CH 4

Ellen, who got into the wagon with Gloria and Marsha, was stuck to the window of the wagon all the way to Carzel Estate.

It’s the first time she ever come out of the mansion, and she’s been looking outside diligently, saving even a blink of an eye.

She used to live in a place full of high-rise buildings, so when she came here and sees this open view, it was very cool in her eyes.

‘Here, the sky and the land is so wide. When I lived in Korea, the sky was also wide but the earth was narrow.’

While she was so intoxicated with the countryside scenery and the scent of grasses, she didn’t know how time flew by, the wagon raced hard and reached Carzel Estate.

The wagon went through the main gate for a long time.

‘This house is as big as ours.’

Ellen thought as she looked outside while still clinging to the carriage window.

Eventually, the carriage stopped and a servant of the Carzel Family came to open the door. Ellen got out of the carriage and following the guidance of the butler, took her mother’s hand and headed to the garden.

There was a beautifully decorated garden with an awned tea table and a gentle-looking Mrs. Carzel.

“Lia! Long time no see.”

Mrs. Carzel approached and greeted us. She took Gloria’s hand and led her towards the handcrafted tea table.

“I know. Long time no see, Diana. Is Roylette okay?”

“Yeah, he’s totally fine. Fortunately, Ellen seems to be in good health too. I was very worried.”

Ellen just stood awkwardly, not knowing when to say hello. And the moment her name came up in Mrs. Carzel’s mouth, she bowed her knee slightly to greet her.

“Hello, Mrs. Carzel. Thank you for your concern.”

“Hello, Ellen. Roylette got sick, and you suffered too. I’m really sorry. I’m glad everything is well, but suddenly, what Mrs.? Now you decided not to call me Aunt Diana anymore?”

‘Oops’

So Ellen used to call her auntie!

“Hehe, of course not auntie. What about Roylette?”

Ellen disguised her embarrassment with laughter and quickly asked about Roylette.

She thought it would be better to go with Roylette for now, as she doesn’t know what mistakes she’ll make. By all means, no matter what mistakes she make, it’s less obvious if she’s dealing with a kid.

“Huh? He’s here just a while ago. Whatever, you know where the evergreen trees are right? Maybe he’s there.”

What’s an evergreen tree anyway? Ellen grumbled to herself as she ran despite not knowing what the tree is.

She didn’t know what an evergreen tree looked like, but contrary to her concern, she quickly recognized it. On one side of the yard, a very large tree stood dignifiedly, boasting lush green leaves, even in autumn.

And below it was a boy, with his eyes closed, leaning against yhe tree.

That kid must be Roylette.

In fact, she imagined him to be a boisterous kid who runs around like a dog, but he seemed to be a quiet and gentle child. So she approached the boy while feeling relieved.

As she got closer, the boy is whistling while swaying his head from side to side which made Ellen’s steps to halt.

She remembered something.

Eunho was good at whistling too. When he has a lot to think about, he used to whistle and wiggle his head slowly from side to side like that.

She just sat not far away from him while his eyes were still closed.

In order not to disturb Roylette’s contemplation, she sat quietly in front of him and listened to him. Just when she was about to fall asleep and doze off, she forcefully opened her eyes and patted her arms, waking herself up.

Ellen’s face was unknowingly full of tears as she remembered her old friend.

She approached Roylette slowly. She then sits still in front of him, similarly to how she sits in front of Eunho, and whispered softly.

“Eunho…”

At that moment, Roylette opened his eyes.

‘He… did he hear me?’

Blinking his eyes a couple of times, Roylette’s quickly became embarassed.

“Eleanor! Why, why are you crying?”

She must have been crying without realizing it. She wiped away her tears and looked around casually.

“The whistling sound is sad.”

“Ugh… I’m sorry. Would you like some chocolate cake?”

Roylette scratched his cheek and apologized, even though he wasn’t sorry at all.

