Chapter 004
“Brother, you’re really too much. No matter how busy you are, how could you not show your face even once all this time?”
“I’m sorry, Eloise.”
“Do you know how worried I was? Bringing a mountain of gifts like this isn’t enough to make up for it.”
Heidi glanced at the siblings in the distance, who looked infinitely affectionate, as she lifted a luxurious box.
“Heave-ho.”
Upon his return, Decion had prepared a plethora of gifts for Eloise. It was an amount so large that even with five maids working together to move the boxes, it took quite a while.
‘They really seem to get along. I guess that feeling I had last night was just a delusion.’
As if her impression of him being somewhat peculiar was merely a groundless fear, Decion’s face as he smiled at Eloise was filled with tender affection for his sister.
While Heidi stole glances at the unfamiliar yet heartwarming scene, the Head Maid signaled to her from afar.
“Heidi, come here for a moment.”
As she approached, the Head Maid spoke cautiously with a dark expression.
“A letter arrived for you….”
“A letter? From whom?”
There was no one she expected a letter from. Heidi tilted her head.
“De-eon, was it? He said he’s the herbalist looking after your mother. It seems you need to go home immediately.”
“What? Mr. De-eon?”
Heidi’s heart sank. For a moment, her mind went blank and she froze in place. The Head Maid lightly patted her stiff shoulders.
“I’m sure the Young Lady will understand. Haven’t you been working without a single holiday? Take this opportunity to go home and rest for a few days. Hmm?”
Heidi nodded at the Head Maid’s comfort, but her expression did not brighten.
‘This has never happened before…. Is the situation very bad? Should I prepare myself for the worst?’
As Heidi’s face turned pale and she bit her lip nervously.
“Heidi!”
Eloise’s cheerful voice broke through Heidi’s consciousness.
“Yes, My Lady!”
Snapping out of it late, Heidi hurried over, and Eloise suddenly linked arms with her.
“This is her, the Heidi I told you about. Heidi Dalton.”
Pushed forward unexpectedly to stand before Decion, Heidi lifted her chin.
A burning crimson.
The red eyes she had encountered in the darkness last night were now vividly revealed under the bright light.
Decion, staring intently into Heidi’s eyes, slowly parted his lips.
“Heidi.”
A low murmur.
Perhaps because of what happened yesterday, that voice sounded as loud as a clap of thunder to Heidi’s ears.
‘Why is he staring so piercingly?’
Trying to avoid his obsessive gaze, Heidi awkwardly lowered her head.
Decion’s eyes narrowed slightly as he watched her smooth blonde hair cascade down the nape of her neck.
“……Yes, I think I remember now.”
“I told you about her several times in my letters, right? Though only nagging came back in your replies…. I’ve truly never seen anyone with as much to nag about as you, Brother.”
Decion flashed a thin smile at Eloise.
“Where there is affection, concern grows as well.”
After exchanging a few words with Decion, Eloise glanced back at Heidi, who was standing stiffly beside her.
“But Heidi, why the long face? Are you feeling sick?”
“That is……”
Glancing briefly at Decion, Heidi whispered into Eloise’s ear.
“I’m sorry, My Lady. But could I take some time off?”
* * *
Rattle, rattle.
Sitting inside the swaying carriage, Heidi tightly clenched her fists on her lap.
Plush cushions and elegant tassel decorations. The Heisen family crest was embroidered in every corner.
Feeling awkward in the luxurious carriage, Heidi kept looking around.
“I’m traveling in comfort thanks to the Young Lady.”
Eloise had readily nodded when Heidi mentioned she needed to nurse her parents at home for a while. As she lent her own carriage, she had spoken firmly to Heidi.
“There is nothing in the world as important as the time spent with family. In the end, family is everything.”
Family is everything.
Heidi chewed on those words internally and nodded in agreement.
To Heidi, family was indeed everything. They were everything she possessed and everything she wanted to protect.
However, there was one fact that Eloise did not know—and likely had no need to know.
That some people give up their time with family in order to protect that family.
That the daily routine of sitting across from each other at a pretty table sharing tea is not a luxury granted to everyone.
Heidi traced the faces of her parents, whom she hadn’t seen in years, on the carriage window.
Raymond Dalton. Nora Dalton.
The two people Heidi called Father and Mother were, in fact, not her biological parents.
