Spring in My Grasp - Chapter 66

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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(66) Such Is the Way of the World

That afternoon was unusually serene. Warm sunlight filtered evenly through the Glass Garden, and the plants swayed gently as if breathing.
“Leonius, look at this.”
I plucked a small leaf and waved it before the child.
“This is basil. Doesn’t it smell wonderful?”
The child, unable to see yet, flailed his small hands trying to grasp the leaf. That tiny gesture drew a natural smile across my face. Unlike the children of ordinary aristocratic families, I wanted to raise Leonius with a connection to nature.
Besides, with his innate magical talent and the High Priest’s visits, Leonius was receiving education naturally. I had no desire to impose additional rigorous instruction upon him.
Lea, Eloze, and I had ventured into the city together, experiencing all manner of things, and Alexis had even taken him to the stables to play with the horses.
But most of our time was spent here in the Glass Garden.
“He’s trying to grab it again.”
Lea laughed.
“The Young Master tries to claim everything as his own.”
Eloze observed the scene quietly. By now, she too had grown accustomed to me, and simply watched this peaceful atmosphere unfold. The ambiance of this garden was unrealistically tranquil. This was precisely the peace I had sought.
“Madam.”
But how could the affairs of the world bend to my will? Life always harbors unexpected turns lurking in its corners. While we were enjoying such leisurely moments, the Butler’s voice echoed from the garden entrance. I looked up from playing with Leonius.
“Hmm?”
The Butler stood at the garden entrance with his usual composed demeanor, yet something about him seemed subtly tense.
“You have a visitor.”
“A visitor?”
I blinked.
“For me?”
“Yes….”
A brief answer. I opened my eyes wide, studying the Butler. His expression was distinctly odd.
Moreover, most visitors to this castle came seeking Alexis. Receptions typically took place in his office, and I rarely involved myself. Save for Layla, not a single visitor had ever come to Valerian Castle for me.
“What is this about?”
I handed Leonius to Eloze and asked. Lea and Eloze, sensing something was amiss, fell silent. The Butler hesitated, his expression troubled. Then, with evident difficulty, he continued.
“Her name is Maribel.”
“I’m sorry?”
I was even more bewildered.
“I don’t know anyone by that name.”
“That is….”
The Butler’s lips moved as if his mouth had gone dry.
“I believe I should explain as we go.”
Alexis had issued strict orders never to allow outsiders into Valerian Castle, yet the Butler had admitted someone I didn’t know and informed me of a visitor. This meant the Butler believed I should meet this guest.
I rose without hesitation.
“Very well. Let’s go.”
Leaving Leonius in Eloze’s care, Rowan quickened her pace. As she made her way toward the Reception Room, she turned to the Butler with a question.
“Now, explain yourself.”
Rowan said.
“Who is this person called Maribel?”
“The truth is—”
The Butler opened his mouth.
“I don’t know either.”
And he frowned, genuinely at a loss.
“But I had no choice but to let her into the castle. Otherwise, she threatened to cause a scene, so…”
“What kind of scene?”
At Rowan’s question, the Butler turned his gaze to her. His expression was one of utter helplessness. In the years she had spent time with the Butler, Rowan had never seen him wear such a face or adopt such a manner. So she couldn’t help but tense.
“She brought a child…”
A child? Rowan’s eyes widened.
“She brought Alexis’s child with her.”
What on earth was this nonsense? For a moment, Rowan was so flabbergasted that her mouth fell open.
“Why did it have to be when the Master is away on a mission…?”
Had Alexis been at the castle, the Butler would naturally have sought him out. But Alexis, deployed to a prolonged subjugation campaign, had vacated the castle. And as if by cruel coincidence, some woman appeared claiming to know of this fact and sought out Rowan instead.
Rowan proceeded toward the Reception Room, her mind reeling and her chest tight.
“Please, enter.”
The Butler opened the door. And as Rowan stepped into the Reception Room, her eyes fell upon a woman seated on the couch.
And beside her was a child. The child appeared to be a year or two older than Leonius. It was only then that Rowan understood why the Butler had admitted this woman into the castle without hesitation. The child had silver hair and eyes of a deep violet hue.
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“I apologize for arriving so suddenly.”
The woman who introduced herself as Maribel spoke first. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the child sitting beside her. Though subtly different from Leonius in appearance, the silver hair and violet-blue eyes were strikingly intense. The child sat quietly beside Maribel, blinking vacantly ahead.
“First, let’s get something for this child to eat.”
I summoned the Butler and spoke. Given the delicate nature of the situation, he had been keeping the Maids away from the Reception Room. However, with so many servants having witnessed her arrival with the child, maintaining discretion would prove difficult.
“I imagine you must be quite shocked, madam. I’m truly sorry about this.”
Maribel spoke to me in a voice that was terribly weak and frail.
“I’ve already heard the general outline from the Butler.”
I said.
“Let’s set aside the pleasantries and get straight to the point. What exactly happened?”
Maribel seemed slightly startled by my direct approach, so different from other noblewomen, and opened her mouth. She was a fair-haired woman with a serene appearance.
At my pressing, Maribel began to speak. Her story was thus: she was the eldest daughter of a knight who guarded Count Glister’s castle in a distant Remote Territory. Years ago, when the Count’s daughter had reason to travel to the Capital, Maribel had come along.
Enchanted by the splendor of the Capital city she saw for the first time, Maribel happened upon a party venue that day, where she met a man. Captivated by his beautiful and elegant bearing, she became thoroughly intoxicated with wine at the gathering, and when she awoke the next morning, the deed was already done.
But the man who had spent that pleasant evening with her vanished without a trace by morning, and unable to find him, Maribel had no choice but to return to her Territory according to schedule.
Yet from that night’s mistake, a child had come into being. Unable to bring herself to end the pregnancy, Maribel had borne and raised the child alone, enduring the scorn of her household. She had resigned herself to raising him, believing she would never find the child’s father…
“But how did you come to think that man from that night was Alexis?”
At my question, Maribel’s hand trembled faintly over the child’s shoulder.
“I didn’t know at first.”
She spoke quietly.
“Truly… that night, I could barely remember anything, and I didn’t even see his face clearly.”
Her gaze fell to the floor.
“Just a beautiful man… and silver hair with violet-blue eyes. That’s all I had.”
“…”
I listened without speaking.
“But then…”
Maribel suddenly pulled the child beside her into a tight embrace. The child nestled against her without a word.
“After the child was born…”
Her voice grew even quieter.
“When I saw the silver hair and violet-blue eyes, I could finally understand what the child’s father looked like.”
Maribel continued.
“In our Territory… I had never seen anyone with such coloring.”
Her gaze slowly rose.
“After raising him for several years, I suddenly heard rumors spreading from the Capital.”
“…”
“That a Holy Knight currently active in service was a beautiful man with silver hair and violet-blue eyes.”
I drew in a breath. Silver hair and violet-blue eyes were certainly uncommon.
“From that point on… I began to suspect.”
Maribel’s hand brushed the child’s cheek.
“I worked hard to save money to make the journey here. Even then, I wasn’t entirely certain.”
Her voice wavered ever so slightly.
“So I saved and came to the Capital. And a few months ago, I saw him again—returning after completing a subjugation mission in the Capital.”
Rowan’s gaze turned toward Maribel with deliberate slowness.
“A Holy Knight returning home amid the roaring cheers of the people.”
Maribel’s lips trembled.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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