Chapter 25

Penelope von Blumhart was born as the youngest child of the Blumhart family.  

Unlike her older brother Johann, who resembled the Duke of Blumhart, Penelope was the spitting image of her mother, Isabella, the Duchess.  

With her soft, luscious auburn hair and autumn forest-like reddish-green eyes, she was the cherished young lady of the Blumhart family.  

She was lively and cheerful, bringing vitality to the ducal household.  

Even when Johann went missing on his way back from subjugating monsters.  

Even when the Duke of Blumhart returned gravely injured after going to the north to subjugate monsters.  

The ducal family was able to endure their sorrow thanks to the bright and lovable young lady.  

When the missing eldest son of the Blumhart family returned, the Duke saw his son’s face one last time before passing into eternal rest.  

Although Penelope was deeply saddened by her father’s death, she believed she could endure it because her beloved mother was by her side.  

However, it seemed Isabella could not. She struggled to recover from the grief of losing her husband.  

Penelope was heartbroken to see her mother’s smile, which had become so sorrowful after her father’s death.  

‘Someday, when all the sadness fades, Mother will smile at me like she used to, won’t she?’  

Unlike with her busy father and mother, Penelope did not have an affectionate relationship with Johann, even less so.  

It was only natural, as Johann had left for the Imperial Academy the year she was born and lived in the dormitory, so she rarely saw him.  

Moreover, after graduating, he became the youngest Swordmaster and was busy being summoned all over the Empire.  

For Penelope, the most precious and closest family member was her mother.  

The one who always stayed by her side, smiling warmly at her. 

The summer following her father’s death, Penelope traveled with her mother to a summer villa by the northern lake.  

The north was notorious for its harsh cold, snowstorms, and the monsters descending from the Black Mountain Range during winter, but it was different in the summer.  

Plisensy, the massive lake that stretched across the northern region and the edge of the Blumhart estate, had cool and pleasant breezes in the summer.  

Moreover, its beautiful scenery made it a famous summer retreat for the nobility.  

Some enjoyed leisurely boat rides there, others swam, and some went on picnics.  

Penelope hoped her mother would recover her energy at Plisensy, after being immersed in sorrow for a year.  

But contrary to her hopes, her mother rarely stepped outside the villa.  

‘If Mother won’t come out, I’ll have to bring something fun to her!’  

She remembered how her mother always enjoyed seeing the fish she caught at the northern lake every year.  

So, leaving behind friends who invited her to swim, she grabbed a bucket and went to catch fish alone.  

While diligently catching fish, Penelope was startled by a sharp sting on her finger.  

Upon closer inspection, she found an unfamiliar fish biting her finger.  

‘It looks so disgusting. What kind of fish is this?’  

She observed the fish for a moment before resuming her fishing for her mother.  

‘…It stings a little, but I can endure it.’  

By the time the sun was setting, Penelope had caught a considerable number of fish and returned to her mother with a satisfied heart.  

However, Isabella only smiled faintly at the fish, showing no reaction like before.  

Penelope felt tears welling up but held them back.  

‘If I cry, Mother will be even sadder.’  

The next day, the bitten finger became severely infected and swollen.  

No matter what ointment was applied, it didn’t help, and she eventually collapsed, suffering from a high fever.  

Isabella, shocked, immediately returned to the ducal mansion and summoned the household’s healing mage. 

The healing mage could only lower the fever but failed to treat the infected wound.  

Even when a healing mage from the Imperial family was called, Penelope’s condition did not improve.  

On the contrary, it worsened.  

She felt as though her body was drying out, as if moisture was being drained from her.  

And her mother completely lost her smile.  

Penelope was devastated by this.  

‘I just wanted to make Mother smile….’  

She stopped Isabella, who tried to force a smile for her daughter’s sake.  

What she wanted to see was a smile of joy, not lips forced upward, smeared with sorrow.  

For more than a year, countless mages and underground healers from across the Empire tried every method to cure her, but none succeeded.  

There was only speculation that the appearance of small mutant monsters in the Black Mountain Range a few years ago might be the cause.  

The suspicion that the fish that bit her was not an ordinary fish but a monster.  

After Penelope contracted an incurable disease from the fish at the lake, the northern lake Plisensy was temporarily closed.  

Penelope felt her body drying out more and more as time passed.  

‘…It seems I won’t live much longer.’  

She worried that her death would deeply sadden her mother, but her energy was rapidly depleting.  

