CHAPTER 10
“Lorelei. I want to see Ray.”
She even tried speaking honestly.
“Huh? Oh right! Dad told me to bring Ray over, didn’t he? Hurry and go get him, Lorelei.”
She even tried lying.
“Bring him! I said bring him! I want to play with Ray!”
She even threw a childish tantrum.
But Lorelei didn’t waver even slightly. That fact came as a huge shock to Sylvia.
Not just anyone—Lorelei.
Wasn’t she the one who had been as kind as Sylvia’s parents ever since she entered this household? The one she had always believed was on her side? Lorelei’s firm refusal made her cry again that day.
“Go! Just go! I hate you, Lorelei!”
With tears welling up in her eyes, Sylvia shouted in distress. It had already been a week. This was the first hardship in Sylvia’s life, where everything had always gone exactly her way.
“My lady, that’s not it. Ray is really very sick.”
At Lorelei’s words, Sylvia finally screamed.
“You’re lying! I’ve never heard you say Ray was sick even once while you worked in our house. So why is he always sick? It’s a lie. A lie!”
She wanted Lorelei to deny it—but cruelly, Lorelei remained silent.
At that moment, something like a burning lump rose in Sylvia’s chest and surged up her throat.
“Lorelei just doesn’t want me to be close to Ray, right?”
The sadness she had been holding back burst out because it was too pathetic to say aloud. Lorelei was startled and quickly denied it.
“My lady! That’s not true. Really… that’s not it at all.”
“I know. I’m the bad one, and he’s the good one. That’s why you’re keeping us apart.”
The saying about not letting a white heron go near crows came to her mind.
Was Lorelei afraid the pure white heron might be stained by bad crows?
Or maybe even a crow could become good. Maybe a crow also wants to be good.
Tears began falling from Sylvia’s eyes.
“Go away. Just go. I don’t want any of this—leave!”
With those words, she buried herself under the blanket on her bed. Normally, Lorelei would have hugged her through the blanket and comforted her. But today, only hesitant footsteps remained.
“…Then I’ll return for today. See you tomorrow, my lady.”
And she actually left.
Even though she wasn’t letting Sylvia meet Ray.
“Don’t come tomorrow either!”
A tearful voice came from under the blanket. But there was no reply.
When Sylvia finally pulled the blanket off her tear-soaked face, Lorelei was already gone. Only Emily remained, looking at her with sympathy.
“Sniff…”
“Please don’t cry, my lady.”
Emily came over and hugged her, gently patting her back. In that warm embrace, Sylvia broke down crying.
“It must be because I’m bad… sob… I’m bad…”
“You’re not bad at all! Our young lady is so kind.”
“I… I even bullied Ray… sob…”
“But you already apologized and made up, didn’t you? And you won’t do it again, right?”
At Emily’s words, Sylvia nodded repeatedly.
“Should I talk to Lorelei for you?”
“W-what? Sob… what will you say?”
“That you told her to leave because you were worried about sick Ray being alone in the annex.”
At those words, Sylvia burst into tears again.
Why did Emily understand it… but Lorelei didn’t?
“Waaahhh!”
Her comforting words only made things worse. Sylvia ended up wailing uncontrollably, and Emily had to work hard for a long time to calm her down.
A while later
“Please, Auntie. Please?”
“I already said no, Ray.”
Ray clenched his fists tightly.
“Why?”
“What?”
“WHY NOT?!”
“Ray!”
Lorelei looked at the child in shock. This was the first time Ray had ever raised his voice.
“I promise! I promise I won’t tell Sylvia anything about me! I swear!”
According to his aunt, his father was a frightening man. That was why they had to live hidden like this.
“I won’t say anything about my eyes or my father. So please let me meet Sylvia. Please?”
“No. How many times have we gone over this, Ray?”
“But Auntie!”
“Listen.”
At Lorelei’s firm tone, Ray shut his mouth.
But Sylvia’s image kept lingering in his mind.
Ten years later, Sylvia would die.
She had cried saying she would die because she was a “bad girl.”
She had smiled shyly asking him to help her not die.
She had even stuffed her cheeks with candy while chatting happily.
Ray lowered his head.
No matter how much he tried to convince her, his aunt wouldn’t listen. And he knew how much she loved him, too.
“Ray, don’t add to my stress. I’m already exhausted.”
At those words, Ray gritted his teeth. Without another word, he turned and walked toward his room. Lorelei sighed behind him.
Just then—
Knock, knock.
A knock sounded at the entrance.
“Lorelei? Are you in there?”
It was the Duke of Langston.
Startled, Lorelei quickly opened the door.
“Your Grace…? How are you here—”
“I came to speak with you. Do you have a moment?”
“Ah… yes. Please, come in.”
Lorelei stepped aside and let the Duke enter the annex.
“Oh, Ray is here too. Perfect. I had something to say to you as well.”
“To me?”
“Yes, you.”
The Duke knelt slightly to match the child’s eye level.
“I need to talk with your aunt for a moment. Could you give us some privacy?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve already spoken with the servants, so you may go bathe and then have snacks with Sylvia.”
Ray doubted his ears for a moment.
“You may return to the manor,” the Duke added with a smile. “You’ve been causing quite the fuss, asking to see her.”
At those words, something frozen inside Ray’s heart slowly began to melt.
“Your Grace…”
“Yes, Ray?”
“Will you come again?”
“Hm?”
The Duke frowned slightly, not immediately understanding.
Ray lowered his voice.
“So I can see Sylvia… only if you come again…”
Only then did the Duke understand.
Ray thought he could only see Sylvia when the Duke came to visit Lorelei.
The Duke placed a hand on Ray’s head.
“No. From now on, you’ll be able to see Sylvia whenever you want. That’s why I came today.”
“R-really?”
“Yes. Have you heard of playmates?”
Ray shook his head.
And at that moment, Lorelei’s sharp voice burst out.
“Your Grace! I already told you my answer last time! Playmates? I clearly refused!”
A few days earlier, the Duke and Duchess had formally proposed it. Lorelei had refused without hesitation.
But the Duke remained calm.
“Yes, you did. But shouldn’t we also consider the child’s opinion?”
“Your Grace!”
“And there are new conditions now. You’ll need time to reconsider.”
Lorelei’s heart dropped.
She understood—he knew something.
No…
Her hands trembled as she gripped her skirt tightly.
“I’m sorry, Your Grace, but I cannot send Ray to the manor.”
The Duke chuckled lightly.
“You are quite stubborn. Very well. Then I suppose convincing you comes first.”
Ray’s hopeful expression slowly faded.
“Don’t worry. It won’t take long. Wait a little, Ray.”
It wouldn’t be easy to convince his aunt—Ray knew that better than anyone.
But something in the Duke’s voice carried certainty.
Ray nodded.
And so Lorelei and the Duke left the annex.
Contrary to his words, it would be quite some time before she returned.
