Translator: Muffles
Editor: Pierce
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“Lexion, are you okay?”
She asked carefully while sitting next to Lexion. However, the child didn’t answer.
Elena bit her lips and grabbed Lexion’s arm to raise him.
“Tch! Don’t touch me!”
Lexion was frightened by her sudden action, trying to shake off her hand.
‘Are you rejecting me because you fear your older brother?’
Moreover, since she was a stranger to Lexion, his reaction to Elena was understandable.
But, Elena didn’t let go of the child’s arm.
She wanted to get Lexion out of here as soon as possible.
To a place without the presence of his older brother; for Lexion to have peace of mind and to recuperate.
“Lexion, I’ll take you to the mansion.”
Elena put Lexion’s arm on her shoulder and gently raised the child’s body.
Fortunately, the child didn’t refuse.
However, Lexion— who didn’t even have the strength to walk— suddenly collapsed in his place.
“Ha! Elena, you don’t have to care about that though?”
Kilian, who saw Lexion fall, laughed and ridiculed him.
Elena ignored his words and squatted in front of Lexion.
Then she reached out and grabbed Lexion’s arm, pulling the child’s body onto her.
She was relieved that she wore pants today. In a skirt, it would have been hard to carry someone.
Elena positioned Lexion on her back.
‘But this… he’s too light.’
With his small stature, he already appeared younger than the children around his age— he was bound to be light.
One corner of her heart became bitter.
“Hold it in for a little bit. I’ll quickly take you back to the mansion.”
Elena whispered to Lexion and raised herself.
With a slight surprise on his face, Killian— who was looking at her— met her eyes.
Elena looked coldly at him and turned her head.
And she spoke low as she passed by Killian.
“The successor of Duke Halos calls his younger brother ‘that’ and even assaults him. The name of Halos, a reputed lineage, will cry in disappointment.”
At her words, Killian narrowed his forehead but didn’t reply.
However, it didn’t matter to her anyway.
Now, it was crucial to take Lexion back to the mansion than to argue with him.
So Elena hurried her steps.
***
The child stared at the girl’s red hair.
Perhaps because she was walking fast, her red hair fluttered like rose petals.
The image felt like an illusion.
Like a pleasant dream, and not a reality.
Lexion felt the warmth in the hands that held him.
“Why are you helping me…”
He wondered, but he didn’t hate it.
The girl has a remarkable soothing scent.
A sweet, rose-like scent.
He suddenly wanted to know.
‘Why was she helping him?’
‘Why did she block Killian and protected him?’
So far, no one has helped him.
Even if he stretched out his hand, no one would willingly hold him.
“Lexion, are you okay?”’
She was the first person to protect him.
However, when this person touched his body, he even tried to shake her off.
Because he didn’t want to suffer again.
Nonetheless, her friendly touch didn’t end there.
At her warmth, he suddenly felt relieved.
Lexion buried his head on the girl’s back.
His eyes became hot and tears started to spill out.
‘You can’t cry. You can’t cry…‘
‘The Halos’ lineage should be stronger than anyone else.’
He shouldn’t cry as his father said, but tears kept flowing out because of the kindness and warmth he experienced for the first time.
Drops of tears— that began to appear one by one— continued to flow.
Until a deep sense of respite made the child fall asleep.
***
After taking Lexion to his room, Elena watched the child being treated by the doctor.
The doctor, who was next to Lexion, skillfully moved to check what was going on, while a maid quietly assisted him.
The doctor swiftly examined the child when the maid took off the child’s clothes so that Lexion could be treated easily.
Elena was nervous during the checkup.
Lexion seemed fine when he was still on her back. However, by the time they arrived at the mansion, he suddenly didn’t move.
Elena was worried that something disastrous might have happened.
Fortunately, the child only fell asleep.
After the doctor told her that there was no impending concern, he bid Elena farewell and left the room.
Elena looked at Lexion, who was still unconscious.
The child— even with a sickly pallor— appeared to be sleeping soundly.
However, that could only be applied to his face.
A while ago, when the doctor and maid were occupied with Lexion, Elena detected old wounds in various parts of the child’s body.
Even while the doctor was applying medicine to the child’s wound, she had difficulty extracting herself from feeling appalled.
“This boy…”
Why on earth did Killian abuse his brother this much?
‘Jealousy? Or was it simply because Killian was total trash?’
The maid, who was wiping away her tears while looking at the sleeping child, suddenly spoke to her.
“Lady Elena, thank you so much.”
The maid bowed her head and sincerely expressed her gratitude.
She was responsible for disrobing Lexion’s clothes a while ago. Was she perhaps his nanny?
