Chapter 10

Late at night, Cecilia checked the documents processed by the new lord with a face full of anger. She tried her best to find even the smallest mistake, but she couldn’t find even a single spelling error. The only unusual thing was that the handwriting was slightly shaky, as if the person had a mild tremor.

But the shaky handwriting wasn’t enough to find fault with, and instead, she was furious at how perfectly the work had been handled, tearing at her own hair in frustration.

“That damn noble face, how can he handle things so boldly and recklessly?!”

Cecilia recalled his emotionless face, as if nothing had happened, and gritted her teeth.

“Because of that useless noble who only knew how to collect taxes and then ran away, our village almost fell apart…!”

She thought of her family who had died in the chaos when the lord fled, and she slammed the table, glaring at his signature with hatred.

“Those who never showed up when they were needed… Now they strut around acting like lords…?”

She absolutely couldn’t tolerate such arrogance.

To stop him, she tried ignoring him, gave him a place to stay that any noble would despise, and even gave him an overwhelming amount of work to torment him, but he never got angry.

In fact, he maintained an astonishingly dignified attitude.

“What do you mean by ‘essence’? The place he stays is not just a building but the village? Spouting nonsense. You don’t know anything…!!!”

“Then what do you know about that child to talk like that?”

A soliloquy is called a soliloquy because it’s a conversation with oneself. If another voice interrupts, it’s no longer a soliloquy but a conversation.

When her soliloquy suddenly turned into a conversation, Cecilia was startled and turned her head toward the unfamiliar voice.

“What, what is it…?”

“Here, you damn thing.”

“A crow talking…?”

“In a world full of people acting like beasts, is there a law that says crows can’t talk?”

The crow perched by the window glared at Cecilia with eyes full of anger.

“Let me ask again. What do you know about that child to spout such nonsense?”

“Obviously, he’s a noble who grew up lacking nothing. Surrounded by family love, abundant food, warm beds, and a safe environment where he didn’t have to worry about death. He grew up like a greenhouse flower, didn’t he?”

“… Foolish. Everyone thinks their own wounds hurt the most, but it’s wrong to mock someone who has no part of their body untouched. That’s not something a person should do.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“Seeing is believing. Let’s see if you can still say that after smelling the blood oozing from those wounds.”

As the crow flapped its wings, a strange black wind enveloped the room, and Cecilia found herself trapped in complete darkness.

When the darkness lifted, she opened her eyes in the middle of an old-fashioned noble mansion, not her own room.

“Where is this…?”

She was confused, but soon realized that the maids and butlers around her didn’t notice her presence, understanding that it was some kind of illusion.

“I don’t know what kind of trick this is, but illusions don’t last long. I don’t know why you’re showing me this place, but…!”

Soon, she saw a young boy who looked exactly like the lord she had seen in the morning.

His deep eyes and slender face were the same as now, but unlike now, there was vitality in his eyes and skin. He was what you’d call a doll-like child.

The cute child was hugging a book as thick as his arm and heading somewhere. The child stopped in front of a door and knocked with his tiny hand.

“Mother.”

The child called out to his mother and opened the door. Beyond the door was a noblewoman taking care of a baby suffering from an unknown illness.

“What is it?”

“The tutor told me to inform you that I got a perfect score on today’s test.”

“Just to report such a trivial thing? I’m not so idle as to receive such reports.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“If you understand, close the door and leave. You know how harmful the cold wind is to your sibling.”

“I’m sorry.”

Seeing the child’s expression as he closed the door, Cecilia could sense that reporting the perfect score was entirely the child’s own will. The tutor’s instruction was a lie, and the child wanted to boast about his perfect score.

“Young master, don’t worry too much. Once the lady’s illness is cured, she will surely…”

“It’s okay, butler. It’s my fault for having such vain thoughts while my sibling is sick.”

The child was walking through the garden with the butler.

Then, the child saw a flower blooming on a crape myrtle tree and stopped, asking the butler.

“Butler, do you think my sibling would like this flower?”

Understanding the intention behind the question, the butler smiled subtly and answered tactfully.

“Even a baby would like pretty flowers, wouldn’t they? Shall I pick one for you?”

“No. I want to pick the first gift myself. And just a flower seems a bit too plain.”

The butler smiled and helped the child onto a horse so he could pick the flower branch himself.

The child picked the flower branch, used glue to stick it to a drawing paper, and started drawing.

The small flower branch became a tree in the small drawing paper, and the child drew his sibling, now fully recovered, and other family members around it. The drawing was so good that it was hard to believe it was done by a child.

After drawing all night, the child sneaked into his sibling’s room while his mother was asleep. He placed the drawing he had made next to the sibling’s cradle and left the room. The drawing contained the child’s wish for his sibling to get well.

Early in the morning, the child woke up to a commotion and ran to his sibling’s room following the noise.

Pollen had entered the sibling’s weak body, causing an allergic reaction and a sudden rise in body temperature.

After hearing this from the doctor, the child’s mother stared at the drawing next to the cradle and approached the child step by step. It was obvious where the pollen had come from.

“Mother, this is…”

*Slap.*

The sound of flesh hitting flesh filled the room.

“My lady! The young master only meant to…”

“Butler, be quiet.”

The child’s mother glared at the child with colder eyes than ever.

“Do you know what you did wrong?”

“Yes.”

The child, without touching his reddened cheek, expressionlessly threw his drawing into the fireplace.

“I will make sure this never happens again.”

“Good. As long as you understand.”

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

As the child said this, his eyes lost just a bit of their vitality.

Instead of tears, the child shed the vitality from his eyes and left with his reddened cheek. The butler hurriedly ran to comfort the child, but it was no use.

“Young master, the lady was just upset, so don’t take it to heart. She will surely understand that you didn’t mean any harm…”

“Butler, intentions don’t matter. I almost killed my sibling, and Mother gave me a deserved punishment. That’s all.”

“Young master…”

“Please dispose of the paints and drawing tools in my room. It’s obvious Mother will be angry if she sees them.”

The child who loved drawing never drew again.

“Young master, no matter what, don’t be too sad…”

“Butler, I want to be alone for a while.”

The butler silently respected the child’s wish, and the child walked silently to the garden.

Then, the child silently hid behind a tree, crouched down, and buried his face between his knees.

The bad habit of escaping into the darkness between his knees started from that moment.

“I am…”

The child didn’t finish the sentence and just silently stared into the darkness between his knees.

The child established a dark and dull self in that small darkness.

Cecilia unconsciously approached the child and tried to stroke his head. But the moment she reached out, the black wind surrounding her dissipated.

“What was that just now…”

“Did that seem like a warm greenhouse to you? Did that seem like a flower to you?”

Cecilia couldn’t say anything. What she had seen was not a warm greenhouse but a cold snowy field.

“… If this is truly the pain of that noble lord, then I should apologize. But that doesn’t mean I accept him. I can’t accept him based on just one aspect.”

“Fine. That’s your choice. But remember this.”

The crow calmly revealed his secret.

“What you saw is just a small thorn among the many embedded in that child.”

Then, Cecilia silently put down the documents she had been holding to find fault with him.

“Who are you to know such secrets? You’re not an ordinary crow, are you?”

“I’m just a bird who wishes that child wouldn’t suffer. I’m also partly to blame for the child becoming what he is now.”

With a slightly sad look in his eyes, the crow flew out the window.

Returning home, the crow gently arranged Raul’s hair as he slept, leaning uncomfortably on a chair.

“… Sentimental fool.”

The crow kept watch by his lonely side until the morning sun rose, ensuring that mere country bugs wouldn’t disturb his sleep.