Stepmothers Are Not Always Evil

Chapter 135

Side story Chapter 5 It was a dark and quiet dawn. Instead of the sound of rain hitting the roof, the sound of water droplets on the eaves woke her up in the deep dawn. Tiaris, who was praying for a sleep that would not come, turned around.Her gaze, which had been looking at the pitch-black hair, turned to the bottom of the bed. Tiaris stared blankly at Escal, who was sleeping under the hem of a thin blanket.‘… I missed you.’What kind of expression did he have when he said those words? What kind of expression did I have when I heard those words?It was fortunate that I didn’t turn my head and couldn’t see his face. If I had, I would have collapsed on the spot.I’d rather he had changed completely.Sometimes, I read articles in the newspaper and imagined how he would have changed, but he was the same.I didn’t know he would be looking for me all this time.It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t shaken by him, who came to me because he couldn’t forget our short relationship that had lasted less than a year.That’s why I was even more confused. Should I be thankful that he remembered me, who was nothing, or should I resent him for suddenly barging into my peaceful life and shaking me up?Tiaris curled up into a ball and buried her face in the pillow.‘No. Don’t be mistaken.’Past memories tend to be embellished. Now, he came to me because he couldn’t forget the old days, but it was obvious that he would soon grow tired of it and leave. Like the puppy doll he had abandoned.The emotions that had been locked away deep inside came crawling back to me.‘Grandpa…’Tiaris thought of Baron Hazel, who had passed away a long time ago.One day, when he had left the Dukedom and was looking for a place to settle down, Baron Hazel was injured by a strange man who suddenly appeared. He suffered from extreme pain until the day he died.Young Tiaris lay awake at night in fear that my grandfather would leave me behind, like my parents before him.And one winter night, as the Baron died in his sleep, she blamed herself countless times. If she hadn’t saved Escal, none of this would have happened.‘Wake up, it’s no good getting entangled with him now.’Even without his grandfather’s advice not to get entangled, the heir of the Duke Anthemion and an ordinary orphan girl could never stand side by side.‘Let’s send him back when the sun rises.’Tiaris made up her mind and took in Escal’s appearance one last time. Then she slowly turned her back to him and lay down.It was still too early for dawn. ***** “…….”The rustling of the cheap blanket had stopped a moment ago. Escal, who had been listening to the regular breathing, lifted his eyelids.She had been tossing and turning all night, unable to sleep, but now she seemed to have finally fallen asleep.Escal quietly raised his upper body. The thin blanket flowed down, and the cool night air enveloped his body.He closed his open shirt and turned his head. A pale, skinny hand was sticking out of the bed, barely able to lie down.Escal, who couldn’t take his eyes off the scars revealed above the sleeves of her long pajamas, carefully pulled the blanket over her hand and covered it. The low body temperature that brushed past her made her feel uncomfortable.Even for him, who was used to sleeping in a small space while rolling around on the battlefield for a long time, it was difficult to say that it was okay.How did she survive alone in a place like this? Sighs kept leaking out between his dry lips.I should have come to see her sooner.Even when he wandered the empire in search of Tiaris, he thought she would be okay. He believed that Baron Hazel would protect her no matter where or how she was. But,‘What about grandfather?’‘He passed away.’How hard must it have been for her to become so calm that he couldn’t read the traces of her sorrow?Escal, who was counting the time that was too much to fathom, tightly clenched his calloused hand.I couldn’t stand not being there for her when she was having the hardest time. But I was also glad that she hadn’t forgotten me.The puppy doll I had given her a long time ago and the small box filled with news. That was enough.No matter how cold Tiaris was, I knew that her true feelings were in the box, so there was no reason to be disappointed.Now, I’ll do whatever you want.For her, Escal was ready to give up everything. Whether it was the country, the title, or the family.The only problem was that there were too many eyes on him.‘The princess is a greedy person, so you have to be careful.’