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Chapter 7
“Um, Lady Elre will be a little late today.”
“I know.”
Lion quietly looked out the window.
At first, he couldn’t even tell who was who, but through steady effort, he was now able to distinguish the people in the mansion.
Very few people knew that fact.
Lion had lived while pretending he still couldn’t recognize people well.
Somehow, it felt like that was how he was supposed to be.
‘Only she uses this scent.’
A kind maid who cleaned his bedroom every day. Diria.
Since the maids always wore the same clothes, it was easy to tell what kind of work they did.
However, because their outfits were identical, it took quite a long time to tell them apart.
It took two years just to distinguish Diria.
He could never forget the expression on Elre’s face when he first began recognizing people.
He worked hard just to see Elre smile.
Lion could clearly distinguish only one person—Elre.
Her unique body scent, her voice that sounded sweet, even her walking style and habits—he memorized everything.
When Elre smiled without realizing it, she would scrunch up her nose.
When she was lost in thought, she would repeatedly press the side of her neck.
Without realizing it, he had been observing everything to recognize Elre.
Elre thought Lion was still distinguishing her using a blue ribbon, but that was a big misunderstanding.
The blue ribbon was only a marker that let him know from far away that she was coming.
He already remembered her footsteps running toward him, and the accent in which she called his name.
‘It’s already been only five years left.’
Time was passing too quickly, and Lion felt his heart burning with impatience.
“You’ve grown taller again today.”
“…Have I?”
“You’ll become an adult soon.”
At the maid’s words, Lion bit his lip.
He didn’t want to become an adult.
If he became smaller again, could he stay with Elre forever?
“I don’t want to become an adult.”
“Oh dear, it seems you don’t want to be separated from Lady Elre.”
The maid let out a low sigh while looking at Lion. Since he had always stayed close to her, she probably didn’t welcome the coming separation either.
But as Lion grew, the people around him became more tense.
Was he really the cursed child from the rumors?
‘But there’s no red eyes at all…’
In that moment, the maid saw something unusual in Lion’s eyes as he stared out the window.
A flash of red flickered within his dark eyes.
It was surely not something she imagined.
“…Huh.”
She trembled as she looked at him.
As his eyes clearly turned red for an instant, she closed her mouth tightly.
“Why are you like that, Diria?”
Diria’s behavior was always structured and predictable.
She always stood one step away from him, and even wore a badge so he could identify her.
With a lazy voice, Lion, sitting by the window, smiled brightly at Diria.
“Yes, I don’t want to be apart. So I’m still a child.”
“That’s right, Lord Lion. You do look like a child.”
Diria nodded as if she were enchanted.
Then, something inside her felt like it was being pulled out, and she collapsed onto the floor.
“Elre probably doesn’t want me to leave your side either.”
Maids entered his room in assigned shifts, each wearing badges of different colors.
Elre, despite her cold tone, cared for him quite a bit.
That thought made him feel a little better.
Lion glanced at Diria on the floor, then looked toward the carriage entering the estate.
He immediately knew the person inside was Elre.
It was just instinct.
‘At this time, it’s probably Elre.’
He needed to wake Diria and send her out before Elre arrived.
“Diria, are you okay?”
He slowly got up from the window.
With an innocent face, he shook her awake.
Diria, who had briefly lost consciousness, slowly sat up with a confused expression.
“Oh my… why was I…?”
“You suddenly fainted. Here, some water.”
Lion handed her a glass of water with a gentle smile.
“Thank you.”
Diria tilted her head and drank the water.
For some reason, she felt like she had forgotten something, but she couldn’t remember.
“I think someone is coming.”
At Lion’s words, Diria nodded and grabbed his hand.
“It must be Lady Elre. Then you should go greet her quickly.”
As the door opened, Lion ran toward Elre.
Watching him, Diria rubbed her stiff neck.
‘That’s strange… I feel drained.’
She must be tired.
“Lion, that’s not it. Do it again.”
I placed my hands on my waist and scolded him firmly.
I was worried because he still couldn’t properly control mana.
“You can’t just absorb it. That’s not enough at all. It won’t protect you.”
“But I only need to protect you.”
Lion blinked slowly as he looked at me.
Don’t look at me like that—it’s dangerous.
Did he even know? What his gaze did to people? Probably not.
“Lion, don’t worry about me. I’m always worried about you.”
After adulthood, Lion would develop a mark, awaken, and his mana would explode.
“If I control mana well, it’s good for you, right, Elre?”
“Well, it would help. Lion, I want you to go somewhere good. Somewhere people recognize your strength.”
“…I don’t need this power.”
He clenched and unclenched his hand, lowering his gaze.
It must be frustrating for him. But that power was also what allowed him to survive.
“I hate how people look down on you. I hate those disgusted eyes.”
“…”
“In order to prevent that, you need to become someone no one can ignore.”
In the end, everyone would kneel beneath him anyway.
But for now, his fragile heart needed to become stronger.
Of course… he could stay a little soft with me.
“Then I can stay by your side?”
He would say things like this now, but eventually he would forget me. Maybe even forget entirely.
I swallowed a bitter smile and pretended not to notice.
“Hm?”
“If I become strong enough that no one can ignore me…”
“You can stay by my side even without strength.”
No one would care about me anyway.
Right now, Lion hadn’t manifested his power yet, and his fate with Zenith hadn’t been decided, so it was fine.
No one knew who he was or what power he held.
But I already knew who he was—and who he would end up marrying.
Sadly, his fate was already decided. Mine was no different either.
Still… maybe a character who wasn’t the protagonist could slightly twist their fate.
I was trying to survive—maybe even God would take pity on me.
Lion reached out his hand, then pulled it back.
“But you said it before. That you would marry someone else.”
His voice was trembling.
Why was it him who looked like he was in pain, when it should be me?
“Probably. I don’t know who it will be though.”
I might die before then. Honestly, I had no confidence in my future.
Marriage felt like a joke when I couldn’t see even one step ahead.
Lion looked at me carefully, as if hesitating to ask.
What was he so curious about?
“What if I become strong? Then you won’t have to marry someone you don’t like?”
“…Hm.”
That depended on the future, didn’t it?
I couldn’t know right now whether I would like or dislike it.
I had never even thought about marriage, since no partner mark had appeared yet.
‘Lately I’ve been thinking strange things.’
I grabbed Lion’s cheeks and lightly slapped them.
“Ow…”
His startled face looked kind of cute.
Too many unnecessary thoughts were dangerous.
I asked, hoping he would stop.
“Lion, do you not like being apart from me?”
“I wish you wouldn’t become an adult.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at his childish words.
“Me too. But I’m also curious about what you’ll look like as an adult.”
Becoming an adult wasn’t exactly a good thing.
It meant entering complicated social circles, pleasing people you hated, and slowly losing yourself.
Look at my father—he abandoned even his conscience for profit and power.
Still, I was curious about what Lion would look like as an adult.
“…Curious?”
“Yes. I think you’ll become a wonderful adult.”
Just imagining it made me happy.
Tall, handsome, a strong body, and power no one could approach.
“That would be amazing.”
I smiled brightly while looking at his hair swaying in the wind.
“When that time comes, don’t forget me.”
“I’ll find you no matter where you are.”
Lion took my hand and gently kissed the back of it.
His unusual atmosphere made my body flinch.
