Chapter 16

“Sister! Sister! Siste-e-e-er!”

Ramona, who had been busy pricking holes in her fingers with a needle, jumped up at the familiar voice and threw open the door.

“Baylor? Shouldn’t you be working? What are you doing here…?”

“Huff, puff… Brown told me to tell you that Raon is deathly ill, but there’s no one looking after him!”

The moment she heard those words, one corner of Ramona’s mouth twitched upward.

“He’s sick and no one is looking after him? They took him away promising to raise him well, and now… I’m going to tear them to—no, more importantly, I have to go get Raon right now.”

Seeing the needle in her hand bent out of shape, Baylor silently prayed to the God Jue. He felt certain that if someone got caught in her grip today, there would be a funeral.

“I’ll go borrow a carriage. Sister, get ready to go!”

While Baylor rushed off to secure a carriage, Ramona grabbed the brooch and the document Adrian had left with her. Though she had nearly lost her sanity at the news of Raon’s illness, she took deep breaths to steady her emotions while waiting for Baylor. She felt a crushing guilt for not being by his side when he was suffering. It broke her heart to remember how she had forced the crying child away when he pleaded not said he didn’t want to go.

Clenching her fists, Ramona paced restlessly until the carriage arrived, then hopped straight in.

“To the Cassius Estate, as fast as possible. I’ll pay double!”

When Ramona shouted the increased fare, the coachman, Thomason, accepted readily.

“Uncle Thomason, every second counts, so move it!” Baylor shouted from inside. Even though his own feet were faster than a carriage, he had done enough running back and forth on battlefields to last a lifetime.

“Don’t you worry. Just don’t try to take back your word later!”

Enjoying a rare moment of justifiable speeding while sober, Thomason lunged toward the Cassius Estate. The two passengers inside the rattling carriage gripped the handles for dear life.

“I am never, ever riding in Uncle Thomason’s carriage again,” Baylor muttered, his stomach churning with nausea. In contrast, Ramona sat across from him with a terrifyingly calm expression. It felt as if a one-way ticket to the afterlife had been forcibly issued today.

“I’m really going to…”

“You can’t kill them.”

“I’ll just… adjust their settings a bit. If I see them.”

“That sounds even scarier!”

Baylor bit his lip, thinking it would have been better to just run, but he couldn’t exactly jump out of a speeding carriage.

“What is that woman doing that she isn’t watching a sick child?”

“Following high-and-mighty nobles around isn’t my hobby, so I don’t know for sure, but I overheard that she went to some tea party,” Baylor replied.

“A tea party? My foot. There’s supposed to be a dedicated servant for Raon… are they all in on this?”

Since Adrian was away, news of Raon’s condition surely would have reached Aria’s ears. The fact that she went to a tea party anyway left Ramona speechless with rage.

“So he’s not her son, and that’s that? Sigh… no wonder that redhead looked like bad luck.”

“Si-Sister! I’m a redhead too…”

“You’re an exception, Baylor. You aren’t that bright red.”

Baylor, with his reddish-brown hair, felt relieved that he wasn’t a “bright red.”

“So, who is watching our Raon right now?”

“Brown should be with him. Knowing him, he wouldn’t leave a sick child alone to go back to his chores.”

It was a small mercy to have someone they knew among the servants at the Cassius Estate. If no one had known, Raon might have suffered alone until something irreversible happened. Even now, child mortality rates in this kingdom remained high.

“Is this what that woman wanted? Just wait until I see her. Noble or not, if anyone touches our Raon, I won’t let it slide.”

Seeing the fire blazing in Ramona’s eyes, Baylor desperately hoped Aria wouldn’t be there when they arrived. If the daughter of Count Neyno caused trouble, things would get complicated.

“Sister, that’s not the priority right now. Checking on Raon comes first. Let’s save the ‘adjustments’ for later.”

Baylor knew Adrian didn’t let things slide, even with his own people, if they did something wrong. Having watched Adrian survive countless brushes with death on the battlefield, he knew the man wouldn’t overlook this.

“You’re right, Baylor. But are we there yet?”

Baylor glanced out the window and shook his head. “Almost there.”

Thomason was infamous for driving so fast he’d leave his passengers’ souls behind, to the point where people said you should never ask him to hurry. But as a master of the reins, he enjoyed the speed until they approached the Cassius Estate, where he finally slowed down.

