“No, I also had one when I was young,” a nostalgic gleam shone in Bertha’s eyes as she twirled the mobile in her hand.
"Forgiveness?" Ilyin could help his wide eyes.
If this was something her grandmother had received when she was young, then it was safe to assume it was a few decades old.
This was very difficult to believe, as the mobile showed no signs of age wear.
The tissue box accessory in which the mobile came was in perfect condition.
Although the mobile was not necessarily an item that should be handled repeatedly, the fact that it had been preserved so well for so many decades was shocking to Ilyin.
“You can pass it on to your daughter too,” Bertha said, a fond smile playing on her lips.
“Is it a family heirloom?” Ilyin asked, still marveling at the object in front of her, which had managed to escape the effects of time.
“When my mother received this, she was told to hand over the mobile if I also saw the mobile in my dreams,” Bertha spoke as she remembered.
“So you see this mobile in your dreams too, Grandma?” asked Ilyin.
“Of course,” Bertha said matter-of-factly, “and so did my mother and your mother.”
Since Ilyin's mother never allowed her to talk about anything remotely related to predictions, there was no way Ilyin could have heard about it and Ilyin looked at the mobile again.
“I don’t like dreams, but-”
Bertha sighed and spoke after looking at the mobile: “I hoped you wouldn’t see the mobile.”
‘Cursed blood that dreams.’ Ilyin remembered how her grandmother referred to their ability when she was little.
That voice was deeply embedded in her memory for some reason, she thought it was talking about her.
The mobile, which looked brand new, shook heavily at the slightest movement.
It was a wonder how, despite being so thin that it was transparent, the fabric that covered it managed to protect the mobile from any hint of damage.
As Ilyin was a noblewoman, she knew the different types of clothing, but this was the first time Ilyin had encountered a fabric of this nature.
“I know it's a mobile, but…” she trailed off as she set the mobile down and lifted one of the accessories to observe, the material was softer than she expected.
She tilted her head a little as she watched the blue accessory turning it from side to side.
The purple reflection it gave off when the light passed by was a familiar sight.
“Huh?” Ilyin furrowed his eyebrows.
Realization quickly hit her as she reached her hand to her side.
She grabbed the blue cloth that she now recognized to be the same one the hot area had stopped using because it was no longer cold.
The cloth was a divine item that belonged to the Blue North.
“That’s-“
Before she could complete her sentence, Ilyin was interrupted by the sound of someone arriving at her door.
“Ilyin.”
Etra and the other Delrose knights disguised as servants were posted in front of Ilyin's door.
There was only one person who could call his name without having to worry about the guards.
“Aden?” Ilyin looked at the door in surprise, she was told that Aden would be late because he had other business to take care of.
“Can I excuse myself for a moment?” Ilyin looked at Bertha for permission as she stood up.
“Of course,” Bertha nodded.
The relatively small room she was currently in was the one she lived in when she stayed at the Arlen Manor.
The Delrose maids, upon seeing the room, hurriedly tried to tidy it up as best they could.
They insisted that they could not let Ilyin stay in such a room.
Ilyin walked towards the door to open it, but Aden beat her to it as he entered the room.
The screeching sound that usually accompanied the opening of the door was no longer heard, as the maids had oiled the door during their quest to make the room more worthy of Ilyin.
Aden, upon entering, politely greeted Bertha.
Bertha replied with a playful smile.
Behind him were Idith and Milo.
Although Milo was dressed in servant clothes, there was no way Ilyin wouldn't recognize him.
'Why was someone who was supposed to be at the Acid Merchant here?
Was it something urgent?’ Ilyin couldn’t help but wonder.
Aden briefly scanned the room, disgust evident on his face.
He was not very pleased about Ilyin being in such a room and it was a reasonable feeling.
It was too small and old a room for Ilyin to use, but due to the traditions of the nobles, Ilyin, who organized the funeral, could not stay outside the mansion.
“This was actually my room before,” Ilyin said calmly.
Aden briefly found himself unable to hide his emotions at that statement.
Ilyin lowered his head in shame.
For Aden, who lived in Biflten Manor as the Duke of Winter, she knew what this room would look like to him.
Little did she know that the emotion Aden felt was completely different from what Ilyin thought.
“You’ve lived in a place like this for twenty years.” Aden's voice was strained as his jaw was clenched.
The greatest emotion he felt was anger towards Viscount Arlen.
He knew well how Ilyin lived in Arlen Manor and received reports from Milo and sometimes from Ilyin herself, but only now did he realize how little he knew, as he never imagined things would be so bad.
He had to try his best to hide his anger in front of Ilyin.
As Aden looked around the room again, he could feel his anger bubbling and threatening to surface.
Aden took a deep breath and controlled his emotions before speaking:
“I received a message a little while ago.”
He paused for a moment as he remembered the words he carefully chose on his way to Ilyin.
He knew Ilyin would be surprised either way, but he wanted to make the conversation as easy as possible for her.
“Guess we’ll have to come back early,” Aden said, looking rather guilty.
Ilyin's mouth opened a little.
‘Something must have happened in the winter region.’ Ilyin immediately thought.
It felt like his heart dropped.
“Maybe, something happened at the mansion?” Ilyin asked, his voice full of concern.
Aden predicted that Ilyin would catch up soon, he reached out and gently stroked his tense shoulders.
“Nothing with the mansion, but something happened to Elo.”
‘They have to get back to winter quickly.
Is the future I predicted coming?’ The thought formed a knot in Ilyin’s stomach and accelerated the beat of his heart.