MPBGS 54

Chapter : 54

The child in Toten’s embrace looked to be only about six years old. At a glance, it was clear he was visibly unwell, and it was immediately apparent that he was the son she had mentioned. His condition looked far worse than expected. Now I understood why the butler had said there was no hope.

“Housekeeper! What have you been doing, letting Ryder come out like this?”

When Lady Toten raised her voice sharply, the old butler lowered his head in shame.

“Please don’t scold him. I was the one who told him not to stop me.”

“Ryder…”

As if handling something fragile, Lady Toten gently stroked the child’s head.

“Did you come looking for me because I wasn’t there?”

“Yes. And since a guest has arrived, I couldn’t just stay in bed.”

Lady Toten, the butler, and the child all turned their gazes toward me. Right—this is all because of me, isn’t it?

I felt so awkward that I wanted to hide behind a curtain. But if I did that, rumors would probably spread that Evangeline didn’t even know basic decorum and hid behind a maid, so I endured it with sheer willpower.

Cough. “My name is Ryder Toten, my lady.”

His voice was extremely faint, as if he didn’t even have the strength to cough properly. Hearing him introduce himself while coughing only deepened my guilt. I should have just asked Lady Toten to visit the Rosenson estate instead!

Lady Toten glanced at me, as if signaling that I should also greet him, so I gathered my dress and spoke.

“My name is Evangeline Rosenson. Young Lord Toten, thank you for welcoming me despite your poor health.”

I tried to be modest as I had learned from Dorine, but the mother and son both looked at me strangely. What? Did I do something wrong? I thought I followed the proper etiquette!

Lady Toten avoided my eyes. This was shocking. It seemed it was too much to bear. Rather than mocking me, she chose to pretend she hadn’t seen anything—truly considerate.

“Are you satisfied now? Your coughing seems severe, so let’s go back inside.”

“Yes, Mother. Lady Rosenson, I will take my leave now as I am not feeling well.”

After I finished greeting him, Lady Toten urged Ryder to return to his room so he could rest.

“Yes. Please get plenty of rest.”

Although the child staggered, he did not insist on being carried, instead walking on his own with support. Lady Toten quietly watched his retreating figure before speaking softly—so softly that Ryder could not hear.

“How old do I look to you?”

His age? At most, around six?

“About six years old.”

“Ryder is eight. But because of his illness, he appears much younger.”

He really was youthful in appearance. No wonder he spoke so maturely and fluently. As Lady Toten said, his illness seemed to make him look smaller.

Only after Ryder was no longer in sight did Lady Toten return and sit down. The perfect etiquette she had shown moments ago disappeared, and she leaned back in her chair, looking exhausted.

“…That’s right. Since you’ve been honest with me, I’ll be honest as well. To be frank, I wanted to see Lady Rosenson, having heard that you had recovered.”

Lady Toten finally revealed her true intentions.

“I was curious how someone who couldn’t be cured even with holy water had managed to recover.”

She glanced to the side. Following her gaze, I saw the symbol of the Sun God hanging on the wall. The intricate and finely carved emblem resembled the design I had seen on Gabriel’s uniform. What an elaborate symbol. It was nothing like the moth-like depiction Gabriel had drawn of Donau’s corpse.

“It was such an obvious ploy that I assumed you would notice. But I was caught off guard when you didn’t bring it up first.”

“The butler of the marquisate gave me a hint beforehand.”

“The butler…?”

“Yes. He serves the marquisate with great loyalty, working diligently behind the scenes without letting you know.”

Butler grandpa, I didn’t forget to praise you! When you receive your bonus, you’ll know that was thanks to me, right?

Lady Toten seemed surprised that the butler had been working so hard behind the scenes, repeatedly muttering “The butler… the butler?” Perhaps she was considering a bonus—or calculating how much to give.

After finishing her internal deliberation, Lady Toten returned to the main topic.

“Since you’ve spoken first, may I ask you something? Is there a way to treat Ryder? How did you recover? Please tell me. If there is any improvement for Ryder, I will give anything…”

The long-awaited moment had arrived. Lady Toten must have thought of me as a lifeline being lowered from above.

And I was about to shatter her expectations.

I steeled myself for the feeling of delivering a death sentence.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but there is no method.”

“What?”

