Chapter 23
The child who had inherited all of his abilities had grown up suffering among people who knew nothing about the truth.
But look! Now he had grown into a proper young man who could handle spirits skillfully.
“Hahaha!”
Heirin laughed. If Ronschka was truly his own blood, things would be much easier.
There was no need to tie him and Rosaline together in the future. Rosaline could simply fulfill her original duty—strengthening the bonds between noble families.
The thought put him at ease. Albert seemed curious at his master’s sudden good mood, but asked nothing. His lord’s happiness was his own happiness.
“What a strange twist of fate.”
The Lucas he had disliked so much had ended up saving his child and the child’s mother. Then he had even let them stay in his mansion, which led to them meeting again. What kind of fate was this?
So… when should I reveal the truth?
It would be easier to say it in front of everyone.
No—before that, he should meet Adele alone. She had definitely recognized him but pretended not to.
Now that he knew everything, she wouldn’t be able to act like that again.
“Then, I’ll meet her first.”
Heirin decided to go find Adele.
The sky was cloudy. Adele looked up at the gray sky while flipping through documents, then felt a sting in her finger. She looked down—she had gotten a paper cut.
She had been sorting papers after sending Ronschka to his training, but clearly her mind had been elsewhere.
“Phew…”
She sighed, stacked the documents neatly, and stood up. She planned to stop by the clinic for some ointment and then go see Ronschka.
With a confident stride, she left Lucas’s study.
In the past, Lucas hadn’t let her work without his supervision, but now he seemed to trust her more.
He even let her come and go from his study alone—that made her feel a little proud.
It’ll be fine.
She tried to calm her anxious, pounding heart as she walked—until she ran into a familiar face in the hallway.
It was Heirin.
Her heart raced with a bad feeling, but she couldn’t just walk past without acknowledging him.
Adele lowered her head politely, as if to a stranger, and tried to walk by without stopping.
But Heirin didn’t let her.
“Adele.”
He called her name with a sweet smile.
Her breath caught instantly.
Don’t call me that. You’ve already forgotten me—so keep pretending you don’t remember.
She swallowed the words rising in her throat and turned to face him.
“What is it, my lord?”
“What is it? Really?”
Heirin smiled, lifting the corners of his mouth. Once upon a time, she had thought that smile was beautiful. Now, it only frightened her.
“Don’t you remember me?”
Of course she remembered. That was why it hurt so much.
She wished she could forget everything. Even if her past-life memories had returned, the memories of this life still tormented her.
She remembered how Heirin had smiled at her, what he had said to her back then. The memories replayed over and over, making her chest ache.
If she could, she would cry and shout—asking why he had abandoned her, why he had done it.
But Adele held herself back.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
For Ronschka’s sake—and for her own.
At her words, Heirin stepped closer, looking straight into her eyes.
“I’m not the kind of face people forget easily.”
That was true. Even the foolish Adele of the past had fallen for that face, carried his child, and waited for him all her life—never realizing that to him, it had been nothing more than a one-night amusement.
“You really don’t remember?”
His lazy voice brushed her ears. In another situation, she might have called it seductive.
“Or are you pretending not to?”
A shiver went through her. He knew everything.
After all, Ronschka resembled his father more than his mother. Even with the burn scars, he had a lovely face. Heirin couldn’t have failed to notice.
Thinking that everything was already exposed oddly made her feel calmer. Still, she had no intention of telling the truth.
“I truly don’t know you.”
She answered firmly.
“That can’t be.”
Heirin’s eyes narrowed slightly as he tried to coax her into telling the truth—telling her that now was her chance. He wanted to trick her into admitting it.
“Ronschka is my child, isn’t he?”
But Adele had endured too much pain to be swayed by that. It was far too late.
If he had appeared before her memories returned, maybe things would be different—but not now. No persuasion would work on the Adele of today.
“No. Ronschka’s father is dead.”
You are already dead to me. You died long ago.
To her, the man standing in front of her was nothing more than Rosaline’s father—a man she had met only once. Thinking that way made her heartbeat steady again.
“…Dead?”
“Yes.”
For the first time, Heirin’s smiling face twisted. Looking at this woman calmly declaring his death made something boil inside him.
In the past, she had clung to him so desperately—and now she was like this?
Not knowing what to say, he stayed silent, and Adele tried to walk past him.
On impulse, he grabbed her wrist. It fit perfectly in his hand—too thin.
Was it always like this before?
He couldn’t remember. His old memories were just fragments.
“Let me go.”
Her cold voice cut through his thoughts. She looked at him without the slightest change in expression.
“That’s rude.”
Rude? Once upon a time, she had begged him for attention. Heirin’s lips curled into a mocking smile.
“So, pretending not to know makes you feel better?”
Adele bit her lip and tried to pull her hand free, but a woman couldn’t easily overcome a man’s strength.
Her desperate struggle sparked his interest.
It used to be so easy.
Just as he was about to speak again, a familiar voice interrupted.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
From the end of the hallway, Lucas strode quickly toward them and twisted Heirin’s wrist.
Heirin, who had never neglected physical training, found himself in pain—because his opponent was one of the top knights.
The moment his grip loosened, Adele pulled her hand free and Lucas moved to stand in front of her.
Watching that made something churn inside Heirin.
“Was it a mistake to expect you to behave yourself in my mansion?”
Heirin shook out his wrist with an annoyed look.
“I think I’ve behaved well enough.”
Lucas’s expression darkened.
“You call harassing someone staying in my home ‘behaving’?”
“Harassing?”
No—if anyone was being unreasonable, it was that woman. Treating him like a dead man, pretending not to know him.
And now she was standing behind Lucas, being protected. He liked none of it.
Maybe that was why the words slipped out before he could stop himself.
“Adele, how long will you keep pretending? Am I the only one who remembers that day?”
At his words, Adele’s face went pale.
“Enough.”
Lucas stopped Heirin from saying more.
“Why? I can’t even speak for myself? It’s not like I’m lying.”
Even at his taunts, Lucas didn’t move. He had no intention of stepping aside.
It would be foolish to push this further now. Heirin decided to back down for the moment—after all, as long as he stayed in the mansion, there would be other chances.
“Fine. I’ll leave for now. But Adele—running away won’t solve everything.”
With that, Heirin turned and left.
Once Heirin was gone, only Adele and Lucas remained in the silent hallway.
“You don’t look well. You should rest.”
Lucas wanted to ask many things—Heirin’s behavior made it seem they knew each other. What was their relationship? Why did she look so pale and afraid?
There were many questions in his mind, but he couldn’t ask them. He and Adele weren’t at the point where such questions could be spoken aloud.
“You can take the rest of the day off.”
“I can still work.”
“No, you’re clearly not in a state to work. Go to your room and rest.”
“I said I can work.”
“Don’t be stubborn.”
Lucas’s firm tone made Adele’s eyes tremble slightly. She moved her lips as if to speak, then lowered her head.
“…Yes.”
She turned to leave, and her shoulders looked unusually fragile.
Maybe that was why his hand moved forward without thinking—but he didn’t touch her. He knew he shouldn’t.
Lucas watched her walk away with a bitter look.
They clearly had an unusual connection—so what had happened between Adele and Heirin?
It was something he couldn’t know.
