“…Y-your name?”
She had expected him to ask for something he wanted to do or needed.
‘What should I do?’
Hilane was flustered by this unexpected request regarding how she addressed him.
“Ah…”
It wasn’t that she disliked the idea—it was just that calling him by his name so suddenly felt unfamiliar. She was already used to referring to him as “Duke.”
But since she was the one who had asked what he wanted, and since it wasn’t an unreasonable request, rejecting it would be more awkward.
‘Why am I embarrassed over something as simple as saying his name…?’
Aachen. Such a short name, yet so difficult to say.
“Please say it, Hil.”
Aachen smiled mischievously, looking at her expectantly.
“…Aachen.”
Summoning her courage, Hilane spoke his name for the first time.
“…Hearing my name from someone—it’s a good feeling. I never knew.”
Aachen slowly sat down beside the bed and spoke in a gentle, lingering voice.
“Hil. Please say it just once more.”
“…Aachen.”
Aachen rested his head on Hilane’s shoulder. His breath was so close that her fine hairs stood on end.
“Aachen. Wait a moment….”
“I don’t want you to be in pain. How about appointing a personal aide to assist you?”
His suggestion, spoken out of concern for her, wasn’t a bad one.
‘With an aide, I wouldn’t have to overwork myself.’
Hilane was already struggling to juggle both the preparations for the reading event and the internal affairs of her family.
“Having an aide would definitely make things easier.”
“It should probably be someone of the same gender.”
Aachen realized too late that his words revealed a hint of jealousy, and he hastily added an explanation.
“That way, it would be more comfortable for you.”
“That’s true.”
“Then, I’ll have Gaeren conduct interviews for female candidates.”
“Yes.”
Fortunately, Hilane didn’t seem to notice his slip-up.
***
‘I can’t sleep.’
Chevelyn’s eyes snapped open.
It was still pitch dark outside, but she was wide awake.
Even hugging her rabbit plushie tightly didn’t help—her journey to dreamland was already over.
Beside her, Elisha was sleeping soundly.
Chevelyn carefully pulled the blanket up over Elisha, who stirred slightly before settling back into sleep.
Then, she grabbed her plushie and slowly crawled out of bed, making her way quietly to Luan’s room.
As she pushed the door open with a creak, she saw Luan reading a book.
“…Chevelyn?”
[Cherry is hungry and can’t sleep.]
Chevelyn clutched her growling stomach, smacking her lips.
“You’re hungry?”
Luan clearly remembered her eating a full dinner, so it was strange.
‘That’s pretty unusual.’
Smiling, he set his book down and got up from his chair.
“Shall we go to the kitchen?”
[Yes!]
Chevelyn nodded vigorously, clearly pleased with the idea.
Holding a candle in one hand, Luan took her hand with the other and tiptoed downstairs toward the kitchen.
“Here. Eat this.”
After rummaging through the pantry, Luan found a piece of chocolate and handed it to Chevelyn.
[Let’s share!]
Chevelyn broke the piece of chocolate in half and offered a piece back to Luan.
“…Alright. Thanks.”
As he placed the chocolate in his mouth, Luan’s mind wandered back to the reading event.
‘What if she was hurt by what happened earlier…?’
Henri calling Chevelyn a “mute” had been bothering him ever since.
After learning that Chevelyn couldn’t speak, Luan had always been careful not to say anything insensitive. But Henri had casually thrown those words out.
Luan had been so furious that, for the first time, he had lashed out at Henri without thinking.
“Chevelyn. Don’t dwell too much on what happened at the reading event. That guy’s just weird. Father has already banned him from entering Hestur Castle….”
[Cherry is fine.]
“You’re… fine? But Henri didn’t even apologize.”
Chevelyn wiped the chocolate crumbs off her hands.
[Cherry isn’t bothered. I’m not actually mute. What he said was a lie, so I don’t need an apology.]
Luan was surprised by how strong Chevelyn’s mindset was.
[And if he says it again, Cherry will make sure to set him straight. So don’t worry too much.]
“…Alright.”
With Chevelyn around, Luan never felt lonely.
[Hey. Do you think Mom and the Duke will arrive in the morning?]
“Probably?”
Luan wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and responded.
Chevelyn clenched her fists with determination.
[Brother, let’s go exploring!]
“Right now…? But we already explored everything last time.”
[No! There must be a secret place! Since Mom tells us to sleep at night, we can only search now. And secret places always have delicious things in them!]
“Hmm.”
[Come on! Just follow Cherry! Trust me!]
Luan didn’t quite follow her logic, but he decided to go along with her.
‘She’s really impossible to stop.’
Picking up the plushie Chevelyn had left behind, he followed her out.
Before long, Chevelyn realized they weren’t finding anything and trudged along in disappointment.
Eventually, she plopped down on the floor with a defeated sigh.
