Home/I Saved the Villain and Fell Asleep/ch 9

Chapter 9

"First, let me give you my word. You don't need to be afraid. No one here will harm you. I swear it on the name of Algenprina."

Mom kept watching Caelius's expression. With a face full of concern.

"So, can you answer me honestly?"

But Caelius neither nodded nor spoke. He just held the puppy and stared silently at Mom's face.

"Do you happen to know the name Eve?"

Even at Mom's earnest question, Caelius remained silent. Mom leaned in, studying his face closely, and murmured quickly.

"Eve is very tall. Her hair is as smooth as ebony. And she has moles under both eyes—but actually, the one under her left eye isn't a mole, it's..."

"A scar."

Mom's lips trembled. Hearing Caelius's answer, she squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, barely managing to ask.

"Is it possible that you... that you are Eve and Lambert's son?"

At the question of whether he was Eve and Lambert's son, Caelius visibly wavered. But Mom's vow not to harm him seemed to have no effect on him.

"Kalipr."

I called Caelius's name in as calm a voice as I could manage.

"It's safe here. No one can hurt you."

His dark red eyes stared straight at me. His dry, cracked lips curled up fiercely.

"How can I trust you? Who are you anyway?"

Well, if you don't trust me, what are you going to do? This is our front yard!

We've only met once, yesterday. Caelius, who was on the run from someone, was right to be wary of everyone. You never know when someone might stab you in the back.

Did you say he's a year younger than me? That would make him thirteen. I may not be a child mentally, but he really doesn't seem like a child at all.

"Eve and I first met at our debutante ball. Even after I met Hale and got married, and Eve met that... curse-worthy... ahem, your father and got married, we remained the closest of friends."

Oh my goodness. What is this?

My mother was friends with Caelius's mother?

I was shocked as I watched Mom's distant expression, as if reminiscing about old memories.

"Until I heard the utterly absurd news that Grand Duke Czerban had gone mad with dark magic, killed his wife and son, and died from a mana surge..."

Even as Mom spoke those words, she showed no sign of believing they were true. I was dumbfounded—I never expected Caelius's past to be revealed like this.

"Neither I nor my husband believed it. Nor did His Majesty, who was then the Crown Prince. We said it couldn't be. That it was someone's scheme."

I glanced at Caelius, who hadn't taken his eyes off Mom. His gaze seemed to be measuring the truth.

"Where you've been, who you've been with, who's chasing you now... I have many questions, but I'll hold them for now. However, I cannot leave you to keep running alone."

Caelius remained silent. Mom, growing anxious, smoothed her hair and asked Caelius.

"Did no one ever tell you about the Algenprina ducal house or the name Rachel? If not Algenprina, what about Astrova?"

Astrova was Mom's maiden name. Caelius, who had been staring blankly at Mom, slowly shook his head.

"No one."

Caelius lowered his gaze and spoke.

"He told me not to trust anyone. Anyone at all. But..."

I could see his fist clench. A ripple crossed the expression of the child who had been perfectly still.

"He said if I ever met a mage of the constellations, I could trust her."

A mage of the constellations!

Mom's eyes widened as she stared at Caelius. Then she turned her palms upward in front of her chest and began channeling mana with trembling hands.

"Ehh? Mom?"

The flow of mana was unusually massive, different from usual. As if she'd completely forgotten she was supposed to be resting, Mom's mana covered the sky and dyed it pitch-black in an instant.

A gasp of admiration escaped me at the sight of countless stars adorning the night sky in an instant. I was mesmerized by the enormous Milky Way spanning across the center.

What is this...

It felt as if I were floating in the middle of space. I thought the Milky Way was something you could only see in pictures. My goodness.

"Wow...!"

It wasn't my first time seeing Mom's magic. Whenever we studied constellations, Mom would demonstrate her magic, but the night sky she created then was only large enough to cover a single room.

This was the first time she'd made a night sky this vast.

"Let me introduce myself again. I am Algenprina Rachel, the constellation mage."

