“Hik…Sob…”
Raphel swallowed back his tears, chest heaving and soft cheeks puffed out.
Wilhazelle threw away the raggedy clothes Raphel had been wearing and gave him some comfortable pants and a shirt she had worn as a child. When she had given him a bath, he had cried so hard her ears had started to ring.
“Raphel, I’m sorry. We needed to wash all of the dirt off.”
“I don’t want the water! Nooo!”
With a pout on his face, he now had his head turned away, ignoring Wilhazelle.
She had been worried he could feel uncomfortable around strangers, so she had done it herself instead of calling for the servants. He was so dirty it had taken a whopping 10 minutes just to rinse him with water.
After untangling his knotted hair and washing his body, 30 minutes had already passed.
Now that all of the dirt was gone, his original features were clearly visible. His appearance shined brightly. Even though he was only 5 years old, you could clearly see that he would grow up to be very handsome.
His black hair looked like thin, soft silk with intense red eyes and pale skin. Although he was slightly round, his face shone even more with his high nose and clear brow.
‘I guess that’s why he’s the male protagonist.’
Raphel’s future seemed promising. It was evident that many women would secretly admire him. Even so, there was only one female lead for the male protagonist.
“Raphel, I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”
When Wilhazelle put her hands together and pleaded, Raphel, who still had his cheeks puffed out, slowly turned his head.
“I don’t want water…”
“Yes, Raphel hates the water. I’m sorry. I won’t do that anymore.”
He was quickly appeased by her friendly voice and ran over to hug her. Wilhazelle lifted the small boy into the air. Since he had just taken a bath, he smelled fresh and clean.
“The water is so soggy…”
Raphel muttered, burying his face in her shoulder.
‘Is he scared? Was he always afraid of water since he was young? Or maybe he had a bad experience related to water?’
She wondered as she gently rubbed his back.
“Raphel, may I ask why you are afraid of water?”
Instead of answering, Raphel made sounds as if vividly describing a situation where he was falling into water.
“Raphel, have you ever fallen into the water?”
“No water! I don’t want water!”
Raphel struggled in her arms, demonstrating his stubborn refusal to talk about water anymore.
“Sorry, I won’t bring it up anymore.”
His small and delicate body trembled, she couldn’t ask any more questions.
‘That’s strange. I can’t recall any incidents that were mentioned that would make him afraid of water.’
Try as she might, she couldn’t recall any such scenario. It was concerning though. Hopefully his wariness of water would go away soon.
“…”
Wilhazelle, who realized she had been immersed in thoughts of the child again, shook her head. She can’t get anymore attached than this. Soon he would be going to the Dukes residence.
‘All you have to do is take Raphel to the Duke who is looking for his nephew, receive a reward and leave.’
That would be the end of her relationship with Raphel. It would do her no good to get close to him.
“Miss, I’ve brought the soup.”
“Come in.”
At the sound of the savant’s voice coming from the other side of the door, Wilhazelle lowered Raphel onto the bed. Soon after, the servant opened the door and walked in holding a small table. It was the table she had used when she was young. Thankfully her parents kept the items their daughter had used, saying they were precious memories.
The servant had brought out the table from storage at Wilhazelle’s request. The bowl of soup was then placed on the table.
“The temperature is just right, you should be able to eat it right away.”
“Thank you.”
“If you need anything else, please call.”
Wilhazelle took the spoon from the table and placed it in Raphel’s hand.
“You are able to eat on your own, right?”
They needed to feed him something healthy to make up for the lack of nutrients and then give him the medicine the doctor had prescribed. The soup contained finely chopped carrots and broccoli. Since it was cooked well, it had a soft texture, so there should be no problems digesting it.
Raphel’s mouth started salivating when he smelled the soup in front of him, then he saw something orange floating around and quietly put the spoon down.
“You don’t like carrots?”
“Yes.”
Raphel wrinkled his face and gently pushed the bowl in front of him away with his small hand. He looked like he didn’t even want to see the carrots.
But his slim stomach started to growl.
‘I’m sure he’s starving because he hasn’t been able to eat for a while, but he’s still being so picky.’
It was truly amazing mental strength, she applauded him internally.
“But you need to eat the soup for your health, right?”
Raphel secretly glanced at Wilhazelle. He was looking to see if she was angry with him. Wilhazelle was still smiling softly. She still looked friendly as always, so he was relieved.
“Raphel needs to eat a lot of soup and become healthy before he can go out and play, right?”
She wasn’t angry, nor did she scold him. She didn’t even ask him to eat the carrots. If she had forced him to eat the food he didn’t want to eat, he would reject it and it could become a bad memory in the future, making him even more picky.
She was careful to be sure that none of her actions or words could become a trauma for him.
“Shall we aim for just three bites, then?”
“Thwee bites?”
“Yes, just three bites. You can do it, right?”
Raphel clenched his fists and responded enthusiastically.
“Raphel can do it!”
It was a response that stemmed from him not wanting to disappoint Wilhazelle. Her hand caressed his cheek. She found it cute that such a young small face could have such a solemn expression.
“Okay, say ahh.”
She took the first spoonful and put it into Raphel’s mouth. He closed his eyes tightly and swallowed. She had purposefully given him less for the first bite.
“How is it? There are two left, can you do it?”
Raphel nodded, the taste wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. If he was able to eat all three bites, Wilhazelle would be happy and praise him. He opened his mouth, eager for the praise, looking like a baby bird asking for food from its mother. She took another spoonful and fed it to Raphel.
He was surprised because there was more this spoonful than the first, but after this there was only one more left. He couldn’t give up now.
The sight of him eating soup with his cheeks puffed out was adorable and made her laugh.
Was this what it was like to have a younger sibling?
Her heart felt soft and warm.
“Okay, last one.”
By the time he finished the last bite, the bowl of soup was already more than half empty. She had succeeded in feeding him the soup as planned.
“Well done.”
Praising Raphel generously, Lizelle decided it was time to try to give him the medicine. This was her final hurdle.
“Raphel, you can eat this too, right?”
She poured the medicine prescribed by the doctor onto a spoon and held it out in front of him.
Raphel looked at the red liquid curiously, but instinctively kept his mouth shut.
“Yumm, it’s very sweet and delicious.”
“…”
He was intrigued, but still didn’t open his mouth.
She had no choice but to try her last resort. The way her mom did it for her when she was little and didn’t want to eat well.
“It’s an airplane! Hwiiing!”
Lizelle moved the spoon in the air gracefully, drawing a curve in the air.
“What’s an airplane?”
Oops, there weren’t any airplanes in this world. She realized her mistake too late.
“It’s like magic that can fly in the sky.”
“Sky? Raphel can fly in the sky?”
“Yes. If you eat well, without fuss, someday Raphel can fly in the sky too.”
At those words, his eyes sparkled and he followed Lizelle’s movements with his whole head. She laughed, the sight reminding her of a cat moving its head to catch a fishing rod.
“The plane is landing! Raphel say ahhh!”
The spoon, which had been going back and forth stopped in front of Raphel’s mouth.
“Ah!”
As he looked at the spoon, he opened his mouth without realizing it. She didn’t miss her chance and quickly put the medicine into Raphel’s mouth.
“Good job, Raphel!”
She smiled in satisfaction and poured out all the praise, as Raphel had hoped for.
“Hehehe.”
Although he had been tricked into taking the medicine without realizing it, a big smile appeared on his face. He hoped that this moment would last forever. Wilhazelle’s smile, touch and compliments towards him were all good. The afterimage of his parents on the other side of his lost memories, had already been forgotten.
