Episode 37
As soon as she finished her meal, Elicia went straight to find Eden. In her hand was a tray the maids had been carrying, and tucked under her arm was a thick book meant for Eden.
Upon arriving at the annex, Elicia used the key Lizbeth had given her to open the door. The first thing she did was hand the food tray to Eden.
And then, she quietly waited until he finished eating.
When about half of the food was gone, Eden glanced at Elicia and subtly pushed the food to the side.
Ariel or Eden… they’re the same.
Pretending not to notice his obvious action, Elicia reached out her hand toward him.
“?”
Eden, who had naturally expected to crawl under the covers with her again, blinked at her suddenly outstretched hand in confusion.
Even so, he instinctively placed his hand on top of hers.
Then, with a satisfied expression, Elicia rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a ring.
“If you wear this, you won’t be cold for a while.”
Taking into account Eden’s thinner fingers, Elicia slipped the ring onto his thumb first.
“How is it?”
Worried that it might fall off, she gently closed his hand into a fist.
Eden, who had accepted her touch without much thought, opened his eyes wide the moment her question ended—startled by the warmth that spread throughout his body.
“Not cold, right?”
“Yes.”
Eden answered obediently.
“There’s magic in it, so you’ll be warm even in winter. Normally, it’s a one-time use thing, but I managed to get one that lasts for a long time, just for you.”
There was pride in Elicia’s voice.
Now Eden wouldn’t have to suffer through the cold anymore. And Elicia wouldn’t need to worry about him spending freezing nights alone.
“Then… can we still cuddle under the blanket together?”
Eden asked sulkily as he spun the wide ring around his finger.
“See? We don’t have to anymore, right?”
“But… you don’t have a ring, Elicia.”
Seeing Eden worry about her made the cost feel worth it.
“I’m dressed warmly, so I’m fine.”
The truth was, she couldn’t afford a second one.
“But…”
“?”
“But…”
Eden hesitated, repeating the same word as if he had more to say. Elicia wondered if the ring was making him uncomfortable since he kept fidgeting with it.
“Even if it feels awkward, bear with it. If you don’t wear it, you’ll definitely catch a cold later.”
“……”
With Elicia saying this much, Eden couldn’t bring himself to say he wanted to take the ring off.
It was clearly something she had prepared for his sake, yet for some reason, Eden didn’t feel happy about the ring.
“And Eden. Shouldn’t we finally wash those clothes?”
Eden had been wearing the clothes Elicia gave him for several months now.
Wearing them wasn’t the issue—it was the fact that he’d never washed them once.
Now that he wouldn’t be cold thanks to the ring, Elicia figured it was the perfect opportunity to take them back and get them cleaned.
“Ah, no!”
“Huh? O-okay.”
But Eden reacted with such shock, stepping back as if horrified, that her attempt failed.
“……”
“Okay. I get it, so don’t be so defensive.”
Was this really something worth reacting that strongly to? Eden looked at her like a deer cornered by a predator, tense and alert.
Seeing the once-docile Eden act this way made Elicia feel a little lonely.
To be precise, she felt defeated—by his attachment to the clothes.
“Eden. Read this.”
Trying again to soothe him, Elicia finally got Eden to inch closer to her.
Once he was near, she held out the book she had brought along with the tray.
Of course, she didn’t forget to discreetly remove her own documents that were tucked between the pages first.
Even after pulling them out, the book remained thick. That was because, unlike the fairy tales she’d given him so far, today’s book was far more difficult.
Eden’s reading level had shot up rapidly, and he was now nearly on par with the books Elicia herself read.
“If you finish quickly, I’ll play with you.”
She planned to read through the documents here and then write her reply and signature back in her room.
It was her way of trying to use her time efficiently.
The only downside was that Eden would have to keep himself entertained for a while—but with his calm personality, it shouldn’t be too difficult.
“Okay.”
Eden responded in a sulky tone, still pouting a little.
Yet he obediently accepted the book she handed him.
He glanced at her back and then leaned against it.
Without saying anything, Elicia leaned back against Eden as well.
Supporting each other’s weight, the two of them read like that for a while.
Eden’s violet eyes moved quickly side to side as he read the letters on the page.
Elicia was the same.
Her red eyes, so cold and piercing—unlike when she looked at those she loved—were fixed on the text.
