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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: A Night to Remember
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It was dawn. A downpour raged outside the window, and lightning flashed.
“Leo! Leo!”
Startled by the sensation of being shaken awake, Lellia sat up. Rubbing her eyes, she saw Romeo’s panicked face.
“What—what is it? What’s wrong?”
“Oscar’s having another fit. I was about to call for a priest, but….”
At his words, Lellia shot up from the bed.
It was too risky to call the priests every time Oscar had an attack. If it kept happening, they would start to suspect he was possessed by a demon.
Lellia grabbed the envelope from the table and ran to the next room.
The other children, woken from their sleep, had turned on the lights and were watching Oscar in alarm.
“Oscar!”
She rushed over to him, who was trembling and hugging his knees, and quickly checked his pupils.
“Oscar, it’s okay. Don’t listen to anything.”
Just like last time, Lellia held Oscar’s face between her hands, gently tapping his cheeks to calm him.
“Ugh… Ughhh….”
As if seeing a hallucination, Oscar stared into empty space, terrified, while tears streamed endlessly from his red eyes.
Lellia held his face and forced him to lock eyes with her.
“You’re safe here. Is it the rain? It’s okay. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Lellia kept whispering to him. Very slowly, Oscar’s pupils began to return to normal.
“It’s okay. You did well.”
She let out a sigh of relief, then brought the envelope she had carried with her to Oscar’s nose and had him take slow, deep breaths.
He was calming down much faster than before.
“Hh… The r-rain… the s-sound of thunder….”
“Is the thunder scaring you?”
Oscar nodded at Lellia’s question.
“When it r-rains… my father….”
It seemed it had been raining on the day that had terrified Oscar so.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s just rain. Nothing is going to happen.”
As she spoke, Lellia picked up the doll lying on the bed and placed it in his arms.
*I didn’t think it would work right from the start, but…*
Oscar took the doll Lellia offered and hugged it tightly.
“From now on, whenever you’re scared or afraid, look at this doll and talk to it. Just like you’re talking to me.”
“…Okay.”
Lellia helped Oscar lie down in bed and pulled the blanket over him.
When she turned her head, she saw the other children, their faces pale.
Romeo had seen this once before, but it seemed to be the first time for the others.
“Isn’t that guy possessed by a demon?”
Calix’s face twisted in disgust as he spoke, and Lellia whipped her head around.
Oscar, as if used to such words, merely blinked.
Lellia marched over to Calix, grabbed his cheek with her hand, and pinched it hard, stretching it out.
“Owwww!”
“Watch your mouth! What demon?!”
Griffith grabbed Lellia’s arm to stop her and asked.
“Then do you know why he’s like that?”
“…Hah.”
Lellia let out a deep sigh. Outside, the rain was still falling.
That night, Lellia ended up bringing her own doll over and stealing a spot in Romeo’s bed.
And she stayed up all night, talking with the four boys until morning.
To be precise, it was mostly Lellia doing the talking. It was advice and counsel from an adult.
“Do you understand what I’m saying? It’s just trauma. You all must have at least one thing you’re afraid of, right?”
Romeo nodded with particular vigor.
Oscar, too, listened intently, blinking, while Calix and Griffith remained quiet without any backtalk.
“What are you most afraid of?”
Griffith asked Lellia.
“Me…? Hmm.”
They’d think it was strange if she said being hungry. Lellia thought for a moment before answering.
“I… I’m most afraid of the people of the Empire starving.”
“What kind of crap… You’ll make a reaaally great emperor.”
Calix sneered, his brow furrowed.
“I guess it’s because you’re the Crown Prince. You really are different.”
Griffith, however, seemed quite surprised.
“So what are you guys afraid of?”
“I… I’m afraid of my… my father….”
Oscar was the first to answer Lellia’s question. Romeo was next.
“Me…? Demons?”
Lellia then looked to Griffith, whose turn it was.
“…I don’t have one.”
Even if he did, he didn’t seem like the type to say. Lellia looked at Calix next to her.
“Like I’d be afraid of anything? I’m the guy who fought off wolves my uncle sent to kill me.”
*You… should learn to live with a little fear…*
Lellia gave him a dubious look before shaking her head.
“I-I know… wh-what Calix is afraid of….”
Oscar, who had been quiet, slowly raised a hand and spoke.
“What? What’s that bastard saying?”
Calix furrowed his brows, but he was flustered. Lellia, sensing an opportunity she couldn’t miss, asked.
“What is it?”
“He’s… afraid of t-talking to girls…. Th-the other day, a g-girl tried to talk to him… and he r-ran away!”
“Hey, that’s not true!”
Calix shot up and tried to lunge at Oscar. Romeo and Griffith quickly grabbed him by the arms to hold him back.
Amidst the chaos, Lellia clutched her stomach and cackled with laughter.
After that, the five children talked about all sorts of things, like what they liked and disliked. It was a time for them to get to know each other a little better.
Until morning came, the room was filled with the soft chatter of the children.
Outside, the sky was still dark and the rain continued to fall, but no one paid any mind to the sound of the rain or thunder.
Lellia had only intended for it to be a time to comfort a terrified Oscar.
But for the four boys, it was a night they would never forget for the rest of their lives.
So much so that one day, many years later, even as they faced a battle that could cost them their lives, they could reminisce about this moment and laugh with ease.
It was a precious, cherished night that would remain in their memories for a long time.
Children grow up fast, changing by the day.
The five children, too, grew at an astonishing rate, and as they spent that time together, they grew more familiar and closer to one another.
And so, two years passed.