Heidi had actually learned the truth when she was quite young. Around the age of eight, perhaps.
“The couple who owns this house is truly amazing. They brought in a baby who was abandoned on the street and nearly froze to death, and they’re raising her as their own.”
“She’s not their biological daughter? No wonder she doesn’t look like them at all….”
“I was shocked when I found out by chance. It’s no small feat. People like them deserve to live well. Let’s make sure to buy a lot from them.”
Hearing the chatter of heavily intoxicated customers had been the catalyst.
Holding the sobbing Heidi until her whole body turned red, the Daltons had whispered affectionately.
“Do you know how happy we were to meet you? How much a family looks alike doesn’t actually matter. What’s important is the heart that cherishes and loves one another.”
But a crisis had eventually found the once-harmonious Dalton family.
It began when another restaurant opened right next to the one the Daltons operated.
To make matters worse, Mrs. Dalton fell bedridden with an unknown illness, and the family’s finances plummeted. Eventually, they even sold the shop, but as that money ran out, the situation worsened even faster.
Heidi’s father worked day and night to somehow raise money, but the villagers were also in difficult straits, so there wasn’t much help to be found.
Ultimately, in the year she turned seventeen, Heidi left home and entered the House of Heisen.
‘I didn’t know back then. That I’d end up seeing Mom and Dad this rarely.’
Heidi smiled bitterly as she counted how long it had been since she last stopped by home.
Just then, she felt the carriage slowly come to a halt.
Thud.
After a moment, the door opened, and the coachman poked his head in.
Heidi asked.
“Are we here?”
“Well, I’ve made it to the neighborhood you mentioned.”
The coachman said, scratching the back of his head as if troubled.
“The village roads are so narrow that the carriage can’t go in any further. Turning back would be a problem, too.”
“Ah.”
Heidi smiled brightly and stood up.
“Then I’ll walk from here. Thank you for the ride, sir.”
“I only did as the Young Lady ordered. But what about all this luggage? It’ll be quite a struggle to carry it all alone.”
Heidi shook her head vigorously.
“Oh, it’s no problem at all! I can lift this much easily. Please head back now. You’ve worked hard!”
Heidi, offering a cheerful greeting, picked up her bags.
Heave-ho.
Heidi began to walk along the winding uphill path stretched out before her.
By the time beads of sweat formed on the bridge of her nose, a familiar roof came into view in the distance.
“I’m home.”
The dark green roof, the slightly clumsy fence made from hand-sawn wood, and the thicket of thorns growing beside the house.
Though it was much more worn than she remembered, it was still a welcome sight.
It was Heidi’s home.
* * *
“No, why didn’t you tell me!”
Heidi raised her voice, her face flushed red. Her large eyes were brimming with tears.
“If you hurt your back, you should have told me. How could you work when your body isn’t even sound?”
At Heidi’s scolding, Raymond scratched the back of his graying head.
“Even so, a person should have some shame…. How could I tell you I was hurt when you’re already working non-stop just to earn money for your mother’s medicine?”
“Dad!”
“Even now, I can’t bear to look you in the eye. I’m fine, so don’t worry about useless things.”
“How is it ‘useless’ when you’re grimacing just from walking? Please get treated as soon as possible. It’ll turn into something serious, truly!”
After getting a firm promise from Raymond, Heidi finally slumped into the chair by the bedside.
“How is Mom?”
Raymond nodded.
“Fortunately, we were able to get the medicine in time. She’s much better than when De-eon wrote to you. He said it’s been strangely difficult to find herbs lately.”
Heidi let out a long sigh of relief.
“That’s good.”
“It is. A huge relief, but……”
Raymond murmured lowly and shut his mouth tight.
Heidi immediately understood the meaning hidden behind his trailing words.
‘It must be too expensive.’
Reading the anxiety on Raymond’s aged face, Heidi clapped her hands together and changed the subject.
“Now, now, let’s not be like this. Let’s look at what I brought together. When I said I was going home after a long time, the senior maids packed so many things for me. I even brought some delicious pie. Though it might not be as good as the ones you and Mom bake.”
“If I’d known our daughter was coming, I would have shown off my skills for the first time in a while.”
“Next time. The skills of our senior maids are quite something, too. Please, try some.”
Although she was chatting with a bright expression and voice, in truth, only one thought filled Heidi’s mind.
‘I need money. Much more than I have now.’
