Chapter 198

The expression on the face of Duchess Emma von Adelheit was filled with determination.

It wasn’t that she didn’t understand her words. One could think that her opposition to Rina going to the festival was simply out of concern for Rina’s health.

And I know how foolish that worry is. Despite knowing that the fundamental reason for not being able to enjoy the Academy’s Fall Festival with family is Rina’s frail body, to oppose it for that reason is illogical. I have brought a way for Rina to enjoy the festival.

But her eyes.

Eyes filled with a blue hue. They were bluer than the vast sky of autumn and deeper than the depths of the ocean, holding a wisdom akin to a seventy-year-old elder.

At the very least, I could tell that it wasn’t just a silly reason for her opposition.

“…Duchess.”

“Yes, Professor Antorelli.”

“If it’s not too much trouble, may I ask the reason?”

It was not a simple reason. Her opposition must be due to some deep concern regarding Rina. It seemed distant to figure that out without any clues.

I couldn’t help but ask Duchess Adelheid why she opposed Rina attending the festival and why she wanted to deny Rina’s greatest desire for the wind.

In response to my question, Duchess Adelheid, who had once said she loved her husband and two daughters more than anything in the world, fell silent for a moment, deep in thought.

As if to halt the unconscious current that threatened to flow relentlessly, even if just for a moment.

How long had she been lost in thought?

“…You must have already heard it from him, but Rina has been unwell for a long time.”

Duchess Adelheid spoke. I listened attentively and nodded slowly.

“Yes. I heard a few days ago.”

“She has a truly terrible constitution. Not only does she have to live with a hard-to-treat heart condition for her lifetime, but she was also born with a weak constitution…. She has often suffered from minor illnesses.”

As she paused, she glanced out of the parlor window. The gardeners were bustling about, tending to the shrubs.

“When she catches even a slight cold, she suffers several times more than others. Rina.”

“If that’s the case….”

“Yes, even now, it’s the same. Professor Antorelli.”

There was a firmness in her tone. A firmness carrying the misery and resentment of having to acknowledge a sorrowful truth.

“When she catches a cold, or even if she’s exposed to a cold wind… she usually ends up bedridden for at least three days.”

“……”

“Since she was born, her weight has never met the average. The doctor said it was because she was born very close to being a preemie, with innate weak immunity and physical strength.”

Duchess Adelheid maintained a calm expression. But her bright blue eyes could not hide their emotions.

“Since Rina fell seriously ill, she has never once set foot outside the mansion.”

In her gaze, unhidden sadness and the heart-wrenching pain of a profound loss were evident.

“Can you imagine how frustrating it has been? Living trapped in the mansion without knowing the world outside… only talking to the mansion’s staff or people like Priest Luciana.”

“That’s….”

“Yes, well, that came to a halt for several years once the war broke out.”

Rina von Adelheit. To her, this vast mansion was a prison, almost like shackles binding her body.

The only solace in Rina’s life was the staff in the mansion with whom she naturally formed friendships and Priest Luciana.

Even that was restricted when Priest Luciana went off to participate in the Great War alongside Duke Adelheid.

The war lasted just over five years. During that time, at least to my knowledge, there was no day when the Duke was absent from the frontlines.

She could not meet her father nor the Priest Luciana, with whom she had cultivated a bond over time.

At her side were her mother, Duchess Emma von Adelheit, and Laura, but…

“Perhaps it was around that time.”

“What do you mean…?”

“That’s when she stopped expressing her desire to go outside the mansion.”

“……”

This was news to me. I had heard from Duke Adelheid that Rina had directly expressed her desire to see the Fall Festival.

Yet, it turns out that Rina had not mentioned going out since the time of the Great War?

My confusion was quickly resolved by Duchess Adelheid’s next words.

“It was when three years had passed since the war broke out. At that time, it was autumn just like now.”

Duchess Adelheid was intently watching something outside the window. Her gaze landed on a large maple tree standing solitary.

Surrounded by shrubs, it seemed as if no one dared approach that tree. It gave off a vibe, as if it were a castaway on a lonely island.

The autumn leaves from that tree gently descended, and Duchess Adelheid followed their descent with her bright blue eyes.

“Rina, on that day, was particularly insistent about wanting to go outside the mansion. She cried to meet her father, to see Priest Luciana… asking what was happening outside.”

I could vividly picture Rina, sobbing and desperate.

The father she loved and the dependable Priest Luciana had been outside the mansion for years, in a world she knew nothing about.

The two of them, who would occasionally send her letters, were increasingly missed, and that longing turned into frustration.

How could Rina, who seldom went outside even for meals, remain trapped in the mansion without knowing whether her father was alive or dead? This situation had persisted for three years.

“Even if it was just a single step, she would wish to go outside the mansion. She kept repeating that.”

