Caspian leaned his back against the headboard of the bed. The black sky without even a visible moon resembled his dream. He felt stifled.

As Caspian turned his head to drink water, a drawing suddenly appeared before his eyes.

“…What is this?”

Caspian asked, looking at the tangled, squiggly lines. Cordelia added words below the drawing.

「A rose.」

How on earth was this supposed to be a rose?

While Caspian was at a loss for words, Cordelia began drawing something else.

「A tree.」

Not only was he puzzled about why she was suddenly showing him drawings, but each of these so-called drawings had such bizarre shapes that Caspian was dumbfounded.

「A cat.」

“I’ve been thinking this for a while, but you really can’t draw.”

Cordelia pouted. Her arm holding the notebook drooped, and her shoulders visibly slumped.

Caspian let out a chuckle.

“Alright, I’m sorry.”

Caspian lightly tapped Cordelia’s protruding lips with his finger as she continued to look sulky.

「These are things I like.」

“The drawings?”

Cordelia pointed to the words she had written under the drawings.

「Think about things you like. Have good dreams.」

Only then did Caspian realize why Cordelia had been drawing. The child was suggesting a method to help him sleep peacefully after suffering from nightmares.

Cordelia held out her notebook and fountain pen to Caspian. It seemed to be his turn now.

Since her intentions were so sweet, he might as well play along a bit. Caspian took the fountain pen in his hand.

“Things I like…”

He tilted his head slightly while looking at Cordelia’s drawings.

‘Do I have such things? What does it mean to like something in the first place?’

‘Since the opposite is “dislike,” does it mean anything I don’t dislike? But to be specifically categorized as “things I like,” shouldn’t there be some other criteria?’

What had started as idle thought continued to branch out.

After contemplating for a while looking down at the notebook, Caspian turned to Cordelia. He wanted to ask her opinion.

“Ah…”

His thoughts must have taken quite some time, as Cordelia was already nodding off.

Caspian hurriedly caught her body as it was about to topple over after swaying back and forth.

Getting off the bed, Caspian lifted the small child and laid her in his place. The light brown hair spreading across the dull gray blanket looked unfamiliar.

“…I see. You really are having good dreams.”

Caspian murmured quietly as he looked at Cordelia sleeping with a peaceful expression.

* * *

Cordelia covered both her cheeks with her hands and squeezed her eyes shut.

She had just fled in surprise after waking up in the morning to find the young master calmly greeting her while reading a book beside her.

She had intended to stay by his side until he fell asleep, but instead she had fallen asleep herself. She was so embarrassed that she wanted to hide.

Cordelia repeatedly patted her flushed cheeks.

To show such a pathetic sight. Even though the young master was a kind person, she had become far too lax.

Cordelia, with her sleeves rolled up, washed the ingredients. She planned to atone by meticulously preparing the young master’s meal.

Meanwhile, her body, which had dared to sleep in a soft, luxurious bed, felt not just refreshed but as if it could fly. Cordelia felt guilty once more.

“Cordy, you seem especially fired up today?”

May, a maid who was peeling potatoes next to her, struck up a conversation. She was one of the servants in the mansion who was friendly toward Cordelia.

All the servants here were diligent. With the shortage of staff, they busily moved around inside and outside the mansion attending to their duties.

Cordelia, who was solely in charge of serving the young master, was generally less busy in comparison.

A servant attending to their master should be as reliable as them, fulfilling their duties.

Cordelia instead thought about her position, which the master was considerate of.

Cordelia shook her head vigorously and then clenched her fist. May burst into laughter. This drew the attention of other maids nearby.

“What? What’s going on?”

“Cordy is so cute.”

“Haha, what’s this about?”

The sound of giggles filled the kitchen.

Regardless, Cordelia was serious. She needed to become a maid who could fulfill her role properly like them.

And Cordelia’s job was to serve the young master.

「I have a question.」

“Yes, what is it?”

May asked warmly, drawing out the end of her words.

「Where is the young master sick?」

“Ah… umm…”

The smile instantly disappeared from May’s face.

She looked toward the other maids as if perplexed. The maids exchanged glances among themselves.

“The, the young master has been weak since birth! That’s why he often suffers from minor illnesses…”

“Yes, that’s right! Why else would he have come all the way to this remote Asteris?”

The maids agreed with each other while evading a direct answer. Sensing the somehow awkward atmosphere, Cordelia blinked.

She had asked because she thought if she knew where and how sick the young master was, she might be able to help make him less uncomfortable.

But the maids were flustered, as if Cordelia had asked something she shouldn’t have.

“Anyway, there’s not much we can do, so don’t worry too much about it. Dr. Hugo prescribes medicine every month, so just make sure he takes it properly.”

May patted Cordelia’s shoulder as if finding her admirable.

Having gained nothing but an uneasy feeling, Cordelia stopped asking and finished washing the ingredients.

* * *

Cordelia gently opened the door upon arriving at the canary’s room.

The canary always seemed to know when Cordelia would come, standing facing the door. Whether this bird was a magical beast or not, it was certainly intelligent.

Cordelia opened the cage and filled it with water and food.

Ever since that incident, Cordelia had been vigilant whenever she performed this task, fearing the canary might fly out of the cage, but the bird had never once left the cage.

Even if it did come out, escape would be impossible from a room with tightly closed doors and windows, but Cordelia thought the room would be better for the bird than the cage.

‘Would you like to come out for a bit?’

Cordelia addressed the unresponsive bird in her clumsy imperial language again today.

‘Don’t you want to fly? I can’t, let you, outside, but you can fly freely, in here.’

Cordelia extended her hand. The bird straightened its neck and looked at her.

She tried wiggling her fingers and tapping the cage, but the canary showed no intention of moving.

Cordelia eventually gave up and closed the cage door.

‘You must know the young master well?’

The bird shook its body. Cordelia’s finger, inserted through the cage, almost touched the yellow feathers before pulling away.

‘I want to stay by the young master’s side for a long time, like you.’

A concern unsuited to her youthful face shadowed her expression.

He was someone who had granted her request, which to others would seem like an incomprehensible stubbornness.

Whether Caspian had taken her in out of simple pity or curiosity didn’t matter to Cordelia in the slightest.

Thanks to the young master’s permission, this mansion had become both Cordelia’s refuge and her new home.

She had gained an opportunity to create a future without being trapped in the past.

For a powerless and unfree young child from a foreign country, he had established a great pillar of support called “young master.”

Cordelia wanted to return even just a ten-thousandth part of what she had received from him.

Soon, Cordelia raised her head with a determined expression.

Developing her insufficient abilities and learning more about the young master were all things she needed to work on herself.

‘I’ll work hard!’

After waving at the cage, Cordelia left the room with energetic steps.

Watching the child’s retreating figure, the canary opened and closed its beak before flapping its wings.

* * *

The noticeably chilly weather made it feel like winter had arrived.

Although it was merely cool compared to Therion, where bitter cold occupied half the year, the residents of Asteris wore clothes as thick as those of Therion people from early winter.

At this point, already almost a month after welcoming the new year, it was the peak of a very harsh winter in Asteris.

Evan, who had been sniffling with his arms crossed, looked up ahead.

Cordelia, showing no signs of feeling cold and with her gaze fixed on her book, didn’t give Evan even a glance.

“Hey, I’m bored.”

“……”

“How can you just study every time you come here?”

Before, she might have ignored him because she didn’t know the imperial language, but that wasn’t the case anymore. She was definitely taking her big brother for granted.

Annoyed, Evan flicked the tip of Cordelia’s fountain pen with his finger. Cordelia shot him a glare.