CH 41

At the same time, in some ways, she was a completely ignorant woman.

When she asked him if he had a crush on Larissa on the first day, Fabian was upset because he thought she was trying to sell her younger sister.

However, when he thinks about it now, the question that did not have any sense showed her personality.

‘You must be a dummy who thinks your sister is perfect.’

He remembered a little of the time she spoke to her sister at dinner.

He chuckled reflexively.

‘Come to think of it, she doesn’t have a maid of honor yet.’

When a noblewoman got married, she would usually bring a maid with her.

However, Marcia showed no sign of doing so.

‘I have to send someone meticulous.’

He wants Marcia to have someone who can correct her in moderation when she does something wrong.

And a heavy-mouthed person who will not talk about Larissa’s secret outside.

Fabian suddenly forgot that he was talking to Leonid.

Leonid stared at Fabian’s hand which was holding the fountain pen, not moving.

Fabian was looking into the air from time to time and laughing.

In Leonid’s eyes, both of them were quite interested in each other, considering that they had just gotten married out of necessity.

‘Well, that’s a good thing.’

He picked up the folder he had been reading before, leaving Fabian, who was still thinking about his wife.

***

Larissa yawned.

She must have been tired.

‘That’s understandable. She has done a lot today.’

Most of them she experienced for the first time in her life.

She ate well, now she had to sleep well so she could grow taller and gain weight.

I changed Larisa’s clothes into pajamas with a happy feeling.

And after seeing Larissa lying on the bed, I wandered around the room, lit candles and lamps here and there.

‘Well, I should keep one.’

I picked up a lamp near the bed and checked to see if there was enough oil, then dimmed the light.

Until yesterday, I slept with a fire in the fireplace in my room, but now that the days are getting warmer, I thought it would be okay not to leave the fire on until morning.

So yesterday I left the fireplace to turn off naturally before going to bed.

It didn’t take long for me to regret it.

When the fireplace went out and darkness fell in the room, Larissa was shaking so badly that she could hardly sleep.

“Why, Larissa? Are you cold?”

I quickly lit a lamp in the room to check on Larissa.

When the light of the lamp began to illuminate the room, Larissa’s trembling began to subside.

As I patted her saying “It’s okay. I’m here”, her tense and frightened expression gradually eased.

‘Did you have a bad dream after falling asleep for a while? Or was it simply cold?’

I quickly lit the fire in case.

Then I found her sleeping with a more peaceful face.

It was before the air in the room was even warmed up again.

‘Are you afraid of dark places?’

It was not without possibility. There were no windows in the basement, so it would have been dark if the light had not been turned on.

It’s only been a little over a week since we got out of there and lived safely in a bright place, so it still took more time for her to shake off the fear that had built up.

I put the lamp I had turned on on the table near the bed.

The lamps were on until morning, and Larissa was fast asleep every time I checked on her.

After going through that last night, I decided to leave the lamps on all night today as well.

I picked up a lamp and carefully went to the bedside.

I put it on the table and patted Larissa so she could sleep well.

It was a ritual I had to do before going to bed these days.

Larissa was buried in the soft feather pillow and blanket, her eyes half-closed and her face was full of drowsiness.

As I looked at Larissa and smiled at her, I found something dark next to her.

‘What is this?’

I brought the lamp near the object so I could see it clearly, it was a gingerbread cookie.

The cookie that Larissa personally decorated by drawing eyes and lips on its face.

A small human-shaped cookie the size of a palm and half-covered by my handkerchief–that I had given to Larissa–like a blanket and shared a pillow with Larissa.

“Oh, my……”

The face, drawn as if neither smiling nor crying because of clumsiness, looked strangely calm under the flickering light of the lamp.

It is also covered with a blanket and sleeps on a pillow with Larissa.

‘You didn’t take anything with you when you left the basement.’

I bit my lip as if I was feeling overwhelmed.

This must have been the first cookie she ever made.

This child will also have something precious one by one.

I’m going to have a lot of firsts with this child for a while.

‘I hope it’s all fun and happy things.’

I kissed Larissa’s round forehead while praying.

Then Larissa flinched.

‘Oh no. Did I wake you up?’

Looking down, Larissa looked at me with round eyes.

It was a bewildered expression.

“This is a goodnight kiss. Now, close your eyes. Don’t worry about anything. I’ll be right next to you.”

As I smiled and spoke quietly, Larissa pulled the stiff blanket over her nose and only showed her eyes.

Then she closed his eyes as she squirmed under the blanket.

Under her eyelids, her pupils were still moving. Her eyelashes trembled too.

“Good night, Larissa.”

I held back my laughter and patted her with my hand. Somehow I sang a lullaby without realizing it.

“Sleep, sleep, my baby, sleep well, my baby……”

Towards the end of the song, Larissa’s stiff body loosened. After a while, her breathing gradually became longer and deeper.

***

Larissa had a dream.

She was on clouds. There was a creature lying beside her and looking at her.

It was a gingerbread cookie.

‘Since when have you been here?’

Larissa tilted her head, but the gingerbread cookie naturally supported its chin with its hand as if it was natural, and sat down in a comfortable position.

Its mouth, painted in red sugar, moved and spoke to her.

“Look at her. She put her mouth on you. Is she trying to eat you?”

The gingerbread cookie trembled as it hugged itself.

Larissa shook her head and explained to the gingerbread cookie.

“That’s a goodnight kiss.”

“Yeah? What is that?”

“A kiss on the forehead to say goodnight so I can sleep well.”

“Why does that mean good night?”

“Well, I don’t know. ”

Larissa, lying on the clouds, closed her eyes with a tense expression.

However, it was a different feeling than before.

Before, it was closer to fear, but now……

‘What kind of feeling is this?’

I was so confused.

It felt like something was about to explode inside of me, and it felt like my body was being twisted.

‘It’s ticklish.’

I couldn’t stand it because I was worried about my forehead.

Larissa rubbed her forehead with her hand for no reason.

The gingerbread cookie spoke again.

“I told you! That person hit you! She’s going to knead and bake you too.”

“No, she’s not hitting. She’s patting.”

“Really? Who is she?”

“She is……”

It was dark so she couldn’t see her face well.

But Larissa knew her; someone who is always surrounded by warmth.

“She is Marcia Unnie.”

[T/N: Unnie means older sister]

The gingerbread cookie blinked its green sugar eyes.

A soft song came from under the clouds.

Larissa listened intently, and then she suddenly stretched her arms out below the clouds.

But she couldn’t reach anything.

‘Seems like she’s too far.’

The gingerbread cookie was startled and grabbed Larissa’s arm.

“She’ll find out you’re hiding here!”

“Yeah.”

Larissa withdrew her hand and lay on the clouds.

The soft voice singing the song continued to sound.

***

I felt the morning sunlight on my closed eyelids and opened my eyes spontaneously.

However, something unusual caught my eye.

“……?”

It’s not the ceiling that I see, but a pair of round green eyes.

I blinked a few times.

Larissa was looking at me, leaning her body on the sofa I was using as a bed.

When I opened my eyes, Larissa’s round eyes became even rounder.

Our eye contact was brief.

Before I could react, she rushed into the bed.

Oh my God. Was Larissa watching me while I was sleeping?

‘But why are you running away?’

I rubbed my eyes and got up from the sofa. In that short time, Larissa covered herself with a blanket and hid almost completely.

Except for her silver hair sticking out of the blanket.

‘You look like a kitten.’

A kitten who has just become a member of the family and is shy but can’t resist curiosity.