Chapter 11
It was when three candies had already gone into Eden’s mouth.
He subtly shifted his gaze away from Elysia, whom he had been staring at persistently.
The destination of his gaze was the book that Elysia had casually placed down.
“Want to read?”
Even though she had been ignored once, Elysia persisted and asked.
Even belatedly, Elysia noticed Eden’s interest in the book as if by magic.
“Give it a read.”
Only when she directly opened the book did Eden finally accept it.
The book Elysia brought was a thin, heavily illustrated fairy tale book.
The drawings were crude, but it seemed better than pages filled with dense text, so she had picked it out.
As the candies passed over Eden’s cheeks as if skimming them, he glanced through the first page of the book.
Sitting beside Eden, Elysia admired his profile.
His neatly arranged white eyelashes were so full that they extended long. In contrast to his oddly slender body, his cheeks, which still had baby fat, protruded roundly.
She felt like poking them once.
The attractive features hidden behind his cute appearance were clearly visible to Elysia.
‘Surely he will become a stunning beauty.’
The book was also filled with praises of Eden’s appearance, calling him beautiful and sexy, so Elysia’s expectation was almost certain.
Even just looking at their young appearances, it was clear.
‘Surely our Ariel will also become a noticeable beauty?’
If the two stood side by side, they would look very good together.
When such a day comes, Elysia felt she would proudly show off the two to others, as if she were their parent.
‘Parent… That’s fine, right?’
Yes, this was perfect.
“Hmm?”
While Elysia was lost in her daydreams, Eden turned his gaze to her, looking flustered.
With a flustered expression, Eden blinked several times, indicating his unease.
“Huh?”
Elysia tilted her head in confusion at his expression.
“Why?”
Was he feeling distracted because I was staring at him too intently?
Elysia, feeling a bit embarrassed, touched her nose with a cool expression and asked.
“……”
Perhaps he felt hesitant to speak hastily, Eden alternated between the book and Elysia without answering.
“?”
Elysia also shifted her gaze to match Eden’s, then shifted her gaze to the book.
The pages were still as Eden had first opened them.
“…You can’t possibly… not be able to read?”
“Uh…”
Elysia’s question made Eden’s eyelashes flutter nervously.
Seeing his white eyelashes fluttering, Elysia furrowed her brow tightly.
“Yes, yes…”
Eden replied hastily. It seemed like he thought Elysia’s displeased expression was because of him not answering her several times before.
“Why, why…”
Caught off guard, Elysia stumbled over her words.
Elysia naturally assumed that Eden, being of royal blood just like her, would have learned to read at a very young age. Even among the nobles, royal education was exceptional, and as a prince, Eden would have received even more than usual.
But now, at the age of nine, a prince like Eden not knowing how to read? It was unthinkable.
As far as Elysia could remember, the adult Eden had been an extraordinarily talented man.
For him to fall behind in royal education… It didn’t make sense.
‘Is this Delphir’s doing?’
Apart from Delphir, who had erased Eden’s memories and was the master of the Matop, there was no one else to blame.
Delphir had left Eden’s common knowledge intact, so naturally, Elysia had assumed he would still be able to read. She never expected that his knowledge of reading would also be wiped away.
‘Why would he do that?’
If it weren’t for Elysia, Eden wouldn’t have even touched letters, let alone seen a picture.
That’s why Elysia questioned Delphir’s actions.
“I’m sorry for not being able to… do it.”
As Eden’s face slowly contorted with Elysia’s tightly closed lips, he apologized in a moist voice.
Elysia barely managed to suppress a hollow laugh at Eden’s apology.
“…Let’s start by learning to read.”
Who was responsible for him being like this?
Did Eden even know who he was apologizing to?
He constantly sympathized only with Elysia’s feelings, not even realizing that he should feel anger towards others.
She barely held back from telling him not to apologize immediately and instead focused her gaze on the book on his thigh.
There was no point in pondering over unanswered questions.
What was most important right now was to teach Eden how to read, so they could pass the time with books.
