CH 8

“When you’re growing up, you need plenty of nutrition. There’s nothing wrong with a girl eating a lot. You don’t need to hold back because of what our family might think. Eat to your heart’s content until you’re satisfied,” Heufeln said.

“Yes, Brother. It’s fine…”

I muttered quietly with a sense of resignation. In the end, instead of going to Clyde that night, I had no choice but to have an unplanned midnight snack with Heufeln.

Luckily, I got away with it this one time, but there was no guarantee I wouldn’t be suspected next time.

If I was caught even with the soundproofing spell, there was practically no way to secretly go to the basement without Heufeln knowing.

That meant I couldn’t visit Clyde for the week he was staying at the manor.

‘It’s one thing to be hungry, but he’ll be in a lot of pain without medicine.’

Until now, I had been visiting him every three days at least.

I was worried, but I had no other choice.

If I took a risk and got caught, something could happen that would be irreversible.

‘I’m sorry, Clyde. Just hold on a little longer…’

I waited anxiously for the week to pass.

***

Finally, a week passed, and the day came for brother Heufeln to return to the front lines.

“Big brother, please take care of yourself. I’ll write you a letter soon,” I said.

“Sure, Eila. Thank you.”

“You used to be so upset whenever he left home, but you seem fine today. Maybe you’re finally getting used to it?”

Nita’s casual remark made my heart skip a beat.

Did I inadvertently show relief on my face, knowing that I could finally go to Clyde?

I snapped.

I rolled my eyes, and Nita shut up.

“Anyway, second big brother, you’re the best in the world at saying stupid things.”

“Where else can you find a younger sister who cares about her brothers as much as Eila does?” he added.

“Indeed, only Brother Aslan understands me,” I responded.

As I spoke, Aslan gave Nita a proud look. Nita’s face crumpled and he glared at Aslan.

Heufeln stared at me without saying a word.

His gaze made me feel guilty, so I started to make excuses.

“W-Well, big brother, it’s really not like that. I am constantly worried about you. I never even dreamed of wishing for you to leave quickly. Really.”

“Why?”

“What?”

“Why am I the only one you call big brother?” Heufeln asked.

“…”

Nita and Aslan looked at each other with a puzzled expression.

Heufeln spoke in a heavy voice. “It doesn’t make sense to call me Big Brother while calling Nita and Aslan by their first names. If others see it, they might get the wrong idea that you and I aren’t close, and….”

“…Take care in your travels, Brother Heufeln.” I interrupted.

(TL/N: In this part Eila calls her brothers Nita and Aslan as ‘니타 오라버니’ and ‘아슬란 오빠’ while she calls Heufeln as just ‘오라버니’ without his name.)

“I will.” he responded.

Clyde, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, appeared even more worn-out than I remembered.

His face, along with exposed areas of his skin, was covered in dried blood, which pained my heart.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been here. There were circumstances that prevented me from coming. I wanted to at least contact you, but if we were discovered, it would have been a big problem.”

“…”

Clyde silently looked at me.

His clear ruby eyes seemed deeper than before.

“I’m truly sorry. Has it been hard for you?”

At my words, he lowered his eyes slightly and shook his head from side to side.

“Are those circumstances resolved now?”

“Yeah. I’ll be fine for the time being. I’ll come every day from now on.”

I fed Clyde the food I brought and used a damp towel to wipe his face.

Part of me wanted to bathe him and change his clothes, but I couldn’t for fear of being seen by my father.

Unlike before, Clyde remained expressionless and let me take care of him without any major changes in his demeanor.

He didn’t smell bad, which was odd considering he’d been in a cage the whole time.

‘Perhaps my father is casting a cleansing spell, because a strong odor would be unpleasant for him….’

But why did he leave the dried blood stains as they were?

I couldn’t help but think that it might serve as some kind of evidence or proof.

If it were Father, it wouldn’t be strange. To him, Clyde was just as despised as the demons who had tainted him.

In reality, of course, he was just an innocent victim.

But because he had demon blood in him, my father identified him as the demon that killed my mother.

“The experiments, have they been tough?”

“No, not really.”

“It’s okay to be honest, you’ve lost so much blood.”

“It heals immediately anyway.”

“But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.”

“…”

“What’s wrong?”

I asked when Clyde didn’t say anything. He just looked into my eyes, and then shook his head.

“It’s nothing.”

For the rest of the day, Clyde seemed strangely subdued.

Even when I asked if he was angry because I hadn’t come for so long, he said no.

Eventually, I had no choice but to be more cheerful than usual to lighten the mood.

“I’ll come back tomorrow, then. If you’re in pain, don’t endure it and make sure to take the medicine. Okay? You won’t run out of medicine anymore.”

At my insistence, Clyde nodded silently.

I emerged from the basement with an uneasy feeling.

***

After Ruby left, Clyde once again retreated into familiar darkness.

The darkness that had seemed so terrifying only yesterday felt strangely comforting.

‘I thought she was never coming back.’

He doesn’t know how he made it through the week.

The physical pain didn’t matter, because it was only temporary and would end once the man left. The hardest part was that no matter what the man did, he couldn’t completely give up hope.

What was more painful was the despair and fear that he might never get out of here.

Just when he thought he had truly given up, hope would slowly crawl up from the depths of his heart.

‘There must be a reason she can’t come. She promised she would come back. She’ll come back soon, maybe tomorrow.’

Each day, this unfounded hope drove him deeper and deeper into the abyss.

Sometimes he even hated Ruby.

He doesn’t remember how many times he told himself that if she ever showed up again, he’d scream and chase her away.

‘I don’t need you. I’ll get out under my own power, so don’t come back.’

But when Ruby returned with a white light just now, the emotion he felt wasn’t hatred, anger, or joy.

It was a relief.

With Ruby’s face in front of him, he felt so relieved that he almost cried.

She apologized for not coming, and said she had a lot going on. She promised to come every day from now on.

That was enough.

It even occurred to him that it wouldn’t matter if Ruby never found a way to open this cage, if he never got out of here until he died.

As long as she came every day like she promised.

As long as she kept blinking those big eyes and looking at him, as she did today, as long as she kept talking to him, it was enough.

He could endure all the painful experiments, all the insults the man hurled at him. At that moment, he truly believed that.

Clyde curled up in the darkness. And for the first time in a week, he drifted into a restful sleep.

Tonight, he wouldn’t be sad if he dreamed of Ruby.