“Entry for outsiders is forbid—”

The guard started his usual routine as the unfamiliar carriage stopped, but he jumped in surprise when the passengers leaped out. Upon seeing the brooch engraved with a roaring lion, the guard swallowed hard.

“I’m here to see our Raon. I’m sure the Young Duke gave you prior instructions.”

“This is the lady who raised the young master. Open the gate at once!” the guard captain barked before any subordinates could interfere. The heavy gates swung open.

“Thank you.”

Inside the carriage, Ramona gave a short nod of thanks and balled her hands into fists.

“I never thought I’d drive a carriage into the Cassius Estate in my life,” Thomason muttered, looking dazed as he pulled up in front of the main building.

Baylor opened the door and stepped out first, followed by Ramona, who hit the ground running and marched straight into the building.

“This is the Cassius Estate. You cannot enter without permission,” stopped Coma, the deputy butler.

“I don’t know where Adiel went or who you are, but I have the Young Duke’s permission. Move.”

Because Coma had been away on external business and hadn’t seen Ramona’s face before, he blocked her path.

“Outsiders are—”

“Hey, Deputy Butler, just get out of the way. Otherwise, you might be going to see the God Jue a bit earlier than expected,” Baylor, the newly scouted recruit, warned. Coma’s face turned a mottled shade of red and purple.

“Whose side are you on?!”

“The winning side. Specifically, my sister’s side.”

Baylor shrugged. Even if he got fired, he was sure Emile and Branson would forgive him once they heard the story.

“As I said, this is—”

“Oh, seriously, shut up! The Young Duke himself told me I could come whenever I want!”

Ramona shoved the brooch with the Cassius crest against Coma’s chest as if pinning it into his skin and sprinted toward Raon’s room. Coma, knocked back by the force, stared at the brooch in shock before frantically chasing after her.

“Is it that guy?”

“Yeah, that piece of work is the young master’s dedicated servant.”

Ramona spotted the servant loitering near the door, yawning lazily, and charged at him.

“Wh-who? You aren’t allowed—”

“Move! I’m Raon’s mother, you bastard! You call yourself a dedicated servant and you’re just lounging around while the young master is sick?”

Unable to remain rational where Raon was concerned, Ramona grabbed the man by the collar, kicked his knees out from under him, and burst through the door Baylor held open.

“Sister!”

Brown, who was holding Raon, ran toward her the moment he saw her.

“How is he?”

“He fell asleep from the medicine, but the situation isn’t good.”

The fever still hadn’t broken. A high fever was extremely dangerous for a young child.

“Raon?”

“Mmm… M-Mom?”

Though dazed by the fever and sleep, Raon opened his eyes at the sound of Ramona’s voice. Seeing the woman he had missed so dearly, he suddenly burst into thick, heavy tears.

“M-Mom… Mom, it hurts so much. Mom… waaaaaah!”

Rather than trying to soothe the sobbing child, Ramona immediately pulled him onto her back. Brown handed her a blanket, which she wrapped around the boy like a swaddle and tied tightly.

“Thank you. I’ll repay this debt later.”

“Debt? It’s only natural. And here, take this medicine. They said to give him half a dose at a time.”

Brown slipped the medicine into Ramona’s pocket and signaled for her to leave. He knew they couldn’t leave Raon in a place where he was neglected while ill.

“You cannot take the young master,” Coma interjected, blocking the path.

“Let me ask you nicely. You’re the one that woman with the ‘spicy stir-fried pork’ hair put here, right?”

She was spot on. Coma had been brought along by Aria when she got engaged to Adrian. However, not knowing what spicy stir-fried pork was, Coma didn’t realize she was talking about Aria.

“I repeat, the young master’s home is here.”

“A home should act like a home! What were you doing while the child was crying in pain? How can a deputy butler not know that the heir to this house is lying ill!”

The other servants gathered at the sound of Ramona’s shouting, their eyes widening. It seemed they truly hadn’t known Raon was sick.

“Even if the young master is to die, he must die here. That is the duty of the Cassius bloodline.”

With every second being precious and Coma blocking the way with his arms outstretched, Ramona clasped her hands together and prayed fervently.

“Oh! God Jue! One soul is coming up to you today. Please, handle the recycling yourself!”