If so, she wanted to spend her remaining time smiling with her mother.  

However, that was only Penelope’s wish. Isabella could not give up on her daughter.  

Having already lost her husband early, Isabella could not bear to send her young daughter ahead of her.  

If that happened, she probably wouldn’t be able to endure it.  

Under the pretext of protecting Penelope, whose health had severely deteriorated, Isabella moved her to a room on the fourth floor.  

She prohibited anyone from entering the room except herself and a few servants and rarely allowed her daughter to leave.  

This decision was made after a maid with a cold infected Penelope, putting her in critical condition.  

Penelope understood Isabella’s feelings, but she didn’t want to spend the rest of her days confined to this place.  

‘I can’t tell Mother about these feelings.’  

She would undoubtedly feel more tormented than I do.  

I don’t want to see Mother sad anymore.  

‘I’m so sick of sadness.’  

But the loneliness of being confined to her room was unbearable no matter how much she tried to endure it.  

Although Isabella came to care for her at set times, and Johann occasionally visited her room, it was far from enough.  

‘I want to go out. I want to meet my friends and eat delicious food.’  

That day, too, she lay on her bed, tormented by frustration, soaking her pillow with tears.  

Then, startled by the sound of the door opening without a knock, she quickly wiped her tears.  

‘No one is supposed to come at this hour. Who could it be?’  

After a moment, small footsteps approached, and a child who resembled Johann entered.  

As soon as Penelope saw the girl, she recognized who she was.  

She was the niece she had heard about and was very curious about from Johann.  

‘…Oh my, she’s so adorable! And she looks just like my brother!’  

With her black hair braided into two buns and slightly upturned cat-like eyes, her overall appearance was strikingly similar to Johann.  

The child looked around with her bright emerald eyes, which she had inherited from her mother, and spotted Penelope lying on the bed.  

“Oh, I’m sorry!”  

Rafaella, startled upon seeing Penelope, stepped back as if to leave.  

“…Don’t go!”  

Penelope squeezed out her dry voice and called out to her.  

Rafaella, who was about to leave, stopped in her tracks.  

“…Mom said I shouldn’t come up to the fourth floor.”  

Rafaella muttered, fiddling with her small hands.  

“Rafaella, your name is Rafaella, right?”  

“Huh? How did you know?”  

Rafaella’s already large eyes widened even more.  

Penelope found her so adorable that she let out a small laugh.  

“Well, anyone can tell you look like my brother. I’m your aunt.”  

“Aunt?”  

“Yes, you’ve met your dad, right? The stern man who looks like you.”  

“Um, yes!”  

“I’m the younger sister of that stern father of yours.”  

Penelope introduced herself and beckoned Rafaella closer.  

She reassured her worried niece, who feared being scolded, that no one would come in at this hour.  

Rafaella, feeling reassured, approached her.  

“Come up here.”  

Penelope helped Rafaella climb onto the bed.  

Then, she asked Rafaella various questions, such as where she lived and what she thought of her father.  

“But how did you end up in my room? Mother has ordered that no one is allowed on the fourth floor.”  

“Well, um, Marco kept chasing me, so I was running away.”  

“Marco? Oh, that Marco!”  

Penelope recalled the son of her youngest aunt, whom her father had been particularly lenient with.  

That cousin had been a very ill-mannered child from the moment he arrived at the ducal mansion.  

He even acted rudely toward her at first until he got a taste of her wrath.  

“Don’t tell me he’s been bullying you?”  

“Yes, Mom says great-auntie is the most important person in this house, so Marco thinks he is too.”  

“What? How dare someone like Marco think that? Are you hurt anywhere?”  

Penelope carefully examined Rafaella’s body and asked.  

“I’m fine. I live in the mountains, so I’m fast at running!”  

“Fast at running?”  

“Yes, so Marco couldn’t even touch me.”  

“Phew, that’s a relief.”  

“…I’ll never get hurt! If I do, Mom will be sad.”  

Penelope’s heart ached at Rafaella’s small whisper.  

She saw herself in her young niece.  

‘…Poor thing. You don’t want your mom to be sad either.’  

Penelope stroked Rafaella’s head.  

Her soft hair brushed against Penelope’s hand.  

“Rafaella, can I call you Raffy?”  

“Yes! I like it.”  

“If you’re okay with it, you can call me Peppy.”  

Penelope smiled brightly at her niece.