Chapter 10
Eden, who came out of the shower, was greeted by the emptiness of the annex, just as Elysia had left it, with the fire still burning.
In the chilly silence, Eden shrugged his shoulders.
“Why did she leave?”
He thought she would stay because he hadn’t eaten the fruit she brought.
With an unexpected outcome, Eden dragged his feet to the bed where Elysia had told him to sit.
Water dripped from his improperly dried hair.
“I’ll come back tomorrow.”
Turning around to sit, Eden crawled towards the pillow.
Lying down with his head on the pillow, Eden mulled over what Elysia had said.
“If you wash up and sleep well, it’ll be tomorrow.”
Forcing his eyes shut, Eden slipped under the covers.
The bed was too big for his small body.
The annex was the same.
Elysia thought the annex resembled more of a warehouse, but it was too spacious for Eden to be alone.
The room remained unlit.
A vague fear gripped Eden again.
In the morning, amidst studying and work, lunchtime arrived in a whirl.
As she brought food to her mouth, Elysia planned to visit Eden after lunch.
Suddenly, a thought struck Elysia, and her mouth slightly opened.
“Oh. I forgot to ask what he wants to eat.”
Trying to do something unplanned, Elysia found herself making mistakes unknowingly.
“I don’t have anything other than fruit to bring discreetly.”
Elysia wasn’t particularly hungry to the extent of preparing separate meals after lunch.
“Should I bring some snacks like candies?”
As her dilemma deepened, Elysia’s hand slowed down.
Ariel, who was diligently picking out broccoli as usual, observed Elysia with curiosity.
Normally, Elysia would have scolded Ariel for being a picky eater right away.
However, for some reason, Elysia kept staring at her own plate.
“Sister?”
“Yeah?”
Elysia’s reflexive response came out of her mouth.
Facing Elysia, Ariel’s face looked oddly solemn.
“What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing. It’s nothing.”
I’m the one being picky right now.
Elysia kept her promise to have lunch with Ariel.
But Ariel seemed to notice that Elysia’s mind was elsewhere.
As evidence, Elysia noticed Ariel’s picky eating but didn’t comment on it despite looking at her.
Ariel’s lips drooped downwards.
“Should I bring a book with me today?”
In Elysia’s mind, which used to be filled with Ariel’s thoughts, Eden’s presence was now creeping in.
Guilt, sympathy, and opportunity.
These were the only emotions Elysia harbored towards Eden.
She wanted to help him, yet she also wanted to use him.
She might as well call it utilization, since it was going to happen anyway.
“Are you bringing a book today?”
Elysia always brought something when she visited the annex.
Today, it was a book.
“Yeah. Just in case I get bored.”
“It’s a good idea, isn’t it?”
Elysia raised the thin book with a proud expression on her face. Lizbeth rolled her eyes and scanned the title of the book.
It was a fairy tale book that Lizbeth was already familiar with.
“If you’re bored, you don’t have to come,” Lizbeth remarked.
“It’s not that I’m bored. It’s about Eden,” Elysia replied.
To come to the annex required her full attention, and yet, she was bored.
Elysia felt her boredom freezing everything around her.
“…,” Lizbeth didn’t have any more questions for today, so she promptly opened the door.
With a proud stride, Elysia stepped into the room.
Click-
The door closed shut.
Shortly after Elysia finished her lunch, Eden came to her, so Lizbeth didn’t have to take on the role of guardian today.
As the door closed, Elysia glanced down.
Today, too, a plate was placed under her feet. The only difference from yesterday was that Eden was sitting on the bed today.
“I’m here.”
Elysia looked up at Eden.
Their eyes met the moment the door opened.
“Come to think of it, I forgot to ask you yesterday if there’s anything you’d like to eat.”
Approaching Eden with the same proud stride as when she entered, Elysia handed him the book.
Without even looking at the book extended to him, Eden continued to stare at Elysia.
“Don’t feel like reading?”
Thinking she might have brought it for nothing, Elysia tossed the book onto the bed.
Then she rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a candy.
“You know what candy is?”
Despite knowing that Eden still retained some common sense, Elysia asked.
“No, do you like candy?”
Then she immediately changed the subject.
“…,” Eden didn’t answer.
Even though he had come back to his senses, Elysia found him frustratingly silent.
“People should respond when spoken to,” Elysia said with an irritated voice.
Elysia’s expression also changed abruptly.
Thanks to her abruptness, Eden, who had been absent-minded, responded hastily with a frightened expression.
“Yes, yes.”
“Do you like candy?”
Even though she knew he would respond to my question, Elysia tore open the candy bag with determination to somehow fatten Eden’s thin body.
Whether it was his naturally thin physique or because of the famine during the Parthin coup, Eden’s body, unfit for a growing child, was emaciated.
So, even if I gained a little weight, I felt a bit less guilty.
“Here.”
Elysia didn’t particularly like sweet food.
Nevertheless, Ariel always kept candy on hand in case she visited her room.
