Chapter 30 – Back To The Old Days

Eloise finally reached home when evening had departed and night had settled in.

Dinner had long since ended, and both the dining room and living room were cold.

Eloise’s appearance was a complete mess, as if she had forgotten her mother’s long-standing teachings.

Mrs. Bailey, who would nag even if her hair was slightly disheveled, might scream if she saw her now.

She had left home as a neat young lady, but now, covered in dust and sweat, she looked no different from the wild child who used to run around in the woods and fields.

However, the young Eloise had been happy.

In the radiant summer greenery, she had smiled brighter and more warmly than anyone.

But the current Eloise was unhappy.

With bloodshot eyes and dried tear stains on her dirty cheeks, her lips were cracked and parched like sand in a desert.

When she knocked on the front door in such a pitiful state, it was none other than Sarah who opened it.

“……”

What had she been doing alone in the empty living room late at night?

The house was enveloped in a quiet solitude. Only a half-melted candle flickered weakly on the empty dining table.

For some reason, Eloise couldn’t shake the feeling that Sarah had been waiting for her to come.

Her fingertips felt cold.

She wondered if there had ever been a moment as frightening as this.

“Si… Sister, I…”

Her lips trembled, making it hard to speak. Her gaze fell helplessly to Sarah’s pale ankles.

She felt as if her sister would harshly scold her at any moment. It seemed she would say, “You ruined everything.”

But Sarah said nothing. She looked as if she had forgotten how to speak, offering neither reprimands nor even a light greeting.

She simply turned quietly and returned to the table where the candle was softly burning.

Left standing in the entrance, Eloise suddenly snapped back to reality.

Like a bolt of lightning, she ran to her sister, knelt at her feet, and clung to her legs.

“Sister, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”

With those words, Eloise began to sob weakly.

She had no idea what to say when she finally met her sister, but now, face to face, all that came out were desperate pleas.

With tear-filled eyes, Eloise looked up at Sarah.

There was an unfamiliar lack of warmth in her sister’s eyes. Shockingly, there was no affection either. It was simply empty.

Eloise’s own terrified face was reflected in those empty eyes.

Her pitiful sobs barely broke the silence.

“Do you hate me? Sally, please say something, okay? I’m scared…”

“……”

“Please don’t hate me……. Without you, I, sob…….”

Eloise clung to her sister’s legs, hidden beneath the deep green dress, rubbing her tear-streaked cheeks against them.

With every gasping breath, her delicate neck trembled precariously.

But there was no gentle hand to stroke her hair as always.

As if she had become someone else, Sarah was colder than ever before.

This unfamiliarity and fear made Eloise’s helpless cries erupt like a lost child.

“Please forgive me, sister… Your happiness has always been more important to me than my own. I mean it. I’ll live for you and the family for the rest of my life. So please…”

“Eloise.”

Only then did Sarah finally speak. Her voice was dry, like stepping on broken glass.

“It’s late. Everyone is sleeping, so stop this now.”

“…Huh.”

Eloise swallowed hard at that solemn statement.

Tears continued to spill over, causing her trembling hand to hurriedly cover her eyes.

She couldn’t tell whether Sarah wasn’t questioning her because she was willing to forgive her or if she was just too angry.

It was the first time that her beloved Sally felt so distant and far away, making her heart ache unbearably.

“You look tired. Let’s go upstairs.”

“Are you going up too? Are you going to sleep with me? Like always…”

“Eloise.”

“Are you not angry with me?”

Sarah looked at Eloise in silence.

Eloise had indeed frantically run on this night. Her hair was a tangled mess, and her appearance was closer to a wild cat living in a thicket than a lady.

Her once radiant cheeks were not only dirty with tears but also gaunt.

Sarah, who had stroked and kissed those cheeks every day, couldn’t possibly not notice.

Moreover, despite having come a long way, there was no sign of her luggage bag, as if Eloise had lost it.

She looked desperate and pitiful, as if she had been driven to the edge of a cliff. And Sarah had certainly not sent her to the capital to see her like this.

With her eyelids heavy, Sarah spoke in a half-asleep voice.

“Go upstairs first. Do you understand?”

“……”

Eloise looked up at Sarah, who seemed just as exhausted.

