#36. Discovered (4)
“Here, this way you won’t hear any unpleasant sounds.”
Sasha covered Pavel’s ears with her hands, worried he might hear the noises outside and have nightmares.
Pavel accepted her touch quietly. From his dark expression, it was clear he needed comfort.
Sasha frowned.
‘No matter what, Count Tula was his uncle by blood. This must be a big shock for him.’
It wasn’t just neglect; his uncle had even tried to kill him. How painful must that be?
“Pavel…”
Unable to suppress her pity, Sasha hugged him tightly.
Pavel lowered his eyes and obediently nestled into her arms, pretending to be fragile.
But unlike what Sasha believed, Pavel wasn’t really shaken by his uncle’s betrayal.
He had already “heard” Count Tula’s sinister thoughts as a child.
He hadn’t known about the poison plan, but he knew about the ambition to remove him and take over as head of House Volkov.
‘He must have been desperate if he wanted to act first instead of waiting for me to die on my own.’
That was all he thought.
But Pavel didn’t correct Sasha’s misunderstanding.
“Don’t worry, Pavel. I’ll stay by your side from now on.”
Sasha’s warm embrace and gentle touch were comforting.
And Pavel didn’t want to lose this comfort, so he silently buried his face in her arms, acting like a hurt child.
The world outside was in chaos, but for the two of them, peaceful time flowed by.
And finally, when Velikor Castle was fully transformed under its rightful master—
“His Grace the Grand Duke is calling for you.”
They were summoned.
Pavel and Sasha stood before the Grand Duke, who stayed silent for a long time.
His face was gaunt from the ordeal, his complexion pale.
The atmosphere he gave off was now so heavy it was hard to even look him in the eye.
Sasha discreetly held Pavel’s hand. She knew he still felt uncomfortable around his father.
Pavel clasped her hand tightly, intertwining his fingers with hers. A small, satisfied smile appeared on his lips.
Though Sasha’s skirt partially hid it, the Grand Duke, sitting right in front of them, couldn’t miss it.
He looked at the two of them with complicated emotions.
The young couple, holding hands firmly, calmly met his gaze.
“Why…”
The Grand Duke finally spoke.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
His tired, cracked voice sounded as though he was blaming them.
“……”
Pavel kept his lips tightly shut.
Seeing that, the Duke’s face twisted even more.
“Why… why didn’t you say anything! If you had, none of this would have happened! Why didn’t you speak up!”
His voice grew louder as his emotions spilled out.
The growl in his voice made Pavel flinch instinctively.
Unable to watch any longer, Sasha squeezed Pavel’s hand and answered for him.
“How could he have said anything? Pavel is just a child, and Count Tula was the adult who was supposed to protect him.”
It was true.
And the Duke knew it, which only made his heart ache more.
Sasha looked straight into the Duke’s eyes and spoke clearly.
“More importantly, no one cared about what Pavel had to say.”
The Duke froze.
“No matter what Pavel said, people thought, ‘Oh, he’s being irritable again,’ and didn’t listen to him seriously.”
He had never thought about it that way.
But Sasha continued without hesitation.
“You too, didn’t you, Your Grace? You thought Pavel was always full of complaints, so you didn’t think there was a real reason for his anger. You scolded him without trying to find out why he was upset.”
“……”
The Duke couldn’t refute it.
He had thought his son was a difficult, tiring child. He assumed every protest was just a bad temper.
“When babies are hungry, sick, or need attention, they cry. They can’t talk, so crying is the only way to express themselves.”
“……”
“But Pavel had no one to comfort him when he cried, so he couldn’t cry like other children could.”
Sasha locked eyes with the Duke as she continued gently,
“At least when Pavel was irritable, people pretended to listen because they were annoyed. What else could he do but show his irritation?”
Pavel’s anger and irritability had simply been his way of crying out for someone to listen.
“Did you really not hear Pavel’s cries?”
The Duke gritted his teeth.
Meanwhile, Pavel looked at Sasha in surprise.
‘How does she know? Does she have the same ability as me?’
