Chapter 44
Happy Crowell Castle (8)
The place I headed after leaving the dining room was not my room, but the garden.
As I stood at the entrance of the garden, which I hadn’t properly looked at when entering through the main gate, a chilly winter wind blew directly at me.
As the cold wind hit me, my head gradually became calmer. At that moment, one of the servants approached.
“Shall I prepare some tea for you?”
“…Please do.”
It was again a familiar servant’s face, but this time, instead of adding small talk, I just nodded lightly and turned my head back to the garden.
Even though it was just the beginning of winter, the flowers in the garden were blooming brightly and spreading their leaves with all their might.
A garden perfectly maintained in an unnatural way, without a single flower head falling.
There was a strange beauty in that sight.
Why hadn’t I felt this sense of incongruity before?
Was it because it was so natural that Crowell Castle was my beautiful and warm sanctuary?
Since when had mother and father been so obsessed with the perfection and maintenance of Crowell Castle?
The answer to that question was actually ‘always.’
It was rather surprising that such things now felt strange.
“…Hah.”
Sitting alone in the resting place set up in the middle of the garden, watching the setting sun, a cool winter breeze brushed against my cheek.
The cold wind scratching over my short sleeves somehow made me feel sad.
I calmly repeated to myself. There’s no need to worry.
I’m the one who somehow overcame even when the point of regression changed.
Although this is the first time, I’m sure I can solve it.
It’s not the first time unexpected things have happened among hundreds of regressions. Is it because it’s related to family?
Strangely, my heart wavered in a way that wasn’t like me.
With such an obvious weakness…
With a sunken heart, I quietly watched the servant start setting up the teapot.
But for some reason, there were two teacups.
“…?”
As I raised my head in confusion, Ethan Behemoth was standing behind the servant.
“…Have you finished your meal?”
“Yes. And… I have something to say.”
“…Yes, me too.”
“You go first.”
“No, you should speak first, Ethan.”
Ethan, who had been watching the servant withdraw with his eyes, waited until the servant was completely gone before pulling out the chair opposite the table and sitting down as he began to speak.
“Edith, you look like you’re about to cry. Are you alright?”
“…You think I look like I’m about to cry?”
“Yes.”
I raised my hand and touched my cheek.
‘…Ah.’
Indeed, my cheeks were stiff as if holding back tears.
I didn’t even know what expression I was making.
It seemed I was showing a lot of emotions I thought I had forgotten, especially in front of Ethan, which made my face feel a bit hot.
“…It’s embarrassing. But I’m fine.”
“It seems I’ve said something inconsiderate again.”
“No, that’s not it.”
I shook my head with a weak smile. I picked up the teapot and poured tea into the cup in front of him. I could see rose petals settling in the teacup.
Ethan, with his gaze on the teacup, slowly opened his mouth.
“…I said before that I liked the smile you make when you think about your family.”
“Yes, you did say that.”
“Now you’re smiling as if you’re about to cry. …Did something happen with the Baron and his wife? Were they always like this?”
“That’s…”
“Don’t think about hiding it. You’re reacting like this because it’s different from the family you knew, right?”
“You said you were inconsiderate, but you seem to be quite perceptive.”
I picked up the teapot just in time. Instead of immediately picking up his cup, Ethan turned his gaze to look at me intently.
“If you have something to say, you can say it.”
I looked back at Ethan. In the evening garden, where the sun had set and only oil lamps dimly lit a red glow, our gazes intertwined without hiding anything.
For instance, I was pondering things like this:
‘How much should I discuss with Ethan?’
Just because I brought him to my house, is it okay to involve him in this matter as I please? Really?
“…I.”
Just as I opened my mouth to convey my resolved thoughts, the sound of quick footsteps came from somewhere.
Pitter-patter!
Soon, a lightweight touched my knees.
“Sister…!”
It was Diana. Diana, who had run quickly, buried her face in the hem of my dress as I sat in the chair.
Then, after rubbing her face a few times, she suddenly lifted her head.
