Chapter 37
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Chapter 37
"Lucian has it so good..."
Edwin's murmur escaped like a sigh.
If I returned to the Orphanage like this, I would have to say goodbye to this spacious, magnificent Bellomen Mansion and all the kind people within it.
'If I go back to the Orphanage, I'll have to part with Amelia too.'
Amelia would soon return to her hometown with her uncle.
Amelia had said she would keep in touch, but I couldn't be certain that promise would be kept.
There existed a wall of social status between us.
Though Edwin was young and understood the system of social hierarchy, he wasn't so dull as to fail to feel that wall.
I would spend my whole life cherishing memories of Amelia and waiting for her, but would she feel the same?
Living in such a magnificent place surrounded by such good people, she would surely forget my existence entirely.
With that thought, Edwin envied Lucian all the more.
It seemed Lucian intended to keep in contact with Amelia indefinitely.
"...I don't want to go back."
As my nose stung, my vision began to shimmer. Tears welled up in my clear eyes.
Edwin rubbed his eyes vigorously with the back of his hand. As his vision cleared, an object across from him came into focus.
The object, slightly shorter than Edwin's height, was a storage cabinet. The white cabinet with gilded edges looked unmistakably luxurious at first glance.
But what mattered to Edwin now wasn't how ornate the object before him was.
'I could hide in there without being found, couldn't I?'
It wasn't merely a matter of hide-and-seek.
'If I'm not found, I can stay here and not return to the Orphanage.'
Hide-and-seek was ultimately won by whoever remained undiscovered until the end.
"I'll hide here."
I'll hide and never be found. I want to keep living in this place.
Edwin wiped away the tears clinging to his eyelashes and opened the cabinet door. Fortunately, there was nothing inside.
"Hngh."
Edwin bent his waist and crawled inside the cabinet.
Then he curled his body tight, hoping no one would find him.
* * *
"Where on earth did he go!"
Lucian raced through the Corridor of the Bellomen Mansion, huffing indignantly.
Though considerable time had passed since the game of hide-and-seek began, he had failed to find Edwin. This fact pricked Lucian's considerable pride.
"Cheating like that. How cowardly!"
Lucian stomped his feet loudly.
If only Amelia hadn't been worried, he wouldn't have bothered searching for such a cheater.
"When I find him, I'll teach him a lesson."
I'll make him eat a whole plate of broccoli. I won't listen even if he cries his eyes out.
As he walked through the Corridor with such thoughts.
The sound of hoofbeats came through an open Window, and the servants began moving about busily. The Duke had returned.
"Ugh..."
Lucian took a hesitant step backward.
To Lucian, the Duke was far more than merely an inconvenient presence.
A frightening person. Someone everyone feared.
The most terrifying person in this world was his own father.
"I don't want to greet him..."
Lucian's eyes rolled dramatically in their sockets.
"I won't!"
Lucian turned his body without hesitation toward the opposite direction from the Lobby.
'If I get scolded, I can just say I was looking for Edwin and couldn't greet him. So what.'
I'd even prepared an excuse, but my heart remained uneasy.
Whenever I thought about my father, my heart was never at peace.
'I wish he'd go far away again.'
I wished my father wouldn't come home, just like before.
'How can I avoid running into him?'
I wished I could hide my father away in a wardrobe, but... that wouldn't be possible.
Then perhaps it would be better if I hid instead...
"...Why didn't I think of that?"
Lucian's feet, which had been running toward the end of the Corridor, came to an abrupt halt.
"I could just hide?"
If I couldn't hide my father, then I could simply hide myself.
My father was a busy man, after all. So he would leave the house again soon.
"So I just need to hide and endure a little while."
How could such a brilliant idea only occur to me now!
Lucian's lips, which had been drooping downward, curved upward toward the sky. The child began to move busily, searching for a place to hide his body.
Where could there be a space large enough to fit his body, somewhere people didn't frequent often, yet not so quiet that it felt frightening?
"Found it!"
The child's round eyes, scanning the surroundings, soon landed on a large storage cabinet right before him.
The moderately tall and deep cabinet seemed perfect for hiding.
"Perfect."
I'd clear out the items inside and hide away.
Lucian, having devised what seemed like a reasonable plan, opened the cabinet door.
"Huh...?"
However, the inside of the cabinet was not filled with miscellaneous items as Lucian had expected.
"Edwin?"
What Lucian encountered were Edwin's trembling red eyes.
"You were hiding here!"
Lucian pointed his index finger accusingly at Edwin.
"Do you know how much I've been searching for you? Leaving the Garden is against the rules!"
"I'm sorry..."
"But I found you! Hehehehe!"
I puffed out my chest and laughed, intoxicated by the triumph of winning the breath-holding contest and completely forgetting my original purpose.
"You got caught by me in the end. And since you even cheated, this victory is mine!"
"Mm."
As Edwin nodded obediently, my shoulders, which had been riding high with pride, deflated with a soft whoosh.
I felt good about having my victory acknowledged, but... somehow, it felt hollow.
"You're not going to change your story later, right?"
"I won't."
"..."
What is this? Why do I feel like I lost when I won?
The feeling was strange, but that wasn't what mattered right now.
I stopped twitching my eyebrows and promptly grabbed Edwin's wrist.
"Alright, let's head back quickly."
"Huh?"
"What do you mean 'huh'? Everyone's been looking for you."
I tightened my grip on Edwin's wrist and pulled him along.
For only a moment did he stare down at his captured wrist in bewilderment before urgently pushing my hand away.
"N-no! I don't want to!"
"Why?"
"I'm not going back."
"Then why not?"
I blinked at my rejected hand and asked.
"Don't tell me..."
My eyes narrowed.
"You can't accept the result? That you lost the breath-holding contest?"
"No, that's not it..."
"Then what is it?"
"It's just..."
"Spit it out."
Unable to resist my persistent urging, Edwin finally parted his lips reluctantly.
"I... like it here."
"Here, you mean... our home?"
"Yeah."
Edwin nodded.
"Amelia is here. Lucella is here too. And the house is so spacious and warm, and everyone is kind, and there's so much delicious food... I've never experienced anything like this before, but if I live here, I could experience it every single day."
Edwin's voice trembled faintly as he continued rambling.
"So I don't want to go back to the Orphanage. I want to live here."
Fearing I might push him away, Edwin urgently grabbed the hand I had extended, which he had just rejected.
"Can't you let me live here?"
During this one day at the Duke's Mansion, Edwin had noticed that I was the true power in this household. Everyone deferred to me and prioritized my well-being.
So to continue living in this mansion, he needed my permission.
"I don't want to."
Of course, Lucian was resolute.
If he lived with Edwin, his aunt and Amelia's attention would be entirely focused on him. This was something Lucian could not accept.
In truth, before accepting it, Lucian found himself questioning it.
"Why do you want to live in our house? There's plenty of food at the Orphanage. And you have many friends there too."
While not quite as grand as the Duke's Mansion, the Orphanage was a decent place in its own right.
Moreover, the Orphanage had many children around Edwin's age. It meant he wouldn't lack for playmates like Lucian to keep him entertained.
Above all, the Duke's Mansion was full of prohibitions. Running in the Corridor was forbidden, sneaking into the Kitchen was forbidden. The newly arrived tutor had even recited an endless list of things Lucian mustn't do.
So why on earth did he say he wanted to live in their house?
"If I live here... I can be loved."
Not kindness distributed equally to all children, but tenderness meant solely for him.
Not love without reason, but unconditional love.
"I want to be loved too..."
That was what Edwin desired.
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