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Chapter : 07
Cedric, now looking like a soaked rat, seemed unable to grasp the situation just yet.
And who could blame him? After all, it was his usually gentle and adorable younger brother Kalib who had splashed water on him!
“Elia, are you okay?”
Ignoring his own drenched state, Kalib rushed straight to me.
The way he ran over like a little kitten to check on me first—it was admittedly cute.
“Kalib…”
Cedric stood there, stunned, staring blankly in shock. He looked quite pitiful.
And then Kalib said to him:
“Apologize!”
“What?”
“Apologize to Elia! She’s my benefactor!”
“Be—benefactor…?”
“That’s right! If it weren’t for Elia, I would’ve been eaten by a wolf!”
Kalib shouted as he wrapped his arms around me protectively, standing between me and Cedric’s sword.
At that fierce voice, Cedric finally snapped out of it and quickly lowered his sword.
“If it weren’t for her…”
“How could you point your sword at Elia of all people?”
Kalib glared at his brother with a scowl.
“I’m really disappointed in you.”
Thud. Cedric’s face collapsed in sheer shock.
But Kalib didn’t care. He was focused only on me.
“Oh no, your sleeve is wet.”
“Ah, yeah…”
Right. I was kneeling next to Cedric, who got drenched because Kalib threw water.
But it’s just my sleeve. Cedric’s whole body is soaked!
“You’ll catch a cold. You should change clothes right away.”
I said it’s just my sleeve!
The one who really needs a change of clothes is your brother…
Kalib fussed over me and helped me up from the floor.
Just as he was about to lead me to the bedroom, Cedric asked in a cold voice,
“Why didn’t you come back, even after you regained your magic?”
Huh?
I turned to Cedric, confused.
He was still staring only at the back of Kalib’s small head.
“If you were capable of casting a gravitational barrier to keep the ducal estate’s people from finding you, teleportation would’ve been a simple matter.”
“…Huh?”
I blinked in shock.
“A barrier? Magic? But I thought you couldn’t use magic—you didn’t have a staff, and your hand was injured?”
I looked down at Kalib, who had suddenly frozen in place.
His little hand gripped mine tightly, his knuckles white.
“…Kalib?”
My voice made his small shoulders twitch.
I heard him choking back a sob.
“Hrk… sniff…”
“K-Kalib. Are you crying?”
Startled, I quickly crouched down to check on him.
Kalib bit his plump lower lip and tried to hold in his tears.
I hadn’t even scolded him…
“Don’t cry. Kalib, what’s wrong?”
I used my free hand to gently hug his trembling back.
“I’m not mad. I didn’t ask because I wanted to scold you. I was just curious, that’s all. Okay?”
My heart felt rushed with guilt.
Yoon, who had matured too quickly, used to cry like this too, from time to time.
He would cry quietly, as if determined not to show weakness—even with me by his side.
He always tried to hide his tears, never wanting anyone to see.
Remembering that, I couldn’t just leave Kalib alone.
“Come here, Kalib.”
Though he was already in my arms, it felt like a part of him was crying alone, from far away.
Then Kalib wrapped his arms around my neck.
His chubby little forearms trembled.
To show him I wouldn’t let go, I lifted his slightly heavier body up in my arms.
“H-Huh? Elia…!”
Kalib’s eyes widened in surprise.
His teary red eyes, like rain-soaked roses, stared straight at me.
I gently touched my forehead to his and said,
“Why are you crying? I didn’t mean to scold you.”
“Hrk…”
“I was just curious, that’s all.”
“Sniff…”
“You said before that you were curious about me, right? I just… got curious about you too.”
“…Elia…”
“Hm?”
“Elia got curious about me too?”
“Of course. I’ve been wondering about you every day. That’s why I asked. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
His drooping back, weighed down with lost confidence, looked pitiful.
I stroked it gently, waiting for his tears to subside.
“Kalib, since when did you become such a crybaby—”
“Shh.”
Cedric tried to speak, obliviously, so I shot him a look and mouthed the words instead.
Cedric looked displeased, but thankfully, he kept his mouth shut.
Eventually, Kalib spoke.
“…That’s why.”
“…Hm?”
“Because I wanted to be with Elia…”
“Yes, with me.”
Kalib hesitated for a while before mustering the courage to meet my gaze.
“I just wanted to stay with you, Elia.”