Caelius suddenly stood up, and the puppy that had been quietly nestled in his arms tumbled to the ground. I quickly scooped the puppy up and looked at Caelius.

He was staring up at the night sky with a startled expression.

Now he finally looked like a child. Standing beneath countless sparkling stars, Caelius with his jet-black hair like the night sky suited the scene quite well.

Mom slowly reached her hand out to Caelius. Caelius, who had been blankly gazing at the night sky, looked at the hand extended to him, then turned his head toward me.

Huh? Why are you looking at me?

Caelius, as if about to say something to me, hesitated, then slowly took Mom's hand. In an instant, the night sky cleared, and Mom rose from her seat.

"Chalet!!"

"Yes, Milady."

At Mom's call, Chalet appeared from somewhere.

"We'll have lunch in the dining room. And Sier, please contact your father immediately and tell him to come to the villa."

"Understood. I'll go ahead."

Following Mom's rapid-fire commands, Sier hurriedly left.

"Head butler!"

"Yes, Milady."

Wait, where were all of you that you pop up the moment you're called?

"Just in case, deploy Shady to conduct a wide search around the villa. Even the smallest trace will do."

"Yes, Milady."

"And make sure the maids and servants are strictly silenced."

Mom issued orders to Chalet and the head butler as if every moment counted.

Meanwhile, I was stunned. I hadn't seen Mom like this in so long that it caught me off guard.

Considering the image of Mrs. Choi from my previous life, it wasn't surprising, but Mom—being the Duchess—had always kept a low profile, perhaps because of her frail health.

She never raised her voice, never walked or ran quickly, so I'd thought of her as a calm version of Mrs. Choi...!

"This is no time for that."

Mom placed both hands on mine and Caelius's shoulders and began pushing us forward.

"Whoa!! Mom?!"

"Wh-what the...!"

"Now, now, settle down, children."

The puppy came dashing after us. The strength in Mom's arms was considerable, so we had no choice but to follow her lead.

Wasn't Mom here to recuperate? Wasn't she supposed to be frail? I was certain she was the calm version of Mrs. Choi, but this is just the spirited version!

"He was alive. That means back then... it was all a lie. That damned former emperor. I shouldn't have taken their words at face value. If only I had come to my senses sooner..."

Mom's muttering made my head spin.

Huh? The former emperor? Damned?

Based on Mom's words alone, it seemed Caelius's father, Grand Duke Lambert, had been caught up in someone's conspiracy. And it involved the deceased former emperor.

Is this why Caelius in the original story was hostile toward the imperial family? If his mad rampage was rooted in revenge, it made some sense.

"M-milady?"

The maids were shocked by Mom's sudden dash into the villa, but she ignored them and quickly climbed the stairs with me and Caelius on either side.

Caelius, who had resisted at first, seemed to have lost his strength and hung limply.

"Bring the healer! And bring Sier's clothes that he's outgrown."

In an instant, Mom reached the third floor. She roughly opened a door, entered, and sat me and Caelius down on the bed.

"Huff!"

I looked at Mom, who had her hands on her waist and was pretending to wipe non-existent sweat, with a bewildered expression.

"Hm? Hari? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Uh, Mom. Were you always this strong?"

"Oh my? I used to drag Irein and Sier around like this when they were bigger than you."

"I thought you were sick, Mom?"

"Hm?"

Mom looked at me as if I'd said something strange.

Wait, what is going on here?

"Ah, so every time you said you were going to recuperate and moved to a different villa, that was..."

"I-I took the medicine the healer prescribed! And I declined party invitations because I wasn't feeling well!"

Mom's eyes went wide as she stared at me.

If she wasn't really sick, then what was all that about?! Was I the only one who thought Mom was ill?!

"Oh dear, my daughter. Did you think I was sick somewhere? The medicine the healer brings is for vitality—it's a tonic."

Mom pinched my cheek affectionately, as if I were adorable.

So she's not actually sick? But...

"Dad said you were sick."

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