CATBP~02

Chapter 02

A few days had passed since I was picked up by my favorite.

It seemed my favorite felt a sense of responsibility for saving me, as he stayed by my side every day from morning until just before falling asleep, ignoring even the nanny’s protests.

The person I admired, who had only existed in print, was now alive in front of me, and I spent most of my time with him.

Do I look like a fan who hit the jackpot?

“Mom… I’m living the dream.”

After rolling around in bed for a while, I finally got up.

Even though several days had passed, my heart still pounded so fast I couldn’t sleep.

“I should get some fresh air for a bit.”

I opened the window and looked outside.

“No matter how many times I see it, it’s really beautiful.”

The night sky was densely studded with stars. Under the golden full moon, the Milky Way looked like it could start flowing at any moment.

I marveled at this breathtaking scene, which would have been hard to see in Korea, but the cold midnight wind was quite harsh.

“Ugh… it wasn’t this bad during the day.”

I shivered and hugged myself tightly, teeth chattering, head lowered.

I had to get back inside quickly.

Just as I raised my head, my eyes met something.

“My… favorite…?”

A man, looking as if the illustration I’d seen on the author’s SNS had come to life in 3D.

“……”

In the moonlight, his appearance made me forget to blink.

Black hair that reflected the moonlight softly, golden eyes like a miniature moon in the sky. A sharp nose, the textbook definition of a handsome face, and a smooth jawline.

“He really looks exactly like my favorite…”

My heart felt like it had dropped, failing to function properly.

I stared at him for a long time as if hypnotized, then suddenly came back to my senses.

“Wait. My favorite is still young.”

Then who is this person?

“Did I imagine this?”

But no matter how much I blinked, he didn’t disappear.

After a moment of confusion, I realized.

“Oh. I know who that is.”

The person often mentioned in the novel as resembling my favorite.

Lucas Egaluk, the guardian of my favorite.

“It must be time for him to return.”

According to my favorite, the duke was away from the villa for five days due to other business.

“He really does look alike… but why was he staring here?”

For now, I awkwardly lowered my head to greet him.

The duke quickly turned his back and disappeared.

“What…?”

Only my bewildered voice echoed softly.

The next morning

I got up weakly and washed my face.

My mind was filled with the desire to sleep more, but I couldn’t.

“It’ll be time for my favorite soon, so I need to get dressed quickly!”

I couldn’t show my favorite my messy, unwashed state.

My baby should only see the good things.

I hurried to wash up and dressed neatly.

Finally, I approached the mirror to check myself and froze.

“Mom! …Ah. Right, this is me now.”

Long golden hair down to my waist and fiery red eyes like the sun. A beauty mark under my left eye, and the person looking back at me through the mirror was someone else.

Even after a few days, seeing someone else’s face instead of my own in the mirror felt awkward. I gave an embarrassed smile, and the reflection awkwardly copied me.

“So even if you smile like a fool, you can still be pretty.”

But who is this woman?

“She looks like she could belong in the original story.”

I pondered over Secret Night again.

Secret Night starts in Adrium, a kingdom neighboring the empire, where the female protagonist Lyla comes to study in the Kailuma Empire to escape her family under the pretext of studying.

On her first day, she accidentally meets Crown Prince Frederick and develops a romantic relationship, spending her days and nights in a passionate affair.

In this story, my favorite, Fey, seeks what he wants, breaking historical alliances and clashing with Frederick over trivial matters.

Because of this, their relationship was already strained even before Lyla appeared.

The crown prince learned to distrust Fey whenever he approached her, suspecting ulterior motives.

Yet, until the mid-late stages, Fey could be cruel to Frederick but still kind to Lyla.

Lyla never sensed hostility from Fey and even came to genuinely see him as a friend due to his occasional help.

Sometimes, the way Fey looked at her seemed… like he liked her.

Because of this, the jealous crown prince had some nighttime incidents with Lyla…

Ah, no, that’s not it.

Ahem.

I looked in the mirror again.

“Golden hair, red eyes… only three female characters come to mind immediately.”

Characters with golden hair and red eyes appeared about three times, including one from the first installment. One of them was a female protagonist.

“But none of them match the age right now.”

I groaned in frustration just as my favorite arrived.

“Good morning! Helen!”

‘Helen’ was the name my kind-hearted favorite had given me because he couldn’t remember my real name.

Important: my favorite named me. Heh.

