IFAHWIPUTML Chapter 16

"Ow... my head."

Verasielle, who had woken up after arriving at the estate, clutched her aching head.

Why was her head throbbing and hurting so much?

Could Chayston have possibly punched her head while she was sleeping?

It was entirely possible. Veras opened her eyes into slits and glared at him.

"Please step down."

Unaware that he was being cursed at despite helping, Chayston had already exited the carriage first and was holding the door open.

Verasielle snorted at him as she stepped down from the carriage.

"Veraseel! Hwaaaaah!"

Just as the two of them stepped down from the carriage and were about to walk into the estate, the door flew wide open and Raphel came running out crying.

"You can't run! You'll get hurt!"

A servant hurriedly chased after Raphel.

Verasielle, who had been staring blankly at the scene before her eyes, moved toward Raphel running toward her.

"Raphel, you'll fall if you run."

"Veras!"

Raphel came running full speed with a tear-soaked face and hugged Veras's legs tightly.

"Hic, sob..."

She picked up the pitifully crying Raphel and patted and stroked his small back.

"Raphel, what's wrong? Hm? Don't cry."

Her voice trembled at the end, her heart aching.

"Hic, left Raphel alone, left only Raphel alone... sob."

Raphel clung tightly to Verasielle's neck and poured buckets of tears onto her shoulder.

Verasielle understood how Raphel must be feeling right now, so she hugged him even tighter.

"No way. I'd never leave just you behind. Don't cry, okay?"

Her worry had become reality.

She'd worried Raphel might look for her, wanted to arrive before he woke up, but it seemed time had been delayed too much.

"When he woke up and saw you weren't there, Lady Verasielle... we told him you'd return soon, but he wouldn't stop crying..."

The servants who had chased after him bowed their heads with apologetic faces.

"It's all right. Your Grace, I'll head inside first."

Verasielle told them it was fine and offered a farewell to Chayston.

When Chayston nodded, Verasielle hurried inside the estate carrying the crying Raphel.

"We apologize for the commotion, Your Grace."

"Has the child been crying long?"

"He's been crying continuously since waking, so it's been about five minutes."

"If anything happens, report to me immediately."

"Yes, understood."

The sight of her running inside carrying the crying child was unmistakably that of a guardian, but he couldn't easily believe it.

Chayston gave his orders to the servants and moved his feet, which had been rooted to the ground.

"Raphel, look at this."

Returning to the room, Verasielle sat Raphel on the bed and took out the snow globe she'd bought at the market.

"Hic, sob..."

"Look at this. See what I bought for you~?"

Raphel, whose crying had been gradually subsiding, looked at the wrapped package placed in Verasielle's hand.

Seeing an unfamiliar object, Raphel's crying gradually stopped as well.

"I'm sorry, Raphel. I was a bit late because I wanted to give you this. I didn't leave you behind on purpose."

Verasielle stroked Raphel's cheeks, still covered with tear stains, and placed the wrapped box in his small hands.

"Shall we unwrap it?"

"Mm..."

Answering in a voice choked with crying, Raphel began unwrapping the package with Verasielle.

When they tore off the thin wrapping paper, there before Raphel's eyes was the star he'd so desperately wanted.

Raphel completely stopped crying and looked at the star inside the snow globe with sparkling eyes.

Verasielle wore a proud smile at Raphel's reaction.

"Ta-da! There's even a light?"

When she pressed the switch beneath the snow globe, yellow illumination lit up inside the star.

"Wooooow!"

The star that had decorated the night sky was now in Raphel's hands. Verasielle had truly plucked a star for him.

"Plucked da star! Veras plucked da star!"

Raphel, who had carefully embraced the star in his arms, stomped his feet. His footwork was full of joy, showing how pleased he was.

"From today, this is Raphel's star."

Verasielle patted the excited Raphel's head. She was smiling along with Raphel, but worry lay behind that smile.

If such a short absence caused him to cry and make such a fuss, she was already worried about how they'd say goodbye in a month.

After the cold days he'd spent alone and lonely in the garbage dump were overlaid with warmth after meeting her, Raphel was firmly misunderstanding.

That if she left, he might return to that terrible garbage dump again.

"Raphel, you never have to go back to the garbage dump. This is your home."

Raphel, who had been staring intently at the star, slowly raised his gaze. Verasielle's expression was firm, as if it were absolutely not a lie.

Several tens of minutes earlier.

Opening his eyes in bed, Raphel didn't feel the familiar warmth and began looking around the room, calling Verasielle's name.

But no answering voice came from anywhere.

Raphel was terrified in that moment.

Afraid that he'd become alone again, that he might return to that scary, cramped, terrible place.

Having suffered a major accident, Raphel had no problems with communication, but he'd lost all memories from before the accident.

So he had to recognize and remember everything anew, and the first thing he encountered when he came to his senses was the scenery of a garbage dump full of foul odors.

