Chapter 33

“…Snacks?”

A flicker of tension crossed the butler’s face.

Melissa nodded brightly.

“Mr. Bamel just came up with a new cookie recipe. When we baked them, they turned out so delicious. You have to try them. They’re absolutely heavenly.”

Bamel, that man.

The butler thought back to the burly head chef who had been grumbling earlier.

That perpetually dissatisfied man had once complained that he couldn’t welcome a woman of unknown origin as the young master’s wife.

But after a few conversations with Melissa, he had started laughing easily, now saying he couldn’t imagine anyone but her as the lady of the house.

That same man who had once run for his life at the sight of Melissa’s insect dishes.

The butler let out a quiet chuckle before realizing, too late, that he had done so in front of her.

He quickly lowered his head.

“My apologies. I’ll prepare some tea to go with the cookies. Please, wait for me in the parlor.”

“Alright!”

Melissa walked down the corridor with light steps.

The sunlight streaming through the windows scattered around her, dancing like tiny wings.

Such a kind person.

The butler found himself smiling softly as he turned toward the kitchen once more.

Yes.

Change was coming to this household.

But it would not be the kind of upheaval he had feared.

It would come softly, like sunlight melting the ice.

* * *

A breeze ruffled strands of hair that looked like a kitten’s tail.

Shilen was sitting in the dirt, playing with the soil using her tiny hands.

It was her own little territory, next to Melissa’s vegetable garden.

There, she was using the small hand hoe Melissa had specially made for her, scooping and patting at the soil, then breaking it apart again.

Before, Melissa would have joined her, tending the garden or playing in the dirt beside her. But ever since that scary person in the black veil had arrived at the estate, Shilen had been trying to avoid Melissa as much as possible.

‘Let’s play together!’

Melissa would have said that the moment she saw her.

It felt strange.

Shilen bit her lip and lowered her gaze.

Why did that person hate her so much?

The first time they met, Natalianne had said that just looking at Shilen made her head hurt.

And when Demius wanted to bring her into the mansion, she was the one who opposed it the most fiercely.

Shilen tilted her head, then sighed softly as if she had given up. She stood and gathered her day’s treasures.

A small tree root and a few pebbles she had dug up, and a pale green acorn that must have fallen from somewhere.

She held her collection carefully in both hands and, with her tiny hoe in tow, waddled forward.

These days she had her own lightweight hoe that fit her perfectly, but she still remembered the time she had tried to lift Melissa’s large one.

Had she fallen? Or had someone caught her before she could?

The memory came back suddenly. It must have been about a week ago.

* * *

That day, Shilen had gone into the garden alone, dragging Melissa’s heavy hoe along the ground.

Melissa had already made her a smaller one, but Shilen had wanted to try using the big, impressive one just once.

She had managed to drag it all the way to the garden, but when she arrived, she realized she couldn’t even lift it.

What should I do?

She looked around helplessly before finally deciding to give up.

Shoulders slumped, she tugged at the hoe she had dropped to the ground.

…Huh?

It wouldn’t move. The blade had somehow gotten caught under a plant’s roots.

Her lips trembled as she tried pulling it left and right, front and back, but the more she pulled, the more tangled it became.

What should I do?

After fidgeting anxiously for a moment, she took a deep breath and gripped the handle tightly. Then she leaned back with all her strength.

“Ugh!”

Though her body was small, she used all her weight to pull. The hoe began to budge little by little.

Encouraged, she leaned even further back and gave it one last powerful tug.

Whoosh.

The hoe came loose and her small body went flying backward. She could feel herself falling, her head about to hit the ground.

This is going to hurt.

She squeezed her eyes shut.

Thud.

Instead of the ground, a strong hand caught her from behind.

The force of it stopped her completely, as if her tiny body weighed nothing at all.

“Be careful.”

The low, gruff voice belonged to Demius.

Shilen blinked up in surprise as Demius easily lifted the heavy hoe and set it aside, then helped her back onto her feet.

His voice was curt, but his hand was gentle.

While Shilen stared up at him, dazed, Demius pressed his lips together for a moment before speaking again.

“…You.”

He hesitated once, then asked in a slow, heavy tone.

“That butterfly. How did you make it?”

“…?”

Shilen blinked at him in confusion.

Demius looked down at her face for a moment, then sighed faintly.

“…You can’t answer, can you.”

Of course not.

He clenched his jaw slightly. What had he expected to hear from a child who couldn’t speak?

And it wasn’t as if Asellion had been the only one who could make butterflies out of ginkgo leaves.

He had learned it from their father too.

“I see.”

Straightening, Demius turned to leave. But after a few steps, he glanced back.

“I’ll carry it for you.”

Before Shilen could react, he lifted the hoe from her small hands with ease.

“Where should I take it?”

Shilen blinked in surprise and hesitated before pointing toward the storage shed.

Demius nodded and started walking, slowing his pace so she could keep up.

Their footsteps echoed softly.

While Shilen fiddled with the small acorn in her hand, his voice came from above.

“…Lili is always smiling when she’s with you.”

He glanced at the air as he spoke.

“What do you two talk about?”

“…?”

Shilen looked up at him with wide eyes.

He gave a small laugh under his breath. Talking to a child who couldn’t reply clearly showed how tired he was.

And yet, for some reason, he couldn’t stop talking to her.

As if they were already used to sharing quiet conversations.

With a faint, rueful smile, Demius murmured,

“…Lili is.”

His lips curved faintly upward.

“Someone far too good for me.”

Yes.

Melissa was far too kind, far too good for him.

That was why he had tried to be considerate in his own way.

For instance, though he had never told anyone, lately he had been avoiding the room she stayed in.

At first, he had done it out of concern for appearances. But these days, he usually slept on the couch in his office or on a spare bed in another room before heading straight to training or work.

He believed that was the best way not to make her uncomfortable.

And yet…

“I don’t know if I deserve even that.”

His voice came out quietly bitter.

Even if they were bound as husband and wife for just a year, he knew this arrangement existed only because of his own selfishness.

And more than anything else…

‘You’re awake!’

…their first meeting had been a disaster.

Demius clenched his eyes shut, remembering the day he had first opened them in the Village at the Edge.

* * *

“…Where am I?”

Demius barely managed to lift his heavy eyelids.

His vision was blurry and red, the blood vessels in his eyes burst. The unfamiliar surroundings only deepened his confusion.

He tried to push himself up, every muscle in his body screaming in pain.

“…gh.”

It felt like every bone in his body had shattered.

What happened?

As he pieced his memories together, the image of a cliff came to mind. Had he fallen?

“You’re awake!”

A voice rang out nearby.

Without thinking, Demius moved on instinct. Ignoring the pain, he shot up and grabbed the person by the throat.

Thud.

With his powerful arm, he pressed the person down and pinned them to the floor, body tense and ready.

Through his blurred vision, he could barely make out the figure beneath him.

A woman with bright orange hair.

Small. Slender. Fragile-looking.

Even as he held her down, she didn’t fight back, only stared at him, wide-eyed in shock.

Demius narrowed his eyes at the clear green irises staring back at him and spoke, his voice cold and precise.

“Identify yourself.”