CH 179

He was out of breath. It hadn't been a long time since he had run so hard, but he was overwhelmed, so Ethan gasped for his breath and ran. How far was it to Sarah's room, where he stayed several times a day and sometimes all day?

* * *

After the day Sarah first opened her eyes, it was two evenings later that she opened them again. Claude was lying next to Sarah trying to fall asleep, and Ethan was sitting on the bed reading to the child. It was one of the fairy tales that Sarah had written for Claude in the past, a precious thing he had saved without reading.

"The black fox dressed up as the boy's grandfather to eat the blue cape boy."

"Father, can a fox dress up as a person? The fox I saw was very small. Wouldn't the boy be an idiot to be fooled by it?"

"......It was a black fox who could use magic."

"Ah, then it could be. Please keep reading."

Ethan finished reading the fairy tale in a cold sweat when asked by Claude, who was getting sharper day by day.

"The blue cape boy went out late at night to give his grandfather something to eat that day as well."

"Father."

"......Yes?"

When Claude called out to him once again, Ethan's fingers trembled as he turned the pages.

"Why are the blue cape boy's parents letting him run errands late at night?"

"......"

"If it were Nanny, she wouldn't allow me to run errands in a dangerous hour."

"......You're right. Sarah wouldn't do that to you."

This time, Ethan only turned over the pages of the book awkwardly without solving Claude's question. In this fairy tale, the parents of the blue cape boy actually drove the child to death as if they wanted the blue cape boy to be eaten by the black fox. Was this really a fairy tale that a child can read? It was while Ethan was looking at the fairy tale that Sarah had drawn with such a question. A soft voice filled with laughter answered Claude on behalf of Ethan.

"Because, the boy in the blue cape will grow up to be a hero. A hero's parents should be cold-hearted. It's like the law of the story......"

"......!"

* * *

The news of Sarah's second awakening reached everyone in Ambrosia. Even those who couldn't come to Sarah's room because of heartache began to enter Sarah's room from time to time to check on her condition. It was because they didn't know when she would open her eyes and talk to them. So the lucky protagonist who witnessed Sarah's third wake was May.

"Hi, May."

"Sarah-nim!"

When May went in to clean Sarah's room, she was already out of bed and looking out the window. Outside the window, Ethan and Claude's playtime was in full swing. Benjamin and Belluna were also there. The sunlight didn't come through in the monster's forest, but there were times when the sun shone brightly for about half a day in the afternoon. Whenever that happened, Ethan took Claude outside and had time to play. It was because Sarah had told him before that children should grow up in the sunlight.

"Are you okay? Are you back? I'll call Duke-nim and Claude-nim right away!"

"Shhh."

May, who was about to run away with tears flowing down her face, was grabbed by Sarah with a soft voice.

"How can you interrupt Claude-nim's playtime?"

"But Sarah-nim woke up like this......"

"I'll go back to sleep soon."

"......!"

Sarah, who smiled softly at May, looked out the window again. Claude's face was darker than before, but Ethan lifted the child up and put him on his shoulder, making him smile broadly. Benjamin poked Claude in the back with his finger, and the child twisted with a tickle. While stopping Benjamin, Belluna smiled pleasantly at the sound of the child laughing. She kept the image in her eyes for a long time, and Sarah opened her mouth.

"Before that, I have a favor to ask of you."