“M-my day!”
The sunset outside the window clearly showed that my day had disappeared into sleep.
As I couldn’t take my eyes off the window with surprised eyes, I heard laughter from the side.
Mother must have been sitting next to me just as she had promised before I went to sleep.
I smiled as it warmed my heart and Mother also smiled as well.
“Viola must have been very worried about you.”
With a gentle hand, Mother brushed the hair off my forehead and continued to speak.
“She has been calling home even after she went to work. Are you all right, or are you awake? It was bothersome to answer her. I am sure she’ll keep contacting me.”
I smiled awkwardly at Mother’s mischievous remarks.
“Liliana also kept checking to see if you were okay. I’m so glad you get along with your sisters.”
Mother who spoke those words with a smile on her lips looked really happy.
‘It’s really strange. What’s wrong with both of them?’
Normally, the two of them wouldn’t even care about me being sick.
Rather, it would more plausible if they sent a stinging look, asking if I got hurt again.
I stared at Mother’s smile and wiggled my hands for no reason.
“Mother…”
A weak voice naturally leaked out in front of my mother.
“What’s wrong, my Daisy?”
“My sisters…”
The moment I tried to say that they were strange, I heard a knock.
“Honey, is Daisy okay?”
Father’s voice was full of worries, so I hurriedly changed my words.
“I’m fine, so come on in!”
At my words, the sturdy new door slowly opened and my father, still in his uniform, entered the room.
He couldn’t even change his clothes and ran right away after work, so I smiled and let out a small sigh.
“I’m not sick at all.”
“You always say you’re okay.”
Father’s worried hand gently stroked my hair.
I smiled at the careful but affectionate touch.
I, who had been weak since I was young, often caught a cold whenever the season changed, so I used to get sick for more than a week as it didn’t get better easily.
It was a miracle to be so healthy now because I was told that I could die before becoming an adult due to my weak body.
As a result, my parents were very sensitive to my illness.
They also knew that I felt sorry that they couldn’t pay much attention to my sisters because they cared about me who couldn’t get out of bed since I was a child.
“More importantly, Daisy, what was it about your sisters?”
Mother asked back the words that had been cut for a while due to my father’s appearance.
I tried to open my mouth, but in the end, I couldn’t open it and shut it tight.
‘I don’t want to make you worry more about my problems.’
Both of you seem to be barely getting rid of your worries, I don’t want to pour cold water on you for no reason.
T/L note: pour cold water = spoil the mood.
I smiled softly at my parents’ faces full of curiosity, saying it was nothing.
“No, I’m just so happy that my sisters have been kind to me lately.”
“Yeah, they must have grown up, too.”
Father smiled with pride at my words.
“I’m so happy to think that our flower girls will get along well.”
Mother looked happy, wiping away tears around her eyes.
My parents didn’t value the sudden change in my sisters.
They just seemed satisfied with the situation.
My mouth felt bitter, but I still smiled.
✲ ✲ ✲
To be honest, I thought Viola’s worries would be over in about a day, and my usual daily life would come.
When I wake up and see my sisters who hate me so much are taking care of me, can I believe that it is real?
“I take a day off.”
Funny how I thought it would be over, Viola took the next day off.
“I will nurse you today.”
I couldn’t believe it even when it was right in front of me.
That Viola, who resembles Father and has a great sense of responsibility, takes a day off?
“Sister Viola?”
I was startled and wanted to get up from my seat, but my heavy body didn’t follow its master’s instructions.
I thought I’d get better in one day, but I guessed it was too much for my damn body.
Viola sat on the chair next to me and looked at me gently with a look I had never seen before.
‘It’s not worry… Pride?’
“Hey, Sister… Are you really taking the day off?”
“Yes, I’m worried about you.”
“What? B-but…!”
The leader of the 1st Knights that represented the Empire was taking a day off only because of me.
I can’t believe she’s taking the day off!
As if she couldn’t see my expression full of surprise, Viola dipped the face wash placed next to her with water and began to carefully wipe my face.
