Chapter 2

Because of you and your mother, our mother died.

Chase Seviche Roberti. Her. It was in her second life that she heard the story.

When Sophia was 5, and Benjamin and Joshua were 12 years old, Sofia’s mother, Benny Lo Lancel, as well as Chase, was alive.

About three years after Benny, who was from the street, came into the castle with the generosity of the lord, Benjamin and Joshua saw a strange man sneaking into the castle and talking to Benny.

 A man with shaggy hair colour often held Benny’s hand talking this and that.

His face was a blur that his words and expressions couldn’t be seen well due to the distance, but he was suspicious enough to see him sneaking in, ignoring the fine path that he c.

“Should I let father know, Benji?”

“You don’t have to be involved, do you? He said he could call a guest anytime.”

At Joshua’s question, Benjamin shrugged as if he were not very interested. Then Joshua opened his mouth with a serious glare in his eyes.

“If you’re a guest, you won’t sneak in like that. He might become the culprit if something big happens later.”

“You’ve been reading too many detective stories lately.”

“Still, isn’t that plausible?”

As if it were funny, Benjamin did not hide his laughter. He’s become too serious about this nonsense.

It was quite fun for Joshua, who had always been indifferent to situations where he could not reach, to show interest, but more than this was unnecessary.

A few days ago, a servant said something about Benny, and his tongue got cut off.

“Not at all. Let’s pretend we don’t know because we might get scolded by our father for talking for no reason. He cares more about her than we do.”

Benjamin and Joshua, who were hiding in the grass and chatting in a whisper, made up their minds and quietly escaped from them.

They did not announce that a suspicious person had entered the castle. They loved the peace that Benny brought.

A few days later, Joshua, walking in the hallway, happened to see the man he saw then.

A man with shaggy hair and a clean-cut look. He might not recognize him because he looked more decent than, but Joshua was able to know him because he focused on the man at that time.

“Josh, I’m going to go to mom this time because the cookies are baked well… What are you doing there?”

When Joshua stopped walking when he saw a familiar face, Benjamin, who had a bunch of golden cookies in a small basket, ran after finding him.

“I think mother has a visitor.”

“Visitor?”

I didn’t sneak here this time. Under the guidance of his servants, the man, clad in quite fine clothes, entered the drawing room with Chase proudly.

He had purple eyes that resembled Sophia, but ironically he didn’t look like her at all.

“That guy… He must have known mother.”

“I know. I guess he wasn’t a bad guy.”

As Joshua muttered so much, Benjamin chewed on the cookies as if he were laughing at them.

After seeing Benjamin brutally eating animal-shaped cookies, Joshua turned his interest toward the man to him.

“More than that, what kind of cookie is it? I’m sure Henney almost made it.”

“No, the chef won’t do anything. And I did a perfect job on my own.”

“Anyway, I’m not eating. I know what it tastes like. I couldn’t forget the burning taste.”

“Sophia said it was delicious this time! Open your mouth, I’ll put the whole basket in!”

Joshua ran as hard as he could to avoid Benjamin who was chasing him. They heard Loray’s advice not to run, but the two continued to  play tag.

It was peaceful. If only Chase hadn’t gone mad after meeting the man, it would have been a lifelong peace.

“Mother, it’s me. It’s Benjamin! Joshua is next to me. Josh!”

“Benzie, Benji… Josh, where are you…!”

“Mother…”

Her mind went off. She couldn’t recognize who was who, turned the room upside down and even attempted suicide.

It was very difficult for a child to handle.

Joshua and Benjamin cried and asked for help from their father, Vlad, but he kept down and said nothing.

His eyes wanted to say something, but in the end, he kept his mouth shut. Like someone forced him to.

“…Sorry.”

The situation got worse while getting the word.

Chase had more seizures overnight, so Benjamin and Joshua lived in their mother’s room. They were the only ones who could stand by her side.

One day, when Chase woke up in fear, she sobbed with her sons in her arms.

“Every time I dream, I feel strange… I think I’m going to die. No, I think I’m going to kill her.”

“It’s all right, Mother. We’re right next to you.”

“Ah… Benji… Josh… Sophie, Sophia…”

That’s how she fell asleep again.

