CH 10

I grabbed Sasha’s shoulder and urged her to continue.

“What do you mean? Please elaborate.”

“…I managed to meet the slave trader who first found Cassadin a few years ago.”

“And then?”

“He said that when he first discovered Cassadin, he was unconscious on the floor, wearing expensive clothing. So he thought that the boy was a son of a noble family.”

“Really?”

“Yes. He claims that his first impression was so memorable that he even remembers where he found him. I don’t think he was lying.”

Hearing Sasha’s report, all of Cassadin’s actions that I had observed for the past few days played in my mind. Like how he knew how to read or how his mannerisms were unfit for a slave.

He claimed these things were to increase his value as merchandise, but those things couldn’t be acquired just by learning. Not if one was born a noble, that is.

I slowly closed my eyes. If he wasn’t a slave, then does that mean he was originally a noble?

‘I don’t have a family. They all died a long time ago.’

Just what sort of life has he lived until now?

‘I should treat him nicer from now on.’

Maybe then his caution towards me would ease off, and he would one day open up about his past from his own mouth.

I took out a few gems from my jewelry box and placed them in Sasha’s hand.

“Good work, Sasha. Take these.”

“Miss.”

All I did was give her compensation for her work, but Sasha shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Why? Is this too little? Do you want more?”

“No, Miss. I didn’t do this expecting a reward.”

Sasha rubbed her reddened eyes with her sleeve and continued speaking.

“Just being able to help you is enough for me, Miss.”

“…”

“I’ve been worried lately because Miss doesn’t seem like the Miss I used to know. I’m sorry. What I’m saying right now… Please forgive my rudeness just now.”

My eyes widened when I heard what she said. Had I really changed that much from my past life?

Well, it wasn’t strange that I would change after coming back alive from the brink of death, but who knew the first one to notice would be Sasha?

Sasha had her eyes closed tightly, prepared to be scolded.

“Sasha. Thank you.”

“What?”

When I thanked her instead, it was now Sasha’s turn to look surprised.

“I’ve been going through some tough times recently. It isn’t strange for you to think that way. It means you were that worried about me, right?”

“Miss.”

“Take the day off to rest. You’ve done well. And…”

I picked up the entire jewelry box and handed it to Sasha.

“I’d like you to take these.”

Sasha’s mouth dropped open.

“Miss! This is!”

“My arms are hurting.”

Sasha hesitated but accepted the jewelry box after what I said. I patted Sasha’s shoulder as she looked down at the jewelry box with a troubled face.

“Well, off you go now. My lovely Sasha.”

I smiled at her, and Sasha bowed to me at a 90-degree angle before exiting the room. When I saw her face for the last time, just before she left the room, I saw a single tear streaming down her cheek.

‘Cute thing.’

If I had at least one proper maid to serve me in my previous life while living at Damian’s duchy, then maybe things would have ended differently. But he didn’t allow me to bring even one maid with me.

I was a bird trapped in Damian’s cage. It was just an endless repetition of healing him when he was injured, then healing him again. He neglected me, but he still tried to utilize my healing abilities by any means necessary.

Moreover, he whispered those fake, sweet words to me only when I was healing him. That snake. An abandoned fiancé was the perfect prey for those below him—nothing more, nothing less.

But when I tried to escape from his grasp, he ruthlessly killed me. What expression should I be wearing when I meet Damian on the day of the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet?

I stared at the empty bookshelf holding one less book, lost in thought.

Today, I took Cassadin to the garden of our mansion.

The fragrant scent of the flowers greeted us the moment we entered the garden. Taken care of with the love and dedication of the gardener, the garden made me feel better just looking at it.

“What do you think? Do you like it?”

At my question, Cassadin looked around the flowers in the garden. The countless flowers, including tulips, anemones, roses, and hyacinths, danced gently in the wind.

“They’re beautiful.”

Cassadin, who was gazing at the blue roses, added with a soft smile on his lips.

“They’re just like you, Sister. Especially this blue rose.”

“Why the blue rose out of all of them?”

“Red roses are common, but blue roses are incredibly rare.”

Cassadin gently tapped on the petals of the blue rose. Even the way he touched the petals looked elegant.

“That’s why blue roses symbolize the impossible. I’ve heard they’re that hard to bloom.”

“…”

“It’s my first time seeing a blue rose. It’s so beautiful that I can’t take my eyes off it. Just like you, Sister.”

Cassadin smiled at me with eyes that also curled into their own smile. His silver hair sparkled dazzlingly in the sunlight.

How many people had been allured by that smile? Well, even an elderly man was bewitched by his appearance at the arena.

“Flowers, no matter how beautiful, are bound to wither. No matter how rare they are.”

I snapped off the blue rose with my hand. Then I handed the now lifeless blue rose to Cassadin and said,

“What’s the use of being beautiful if it’s just going to wither? It becomes nothing more than a burden to the gardener the moment it withers.”

“…”

“Isn’t that so?”

