The part that surprised him was that Hyacinth Hener was still taking care of him quite attentively, despite remembering everything. She didn’t leave and continued to care for him.

Why?

Ethan was constantly afraid of the woman’s kindness.

So, whenever Hyacinth Hener wasn’t looking, he would dig his nails into his thigh. He was more afraid than he was grateful.

Since Hyacinth Hener already held Ethan Erentis’s soul. A sinner who must atone for his sins has no right to choose his punishment, but Ethan Erentis didn’t have the energy to live a life of bleeding heart forever.

If this was her punishment… though he had no right to decide his punishment, Ethan felt a bit sorrowful. He had hoped for a judgment of death rather than life. Rather than being told to live more, he wished Hyacinth had told him to just die.

As his unwarranted resentment began to rise, he banged his forehead against the wall when Hyacinth wasn’t looking. Of course, Hyacinth saw it and, as if to punish him, slapped his arm.

It hurt a little and made him feel even more sorrowful.

Kindness is inherently more cruel than coldness.

Even though he had woken up and no longer needed her to stay, Hyacinth stayed in the room more often than expected.

They didn’t talk.

She didn’t scold him, nor did she resent him, nor did she ask anything.

Instead, she read books. She sat in the rocking chair by the fireplace, rocking back and forth, and often, no, frequently, she would just stare at him.

As if still she was contemplating what to say.

This was a new kind of torment in itself, and Ethan was mentally exhausted. The impending downfall, he wished it would come quickly and swiftly.

It’s not that spending time with Hyacinth was hell.

No one would consider time spent with the most precious person in their life as hell. She was someone he would naturally give his life for. If Hyacinth told him to die, he would gladly die. The problem was that she was ordering him not to die.

On the second night after he woke up, Hyacinth stayed late into the night. Probably because Ethan hadn’t fallen asleep yet.

Ethan, trying to go downstairs to sleep when Hyacinth left, felt frustrated. He couldn’t sleep in the bed. It was a terrible legacy left by Bridget Erentis.

What to do.

What to do…

As he tried to adjust his uncomfortable posture, Hyacinth slowly asked a question.

“Aren’t you going to ask what happened to that woman?”

“…Didn’t she die?”

“She died. With the seal on her lap.”

She thought she had tied her up tightly with cloth. Somehow, with her unique tenacity, she managed to free herself. Although she freed herself, the reason she quietly confined herself in the flames was something she didn’t want to think about.

Ethan stared dryly into the air.

“That’s good.”

“Yes.”

He clenched the blanket. His fingers turned white from the force.

“Then, see you in the morning.”

Hyacinth, who had probably seen all those changes, calmly said goodbye. Ethan, still clutching the blanket, lightly nodded. He was desperately trying not to reveal his intense agitation.

Click. From the corner of his vision, Hyacinth opened and closed the door and disappeared.

Finally, the woman left, but Ethan could not be happy. The anticipation and fear of when she might return. The resignation and despair that she might never come back. All these emotions were swirling within him.

The summer night in the north was colder and more chilling than he had expected. Even though the cold should be nothing to a northerner who endures the harsh winters, Ethan shivered with his shoulders hunched.

It was cold.

Really, miserably cold.

Was the cold induced by loneliness this severe? Ethan, struggling in pain, barely managed to move his body. Carefully, he descended to the floor, mindful of his broken leg.

Just as he was about to pull down the blanket to cover himself.

Click, the door opened again, and Hyacinth appeared. Ethan widened his eyes and flailed his limbs, but it was impossible to easily lift his fully descended body back onto the bed.

The woman said nothing. She briefly moved her lips but entered calmly as if she hadn’t seen anything and closed the door.

“Why are you on the floor?”

“The floor is more comfortable…?”

“It’s cold. Is it because of that woman?”

Nothing could be hidden before someone as perceptive as her. Ethan Erentis wanted to remain silent, but he couldn’t withstand the stern green gaze of Hyacinth Hener.

When he stammered out his story, Hyacinth gave a short nod. Just once. Then she swiftly approached and checked the temperature of the floor where he was sitting.

Her brows furrowed instantly. A look of discontent.

Ethan Erentis, understanding the cue, stood up on one leg. As he hobbled into the bed, his leg hurt, and he felt undeservedly sorrowful.

