Chapter 8
“Do you want me to sit there?”
“Mm-hmm!”
It looked like she wanted to sit on the bed with me and spend some time together. I checked the time briefly. Even though it hadn’t been long since Lilith woke up, it was already lunchtime.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
She shook her head. She hadn’t even eaten breakfast, so I thought she would be, but Lilith only shook her head. It seemed like she wanted to be with me more than eating right now, so I had no choice but to sit next to her.
“Kkuoi…”
Her bright red eyes quietly looked up at me—eyes filled with curiosity. Lilith moved her lips like she wanted to ask me something, but it seemed hard for her to actually say it.
“Are you wondering why I went to the main building?”
“Mm-hmm!”
Her little face instantly lit up and she nodded quickly. At the same time, her small, chubby hand gripped my clothes tightly. As if she was trying to hold me back so I wouldn’t go away again.
I smiled slightly.
“There was something I had to do so I can stay by your side from now on.”
“Fo… for me?”
“Yes. From now on, I and the other maids will be looking after you, Lilith. We’ll be staying with you.”
“Yay!”
Lilith crinkled her eyes and smiled happily. Seeing her so happy with just the promise that we’d stay together made my heart feel heavy.
“Kkuoi! Pya!”
Slap. Lilith’s small hand suddenly touched my right cheek.
“Miss?”
I opened my eyes wide in surprise at the sudden touch.
‘Did I do something wrong?’
I didn’t expect her to slap me…All I’d done since entering the room was talk with her like she wanted.
‘Maybe she got mad because I was thinking about something else?’
I looked at Lilith, puzzled, but she didn’t look angry or upset. And now that I thought about it, it didn’t even feel like she slapped me. She was actually touching my cheek very gently.
‘Ah…’
Right—this was the cheek that got hit by Ivna. I had tried to cool it down, but maybe it was still red.
“Wha… what happened?”
I shook my head.
“I just got scolded a little because I made a mistake”.
“Did it… hurt?”
“No, it doesn’t hurt.”
“Fuu~ Fuuu~”
Lilith puffed her cheeks and blew on my cheek softly. As if she believed it would make the pain go away.
“Thank you, Miss.”
After thanking Lilith, I suddenly remembered the handkerchief I used to cool my cheek.
‘Ah, I forgot to give Johann his handkerchief back.’
Should I have returned it myself?
Now it was a little awkward. It was probably something I wouldn’t be able to find again easily. Johann wouldn’t mind, but it didn’t sit well with me.
‘I should return it later.’
Even if I didn’t think I’d see him again.
“By the way, I met Bliss today.”
“Bwlis!”
“Yes. Miss Bliss.”
Lilith smiled brightly when she heard Bliss’s name. It seemed that, at the very least, Bliss had cared for Lilith among the Shainon family.
‘Maybe she hasn’t been able to visit often since getting married.’
Or maybe something happened that made it hard for her to pay attention to Lilith. Otherwise, Lilith wouldn’t have been left alone like this.
I thought about how Bliss had worriedly asked about Lilith.
‘I’m sure she’ll be on Lilith’s side.’
It wasn’t just because of how she acted or because of what the novel said. I knew because I saw it with my own “eyes.” Her feelings toward Lilith were real.
“Bwlis is nice!”
“She said she’ll come to see you again.”
Lilith smiled so brightly that her whole face lit up. I smiled gently with her. I had the ability to feel other people’s emotions. It’s hard to explain exactly, but when I looked into someone’s eyes and focused, I could feel their emotions.
Sometimes I saw colours around them. Sometimes I heard sounds or felt things on my skin.
‘I still can’t control how it happens, though.’
I didn’t know how to control it. I could even feel my parent’s emotions toward me. That’s why I was able to leave them and come to the Shainon family.
‘I didn’t want to see how they really felt about me.’
A bitter smile almost escaped, but I held it in. Anyway, to find out how Bliss felt about Lilith, I read her emotions.
Words can lie—she might’ve hated Lilith deep down. But when Bliss thought about Lilith, a warm reddish light appeared around her.
