“If the young lady could see the young master today, she would be so happy.”
Marie spoke to the child, who was frozen in astonishment, his eyes wide open.
The scene of colorful paper fluttering down like butterflies was almost breathtaking.
Marie, who had been scanning the food on the table with her eyes, realized she had almost forgotten the most important thing and hurried to the kitchen.
“Oh…”
Perhaps the feeling of awe was not mine alone, as the child was also staring with shining eyes, his mouth slightly open. His eyes, filled with a rich palette of colors, sparkled like jewels.
How grateful it was to share such a beautiful moment.
– ……
Even though there is no one else who can see me except the child who is celebrating his birthday.
Even if she was just an invisible ghost, unnoticed by anyone,
Ellie was happy. How could she not be?
-Adi.
“……?”
Even though only four years had passed since her death, leaving no memories, It was still a full four years.
The time that turned the baby from breastfeeding to eating solid food, from rolling over to crawling, from crawling to walking, to running around.
-Are you…happy now?
I was not there for any of those moments.
When I realized this, the child in front of me suddenly looked so small. There had certainly been times when he was even smaller than this.
“…Yes!”
In response to Ellie’s question, the child finally relaxed his frozen face and smiled sweetly.
With a face that was not even a single lie, he blushed as if he was truly happy…
And smiled like that.
-……
The blank space of growth that Ellie didn’t know about.
She knew it, but she couldn’t help but feel sorry for the part of his life that had already passed.
The lost time will never come back, and the emptiness and loneliness that the child must have felt during that time will never be erased.
Suddenly, she thought of a time when the child was still a baby.
[Wah…]
[Did you have a good dream, baby?]
[Uungh…]
[Are you answering me? You’re so smart!]
She held the small white lump in her arms and wished.
‘I wanted to raise you without any lack.’
If possible, I wanted to show him only the bright side of life forever.
Though it may not have been possible forever, she wanted to delay it as long as possible.
Some criticized that raising the child this way would spoil them… but Ellie wanted to do it this way.
She wished he would stay a child for a long time.
She just hoped that the child would be loved without a shadow of a doubt and have a happy childhood.
“……? Lia, what’s wrong?”
-Uh… nothing.
As she was silently looking at the child, the child tilted his head and asked softly.
Ellie replied with a faint smile, gently denying it.
-I was just so happy.
She had hoped the child would grow up that way. But so much time and opportunity were wasted, and that fact pained her.
They say that time flows like water, so even if it was just a moment to someone, that moment was the world to this child.
That must have been the case.
-You know, Adi.
“Yes, why did you call me?”
-I have something I really want to tell you.
Now that she had the chance to set things right, she cherished it immensely.
Even though her heart was breaking and tearing apart, Ellie was genuinely happy that she could say these words.
So, she could smile.
-It’s something your mother asked me to tell you.
“……Mommy?”
The child opened his eyes wide and mumbled blankly. It was closer to asking what she heard than asking if it was right.
-Yes, Mommy.
Ellie uttered the words she had been muttering to herself several times since she was reunited with the child.
These were all the words she had been holding back and enduring, wanting to say them at this moment.
-When you… came to me, it felt like I had gained the whole world. And that hasn’t changed.
“…….”
-You are the most precious being I have ever had in my life.
Perhaps I would have been grateful to be a ghost or even an animal just to meet this child.
I never knew that a life born from my own could be such a lovely existence.
I felt overwhelmed by just a glance from the child and unparalleled happiness from his slightest touch.
So, how could this child’s life not be so precious to me?
-You know that, right?
“……Yeah.”
-I’m so thankful that you’ve grown up so wonderfully… I’m so proud that you’re my son.
“…….”
-Happy birthday, my lovely son. I love you very much.
You are my treasure.
There has never been a single moment that wasn’t true.
“Yeah…….”
To the child, Ellie was just the person conveying her mother’s words
At that moment, I felt like he was acknowledging me as his parent by nodding his head repeatedly.
‘I sincerely hope that every path you take in the future will be filled with love and happiness.’
It was a fact that would never change, even after I died and woke up again.
* * *
“Oh my gosh, it’s so late… If we go on like this, you won’t even be able to eat dinner, let alone make a wish on the cake!”
Marie exclaimed in alarm, checking the time too late and pulling in a tray with a cake.
“Were you hungry, Young Master?”
The child stared at the floor, his eyes gleaming with moisture.
I couldn’t tell if it was because he was listening to me or because he was touched by the surprise party, but whatever.
Marie seemed to be overjoyed as she went to get the cake instead of laying out the food.
The child, who sat down dazed by the suddenly changing atmosphere, carefully picked up the utensils. There was a considerable variety of food being served, perhaps because it was his birthday.
