Did he mean that she had slept with him in exchange for the favour? A bitter smile tugged at her lips. Yes, this arrangement was unhealthy — even the simplest act of intimacy now seemed to be driven by hidden motives.

“No—come again tomorrow.”

“If this is about Zephion, you don’t have to go so far, my lady. I’ll teach him well regardless.”

“Come tomorrow, Yuta.”

He turned slowly to look at her. Despite the desire clouding his eyes, Reina sensed a faint hint of hurt.

“Rest well.”

He said at last, before slipping quietly out of the room. With a long sigh, Reina pulled the covers up around her.

He could say what he liked — she knew Yuta would come the next day. He loved her, after all.

‘Love, is it? Why waste it on someone like me?’

She let out a dry chuckle and curled up; her limbs felt pleasantly languid. Another reason why she kept Yuta close drifted through her mind.

‘Because it felt good.’

Yes, she had cl*maxed with Kaelid, too, but he had always been rough with her, forcing acts that she had never wanted. The worst thing was that her body had learned to crave that roughness.

Yuta, on the other hand, cared more about her pleasure than his own. She realised that the difference between a hard, punishing climax and a gentle, languid one was greater than she had thought.

‘Either way, it’s selfish.’

She thought, smiling humourlessly. She must be tainted by Kaelid, becoming as wretched as he is; using and shaping people without ever letting them escape.

Pushing these dark thoughts aside, Reina finally drifted off, listening to the soft hush of dawn.

***

“Reina!”

A shout and hurried footsteps rang out behind her. She turned slowly just in time to see Zephion, his cheeks flushed from training, sprinting towards her with all his might.

“Ack—”

She toppled backwards under the full weight of his embrace. If her leg had been healthy, she could have withstood it easily, but unfortunately, it no longer worked as well as it once had.

Zephion hadn’t expected her to fall, and his face turned pale as he scrambled to his feet.

“Are you okay? I’m sorry — I didn’t mean to! Does it hurt a lot, Reina?”

“I’m fine.”

For some reason, this child seemed to apologise to her every time he saw her.

With a sigh, Reina pushed herself upright and planted her cane firmly on the ground with a sharp thud. She began walking slowly in the direction she had been heading in.

“Reina, does your leg still hurt?”

He hovered close beside her, his golden eyes flickering between her face and her cane.

How was she supposed to explain this?

That it would never fully heal? That it was his fault she couldn’t use her leg?

Reina glanced at the boy, whose young face was etched with worry beyond his years. She let out another quiet sigh.

“It’s just taking a long time to heal.”

“I’ll massage it again! Yuta said that if you rub the sore spot, it’ll get better!”

‘That’s for muscle aches.’

Rather than arguing, Reina stepped into the lounge.

She wasn’t sure where she was going, but Zephion followed her in like a shadow.

“Zephion, don’t you have lessons?”

“I finished them all today.”

“Then you should be revising or preparing for tomorrow.”

Ignoring her calm reprimand, Zephion suddenly bent down and grabbed her slender ankle, attempting to lift her leg without hesitation. Reina quickly pressed down her skirt in alarm.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to massage your leg.”

“I don’t need it.”

Despite her refusal, he gently lifted her leg onto the sofa and started to knead it with his small hands.

Perhaps it was because there were no thick blankets this time, or maybe his grip had simply become stronger, but he applied just the right amount of pressure, which felt good.

Reina found herself silently watching him.

He really did look like a young nobleman now.

His tangled mop of hair, which had once resembled something chewed through by rats, was now neatly combed, and he was wearing fine clothes befitting someone from a noble family instead of rags.

Sensing her gaze, Zephion turned his head and gave her a wide, bright smile.

It was such a pure, radiant smile that Reina couldn’t help but smile back.

“Reina, my teacher said…”

“Yes?”

She leaned lightly against the armrest.

Leaning back against the armrest, Reina gently rested her head against the back of the sofa.

She had planned to dismiss him with a casual excuse eventually, but the earnestness of the boy’s efforts — or perhaps it was just the purity of his bright, innocent smile — made her hesitate.

“If you hurt someone, you have to take responsibility.”

Reina couldn’t help but laugh.

“Do you even know what responsibility means?”

“I do! It means taking care of that person.”

‘Maybe it’s time to change his teacher.’

“That’s why I’m going to take care of you, Reina.”

“You? Take care of me?”