Rina was shedding tears. She finally expressed the sorrow and feeling of being constrained that she had bottled up, releasing an irretrievable wave of emotion.

And the conclusion was…

“With her primary doctor, they decided to attempt going out. I truly didn’t want to, but if I didn’t step in… Rina would have….”

“…never been able to bear it. Duchess, you made the right choice.”

“No, I… may have indeed closed off her heart as well.”

Going out was a good thing. Rina beamed with joy, hurried back to her room to choose her outing clothes.

With a giddy expression, she picked out her outfit and, eager to go out for the first time in years, charmingly pleaded with her mother for an outing. Duchess Emma von Adelheit thought for a moment as she observed Rina’s happy demeanor.

Truly, it was a good decision to resolve to go out.

And that would entirely change right after Rina returned from the long-awaited outing.

“Suddenly, Rina’s entire body began burning up with fever. It had only been two days since our outing, so my doctor and I instinctively sensed that her illness was due to the outing.”

Although Rina had only been outside for an hour, that single hour would tip her into a grave condition.

“It was merely a cold. Although it was a rather severe one, it was far, far too fatal for Rina….”

“A cold…”

Even regular people suffer considerably from colds. But at most, after taking some medicine and getting good rest, it would pass in a day.

Such a minor ailment became a life-threatening fever for Rina.

“The attending physician urgently prepared medicine, and several nearby priests who hadn’t been summoned visited. We spent the night without any sleep, worried that something terrible might happen to Rina….”

“……”

“After enduring such hardship, Rina stopped mentioning going out altogether.”

I could vaguely understand. From Rina’s perspective, even though she had stubbornly insisted on going out, the moment she was lost in the once-new and wondrous feeling, she had overlooked how much distress she would cause those around her if she collapsed.

And she would have experienced that firsthand, filling her with guilt and regret.

Furthermore, the sorrow and self-reproach for having fallen so ill from just a brief outing.

All sorts of confusing emotions began to intertwine, complicating her feelings further, ultimately leading her to lock herself within the mansion.

“…Rina, who feared she might fall ill and suffer again, did not shy away from going out.”

“……”

“Having had limited contact with others, Rina was incredibly gentle-hearted… After going out and witnessing how I and Laura suffered, she seemed to feel it was all her fault.”

Since that day, Rina had resolutely refused to go out. Previously, she had been the one to throw tantrums about wanting to go out, but this time, it was her mother, Duchess Adelheid, who casually proposed the idea.

Yet, Rina rejected everything. It was as if she had imprisoned herself within the mansion, doing nothing but staying locked in her room.

However, her relationships with her family did not grow distant. Rina still cherished her mother and sister deeply and maintained a close bond, which also applied to her father, Duke Adelheid, who returned home after several years.

“A few months ago, when he mentioned the Fall Festival, Rina for the first time in several years asked him to take her there.”

When Laura’s admission to the Caldera Imperial Academy was officially confirmed, the family gathered after a long time with discussions surrounding it, where Duke Adelheid carelessly mentioned the festival.

A bustling festival filled with hordes of people, a Fall Festival where one could experience all sorts of new things at club booths, capped off with a beautiful fireworks display on the last day.

It instantly caught Rina’s attention, and she cautiously asked to be taken to the festival.

“We were overjoyed. That girl, who had seemed to have given up on everything, finally expressed a desire after years.”

“…So then….”

“Yes. So, I should be asking the professor for help regarding Rina’s attendance at the festival. But….”

Duchess Adelheid could not contain the tears welling in her eyes and covered her face with her hand. The butler Alfred, standing behind her, quietly took out a handkerchief from his pocket and placed it on the table.

“That tender-hearted child said something like… if it worries you to go to the festival, she would give up….”

“…Duchess.”

“Now that the season has changed, her health has also worsened. Saying she wants to go out in such a condition must have taken immense courage… When I remembered the times Laura and I took care of Rina all night long, I saw her saying she would endure instead… I….”

Duchess Adelheid wished for Rina not to go to the festival overwhelmed by anxiety and worry. Even if any parent of this world were to come, they would likely make the same decision as Duchess Adelheid, wanting their child’s heart to remain unbroken.

“I may not be a dignified parent….”

“……”

I made eye contact with Sub-priest Sofia. She bit her lower lip tightly, simultaneously locking eyes with me.

“…Duchess.”

“Yes, Professor. I’m sorry… for this disgrace….”

“If I can persuade Miss Rina… would you allow it?”

Duchess Adelheid looked at me with astonished eyes. Despite having cried, her beauty remained, and her widely opened eyes glistened with unshed tears.

In those eyes, I found a flicker of hope.

“I will try to persuade Miss Rina. I have a method.”

That flicker of hope was named…

‘Perhaps this time.’