“You shouldn’t be coming in and out of a man’s bedroom at this late hour.”

“Don’t you think I know that better than you?”

Ethan tasted the bitter flavor of defeat again and felt dejected.

So, he curled his body into a ball and stayed quiet, only falling into a short sleep just before dawn.

He deliberately didn’t check when Hyacinth came and went. Not wanting to confirm his solitude, he kept his back turned.

* * *

Hyacinth silently drew the back of the lying figure.

As he pointed out, her current actions were quite shocking. But the north was a place where many secrets were buried. So, her slightly audacious behavior wouldn’t be a problem.

Ethan Erentis was a serious and taciturn man, not one to expose a lady’s faults.

‘I was dragged by my hair and thrown off the bed.’

It was the man’s quiet confession.

Hyacinth recalled each moment they encountered in the garden, listening to every word. The man always seemed weary.

She sank into the rocking chair, quietly feeling melancholic. She never imagined she would face this man with such emotions.

The feelings Hyacinth Hener had for Ethan Erentis.

At first, it was a one-sided affection.

Then resentment and hatred.

In the end, now…

Hyacinth slowly acknowledged it. Sympathy was a very persistent and tenacious emotion, even piercing through resentment and frustration.

Was there a moment of happiness in his childhood? Even if there was, he couldn’t have fully enjoyed it, always worried that the red-haired woman would ruin it. He couldn’t even sleep properly in a warm bed.

Thus… Hyacinth was lost. She didn’t know what feelings she should have for Ethan Erentis.

It wasn’t that she didn’t resent him. In fact, Ethan Erentis was the one who taught her the soul-crushing agony of injustice. The sorrow of losing someone precious, the bone-chilling loneliness—all were taught by Ethan Erentis. Before turning back time, she, five years older than now, had fallen into the abyss.

So, should she resent him…

Hyacinth brooded over her melancholy thoughts. She certainly loved Ethan Erentis. It was unrequited love. She had looked at him alone, buried in that bittersweet emotion.

But what did Hyacinth Hener see in Ethan Erentis to love him so fervently back then?

To explain the man ‘Ethan Erentis,’ ‘Bridget Erentis’ had to come up inevitably. And before turning back time, Hyacinth Hener didn’t even know of Bridget Erentis’s existence. So, she knew Ethan Erentis but didn’t understand him.

She didn’t know what times he had endured until he became more accustomed to unhappiness rather than happiness. She couldn’t even imagine that seeing red hair would plunge him into the deepest pit of his life.

Hyacinth listed the reasons she fell in love, one by one.

The mysterious air around him, as if he was detached from reality. The somewhat melancholic calm face. The pale elegance, completely different from her lively peers. At the base of everything she liked was unhappiness. The despair he had endured.

So, did Hyacinth Hener love Ethan Erentis’s wounds?

It was indeed an arrogant unrequited love…

Once that thought arose, it was hard to deny. Reflecting on the past, Hyacinth became despondent, and then she would get indignant, thinking, ‘Why should I feel sorry when I’m the victim?’ and then get confused as her sympathy for the other surged up.

Hyacinth blinked slowly.

Having watched over Ethan Erentis almost all night, her eyelids felt heavy with fatigue. And still, Ethan couldn’t sleep.

He seemed to prove his confession that he couldn’t sleep in bed.

Hyacinth stubbornly stayed awake. Finally, just before dawn, when Ethan Erentis found a short and simple rest, she confirmed he had fallen asleep and left the room.

Her heart was heavy with indescribably complex emotions.

* * *

“Nanny.”

At Hyacinth’s call, Seina looked up from her chores.

Since coming to the north, her precious young lady had been exuding a more mature atmosphere. Seina wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad sign, but she was watching closely.

“What is it, young lady?”

“…Someone hurt someone else.”

Though it seemed like an abrupt statement, Seina understood the subject precisely. So, she waited silently for the next words.

“And the person who got hurt had their soul shattered? But because they couldn’t do anything about the broken part, another person got hurt because of that.”

“Yes.”

“So, what should the person who got hurt by the hurt person do? Should they forgive them, or not?”

Hyacinth was curled up in the chair. Hugging her knees tightly in a cute and lovable manner. Seina knew well that this was a habit she showed when she’s in deep thought.