But the warmth in their touching backs was comforting and soft.
Over the next few days, Elicia felt it clearly.
It was impossible to take care of Eden and still manage all her regular duties.
She’d spent days with him, yet barely had time to look at him because she was so busy with paperwork. No wonder she came to that conclusion.
Eden hadn’t said anything to express disappointment, but the fact that he often fell asleep in boredom was a sign in itself.
So, Elicia decided to take advantage of Duke Partine’s absence once again.
“Big sis… where are we going?”
Ariel, quietly following behind Elicia, suddenly asked.
She looked like she was waddling a bit.
Considering the winter weather, Roa and Elicia had bundled her up in layers of clothing—perhaps a little too excessively.
By now, the path to Eden’s annex was a familiar one to Ariel.
She had followed Elicia there multiple times, so it was only natural.
But ever since Duke Partine returned to the estate, their visits had completely stopped. So this was a visit after quite a while.
That was the extent of Ariel’s reasoning ability.
“Hmm?”
Hearing Ariel ask where they were going—despite already knowing—Elicia recalled herself asking Duke Partine similar questions while pretending not to know the answer.
Now that she was in his position, it didn’t feel so strange.
She suddenly felt relieved.
“There’s someone I want to introduce you to.”
“…Introduce?”
Who else could it be but Eden?
His face still hidden behind messy hair.
Ariel immediately realized Elicia was referring to Eden, and her face scrunched up in distaste.
But she quickly composed herself, thinking Elicia might turn around and see her.
“Yeah. And Father isn’t home right now…”
At first, Elicia didn’t understand why Duke Partine continued to be absent even after bringing Eden to the mansion.
It was probably because of the war.
The emperor seemed to be summoning high-ranking noble officials from across the empire for war-related meetings.
That morning’s paper even reported that with the crown prince’s deployment, the tide of war was turning in the empire’s favor.
In the original story too, Duke Partine kept leaving the mansion after bringing Eden back. Whether then or now, if it’s because of the war, it all adds up.
At first, she thought he was just being cautious and neglecting Eden—but that didn’t seem to be the whole story.
Of course, the reason itself didn’t matter much.
What mattered was that his departure gave her the freedom to let Ariel and Eden meet openly.
“I’m going to give you a few rules now. Listen carefully.”
As the annex came into view, Elicia turned to Ariel and spoke.
Ariel gulped.
“Here’s the key.”
Lizbeth spoke without sparing a glance at Ariel, who was hiding behind Elicia.
Ever since her near-death experience, Lizbeth had decided not to oppose Elicia on anything.
Because if it weren’t for Elicia, she would already be dead.
“Big sis, that person… she’s a really cool knight, right?”
Ariel glanced briefly at Lizbeth’s back, then approached Elicia as she turned the key in the door.
“?”
A cool knight?
It was extremely rare for Ariel to compliment anyone besides Elicia.
Did she have some romanticized view of knights?
Elicia paused for a moment mid-unlocking, her thoughts drifting.
“Ariel… do you want to be a knight?”
Was she thinking of channeling all that energy into something productive? For a moment, Elicia pictured a grown-up Ariel in a shining knight’s uniform.
She had already jumped ten steps ahead in her imagination just from that one comment.
“No? Not really?”
Instead, Ariel tilted her head, confused by the question.
And then she added more.
“I didn’t mean knights in general. I meant that one in particular. I saw her at the entry exam, you know? She ranked first.”
Ariel’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
Elicia had always known Ariel had a surprisingly good memory, but remembering the results of the knights’ entry exams was unexpected.
Impressed for a moment, Elicia nodded and replied shamelessly.
“Really?”
Unlike Ariel, Elicia hadn’t seen the exam Lizbeth had taken to get in.
Even so, thanks to the background information Rachel had brought her, she knew Lizbeth had ranked first that year.
But that was all.
“Yeah. Out of all the knights who joined that year, she’s the strongest.”
Ariel said proudly, as if she were talking about herself.
Elicia was increasingly puzzled.
“But why?”
Why was she acting so proud over someone else’s achievements?
Elicia was genuinely curious about Ariel’s motive in bringing up Lizbeth.
“Huh? Just because…?”
Maybe it was just small talk.
At that moment, Ariel genuinely believed that all she’d done was share a trivial conversation with Elicia.
That was all it was to her.
