CH 3

Elois said he understood and then left. He seemed hurt, but Kalmia didn’t know what else to say. She just wished she hadn’t known how Elois was going to die. At least it would’ve been bearable if she returned to the past after Elois’ death. If someone sent her there, they must’ve had terrible taste.

Kalmia, who had been fiddling with the embroidery frame eventually left the room because she couldn’t stand the stiffness.

Originally, Kalmia and Elois would go horseback riding together, but Kalmia didn’t want to see Elois die. If that kid’s destiny was to die, he would die today regardless of what Kalmia was doing. She just hoped it wouldn’t be as bad when they were playing. If he didn’t die… It would be just as frustrating as it would be if he did.

“Your father isn’t here today. So why are you here, Storoni?”

Kalmia, who was walking casually down the hall of the mansion, suddenly raised her head. Before she knew it, she had walked out into the lobby.

Elois was standing at the front door with an irritated look on his face. In front of Elois stood a man named ‘Storoni’.

He looked a little young to be called a man, with platinum blonde hair and golden eyes. Perhaps the word ‘boy’ would suit him more. Storoni shook his head in embarrassment, but once he noticed Kalmia, he stopped. He looked at her with his eyes wide open and called her name with a bright smile.

“Kalmia.”

Kalmia stared at him with a strangely rigid expression on her face.

The boy walked past Elois and approached her, but stopped in his tracks when Elois grumbled and blocked his path.

“I asked, why are you here?”

“Master entrusted you two to me.”

Seeing Storoni answer with a smile, Elois scoffed and continued to question him.

“F-Father left us in your care?”

“Yes, Elois. While Master is away, he asked me to check if there was another fire in the barn.”

“That! That must be a mistake! Who said we wanted to set it on fire?”

“I know. Mistakes always happen in unexpected situations. This is why Master sent me here, isn’t it?”

Storoni, who skillfully responded to Elois’ sharp words, looked back at Kalmia. His soft, golden eyes remained the same. Kalmia remembered that Storoni was her father’s pupil, who had been learning from him since childhood. Storoni was a man who watched and soothed her for a long time.

Count Phlox, unable to endure Elois’ death, kept his distance from Kalmia for a very long time. Maybe he resented her. Kalmia, who had just lost her twin brother and was neglected by her father, found Storoni’s touch so warm that she couldn’t refuse it.

He made the most significant contribution to Kalmia’s establishment as Count Phlox. A man who was willing to betray his teacher for Kalmia’s sake. A man who did not waver even when the rumours spread that Elois’ death was Kalmia’s fault. He didn’t hesitate to sink in the mud with her. He was her lover.

“Kalmia. You look pale today, does it hurt anywhere?”

Storoni passed Elois and strode towards Kalmia. He bent down slightly and anxiously checked her complexion, caressing her forehead and cheeks gently. Then, he frowned.

“You have a slight fever.”

Kalmia’s relationship with Storoni was not pure. It was a kind of swampy relationship that dragged both of them down. Kalmia thought that only Storoni, who saw her at her worst, would be able to stay by her side and Storoni seemed to think so as well.

The relationship between the two was more of a sticky obsession than sweet romance. Thanks to that, Kalmia, who was standing in front of Storoni, felt hotter than excited. It was a heat imprinted on her soul.

“Why don’t you take a break in your room?”

“Get away from Kalmia!”

Elois rushed towards the two and grabbed Kalmia’s hand, pulling her away from Storoni. Come to think of it, it seemed that Elois had hated Storoni for quite a long time. Kalmia couldn’t understand why, though.

“Elois, Kalmia is sick now. She needs to rest.”

“You’re only fourteen and you’re already showing off!”

“I’ve lived four years longer than you. Elois, I will take Kalmia to her room now.”

Storoni removed Elois’ hand skillfully. Elois had an angry expression on his face, but when he looked at Kalmia he couldn’t say anything. 

Kalmia had a flushed face over her pale complexion. She looked like she was feverish. Kalmia expressed her disapproval out of embarrassment, but Storoni held her hand firmly instead.

“I-I’m fine.”

“What? Why are you stuttering all of a sudden?”

‘B-Because we used to have a relationship.’

She rolled her eyes awkwardly. It felt hot where his hand touched her skin.

Storoni was her lover, but her lover was an adult over thirty, not a fourteen year old child. It felt absurd to replace her lover with a boy.

“I don’t know if it’s because you’re sick, but you’ve become very calm.”

Above her head, Storoni’s smirking voice could be heard.

Kalmia bowed her head and Storoni burst out into a delightful laughter.