“…Diana.”
I carefully reached out and cupped Diana’s small cheeks. Her tiny face was flushed red and covered in tears.
Diana sobbed.
“Help me. I need you, sister…”
“It seems your little sister had already noticed.”
Ethan slowly opened his mouth.
“Even if she was nervous, dropping the fork followed by breaking the plate was probably intentional rather than a mistake.”
“……”
So, Diana had deliberately caused a commotion at the dinner table to make me notice the strangeness of mother and father.
Diana rubbed her eyes vigorously with the back of her hand and pouted her lips.
“…Hmph. Sister! Why, why is the young lord here with you?”
“Because he’s a friend.”
Diana’s eyes wavered, seemingly just now noticing Ethan’s presence, as if she had run straight here as soon as she found out where I was.
“…You shouldn’t rub your eyes like that.”
I slowly lowered Diana’s hands and wiped her tear-filled eyes myself.
Looking closely again, I could see faint shadows under Diana’s cute eyes, showing how much she had been worrying day after day under tension.
Diana looked at me, opened her mouth wide, then hesitated and looked back and forth between Ethan and me, pondering.
“……”
Is she hesitating to speak because of Ethan?
Right. If she had hesitated to speak earlier at the main gate because of an unfamiliar face, it makes sense.
Whatever Diana wants to say, it probably isn’t something an outsider should hear. So, how much should I involve Ethan in this matter?
After a moment’s consideration, I made a decision.
“It’s okay for him to listen because he’s a friend. The young lord is fine.”
He’s a friend, after all.
Although I don’t know what Ethan’s definition of ‘friend’ is.
I wanted to solve this problem related to my family, which I was facing for the first time in my life, as quickly as possible.
If so, couldn’t I borrow a little help from a ‘friend’?
If I could ask for help in exterminating the wolf demon, what reason is there not to ask for help in this matter? Moreover, Ethan himself…
“…Really?”
As Diana looked at Ethan seeking confirmation, Ethan nodded firmly.
“I am Edith’s friend, after all.”
See? It was clear that Ethan himself was concerned about this issue.
I didn’t know Ethan Behemoth had such a meddlesome side.
Perhaps it’s because it’s a ‘friend’s problem’.
Having received assurance from Ethan, Diana finally shared what she had been hesitating to say.
“Mom… Mom said to write a letter to you if she suddenly became strange too.”
…What? Then from the moment Diana sent the letter…
As I seated Diana in an empty chair, I carefully asked.
“If they became strange, how? Tell me in detail.”
“Fi-first, it started with Dad acting strange…”
“…Father.”
“Yes, when I was playing in the study and broke an ink bottle, suddenly Dad got extremely angry…”
Diana’s testimony continued, saying it was the first time she had seen her father so angry.
She said it wasn’t even during an important document writing, and it was just breaking an ink bottle, but he got uncharacteristically furious.
“It was scary…”
Whether it was because of the cold winter wind or recalling her father’s anger, Diana’s shoulders trembled.
Whichever it was, just as I was about to take off my shawl to cover Diana.
“Ah.”
Ethan instead took off his coat and draped it over Diana’s body.
The wariness in Diana’s gaze towards Ethan dissipated a bit.
Diana continued her story with a slightly more confident tone.
She said that her father’s anger was so excessive that even when her mother intervened to mediate, it didn’t easily subside.
And at some point, her father started eagerly waiting for the day I would return from the academy.
“Next, the maids became strange…! They used to go along with all my pranks before, but suddenly they became frighteningly busy with work… not talking to me at all…”
The servants perfectly managed the castle. However, their behavior of not acknowledging any personal conversations exactly matched what I had seen.
“And when Mom started to become strange like Dad, I… I… I sent the letter as Mom had instructed before she became strange, because I was afraid the butler wouldn’t send the letter if I wrote honestly…”
After finishing her story, Diana buried herself in my arms again, shedding large teardrops.
…Thanks to that very letter, I was able to arrive at Crowell Castle in time.
🥀
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