The two were puzzled at the time when she suddenly mentioned Sofia’s name, but it didn’t take long for Chase to realize  what she was trying to say.

“Mother tried to kill Sophia!”

“That’s nonsense! Mother couldn’t have done that.”

“That’s right! There’s no reason to kill her!”

Words that could not have been said that day

‘Sophie, Sophia… I feel like I’m going to kill….’

Benjamin and Joshua realized what more she was going to say after that.

‘When that time comes… Please, protect her.’

Why did he now understand the words of that day when he pleaded with his eyes?

The two, who lately knew the meaning of what Chase said, tried to raise their voices, but Vlad already gave orders.

“I want you to keep Chase Seviche in the spire and only give her a bowl of water every week.”

The Seviche family protested, saying, “The older brother is too much. How is the child of the government more important than the wife of the lord?”

But he ignored all the words and proceeded with the punishment.

How can a person live on that spire? The spire is narrow and high. The room was limited to a tight fit.

A plate of water? It is not enough when trapped in that place. They wanted to argue about it right away, but they couldn’t.

He was very generous in keeping her direct descendants alive without even excommunicating them.

“That man must be the cause.”

One day in tears, Joshua said so. Benjamin, of course, agreed. Since she met him, their mother has suddenly become strange.

“She’s close to him. Sophia’s mother.”

“I heard our relatives say she might have done it to drive mother out and take over her place.”

“…To keep her daughter as the next lord? To be the wife of the lord?”

“Maybe… yeah.”

“But mother…”

She wanted to protect Sophia.

It didn’t make sense at first. Was Chase and Benny not close? Benny refused to take the government or being a concubine.

It was an off-putting puzzle, but it was a puzzle that would be matched if the direction was changed.

‘What if being friendly, being nice, was a lie?’

What if Benny Lo Lancel is actually bad and purposely made friends with Chase? What if the rejection of the government and the concubine was to pretend that she was not interested in power?

When they saw the pure smile, one side of their heart made them realize that they were never the kind of person to think this way, but their mother’s death was not enough to stop them from thinking the same thing.

Deep and deep. When they were about to hate the existence of Sophia, including Benny, Sophia found them with blue roses.

“This is called a ‘miracle’ in flower language.”

“…Ah.”

A small hand grabbed Benjamin and Joshua’s collar, and at the same time, the two felt saved from the pit.

The tiny sunlight glittered before her eyes and waved at the flowers.

“Do you know why?”

Perhaps she had learned something from Loray. Sophia mumbled with a smile at the thought of letting others know what she learned.

Chase would have explained that the reason why she disappeared and was not in her room was because of a bad cold. And there’s no way Vlad or Benny would have informed her that she almost died.

Because Sophia was still young.

Yeah. She’s young. You don’t know anything, you know…

Not knowing that Benjamin and Joshua’s bitter smile was directed at her, Sophia continued to speak.

“Blue roses do not exist, and they’re made by the Wizard of Flowers. He created something that wasn’t there, and he said it was a miracle.”

“Yes, you’re smart.”

Benjamin smiled faintly and stroked Sophia’s head. Joshua was also looking at Sophia with a relaxed face.

The child, who would have been happy to be praised, still had a serious face. Realizing that she had something else to say, they waited for Sophia’s next words. Sophia held the rose and wriggled her hands.

“So, I’ll give this to Cherry…”

“And?”

“I’m going to say ‘I hope your cold gets better like a miracle!'”

Cherry was Sofia’s nickname for Chase. When Chase came to see her, she always brought cherries, so she called her Cherry. And Chase asked her to call her that because it was cute.

But the cherry could not receive this flower.

 She’s destined to be trapped in the spire and die without meeting anyone.

Joshua opened his mouth, taking out the rose from Sophia’s small hand.

“We’ll give this to her.”

“Huh? What about me? I’m coming, too.”

“No. Sophia is weak and has a cold.”

“I’m strong! I’m very strong!”

Sophia said in a loud voice, thinking that she would never be taken unless she told them in a strong voice, but Joshua pretended not to hear her and ruffled her hair with more strength than Benjamin.

“Benny gets upset when Sofia gets a cold.”

“Ah…”

“So we’ll go on our own. She’s strong, unlike Sophia.”

So only Joshua and Benjamin left and walked to the spire.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***