‘Still, it’s a bit disappointing compared to what I used to eat naturally.’
Oh well, what more could I ask for here?
Considering that Marie had managed to cook all this herself, it wasn’t a bad result at all, so I should be satisfied with this for now.
The only other option was to run away with the child before he was locked up in the annex forever.
-Adi, Adi.
“Yeah…….”
-Why don’t you put down our flowerpot and eat? Isn’t it uncomfortable to keep holding it?
“…….”
-…….
Oh, right. My mistake.
Ellie awkwardly nodded and stepped back. It was no use trying to break that stubbornness.
Marie, who was busy carrying food back and forth, placed the cake on the table and asked.
“Is it to your taste?”
“Yeah. What’s this? I’m trying it for the first time.”
“It’s pasta made with a recipe I got from my mother. The young lady liked it so much… I thought you might like it too since you two have similar tastes.”
“……Mommy also liked it?”
The child, who had been twirling the noodles with a fork and putting them in his mouth, stopped and asked.
He had made a mess, and his mouth was smudged with sauce.
But it was a heartwarming sight that made my heart feel more fluttery than ever.
Marie took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the child’s mouth as she replied.
“Yes. She used to love meat so much, and on the days when this pasta was served, she wouldn’t even look at the meat and would empty two plates of pasta.”
……I wish they hadn’t had this conversation.
Anyway, Ellie watched the child gobbling up the pasta with his cheeks bulging out and made a decision.
She would show this child a wider world.
She wanted to show him not a cramped and worn-out room that could barely fit a bed, a desk, and a bookshelf, but a vast expanse of mountains and meadows that he could experience with his whole body, not just the grass and trees he could vaguely see through the window.
So that one day he could spread his wings and soar freely through the sky, living a life like that.
Like a bird in a cage, the child had so much more to experience than just living in a small attic room in the annex.
‘……That’s why he can’t stay in Ratcliffe any longer.’
Even though there were collateral lines in Ratcliffe right now, the child would already be an adult by the time Rutus’s life came to an end.
Would he continue to live in this state of neglect until then, knowing nothing and wasting his days chasing after dreams?
That would be a problem even if he inherited the dukedom.
‘He’ll be ignored because he hasn’t been baptized and hasn’t done any external activities.’
By then, there would be no relatives or close friends left to help him, so he would have to fend for himself without any support.
What could be more terrifying than power that one couldn’t hold onto?
In that case, it would be a wiser choice not to have it at all.
“Are you done eating? Shall I put candles on the cake now?”
When Ellie was lost in thought,
Marie was holding a long, thin candle with colorful stripes as he pointed to the cake and asked,
“N-Now?”
“Yes. This cake has syrup that the young master likes on the cake sheet, and there are candies that pop in your mouth when you chew them! Look at the chocolate coating too. It should be delicious, right?”
“Wow, looks deli… I mean, but it’s too… too early…”
“Too early? It’s later than usual for you to have cake and then go to bed.”
“But still…”
The child, extremely flustered, fidgeted nervously and then abruptly turned his head away.
When Ellie made eye contact with the child, she slowly moved her body towards the cake.
‘It looks fine to me?’
Wondering if something was wrong, Ellie hovered around the cake, examining it with her head tilted. The child’s pleading gaze continued unabated.
No matter how much you look at ot like that… a powerless ghost can’t help…
Marie’s expression grew increasingly perplexed as the child stubbornly refused without any clear reason.
The child’s expression was equally gloomy, constantly fiddling with the ribbon on the flowerpot.
‘Judging by the way he’s licking his lips, it doesn’t seem like he doesn’t want to eat it, so what’s going on?’
She was worried that at this rate, it might pass midnight and the birthday would be over.
Even though the weather had warmed up, it was still chilly after sunset, which was another concern.
“A… Achoo!”
Sure enough, the child sneezed, shivering as he felt the cold floor.
With a small sigh, Mari straightened her knees, which had been bent to meet the child’s eye level, and said,
“I’ll go get a blanket. If you catch a cold, it’ll be tough for the young master.”
“Okay…”
“…Instead, will you promise me that you’ll blow out the candles before midnight? You can’t make a wish after your birthday is over.”
“……”
“Alright?”
The child, who had been avoiding Marie’s gaze, finally nodded. It was less than thirty minutes until midnight.
Thinking she could give the present smoothly if just a little more time passed, Ellie moved towards the child with a bright expression.
Or she tried to.
Crash!
“……”
“……”
-Oh, no…
At that very moment, the flowerpot in the child’s sleepy arms, who had stayed up well past his usual bedtime, tilted and fell to the floor.
* * * *
If you want to support the Translator, Translator’s Ko-Fi:
