WTBMLM 10

Chapter 10

What greeted Eden as he stepped out of the shower was the completely empty annex.

It was just as Elysia had left it—with the lights still on.

Eden slumped his shoulders in the chilling silence.

‘Why did she leave?’

She hadn’t eaten the fruit she brought, so he thought she’d stay longer.

Confused by the unexpected outcome, Eden dragged his shackles as he sat down on the bed where Elysia had told him to sit.

Water dripped from his still-wet hair.

—I’ll come again tomorrow.

Turning his body, Eden crawled toward the pillow.

He lay down and mulled over what Elysia had said.

“If you take a bath and get a good night’s sleep, tomorrow will come.”

Eden pulled the blanket over himself and squeezed his eyes shut.

The bed was far too big for his small frame.

The annex was the same—far too large for someone like Eden.

Elysia had thought the annex was more fitting as a storage room, but even that was too spacious for one person.

The lights remained on.

The vague sense of fear crept over Eden once again.

After waking up and juggling both studying and chores, lunchtime arrived before she knew it.

Even while bringing food to her mouth, Elysia was planning to visit Eden again after lunch.

Then suddenly, she remembered something, and her lips parted slightly in surprise.

‘Ah. I forgot to ask what he wanted to eat.’

Doing something that wasn’t on her schedule made her more prone to little mistakes.

‘The only thing I can sneak over without getting caught is fruit.’

Elysia wasn’t the type to go out of her way to pack extra food.

‘Should I bring some sweets instead?’

As her thoughts deepened, Elysia’s hands slowed.

Ariel, who was busy picking out her broccoli again, looked at her with curiosity.

Usually, Elysia would have immediately noticed Ariel’s picky eating and scolded her, but today she was too lost in thought, staring down at her own plate.

“Unni?”

“Mm?”

Elysia responded reflexively.

Looking up, her face looked oddly dazed—unlike her usual self.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Nothing. It’s nothing.”

I’m clearly picking at my food here, you know.

Elysia had kept her promise to eat lunch with Ariel.

But to Ariel, it looked like Elysia’s mind was elsewhere.

The proof? Even though she looked straight at Ariel, she didn’t say a word about the picky eating.

Ariel’s lips drooped downward in disappointment.

Maybe I should bring a book today when I go.

Elysia’s thoughts, once filled entirely with Ariel, were now being overtaken by Eden.

Guilt, sympathy, and opportunity.

Those were the three feelings Elysia held toward Eden.

She wanted to help him—and she also wanted to use him.

Though calling it “using” felt strange, since it was something bound to happen anyway.

“Is it a book today?”

Every time Elysia came to the annex, she brought something with her.

Today, it was a book.

“Yeah. I thought he might get bored.”

Good idea, right?

With a proud smile, Elysia lifted the thin book.

Lisbeth rolled her eyes and skimmed the title.

It was a fairy tale she was quite familiar with.

“If you think he’ll be bored, you could just not come.”

“I meant Eden would be bored, not me.”

Coming to the annex already required heightened nerves. The idea of boredom was laughable.

Elysia thought boredom had frozen to death somewhere.

“……”

Apparently with no more to say, Lisbeth opened the door for her without comment.

Elysia stepped inside quickly.

Creak—

The door shut behind her.

Because she came not long after lunch today, Lisbeth didn’t insist on playing chaperone.

Once the door closed, Elysia looked down.

At her feet was another food tray. The only difference from yesterday was that Eden was sitting on the bed this time.

“I’m here.”

Elysia looked up at Eden.

From the moment the door opened, he had been watching her. Their eyes met immediately.

“Come to think of it, I forgot to ask you what you wanted to eat yesterday.”

Elysia approached Eden with quick steps and held out the book.

Without even glancing at it, Eden kept staring at her.

“Don’t feel like reading?”

Thinking she might’ve brought it for nothing, Elysia tossed the book onto the bed.

Then she rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a candy.

“Do you know what candy is?”

Even though she knew Eden retained basic knowledge, she asked anyway.

“I mean, do you like candy?”

She quickly rephrased the question.

“……”

Eden didn’t respond.

Frustrated that he was still difficult even in his right mind, Elysia spoke sharply.

“When someone asks you a question, you should answer.”

Her tone became brusque as well.

Startled out of his daze, Eden answered quickly, looking frightened.

