At the same time, Raven was lost in deep thought in his room.

‘That woman… Did she notice?’

Right after Bella regained stability, Raven, who had rushed out of the room, immediately found Sione.

Since the only person to ask for help in the Rose Palace, where no doctor resides permanently, was her.

Fortunately, Sione was nearby, and she confirmed that Bella’s condition had returned to normal.

“But how did you notice Bella fell? The door must have been closed.”

“……I have good ears. I just heard a noise as I passed by.”

“Do you have any idea why this suddenly happened?”

“I don’t know. But this was lying on the floor.”

Holding the severely cracked gemstone, Sione briefly sighed as if she had a suspicion.

She had handed over the peculiar gem as an excuse, but it unexpectedly matched.

“Raven. Actually, Bella has been suffering from a peculiar chronic disease. She sometimes has difficulty breathing or collapses, but it’s rare for her to recover so quickly.”

“I see. But I don’t think I need to know.”

“There must be a reason why Bella’s condition suddenly improved. What could it be?”

Although the perceptive Sione asked indirectly, Raven avoided answering.

From the beginning, everyone in Rose Palace, including Sione, didn’t seem willing to explain in detail the illness Bella had.

There must be a clear reason for bringing him here, but it felt as if they were trying to hide it.

‘They are also hiding something from me. There’s no need for me to reveal the truth first.’

Raven was still on guard against the people here, including Sione.

He had helped the sick child, but speaking carelessly about offering his blood in a place where vampires loitered could lead to danger.

‘No matter how kind they are to me, I can’t feel at ease.’

A warm room and bed, meals served on time every meal.

Someone teaching him to read and treating him humanely this situation itself was far removed from reality for Raven.

‘Sooner or later, they will surely betray me.’

Even those who smile and treat me well may suddenly change and wield a knife.

This continual guard and suspicion were almost survival instincts for the boy who had lived such a life.

Despite continued leading questions, Raven refused to answer, so Sione locked him in his room and bolted the door, saying she wouldn’t open it until he told the truth.

Stripped of all his privileges to wander freely around the palace and left alone, Raven felt a peculiar sense of comfort.

Thinking that all the favors he had received so far were false, he couldn’t easily accept them, feeling vindicated.

“……Yeah. This is natural.”

After all, I’m just someone they brought here for their purposes.

The brief experience of warmth and kindness was nothing more than an illusion that would eventually disappear.

But why does my heart feel so empty?

‘Is the kid okay?’

Whether his blood had any effect, Bella’s physical condition was fully restored.

The last time he saw her, she was sound asleep, even snoring, so she must have regained her health.

Maybe she’s cramming snacks into her mouth as usual.

‘I feel strange.’

Why?

The tiny, frail child who’s always spirited, and who glows with plump and shiny cheeks like a ripe apple when eating snacks, why do I want to see her?

“I want to…… see?”

Is this how this emotion is normally expressed?

Raven, who rarely uttered such words due to his blunt personality, was taken aback by his own words.

“Haha, that’s ridiculous.”

Even though he was alone in the room and no one could hear, Raven laughed as if it were unbelievable.
If someone were eavesdropping, they might point fingers and call it madness.

Raven, suddenly getting up from the bed, spread open the thick book on the table.

Though the book was difficult, filled with content he didn’t understand, if he didn’t do something immediately, he felt like he would be consumed by the strange feeling he had just experienced.

Raven struggled to shake off the invading thoughts, focusing on each and every letter written in the book.

As time passed, deep night came to Rose Palace.

(This is a time divider.)

“Hoong, it’s a restless night.”

At this late hour when everyone was asleep, troubled, I had been pacing the room for already 30 minutes.

Because my sudden collapse had thrown all the plans into disarray.

‘I was going to tell Raven today. What should I do?’

Even if the issue with the magic stone had already been found out by Sionne, so there was nothing to be done about it, the matter concerning Raven was a bit different.

Elga will arrive in a few days, and if I don’t talk about myself by then, there might be a huge misunderstanding.

‘Other people telling him is of no use. I must tell him myself.’

Was it because of the experiences I had in my previous life?

I instinctively sensed that Raven had a lot of scars and pain.

The fact that he didn’t accept people’s greetings or easily accept kindness must surely be related to such a past, which was not difficult to notice.

Because, Raven’s cold eyes resembled those of my former self.