Chapter 30

* * *

Goron, goron. Only after Lilith, who was lying next to me, fell into a deep sleep did Cheshire open his eyes.

He had never fallen asleep in the first place.

There was no way he could sleep soundly in a bed that didn't feel like his own.

'She's really a strange kid.'

Cheshire, who had been looking at the sleeping Lilith's face, carefully moved his body to face her.

'She's really strange.'

What had happened in just one day?

Their first meeting, in the alleys of the city.

Cheshire thought Lilith's concern for him was just the hypocrisy of the nobles.

And today, their second meeting.

He was surprised for a moment when he saw Lilith come to the Duke's house.

He thought she had saved him, a commoner with no connection to her, out of a fleeting interest, just like the whims of the nobles.

'Yeah, that's right.'

He had seen many commoners who were discarded like toys after the nobles got tired of them.

Still, it was fortunate that he now had a place to stay and wouldn't go hungry for a while...

If he didn't want to die at the hands of his biological father or somewhere else, he would make good use of this young noble girl's fleeting interest...

That's what he thought.

"I will definitely become part of your family."

'Why are you saying that?'

Cheshire frowned as he looked at Lilith's sleeping face.

'She's strange.'

Although he called her a toy, he wasn't so foolish as to not realize that Lilith was considering and taking care of him.

He had spent his whole life being treated like a second-class citizen.

That's why he kept saying harsh things out of a sense of burden.

"I don't trust you."

He whispered quietly, making a vow.

He was already very tired and didn't want to trust anyone anymore.

He used to believe his mother when she apologized after hitting him, saying it was all his fault...

He had hoped that his father, who never hugged him but never hit him, might actually consider him a son.

The price of that trust was harsh.

He was abandoned by his mother and almost killed by his father.

If even blood relatives could betray trust, how much more so strangers...

"If you're going to abandon me, don't be nice to me."

"......"

Lilith, who was sound asleep, seemed to be having a good dream, smiling and giggling.

'I don't want to get hurt anymore.'

After just one day, he felt like a fool for getting carried away by the warmth.

Cheshire removed the blanket that Lilith had covered him with.

* * *

'No, we should share... Why is my princess covering herself with the blanket alone?'

When Enoch arrived at Lilith's room and saw the two children sleeping on the bed, he couldn't help but laugh.

Lilith had given the blanket to Cheshire, who was sound asleep with ten jellyfish drawings on his pillow.

'This kid has some talent.'

The drawings were so lifelike that they almost seemed to move.

In contrast, Lilith's...

'Is this a jellyfish?'

A jellyfish with a strong personality.

Silver and gray were mixed together, and two blue dots were marked like eyes.

'Is this a jellyfish or me?'

Indeed. Enoch's eye for detail was sharp.

As he covered the two children with the blanket, he noticed his daughter's crooked handwriting.

A smile escaped his lips.

Enoch kissed his soundly sleeping daughter's cheek and whispered,

"Have a good dream, my princess."

* * *

The next day.

Squish, squish.

I was diligently solving problems while glancing out the study window.

Cheshire was sitting alone in the garden where the spring sun shone brightly.

'He must be bored. It would be nice if he played with the older boys while I have my lessons.'

The twins hadn't been seen since Leon rushed out yesterday.

"Sigh."

"Yawn."

At that moment, a yawn came from beside me.

Turning around, I saw Oscar leaning back in his chair with a bored expression, wrinkling his nose.

"It's boring."

"Then don't come…"

"We agreed to have a special lesson once a week. You can't complain about that."

Today was the scheduled day for my math tutoring with the tower master, Oscar.

We were currently solving quadratic equations, but since I had no questions, Oscar looked bored.

I pointed to a problem as if doing him a favor.

"I don't know this. Can you tell me?"

"Liar. What don't you know?"

Oscar sneered and swept away the problem sheet.

"It's meaningless. You're solving problems you already know, aren't you? Aren't you bored too?"

"I don't know everything…"

"Sure, sure. Let's say you do."

Oscar leaned over and looked at me. His long golden earring sparkled amidst his tousled white hair.

"Are you going to the training facility soon? You're required to enter at nine, but you can go in as early as seven. When's your birthday?"

"May 19th."

"Less than a month to go. You'll get to see your mother's face, right?"

"Huh?"

I was surprised by his sudden question.

"Mother?"

"What, your dad didn't tell you?"

Oscar narrowed his eyes and smiled slyly.

"Do you think a child is born alone? Didn't you know you have a mother?"

"A, ah, no, that's not it…"

To be honest, I hadn't really thought about it. My father had never brought up the topic of my mother.

When I lived in Zeon, I asked, "Why don't I have a mother?" and James Brown said,

"You left home when you were a baby…"

That was all he said.

'Well, I guess I do have a mother. She probably lives in the city.'

In the original story, it only mentioned that the daughter was lost.

There was not a single line about Enoch Rubinstein's wife.

'Wow, until just now, I really hadn't thought about it at all…'

The moment Oscar mentioned my mother, my heart started beating wildly.

"Does the tower master know my mother?"

"Of course. She's famous."

"Who is she?"

"Do you want to know? From your reaction, it seems like this is the first time you're hearing about your mother. Your father and the people in this house probably had a reason not to tell you."

I swallowed hard.

"I, I, I'm curious. Please tell me."

"Alright, I'll tell you. Selena Ludendorff, the Duchess. She was a well-known mage who retired five years ago and is now a researcher at the training facility."

Duchess?

I tilted my head, and Oscar chuckled.

"After your father disappeared, she remarried the Ludendorff Duke without looking back. They have a son together."

"Ah, I see…"

"Why? Are you shocked? It seems like she doesn't care whether you're alive or dead. She remarried and had a child with another man and is living well."

I shook my head, not really feeling shocked, but rather sensing that Oscar seemed to want me to be shocked.

"No, I'm not shocked."

"Really?"

"Yes. Mothers have their own lives too. She's young and talented, so she should do what she wants."

"True. She was young, talented, and from a good family. That's why she married your father, who was one of the most successful at the time. Love in noble marriages? I doubt it…"

Oscar, leaning back in his chair, added,

"Still, don't you think it's too much? Even if she didn't care about your father, you are her child, born from her own body."

"My father took me and ran away as soon as I was born. She wouldn't have known where we were, so what could she have done?"

"Hmph. So naive."

Oscar, who had pulled his chair closer, poked my nose.

"Your mother is also a dos. She's a young and talented person, not even thirty. So how could she have already retired and be living comfortably as a researcher at the training facility?"

"……"

"The one who told the emperor where you and your father were hiding was that woman."

"…What?"

"In return, she was able to retire. She also got the emperor to promise not to conscript her son as a young soldier. Do you understand what that means?"

"……"

"She sold you, her daughter, for the sake of her son."

Thud.

At that moment, my heart felt like it had dropped at Oscar's words.