Chapter 94

"Amelia... Lady... Lady Amelia..."

A voice can be heard.

"Amelia Lady!"

The strong voice calling her awakens the consciousness that had fallen into the depths of darkness.

"Mother...!!"

A voice escapes from her throat. She sits up abruptly and looks around. Her blurry vision begins to clear.

A spacious, clean, and bright room. It is her own room, where she has been staying since she married into the Helenberg family.

Looking to the side, she sees Sylphie, who is staring with wide, surprised eyes.

"Sylphie..."

"Um... I'm sorry, but I'm not your mother."

"Ah, no, that's not it... um, this is..."

"Don't worry. I didn't hear anything."

Sylphie responds calmly, with a peculiar concern. Amelia's heart is filled with a sense of relief at her usual demeanor.

Looking out the window, she sees that it is already completely dark.

(Oh... What am I doing...)

On the other hand, Amelia's face is bright red. She can clearly remember the reason why she slept until night.

In the afternoon, after meeting with William, she was hugged and had her head stroked by Logan. As a result, Amelia fell soundly asleep.

She doesn't know how she got to her bedroom.

(If Lord Logan carried me here... I wouldn't be able to face him...)

Even with her lack of sleep, what a state she was in. Adding to that, the blunder of calling Sylphie "mother" upon waking up.

She feels like digging a hole in the floor and hiding in it.

(Mother?)

A light flashes in her mind.

"More importantly, Lady Amelia, are you okay?"

Sylphie peers at her with concern.

"You seemed to be having a nightmare..."

"Nightmare..."

Only now does Amelia realize that she is drenched in sweat and her breathing is shallow. At the same time, the content of the dream she had while sleeping flows into her mind.

Twilight, the garden of the detached house. Her knee is injured. Her mother, who healed her wound. A cold day with snow falling. Her mother lying on the bed. The crying and screaming of her younger self. The emaciated skin, the lifeless face of her mother, tears, medicine, and the bony hand that falls weakly.

The heavy memories flash back, and a sharp pain shoots through her head.

"Lady Amelia!?"

Sylphie cries out as Amelia holds her head.

"Sorry, I caused you worry... but I'm okay..."

She takes a deep breath to calm her noisy heartbeat. Sylphie asks, noticing the shadow on Amelia's face.

"Did you have a scary dream?"

"Not a scary dream..."

Usually, she forgets dreams quickly, but this time she can vividly recall the dream. It must have been a scene deeply etched in her memory.

"Rather, it was... sad..."

Shaking her head and narrowing her eyes gently, Amelia speaks softly.

"I had a nostalgic dream."

Ten years ago, her mother, Sophie, fell ill. The disease Sophie had was a terrifying one that could lead to death if not treated with the right medication.

Her mother, who was not originally a robust person, rapidly deteriorated.

-- Please! Help my mother...

Amelia pleaded desperately with her father and stepmother for treatment.

-- Hmph! Ridiculous, I won't waste our family's precious money on such a thing!

-- The treatment and medicine cost a fortune! Do you really think we would buy them for you, a drain on the family?

It was later revealed that a considerable amount of money was needed to treat the disease. However, for a noble, it would not have been a significant financial burden, and they would have paid it without hesitation to treat a loved one.

But Sophie was just a commoner, a nuisance to the head of the Hagel family, Cedric, and his wife, Leiche. As a result, Sophie did not receive adequate treatment.

Amelia tried to give Sophie various medicines, but to no avail. In the end, Sophie passed away with Amelia by her side.

It was later discovered that the medicine to treat the disease could not be replicated with the plants from the garden. The frustration and sense of powerlessness from that time drove Amelia to acquire the vast knowledge she has today.

"..."

Seeing Amelia's somewhat desolate expression, Sylphie speaks with concern.

"Although it's quite late, would you like to have dinner? If you don't have an appetite, you don't have to force yourself to eat..."

"Hey, Sylphie."

Amelia asks.

"What kind of person is your mother?"

Caught off guard by the sudden, unrelated question, Sylphie blinks.

"Mother? Well..."

Putting her index finger to her chin and looking up at the ceiling, Sylphie answers.

"To start with, she's a person whose thoughts are hard to read. Her expressions don't change much, and she has few emotional fluctuations. She's rather calm and composed."

"That... sounds like Sylphie's mother."

It seems Sylphie has inherited her mother's traits.

"But... my mother is a very kind person."

Sylphie's lips curve slightly as she speaks.

"My family was a single-parent household with many sisters, and we were not particularly wealthy. Even when there was little food at home, my mother would come up with ways to cook. Even with just breadcrumbs and vegetables, she could turn them into a delicious soup."

Sylphie, who usually speaks little, talks about her mother fluently. Her voice is filled with a warm emotion, like the warmth of spring.

"During the cold winter days, she would go far to gather firewood and warm us by huddling close to us. She also taught us how to write and do calculations every night, which helped us get our current jobs."

Watching Sylphie talk fondly about her mother, Amelia feels a warm feeling.

"You love your mother, don't you?"

"Yes, of course."

With a clear expression, Sylphie continues.

"I love her very much."

A voice resurfaces in her mind.

-- I love you, Amelia...

The gentle smile Sophie showed on her deathbed resurfaces.

"Right..."

Is it just her imagination?

Her voice seems to be tinged with moisture...

"Lady Amelia!? What's wrong?"

"Ah..."

Sylphie's startled voice makes her realize. Touching her cheek, she feels a wet sensation.

Tears are spilling from the corners of her eyes.

"Ah, um, this is..."

Trying to cover it up, more tears spill out. Sylphie, looking flustered, asks.

"Are you really okay, Lady Amelia? You seem different, calling me 'mother' and asking about my mother..."

"No, it's nothing, nothing at all..."

Wiping the tears streaming down her cheeks with her arm, she wonders why she had that dream at this moment.

Somehow, she understands.

-- If someone who will take good care of Amelia in the future appears... then, use a lot of magic for them.

The words her mother entrusted to her on that day.

-- When my mother was ill, I studied a lot and tried various things to cure her, but it didn't work... I was so frustrated... I didn't want to go through that again, so I studied even more...

The conversation she had with Logan after meeting William. It must have connected with her past feelings and manifested as a dream.

(Just like that day... I don't want anyone to lose someone important and be sad...)

That was Amelia's resolve. By now, her tears have stopped.

"Sylphie"

To Sylphie, who is unusually flustered, Amelia speaks with a determined tone.

"I will do my best."

Her expression is as clear as the sky after a storm. On the other hand, Sylphie looks puzzled.

"Lady Amelia, you are already doing your best..."

She nods firmly, as if to emphasize that this is certain.