Chapter 356 - I Didn't Want to Know (5)

Rika flapped her arms, trying to swim back to the surface. She didn't know she would fall into the deep lake as she was so close to getting that flower. With Rika desperately screaming for help, Luke knew something was wrong from all the books he read. He called for a servant and his tutor and pointed where Rika was starting to drown. He thought that they could take care of the mess while he could continue reading his book.

His tutor sprinted towards the lake, trying to get to Rika as soon as possible. His employer would be very furious if she got sick or injured from this event. He didn't like working with young children in general since they got in trouble so easily. By the time he arrived, Rika had already exhausted all her strength as her body floated on top of the lake. Her skin was pale blue like she was already dead.

After he had fetched her body from the surface of the lake, he shook her as hard as he could. He pumped her chest as she didn't respond to any of his attempts. With no other choice, he ran to the infirmary with Rika in his arms. Luke, who was curious of how the tutor was handling the mess, followed him into the infirmary.

"When did you first notice she was inside the lake?" His tutor asked him.

"From the beginning, ever since she entered the garden," he wondered why Rika was still sleeping.

"Why didn't you call for me then?" He looked at the young boy for an explanation.

"I thought you were her caretaker," Luke treated him as one of his family servants.

Luke wasn't wrong. The role of a tutor for young children included watching over them so they wouldn't get into trouble. But the tutor didn't want to shoulder the entire blame, knowing his career would be ruined. No one would hire him anymore. He decided to shift some of the blame to the young boy, the same age of the girl who wasn't waking up.

"You know Rika is basically a baby. You, who knows better should have taken care of her. She doesn't know what is good or bad for her. She's your responsibility, is she not?" The tutor blamed Luke.

Luke stayed silent, recalling his grandfather's words from when they first met. He remembered his grandfather telling him that he would have to take care of her. He didn't know she would be like a newborn child, not knowing anything about the world. Unlike them, she knew how to speak and express her thoughts.

"She may not wake up because of you," the tutor harshly scolded him.

He stared at Rika's pale face, not moving a single inch. Deep inside, he knew that the tutor was right. She was almost the same as a newborn baby who cried for their parents all the time. It was almost like he had a younger sibling inside the house. But since his parents were too busy with work, they also treated her coldly during mealtimes, not offering to comfort her.

Only the tutors comforted her so they could get through the rest of the material with her. This was why he thought of them as her main caretaker. The tutor's words echoed into his heart as he began to worry what would happen to him if his parents and grandparents figured out. Although his mother was warm to him, he could tell she wanted to leave sometimes to get some rest. His mother was always tired like his father who was drained of all his energy as he dragged himself to come join them for meals. His parents didn't like anyone who caused them trouble.

"What happened?" William came into the infirmary from all the commotion.

"She fell into the lake," the tutor explained.

"You didn't watch over her?" he stared at the dying girl.

"Your son was watching over the entire time and only called for me when she was already floating on the surface of the lake," the tutor continued to blame Luke.

William sighed as he wondered if he would get in trouble with his father. His father had mentioned how hard he tried to get this girl to get engaged to Luke. He didn't want the other families to snatch her since they would rise in power with their descendants who would likely inherit her potential for an unlimited amount of mana.

Before he would fire the tutor, he needed to let Luke know how this could never happen again. He knew how Luke possessed a great sense of responsibility to uphold his duties ever since he was born from his mother. Joanna educated Luke with all her energy that he would become a well-mannered child who would place the Roselia family before him.

"You have to watch over Rika. You know how she doesn't know what's good or bad for her. She isn't educated in those things yet like you are," William repeated almost the same things as the tutor.

Luke shrank into the corner of the room, feeling this was all his fault. If his father was the one who said it, it must be true. I started to feel bad for the younger version of Luke as everything was pushed to him at such a young age. Most of the blame actually went to the lazy tutor. Luke was also a toddler who didn't understand everything, he was the same age as her.