… The princess is the problem.Just as the Emperor tried to repay Baron Hazel’s favor long ago with his enemies, it’s easy to see what princess Adela, blinded by power, will do. But there was a solution, if only he would take a little risk.This time, I’ll definitely protect you.Escal watched Tiaris sleeping for a while before leaving the cabin.Morning was dawning. ***** ‘He’s gone.’Tiaris, who had been suffering from nightmares that she couldn’t remember all night, slowly woke up and fiddled with the neatly folded blanket.She looked around the cabin in case, but Escal was nowhere to be found.She had been missing him only in her thoughts, but when she met him in person, she felt like it wasn’t.She had planned to send him back anyway, but when she saw him leave without even saying goodbye, she felt angry.“If you’re going to do this, why did you come looking for me?”Huh. She grumbled in frustration and went outside with the blanket. As she was shaking the crumpled blanket to vent her anger, Escal walked in holding a large bag.“Are you awake?”“Huh… What’s that?”“I went to the village to buy some food. There was nothing in the kitchen.”Escal put down the basket and snatched the blanket from her hand.“I bought a blanket while I was at it. Let’s throw this away.”“What are you doing, now?”Tiaris frowned, but Escal paid no attention.“I didn’t know what you needed, so I bought this for now, but if you need anything, just tell me.”Escal, who was wondering what to do with the old blanket, started talking again, stuffing the gap between the woods with the blanket.“It’s so cold in the house that you’re going to catch a cold. If it’s okay with you, how about staying at the inn for a while?”Tiaris made a bewildered expression, as if she didn’t know what he was talking about. Escal watched her and continued.“If you don’t like that, I’ll tell Dustin to fix up the house while you’re gone. If you need anything, tell him.”“Dustin?”“He’s my secretary. I have an urgent matter to attend to the capital, so he’ll escort you instead of me. Please understand if it’s inconvenient until I get back.”“Escort?”Ha, a huge laugh burst out. Tiaris raised her voice.“I don’t need it, so go back.”“Tia.”“I’ve lived well on my own without any escorts. Don’t pretend to think of me like this.”“That’s not it. I’m afraid you’ll be in danger…”“If I’m in danger, it’ll be because of you, brother.”Escal’s eyes wavered. Tiaris stared straight into his eyes, which were swelling in an instant, and spoke without hesitation.“I don’t know what you were thinking when you came here, but if you really wanted to help me, you shouldn’t have come.”“……”“Then we would have had good memories of each other.”Brother, you ruined those memories.The cold eyes seemed to say that. Even though I knew she didn’t mean it, it was hard to soothe the tightening in my heart.Escal opened his mouth with difficulty.“I’ve been lonely as hell since you left.”The only thing that could make him forget the emptiness that could not be filled was the moment his life was threatened. That was why Escal had no choice but to send himself to the battlefield.“That’s why, if only I could see you again, I would have done anything.”“……”“You are everything to me, Tia, back then and now.”Tiaris let out a long breath at the desperate voice. A faint mockery appeared on her dry face.“What I remember is that we weren’t in the same lonely situation.”“……”“You never know what I felt. You were lonely? Your loneliness and mine are different.”“……”“I still remember vividly. How miserable I was back then. How great the price I paid for stepping into a world I shouldn’t have entered.”Ridicule, contempt, and disgusted stares. It was the first time she had confessed the misery of that day that she had not told anyone.“It’s the same this time. You’ll show interest in me for a while and then leave when you get tired of it.”“That’s not true…”“Don’t say that. To brother, I was no different from that broken doll.”He wasn’t the only one who was hurt by the words that came out of her mouth. Tiaris didn’t stop, even though she felt herself getting more and more tattered as she continued to speak.“Do you know why grandpa passed away? He died from a wound he got while fighting a strange man the emperor sent to kill us.”“The thing I regretted the most after grandpa passed away was saving brother in that forest in Daleswood.”“…….”“If I hadn’t saved brother back then, we wouldn’t have been chased and grandpa wouldn’t have been hurt.”His head, which had been as straight as an ebony tree, fell to the ground. Tiaris pushed his back again, declaring defeat.“If you understand, go back. Don’t ever show yourself in front of me again.”With a click, the door slammed shut.