Chapter 7
The next morning, Herwin was awoken from his slumber due to a slight noise and the intense light assaulting his eyelids.
Sunlight usually seeped indoors when the sun rose, but considering the thick curtains hanging on his windows, it was quite odd.
'Who opened the curtains?'
Groaning, he struggled to lift his eyelids, only to be greeted by the clear windows.
Herwin doubted his eyes.
'The curtains are gone?'
The curtains from the window closest to the bed were gone. Without the need for deduction, the culprit was found nearby.
"Ah, good morning, Dad!"
Everiel strolled towards him, glowing from the sun's rays.
Was it because of the sunlight streaming through the glass? Herwin furrowed his brows slightly. Everiel seemed to radiate with light.
"People need sunlight to stay healthy. But Dad's room is always dark."
"So I removed all the curtains."
"Hehe, I thought if I left them hanging, you'd close them again when I'm not around."
Everiel playfully wrinkled her nose, leaning on the bed.
"Just for one day. Just one! Since the weather's really nice today, happiness will come flooding in through the windows!"
Herwin couldn't say anything before the beaming child as she talked about happiness.
Everiel resembled him in many ways.
The snow-white hair, the sculpted facial features, the round back of the head—even their ring fingers were longer than their index. They resembled each other in every aspect except one.
‘Those eyes are just like yours, Lia, they resemble yours.’
Why do those eyes make him so weak?
Herwin felt dizzy and closed his eyes.
"Everiel."
At his soft call, Everiel tensed.
Herwin always called Everiel 'Eve' or 'Little Star'.
It wasn't a good sign for him to use her full name like this.
"Yesterday, the day before, and today."
Herwin paused briefly to choose his words carefully. He needed words that would make the child retreat without being too harsh.
"To fix such rude behavior, you need a governess."
Everiel froze.
Seeing Everiel's expression, Herwin clenched the blanket.
"Lily, take the child and replace the curtains."
"Yes, Your Grace."
Sensing the heavy atmosphere, Lily hastily carried Everiel out of the room. When the door closed, a familiar silence settled in.
Alone in the quiet bedroom, Herwin pondered over his suspicions. If it had only been yesterday, it would've been understandable, but three consecutive days of such behavior was strange.
‘She wasn't like this before.’
His daughter seemed to have changed in a way.
Not too long ago, Everiel would obediently follow anything Herwin said.
She never threw tantrums or caused trouble, even in her younger years. It was because she knew he was unwell.
But what about now?
‘She’d freely roam around my bedroom.'
Herwin paused, his eyes brightening with a sudden realization.
That day, on the morning of Everiel's birthday.
Ever since the day she suddenly barged into his room, nestled against him as she cried, something seemed to have changed in her.
Herwin suspected it was because of the governess.
He knew she was somewhat wary of strangers, but he hadn't expected such a strong aversion to the governess.
'Should I still continue to insist?'
Herwin pondered with sudden hesitation. His resolve was faltering.
'This isn't good.'
Not good at all. Herwin had to somehow widen the distance between Everiel and himself.
'The symptoms are getting worse. If she continues to stay by my side...'
At that moment, his thoughts were abruptly interrupted.
The feeling of his insides getting turned upside down made Herwin double over.
He groaned, followed by a cough, and then a spurt of crimson liquid onto the sheets. It was an unexpected episode.
He clenched his hands to suppress the intense pain. It felt like every inch of his body was getting wrung.
‘I mustn't get close to Eve, I…’
Herwin desperately pulled the reins. Pain engulfed him once more.
* * *
Lily kept an eye on Everiel all the way back to her bedroom.
"Milady, are you alright?"
"Mhm..."
In truth, she wasn't fine.
'Is he in so much pain that even meeting me is burdensome?'
It felt like she was trying to stand with severed legs, no hope in sight.
'Ah, no. I can't let myself sink into melancholy again. I mustn't be disheartened.'
Everiel sniffled slightly and lowered her head. There was no time to dwell on feeble emotions.
"I acted rashly. His criteria for forgiveness was higher than I thought."
"You've become more noble, Milady."
"So, next time, I only need to look pitiful enough to be forgiven, right?"
"Right... what?"
'Not giving up, are we?' Lily’s expression seemed to say.
'I can't give up when I haven't even started yet. No matter what happens, I won't ever give up.'
She'll definitely kick out the wicked governess and protect her dad. Everiel's resolve blazed.
But the ways of the world were never resolved by sheer will alone.
"Why!"
The next day, Everiel cried out as she rolled on the bed.
‘After nursing him so diligently!’
Today, she couldn't even enter Herwin's room. The reason?
"The door is locked!"
Everiel, being small in stature, had to rely on Lily's help to open the doors within the duke's mansion. Being locked out only added to her sorrow.
"He knew I was coming! How terrible! I hate this! This is frustrating!"
Everiel shouted as she rolled around for a good minute before running out of energy.
Once she had somewhat calmed down, a strange sense of embarrassment washed over her.
‘I just acted like a real brat.’
Lately, Everiel had been experiencing some oddities in her body.
‘I often behave emotionally and if I don't concentrate, my pronunciation gets muddled. I even mix up words.’
Didn't she just interchange sunlight with happiness in front of Herwin yesterday?
Perhaps she wasn't grown enough yet, or because this body hasn't adapted yet, or because of her regression.
Of the three reasons, Everiel couldn't determine which it was, but it was causing her quite a bit of trouble.
‘I seem to react more childlike when I'm with Dad, or when it's Dad-related matters.’
Maybe she was finally exhibiting the behaviors she hadn't dared to before.
It would be nice to have some time to adapt, but Lady Tillien would arrive in the mansion by tomorrow.
‘I haven't even properly broached the subject of the governess yet.’
Locked inside his room, Herwin never stepped outside.
Since it was unpredictable when an episode might occur, locking the door from the inside would make it difficult for the doctor to respond promptly.
Therefore, the duke's door had to remain unlocked under any circumstances.
‘Should I have not touched the curtains? No, that gloomy room was too much.’
Eve, who didn't particularly like darkness, saw Herwin's room as the worst environment one could live in.
‘He's not angry with me. Dad may scold me, but he's never been angry. Then is it because he's annoyed? That's not it either.’
As Everiel speculated the reason, she was suddenly overcome by an ominous premonition.
‘No way.’
Her heart pounded with anxiety.
Everiel jumped out of bed. She definitely needed to check.
* * *
Herwin was only nineteen when he was exiled to the north.
The nobles didn't welcome lords who were born and raised in the capital as they were ignorant of northern affairs, hence, Herwin's appointment as the new duke drew criticism and disapproval from Solgren's vassals.
And thus, the power struggle ensued.