I quickly released Allenâs hand and pushed my mother into our room.
âHuh? Are you kicking us out like this?â
âYeah! I donât hold on to busy people. Plus, my mom must be tired so go ahead. Goodbye, Brother.â
âBebe, youâre sending me away too?â
I could hear Allenâs sad voice, but I slammed the door shut.
Then came peace.
âBebe, you donât have to kick him out like that.â
âNo, we have to kick him out. Mom, go to sleep.â
âHuh? Already? Mommy is fine.â
I took my motherâs hand, smiling more calmly than ever and forced her to the bed.
âI donât think itâs okay at all, so letâs go to sleep.â
I forced my mother to lie down and patted her.
âDonât I look okay?â
âYes, you looked fine in the conference room, but when we came back to the room, your face turned pale.â
âWell⌠after hearing Bebe, Iâm a little tired. After all, I only have my daughter to check on my condition.â
âRight? So go to sleep.â
My mom raised her body slightly and gently kissed me on the cheek.
âYes, alright. Even if I wasnât tired⌠thank you, Bebe.â
âNo! No need to thank me!â
It was always easy for me to wake up in the morning, but as the days passed, my mom found it harder and harder to do so. Her pale face was proof of that.
As expected, my mother, who said she had been fine until now, fell asleep as soon as she laid on the bed.
âShould I bring the priest back?â
Looking at it this way, I think what he said was right.
Even though she deeply fell asleep, I could only hear a whisper.
I sat on the chair next to the bed and looked at her. She was like a different person today, and she was great.
But she didnât seem optimistic.
My mother didnât tell me⌠That kind of lie kept bothering me.
âMom⌠Whatâs a good lieâŚ? What are you hiding from me?â
I thought it was okay, and I thought I had put down my disappointment about my mother, but when she fell asleep, my heart was frustrated with unknown disappointment.
Why did my mom lie? No⌠Why didnât she tell me she could use magic?
Painful memories of my mother passing away flooded me at once.
My tears dripped down.
At that time, the door opened slightly and a bright light leaked in from outside.
It was the Grand Duke.
He entered the room very carefully and naturally came to our bed.
I quickly wiped my eyes.
âI have something to tell you. I came back to say⌠Did Adelaide fall asleep?â
âYes, my mom fell asleep.â
As soon as he came back from leaving, he came near the bed.
âBut Bebe, your voice sounds different than usual.â
He was quick-witted and came over to me. He sat down on the chair next to the bed.
âIs something wrong? What happenedâŚâ
There was no conversation between us for a long time.
âIf itâs okay, shall we go for a walk? If you donât like it, we can talk on the terrace for a while.â
âNow? You said earlier you were busy.â
âI have some time to give to my daughter.â
Somehow, his words seem to show consideration to me. I stood up after looking at my mother for a moment at his words.
âYes, Iâll come.â
I wanted to talk to some. I hoped it would get a bit better. In my words, he walked slowly to the terrace on the other side of the room.
The terrace was a place where you could see the vast forest.
Suddenly, the Grand Duke took a seat on the chair on the terrace, and I sat next to him.
But that didnât mean we didnât talk or talk right away.
We didnât exchange words for a long time. As the wind blew past, the trees in the forest only moved.
After such a long time, I sat there and opened my mouth. If I didnât say anything, I thought Iâd cry because I felt sorry for my mother.
âAh!â
âWhatâs wrong?â
âUm⌠I used too much power last time when I recreated the magic circle there.â
âI know.â
âDo you know?â
âOf course. Did you think I didnât know?â
âYouâre smart.â
As he stroked his chin and nodded, the Grand Dukeâs face changed strangely, as if he looked like my mother?
The thought of my mother brought my tears back to my eyes, and I hurriedly turned my back.
âAnyway⌠I wonder if thatâs why Dad felt the same way as I did.â
âSame way?â
âYes. Thatâs why you didnât tell Harris that, didnât you?â
But when I asked him, he only tilted his head as if he didnât understand.
âWhat do you mean?â
âWho came in?â
My dadâs face hardened at my words.
âDid you come in?â
âOh, did you know?â
ââŚI said that to Harris just to provoke her. Somehow, it made me feel bad.â
âOh, I see.â
I nodded my head as I finally understood the situation.
âYou didnât know?â
âUh, the power felt familiar, yet unfamiliar. But those powers had already crossed the magic circle and quickly hid its power.â
âAre you strong?â
âWell sheâs weaker than me!â
But it was a strange feeling, because Iâve never felt familiar with someoneâs power in my life. Should I say that my strength was similar?