“No.”
Elaine shook her head.
“My parents would never have done that for me. They abandoned me when I was a child.”
For a moment, he thought he had made a mistake by bringing up such a sensitive topic, but her voice remained steady. It was as if she was unbothered by such things. Instead, Elaine’s expression began to soften as she continued.
“There was someone who took me in. They are the ones who made me the soup.”
It was the first time he has heard this, in the first place, she rarely ever mentioned anything about herself. Other than her name, nothing else was written on her application form, not even her hometown or family.
Her face appeared soft but, there was also a hint of sadness lurking behind her calm façade. Nevertheless, the memories seemed to be precious to her. If it was such, why not write anything in the application? Why was she by his side, instead of being near those precious to her?
The questions lingered in his mind, but he was still unsure of her situation. Thus, instead of asking about it, he spoke calmly.
“I see. No one has ever made anything like this for me before, so I don’t quite understand…”
There was one thing he did know though. Her voice, as she reminisced about the past, her green eyes clear, revealed the meaning behind her words.
He voiced a thought that came to mind.
“That person really cared for you a lot.”
He could feel it when he looked at her, how much love she received as she was being raised. The smile she always showed him was something you couldn’t make if you hadn’t known love.
“And they must have also been a great person.”
Elaine’s eyes widened.
“Why… do you think that?”
He didn’t notice the slight tremor at the and of her sentence.
“I haven’t known you for long, but you have a rare upright personality compared to many of the people I have met. I’m guessing it’s because you were raised by someone with a similar character.”
Wasn’t there a saying that children were a mirror of their parents? Although they were not her biological parents, it did not matter. Of course, this was a strange thing to say for someone whose parents were criticized by everyone.
Ash raised his head as he thought about this, then flinched in surprise. She looked like she was about to burst into tears at any moment. He became embarrassed.
“I… was I wrong?”
He asked, not knowing what to do. Elaine shook her head.
“No. You are not wrong.”
“Then why are you making that face?”
She quickly corrected her expression, but it was too late. She pursed her lips.
‘The person who cared for me, that upright person, was your mother.’
She couldn’t bring herself to speak the words aloud. It was hard to hear him saying such things without knowing he was talking about his own mother.
But she couldn’t tell him yet. After biting her lips for a moment, she finally spoke.
“Its really not because of that. Its just… as I was speaking, I was recalling the past. That person is no longer in this world.”
“…”
As expected, it was his fault. Elaine raised her head, not knowing that Ash was secretly blaming himself. For some reason, his neat features with a slight frown grounded her. Seeing that face always gave her the strength to continue. It had become her reason to live.
His existence reminded her of her of a painful past, like a deeply engraved scar that throbbed but, at the same time, it was a miracle that shone amidst the ruins. Without him, she might have given up long ago. She wanted to be of help to him in whatever way she could.
She wanted to give back to Ash as much as she had received from Bella.
‘So, bear soup…’
Elaine, who had thought up to this point, suddenly blinked her eyes. Before she knew it, her story had gotten long. She was worried that the soup may have gotten cold. She hurriedly lowered her gaze to check.
“Oh…”
The bowl was emptied clean. Elaine looked at him with surprised eyes.
“You already finished it all?”
Ash, receiving her gaze, flinched and avoided eye contact. He muttered, as if making excuses.
“Soup is usually finished quickly.”
When she heard that, she burst into laughter. He looked so cute, she wanted to pinch his cheeks, but held back. Still, it felt good to see him eating so well. In a laughing voice, she replied.
“If you ever get injured in the future I’ll make it again.”
Then she added, almost as if begging him.
“But you shouldn’t get hurt again.”
Anyone who witnessed the scene would have thought he was a weakling who would collapse from just a bad day. It seemed a bit unfair.
“It was a special circumstance. From now on, no matter what, it won’t happen again.”
“Is that a promise?”
He raised a brow.
“And what about you? Don’t just jump in like you did this time either.”
“That’s because it was an emergency. You were in danger.”
“So, you’re saying you would do the same thing again if I was in danger?”
Elaine made a face as if asking why he would ask such an obvious question. She was so resolute, Ash was at a loss for words. He sighed, knowing there was no stopping her.
***
The days quickly passed by once Ash had woke up. Meanwhile, the Knights of Philres, who received the news, arrived in Valendor to carry out an additional search of the eastern forest.
The swarm of Lamia had been brought in by Laikios. As a result, the innocent people living near the forest had been sacrificed. During the search the remaining Lamia were dispatched, not leaving a single one behind.
