Chapter 37
“Lucian is so lucky…”
Edwin sighed as he spoke to himself.
If he returned to the orphanage, he would have to say goodbye to this big, beautiful mansion and the kind people in it.
‘And I’ll have to say goodbye to Amelia too.’
Amelia would soon be leaving with her uncle to return to her hometown.
She had promised to stay in touch, but Edwin wasn’t sure if she really would.
There was a wall between them—the wall of status.
Even though Edwin was young, he understood how the world worked. He wasn’t naïve enough to ignore the difference in their social standing.
He knew he would always remember and wait for Amelia, but would Amelia do the same?
Living in such a grand place, surrounded by wonderful people, she would eventually forget all about him.
The thought made Edwin envy Lucian even more.
It seemed like Lucian planned to stay in touch with Amelia…
“…I don’t want to go back.”
His nose stung, and his vision blurred as tears welled up in his eyes.
Edwin quickly rubbed them away with the back of his hand.
As his vision cleared, he noticed something in front of him.
It was a cabinet, slightly shorter than him.
A fancy, white cabinet with golden edges. It looked expensive, but that wasn’t what mattered to Edwin at the moment.
‘This should be big enough to hide in, right?’
It wasn’t just about playing hide-and-seek anymore.
‘If no one finds me, I won’t have to go back to the orphanage. I can stay here.’
After all, in hide-and-seek, the one who never gets found is the winner.
“I’ll hide here.”
I’ll hide and never be found. I want to live here forever.
Wiping away the last of his tears, Edwin opened the cabinet doors.
Luckily, it was empty inside.
“Hnnngh…”
He bent down and crawled inside, curling himself up in a tight ball.
Then, he squeezed his eyes shut, hoping no one would ever find him.
“Where the heck did he go?!”
Lucian ran down the mansion halls, huffing in frustration.
A long time had passed since they started hide-and-seek, but he still hadn’t found Edwin.
And that hurt his pride.
“He’s totally cheating! How unfair!”
Lucian stomped his foot.
If Amelia wasn’t so worried, he wouldn’t even bother looking for that little cheater!
“When I find him, I’m gonna scold him so bad.”
I’ll make him eat a whole plate of broccoli. Even if he cries, I won’t go easy on him!
Just as he thought that, the sound of horse hooves echoed through the open window. The servants began moving around quickly.
His father—the Duke—had returned.
“Ugh…”
Lucian took a step back.
To him, the Duke wasn’t just someone he disliked.
He was someone to fear.
The most terrifying man in the world.
“I don’t want to greet him…”
Lucian’s eyes darted around.
“…I won’t!”
Without hesitation, he turned and walked in the opposite direction.
‘If I get scolded, I’ll just say I was too busy looking for Edwin!’
It was a pretty good excuse, but even so, he felt uneasy.
Whenever he thought about his father, it made his chest feel heavy.
‘I wish he would just go far away again.’
I wish he never came home, just like before.
‘How can I avoid him?’
It would be nice if I could lock him inside a wardrobe or something… but that’s impossible.
So maybe instead of hiding him, I should just hide myself…
“…Why didn’t I think of that before?”
Lucian stopped running.
“I’ll just hide!”
His father was a busy man. He would probably leave again soon.
“So all I have to do is stay hidden for a little while.”
Why did I only just think of this now?
A wide grin spread across Lucian’s face.
He quickly started searching for a hiding spot.
It had to be big enough to fit inside, somewhere people didn’t visit too often, and not too quiet—so it wouldn’t be scary.
“Found it!”
His round eyes locked onto a large cabinet.
It was the perfect hiding place.
“Alright!”
I’ll just move some stuff out of the way and climb in.
Lucian opened the cabinet doors—
“…Huh?”
Instead of a bunch of junk, the inside was empty.
No, not empty.
There was someone inside.
“…Edwin?”
Lucian stared at the boy curled up inside the cabinet.
Edwin’s red eyes trembled as he looked up at him.
“So this is where you were hiding!”
Lucian pointed a finger at him.
“Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you? Leaving the garden is against the rules!”
“…Sorry.”
“But I found you! Haha!”
Lucian puffed out his chest, grinning.
He was so caught up in his victory that he forgot why he was hiding in the first place.
“You lost, Edwin! And since you cheated, I win!”
“…Okay.”
Edwin nodded quietly.
Lucian’s shoulders slowly slumped.
Winning felt good, but… something about it felt empty.
“You better not take it back later.”
“I won’t.”
“….”
Weird. Why does it feel like I lost?
But there was no time to dwell on it.
Lucian furrowed his brows and grabbed Edwin’s wrist.
“Alright, let’s go back.”
“Huh?”
“What do you mean, ‘huh’? Everyone’s looking for you.”
Lucian pulled on Edwin’s wrist.
Edwin blinked at his hand for a moment, then quickly yanked it away.
“N-No!”
“…Why?”
Lucian looked at his empty hand in confusion.
“Wait… Don’t tell me—”
His eyes narrowed.
“You’re refusing to admit that you lost?”
“No, it’s not that…”
“Then what?”
“That’s…”
“Spit it out already.”
Under Lucian’s relentless pressure, Edwin finally whispered:
“I… like it here.”
“Here? You mean my house?”
“…Yeah.”
Edwin nodded.
“Amelia is here. And Lucella. The house is big and warm, and everyone is so kind. The food is delicious… I’ve never had anything like this before. But if I live here, I can have it every day.”
His voice trembled.
“So I don’t want to go back to the orphanage. I want to stay here.”
Fearing rejection, Edwin hurriedly grabbed Lucian’s hand after pushing it away.
“Can’t you let me live here?”
After spending the day at the duke’s mansion, Edwin had realized that Lucian was the one with real influence in this house. Everyone was respectful to him and always put his well-being first.
So if Edwin wanted to stay, he needed Lucian’s permission.
“No.”
Lucian refused without hesitation.
If Edwin stayed, his aunt and Amelia would give him all their attention, and Lucian couldn’t accept that.
But more than that, Lucian was simply confused.
“Why do you even want to live here? There’s plenty of food at the orphanage. And you have lots of friends there.”
The orphanage wasn’t as grand as the duke’s mansion, but it was still a good place.
There were many kids Edwin’s age, so he never had to be alone.
And unlike the strict rules in the duke’s mansion, he could run in the halls, sneak into the kitchen, and play freely.
So why did he want to stay here?
“Because if I live here… I can be loved.”
Not just kindness shared with everyone, but love that was meant only for him.
Not love with conditions, but love that was unconditional.
“I want to be loved too…”
That was what Edwin longed for the most.
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Freya• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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