CH 26

Anyway, since that day, the ‘operation to feed Lilian anything’ had gotten worse day by day.

“It’ll be difficult if we go on like this.”

At one point, Lily felt burdened, saying, ‘it’s too much to put more than five dishes on each meal.’

‘That evening, my older brother gave me sad and sorrowful eyes throughout the meal…’ Being a burden was burdensome, but the guilt of disturbing a busy person was greater.

‘What should I do…?’

She thought about it, but couldn’t find an answer.

Rather, she just fell asleep.

After a while, Cedric, who had become the representative of Turin Castle, sneaked into Lilian’s room…

“…she’s sleeping.”

Lilian fell asleep in a short time.

It was the bedroom that Cedric had put all his heart and soul into.

The room was white and blue, just like Lily. At first glance, the room, which actively reflected Lilian’s taste for fancy decorations such as gold and jewels, looked simple.

However, if you looked at every nook and cranny, you could see that they spent more than twice as much money than a simple gilding.

Inside the bed with milky translucent curtains, Lilian was buried in the white bedding with the teddy bear he had gifted her.

Cedric’s face, which had been expressionless, finally had a smile.

“At times like this, you’re the perfect child.”

“She’s lovely.”

“Um.”

Cedric knelt at the head of the bed and stared at Lily’s sleeping face.

He couldn’t even put a hand on her. It was a waste to wake her up.

“How long has she slept like this?”

“She slept very well. You can wake her up.”

Despite Mrs. Hayworth’s words, Cedric couldn’t do anything for a while.

The silvery and icy young man stared at his sleeping sister with a melting expression.

As if wanting to somehow make the already comfortable bed more comfortable, he carefully touched the blanket with his large fingertips, and as soon as the child’s eyebrows flinched, he hurriedly held his breath.

‘It’s a very heartwarming sight, though.’

The madam laughed awkwardly then informed him again.

“I’m sorry, Lord, but it’s been a while since the Lady had a meal.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Cedric panicked and reached out to Lilian.

“Lily.”

He gently held his sister’s cheek whom he loves more tenderly than a feather and whispered in her ear.

“You have to get up. Mrs. Hayworth says you’ve had enough sleep.”

Lily twitched the tip of her nose and leaned her cheek against the cool grip. Cedric’s expression collapsed once again.

‘If this goes on, he won’t wake her up even after half a day.’

Despite clicking her tongue, Mrs. Hayworth couldn’t actively dissuade him. Cedric muttered.

“I want to let her sleep like this for just one more hour.”

“Oh dear, that won’t work. I mean, she ate too litle at breakfast.”

There was nothing he could do. Cedric gently shook Lilian once more.

It was a careful touch that could be mistaken for a spring breeze in a dream.

Fortunately, Lilian’s sleep was light.

“Mm…”

Cedric’s face melted again as her sleepy eyes blinked while focusing.

“Sorry for waking you up. Are you sleepy?”

With a croak in her throat, Lilian shook a little. She wanted to close her eyes again like that…

“…brother?”

“It’s me.”

No matter how you look at it, Lilian muttered as if she had just woken up.

“It’s not a dream. When did you come? You said you’d come tomorrow…”

Cedric couldn’t hold back a joyful laugh as it seemed like she wanted to see him.

“I arrived a little early. Seems like you slept soundly.”

“Mr. Winston said that sleeping well is helpful…”

“That means you did well.”

Cedric was just glad to hear that the child who didn’t eat slept soundly.

“Winston’s medical skills are trustworthy. You did well to follow his instructions.”

“Hm…”

Being praised for sleeping too much was more embarassing than being criticized.

Lilian’s face seemed to brighten a little after her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. Cedric softly whispered.

“Lily, brother brought you a present.”

“Oh, that’s not surprising.”

“True.”

Cedric smiled. Lilian had began to show her disapproval lately, saying that he was giving too many gifts.

It was an absurd remark for a young lord full of money and power, but Cedric somehow liked Lily staring at him in amazement.

