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Chapter : 19
“I will carve your bones.”
“May I speak with your daughter for a moment?”
“What for?”
Pyotr was momentarily at a loss for words.
“No.”
Aster refused once more, firmly.
“I can’t breathe, Uncle.”
Sharlop tugged off the blanket she had been tightly wrapped in. When she lifted her pale face, Aster frowned in discomfort.
“I’m fine.”
“What do you mean you’re fine! Absolutely not. Until dirt covers my eyes, I will never allow you to exchange a single word with that bastard!”
“I said I can’t breathe.”
“Even if you can’t breathe, that man is not allowed.”
The servants watched the situation uneasily.
“I’ll go fetch Sir Caesar.”
Since the head of the household was absent, it would be best to call his proxy, Sir Caesar.
Just as a few servants were about to leave in search of Caesar—
“Aster. Being overprotective isn’t good.”
Caesar had come to them first.
“If you coddle her like a three-year-old, won’t Sharlop feel embarrassed?”
With his broad back, he shielded Sharlop, an air of restrained authority flowing from him.
“What business do you have with our child?”
“…Our child?”
“Is there a problem with how I address her? Even if we left her alone for a while, she is still a child with guardians, right in front of you.”
Caesar lazily smacked his lips.
“You’re still acting as if you’re her guardian. It’s starting to irritate us.”
Stop poking around and get lost. With just a few words, he dismissed him.
“Sharlop!”
Pyotr shook his head violently and asked the girl.
“Is it true you shot that man with a crossbow?”
“Did he tell you that?”
“You… are you really the child I used to know?”
Pyotr looked utterly unable to understand.
No matter how much you’ve changed lately,
a person’s true nature doesn’t just change overnight.
“Why?”
“That’s not something you should be asking ‘why’ about.”
Pyotr suddenly fell silent. A breathless stillness passed between them.
Their gazes were the same.
Nothing about them had changed—only their feelings toward each other had.
The eyes of the daughter who once longed for affection were now empty,
and something slowly went awry.
Suddenly, something flashed through Pyotr’s mind.
“That grave… was it really you who dug it up?”
At the moment doubt turned into certainty,
a chilling shiver ran down Pyotr’s spine.
“That you did that to your own mother with your own hands…”
Looking into those hollow eyes, Pyotr was convinced.
“So it was true.”
Aster pulled Sharlop behind him and twisted his face in disgust, as if he had seen a bug.
“So you told him everything?”
“This child is my child! Not that family’s—my child! Even if circumstances forced me to give her up, I am the father who gave birth to her! I protected this child for nearly twenty years…!”
Pyotr stopped and staggered backward.
Something seemed to slowly sink down. The ground beneath his feet felt muddy and soft.
He glanced down. It felt as if the earth were collapsing.
Why do you look at me like I’m a bug?
Why do you look at people like they’re bugs?
A crow cawed so loudly it made his ears ring.
Aster narrowed his eyes and muttered,
“This isn’t even a hunting ground, yet the beasts are still barking. Should I have to shut the animals up myself here?”
Pyotr felt his soul leave his body. The rage that had risen to his chin fizzled out weakly.
“Who are you talking to right now…?”
“It’s noisy since I hear beasts crying like it’s a hunting ground. Looks like crows smelled the carcasses and gathered.”
Caesar surveyed the chaotic scene once, then clasped his hands behind his back.
“How about we part ways here for today?”
Grinding his teeth, Pyotr answered,
“I’ll withdraw for now. When the time comes, I’ll return. You are my child, and I will come to take you back.”
With that, Pyotr left. Caesar turned his head and glanced down at Sharlop.
“Are you okay?”
Aster whispered as he stroked her hair.
“I really can’t understand you two as father and daughter.”
Sharlop smiled faintly.
“I’m tired today too.”
Though she smiled on the outside, something inside her slowly began to creak.
‘Father dug up Mother’s grave, they say.’
Everyone seems to be going mad. Me too. Father too.
No one understands.
Late at night.
What could it mean for a daughter to dig up her own mother’s grave?
Death was painfully vivid.
With these hands, I touched death, felt it,
and as I buried Mother again, I embraced that death whole.
The daughter who starved for love died.
Sharlop’s eyes reddened.
Mother, I’m sorry. I’ll bury the injustice and resentment for now. Just for a little while. Please wait just a little.
I will surely bring them before your grave.
I gave up my own flesh.
So now, I will carve your bones.
“It’s like I’m looking at a completely different child.”
Pyotr muttered bitterly.
“Even if I abandoned her, I am still her biological father.”
She was a child who never asserted her presence.
Yet now she raised her voice and spoke.
I’m here. Look at me.
He knew she had matured while caring for her mother.
“But does it make sense for her to dig up her mother’s grave and decide to take out the urn?”
It was as chilling as saying that a dead person had crawled back from the underworld.
“Just a moment ago you were like a lump of wet cotton, and now you’re a lump of cotton soaked in tears?”
Aster clicked his tongue.
