Chapter 5 – The Sound of a Crow (Part 1)

“Madam!”

A loud voice was heard.

A few days after meeting Kaiden, Ellerdin, who was outside, turned her head at the familiar voice.

In the distance, Liam was waving his hand.

‘He’s back already.’

Ellerdin raised her hand and waved. He approached, pulling a large cart.

When Liam reached Ellerdin, he stopped the cart and went to the side.

“Lucie, let’s get down now.”

Liam reached into the cart. Holding his hand, a small girl emerged.

The girl had the same brown hair as Liam.

Lucie rubbed her eyes sleepily, then opened them wide upon seeing Ellerdin.

“Angel!”

Lucie pointed at Ellerdin and shouted. Liam, flustered by her behavior, scolded the child.

“She is an angel, but you should call her Madam! Don’t point your finger and greet her politely.”

But despite Liam’s words, Lucie paid no attention and ran towards her, making little footsteps.

Ellerdin, charmed by the cute child, knelt down to meet her eyes.

“Nice to meet you.”

Ellerdin smiled brightly.

Lucie’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Ellerdin. The child spread her arms and hugged her.

Liam, shocked, called out for her to come back, but Ellerdin stopped him, saying it was fine.

“Was the journey hard?”

Ellerdin asked, holding Lucie. The girl, delighted that she wasn’t pushed away, wrapped her arms around Ellerdin’s neck and laughed.

“Not hard at all! I love you, Angel!”

Lucie laughed heartily and hugged Ellerdin tightly. Ellerdin laughed and turned her head.

“Oh, Fernan. When did you come?”

Sensing his presence, Ellerdin looked at him and asked.

Liam, startled to see the Duke standing beside him, greeted him in a panic.

“Gasp! Since when…! No, I just got back!”

Fernan nodded.

He didn’t even glance at Liam but kept his eyes on Ellerdin.

At that moment, Lucie, as if sharing a secret, covered her mouth with her hand and whispered in Ellerdin’s ear.

“Angel, I’ll tell you something fun later.”

Ellerdin burst into laughter at the childlike behavior.

“A fun story? I look forward to it.”

“I’ll tell you tonight!”

“Tonight… then shall we talk in the glass greenhouse? The Duke over there made it.”

Ellerdin turned her body towards Fernan. Lucie followed her gaze to look at Fernan.

Lucie smiled brightly and greeted him innocently.

“Hello, mister.”

“Oh my.”

Ellerdin was quite surprised at the word “mister” and looked at Fernan. His face had turned pale, seemingly shocked by the term.

Liam, standing beside him, was also pale at his sister’s bold words.

“M-My sister grew up in a rough place, so she only saw adults around her…!”

Liam stammered, trying to explain, but Fernan didn’t hear a word.

‘Ellerdin is an angel… but I’m a mister…? Do I look that old…? What if Ellerdin dislikes me for looking old?’

Fernan looked at Ellerdin with tearful eyes. Ellerdin, smiling awkwardly, put Lucie down and approached him.

“Don’t take it too hard; she’s just a child.”

She said, thinking he might be hurt. But his response was unexpected.

“Dear, please don’t abandon me because I look old.”

Fernan, acting spoiled, rubbed his cheek against Ellerdin’s hand.

Seeing a grown man doing something even a child wouldn’t do, Lucie looked at him strangely.

Then she approached Ellerdin and tugged at her hem.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

Ellerdin pulled her hand away from Fernan and bent down. Lucie glanced at Fernan with a strange look and whispered.

“That mister seems a bit strange.”

Rubbing his cheek against a hand was something even a seven-year-old like her wouldn’t do. Maybe she did it when she was five.

“My brother said not to trust any man except him. Be careful, Angel.”

Ellerdin chuckled, covering her mouth at the cute advice.

“Thank you for the good advice. But he’s not a mister; he’s the Duke of this estate. So you should apologize for calling him mister and call him Duke from now on. Got it?”

Lucie looked at Fernan with a dissatisfied expression.

But not wanting to be disliked by Ellerdin, Lucie obediently apologized.

“I’m sorry for calling you mister, Duke.”

Fernan smiled, saying it was fine, but he still looked a bit hurt.

But there was nothing Ellerdin could do about it.

He didn’t look old in any way, but who knew how he appeared to a child’s eyes.

‘He doesn’t really look old… if anything, he looks young… He doesn’t look like a mister, he’s so handsome… What am I thinking!’

Ellerdin shook her head and glanced at Fernan.

Sensing her gaze, Fernan blushed and turned his head.

