He really was very gentle. Seeing that the young duke had also taken Callian's hand, jealousy instantly surged in Marilyn's heart. Why was he clearly a boy, yet happened to be so beautiful?
Claude came alone to the shooting range. He had come to keep an appointment. From far away, he could already hear the noisy bickering of the Bell brothers.
The moment Callian saw Claude, her heart suddenly tightened. Before that, she had no idea that today's teacher would actually be the young duke. At this moment, she only felt like she was about to cry.
But Claude did not care at all. He simply raised the gun and gestured with it on his own.
"May I ask you a question? Why did you go and taste the snow?"
Perhaps she had not expected her actions to be noticed. Callian's little face instantly flushed red. She was just curious.
"Curious about what? The taste of snow?"
Thinking of this, Claude could not hold back and actually let out a soft laugh. Wasn't that something only street children would do?
As he spoke, he handed the gun to her. While Callian was still hesitating, Claude had already walked behind her.
"Answer me, Callian. Hurry up."
The two of them are a little too close right now.
Callian felt as if her heart were about to leap into her throat. At this moment, she was both nervous and frightened. Her hands also began trembling uncontrollably. In her panic, the gun accidentally went off.
Callian's pupils instantly constricted. Looking at the flock of birds startled into flight in the distance, and at the young duke's hand that had not been withdrawn in time and had been burned, her mind went blank in an instant.
Seeing that Claude was injured, everyone cried out in horror. "Call the doctor!"
But Claude only said lightly, "No need."
The attendants immediately went pale. It was only a slight burn. There was no need to make such a fuss.
Just then, a faint sobbing sound came from behind. And when he turned around, Callian was already crying her eyes out. He let out a light laugh.
"I'm the one who got hurt, so why are you crying?"
But Callian did not answer. Instead, without saying a word, she knelt in the snow and hurriedly made a snowball. Her little hands were frozen red, yet she seemed to feel nothing. Claude was full of confusion.
The next second, Callian pulled over his injured hand, and that snowball was pressed against the wound.
Whether from the cold or from fear, Callian was trembling all over. The moment she thought that she had hurt someone so noble, and what kind of punishment she would face next, she was so frightened that she squeezed her eyes shut tightly. And only after a long while did she slowly speak.
"Please forgive me. It was all my fault."
At this time, Marilyn and the others also came over after hearing the commotion. She anxiously shoved Callian aside and took out the handkerchief she carried with her. She took hold of Claude's injured hand.
"I have already ordered the servants to fetch a doctor."
Unexpectedly, Princess Rosina had also rushed over. Jaelan politely greeted her. Claude did not like Marilyn and immediately pulled his hand back.
Marilyn turned around and glared angrily at the person who had caused it all — Callian. She shouted loudly at the fool.
"No matter how young you are, how could you be so careless with something as dangerous as a gun?"
Callian was so frightened that she kept stepping back. Suddenly, a large hand landed on her shoulder.
"Miss. Are you yelling at my younger brother right now?"
"But he injured the young duke's hand."
As she spoke, her body also began to tremble. Jaelan's face darkened, and he said word by word, "So I'm asking you. Are you yelling at my younger brother?"
Marilyn was instantly frightened and hurriedly admitted that she had lost her composure, then apologised to Jaelan. But Jaelan pulled Callian into his arms in one motion.
"The person you should apologise to is not me, but my younger brother."
Then he switched to a gentle tone again. "Callian, apologise to His Grace, the young duke."
Callian nodded hard under Claude's gaze. She respectfully bowed to him. "I'm sorry, Your Grace."
Callian's sincere appearance made Jaelan feel extremely gratified, but Marilyn still could not let it go.
Just then, a crisp burst of laughter suddenly rang out. The handkerchief in Marilyn's hand also fell to the ground.
Feeling that the young duke was getting closer and closer to her, Callian suddenly raised her head. She saw Claude extend his injured hand before her once again.