“It’s very valuable.”

“Was there anything insignificant among the things brother gave me?”

“None.”

When Cedric proudly replied, Lilian looked at him with polite speechless eyes.

At times like this, he was like a half-baked older brother, and Lilian was like a smart little sister taking care of the house in place of their mother who died early.

It was normal and happy. Cedric winked and Rita came in from outside with a basket full of something.

It was a basket containing a golden fruit the size of Lilian’s head.

A reddish light lingered appetizingly on the soft golden skin. Not only that, but from the moment the basket came in, the room was full of fragrance.

“It’s a fruit from the east. They said it’s called a peach.”

“This?”

The peaches grown in the Empire were as small and firm as a baby’s fist.

The blue-white fruit was crunchy and sour when chewed but had no particular taste.

Mrs. Hayworth marveled.

“Oh my God, eastern peaches is almost as big as a kettle. Look at this pretty thing. How did you get all these things?”

Cedric was proud of the headmaid’s admiration.

“They say it’s precious.”

Merchants traveling along the eastern trade route joked that it wasn’t a fruit but a miracle drug, saying that in their country, there was a saying that eating one fruit would let you live 3000 years.

As soon as he heard that, he thought of Lilian.

Cedric handed over the amount of gold the merchant asked for without making a fuss. The merchant joked, ‘I had a hard time carrying it without getting it bruised since it’s a soft fruit.’

‘I don’t want her to live to be 3000 years old. I just wish I could buy her a year by eating this.’

Cedric was more desperate for Lilian’s time than anyone else. To the extent that even the stupid nonsense about living for 3000 years wasn’t ignored.

Mrs. Hayworth held up the peach with both hands and marveled again.

“I don’t think you could buy it for a small amount of money. I suppose you got lucky as well. Lady, I’ll cut this down quickly so you can taste it.”

Mrs. Hayworth gladly raised her knife. But she hardly needed a knife.

The thin skin slid off the flesh dripping with juice. The madam exclaimed, peeling off the bright yellow flesh and putting it on a plate. Every time the juice dripped from the soft flesh, a sweet smell was emitted.

“Come on and eat, young lady.”

Her mouth watered for the first time in a long time, perhaps thanks to her sweet tooth.

Lilian ate one of the peaches without hesitation.

Lilian nodded at the people watching her with bated breath.

“It’s delicious.”

“…I see.”

Everyone was relieved as if their pulse was released.

Watching the child take the second piece with a fork and put it in her mouth without being told, Cedric remembered Shaw’s words.

“The tricky thing about the mechanism of vitality is that it tends to increase or decrease depending on the will to live.”

“That’s…”

“If there’s a will, it means the recovery will be quick. The behavior of not stopping to eat even if they don’t want to eat means a strong will to live.”

The peaches she’s eating were not just simply filling her stomach, but rather prolonging Lilian’s life.

So, just watching her eat made him happy. Cedric smiled contentedly.

“By the way, brother.”

Lilian asked as she forked her third piece, though a little depressed.

“How much did you pay for this?”

“Um…”

Cedric blurted out with a smile on his face. Allen advised him like this.

“You’d better not hear.”

Aha. Lilian was convinced.

‘It means he gave an amount that would diminish my appetite when I heard it.’

As advised, it seemed better not to ask.

That day, Lilian quietly ate one of the peaches.

The problem was that, as a result of that day’s incident, Cedric’s quest for rare and delicious food became more severe day by day.

Even the Lannister Grandmother would send something to Lily once a week.

Each time, it was the sisters Illasia and Solaria who were in charge of the delivery.

Solaria was very fond of Lilian and Illasia’s calm temperament matched well with her.

In addition to her sorority’s formal meetings, Lilian met the other girls separately and made personal acquaintances.

Of course, in feeding Lilian like a baby bird, you couldn’t leave out the Great Feudal Lord Hemenlinna.

But the scale…

“Yes? You’re importing peach trees from the east?”

It was too big.