“My name is Sophie. I’ve been taking care of Lexion since he was young. Thank you for saving him.”
Sophie cried as she talked, sniffling from time to time.
She was thanking Elena for saving Lexion.
“Does Sophie know that Lexion was being abused by Killian?”’
In addition, if she had taken care of Lexion since childhood, Sophie would be the first one to notice the changes in Lexion.
Then why? Even though she knew…
“If you’ve been taking care of Lexion since he was young, you must have known what Killian was doing to Lexion.”
“…Yes.”
Sophie wiped away her tears with a handkerchief and told Elena what she knew.
Killian’s violent acts began about half a year ago after Duke Halos left for war.
When the Duke was away, it was Killian who – naturally – replaced him.
Even though he was young, he was still the heir.
Killian, who has been taking all kinds of classes, was said to have managed to do his job well with the help of a butler.
Except for the important tasks that the Duke must see in person.
Sophie said she even felt respect for Killian’s efficiency and credibility.
But that was then.
It was until the traces of beating throughout Lexion’s body started to appear on that day.
“At first, I thought it was because he often trained with the knights. But when Lexion was sleeping, he kept moaning and talking in his sleep… ”
Lexion was groaning while he sleep every night and said, “Brother, please stop it” “I’m sorry, brother.”
As a result, Sophie noticed Killian’s violent tendencies.
Not only Sophie but also the doctor and some servants have noticed this troubling fact.
Regretfully— with the Duke away— the most powerful person in the mansion was Killian, so no one could talk about the abuse.
‘There was no other choice but to remain silent.’
The perpetrator was the successor of the Duke; the servants were mere commoners.
No one knew what their ending would be if they wagged their tongue carelessly.
Nevertheless, Sophie told her this story because the Duke was currently back in the mansion, and considering that Elena saved Lexion.
‘It must’ve been the young lady who brought hope to the young master.’
Elena returned to her room after hearing the story from Sophie.
She then gazed out of the window for a moment, lost in thought.
The Duke’s servants turned a blind eye to Killian’s maltreatment. Since they were just commoners, they have no choice but to ignore the abuse.
However, the situation didn’t improve even after the Duke returned.
This was because the Duke was busy dealing with the aftermath of the war.
Of course, even if there wasn’t a war, the Duke has always been busy. It was said that this conflict has made him even busier.
That’s why Killian was still malevolent to his younger brother behind their father’s back.
‘Maybe if Duke Halos wasn’t congested with work, Killian’s misconduct would decrease accordingly.’
Killian Halos, who was now 14 years old, would be busy because he has to devote himself to his classes as the next in line for Dukedom.
‘The duration of which Lexion was abused was almost six months.’
However, regardless of the amount of time, the terrible memories of that event would remain in the child’s mind for the rest of his life.
And in the future, Killian would continue to bully that child; since people wouldn’t change that easily.
Killian couldn’t openly harm Lexion, so as not to be discovered by their father. However, he could insidiously inflict damage on his psyche.
“Corporal assault isn’t the only way to destroy someone.”
Elena stared out of the window, biting her lips in frustration.
The sun was setting, and the garden in full bloom has turned scarlet.
“What should I do?”
Originally, she planned to get out of the original story without interacting with that shitty Killian.
And Jane— the female lead— also needed help.
“But…”
This young flower, which was being trampled by his own older brother, couldn’t also be ignored.
***
After struggling to open his eyes, Lexion could see the familiar ceiling of his room.
‘Was it a dream?’
The child blinked and recalled his last memory.
Just before he was beaten by his brother in the forest, Lexion crouched to the fullest to protect his small body.
However, the harsh onslaught didn’t continue.
Because someone blocked it with their body.
Thereafter, he couldn’t properly remember what came next.
“How did I get back to my room?”
He couldn’t think of anything else because his mind was still muddled.
“Young Master Lexion, you’re awake!”
When he turned his head to the elated voice, Lexion saw the maid who has taken care of him since he was young.
“Sophie…”
The child called out to the maid with a cracked voice.
The maid wiped the moist in Lexion’s eyes and moved closer to hand him a glass of water.
Sophie explained the whole story as she watched Lexion hurriedly drink the water.
“The doctor came and left. Fortunately, there was nothing wrong with your body. Were you surprised?
“I see…”
Lexion unconsciously nodded to what he just heard.
There was no abnormality in his body, but he was mentally exhausted.
Even if he wasn’t pummeled by Killian, the fear was clearly engraved in his mind.
“But Sophie,”
Lexion called Sophie again, while tiredly lying down on the bed.
“How did I get back to my room?”
