Chapter 28
Claude looked at Amelia, unhappy.
Through the window behind her, he could see Lucian.
More specifically, Lucian was pressing his forehead against the window, staring at Amelia’s back with intense focus.
“…Amelia.”
“What?”
“Would you like it if I married to Lady Rilfrey?”
“Of course!”
“Then I need you to do something for me.”
“What is it?”
Amelia blinked her round eyes curiously.
Claude pointed toward Lucian.
“Lucian?”
“Yes.”
Claude motioned for Amelia to come closer. She leaned in, and he whispered something into her ear.
Amelia’s eyes sparkled like a crow finding a shiny gem.
Lucian sat in the corner of the room, curled up in a small ball.
With his arms wrapped around his knees, he pouted.
“Auntie is mean.”
It wasn’t the first time his aunt had scolded him.
She had scolded him for breaking her favorite necklace, for ruining the maids’ laundry, and for countless other things.
Every time, Lucian felt sad.
People told him she scolded him because she loved him, but he didn’t understand.
Worse, she never comforted him when he cried.
She didn’t just ignore him—she told the maids to leave him alone until he stopped crying.
“Lucian needs to say sorry first. Until then, don’t comfort him.”
“But, my lady, he’s crying so much…”
“Leave him be.”
Lucian felt miserable.
But none of those moments compared to today.
“Do you want to come to my house next week?”
His aunt had never shown interest in other children before.
But this time was different.
Not only was she paying attention to Edwin, but she was openly being nice to him.
“Lucian is still like a baby.”
And then, she even said that.
“Auntie likes Edwin more than me.”
Saying it out loud made it even more painful.
Lucian felt so many emotions at once—sadness, shock, anger, and disappointment.
“She’s my aunt… not Edwin’s.”
Why did she like Edwin better?
Just as his jealousy and sadness were about to grow even stronger, a voice called out.
“What are you doing here all alone?”
Lucian lifted his head from his knees.
“…Amelia.”
Her voice was warm, like sunshine.
She smiled at him, but then her eyes widened in surprise.
“Lucian, were you crying?”
“No.”
Lucian quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve.
The tears on his eyelashes spread onto his clothes.
“But it looks like you were.”
“I wasn’t. I don’t cry.”
He didn’t mind crying in front of his aunt or his nanny.
But for some reason, he didn’t want to cry in front of Amelia.
“Crying is for babies.”
Lucian wanted to look cool in front of her.
Even though his aunt still saw him as a baby.
His shoulders slumped again.
Amelia noticed how small he looked and spoke.
“You’re sad, right? Because Lucella seems to like Edwin more than you?”
Lucian’s eyes widened.
“How… how did you know?”
“I just know.”
“You’re amazing, Amelia! You know everything!”
Amelia felt a little embarrassed at the compliment.
She cleared her throat.
“You don’t need to be sad. Lucella loves you the most in the whole world.”
“No, she likes Edwin more.”
“That’s not true.”
“But—”
“Have I ever said something wrong?”
Lucian hesitated, thinking.
Then, he shook his head.
“See? I only say things that are true. So believe me. Lucella loves you the most.”
“Really?”
Lucian wanted to believe her.
But if that was true, then…
“If she loves me so much, why does she treat me like a baby?”
“Well…”
Because you are one. A hopeless little troublemaker.
But Amelia couldn’t say that—not when Lucian looked so sad.
“Remember when you first came here? You asked if we were poor.”
Lucian flinched and fidgeted with his fingers.
“I’m not bringing it up to scold you.”
Amelia gently untangled his hands and held them in hers.
“You didn’t mean anything bad when you said that, right?”
“Of course not!”
Lucian’s head shot up.
“It’s the same with Lucella.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, just like you didn’t mean to be rude, your aunt didn’t mean to make you sad. You just misunderstood each other.”
“This is confusing.”
Lucian frowned, tilting his head.
It was like a question mark was floating above his head.
“So, basically—”
Amelia started to explain but stopped.
Even though she was smart, she was only seven years old.
What she wanted to say was too complicated.
“Let’s put it this way. Sometimes, people say things they don’t mean. Just like how you say, ‘I hate Auntie,’ but you don’t really mean it.”
“H-How did you know I said that?!”
“I told you, I see everything!”
Amelia put her hands on her hips proudly.
Lucian stared at Amelia’s confident face, then shifted his gaze toward Lucella in the distance.
“She’s like me?”
Had he misunderstood his aunt’s words, just like how Amelia had misunderstood him before?
Lucian’s lips slowly relaxed.
Thinking back, Amelia was right.
Even when he cried and threw tantrums, Lucella always hugged him in the end.
Even when he broke a plate while playing around, she scolded him after making sure he wasn’t hurt.
If she didn’t care about him, she wouldn’t have checked if he was okay at all.
“So? Do you see that I was right?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Lucella doesn’t like Edwin more than you. She just cares about all the kids here equally.”
“Then why did she invite Edwin to our house?”
“Because I’m friends with Edwin.”
“But I’m not friends with Edwin.”
“But you’re friends with me.”
“…….”
“My friends are your friends, and your friends are my friends. That’s just how it works.”
Amelia had just made up a random excuse, but Lucian’s face suddenly turned bright red.
‘She said we’re friends…!’
Amelia was always so mature and serious. It made her seem hard to approach.
Lucian had always liked her, but he worried that she didn’t see him as a real friend.
‘But she just said it…!’
He was so happy he felt like he could fly.
“Lucian, what’s wrong?”
Amelia’s question pulled him back down before he floated away.
Lucian quickly spoke up.
“Then can I call you ‘Lia’ too?”
“Huh?”
“Nicknames are only for close friends, right? And we’re close friends.”
Lucian put extra emphasis on close.
He couldn’t miss this chance.
“Well…”
Lucian’s heart pounded loudly as he waited for her answer.
Finally—
“Sure.”
“…!”
“You can call me Lia.”
It was exactly what he had been hoping for.