Lady Toten asked again, as if she had misheard. I forced a smile, but realizing it might make me look like a psychopath in this situation, I quickly composed myself. But then I worried that now I might just look strange in another way. I really don’t seem to have any talent for acting…

“L-Lie… you’re lying, aren’t you? You’re just hiding it from me, right? Was the price I offered not enough? I can even hand over the marquisate. Lady Rosenson, please. Please tell me.”

Lady Toten seemed convinced I was hiding the truth. She even added the marquisate to her list of bargaining chips, leaning closer and closer as she spoke.

“There truly is nothing you can do.”

Feeling sorry for her, I gently held her shoulder.

“Why won’t you tell me? Is it because I approached you through Sir Gabriel? I did have my own intentions, but wouldn’t it still benefit you? Please, have mercy on Ryder, who is in a similar situation to you.”

Lady Toten looked like she might cry. Her face was deeply contorted with rising sorrow.

No… there really isn’t anything. Evangeline had simply died, and I happened to possess her body at the right time. It’s not that I don’t believe her—there’s just nothing to explain. No wonder the butler had warned me to prepare her mentally. But Butler grandpa, your special mission is currently failing spectacularly.

This won’t do. I’ll have to take another approach. I need to prove that there’s nothing to tell. Ah, right—I’ll use the rumor circulating in society!

“Have you heard the rumor that I’m not actually ‘Evangeline’?”

“Are you saying that rumor is true? Please don’t mock me. Your mannerisms aren’t something that can be learned in just a day or two.”

That failed. This was entirely Dorine’s fault for teaching me too well. It wasn’t just a day or two—I only trained for two weeks! My talent is truly terrifying.

I needed an excuse that Lady Toten would readily accept and withdraw. But nothing came to mind. Desperate, I looked at Hena for help. Hena gave me a hint.

Hena really is a genius!

Right. Since Lady Toten is a devout follower of the Sun God, this should work well. Leaning in as if sharing a secret, I whispered into her ear.

“I summoned a demon.”

“Pardon?”

“I begged a demon to save Evangeline Rosenson.”

The word “demon” had been whispered to me by Hena earlier with her lips. She even covered her mouth afterward, perhaps surprised by her own brilliant idea.

A faint smile, reminiscent of Donau’s fear in his younger days, crossed my face. I’m not good at acting, but I seem to be good at playing a villain. Or perhaps it’s just that everything about Evangeline is filtered negatively no matter what I do.

“Can you abandon the Rahel you love and rely on a demon instead?”

That, of course, was impossible. Lady Toten was a devout follower of the Sun Church. Religion held significant influence in this world. No wonder saints were so popular. As expected, Lady Toten fell silent.

Still, I added one more line in case she wavered.

“Even if the price demanded is not the marquisate, but a human life? Even if it belongs to an innocent person?”

This was something derived from past rumors about Evangeline purchasing children for unknown purposes—the very scandal that once led Misha to blurt out accusations that she couldn’t possibly handle human skin.

Later, I heard from Misha that the most popular theory was that Evangeline required human lives to maintain her health. I had used that rumor to crush Lady Toten’s false hope… but if anything, it reinforced the need for me to properly debut in society to correct these rumors.

Meanwhile, Ryder, returning to his room at the marquis’s urging, was feeling deeply discouraged.

“Was I in the way?”

“Not at all. You conducted yourself admirably.”

Lark shook his head at the child’s question.

Despite his frail body, Ryder had fulfilled his duties as the household’s young master by greeting the guest. It was truly commendable for someone his age. Even though he looked ready to collapse at any moment, he walked back to his room on his own without being supported.

“How did I do, Butler? Did I seem like the young lord of Toten?”

“Yes. Very much so. If the late marquis had seen you, he would have been greatly pleased.”

Only after Lark mentioned the late marquis did Ryder relax his body in satisfaction. As his body swayed, Lark quickly reached out to support him, but the child steadied himself by leaning against the wall.

“Sorry… let me rest for a moment…”

Lark admired the child’s strength of will. Though his body was extremely weak, he never showed it.

If not for this cursed condition, he would have been perfectly suited to become the head of Toten. If he had been born healthy, Lark would never have had to maneuver in the shadows like this.

“Please lean on me. There’s no one around anyway.”

Ryder was the type who cared not only about fellow nobles but even the servants of the estate. He wished to appear as a proper young lord rather than a frail young master in front of them.

As Lark had said, the household staff were busy hosting the rare guest, leaving the upper floors empty.

Yielding to persuasion, Ryder leaned into the butler’s arms. Lark was surprised by how light the child felt, but he tried not to show it as he carried him back to the room.