Everything no one had ever understood about him was coming from Sasha’s lips, word for word.
“When Pavel lashed out, at least people pretended to listen, so of course he became sharper and more defensive.”
The Duke still couldn’t say anything.
Sasha softened her tone.
“Did you know? Pavel is actually very intelligent. He has great memory, perseverance, and even a natural talent for physical skills.”
“……”
“But you wouldn’t know because you never gave him the chance.”
The Duke hesitated, trying to defend himself.
“That’s because Pavel’s body was weak—”
“Yes, but now he’s healthy.”
“…Healthy?”
The Duke looked Pavel up and down.
He truly couldn’t find a trace of the sickly boy from a year ago.
“That wretched doctor… I should have…”
The Duke muttered in a terrifying voice, swallowing his curses.
Sasha decided to return to the original topic.
“Your Grace, Pavel didn’t do anything wrong. Please don’t scold him for not telling you earlier.”
“I wasn’t trying to—”
“Yes.”
Sasha smiled as if to say she understood.
“But right now, what Pavel needs most is comfort and praise for enduring everything.”
“……”
This small, fragile girl, barely reaching his shoulder, was right about everything she said.
But the Grand Duke didn’t know how to act.
When Sasha saw him just staring at Pavel helplessly, she slowly let go of his hand and stepped back.
She felt a pang of sadness at Pavel’s pleading eyes but decided to give the father and son time alone.
“……”
“……”
Silence filled the room after Sasha left.
“Pavel.”
This time, the Grand Duke broke the silence.
He awkwardly approached his son, as if unsure of himself.
“Pavel.”
Pavel didn’t dodge his father’s hand.
He noticed that the large hand, which always seemed so strong, was trembling slightly.
The Duke’s hand gripped Pavel’s shoulder and pulled him into his arms.
The trauma hadn’t gone away; Pavel still felt resistance.
But he clenched his fists and endured it.
“You’ve endured so much.”
“……”
“I’m sorry.”
I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. How can I ever atone for this sin?
Pavel bit his lip as he heard, for the first time in his life, his father’s words of encouragement and apology.
You are my son, worth more than my own life, and yet I hurt you…
He was afraid something would break inside if he let go of his emotions.
That night in Pavel’s room—
Pavel lay with his head on Sasha’s lap and spoke.
“He truly worried about me.”
Instead of asking who, Sasha gently stroked his head.
Pavel gathered the courage to continue.
“I was afraid of Father. I thought he didn’t like me at all… that deep down, he hated me.”
He paused, his throat tightening.
“When I was young, I accidentally heard Father’s true feelings. I think it was on Mother’s death anniversary.”
Pavel recalled a memory that was still vivid despite the years.
“He was so sad, I wanted to comfort him. I approached him and heard his voice full of pain.”
“……”
“He said he missed Mother. That he wished she had lived instead of me.”
Sasha’s hand froze.
Pavel opened his eyes slightly and looked up at her. He took her hand and placed it on his head again, asking her to continue stroking.
Sasha bit her lower lip and moved her hand gently.
Rustle, rustle.
Feeling her soft touch, Pavel closed his eyes again and continued.
“Then I remembered something from when I was a baby. Back then, I didn’t understand words, but now I do. I finally understood what Father had said.”
Sasha’s hand trembled. She had a bad feeling.
Pavel muttered bitterly with his eyes closed.
“That because I was born and took my mother’s life, I should have died… or never been born at all.”
“Pavel!”
Sasha shouted, telling him not to say such things.
Pavel shook his head slightly.
“I don’t think that way anymore.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
He smiled faintly.
“Because I heard it.”
Sasha didn’t ask what.
“Now I’m not afraid anymore.”
When Pavel murmured this, Sasha smiled brightly.
She blinked back the sting in her eyes and slowly leaned down.
Kiss!
She kissed Pavel’s soft forehead and whispered joyfully,
“I’m so glad.”
Sasha, relieved that the wound in Pavel’s heart was healing, didn’t notice that Pavel had frozen from the sudden kiss.