[I feel completely drained….]
Watching her, Luan thought for a moment before suggesting,
“Let’s go to the greenhouse. There might be some fruit there.”
[The greenhouse has fruit?]
Chevelyn perked up at Luan’s words, instantly intrigued.
As they stepped into the greenhouse together, they were greeted by an abundance of fully bloomed blue roses.
Chevelyn sniffed the flowers with wide, curious eyes.
[ It’s winter, but the flowers are blooming! And it’s warm in here! ]
“That’s because it’s a greenhouse. Also, these flowers were grown with magic.”
Luan explained kindly as Chevelyn looked around the greenhouse in amazement.
“This is a Ricla tree. It bears fruit all year round.”
Chevelyn plucked one of the fruits and popped it into her mouth, chewing with delight.
[ It’s so tangy and delicious! Can Cherry have more? ]
“Sure. But don’t eat too much. Eating a lot at night might give you a stomachache.”
Chevelyn settled down under the tree, happily picking and eating more fruit. As she reached around, she suddenly found a small perfume bottle lying on the ground.
[ What’s this? ]
“Let me see.”
Luan took the perfume bottle, opened the cap, and took a sniff.
“It smells like it was made from the blue roses. Strange… I wonder how they extracted the scent from magically grown flowers?”
Examining the perfume with interest, Luan lightly spritzed some onto his wrist.
Chevelyn gasped, abruptly spitting out the fruit she had just been eating.
“Chevelyn? What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?”
[ No, it’s just… Your eyes aren’t sparkling anymore. ]
“They’re not sparkling? Are you sure you’re not imagining things?”
Chevelyn rubbed her eyes repeatedly, then reaffirmed her claim.
[ They used to shine like jewels, all sparkly… but now they don’t. ]
She didn’t seem to be joking, but without a mirror, Luan couldn’t check for himself.
“You mean… my gemstone-like eyes disappeared, Chevelyn?”
Staring intently at Luan’s face, Chevelyn suddenly held out her arms.
[ Spray some on Cherry too! ]
Luan hesitated but then lightly spritzed a tiny bit of perfume on her.
[ How are Cherry’s eyes? Did they change too? ]
Chevelyn widened her eyes at Luan, waiting for his reaction.
“…They look the same.”
[ What?! Why… Why does it only work on you? ]
Chevelyn pouted, slumping her shoulders in disappointment.
[ I thought if I sprayed it, my eyes would change too… but I guess not. ]
“I think your eyes are already beautiful. Don’t you like them?”
Despite Luan’s reassuring words, Chevelyn pursed her lips.
[ Cherry doesn’t look like Mom or Dad. ]
“Huh…?”
Luan was taken aback and gently patted her back as she looked forlorn.
[ I wish my eyes could change to look like Mom’s. ]
“T-There must be a way.”
[ A way…? ]
“When Father returns, let’s ask him.”
[ Okay… ]
Chevelyn held Luan’s hand as they left the greenhouse.
Luan walked her back to her room, tucking her in and bidding her goodnight.
Buried under the blankets, Chevelyn squeezed her eyes shut.
***
The next morning.
Having stayed up all night, Chevelyn was now dozing off, slumped against the sofa.
“Princess, Their Graces have just arrived.”
[ Really? ]
At the news of Hilane and Aachen’s arrival, Chevelyn’s eyes snapped open, and she rushed downstairs in a clumsy hurry.
[ Mom! ]
As she dashed forward, she nearly tripped, but Aachen quickly caught her with a levitation spell, gently setting her down.
“Chevelyn! Are you okay?”
Hilane ran over to check on her daughter, carefully examining her for any injuries. Only after confirming that Chevelyn was unharmed did she breathe a sigh of relief.
[ Yep, Cherry’s fine! Thank you, Your Grace. ]
“You must be more careful. You almost got hurt.”
At Aachen’s gentle reprimand, Chevelyn giggled sheepishly.
“You’re back….”
Moments later, a still-drowsy Luan emerged to greet them.
“Luan.”
“Did you sleep well?”
Looking between Hilane and Aachen, Luan bowed slightly.
A large yawn escaped him, his face still heavy with sleep.
“Didn’t sleep well last night?”
Hilane asked warmly, and Luan gave a small nod.
“I was researching something in a book… Oh, right. Father, there’s something I need to tell y—”
Before he could finish his sentence, Chevelyn suddenly grabbed his arm and dragged him behind the staircase.
“C-Chevelyn? What’s going on?”
[ Brother. Don’t tell Mom or His Grace about that. ]
“Why not? I found something similar in a book. If I tell Father, he might be able to do something about it.”
Chevelyn shook her head firmly.
[ If Mom finds out Cherry was thinking about this… she’ll be upset. ]
***
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Hi, thank you for translating this. I will wait for you to comeback