He hadn’t cared much about outside apperance, but now seemed the time to start.

‘I should tell Mollek to buy all the cosmetics from the capital.’

If he started taking care of himself now, it would be fine.

He wouldn’t shine like Ellerdin, but at least he would look more lively than he did now.

“Let’s go inside.”

Since they hadn’t yet properly settled in their estate, Liam and Lucie were to stay at the castle for the time being.

Lucie exclaimed in awe at the thought of living in a castle instead of an old house.

Fernan extended his hand to escort Ellerdin.

“Then I’ll go in with Angel!”

Lucie quickly clung to Ellerdin’s right arm. Fernan’s hand awkwardly stopped in midair, and Ellerdin gave him an apologetic smile.

“Could I go in with Lucie?”

Since it was rare for Ellerdin to request anything, Fernan smiled and withdrew his hand.

“Of course.”

“Thank you.”

Ellerdin smiled brightly. She bent down and picked Lucie up.

The child laughed joyfully and hugged Ellerdin.

After showing Lucie around the castle with Fernan, they went up to the second floor.

Ellerdin looked at the stairs with a bewildered expression.

‘Were these stairs always this high?’

Carrying the child around had almost exhausted her.

‘I don’t think I can climb these stairs.’

But she couldn’t tell the child to get down when she was having so much fun.

‘What should I do…?’

Ellerdin pondered for a moment. Seeing her, Fernan quietly approached.

“May I carry Lucie?”

“You?”

Ellerdin tilted her head. 

Did Fernan like children?

“Why would the Duke carry me?”

Lucie asked clearly. Fernan smiled and answered politely.

“I want to show you a high place. If it’s okay with you, can I carry you?”

Lucie pondered seriously for a moment.

She liked Ellerdin’s embrace but wanted to see the high place, so she was conflicted.

Her expressive face was adorable.

Ellerdin laughed softly and spoke to Lucie.

“You won’t regret it. Fernan is tall.”

Lucie glanced at Fernan. Even a child could tell he was tall.

“I’ll be right here, so give it a try.”

Moved by Ellerdin’s last words, Lucie reached out to Fernan.

He easily lifted Lucie and put her on his shoulders.

“Wow!”

The child exclaimed at the suddenly elevated view.

Ellerdin smiled warmly at the sight.

‘Ah….’

She hadn’t noticed while holding her, but her arms tingled as soon as the weight was lifted.

She quietly massaged her arms, trying not to show it.

After just a few massages, Fernan approached and whispered.

“If you have time later, I’ll massage them for you.”

She said it wasn’t necessary, but he pretended not to hear and started climbing the stairs.

With each step, Lucie marveled at the rising view and held onto Fernan’s hair tightly.

Seeing his usually neat hair in the child’s grip made Ellerdin laugh.

Liam, standing beside them, was horrified and told her to stop, but Fernan said it was fine and quickly reached the second floor.

When they reached Ellerdin’s room, Fernan gently lowered Lucie to the ground.

“Let’s rest and talk here.”

Fernan said, turning towards Ellerdin.

He subtly approached and gently massaged Ellerdin’s arm.

However, no matter how much Fernan adjusted his strength, being massaged by someone else felt distinctly different from massaging oneself.

Ellerdin flinched in surprise and looked at him. She could feel the warmth through her thin clothes.

“I’ll see you tonight.”

A low voice, filled with desire, brushed past her ear.

Seeing the tips of her ears turn slightly red, he smiled contentedly and approached Liam.

“Let’s have a little chat, shall we?”

After they left, Ellerdin approached Lucie, who was standing aimlessly, and opened the door.

“Shall we go in now?”

“Wow!”

Lucie exclaimed repeatedly as she began to explore her room. Even to a child’s eyes, it was clear how nice the room was.

After wandering around with shining eyes for a while, the child returned to Ellerdin, who was sitting on the bed.

“You really are an angel! I was right, wasn’t I?”

“Huh?”

Ellerdin tilted her head.

‘Ah.’

Since she was a child, she might think living in such a nice place made her an angel.

Didn’t books also say that children’s expressions were boundless?

And it was definitely not an adult’s job to shatter those children’s fantasies.

Ellerdin smiled softly and answered.

“This is a secret, but I am actually an angel.”

Ellerdin covered her mouth with her hand and whispered in the child’s ear.

“I knew my intuition wasn’t wrong!”

The child, excited by her words, began to jump up and down. Then, in an instant, she approached Ellerdin and mimicked her actions, whispering.

“Don’t worry, I’m good at keeping secrets.”

With those words, Lucie began to tell various stories.