Chapter 110

Chapter 110

After leaving the temple, I led the children back home. Originally I’d planned to head straight to the Highen Mansion, but carrying such a precious jewel around any longer didn’t seem wise. Of course, until now, Roti had always carried our mother’s keepsake around. But that was only possible because she hadn’t even known what was inside it. Now that we knew it was the Eye of the Sun, the right thing to do was to hurry home and hide that jewelry box deep in the safe.

“Unnie, why are we going home? We were supposed to go to our old house.”

Roti said, hugging the jewelry box tight against her chest and gazing out the window.

“Sorry, Roti. Let’s go to our old house tomorrow with Oppa. Um… Didn’t you hear the priest say earlier that there’s something very precious inside that jewelry box?”

“Uh-huh. The sun. He said the sun’s in there.”

“It’s the ‘Eye of the Sun’ exactly. It’s a very expensive jewel. And it’s so, so precious that we need to hide it at home. So today, we’ll put it away safely there, then move tomorrow. Got it?”

“Hmm… But you promised we’d go today… And I’ve never lost this, not once. I won’t lose it in the future either, so it’s fine! Really! You don’t have to hide it away!”

The child pouted, her face utterly crestfallen as she whined. That put me in a bit of a spot. Roti clearly felt unsettled unless that thing was right in front of her. I couldn’t really blame her—every little kid has something they cling to. But even so, that was far too valuable an item to carry around on her person.

“Roti, if we don’t hide it, some bad person who realizes how precious it is might steal it from you. You’re small and young, so they’d snatch that jewelry box right out of your hands. Maybe like this?”

As I said that, I slipped the jewelry box out of Roti’s arms with one hand. She flailed her little hands and grabbed it right back.

“No! I won’t let anyone take it!”

“Right. And one way to make sure it doesn’t get taken is to hide it well! We’ll tuck it away somewhere deep in our house where no one else will ever find it. Don’t you think?”

“Ugh…”

At my words, the fourth sibling furrowed her brow tight and sank into deep thought. She looked like she was searching for something to argue back with. I didn’t let that crack slip away. That moment of vague hesitation was my opening—I had to nail this down fast.

“Roti, let’s just hide it well by your bedside. Then the divine power inside it will watch over you while you sleep, just like Mom used to do when she was by your side.”

“Mmm…”

Once their mother came up, Roti finally nodded. Thank goodness—she was still young enough that convincing her wasn’t too hard. I let out a quiet sigh of relief and soothed her. With that settled, we could finally ride the carriage back home.

That night, after putting Roti and Ryan to bed, I brought up the matter of Mother’s jewelry box with Ren. In brief, I told him that the Eye of the Sun was inside it, and that it likely held an immense amount of divine power.

“The Eye of the Sun? You mean that yellow jewel?”

Ren’s voice shot up in astonishment as he asked me.

“Yeah. Our parents spent a long time searching for that gem, remember? I don’t think it was just for trade anymore.”

“Now that you mention it, I recall. They said it was hard to find a good-quality ‘Eye of the Sun.'”

The second sibling stroked his chin as if dredging up old memories. Then my gaze caught on his sleeve cuffs—badly frayed, with black dust caked on them. I had no idea what he’d been up to at the marketplace today, but they were a mess. The sight snagged on my nerves like a thorn prickling at me.

“…Sorry…”

“…For what?”

“Come to think of it, our family started getting poor right around the time our parents began searching for the Eye of the Sun. I guess buying that expensive jewel drained all our money. So… it’s probably my fault.”

“…Oh, come on. How could that be your fault?”

Ren let out a short laugh at my words. Then he sighed briefly and continued speaking.

“I get what you’re trying to say, but at least I’m fine. I’m not more unhappy now than when we were rich. Our little siblings are probably the same. Sure, we might lack things, but I don’t think they feel miserable. Well… that’s only natural, since I’m taking such good care of them…”

He shrugged as he said that. I reached out and ruffled his hair. He slapped my hand away in annoyance. Boys going through late puberty were truly difficult. He said such admirable things, but his cocky attitude hadn’t changed one bit.

“Anyway, it’d be nice if we could sell that jewel…”

I slowly moved my hand and grabbed a fistful of Ren’s hair.

“Huh? Sell it? Ah—wait, noona, that hurts! Let go.”