“Ah.”
“When your hand is hurt, you’re not supposed to be able to use magic. That part’s true. But… but somehow, I was able to.”
Kalib showed me the hand he had cut when he grabbed the falling knife.
It wasn’t fully healed yet.
And yet he could use magic? How was that possible?
Kalib murmured,
“But… once the wound heals completely, I have to go back. But there…”
His expression looked troubled.
I quietly waited.
Kalib lowered his head like a child admitting a misdeed.
“You’re not there, Elia.”
“…”
“If I stay here with you, I can just be ‘Kalib.’ But if I go back, I’ll have to be the ‘young duke’ again.”
“…”
“I don’t want that. I just want to stay here with Elia like this—”
“You can’t.”
Before I could figure out what to say, Cedric cut in sharply.
Kalib flinched.
“You know why, Kalib.”
Cedric approached slowly, his voice level.
His wet footsteps echoed softly.
“You know I’m cursed. That until I fall asleep, you have to act as the Duke.”
Even though I already knew this, I held my breath hearing it aloud.
Hearing it in Cedric’s flat voice, I realized how heavy Kalib’s burden was.
Kalib muttered in a crushed tone,
“But if I go to the ‘Sanctum of Knowledge,’ there might be a way to lift your curse. You said—”
“That’s highly unlikely. Who would want to marry me anyway?”
Huh? Marry? What now?
I turned to Cedric in confusion.
“…Elia.”
“Huh?”
“You said you were curious about me, right?”
“Uh, yeah. I did.”
“Then, then… I’ll tell you everything.”
Kalib looked at me intently.
His eyes, once again brimming with tears, overlapped with memories of Yoon.
“So… will you come with me?”
“…What? Where?”
“To the ducal estate. Will you come with me?”
“…Huh?”
“Will you marry my brother?”
…Uh…what?
After crying for a while, Kalib finally fell asleep, likely exhausted and a bit feverish.
I quietly closed the bedroom door behind me, careful not to wake him.
“Is Kalib asleep?”
“Yes.”
I glanced at Cedric, who was sitting at the table in just his pants, his soaked shirt removed.
The first thing I saw was his pale, toned upper arms.
Good grief, I get that his clothes were wet, but isn’t this a little much?
Isn’t he a noble? Can they just… strip like that?
Where am I supposed to look?
Also, why are his muscles so perfect?
Better than the guys who trained for the national team… No, wait.
I shook my head and brewed some warm chamomile tea to clear my thoughts.
“Here, please. It’s nothing fancy…”
“Thank you.”
Cedric politely took the mug.
Sure, he had pointed a sword at me when we first met—but after confirming Kalib’s safety, his attitude softened.
‘Please forgive my rudeness.’
He even bowed and formally apologized.
Honestly, if I’d found Yoon missing for 20 days and discovered him holed up in some shack with a stranger, I’d have grabbed the other person by the hair first too.
I watched Cedric silently sip his tea, then asked,
“So, you’re cursed?”
Even though I already knew, I pretended not to.
Cedric nodded calmly.
“Yes. That’s right.”
“But marrying me won’t break the curse, right?”
“No, but it proves I’m married and willing to devote myself to the family. That lets me enter the Sanctum of Knowledge.”
“And you can’t enter until then?”
“No. I may be officially adopted, but I don’t carry the bloodline. So I have to go through this roundabout method.”
It was well known throughout the empire that Cedric was an adopted son of the ducal house.
“But surely there are plenty of noble ladies who’d want to marry you?”
“If I had the right of succession, maybe.”
Cedric’s expression clouded briefly.
“You probably heard from Kalib already… but even I know he’s being isolated in the family.”
“Ah, yes.”
“It’s because of me.”
“Because of you?”
“Kalib was kidnapped right after birth. He spent four years in an orphanage before returning.”
During that time, the duke and duchess were killed.
“So the retainers resent him. They think there was no need to bring in the legitimate heir when they already had me, the more ‘capable’ successor.”
“That’s awful. He was their real child. Of course they searched for him!”
Cedric nodded in agreement.
Trying to suppress my anger, I asked,
“Still, you said you want Kalib to become the Duke.”
“Yes. I gave up my claim to the succession to oppose the retainers.”
“Oh…”
“So who would want to marry someone like me now?”
His quiet, hydrangea-colored eyes looked straight into mine.