Cassadin’s eyelashes trembled at my comment. Tucking the blue rose into his uniform pocket, Cassadin then glanced at me for a moment before speaking.

“I didn’t mean it like that. Sister.”

“I know. I just wanted to tell you that comparing people to flowers could offend them, depending on how they interpret it.”

“Thank you, Sister. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Cassadin bowed his head.

It was peaceful. I was walking around the garden, taking in the fragrance of the flowers, when I suddenly stopped to ask him.

“That reminds me, I noticed that a book was missing from my shelf this morning. Do you know where it went?”

“…what? A book is missing? What do you mean?”

Cassadin tilted his head, seeming confused.

“Exactly. I can’t figure out who took it. Well, though it wasn’t that important of a book.”

A faint smile slipped onto his face at my answer. So you were the one, after all. I was positive he stole the book while I was asleep. That hilarious guy.

‘I just want to, argh, him.’

“What was the book that you lost?”

He had the audacity to ask about the book after stealing it himself. I answered him, pretending I didn’t know that he was the culprit.

“Do you remember? It’s the book you saw last time. The title was probably… something about the plants of the north.”

“If you allow me to, I would like to help you find the book.”

He replied, taking it a step further. It was amusing. Who would suspect him, blinking his purple eyes with an innocent smile, to be the culprit?

“Will you do that for me?”

Everything that Cassadin said was a lie. The words he uttered when he came to my room and what he said when he saw the blue rose were all lies.

He had been treating me with a masked personality since the moment he first saw me. Just like how I was wearing the mask of a kind sister, he was also wearing his own mask of lies.

How could he have been so loyal to the Crown Prince in his previous life, acting like this?

Then we continued to chat in the garden, but he never admitted to stealing the book.

A few days later, the missing book was back on my shelf as if nothing had happened.

And every night, Cassadin came to my room with the excuse that he couldn’t sleep.

“What were your parents like?”

I asked him one time, and Cassadin answered,

“My parents were very good people. My father was gentle, and my mother was stronger than anyone else I knew.”

“…I see. Did you have any siblings?”

“It was just me.”

After saying that, Cassadin quickly changed the subject. He didn’t tell me how his family had died.

“So they were good people, just like you.”

So I didn’t ask him either.

Father told me that Cassadin was now officially documented as part of our family. And he warned me to be cautious so that his history as a slave wouldn’t be revealed. I, of course, told him I would.

The days of peace continued. During the day, I visited various places with Cassadin. And wherever we went, the people’s eyes followed us.

“Good heavens…”

“Look at that handsome face.”

“Am I really looking at a human’s face? He’s like a living sculpture of God.”

People would drop what they were doing and praise Cassadin’s appearance. Nobody even had the slightest suspicion that he used to be a slave. After being washed and put in fine clothing, he looked like a noble down to the bone.

But despite the many eyes watching him, Cassadin didn’t take a moment to even glance at the others. He just gazed at me covertly, and when our eyes met occasionally, his eyes would curl, and he’d smile.

“It’s nice to come out with you like this, Sister.”

“Me too. Do you want or need anything? Tell me anything.”

“I don’t need anything like that… I just want to stay like this forever with you, Sister.”

Cassadin gently took my hand and answered. Then, pulling it up, he kissed the back of my hand.

And the way he gazed deep into my eyes as his lips curled up gently could not be seen as a look directed to a sister, but rather as a man looking at a woman he desired.

It was truly laughable. The way he was acting, and even his gaze. But every time Cassadin did that, I just smiled back with an innocent expression.

A kind, naive, and affectionate sister. As long as I looked like that in his eyes, that was enough.

“Cassadin.”

I called out Cassadin’s name as I fed him a piece of cotton candy we had bought from a stall. Cassadin smiled as he took the cotton candy I had given him.

“By the way, the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet is a week away.”

“…”

“Our family is invited every year when an event is held in the palace. But my father said he couldn’t go this time because he would be patrolling the land. So I decided to attend instead.”

Suddenly, the smile that had been imprinted on Cassadin’s face disappeared.

After a moment of contemplation, he returned to his smiling face and pulled my waist towards him. As I looked up at him, he smiled brightly like an angel and asked,

“Please take me with you.”

“Why?”

“There will be many other people going to the palace, and I worry about sending you alone. And…”

“…?”

“What if someone else tries to take you away from me?”

He added, pulling my waist even harder. As a result, I dropped the cotton candy I was holding on the ground.

“Ah, I’m sorry, Sister.”

It was only then that he let go of his hold on my waist with a small ‘ah.’ I patted his back and laughed.

“Thanks for telling me first. I was planning to go with you anyway.”

“Sister.”

“And don’t worry about someone else trying to take me away.”

“You don’t know, Sister. You don’t know how charming you are.”

When was he going to stop saying that pointless flattery? It’s already been several weeks since I brought Cassadin home, but he was still testing me.

“Cassadin.”

“Yes, Sister.”

“I’m going to do whatever you want. But only if you will stop testing me.”

Hearing that, the smile completely disappeared from Cassadin’s face and was replaced with surprise.