“Unfortunately, once divine power is channeled into it, it loses its value as a jewel… They said processing it makes the divine power leak out, and once it’s all gone, the gem crumbles into dust. But still, I don’t think I can carry it around carelessly. Our parents must have paid a fortune for it. And it just had to be that the only vessel that can hold divine power is the jewel, the Eye of the Sun…”

For a moment, gloom settled over me, and I tightened my grip. The priest said the Eye of the Sun in the jewelry box was at least fist-sized. Then why did our parents buy such a huge Eye of the Sun? When Luka and Lady Bandark were possessed, the one that repelled those souls was only a fingernail-sized Eye of the Sun…

The answer was actually very simple. It was because our parents worried about me too much. So much that even a small gem couldn’t put them at ease. In short, this was my problem. My body’s susceptibility to possession had brought us to this point.

“Even if it’s worthless as a jewel, it might be pretty valuable to us, right?”

Suddenly, Ren grabbed my arm and said that. I just stared down at him.

“You think so?”

“Anyway, our house is pretty deeply tied to ghosts. There are two of us in the family who can see them. And on top of that, you’re really susceptible to possession… And you said an evil spirit followed you all the way home yesterday, right? Wouldn’t it be good to be ready for something like that?”

“Hmm… You’re right. I saw the evil spirit get into the house yesterday, and it did spook me. It’s usually just the kids home alone, after all. And that’s never happened before.”

“…Yeah. So how about letting go of my head now? I’m seriously in pain!”

“After all, it’s best to keep Mother’s keepsake safe at home, right? So your divine power can properly protect you guys. I’ve got the one the Duke gave me, so I’m fine.”

I let go of the second one’s head and answered. Ren immediately rubbed his scalp with both hands, then shot me a sharp glare.

“Ah… Felt like my head was about to get ripped off.”

And right then—the dining room door creaked open. I whipped my head around, thinking another ghost had appeared. But thankfully, there was no ghost there. Instead, Ryan toddled in, poking his face through the gap in the door.

“Huh? Ryan, you’re awake? How in the world did you get down from the crib?”

I sprang up from my seat with a startled cry.

“That kid’s uncanny sometimes. Seeing him like this, I’d say he’s the genius of us three.”

Ren scratched the back of his head and got to his feet. Then he walked over to the youngest and scooped him up. As soon as Ryan was in his brother’s arms, he waved his hands at me and babbled.

“I’ll take him and put him back to bed. You should head in and sleep too, Noona.”

The second one patted the youngest’s back, then turned to leave through the doorway. I quickly reached out and grabbed Ren’s arm.

“Hey, Ren.”

“What’s up?”

“Thanks.”

“For what?”

“For… everything?”

“…Yeah. Got it. Well… Good night, Noona.”

He pouted awkwardly, then turned to leave again. But I still hadn’t let go of his arm. There was more I hadn’t said.

“Hey, Ren.”

“What now?”

“You don’t have anything tomorrow, right?”

“Nope. Why?”

“Let’s go to Highen Mansion tomorrow.”

“Huh? Our house?”

I saw a look of pure confusion rise on Ren’s face. I chuckled and added,

“Yeah, our house.”

* * *

“Wow. Our house got so much better!”

Roti bounded up and down, shouting. The Highen Mansion, after all this time, was still the Highen Mansion. The new owner hadn’t torn it down and rebuilt it from scratch—he’d kept the original structure, only shoring up the weak spots. We’d never even managed to properly fix up this house that bore our family name, and now, after it had passed into someone else’s hands, it finally looked impressive.

“Yeah. It’s something.”

I said, scanning the mansion from every angle. It was strange, seeing the old house again. Standing here now, memories of the time I’d spent inside it came flooding back—details I’d never once thought about in the new place.

Naturally, I thought of our parents. Until now, I’d been too busy scraping by to wallow in grief after they died. But maybe it was because I’d finally found some breathing room working at the ducal house? An unexpected wave of sorrow seemed to wash over me.

“Hey, Noona… don’t you think something’s off?”

Lost in that melancholy, Ren tapped my arm. I looked more closely at the Highen Mansion.

The small garden was bustling with people coming and going. But their stiff, formal demeanor suggested they weren’t a family living together. As Ren said, it felt odd. If the new owner didn’t intend to live here or use it as a vacation home, what on earth was his purpose in buying the place?

‘Should I grab someone and ask?’

I tilted my head, puzzled, just as a man crossing the garden spotted us and began walking my way.