“Ah…”
Sharlop lowered her head blankly. Her eyes were already wet. Though her eyes brimmed, the tears never quite fell.
“Are you okay?”
Aster hesitated, extending and retracting his arm, then covered Sharlop’s head with the blanket and wrapped her in his arms. She leaned into him.
“Your mother is sleeping peacefully. She must be happier than anyone to see you growing up. Of course! She might scold us for sticking such a scoundrel fiancé to her precious daughter.”
But still—
“As long as you’re doing well, that’s enough. Sharl. Sharl. It’s okay. It’s okay. Everything will be okay.”
It made him unbearably sorry that the Windsor family, who must have been the angriest, were the ones embracing Sharlop.
“Are you okay, Sharl?”
“Sharlop, what’s wrong?”
Aster and Caesar spoke in turn.
“Did something happen?”
“You have to say it for us to know.”
Aster lifted Sharlop’s chin. Their eyes met. Seeing her empty gaze, Aster stiffened.
‘What kind of child…’
How could she make such eyes?
“Sharl, are you hurt anywhere? Brother, do something.”
Caesar looked down at Sharlop with his hands behind his back.
His niece, who resembled his younger sister, even shared her harsh, stubborn temperament.
“My niece is really rotting her uncles’ hearts away.”
Caesar spoke as if soothing a child. Though he had said she wasn’t a three-year-old, even he treated her like one.
“Sharl, I understand you. We’ll embrace your sorrow too. So don’t cling to your father. Your family is right here, isn’t it?”
Sharlop bit her lip.
It’s not deception.
She just wants to lessen the pain they will go through.
‘Mom. Just a little more.’
Let’s endure just a little longer.
“Are you hurt? Huh? Sharl, talk to me.”
Her eyes reddened, as if she might cry any moment, yet a beautiful smile spread across her face.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m fine.”
“Sharl, are you really fine—”
Her eyes fluttered shut. Sharlop fell asleep just like that.
“It’s been three days. Three days! No, today makes four. She’s been unconscious for four days now…!”
Aster barked as he pressed the attending physician.
“Aster, please calm down first… Miss, are you awake?”
Sharlop slowly blinked. Her vision was blurry, then gradually came into focus.
“Sharl? You’re awake? Awake? Are you really awake?”
“Uncle.”
“Are you conscious? Are you really?”
“I can hear you. You can speak one at a time.”
Sharlop fumbled across the bed and reached out. Her fingertips caught Aster’s clothes. She stiffly wiggled her fingers, focusing on the faint sensation as she grasped the fabric.
“Ask slowly. One by one.”
“You’ve been sleeping without consciousness for days—do you think I could stay calm?”
Sharlop slowly closed her eyes.
“How many days has it been?”
“Four days. Four!”
“That’s a long time…”
“Why did you stand in the rain until you ended up like this?”
With trembling hands, Aster covered the back of Sharlop’s hand.
“You careless child.”
“You’re saying the same thing as Benjamin.”
“His Highness sees people clearly. You’re too harsh on yourself.”
Kids your age tremble over even a thorn stuck in their finger, but this child shows no such sign.
“Linton! Examine her more carefully!”
The physician checked Sharlop thoroughly.
“It’s a severe cold. She was born with a weak constitution, and she was drenched in the rain. But she seems to have recovered now.”
“You’re sure she’s recovered?”
“For now, at least.”
“Look at her, Sharlop’s state. Does that look like a human face? She looks like a child left on the roadside who couldn’t even get rice gruel.”
After days of illness, her complexion was pale. She was the only trace left by his sister.
If something happened to this child… As Aster was about to speak again, someone knocked.
“The head of the household has arrived.”
A maid announced Leandro’s visit.
“You slept for days. Did you sleep well?”
“Yes. I slept comfortably.”
“Try something so reckless again without thinking of your remaining family.”
What should I do with you? What should I do… You take after your mother’s blood, not knowing how precious your own body is.
“Has the fever gone down?”
“Yes. It’s much lower than last night.”
“You did well, Sharl. You suffered more than anyone. It’s okay now, so rest. Everything is fine. Even if it’s not, I’ll make it fine—so you may rest.”
It felt as if something was tightly blocking one side of her chest.
“Tsk… Why is this child sitting up? Lay her back down. Steward, make sure she doesn’t go outside for a while.”
Sharlop was forbidden from leaving for several days under the pretext of absolute rest.
“Grandfather?”
Sharlop was half out of it.
“I sent you because I’m her guardian, and you bring her back in this state?”
“I’m sorry, Father.”
“Linton, watch the child more closely, and tell me if she needs any medicine. Restoring her strength is the top priority. Use only the best ingredients. And even if she complains of feeling cooped up, don’t let her go out. You will take responsibility and watch her this time.”
The maids widened their eyes.
“We will take good care of her.”
Leandro spoke sternly.
“Sharlop, listen. If you sneak out of your room behind the adults’ backs, I won’t scold you—I’ll scold the maids instead. Keep that in mind.”