“Good morning, Fey! Did you sleep well last night?”

“Yes!”

Fey nodded vigorously and opened his arms, signaling he wanted a hug. I hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek.

Not satisfied with one, I kissed the other cheek twice.

Still not enough, I kept smooching, and Fey laughed ticklishly.

“I’m happy… I could die content like this…”

Well, maybe not entirely.

I sniffled, and we quickly finished breakfast.

“Shall we go soon?”

“Yes! Master!”

Today was the day we were going to speak to the duke who returned to the villa, saying we would stay until I fully recovered.

I recalled what the original story said about my favorite’s guardian.

“Lucas Egaluk. In the story, he’s already dead and only mentioned a few times.”

He was the previous duke and half-brother to my favorite’s biological mother.

“An illegitimate child, but capable of divine beasts, so he was officially registered as Egaluk.”

When my favorite was one, his parents died in a carriage accident, and unexpectedly, Lucas became the duke.

He became Fey’s guardian, but their relationship was described as strained in the story.

He didn’t seem pleased when we met yesterday, and I worried we might even be chased out today.

“Helen! Uncle’s really cool and a good person! So don’t worry too much!”

“I will!”

My baby told me not to worry. Then I shouldn’t. Heh.

“Follow me, Helen!”

Fey went out into the hallway. Occasionally, his black animal ears twitched as he watched if I was keeping up.

Every twitch made me hold my nose to avoid sneezing, worried he might think I was a pervert.

We finally reached the duke’s office.

Knocking didn’t elicit any sound from inside.

“Hmmm. I can’t hear anything inside.”

Fey hesitated, then grabbed the door handle.

The door opened easily, revealing the office interior.

“I’ll wait inside!”

Fey went in first.

“Maybe we should come back later?”

“Should we?”

He tilted his head and his ears twitched.

At that moment, a small shadow was swallowed by a larger one.

When I turned, there stood the 3D version of the illustration I saw at night—or rather, Fey’s uncle, Lucas.

“Ah… hello, uncle.”

Fey greeted carefully.

But the duke frowned, clearly displeased, just like when I saw him at night.

His cold gaze upon Fey was like the winter moon.

“Why doesn’t he say anything when our baby greets him?!”

I immediately regretted that thought.

“Why are you here?”

His deep voice was devoid of warmth.

“Uh…”

“Have him leave.”

Fey’s ears drooped.

I hurried between Fey and the duke.

“We came together for my own reason.”

“I wish Helen could stay here until she recovers.”

The duke glared down at Fey and spoke quietly.

“Hurry.”

A harsh, authoritarian tone, showing no consideration.

Fey, pressed against my leg, trembled slightly.

I held him closer, whispering gently while making eye contact.

“Fey, I’ll follow, so go ahead first.”

“Mm-hm.”

He nodded slightly and went out.

The duke didn’t even glance at him, only returning to his desk once the door closed.

“…The worst.”

I knew from Secret Night that their relationship wasn’t warm.

But I wanted to believe Fey when he said not to worry about the duke.

Maybe things were different at this earlier time. If Fey says it’s okay, maybe it’s not the worst.

…But it wasn’t.

He pressed Fey cruelly, ignoring his hiccups entirely.

A guardian in name only, and the type of person I hated most.

What good is providing a seemingly perfect environment if the children still need attention and affection?

“This is abuse, too.”

I clenched my sleeve and lowered my head.

“Hello, Duke.”

“……”

“I came to ask if we could stay here until I recover… but…”

The paper in my hand fluttered with my words.

He didn’t even pretend to listen.

I took a deep breath and continued firmly.

“I don’t understand why you’re so cold to Fey. Can’t you at least accept his greeting instead of chasing him away? Why make him feel on edge?”

“……”

“Fey is still young. Even if he weren’t, you shouldn’t treat him like that. If you’re a guardian, act like one.”

I spun around and left the office.

“Phew.”

I exhaled heavily to calm the fire burning inside me.

When I returned to my room, Fey was already there.

He ran toward me energetically with his short legs.

“Helen! Did you talk to uncle well?”

No… we might have been chased out.

“…I said everything I wanted to.”

“I see! Helen’s awesome! I can never say everything I want to uncle!”

He gave me a thumbs-up.

“Helen, but… you know…”

His bright, expectant eyes were entirely focused on me.

“How was our uncle?”