“I’ll take care of you today because you got sick because of me.”
“Y-you don’t have to. I’ll be fine soon.”
“Muscle pain shouldn’t be ignored. I’ll give you a massage in a little while.”
“N-no, you really don’t have to.”
Whether I was embarrassed or not, Viola was adamant.
When she finished washing my face, she dragged a tray next to her.
Seeing the food on the full tray, I felt tired.
“Well, Sister… It’s nice that you take care of me, but what if Sister’s day is interrupted because of me?“
At the careful question, Viola responded immediately, as if it was a useless question.
“There’s nothing to interrupt because it’s a day that I’ve left empty for you.”
“B-but….”
You’re not really going to be with me all day when it’s this uncomfortable, are you?
When I barely stopped the words that seemed to come out of my throat, what I saw in front of me was a spoon filled with steaming soup.
“Come on, ah.”
“Sister, I really can eat by myself.”
“Ah.”
I opened my mouth with tears in my eyes at Viola’s stern words.
The soup that filled my mouth was savory and delicious, but when I saw Viola holding a spoon in front of me, I felt uncomfortable as if I was going to have an upset stomach.
“You can eat well, but why have you been eating so little?”
She was murmuring it to herself, but I could hear it well, so my shoulders shrank automatically.
Not noticing it, Viola continued to talk without a break.
“If you had eaten this well, you could have been healthier.”
“…”
“You could have had better stamina.”
Normally, I could just move on quietly, but today it was a little different.
I had gotten a lot of muscle pain from Viola’s sudden forced exercise, and I couldn’t even get out of bed properly.
‘Should I stress out that this body is that much of a trash?’
I wanted to shake off the anger in my heart, but if I did, I would be the only one who would eventually suffer damage.
If Viola got angry and left her seat, I would be the one who’d end up feeling uncomfortable and restless.
So instead of getting angry, I decided to apologize.
“…I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?”
Viola stopped her hand, which was carrying the food, and asked me with a puzzled look.
I spoke in a depressed voice, unable to hide my sullen expression.
“Because my body is so useless that it doesn’t fit into Liviatan, I can’t live up to Sister’s expectations.”
“What?”
“Sister took the time to help me, but the result is such a disappointment.”
If I added a detailed reason, she would nod quietly and say, ‘Yeah, you know it well. So get out of my sight from now on.’
But it didn’t happen.
Viola stared at me with a stupid expression that I had never seen before.
“Sister?”
“That’s not true.”
“What?”
“You are a child worthy of Liviatan.”
As I blinked at the unfamiliar words, Viola frowned as if in pain.
‘An expression I’ve never seen before.’
“Come to think of it, it’s all what I said.”
The voice she muttered to herself was small, but it was loud enough for me, who was right next to her, to hear it.
“Daisy…”
“Yes, Sister Viola.”
Viola called out to me and didn’t say a word for a long time.
The food next to her is getting colder, and Viola opened her mouth as if trying to say something with an uncomfortable expression on her face.
When I was about to go mad with frustration, she finally opened her mouth
“No, it’s nothing.”
To make a person angry, the first step is you cut off the words you’re about to say.
‘Sigh…’
I sighed inwardly, barely giving up the desire to urge her to speak immediately.
“Let’s finish eating.”
“No, I’m full.”
Viola normally wouldn’t listen to my words properly, but now it seemed like she would listen a little.
“Really? Then should we eat some fruit?”
As expected.
I didn’t know the reason, but I nodded with relief that her softer attitude didn’t return to her usual anger.
And the fruit that appeared in front of my eyes was grapefruit.
“The last time I saw you, you seemed to like it.”
“That…”
“There’s a lot, so feel free to eat.”
Gulp
Even though I hadn’t eaten, I swallowed the saliva that was accumulating in my mouth without realizing it.
Viola took a piece of grapefruit with a fork and held it out to me like a mother bird feeding a baby bird.
“Come on, ah.”
“Ah…”
I couldn’t bear to refuse, and I had to swallow my tears at the bitter taste that filled my mouth.
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