‘A mix of yellow and orange, like the colors of a warm spring.’
The shimmering light showed how much Bliss worried about Lilith.
‘She must be one of the few people who knows about Lilith’s powers but doesn’t avoid her.’
I glanced sideways at Lilith. She tilted her head and looked at me with innocent eyes. When she’s with me, I always see a soft blue colour around her—like a clear sky. But when I first saw her, she was covered in pitch black.
‘It felt like she was going to disappear into the darkness at any moment.’
When her powers went out of control, thick black fog filled the whole room. It was too deep and heavy for a child’s emotions. I did move for my own safety, but I approached her more because I couldn’t ignore the suffocating sadness she was drowning in.
“Miss, do you like Bliss?”
“Yes, I like!”
“Then, what about me?”
“Kkuoi, I like too!!”
Lilith nodded her head so hard it made her dizzy. Her small body swayed, and I quickly reached out to hold her steady.
“Miss.”
“Mm?”
“How about learning to read and write?”
Blink blink. Her big eyes blinked at me.
“If you do, you’ll be able to talk more with me and become closer to the other maids too.”
“Uuuh…”
Lilith lowered her head. I felt her fear clearly. It wasn’t just fear of learning letters or words.
“Are you scared of the maids?”
She nodded.
“Are you afraid they’ll hurt you?”
She shook her head.
“Then why…”
I stopped mid-sentence.
‘Ah… this child…’
Lilith was scared. She was afraid that her out-of-control powers might hurt the maids again. I gently hugged her small body.
“If the maids can talk with you, they won’t be scared anymore. I’ll be right by your side.”
First, she needed to be able to communicate with people. Then, learn how to get along with them, how to control her powers—and how to live on her own. If she could slowly learn all that…
“You’ll be okay.”
I whispered quietly into Lilith’s ear.
By the time I finished everything for the day, the sky outside was already dark. Lilith had fallen asleep long after finishing her dinner.
‘She’s really just like any normal child… except for her powers.’
After drinking warm milk and being tucked in, she quickly fell asleep. As I walked down the hallway lost in thought, a voice came from beside me.
“I’m going to try harder to take care of Miss Lilith.”
Verdy, who was walking with me, clenched both her fists tightly. Earlier today, when she first met the awakened Lilith, she had tried hard to hide her fear.
“Aren’t you scared of her?”
I gently asked, watching her reaction.
“Well… a little…”
Verdy looked a bit embarrassed as she continued.
“But she apologized to us today, and we know now that she didn’t mean to do it.”
She must’ve been thinking about what happened in the afternoon. After lunch, I had called the maids to Lilith’s room. Everyone was tense, remembering what had happened the day before.
Then Lilith opened her mouth and slowly said, “Um, sowwy for being scary.”
She was saying sorry for scaring them yesterday. It was a short sentence I had taught her in a short amount of time. She still sounded awkward, but she’d probably learn quickly once she started properly.
After that, I explained to the maids that Lilith still couldn’t control her powers, and what happened yesterday wasn’t on purpose.
Thankfully, Verdy seemed to understand and was trying to accept Lilith. The other four maids still looked cautious, though.
‘Well, that can’t be helped.’
It’s not easy to change fear that had already taken root. I understood their feelings too, so I wasn’t going to force them.
“Chloe, weren’t you scared? Come to think of it, you didn’t hesitate at all to approach Miss yesterday.”
“No way. I was scared too, and I did hesitate. I’m just not good at showing emotions.”
“Really? It didn’t look that way at all…”
“But I guess I’m a bit dull when it comes to these things. Maybe because I have a lot of younger siblings?”
I smiled gently and added the last part.
“Wow, I’m jealous.”
Verdy nodded without a trace of doubt.
“But Chloe, could you come here for a second?”
“Why?”
Verdy suddenly stopped walking and waved me over like she had just remembered something. I followed her into the room she had cleaned today.
‘This place…’
It was Verdy’s assigned room, and while all the dust was gone, there were still lots of things piled up inside.
