Chapter 64
A Flower Blooming in Early Winter (1)
On a night when an unusually bright full moon rose.
Diana was looking out the window.
Two days ago, Diana had made a mistake of breaking a dish at a banquet and was ordered by Mother to reflect on her actions.
The small room ‘for reflection’ was located at the back of Crowell Castle, had a window, and was quite cold. So Diana was resentful at first.
Above all, she was scared of her parents’ stern attitude. So much so that she immediately ran to her sister.
But now her thoughts have changed.
‘Of course.’
Thinking about it again, it was understandable.
She shouldn’t have caused such a commotion at the banquet where she was seeing her sister after a long time.
And what did she say to her sister later?
Asking for help. Such an absurd thing to say.
‘Still…’
Diana rested her chubby cheek on her hand, looking out the window, lost in sweet thoughts.
Her sister could have told their parents what she had said. If she had, Diana would have received an even greater punishment.
But Edith didn’t do that.
‘That must be because she loves me. She didn’t want me to receive a greater punishment.’
Of course, to reflect on her actions, Diana had been staying in the small room longer than the one day her mother had initially specified.
The wind stung the wound on her palm, which had only received basic first aid. The injury was severe from forcefully gripping the broken vase pieces.
Diana ignored the pain and continued to think.
Her sister must not want to see her struggling because she’s kind. Her sister loves her. As much as she loves her sister. They are precious family.
Edith Crowell was someone Diana admired.
Several years older than Diana, she was intelligent, cool, and knew how to use magic.
Even Diana, who wasn’t well-versed in magic, knew that the magic Edith handled was far beyond a beginner’s level.
That’s why even when her beloved sister suddenly said she was leaving for the academy, Diana didn’t try too hard to stop her.
She wanted to boast to more people about how amazing her sister was, this sister who shared her surname.
Indeed, her sister returned from the academy, where there were supposedly even more talented people, with what adults called ‘outstanding’ achievements.
She hadn’t forgotten Crowell Castle.
Her loving gaze towards Diana remained the same.
But it seemed Crowell Castle wasn’t quite ready to welcome her sister back yet.
Diana frowned disapprovingly at the still imperfect back of Crowell Castle, twirling her soft light brown hair with her small hands.
With vines growing so tangled like that.
Fortunately, her sister seemed to frequent the garden these days and hadn’t yet witnessed the back of Crowell Castle.
She should tell the servants to clean up before her sister sees the mess at the back of Crowell Castle.
Just as Diana thought this far, she suddenly noticed something out of place outside the window.
‘…Was there a well there?’
Among the haphazardly tangled black woody vines, she could see a well with its cover slightly open.
Diana had grown up running all over Crowell Castle since birth, but she had never seen or heard of such a well.
Was she seeing things wrong because she was sleepy from staying up late?
She rubbed her eyes once and looked outside again, but the well was still there.
Somehow, she felt a sudden urge to go down and examine the well closely. More precisely, she wanted to close the open cover.
She didn’t want anyone to see that well.
‘Who was it?’
Right. Maybe… from her sister, Edith.
She shook her head vigorously.
‘…Of course. What good would come from showing such an ugly well to my sister?’
Just as she made up her mind and picked up the lantern in the room.
Knock knock.
There was a knock at the door. …At this hour? She quickly put on a sleepy voice and answered.
“…Who is it? I was about to go to sleep.”
A servant? But they didn’t open the door right away….
…She slowly approached the door with the lantern in hand.
A gentle, soft voice asked from beyond the door.
“May I come in?”
“C-Come in.”
So, without realizing it, she ‘gave permission’.
Creak.
As soon as permission was granted, the door opened as if it had been waiting.
“I apologize for visiting a young lady’s room.”
“…? Who are you?”
It was a face she had never seen before, with a voice she had never heard, sweet like ice cream sprinkled with cinnamon powder.
The person who stepped into the room smiled, his eyes creasing as he took off his hood.
He was very beautiful. He looked like a devout priest, or perhaps a pure white angel.