"Do it again."
Callian did not understand at all what the person before her was saying.
"Like just now. Do it again, Callian. That works much better than a handkerchief."
She had actually injured the noble young duke by accident. Even though she had already apologised with the utmost sincerity, the young duke showed not the slightest intention of blaming her. And yet she was still scolded by the other nobles — all because she had unintentionally stepped into the nobles' circle and threatened her older brother Jaelan's position.
No matter how she tried to explain, she could not obtain her mother's forgiveness. She widened her round eyes, her face full of disbelief. She could not believe that her mother would say such vicious words. Still very young, she was slapped to the ground.
"You still have the nerve to cry? Unbelievable. Remember this. The only thing you need to do is stay alive. If you dare to steal Jaelan's spotlight again, I will absolutely not let you off."
It turned out that the meaning of her existence was to become a copy of her older brother.
Claude, standing outside the door, heard every single one of these words clearly. He only found it absurd. Even the victim had not pursued the matter. So what exactly was this so-called mother getting so worked up about?
Heavy snow was falling outside. Faintly, one could still hear a child's suppressed sobs. It was Callian. She had been punished by the lady and forbidden from entering the house. At this moment, she really missed her mother.
Suddenly, a dark shadow fell over her. Someone was walking over. She abruptly raised her head. It turned out to be the injured young duke.
Claude crouched down in front of Callian. Imitating what Callian had done that afternoon, he made a snowball. He gently pressed it against Callian's swollen cheek, and the young duke's sudden action left her overwhelmed with surprise and gratitude. At that moment, both of their heartbeats quietly quickened.
So this is what it feels like.
And then it was over. Claude stood up and brushed the snow from his hands. Then he turned and left on his own in the vast back garden. In the blink of an eye, only Callian was left again. As if that person had never come at all.
After learning of this matter, the Marquis and his wife had a fierce argument.
"Callian is our child too. Slapping a child in the face is simply going too far."
But Anata insisted that her punishment of Callian was all for the sake of the Bell family. As long as he stopped making mistakes, of course she would not hit him again. Even if it had been Jaelan who had disgraced the Bell family's honour today, she would have treated him the same.
The family would decline because of one child's mistake. This was simply the most absurd joke the Marquis had ever heard. He truly did not know who exactly was disgracing the Bell family. After throwing down those words, he slammed the door and left.
It turned out that a diamond mine had been discovered in the northern neutral region. If the emperor had not rashly intervened, that mine should have belonged entirely to Duke Hall, and the kingdom of Gear had already begun to take action. Even if only to stop their plot, the Bell family had to support the duke in strengthening his power.
A retainer suddenly came to report. "My Lord Marquis, young master Jaelan is having trouble breathing."
Because Callian had accidentally injured the noble young duke, her mother had punished her by making her kneel in the snow. And just at this moment, news came that her older brother was in critical condition.
By the time the Marquis arrived, Jaelan had already lost consciousness. Even using the best medicine in the empire, it still had no effect at all. This was almost equivalent to directly sentencing Jaelan to death.
Just when everyone was at a complete loss, Claude appeared and proposed passing through the neutral territory to go to Gear. It turned out that the greatest holy physician, Schmitry, was there. But as far as the Marquis knew, Schmitry was the attending physician of the Gear royal family. What he did not know was that the doctor had once received Duke Hall's favour. Moreover, Claude was unwilling to lose his close friend just like this.
Hearing this glimmer of hope, Anata seemed to grasp the last life-saving straw. "As long as the child can be saved, I am willing to do anything."
"Please consider it carefully, both of you."
After stepping outside, Claude saw Callian standing alone in the corner. It turned out that she was not even allowed to offer her greetings.
"How old are you? Ten? Twelve? Have you gone to the academy yet?"
"I study with teacher Tater."
"All right. Then we'll have to wait until you reach the upper grades before we meet again."
And just like that, four years passed.