However, other than the survivors found in the villa, no more were found. The count paid compensation and consolation money along with words of sympathy to the survivors and the families of the deceased.
One day, the survivors and their families came to pay their gratitude to Ash. They had somehow found out he had almost sacrificed his own life in order to protect them. The came with their bodies still injured, bowing repeatedly. Even when Ash, who was feeling troubled by this, tried to send them away, they did not stop giving their thanks.
The territory, which had previously been in a state of fear, gradually regained stability. The sky was clear, as if nothing had ever happened. Elaine muttered, looking up at the blue sky without a cloud in sight.
“We’ll probably be going back tomorrow.”
She turned and looked at Ash. He was now well enough to go for short walks. They were currently walking along a small path near the mansion.
“How are you feeling? Are you sure you’re well enough to leave tomorrow?”
“I said I was fine. I’d even be okay riding a horse right now.”
This was already the third time she had asked him this question. He sighed heavily.
“You worry too much.”
“Of course I do! You almost lost your life!”
After this incident, Elaine became more protective of him. Ash knew how dangerous the previous situation was, but he still thought she was being excessive. While looking around for a place to rest, Elaine spotted a bench in the shade of a tree.
“There’s a bench over there!”
As she said that, she looked back at Ash.
Swoop! At that moment, a sparrow flew just above Ash’s head and almost at the same time, a bundle of fur jumped out of the bushes after it. The ball of fur was unable to reach the sparrow and fell straight toward the ground. Its sharp claws were exposed as if it was about to attach Ash.
Though surprised, Ash was still faster. Before the ball of fur was able to touch him, he was able to grab it by the back of the neck, raising it into the air.
“…raccoon?”
He lifted the fur ball higher, inspecting closely. He then corrected her.
“No, it’s a cat.”
As if in response, a meowing sound could be heard. Elaine, still unsure, gazed toward it. It really was a cat. A cat with fur as fluffy as a ball. The cat wriggled its legs in the air.
Ash narrowed his eyes as he stared at the cat. Then he commented.
“Haven’t we seen this cat somewhere before?”
Elaine who was now glaring at the naughty cat who had almost harmed Ash, tilted her head in confusion.
“Really?”
She then looked at the cat closely, agreeing with his opinion.
“You’re right. I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before as well.”
While both people were staring the cat trying to recall where they had seen it, the cat raised its head haughtily. Then a pink ribbon became visible, wrapped around its short neck, catching their eyes.
“Beatrice.”
That was the name the count has cried out while holding onto the picture frame that had been hanging in the hallway. The picture in the frame had depicted a cat as white as snow with a pink ribbon around its neck. Because the picture had been hanging in the middle of the hallway they frequently passed, the picture had unintentionally been engraved in their memory.
The reason the counts knights had entered the forest in the first place was to find this cat. Unlike the picture though, the white fur had turned black with dirt and dust, but seeing the proud appearance, they were still confident.
Ash nodded.
“I can’t help but remember it, just because of the strange name.”
Elaine nodded in agreement.
“And the haughty eyes… It’s the same as in the picture.”
“Now that I’m holding the cat in my hands, it’s so heavy. How would it ever be able to catch that sparrow?”
He looked at the cat like he was watching something funny. The cat waved its paw in frustration as if it understood what he was saying. Elaine quickly grabbed the paw and reprimanded the cat.
“No.”
As soon as its paw was caught, the cat rolled its eyes and pretended to be obedient, hiding its claws. When the cat listened to her, Ash made a surprised face, as if he was dumbfounded.
“Are you really going to listen to her now?”
Elaine chuckled at the cat and then said to Ash.
“I’ll take it from here.”
“No, don’t touch it. Its dirty.”
Elaine, who saw the claws being secretly revealed again, took the cat. As soon as the cat was held in her arms, it began to purr and became extremely gentle. She rubbed its head as it continued to act cute.
Ash commented with genuine curiosity.
“I’ve noticed it before, but animals seem to really like you.”
He recalled the snowy day. His horse had also approached her. In addition, many other animals had done the same thing.
It had been that way ever since she had received Bella’s heart. Elaine smiled vaguely and continued to walk.
“I’ll go return this guy to the count.”
“He’ll be ecstatic to see it.”
The two then took the cat and went back to the mansion.
Upon hearing the news that the lost cat had been found, the count rushed over, shouting while shedding tears of joy.
“Beatrice!”
