“Woooow! Is this a snack basket? It looks delicious!”
While Linna was cheering as she checked through the contents, I ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) stood silently in front of the carriage, watching Abraham.
Abraham, still at a distance, looked at with a quiet smile.
“It was a pleasure to et you, Rosie.”
Then he scribbled sothing on a note and had the butler deliver it to .
The note from Abraham read:
But from now on, it’s best to keep your ability to read the ancient language a secret. I don’t know the full story, but I felt compelled to say this—it's not sothing beneficial to have known about, I fear.
I stared at the note and let out a long sigh.
...If you wanted to keep it secret, you could’ve just co closer and whispered it...
In the end, after so hesitation, I began striding toward Abraham.
“Rosie?”
Abraham, startled, took a step back. But already worn out and leaning on his cane, he couldn’t move quickly.
‘Just as I thought.’
I dashed toward him, thinking to myself:
‘No wonder he’s kept his distance since yesterday...’
He hadn’t shared the carriage with us. Even when I visited his study this morning, he’d stayed far off during tea ti, and at the dining table, he sat by himself at a distance.
“I heard he developed a leg condition in his mid-thirties and started throwing fits every day, saying he slled terrible.”
Julian had said that once. And yesterday, even Cashie said sothing similar:
We were too young and too indebted to ask, “Why won’t you co near us?”...
But if the reason he kept his distance wasn’t because of us, but because of himself...
Penelope, apparently, had thrown hysterics about it. But Abraham, who hated burdening others, simply stayed away quietly, even with the sa condition.
Because even with the sa illness, people act differently depending on their character.
“Anyway, I heard she cursed Grandfather daily, saying she couldn’t call for a priest because of him. In the end, she died giving birth to Aunt Monica—sothing completely unrelated to her illness.”
They’d said it had been a long ti since any priest had been summoned to the Sinessé Marquessate.
‘Knowing Grandfather, even if they weren’t close, he would’ve called every doctor in the land for Grandmother. That must an it was an untreatable disease.’
With that thought, I rushed up and grabbed Abraham’s hand.
“Rosie!”
Then I stood on tiptoe, t his eyes, and smiled.
“It was a pleasure to et you too, Marquess.”
“Wait—there’s no need to co so close...”
“I’ll tell you one more of my secrets.”
I wiggled my fingers and loosened my ring slightly. At the sa ti, I gently channeled divine power into Abraham.
“T-This is...!”
His eyes widened.
“Please keep this secret too.”
I whispered to him as he leaned on his cane.
“You barely moved, and your legs were already giving out... Last night, you didn’t even share the carriage with us because you didn’t want to inconvenience us...”
I wasn’t stupid—I knew it wasn’t wise to let others know just how much divine power I possessed.
But seeing Abraham quietly staying away, convinced he was a nuisance, yet still taking care of us despite being unable to move well—it shook .
“Please take care of your health, Marquess.”
I continued to whisper into Abraham’s stunned ear.
“Even when you’re unwell, you ca to the villa last night because you care about your domain.”
On top of that, Sinessé was a family that could easily summon priests again, but he hadn’t—even while sick.
And he had even offered sincere advice about keeping my ability to read ancient texts secret...
‘I know my kindness might co back to bite ... But if I don’t do this, I’ll regret it.’
I couldn’t leave a good relative—who had been so kind to —in pain. Especially when it was sothing I could heal so easily.
Abraham’s cane slipped from his hand with a clunk. His legs were no longer trembling.
“Rosie, this is...”
“Now you can see us off up close, right? Next ti we et, let’s share a al together—face-to-face.”
I smiled softly and released his hand.
“That way, you’ll get a better look at enjoying the food. My grandfather used to say just watching eat filled him up.”
Abraham stared at his legs in disbelief.
“Ro...”
And just as he began to speak—
“Marquess!”
A servant ca running from afar, urgently.
“Marquess! A ssage just ca in!”
Abraham furrowed his brow and turned around.
“A ssage?”
Communication stones, used for long-distance correspondence, were only installed in large cities. It seed the Sinessé territory had one as well.
“If it’s not urgent, I’ll check it later.”
Abraham waved his hand dismissively.
“Let see off our guests first...”
“B-But it’s from the Imperial Palace! A personal letter from His Majesty!”
That made Abraham stop. I too opened my eyes wide in surprise.
Wait, why would His Majesty be contacting Abraham now?
Abraham hurriedly unfolded the letter. Noticing the tense atmosphere, both Linna and Ray edged closer.
After reading carefully, Abraham slowly looked toward Linna.
“This old man isn’t sure what the letter ans... but it seems the real recipient is standing right next to .”
Linna looked at the letter Abraham held out.
Marquess of Sinessé, forgive the sudden contact.
I believe the Idra Duchy’s villa is located nearby.
If Lady Linna Idra is staying there, would you kindly deliver this ssage to her? I ask for your discretion.
Due to the security magic on the envelope, nothing more could be read.
Linna quickly opened the sealed envelope addressed to her.
Lady Linna, forgive the sudden contact.
I understand that a maid nad Heidi is currently near you.
Would you kindly deliver this letter to her? Please ensure its secrecy.
“Hmm.”
Linna frowned as she pulled another envelope from inside the letter.
“The first two were basically the sa ssage. Just fillers. This must be the real one.”
In the end, the true recipient, after three layers of procedure, was .
As I took the letter, Linna chatted beside .
“But thank goodness. If we hadn’t gotten held up here being treated to all this, we never would’ve received this ssage.”
It was true. Our ti here had extended because of the als and hospitality.
If we had rushed off in the morning as originally planned without leaving word of our destination, the letter would’ve been completely lost.
‘In that sense, we were pretty lucky.’
Still, the fact that the letter had gone through so many steps ant sothing urgent was going on.
I had a very bad feeling.
I hastily unfolded the letter sent to .
Everything has been exposed.
The ssage was brief, but it left breathless.
Your forr fiancé seems to have found the place where he can achieve his goal, and it looks like he’s already gone.
The envelope had protective magic, and the sender had gone to great lengths to obscure the critical ssage.
Zahid’s goal had always been singular:
To beco strong enough through the awakening of the Divine Beast to kill Aietar in one blow.
‘So Zahid found the place to awaken the Divine Beast—and went there!’
The final sentence offered no hope either.
Since you’re already in hiding, do not—under any circumstances—return ho.
There was not a single line in that letter that wasn’t horrifying.
Before I knew it, the strength drained from my legs.
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