pouting right away.
So Ruby had to balance things carefully.
Sasha loved tough play, so Balt made her toys from special materials that wouldn’t break easily.
Still, Sasha’s strength sometimes broke those toys too.
Ruby also checked on Calix’s training every day.
Not the entire session, but enough to see how he was doing.
“Sir Hans, is Calix slacking off?”
“I’d be lying if I said no. He especially doesn’t like the basic physical training.”
“Oh dear…”
Ruby held her forehead.
“But he still follows along since the other knights are training too.”
She realized how important group atmosphere was.
Even Calix was behaving because of it.
While Ruby was admiring that fact, Balt walked up to her.
“Miss Ruby.”
His face looked much more serious than usual.
𓂃˖˳·˖ ִֶָ ⋆🌷Luna🌷͙⋆ ִֶָ˖·˳˖𓂃 ִֶָ
