Chapter 48
Stella ended her sentence playfully, her laughter trailing off.
Having met Eren once before, she felt confident her assumption wasn’t wrong.
“I always keep a will prepared. You never know when you might die.”
“Even if it only brings discomfort, I left it for my only sibling.”
“It’s a foolish letter, full of excuses, regrets, and apologies—saying that going to the Central Castle wasn’t my choice.”
After that, he must have realized he’d said something unnecessary, because he never brought up the subject again.
Back then, when she had driven Eren to his death in obedience to their family’s will, had Stella received that letter?
If she had… what must she have thought?
Surely, nothing good.
Sophia placed her hand gently on Stella’s head and softly stroked her hair.
The sound of rustling filled her ears, and Stella unconsciously closed her eyes. Sophia then gently laid her down to sleep.
Even with her eyes closed, Stella’s hand clutched at the hem of Sophia’s robe.
“…You’re so alike, Sophia.”
So much like the lonely me, and the mature older brother.
So similar in all those ways—that’s why you’re precious to me.
“Mm. Sleep well.”
Leaving that soft farewell, Sophia slowly pulled her hand away from Stella’s grip.
As she listened to the deep, peaceful breathing, she turned her gaze toward the window. The pale light of the moon filtered in.
Talking like that had completely shaken away any drowsiness. She didn’t think she’d be able to sleep now, so she decided to take a walk.
Perhaps if she moved around a little, sleep would come back to her.
“Why are you participating in the Olabi Festival? What are you planning to do? You’re not the type to show up at such places. You should just stay holed up in the West where you belong.”
Peyton sat in a plush chair pulled up to a moonlit window, speaking idly to a white bird perched on the sill.
The bird’s beak moved silently, no sound emerging. But it seemed Peyton could hear it nonetheless.
He shook the bottle he had asked Sophia to open earlier. After tipping the last bit into his mouth, the bottle was empty. No matter how much he shook it now, it made no sound.
“When’s Hemil supposed to wake up? I’m out of medicine and it’s uncomfortable.”
The bird tilted its head.
“You could’ve woken him up easily if you hadn’t killed him.”
Muttering in a voice barely audible, Peyton covered his face with both hands. After silently cursing himself, he lowered his hands, shooed the bird outside, and shut the window.
Only once the bird flapped its wings and flew off into the distance did he let out a sigh. As he lowered his gaze, he saw Sophia looking up at him from below.
“Sophia!”
The moment he spotted her, Peyton threw the window open again and half-leaned out to call to her.
Of course she noticed immediately and urgently motioned for him to get back inside.
“That’s dangerous! What are you doing?!”
Just because his body couldn’t die, did that mean he could act so carelessly?
Didn’t even a child know better than to behave so recklessly? Frowning, Sophia was about to scold him when Peyton called out cheerfully:
“Wait right there! I’ll be down in a second!”
What is he even saying?
Though he shouted, he was several stories up, so his words didn’t come through clearly.
She had only looked up at the window out of curiosity after seeing the bird fly away, never imagining it was Peyton’s room.
Before she could leave to avoid further involvement, Peyton appeared right in front of her.
“Sophia!”
“…Yes?”
“Why are you wandering around in the middle of the night? Did you have a nightmare?”
“I couldn’t sleep, so I was taking a walk. I don’t have dreams anyway.”
“…You don’t dream?”
It was a trivial comment, yet Peyton reacted oddly.
“Not even once? Not a single dream?”
His persistent questioning gave her a strange feeling, but she answered honestly.
“No.”
“…Unbelievable.”
What’s with that reaction?
As if trying to ease her discomfort, Peyton beamed.
“You’re a seriously deep sleeper!”
“…What.”
“If you sleep that soundly, you won’t even get sick! That means less work for me—lucky me!”
This wizard really is consistently ridiculous.
Was all that buildup just so he could mess with her?
Annoyed, Sophia recalled something he had said earlier that caught her attention.
