Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Naturally, young Rose not only grew taller but also sharper, and she quickly figured out her mother’s secret code.

Once she was over ten, she would secretly disable her mother’s spell to sneak cookies.

The outcome was always the same.

She got caught and scolded harshly by her mother and father.

Now that I think about it, Mom always used the same secret code? She could’ve changed it every time.

Why she did that, Rose couldn’t say.

Unlocking a box with a double lock spell was actually quite simple.

You just needed to deactivate the overlapping locks through the code.

“Left, right, up and down, and then right and up again.”

Rose’s fingertips traced a quiet line over the box, filled with gentle magic.

“The tooth fairy will come for you.”

She spoke the last phrase of the code.

Click!

It’s open!

The unchanging code from her mother lifted the locking spell, and the box opened.

Trying to calm her pounding heart, Rose lifted the lid.

“What is this…?”

Inside were a few smooth, pretty seashells and stones, a cicada shell preserved by a magic spell, some colored paper, and lipstick that looked like it had been secretly taken from her mother’s vanity.

So far, it was what you could expect from a kid’s treasure collection.

But then—

“Isn’t this a bullet casing?”

The cylindrical metal object was unmistakably a spent bullet casing from a gun.

Not just one, but six in total.

Clearly too many for a child of five or even seven years to hold in one hand.

Did I ever collect bullet casings?

She vaguely remembered collecting stones or cicada shells, but not bullet casings.

Her memories of going to picnics with her father’s hunting group, drinking tea, and playing with her mother were clear.

She had no recollection of asking her father to collect bullet casings.

That meant she must have snuck out alone to the hills and gathered them one by one.

But it wasn’t just the casings.

At the very bottom of the box lay a metal bracelet engraved with a snake holding a lily—not hers, nor her mother’s, nor her grandmother’s.

Where on earth did that come from?

Could it be stolen?

What kind of childhood did you have, Rose Taylor!?

Even if she scolded herself, all she could remember were the mischiefs and troubles young Rose caused while roaming Hillsey Island.

If she kept thinking like this, she might toss and turn all night, kicking the blanket, remembering her embarrassing past.

So, there was only one way left.

To trace the memories left in the objects with magic.

A technique she’d found useful since the street fortune-teller days and even at necromancy shows.

Holding a bullet casing in one hand and the bracelet in the other, Rose focused.

If this was a show to make money, she’d toss around fancy words and hand gestures to hype up the atmosphere, but there was no need for that now.

She only had to match her frequency to the aura of the objects quietly.

Just a little more tuning…

—BEEEEEEP

Just before peeking into the memories, a sharp ringing pain pierced Rose’s head.

“Ugh!”

The high-pitched noise was so grating that Rose had no choice but to drop the items and cover her ears.

But the sudden ringing didn’t subside easily.

Hoo…

Rubbing her muffled ears, Rose cautiously picked up the bullet casing and bracelet from the floor.

Something was wrong.

The sharp ringing digging in her ears wasn’t a coincidence, Rose’s intuition whispered.

Something was here.

These weren’t just the trinkets of a reckless kid.

It was something her mother—or even her father—had chosen to hide carefully until Rose became an adult…

That’s too much.

Rose shook her head, muttering to herself.

With everything going on, her head was getting cluttered, and she was imagining things.

Deciding that was the case, Rose put the contents back into the box and closed the lid.

It was probably just fatigue.

Nothing she needed to think about too deeply.

Still, sleep wouldn’t come easily.

Her thoughts tangled and twisted, disturbing her rest.

In the end, she finally fell asleep around 5 a.m., just as the morning sun was beginning to rise.

The next day, a little past noon.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

A light tapping came at the door of James’s office on the second floor of the estate.

“Come in.”

The door opened cautiously, and Rose stood in the opening.

“What is it?”

It was a question he didn’t really need to ask.

If it wasn’t about last night, there wasn’t much left to say between them.

I didn’t expect her to come first.

He welcomed her with a calm expression, as if unaware of what had happened the night before.

Rose, however, couldn’t meet his eyes steadily.

“Rose?”

After confirming they were alone in the room, she clenched her fists tightly.

Then, raising her voice from deep inside her chest, she shouted,

“I’m really sorry about last night!”

James dropped the sandwich he was holding onto the floor at her unexpected shout.

“Ah, sorry about the sandwich too.”

“No, no. It’s fine. The sandwich isn’t important.”

An apology—of all things.

As expected, her chosen reaction wasn’t a typical one.

Most women would shy away, embarrassed, pretend nothing happened, or cling to confirm affection.

“Why the sudden apology?”

“I’m sorry for taking your power without permission.”

“Ha… Are Mythosi ways always so direct?”

James sighed, pressing a hand to his forehead.

Was the dance, the heated atmosphere, all just his imagination?

“Rose. That’s not something you need to apologize for.”

“Still, it was like invading your territory.”

“If you say it like that, what am I then? I’m always flowing my power into you anyway.”

James stood and stepped in front of her.

“It’s yours anyway, so do as you please.”

Rose struggled to hold her expression before his piercing blue eyes.

She wasn’t sure if she wanted to smile, frown, cry, or laugh.

What kind of confusing feelings were these?

“I can’t do that.”

“Why not? Didn’t you say I’d die if you didn’t take my power?”

He took a step closer to her.

“I’m fine for now!”

“Thinking ‘I’m fine for now’ is the most dangerous thought there is. It’s the quickest road to disaster.”

James’s brazen words stunned Rose.

I agonized all night feeling sorry for sucking your power!

Not to mention the embarrassing memories had kept her awake, but she couldn’t say that.

Spending a night together didn’t change their relationship.

James didn’t refuse women, and Rose only needed his help for her purpose.

As a result, for reasons unknown, they became soulmates.

A mark that shouldn’t exist in principle, but which they agreed to nullify if they could figure out how.

More importantly, Rose was a Mythos. She must never bond with anyone else.

Even James, who had been let in on the Mythos secret in an unusual manner.

Though he had power as a Revis, not being a Mythos meant he had no experience in this type of world.

Last night was just a night of good food and dancing. That’s all it was.

Countless excuses crowded Rose’s mind.

She needed them to escape the fluttering hope in her chest.

“Do you have anything else to say besides all this talk of magic? I do.”

He stepped closer.

“…Would you like to learn magic?”

Rose stepped back, blurting out a careless excuse.

“If you use magic and spend power, you can better control the power you accumulate.”

Magic? Such a ridiculous idea made James feel like he’d been smacked on the back of the head.

“Magic? I’m not a Mythos. You know I don’t have an elemental attribute.”

“There’s magic without elements, too. Simple ones called everyday magic…”

Rose began listing the wonders of everyday magic.

“Unless it can be used to raise stock prices, I don’t need magic to warm up cold tea or anything like that.”

He pointed to the rope in the room.

“If you need something done, just pull that and someone will come.”

As she stepped back, James stepped forward.

“I want to talk about something else.”

Rose swallowed hard without realizing it.