He wanted to escape that place, but he couldn't escape.

Because that place was his entire world.

Then one day, he met Verasielle and gained the name "Raphaleon."

Raphel found stability with Verasielle's help, but that didn't mean his unstable state had completely recovered.

Raphel's memories consisted of only two things.

The loneliness of being alone was the garbage dump. The warmth of being together was Verasielle's embrace.

So when Raphel was alone, he naturally thought of the garbage dump.

The vast, magnificent estate had many servants, but without Veras, Raphel was afraid he might return to the garbage dump at any moment.

"From now on, you'll never be alone like back then. I promise."

To him, Vras's promise was like divine grace.

The vow that she'd never leave him alone.

It meant there would be no more frightening nights with only blade-sharp winds and the howling of ferocious beasts.

"Yeah!"

Raphel smiled joyfully, capturing Verasielle in his eyes. Like the illuminated star in his arms, warm light was seeping into his body.

Verasielle silently hugged Raphel tightly.

She realized clearly today: she needed to gradually prepare for their parting.

Otherwise, Raphel wouldn't be able to accept the separation.

"Upon investigation, the woman who brought the child to the Duke's estate is also living there."

"The child."

"From what I hear, he has black hair and red eyes..."

The man, aware of his mistake, quietly watched for reactions. The task he'd been told to handle had ultimately gone awry.

He'd killed the Duke and Duchess disguising it as a carriage accident, but he'd let one slippery eel escape.

He should have eliminated even the child perfectly. He'd confirmed the child falling into the water, but hadn't found the drowned corpse.

When his employer told him to at least bring back the body, he'd searched everywhere and combed the riverbank, but ultimately couldn't find it.

And now, of all things, the Baron's daughter had found the child and brought him to the Duke's estate...

Tap, tap, tap.

Long fingers drummed on the table. Tap, tap, tap. Steady and slow movements, as if counting seconds mentally.

"I-I'm sorry."

That was even more frightening.

If there was fiery anger, he could just prostrate himself and beg, but now he felt anxious, as if walking on thin ice that could break at any moment.

Even without saying a word, the pressure emanating from his employer felt like it was choking his windpipe.

"The woman."

"Ah, yes! She's Verasielle Prozier, daughter of Baron Prozier."

Verasielle Prozier.

Wasn't she that woman who was a lump of extravagance and vanity?

The employer, stroking their chin with fingertips as if pondering something deeply, looked directly at the man at their feet.

"What should I do."

Flinch.

At that voice, the man trembled like an aspen tree.

"Don't be like that. You make me seem like a bad person."

The employer let out a laugh, as if finding this situation amusing.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that..."

The man bowed his head even lower, repenting his actions.

Deadly killing intent swept through.

The employer removed the half-mask that had been covering their face. The mask embedded with sapphires dropped to the floor with a thud.

The man's eyes widened in shock. Because his employer had never revealed their face until now.

They'd always been shrouded in mystery, so why suddenly reveal themselves now... An unknown sense of threat and fear washed over him.

"You can't handle even one job properly and make things this much of a mess."

Creeeak.

As the employer stood from their seat, the old chair made an unpleasant sound. The employer walked past the man with audible footsteps.

"Heizen."

"Yes. Command me."

At the employer's call, a man in black appeared instantly and knelt on one knee.

"Dispose of him."

Words without mercy flowed from their mouth. A tone devoid of emotion or compassion.

"Yes."

The man in black drew the sword at his waist and approached the man.

"P-please spare me! Please!"

Even at the man's voice, close to a scream, the employer left without batting an eye.

"You should have succeeded, then."

The employer climbed the stairs with a small yawn, as if bored. Since they were going to dispose of him anyway, revealing their identity didn't particularly matter—that's why they'd removed the stuffy mask.

They too knew that the Duke's estate was secretly investigating the carriage incident.

The reason they hadn't made any moves until now was because they'd thought the job had been handled perfectly. There'd be no way to find the culprit without physical evidence.

But the child they'd thought dead was alive. If they didn't handle this cleanly this time, they could be caught at any moment.

"Haa."

They'd deliberately used a fledgling guild that could be eliminated at any time, but that had been the wrong choice. Who knew they'd be this incompetent?

Their already sharp gaze contorted fiercely.

Emerging from underground to the surface, the employer gazed at the estate that was the most magnificent in this empire after the Imperial Palace.

That place they could only watch from afar—not theirs—looked distant and hazy, beyond their grasp.

"Master, it's handled."

Heizen, who had followed after disposing of the man, stood beside the employer.

"I'll need to obtain a magic sphere."

They couldn't just sit idly by after all. Countermeasures were necessary.

"Yes, I'll prepare it."

The employer furrowed their brow and pressed their lips into a straight line. Their gaze staring at the Duke's estate was terrifyingly stained with anger and jealousy.