Though a truly devout priest or pure white angel wouldn’t visit a child’s room late at night.
He looked around and said,
“This room is quite small and cold for a lady’s room. Are you alright in a place like this?”
“…I have no choice because I’m being punished. So, who are you?”
“Who dares to punish the sister of Lady Edith?”
He tilted his head as if puzzled. I was puzzled too.
“…You know Sister Edith?”
He nodded with a slight smile.
“Of course. I’m a friend of Lady Edith. I came to deliver something she asked for. Do you know where Lady Edith is?”
Asking where Edith is? Well…
“Sister Edith… she must be in her room.”
The man tilted his head as if puzzled and asked again.
“Is that so? Are you sure she’s really inside Crowell Castle?”
“Of course. Why…”
Why is he asking such a thing? Suddenly, an uneasy feeling came over me. The open well she saw earlier came to mind again.
What if my sister had gone out for a night walk and, out of curiosity, looked into the well and fell in?
I have to save her!
“…I have an urgent matter. Just a moment.”
Diana tried to push past the man to go outside the room.
But the man didn’t budge. Instead, he bent slightly at the waist to meet her gaze.
Up close, the man’s purple eyes looked like candied violets, but also like ancient death.
The man spoke as if whispering a secret.
“You know.”
“…Y-Yes?”
“Do you ever hear voices constantly buzzing in your head? Saying things like ‘Do this’ or ‘Do that’?”
What is he talking about?
It’s true that whenever I was idle and not thinking about anything, my sister Edith always came to mind.
Things like ‘Love Edith’, ‘Make sure Edith can love Crowell Castle’, ‘Edith loves you too’.
But isn’t this… normal for loving family members?
“Not really…”
“Do you want to be loved by Lady Edith?”
Diana immediately bristled.
“…What?! My sister already loves me!”
“Everyone in this castle is peculiar.”
The man said, straightening his back again.
“But why do you lack confidence? It’s interesting.”
“……”
She couldn’t refute. It was true that she often thought she should try harder to be loved by her sister.
Just as the man seemed to lose interest, Diana blurted out without thinking.
“…That’s just how people’s hearts are.”
“Pardon?”
“Even when you know, you keep wanting reassurance.”
Diana lifted her head straight and looked at him again.
“Love is something you want to confirm over and over. And that’s not something to be ashamed of.”
“…Who told you that?”
“My sister.”
“…Hah.”
The man chuckled, then took a step closer.
It seemed tears had welled up in her eyes without her realizing it. The man wiped them away, gently took her hand, and guided her to lie down on the bed.
His kind voice tickled her ear.
“Thank you for telling me something nice. Let me give you a gift in return.”
“Yes…?”
Somehow, she found herself lying down naturally, tucked in under the covers.
She felt like she should get up and go outside immediately, but once she was lying in bed, sleepiness washed over her.
“Wait… I… have something to do…”
“You said you were about to sleep, didn’t you?”
The man’s cold finger tapped her forehead as it passed by.
🥀
Diana mumbled, “Sister…” and then fell into a deep sleep. The glass shard wounds that had covered her hands disappeared as if washed away.
It was a small ‘gift’ from the demon for a pure soul.
“……”
Terion, who had sensed that Edith’s presence, which had completely vanished from Crowell Castle until just now, was beginning to be felt again somewhere, slowly rose from his seat.
“Perhaps because it’s Lady Edith’s castle, this place is full of interesting things.”
Then, pulling his hood back on, he vanished in an instant.
🥀
My eyes flew open. I was on a bed. There was a lot of commotion around me.
Could it be that I died and regressed again?
“No…”
As I muttered and forced my heavy body to rise, I finally properly heard the commotion around me.
“Lady Edith has opened her eyes!”
“Oh my, Edith!”
“Sister!”
People were surrounding the bed.
Especially my father, with his face softened, was rubbing my limp hand against his cheek. So, this is…
Ethan was sitting beside me. If he hasn’t been driven away yet…
He met my gaze and spoke softly.
“Edith, we succeeded.”
🥀
Thank you for reading! ♡
