“…”
The young duke looked stunned, as if my last line had shaken him deeply. But I didn’t stop.
“But brother, I don’t know what to do if I don’t smile. My heart aches so many times a day.”
Still, no reply. All he could do was place the puppet back on the stage.
I had no choice but to keep going with my story.
“I miss Mom so much. Don’t you, brother? Why does no one show it? Am I supposed to be like that too?”
I made the puppet cover its face as if crying. And that’s when Chade, who had been silent the whole time, finally opened his mouth.
“…You don’t… have to do that.”
A brief silence followed his first line. I stopped acting and simply looked at him.
Losing a loved one doesn’t only affect one person.
Not just Lily, but Chade—and even their father, the duke—must have suffered greatly.
Just like Lily had tried to deny her mother’s death by forcing herself to smile…
Chade, only 17 years old, had to grow up quickly to take on the duke’s responsibilities and bring in every doctor he could for his sister.
In the end, both of them had just been trying their best to survive their grief.
And in times of unimaginable pain, often the only people who can truly help are family who’ve shared that same loss.
Finally, Chade seemed to come to a decision. He began to move his puppet, slowly at first, but his eyes held a new kind of resolve.
“I’ve always been thinking of you. But back then… I didn’t understand why you were smiling.”
“I smiled… because that’s what Mom loved most. She always said that if I smiled, she could find her way back to me—even if she got lost.”
Thump.
A chair scraped loudly across the floor.
Lily had stood up, staring at the puppet stage with a dazed look on her face.
Her eyes were full of tears, about to spill over.
I quickly nudged Chade.
His throat moved slowly. He carefully spoke each word.
“…It might sound like an excuse, but after Mom died, I was overwhelmed. The side relatives said you were crazy for smiling and wanted to throw you out. Father had to leave for the royal court, and I had to take on all the duchy’s duties. And then… You started acting in ways I didn’t understand…”
I glanced at Chade’s mask. I couldn’t see his face clearly, but his trembling voice made it easy to imagine.
Having to manage the duchy while his only sister was sick must have been unbearably hard.
“I smiled, Brother… because Mom said my smile was so bright that she’d be able to find her way back no matter where she was.”
“…”
“I kept smiling because I thought if I did, maybe she’d come back.”
The duchess must have said that out of deep love, hoping her daughter would always live happily with a smile.
Now, those words had become a promise that could never be kept.
And thinking of the duchess, who had to leave behind such a loving daughter, made my chest tighten with sorrow.
I shook my head and swallowed back tears.
These two children were more important right now.
“…”
Chade said nothing.
He’d finally realized the truth—his little sister had been desperately trying to bring their mother back in her own way.
No one had ever asked her why she smiled. No one asked if she was really okay.
That must have hurt more than anything.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, Lily. I thought you didn’t understand what happened to Mother… because you were too young.”
Chade’s voice was trembling.
His shoulders drooped, as if the weight on them had become too much for someone only seventeen.
And then, a single tear fell from beneath his mask, trailing down to his chin.
‘…He really suffered too.’
I gently patted his back with my left hand.
He lowered his head even more, and for some reason, I felt tears prick at my own eyes.
I continued the puppet show by gently bringing up other misunderstandings between them, guiding them to talk it through.
Chade, though teary-eyed, answered each one sincerely.
‘This might be enough now.’
Maybe it was just me, but by the end, Chade looked like a weight had been lifted off his chest.
To wrap it up, I made the Lily puppet reach out and hug the brother puppet.
“I know now. You kept sending doctors because you were afraid of losing me too, right? Because I was sick… and that scared you.”
“L-Lily…”
His lips, hidden beneath the mask, trembled. He was doing everything he could to hold back his tears.
And now, I finally understood.
All those short lines in the book—just a few sentences—had hidden deep emotions behind them.
‘Now I see why the young duke turned so cold later on.’
After losing his mother, he had to become an adult too fast.
Haunted by the fear of losing Lily too, he had to manage the estate and watch out for enemies all around him.
It was far too much for a seventeen-year-old boy.
And in his desperation, he searched everywhere for famous doctors—clinging to hope.
But when nothing worked, his despair turned into anger directed at those doctors.
‘Wow… both siblings really caused a lot of chaos. But honestly? That makes them even more like true siblings.’
I chuckled quietly, remembering how awkward they were with each other earlier.
Now it was time for Lily to share her heart.
“Brother, you and Father are all I have left. Can’t we share our sadness, our pain, and our happiness together? We’re family.”
“…”
“I still can’t believe Mom’s really gone… but I can stay strong. As long as I have you and Father with me. And…”
“…?”
Chade slowly looked at me as I paused.
“…If Mom can see us from heaven, I think she’d be sad to see us like this. I want her to be happy, even up there.”
That was something Lily had said to me the night before. She was hurting but trying to grow.
I wasn’t sure if it was thanks to my therapy, or just time helping her accept her loss—but she’d definitely changed.
And her brother deserved to know just how much she’d grown.
Chade lowered his head again, unable to say a word.
And then—
Lily slowly walked toward us.
‘Wait… this therapy is supposed to be done sitting down. Is it okay to let her move around like this?’
I hesitated. Maybe I should have told her to go back to her seat.
But when I saw her tear-streaked face and red nose, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.
While I stood frozen, Lily walked up to the puppets.
She quietly looked at her brother’s puppet…
Then wrapped it in a hug with her own teddy bear, Lulu.
“…!”
Chade and I turned to each other in shock, then both looked back at Lily.
She was crying, but she was also smiling, that smile her brother used to despise.
And when Chade saw that, he collapsed to the floor and began to sob.
…the puppet show had come to an end.
Oh sweeties…