10 #10-I Want To Meet That Beautiful Lady Again, Father

When they all arrived at Alasdair's mansion with Richard Alasdair's teleportation magic, Ruby Alasdair's condition was very worrying.

The woman was shivering from the cold. Her teeth chattered, making everyone panic including Sylver Cielo and his son, Theodore Cielo. Ruby's two older brothers decided to discuss Theodore's problem later after they took care of Ruby who was starting to fall asleep.

"Ruby Alasdair, don't you dare fall asleep," Sylver growled. The man was carrying Ruby and Theodore was in Reynold's arms. They all ran to the second floor, to Ruby's bedroom. Sylver even opened the door in front of him with a kick, making Shery, who was cleaning her Lady's bedroom and preparing Ruby's favorite sweets and tea, jump in surprise.

"My Lady?!" exclaimed Shery. She immediately ran to the bed and opened the blanket. She watched with a pale expression on her face as Sylver laid Ruby's body carefully onto the bed. Shery didn't even care about the handsomeness of the Duke who was standing by her side at the moment. "I will prepare warm water right away!"

As if trouble still wanted to test Sylver, Reynold, and Richard, Ruby's bedroom door opened. The three men turned their heads around, including Theodore who was still in the arms of the Alasdair family's eldest child. When the person who opened the door to Ruby's room entered with an unhappy expression because he was disturbed by the commotion going on in Alasdair's mansion, Sylver, Reynold, and Richard froze.

"What commotion are you guys making in my daughter's room?" Duke Alasdair grumbled. The man massaged the bridge of his nose and frowned when he saw Sylver Cielo in Ruby's room. "Duke Silver? What are you and your little brother doing here?" he asked in a confused tone when he saw Theodore crying in his eldest son's arms.

Then, his eyes fell on Ruby who was lying on the bed in a worrying condition. Her whole body was soaked, her dress was torn to her knees, and her daughter was having difficulty breathing. Her face was flushed but also pale with blue lips. "Ruby?!" Duke Alasdair immediately ran to Ruby's bed and sat next to his daughter. She grabbed Ruby's hand and gasped. "Oh Lord! Your hands are frozen, Ruby!"

Richard clicked his tongue in annoyance and immediately snapped his fingers. The entire room became warm thanks to the heating magic he cast just now.

"I'm going to the magic tower for a bit to drag the wizard who has healing magic here right now."

After saying this, Richard disappeared along with a magic circle that appeared under his feet. Then, Shery entered Ruby's bedroom along with several of her friends. She faced Duke Alasdair and bowed.

"I'm sorry, Duke, but I have to change My Lady's clothes and clean her body," Shery said carefully.

Duke Alasdair nodded tensely. "I understand. Please, make my daughter warm. Call me when you're finished." The Duke stood up and looked at the two adult men who were still in his daughter's room. He looked at one of the maids and said, "You, please take care of Duke Sylver's little brother and calm him down." Duke Alasdair's gaze now turned to Reynold and Sylver. His gaze sharpened. "And you two, come to my study right now!"

Sylver and Reynold both took a deep breath. The two men followed Duke Alasdair into his study. Sylver didn't even care if he was soaked or shivering. His head continued to think about Ruby Alasdair's condition. The woman didn't faint because Sylver could see she was trying to breathe properly. Even though her body was shaking with cold, her body temperature felt high against the skin of Sylver's hands when he was holding the woman.

"What happened?"

The cold question made Sylver raise his face. He didn't realize that he was already in Duke Alasdair's study. This man, who has three grown children and is no longer young, still looks handsome and dashing. Duke Alasdair is known to be very gentle with his children and loves Ruby Alasdair very much. But, the man can also turn into a lion when needed.

"It's my fault, Duke," Sylver said in a firm tone. As firm as his purple eyes looked when he looked into Duke Alasdair's blue eyes. "I am the—"

"Ruby suddenly came to me," Reynold said, interrupting Sylver's words. Duke Alasdair's gaze immediately turned to Reynold and Sylver turned his head to give him a sharp look. "She asked Richard to teleport her to the Arvanez forest."

Duke Alasdair's eyes widened and he froze. The next second, the Duke growled. "What?! You let your little sister go into that dangerous forest?! Have you lost your mind, Reynold Alasdair?! Ruby's body is very fragile and weak! She's always sick! Have you forgotten how Ruby almost died just because she had a fever?!"

Hearing that, Reynold looked down and gritted his teeth. He clenched his fists at his sides. Meanwhile, Sylver froze. He felt increasingly worried about Ruby. Emotions he had never felt for anyone other than Theodore and his late wife. What should he do now? What if Ruby's condition gets worse? What if Ruby dies because of this?

"I'm sorry, Father."

Duke Alasdair massaged the bridge of his nose and cursed.

"Why would Ruby want to go there? What was she doing over there to make her like this? Why don't you protect your little sister, Reynold?"

"Ruby..." Reynold swallowed hard. "She suddenly said that Theodore Cielo was in danger and would be killed if we didn't immediately go to the Arvanez forest."

"What?" the Duke looked at Sylver. "What does that mean, Duke Sylver?"

The man shook his head. "To be honest, I don't know either. I admit that I went to your daughter's room secretly because I was curious about her change in attitude which was different from the rumors I heard."

"You, what?!" Duke Alasdair shouted.

"But, as the little Duke said, Princess Ruby suddenly said that my little brother would be killed. We all went there and the Princess saved Theo who was about to be thrown into the river by a traitor working for me. Then, I saved the Princess who almost drowned."

Duke Alasdair let out a heavy sigh.

What was wrong with these children?

###

After a long interrogation conducted by Duke Alasdair, Sylver took his son back to Cielo's mansion.

Theodore throws a tantrum. The boy continued to struggle and cry in Sylver's arms. Theodore is an obedient and polite boy. He is also gentle. This was the first time Sylver had seen his son act like this. Even when Sylver had to change out of his wet clothes and ordered several maids to try to calm Theodore down, his son wouldn't stop crying. He also refuses to eat lunch and that clearly worries Sylver.

The Duke entered his son's room carrying his lunch. He sat on the edge of the bed after placing the plate containing Theodore's favorite food on the table beside the bed. Then, the man caressed Theodore's silver hair, who was still crying while hugging his doll.

"Theo, what's wrong with you? Why do you keep crying, hm?" Sylver asked in a worried tone. "I brought your food. Do you want to have lunch with me? Do you want me to feed you?"

Theodore shook his head. He approached Sylver, climbed onto his lap, and hugged him.

"Father, I want to ask you something," said the boy while sobbing.

Sylver smiled and nodded. He kissed Theodore's forehead.

"If you want something, just tell me, Son. Whatever you wish, Father will grant it to you, son."

Theodore was silent. The boy looked down and Sylver could see his cheeks were red.

"I want to meet that beautiful Lady again, Father."

Sylver blinked. "Yes?"

"The beautiful Lady who helped me earlier at the river," explained Theodore. "I want to see her again."