Eloise had many questions she wanted to ask, but they were all questions that would likely lead to frightening answers, so she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

Moreover, this was not the time to question her sister’s words.

Even if her sister was trying to send her to her room just to get rid of her, it was the same.

If Eloise didn’t comply, she might be hated even more.

Imagining that Sarah no longer loved her made her heart ache as if it were being sliced.

Ultimately, Eloise silently rose to her feet.

She relied on the weak light emanating from the table as she climbed the old stairs with her trembling legs. Each step felt like walking on thin ice.

Sarah Bailey, whom she knew, was someone who didn’t know how to get angry, but it wouldn’t be strange if she was barely holding back her anger now.

Eloise thought that perhaps she needed time to think, or maybe she was waiting for their parents and Mrs. Hearst to wake up.

‘I’ll accept any harsh words. If only we can go back to the way we were…’

Reaching the second floor, Eloise turned the familiar doorknob in the dark.

Following the faint moonlight pouring through the window, she moved to light the candle on the bedside table.

“Phew…”

Returning to the space that had been her room for her entire life, she sat on the bed, feeling a strange sensation.

It wasn’t just because she had returned earlier than expected. It was simply that the space felt so unfamiliar.

This room was filled with happy memories of the sisters. In the mornings, her sister would wake her gently, and at night, they would lie side by side, sharing trivial stories.

Of course, Eloise did most of the talking, but regardless, they always laughed together and fell asleep peacefully.

But tonight, that would not be the case. Sarah might wait until she fell asleep and then quietly come in to seek her own rest.

If so, she thought she should pretend to be asleep now for her sister’s sake. It didn’t seem like she would fall asleep easily…….

Or perhaps her sister wouldn’t come here all night at all.

Sarah might feel an unbearable sense of betrayal, thinking that her only sister had deceived her, and might have received an indelible wound.

If that were the case, she certainly wouldn’t want to be in the same space.

‘I won’t be able to marry now, and I’ll have to live in shame for the rest of my life. Because of you…’

Suddenly, all of this felt like a dream. How did it come to this? For Eloise, her family had always been her fence, her ground to stand on, her world.

‘If I can’t turn things back, my life has no meaning…….’

At that moment, the candle, which had been silently dripping wax, trembled slightly. The firmly closed door had opened.

“……”

Carrying a basin, Sarah looked down at Eloise with a calm gaze.

The light created by the candle cast a golden shadow on her beautiful face. It was indescribably graceful. It was almost sublime.

Sarah quietly brought a small stool and sat across from Eloise. The steaming round basin rested on her lap.

“Sister. I…”

“Quiet.”

Plop, the dry cloth was immersed in the water.

Soon, Sarah’s gentle hands began to wipe Eloise’s dirty cheeks. Just like in Eloise’s memories, the touch was endlessly tender.

“Ugh…”

Biting her lip, Eloise couldn’t hold back and started to cry.

Her tear-filled eyes shimmered with transparent waves.

“How can you cry when I’m cleaning your face, Elsie?”

Sarah scolded in a soft voice.

At those words, Eloise’s poor shoulders began to tremble, but she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the tears as her sister had said.

Because of that, another tear fell down her cheek.

Sarah’s skillful hands carefully moved across Eloise’s face.

Thanks to the warmth of the cloth, her flushed cheeks glistened beautifully.

“Alright. You probably want to wash up, but since the adults are sleeping, let’s put that off until tomorrow morning. Is that okay?”

After saying that, Sarah placed the basin and cloth on the bedside table and returned the stool to its original spot. Then she whispered softly, “Let’s get some sleep,” as she approached the candle.

“Sister, don’t you hate me?”

At that moment, Eloise asked in a muffled tone.

She had so much to say, but that was all that came out. Even that was in a quivering voice, like a frightened child.

After a brief silence, Sarah replied.

“I don’t hate you.”

“……That’s a lie…”

Eloise held tightly to the hem of her dress, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill again.

Because of that, her voice trembled like a goat’s bleat. She didn’t want to show such a foolish side. Nothing was going as she wished.

“How could I lie to you?”

Sarah answered in a weary voice. It sounded like a sigh.

Only then did Eloise realize that her sister’s eyes were red, but she couldn’t be sure what that meant.

“Then hug me…”