It was the same with fairy tales.
In Marquis Partin’s study, there were countless books imported from the empire.
Except for one type, children’s fairy tales were excluded.
It was Elysia who filled one side of the austere study with fairy tales. It was done with Arielle’s emotional development in mind.
Elysia, the one who bought the fairy tales, didn’t expect to make use of them here.
If Ilden wasn’t interested in books, it would be pointless.
“…Can I eat this?”
“I got it for you to eat.”
Why else would she bother to peel it herself?
“…If I eat this, will you leave?”
“You… want me to leave?”
Leaving it neglected as in the original might make her sick at heart, so she struggled to make it sound more enticing.
Elysia, who hadn’t considered that Ilden might find her bothersome, asked with a shocked expression.
In response, Eden, looking even more surprised than before, closed his eyes tightly and shook his head from side to side.
“Oh, no.”
Gathering his hands neatly, he seemed genuinely truthful.
If exaggerated, he even looked desperate.
“When you finish eating, will you go back…? Because I’m scared alone…”
Eden, who had been holding her hands, lowered them and wiggled his fingers, glancing at Elysia.
Though his pronunciation was unclear and his speech slow, each word uttered by Eden struck clearly in Elysia’s ears.
“…When you’re asleep, I’ll go back.”
As Elysia pushed the round candy towards Eden with tweezers, she replied with a bitter expression.
To leave such a child neglected for a year in the original story.
The statement that being alone was scary might sound like a childish tantrum, but Elysia interpreted Ilden’s fear differently.
With her memory scattered, there would be nothing to fear.
Elysia was sure that if she were in Eden’s position, she would lose her mind in less than a month, let alone a year.
When she only read it as a novel, she never thought from Ilden’s perspective, so she lightly regarded it. However, upon closer examination, his endurance for a year was quite remarkable.
“When I sleep…?”
The sometimes blurry presence of Jainy, now clear, asserted itself.
“Then I won’t sleep…”
That’s a bit awkward.
Elysia’s face relaxed without vitality upon hearing Eden’s determination.
It was partly endearing, and partly because she was convinced that he wouldn’t be able to stay awake and endure.
“Eat well and sleep well, and you’ll grow up strong.”
As she tapped the bed impatiently, signaling to lie down quickly, Eden raised her head. Then, with wide-open eyes, she mumbled, “I don’t want to sleep….” Despite her determined expression, her words were laden with drowsiness.
Her eyes, which had barely stayed open, soon lost their strength, and the corners drooped downwards. ‘She seems like she’s going to sleep already.’ With a nonchalant gesture, Elysia closed the book and moved towards the head of the bed.
When Elysia suddenly got up, Eden focused her eyes on her again. Quietly following her movements, Elysia arrived at the head of the bed, pulling down the blanket. “Come here.”
Elysia, with a firm expression, gestured towards Eden. Realizing it was futile to resist any longer, Eden managed to muster up the strength to move towards Elysia and flopped onto the bed.
Only then did Elysia, with a satisfied expression, pull the blanket up to Eden’s neck. “Sleep tight.” With that, the promise to stay until Idun slept was fulfilled.
As if seeing through Elysia’s thoughts, Eden looked at her with eyes that refused to close properly. “I’ll come again tomorrow. So stop being stubborn and sleep.”
Elysia gently covered Eden’s eyelids with her hand. As the vision quickly dimmen Eden blinked rapidly.
Her eyelashes tickled Elysia’s palm.
The corners of Elysia’s mouth involuntarily turned upwards.
Gradually, Eden’s eyelids closed.
Without removing her hand, Elysia stood still, waiting until Eden ‘s breathing became regular.
Returning to her own room, Elysia didn’t lie on the bed but sat straight at her desk. Immediately, she opened a book devoid of any pictures, quite a contrast to the fairy tales Eden had been reading.
Elysia’s eyes moved across the sentences written in the book. ‘I’m hungry.’ Elysia wasn’t someone who ate a lot, but she was in the midst of her growth period. It was natural for her to feel hungry.
Ariel must have eaten first since Elysia didn’t see her in the dining room. Long ago, when Elysia was adjusting to studying, she often skipped meals due to poor time management.
Each time, Elysia told Ariel to eat first. Of course, Ariel didn’t listen and waited several times for her sister to come. Eventually, unable to bear it, Elysia scolded Ariel, who then listened to her.
Elysia’s gaze fell on the candy basket on the desk. There was hardly any candy left since most of it had been given to Idun. Despite not liking sweets, Elysia couldn’t resist reaching out towards the basket, unable to bear her hunger.
Without even checking the flavor, Elysia randomly picked one candy. As she pulled both ends of the candy, the wrapper came off. The candy was purple. Assuming it was grape-flavored, Elysia put it into her mouth.
Suddenly, her fingertips, rolling the candy on her tongue, stiffened unexpectedly. ‘It’s too sweet.’ It was a taste that made her hesitate to take another bite.