She repeated herself, laughing again. He must have thought she was mocking him, because he turned red with embarrassment.

Suddenly, she felt the urge to reach out and touch the softness that had returned to his slightly fuller cheeks.

“It’s my fault you got hurt. They said it won’t heal for a long time, so…”

“That doesn’t mean you have to take responsibility.”

One day, after enough time has passed, he will discover the truth.

Wouldn’t he regret not killing her instead of just injuring her leg?

Wouldn’t he wish he had driven a blade through her heart?

‘Responsibility’ — it was far too early a word, and far too heavy.

“Don’t you want me to take care of you, Reina?”

“Right.”

She hadn’t expected the boy to look so genuinely shocked by her blunt answer.

“Why not?”

How could she explain it in a way he would understand?

Reina sighed quietly.

Should she tell him not to feel guilty, since she was only using him?

Or that she really wasn’t so different from the family who had ruined his life?

‘No, not their family exactly.’

Ever since her mother became the Countess of Berend, Reina had technically been part of that household.

Eldan had never acknowledged her as his daughter, and Kaelid was no different.

In fact, he only ever called her his sister when he was being sarcastic.

After a moment’s thought, Reina settled on the simplest answer.

“You’re too young.”

“I’m going to be ten soon!”

“Which means you’re still not ten. You’re still a child.”

“But I can read now! I can run all the way around the garden without stopping. And I can…”

Reina let out a soft laugh. His stubborn argument about being too young only made him seem childish. As he counted on his fingers, listing everything he could do, he tried his best to appear grown up.

“If you’re young, does that mean you can’t take responsibility?”

“A child can’t take responsibility for an adult.”

“Why not?”

“Because that’s what it means to be a child.”

She gave a vague answer. At some point, the boy stopped massaging her leg. Then, brightening suddenly, Zephion exclaimed.

“In ten years, I’ll be an adult too!”

“Ten years is a very, very long time.”

“It is, but…”

His shoulders drooped. Understandable — after all, for a boy about to turn ten, ten more years meant living a whole other lifetime.

Reina lightly smoothed her wrinkled skirt, rumpled under his eager fingers.

“Will I be able to take responsibility for you then?”

“Once you’re an adult, you probably won’t want to.”

“How would you know that?”

“I just do.”

At her firm response, Zephion pouted, clearly upset.

“Either way, I’ll take responsibility for you. You got hurt because of me.”

“What if my leg gets better?”

“You said it’ll take a long time to heal.”

“That’s true.”

“If it still hurts until then, I’ll definitely take responsibility for you.”

He suddenly leaned in close, his cheeks flushing adorably red.

“All right, do that.”

Reina realised that trying to reason with someone caught up in their own thoughts was not nearly as effective as just going along with it. Explaining why it was pointless or illogical would have got her nowhere.

“I’ll take really good care of you, Reina.”

“All right, go ahead.”

“But how do you take care of someone?”

“Didn’t your teacher teach you that?”

“I’ll ask her tomorrow.”

Zephion replied, before going back to gently pressing her leg.

Reina couldn’t decide whether it was a good or a bad thing that the boy was paying such close attention to her injured leg. Perhaps one day, when he found out everything and came to hate her, he would remember her leg and hesitate.

A bitter smile crept onto her lips. His honest, innocent heart weighed on her own. Despite this purity being right in front of her, all she could think about was revenge and how to use him.

How could she possibly explain that she didn’t deserve this kind of affection?

Reina let out a long sigh.

“Does it hurt?”

“No, it feels a bit better.”

“That’s good.”

Zephion replied, grinning brightly. She stared at him for a moment, then leaned back, closed her eyes slowly and opened them again. Was time spent with a child always this peaceful?

This was the first time she had realised that this might be one of the few moments when she could put her complicated thoughts aside.

Whenever she was with Kaelid, a desire for vengeance consumed her.

When she was alone, she was always planning her next move.

Even when she spent the night with Yuta, she had no thoughts — just s*x.

No thoughts. No thoughts. Nothing.

Had all that remained just the boy’s innocent heart?

A small, ironic laugh escaped her. It was ridiculous — here she was planning to exploit the boy for the rest of his life, and yet she dared to think that the time they spent together was peaceful.

Reina reached out to touch his soft cheek. Her fingertips brushed against his tender skin. She stroked his face slowly and smiled bitterly.

Unaware of her thoughts, Zephion simply smiled back at her with pure delight.