He’s probably thinking ’Let’s just offer to eat something delicious because I don’t know what to do’.

He’s a little kid but his skill is very good. Seeing that, she couldn’t help but burst out laughing and blowing her nose.

“Okay, let’s go.”

***

As Roylette raised his hand, the child in the mirror also raised his hand.

Dark brown hair and eye of similar color. Maybe it was because it was a combination that was not too uncommon even in Korea, he felt familiar to it even though he’s just been living here for a few days.

However, the short limbs were not something he can get used to. He would often flinch when getting out of bed or reaching out to grab something.

He’s Roylette Carzel…

Roylette, no, Eunho repeated this to himself in the mirror countless times. If he’s not careful, he might make a mistake in front of other people.

The whole house was being repaired when he heard that there would be guests coming. Roylette looked at the busy servants and rubbed the back of his neck. They’re so busy that they wouldn’t even be able to imagine that someone else’s soul is already residing to this body.

When he opened his eyes, he saw an unfamiliar ceiling and an unfamiliar parents.

Still, it was difficult for Eunho to get used to the unusual everyday life he faced over and over again.

He hasn’t fully adjusted to this house yet, but there’s already a guest! It’s only been a few days since he came to his senses, isn’t this a very difficult mission?

The guests are close friend of his parents. As soon as Eunho heard about it, he was in a hurry to look for etiquette education books. He wasn’t familiar with the letters so he immediately covered it up and just asked the nanny what to watch out for.

Then the nanny answered, stroking his head with admiration.

“You can just do what you always do, young master.”

‘…So what did I always do?’

There is a girl in their family who is a year younger than Roylette, so he will just play with her?

From his previous life, he used to vaguely wish to have a younger sister, but when a young girl came to play, he had no idea what to do.

Eunho decided to just treat her like his nephew in his previous life.

After all, he still had a hard time accepting his new life. His mind was less organized, and he was a little tired.

In just one morning, his body changed, his family changed, and the world changed. He wasn’t sure if he could adapt to it.

“Young master, the guests are arriving soon.”

The butler suddenly came and announced the news which made him come to his senses again.

‘From now on, I am Roylette. Roylette Carzel’

Roylette touched the cravat and repeated it to himself in the mirror once more.

Roylette waited for guests with his mother in the garden, and eventually ran away under the evergreen tree. He knew it was not polite to act like that, but he already decided to hide.

To be honest, it was a bit difficult to meet outsiders who were not even his family without being certain of his own existence. He felt burdened and afraid that more and more people would see him as the ‘real Roylette’.

He sat under the evergreen tree and kept thinking about the present situation.

‘Am I going to continue to pretend to be Roylette and live here? I feel sorry for deceiving Roylette’s parents. But if I leave the house, to them, their child will disappear.’

Footsteps were heard nearby. It was the sound of a child’s footsteps, a light yet powerful sound. Roylette heard the sound, but he just closed his eyes.

‘Well, what’s the use of worrying like this? Even if I think of not adapting here, there’s nothing I can do anyway, and I can’t go back to my previous life. If I don’t adapt, what will I do?’

When he woke up after thinking of his struggles, he saw a certain girl’s face full of tears.

‘Heck! Why is she crying? Is it because I pretended to close my eyes?’

He thought of treating her like his nephew but he never once soothed his crying nephew. What should he do now?

Then he remembered something. There was a tip from Hyeseo that she said will work well for her.

‘When I’m not in a good mood, feed me something delicious. It’s not the absolute solution, but if the situation is not that serious, then the conversation will go smoothly afterwards.’

“Would you like some chocolate cake?”

Will Hyeseo’s tip work here too? Roylette was a little nervous and spoke carefully.

Then the kid blew her nose and laughed. Roylette was relieved to see that.

‘Thank you, Hyeseo. Your tip works here too.’

Hyeseo’s smiling face somehow overlapped with the little girl’s face.