TYWML 40

40. Noah Lorraine (2)
2024.06.09.

Instead of trying to persuade Noah further, Liena picked up a book and sat down on the sofa where Chloe was.

Noah stood off in the corner, only watching nervously and not following.

Chloe, seemingly used to this, paid him no attention and only looked at Liena.

Liena lowered her voice and asked,

“Do you not play with Noah much?”

“Noah? He doesn’t like playing.”

It was strange—what child dislikes playing? Liena observed Noah, whose eyes kept flicking toward the toys.

“Why do you think Noah doesn’t like to play?”

“Because whenever I say I want to play with him, everyone tells me Noah doesn’t want to play with me.”

“I see.”

“Mm-hm!”

It didn’t seem like Noah himself had ever said he disliked it. More likely, the people in the marquis’ household had kept Chloe from playing with him.

Liena glanced at Noah again before beginning to read the book aloud to Chloe.

Noah kept pretending to be uninterested, but before long his eyes lit up with curiosity.

After some hesitation, the boy came and sat beside her.

Liena gently adjusted his posture before continuing to read to both children.

After a while, a maid brought pudding.

On the plate she set down on the table was a yellow custard pudding, prettily shaped like a flower.

Beside it was a small dish of caramel syrup.

When Liena poured syrup over the pudding, Chloe happily began spooning it into her mouth. Noah, on the other hand, just stared at it blankly.

“Why aren’t you eating?”

“…”

Unable to watch any longer, Liena placed the dessert spoon into his right hand, but he didn’t move.

In the end, Liena scooped some herself and brought it to his mouth.

“Want to try a bite?”

Hesitantly, Noah opened his mouth.

His lips parted only slightly—barely enough—but it was enough to feed him the pudding.

When she placed the syrup-coated pudding into his mouth, he began chewing shyly.

Then, his eyes slowly grew moist.

Startled, Liena asked,

“What’s wrong? Does it taste strange?”

“…No.”

“Hm?”

“It’s delicious.”

And then, tears rolled down from the corners of his eyes.

“It’s so delicious… it feels like I’m flying up to the sky.”

It was an adorably childish way to put it, but Liena couldn’t bring herself to smile.

Seeing Noah’s expression, as though he’d been deeply shocked, her face stiffened.

Could it really be… that he’s never eaten this before?

Chloe had casually ordered custard pudding from the kitchen, as though she knew exactly what it was and had eaten it many times before.

Then why had Noah never tasted it?

Liena simply placed the pudding plate into Noah’s other hand.

“Eat as much as you want. If you want more, you can even have mine.”

When she pushed her own plate toward him, Chloe pouted.

“Sis, I want more too.”

“Then should we ask for more? I’m sure the kitchen still has some.”

“Okay!”

When Liena asked, the maid brought three more puddings. Liena gave two to Chloe and one more to Noah.

After finishing their snack, they started playing again.

At first Noah was awkward and shy, but soon he sat next to Chloe and joined in.

Perhaps sensing Noah’s desire to play with her, Chloe didn’t refuse and played along well.

Maybe, Liena thought, Chloe had actually always wanted to play with Noah like this.

Once the children had grown a little closer, Cassel entered the playroom.

“Sorry I’m late.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t even notice the time while I was with the kids.”

Liena introduced Cassel to the curious children.

“Noah, Chloe. You might not know, but this is your uncle, Cassel Winkler.”

“Uncle? We have an uncle?”

Chloe looked at him with interest, though Noah seemed intimidated by his stern expression and shrank back.

“Yes. He’s been too busy to visit before, but you’ll be seeing him more often now. Go ahead and greet him.”

Chloe lifted her skirt slightly and gave a proper curtsey—not perfect, but all the cuter for it.

Noah, watching her, made a halfhearted attempt at a bow.

Cassel knelt on one knee in front of them and patted their heads.

As he looked between Chloe and Noah, many emotions flickered across his face—sadness, longing, anger, joy, affection.

He was probably searching for the face of Asher, the person he’d loved, in these children.

Especially, his eyes lingered on Noah’s blond hair, identical to Asher’s.

“I’m sorry for coming so late.”

The children, not understanding the meaning of his words, only blinked.

After gazing at them for a while, Cassel stood and gestured to Liena. She patted the children’s backs.

“Kids, I’ll be talking with Uncle Cassel for a bit. Play nicely together, okay?”

“Come back soon!” Chloe said simply, while Noah clung to Liena in alarm.

She soothed him, patting his head.

“It’s alright. I’ll be right back.”

“You have to come back.”

“Mm-hm, I promise.”

Liena gently pried him off and followed Cassel to another drawing room.

“How did it go?”

“…”

Seeing the anger in Cassel’s expression, Liena spoke frankly.

“I know it’s not my place to interfere, but I think you should know.”

His gaze turned toward her.

“I can’t be certain, but Noah seems… how should I put it… rather neglected at the marquis’ house.”

“…”

“Chloe, on the other hand, seems to have grown up like any noble child—surrounded by love, attention, and plenty of support.”

She calmly described the things she had seen and felt in the marquis’ house, including Noah’s room.

Cassel said nothing, only listening quietly.

“I have no right to tell you what to do, but… I think, as you said before, it would be best to bring the children to the Winkler estate.”

After watching his face carefully, she asked,

“So… may I ask what happened? Did you come to an agreement with the marquis?”

Cassel, silent until now, looked conflicted. Liena quickly added,

“It’s fine. I’m an outsider, so you probably don’t want to share your family matters with me.”

“That’s not it. You’re my fiancée—you’re not an outsider. It’s just…”

He spoke in a low voice.

“I didn’t want you to see this shame of mine.”

“How is this a shame?”

“Because I had no idea that my only blood relatives—my niece and nephew—were growing up like this. If I had checked on them sooner, things wouldn’t have come to this.”

“There was nothing you could have done—you’ve been living in the duchy all this time, haven’t you?”

Suddenly, Liena felt a strange sense of déjà vu. In the dream she’d had last night, the two of them had also had this sort of conversation.

But there was one difference—Noah had been alive in reality.

He was still abused… but…

She couldn’t understand why part of her dream was happening in real life, but right now reality mattered more than the dream.

Liena took Cassel’s hand and sat down.

“You probably already know, but I was never very close with my mother.”

It was a sudden change of topic, but Cassel didn’t point it out.

Liena continued,

“When I first heard I was getting a mother as a child, I was so happy. I’d never had one before. My father and nanny told me that my late birth mother had loved me dearly, but I had no memory of her.”

Cassel stayed silent, but his attentive gaze told her he was listening closely.

“I wanted my stepmother’s love, but it seemed she didn’t want to give it. The way she treated her own daughter, Bianca, and the way she treated me were completely different.”

“…”

“But I never told Father. Even if her affection wasn’t directed at me, I liked simply having a mother. I wanted to keep our family together, so I always pretended to be happy in front of Father. I was afraid that if I complained, he’d send my stepmother away. Now, looking back, I’m not sure if that was the right choice…”

She shrugged.

“In the end, every family has its own circumstances. There’s no single ‘correct’ shape for a family, and being a little different from others isn’t wrong.”

She finished with a small smile.

From the middle onward, even she wasn’t sure what point she had been trying to make, but she hoped her sincerity had reached Cassel.

Seeing him still silent, Liena stood.

“Well, the kids must be waiting. I should go check—”

“As you probably know, I was the second son.”

Surprised by the sudden beginning of his story, she sat down again. Cassel continued speaking.