“Y-Yes.”

“You like candy?”

Though she knew he was just agreeing to reply, Elysia played along and began unwrapping the candy.

Her hands, though casual, were filled with determination—to help Eden gain some weight, somehow.

His thin, frail body—whether naturally slim or starved for a week by the Duke of Partin—looked far too skeletal for a growing child.

At least this way, she might feel a little less guilty.

“Here.”

Elysia didn’t like sweets much herself.

Still, she always kept candy on hand in case Ariel came to visit her room.

The fairy tales were the same.

The Duke of Partin’s study was packed with books from across the Empire—except for children’s stories.

Elysia had stocked those herself, thinking of Ariel’s emotional development.

She never imagined they’d come in handy like this.

Though, if Eden had no interest in books, it would all be for nothing.

“…Can I eat this?”

“I brought it for you.”

Why else would she unwrap it for him?

“…Are you going to leave after I eat it?”

“Huh…? Do you want me to leave?”

She had gone through all this effort because she was worried he might develop mental scars from neglect—like in the original story.

Eden brushing her off wasn’t something she had anticipated. The idea hadn’t even crossed her mind.

Elysia looked stunned.

In response, Eden shut his eyes tightly and shook his head fast.

“N-No.”

With hands folded neatly in his lap, he looked incredibly sincere.

Almost desperately so.

“I thought… you’d leave after I ate it… I’m scared to be alone….”

Lowering his hands, Eden fidgeted with his fingers as he glanced up at her.

His speech was slow and awkward, but every word landed clearly in Elysia’s ears.

“…I’ll go back when you fall asleep.”

She held the round candy between her fingers and pushed it toward Eden with a bitter smile.

He was left alone like this for a whole year in the original?

To others, Eden’s fear of being alone might sound like childish whining—but not to Elysia.

She understood it as something deeper.

After losing all his memories, how could anything not be scary?

If she were in his shoes, she would’ve lost her mind in less than a month.

Back when she only read about it in the novel, she had never tried seeing things from Eden’s perspective.

Thinking about it now, it was amazing he’d even lasted a year.

“When I fall asleep…?”

Eden’s often-hazy eyes grew clearer, asserting his presence.

“Then I won’t sleep….”

That was a problem.

Elysia’s face went slack at Eden’s stubborn statement.

The thought was cute, but she also knew he wouldn’t be able to resist sleep for long.

“You need to eat and sleep well if you want to grow big and strong.”

She wasn’t sure candy could count toward that, though.

Even as she thought it, age-inappropriate nagging flowed from her mouth.

Then she pushed the candy even closer to Eden’s lips.

Only then did he open his mouth and accept it.

One of Eden’s cheeks puffed out as he sucked on the candy.

“Want more?”

Without waiting for a response, Elysia eagerly rummaged through both pockets.

How many did she bring?

She held out a handful of colorful candies, too many for her small hand to hold. Some were about to spill between her fingers.

“Is it tasty?”

Elysia watched him contentedly as he licked the candy.

“Yesh.”

His pronunciation slurred from the sweet treat.

“Don’t forget to brush your teeth after eating.”

Elysia poured the rest of the candy beside the book she had tossed onto the bed.

“But you can’t eat just snacks, okay? Even if you don’t want to, try to eat some vegetables or fruit too.”

Thinking Eden disliked fruit, she cautiously watched his reaction.

Naturally, their eyes met.

Has he been watching me this whole time?

Elysia instinctively smiled at him.

“I don’t hate them.”

The sound of the candy crunching in Eden’s mouth followed, and his speech improved.

“Probably….”

As the sweetness spread in his mouth, Eden realized that he actually liked sweets quite a bit.

He had general knowledge, but didn’t really know his own preferences.

Still, he didn’t feel any particular aversion to vegetables or fruit either.

So he simply concluded—he probably didn’t dislike them.

“You don’t hate fruit?”

Elysia suddenly remembered Eden refusing to eat the fruit yesterday.

If he didn’t hate it, then why hadn’t he eaten?

And then she recalled what he said earlier.

—I thought… you’d leave after I ate it… I’m scared to be alone….

Ah. So that’s why he didn’t eat yesterday either.

But without knowing that, she had just gone back to her room as soon as Eden went into the bathroom.

Realizing how oblivious she had been, Elysia covered her mouth, guilt washing over her face.