🔊 TTS Settings
chapter 22
Edwin now had a clean, bright face, like a white porcelain doll. He was still thin, with little flesh on his body, but…
“He’s had a lot of treatment, hasn’t he?”
Alice looked at Edwin with a relieved expression. It was the first time she had seen him in such a bright interior, not atop a tower.
“He really looks like a demon.”
Like the beautiful young demons in the Bible said to enchant women and children.
Dressed neatly with his cravat and proper clothing, he carried himself with the elegant, noble lines of an aristocrat—even as a child.
It felt as if this was his natural form; there was not even a hint of incongruity.
Alice slowly took in the scene in the office.
Edwin and Duke Esteban were facing each other, seemingly in deep conversation.
But from the moment she entered, two pairs of red eyes had been staring at her.
The overwhelming attention made Alice’s gaze wander, searching the air for something to focus on. Eventually, she lowered her eyes to the floor and thought:
“D-Do I feel like I did something wrong?”
Alice hesitated under the subtle tension between father and son, then spoke up.
“I-I’ll come back a little later. I’ll take my leave—”
“Wait.”
Duke Esteban called her back. Alice froze stiffly, like a wooden doll. She turned her head with a creak, like a rusty puppet, and wanted to leave the office immediately.
Even now, weren’t Duke Esteban and Edwin staring straight through her?
“Why did you leave the castle with such a lie?”
“M-Me?!”
When had she ever lied? Alice’s first instinct was indignation, but she answered timidly to the two pairs of eyes.
“I-I didn’t do that.”
“I heard you were disowned by your family. Who spread such a story?”
The look in his eyes suggested he couldn’t understand the situation. Alice felt a wave of unfairness rise again.
“But Your Grace told me to leave…”
Her voice, which had come out louder than intended in her emotions, gradually shrank under his piercing gaze.
Though she muttered almost inaudibly, Duke Esteban clearly understood her, and he furrowed his brows.
He didn’t even notice the ash from his cigarette falling onto the papers in his hand as he spoke:
“This is absurd. You were told to leave the office, so you left the castle?”
“Y-Yes?”
Alice repeated blankly. What was this about? She was told to leave the office? A brief silence passed.
In the quiet, awkward stillness, she looked at the boarding pass in her hand. Was all this effort wasted?
“So… you mean I should stay here?”
“Perhaps.”
He answered arrogantly, arms crossed. Normally, such a vague, irritating answer would have annoyed Alice, but she just watched the duke cautiously.
If the reason the duke’s knights brought her here was this…
Then staying here was the best option for a child like her.
She could wear clean clothes, the security was perfect, and she wouldn’t have to worry about going hungry.
The duke paused thoughtfully, then spoke, his gaze on Edwin.
“I prefer children who obey.”
“I really do obey! You saw it this time! You told me to leave, and I even went outside the castle…!”
Alice, thinking he meant her, quickly responded. The duke looked at her as if she were strange.
“Oh no, that’s not the answer.”
While Alice struggled, Edwin slowly spoke.
“Please don’t make Alice leave. Father.”
Father?
The respectful tone made the duke’s eyebrows twitch.
“Edwin…”
Alice called his name in surprise. But gradually, Edwin’s expression grew faint, tinged with sadness.
Seeing him like this, as if he might cry at the slightest touch, made her chest tighten.
She had thought he would know everything, despise her, and hate her. Yet contrary to her expectations, Edwin was asking her not to be driven out.
Her own eyes began to redden. With a mix of relief and emotion, Alice felt tears welling up.
“At least the male lead isn’t going to kill me.”
Was this the heart of a parent raising a child?
She felt rewarded for teaching him letters, having him read books. Perhaps some of the fairy tales she wrote had even had a small effect!
But soon, Alice’s heart ached slightly as she saw Edwin’s reddened eyes.
Ah! How could I make that beautiful child cry!
If only she could turn back time, she would scold herself for planning to leave without even saying goodbye.
“Edwin, I’m sorry!”
Meanwhile, Duke Esteban was watching her and Edwin with an intriguing gaze.
Even after seeing those tears, he didn’t grant his son’s request. Alice cursed him silently, thinking him truly heartless.
Edwin spoke:
“Alice is my ‘friend.’”
The word friend carried unusual weight.
Alice, moved, didn’t notice that while saying this, Edwin’s red eyes held a strange light.
Duke Esteban immediately understood what Edwin meant.
“So the kid isn’t a child… but a wild wolf.”
It was easier to deal with a tamer beast than a misbehaving one. He had no intention of sending Alice Garnet away.
A faint smile curved the duke’s lips.
Alice, lost in admiration of the cold beauty, shivered at an ominous feeling.
“Very well. Alice Garnet shall stay here for the time being.”
She couldn’t smile purely with joy and offered a hesitant smile. She sensed some hidden motive she didn’t understand.
“Well, whatever.”
“Thank you!”
Surviving was what mattered most. Alice smiled brightly and bowed formally.
The duke looked at her with a curious expression.
“She’s changed.”
It was completely different from the tantrum he expected from a trapped, crying mother.
“U-Um…”
Alice glanced at the duke nervously. Before she could speak, her stomach gave a signal.
Growl.
“……”
The duke understood and nodded.
“Go.”
“Yes…”
“But don’t leave the castle.”
Damn. Her face burned with embarrassment.
“Ah, I’m full.”
Alice smiled in satisfaction at the bowls of beef stew she had eaten and the empty bread basket.
Fortunately, not long after leaving the office, Ena had brought her the meal.
“At least I won’t starve.”
Though the duke had allowed her to stay, she had been secretly worried about getting proper meals.
Her opinion of Duke Esteban rose slightly. Not by much, but a little.
—Knock, knock.
Hearing the knock, Alice wondered if dessert had arrived and eagerly invited them in. But it wasn’t Ena—it was Edwin.
Alice, lying lazily with soup on her mouth, hurriedly stood up and wiped her lips.
“E-Edwin. What are you doing here?”
“Why were you leaving without saying anything?”
Edwin looked at her with reproachful eyes. His red eyes no longer seemed frightening.
Alice decided to completely revise her thoughts about Edwin. He liked his friends and could shed tears like any ordinary child.
Of course, he did have the superhuman strength to snap chains with one hand…
“Alice.”
Lowering his eyes in a sad expression, Edwin opened his small red lips. Alice flustered. Looking closely, his eyes seemed a little wet.
“Do you hate me?”
“Of course not!”
Alice, shocked, shook her head vigorously. Her neck even stiffened from shaking too hard.
“No! I like you so much, Edwin!”
She spoke honestly, like she would to Michael. Most of it was admiration and affection.
Now, the difference from the original story was huge, but the cute, kind Edwin also had a charm of a different kind.
“So Edwin was this pure as a child.”
Seeing his pure past made her heart flutter. It felt like opening a secret Pandora’s box no one else could see.
How different he had become, obsessing like a madman in the story!
The contrast between that Edwin and the one in front of her was staggering. Alice couldn’t help but smile slyly.
Edwin’s eyes curved slightly like a crescent moon.
“Then you won’t leave here, right?”
“Of course not!”
Without money, leaving would be hardship. Unless the duke forced her out or she somehow earned cash, she wouldn’t leave. She didn’t need to teach a child harsh realities yet.
“How can his smile be so cute and pretty?”
Alice couldn’t help but smile at Edwin’s smile.
“Then it’s a promise.”
Edwin murmured under his breath. Under long lashes, his red eyes held a deep, possessive attachment.
