“Mom!”
As soon as Herald set me down, I rushed straight to my mother. Her face was so pale. Her tightly shut eyes seemed like they wouldn’t open easily.
Seeing that, the body that had just calmed down began to tremble again. The feeling I had when I heard my mother had collapsed was fear.
It felt as though I was left all alone in the world… The loneliness, which I had painfully felt before, was swallowing me whole again.
“Mom, wake up… please…”
I desperately murmured, pressing my mother’s white hand to her forehead. As I moved her face this way and that, trying to feel her body temperature, a low voice, sounding a little bit empty, pierced through from above.
“Is it just a cold…?”
“Yes.”
“Can a person collapse from just a cold?”
Herald’s question was filled with suspicion, and Jayden answered firmly. At the same time, I slowly lifted my head.
“Yes, if the cold is severe, it can cause someone to collapse.”
“….”
“….”
For a moment, Herald and I locked eyes in mid-air. He looked confused, as if he couldn’t believe that someone could collapse from a cold.
‘Why is he reacting like that? As if he’s never been sick…’
Ironically, Jayden immediately solved my confusion.
“Of course, I suppose it would be hard for someone who has never caught a cold, like the Duke, to understand.”
His tone could have sounded a little rude, but Herald nodded in agreement, seemingly accepting it.
“I heard from the maid that she hasn’t been able to sleep properly for the past few days. It’s probably because of that. The madam wasn’t exactly in good health to begin with. If she rests properly and takes the medicine I prescribed, she should get better.”
“Sigh…”
As soon as Jayden finished speaking, Herald let out a deep sigh, covering his face with one hand. The corners of his lips lifted slightly, indicating it was a sigh of relief. Then Jayden turned to me and spoke.
“Miss, the madam has caught a cold.”
Emphasizing the word “cold,” I had no choice but to remove my hand from my mother’s.
“Miss, it would be best if you don’t meet the madam until she’s fully recovered. You’re still a baby with weak immunity.”
“Okay…”
Though my mother had woken up, I still couldn’t see her face. Because of the fear that the cold might spread, the servants and my mother herself insisted I stay out of her room.
The butler, Carter, expressed his concern as I lingered in front of my mother’s door.
“Miss, it hasn’t been long since you recovered from your illness. Have you been drinking the amalin tea properly?”
“Yes, it’s really bitter, so I eat it with cake!”
“Good job. Even though it’s bitter, try to drink it in small sips. It’s all for your health.”
When I nodded without saying anything, Carter gave me a faint smile, his eyes filled with both sympathy and approval.
The amalin tea he mentioned was an herbal remedy known for its excellent ability to regulate body temperature. Children who haven’t yet learned to control their abilities tend to develop high fevers, so whenever that happens, they drink amalin tea to help regulate their temperature.
I started drinking this tea because of Jayden’s prescription. The day after I met my mother, Jayden had visited me.
“It’s a miracle you haven’t had a fever until now. The energy from your abilities couldn’t be released, so your body temperature has been rising significantly. If we had been a little later, your organs might have burned up.”
Jayden chuckled lightly, but I assumed the last part was just a joke. Maybe?
As I recalled my uncomfortable memory with Jayden, Carter’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
“Well, Miss, if you’re bored, this old man will keep you company.”
“Oh… really?”
“Yes, of course!”
According to Ellie, Carter was born and raised in this mansion and knew everything about Erayton.
So, Carter should know in detail why my mother and Herald were so estranged.
I didn’t need him to play with me; I just wanted him to tell me more about the two of them.
“I’m really really curious about something…”
“Miss, I am the butler of Erayton. You don’t need to use formal speech with me.”
“…Maybe when we get a little closer…”
As I hesitated and explained why I didn’t use informal language, Carter nodded with a kind smile.
“I’ll have to work hard to get close to you, Miss.”
“Hmm, hmm… Carter, there’s a way for us to get closer faster…”
“Really? What is it, Miss?”
I whispered secretly, and Carter’s eyes sparkled as he leaned in closer.
“Tell me about mom and dad.”
“…What?”
Seeing Carter’s face filled with confusion, regret immediately flooded over me. Did he think that a child shouldn’t care about that?
“Sigh… I’ve heard bits and pieces, but it seems that the Duke made a big mistake when bringing the madam and Miss here this time.”
Huh? That’s not the response I was expecting?
Once again, Carter was born and raised in this mansion and had worked here for a long time.
That meant he was almost as close as Herald to the Duke.
It was completely unexpected to hear Carter speak so critically about Herald, given his loyalty was clear in his expression and demeanor.
I looked at him in stunned silence.
“The Duke’s reckless personality will never change, no matter how much time passes. Because of that, the madam…”
Huh, what was that? It sounded like Carter was about to reveal something important, something I had been dying to know.
“What about mom?”
“Miss… that’s…”
Carter’s expression twisted, and he awkwardly smiled, looking like he didn’t want to continue.
It was clear that Carter wasn’t going to share easily.
I had no choice but to coax him out of it.
I immediately pouted and lowered my head slowly.
“No one tells me anything… why do mom and dad fight… I… I hate fighting…”
“Oh, Miss…”
Carter’s voice cracked with panic as he didn’t know how to react.
As expected… this method worked perfectly on Carter. Using sympathy to get what I wanted.
He had always looked at me with a strangely pitying gaze.
When someone looks at me like that, I know I need to dig into that weakness. Tch, as expected of a seasoned butler, he didn’t give in immediately.
While Carter patted me gently to calm me down, I pretended to sob even harder, making sure to let out louder sniffles.
“I want to live peacefully with mom and dad…”
“…”
“I envied Jessie and Lottie because they have dads…”
“Huff… Miss…”
As I spoke through my tears, my pronunciation became even more slurred.
But even though my words were jumbled, I knew Carter would understand.
In reality, I had never envied Jessie and Lottie for having fathers, but once I started this lie, there was no stopping it.
Carter, who seemed at a loss, quickly lifted me in his arms and rushed somewhere.
He took me to the beautiful garden filled with blooming flowers.
“Miss, if you wait here for a moment, I’ll bring you a tasty snack.”
“No, I…”
“Fin, take care of the Miss. I’ll be back soon.”
Before I could say anything, Carter ordered one of the servants, who had been following us like a shadow, and disappeared.
“Carter…”
“He’ll be back soon, Miss.”
I stared at Carter’s quickly disappearing figure in a daze. Then the servant with bronze-colored skin came up to me and whispered.
No, it looked like he was running away.
“I don’t need a snack!”
“Carter didn’t run away. He’s probably preparing an answer to your question. Some answers take time to prepare, you know. Mental preparation, situational preparation…”
What the heck, this guy is scary.
It felt as though he was reading my mind, and I instinctively took a step back.
“Miss, have I made you uncomfortable?”
“…Yes.”
It was incredibly uncomfortable.
I couldn’t tell him that directly, so I turned my head slowly, trying not to show my expression.
“Miss, aren’t your legs hurting? It looks like it’ll take a while for the butler to return. How about sitting down to wait?”
I shook my head slowly at Fin’s suggestion.
I wasn’t one to be shy, but for some reason, it was hard to deal with this person. There was something about him that felt… villainous.
“Or should I carry you?”
“No! …No.”
I rejected Fin’s offer forcefully as he tried to close the distance again.
Fin simply smiled with a gentle expression, as though he didn’t mind.
It was a kind of gaze that made me feel like he was looking at a little granddaughter, and it made me even more uncomfortable.
Carter… please come back quickly! Please…