“But this time… you knew the time correctly.”
Peyton had always acted like he had no sense of time.
When Stella first arrived at the castle, he’d claimed it was midnight when it wasn’t. Sometimes he behaved like someone whose nights and days were swapped.
But now, he seemed perfectly normal. Or maybe he just hadn’t said anything crazy yet.
“I don’t always talk nonsense, you know. Took you long enough to see my brilliance!”
So instead of nonsense about time, he’s just saying other kinds of nonsense now.
Was it physically impossible for Peyton to go a day without spouting absurdities?
Sophia decided this conversation had no value and abruptly ended it.
“You’re clearly exhausted if you’re spouting nonsense. Go to bed, Grandpa.”
“Why are you using formal speech all of a sudden? You’re making me feel like a real grandpa, and I don’t like it!”
“You’ve still got strength. You’ll live long.”
“Stop teasing me!”
With a straight face, Sophia turned away, leaving Peyton behind.
She ignored his wails of protest and quickly returned to the castle.
Only after Sophia’s figure shrank into the distance did Peyton slowly undo the top button of his shirt, which he had kept fastened tightly.
He knew better than anyone that most of what came out of his mouth was absurd or nonsense.
He chose to speak that way.
“Peyton, you’re not good at lying. So why don’t you always say weird things? That way, when you do say something important, people won’t be sure if it’s serious or just more of the usual nonsense.”
That kind, earnest smile as the person gave their advice.
You called it a silly idea, but I did what you said.
Of course, I did it terribly.
“…Why did you have to die.”
You should have lived well—at least after running from him.
Now I have to destroy the last fragment of you with my own hands.
The next day, Stella clung to Sophia, her unwillingness to leave written all over her face.
“Stella… Don’t you think it’s time to go? You’ve been hugging me for 20 minutes.”
Benjamin, having seen Cyril’s concerned expression outside, tried to coax her gently.
But Stella showed no intention of letting go.
“Stella.”
“…Yes?”
“You have to go. You can always come back later. And we can write letters too.”
“…Okay.”
With Sophia’s gentle coaxing, Stella finally nodded.
Just having Sophia say she’d come again made it okay.
She gave Sophia one last tight hug, then let go and said goodbye.
Rather than clinging desperately, she left the castle with a bright smile.
They watched the carriage carrying Stella vanish into the distance. Then, some attendants approached Benjamin and Joshua.
Handing over a few sheets of paper, one attendant spoke. Benjamin scanned the contents seriously and muttered:
“So they’re already preparing for the festival.”
“Yes. On the festival day, stalls will be set up in the plaza. We’d appreciate it if you could review the permits and other event proposals.”
“Did you organize the allocated budgets for each region?”
“Yes. It’s all in the documents.”
The festival—come to think of it, the Olabi Festival was just around the corner.
Benjamin continued walking toward his office, conversing responsibly with his attendant.
Meanwhile, someone else was doing the opposite—plugging his ears.
“You have work to do, Lord Joshua.”
“No. I’m going to the training grounds.”
“…Lord Joshua?”
“Let Benji handle everything! I’ll do the on-site inspections. Paperwork just isn’t for me.”
Leaving behind at least a crumb of conscience, Joshua disappeared, and his attendant hung his head in defeat.
This was a major event hosted by the Roberti family—there was so much work to be done.
But with his behavior… sigh.
Imagining all the suffering that awaited the attendants, one could only pity them.
Though preparations for the festival were underway, Sophia didn’t have much to do, so she began walking back to her room with Lorray.
But before she could get far, another attendant approached her.
It was Dane, the servant of Bled who rarely left the main estate.
“A message from Lord Bled, my lady.”
A message from Bled.
Tilting her head slightly, Sophia waited for him to continue.
“On the final day of the Olabi Festival, during the Olabi Banquet, Lord Bled will bestow upon you the title of Lady of the Roberti Castle.”
Sophia could only wonder if she had just heard actual words… or hallucinated.