The story was nearing its end.
Elysia read a passage from a fairy tale with a gentle voice.
Then she waited for Eden’s voice to come.
“?”
As Elysia waited, no sound came from Eden.
Elysia, who had been bowing her head towards the book, turned her head towards Eden.
“…….”
Only Eden’s small head was bobbing up and down.
“Eden, lie down and sleep.”
Seeing that Lizbeth hadn’t come in yet, it was probably not even 8 o’clock.
Watching the restless Eden moving back and forth in the same spot, Elysia made a subtle guess.
Even though it was still early, Eden couldn’t wake up from sleepiness.
It seemed like he was too young, with a short attention span and a lot of sleep.
“Eden.”
With no response from Eden, Elysia called out with a bit more force this time, gently shaking his neck.
“Ugh….”
Unable to bear it any longer, Eden threw a tantrum.
Rubbing his eyes with his hands, Eden opened his sleepy eyes.
His sluggish fingers were cute.
‘He’s such a baby.’
As Eden fidgeted, suddenly he stiffened his neck.
Seeing his unnatural movement, Elysia repeated her earlier words.
“If you’re sleepy, lie down and sleep.”
Signaling to lie down quickly by tapping the bed, Eden shook his head.
Then, he opened his eyes wide and mumbled.
“I don’t want to sleep….”
Despite his determined expression, there was a heavy drowsiness in his words.
His eyes, wide open moments ago, soon lost strength, and his eyelids drooped down.
‘Looks like he’s already going to sleep.’
With an indifferent touch, Elysia closed the book and moved towards the head of the bed.
As Elysia suddenly got up, Eden exerted effort to focus on her again.
Quietly following her movements, Elysia arrived at the head of the bed, where she pulled the blanket down.
“Come here.”
Elysia, with a firm expression, gestured towards Eden.
Unable to resist any longer, Eden managed to pull himself up and approached where Elysia was, collapsing onto the bed.
Only then did Elysia, with a satisfied expression, pull the blanket up to Eden’s neck.
“Goodnight.”
The promise to stay with Eden until she fell asleep was considered fulfilled.
As if seeing through Eden’s thoughts, Elysia looked at her with eyes that wouldn’t close properly.
“I’ll come tomorrow too. So stop being stubborn and go to sleep.”
Elysia covered Eden’s eyelids with her hand.
As soon as her vision darkened, Eden blinked rapidly.
Her palm itched because of Eden’s eyelashes.
Elysia’s lips curled upwards involuntarily.
Gradually, Eden’s eyelids closed.
Elysia didn’t remove her hand immediately but stood still in that position until Eden’s breathing became regular.
Returning to her own room, Elysia sat at her desk instead of lying down on the bed.
She immediately opened a book devoid of any pictures, unlike the fairy tale book Eden had been reading.
Elysia’s eyes moved around as she followed the sentences written in the book.
‘I’m hungry.’
Although Elysia wasn’t one to eat a lot, she was in the midst of growing.
So, it was natural for her to feel hungry even though she didn’t usually eat much.
Ariel must have eaten first since Elysia hadn’t shown up in the dining hall.
It was a long time ago, when Elysia was adapting to her studies.
As Elysia needed time to adjust, she often skipped meals due to not being able to manage her time properly.
Each time, Elysia told Ariel to eat first.
Of course, Ariel didn’t listen and waited several times for her sister to come.
Eventually, after Elysia scolded Ariel, she listened.
Elysia’s gaze landed on the candy basket on the desk.
There were hardly any candies left as most of them had been brought to Eden.
Despite not liking sweets, Elysia reached out towards the basket due to her hunger.
Without even checking the flavor, Elysia picked one out.
As she pulled both ends of the candy, the wrapping came off.
The candy was purple.
Thinking it must be grape-flavored, Elysia put it in her mouth.
Her fingertip, which had rolled the candy around in her mouth, suddenly stiffened.
‘Too sweet.’
It was a taste that made her reluctant to take another bite.
