The lord's daughter had small hands. They looked like they would snap if you held them tightly. The white fingers on her wrists were as small and white as the marguerites in her mother's garden. The girl came down the stairs holding a rabbit doll with a cracked corner in her right arm and ran up to him, stopping in front of him.
Sybil scooped the girl up in a big hug and lifted her up. The blue shawl she was wrapped in fell to the floor. The girl pouted with tiny lips and wrapped her arms around his neck. It was time to press his lips to her warm cheek. A knock on the door rang in his ears. He opened his eyes and sat up. A servant opened the door and entered.
Sybil scooped the girl up in a big hug and lifted her up. The blue shawl she was wrapped in fell to the floor. The girl pouted with tiny lips and wrapped her arms around his neck. It was time to press his lips to her warm cheek. A knock on the door rang in his ears. He opened his eyes and sat up. A servant opened the door and entered.
“The lady is looking for you.”
Lady....... The servant called him outside, and he followed, mulling over the word lady. Liena, who had fallen asleep in the commotion, woke up and followed him. The feel of her cheek against his lips was as fresh as if she had been alive.
The bedroom was filled with the fresh scent of magnolia. The girl who had woken up was wearing a blue shawl around her arms, just like before. Her face, sparkling with life even in the early morning, was as fresh and beautiful as a rosebud that had just bloomed in the morning.
The feeling of his cheek touching her lips came back to life. In fact, it was skin that his lips had never touched. And yet, it was as if she had done something like that... When he entered the bedroom, the girl looked up at him with a blush on her cheek and a bright smile.
Then she told him to drink milk. Sybil stared at her and the thing she held out. When their eyes met, the girl's cheeks turned a little more red. It was a funny and cute sight. Sybil lightly rejected the favor.
The face that had been smiling brightly slowly hardened and became completely covered in a hard color. Sibyl slowly observed the face hardening. The face that had been ripe like an apple turned red and blue and became wet. Strangely, the corners of the lips twitched at the slow change. The face that was so cute that you wanted to bite it became a mess of shame and misery.
He snatched the glass from the girl and emptied it all. The girl, who had frozen for a moment with her empty hands, trembled at the faint laughter. Her face was like enduring an insult as if her clothes had been stripped off in the square. The girl soon burst into tears. Liena stopped laughing at the sound of her sobbing as if she was breaking down.
Sibyl looked at her leisurely, without calling a servant or trying to comfort her. He finally understood what the heart he had thrown away, that clumsy kindness, meant.
“Ugh, huuuuk...”
He likes her... The moment he first saw her, he was captivated and became feverish with desire and resentment. Strangely, he was consumed by ecstasy from head to toe. Thrilling and intense. The strange pleasure that shook his entire body did not let him keep his lips still. The door swung open at the sound of him croaking without paying attention to his surroundings.
Sibyl took a step back and looked at the crying child. The child, who had thrown back her head, had turned her head completely away from him. Her eyes, unable to find a direction, groped the air. He wanted to grab the small, white chin and keep her gaze fixed on him.
The nanny who suddenly opened the door and came in picked up the child. The gaze that had been wandering around the air suddenly dropped as if falling down, and the small face was buried in the woman's shoulder. The buried crying that could not be heard in the bedroom was sad.
The nanny waved at him, holding the child by the shoulder. Her eyes were filled with nervousness. Sibyl watched the woman put the girl on the bed and then walked away. The girl’s eyes met his as he turned away. Sibyl cut off his emotions and stared at her before leaving the bedroom.
***
It was the third day since the lord's daughter had a fever. Someone came to their lodgings in the middle of the night. Liena, who had woken up, froze at the sound of a knock on the door, then got up and opened the door. A tall man was standing in front of her. He had an old, wet shirt, and his pants were covered in dirt. Liena looked at him with puzzled eyes.
“You are the only daughter of Count Duanen, my lady.”
It was a rough and dry voice. Liena looked at him in confusion. The man looked around and entered the room. He looked at Sibyl and knelt down with a calm expression.
“Hello, great glory of Travasta. I am Gawen Obron.”
Baron Obron. Gawen Obron. A knight of the royal guard who guarded his father.
“What are you doing here, Sie?”
“I have received word from Count Icalant. I have returned to assist Your Majesty.”
After his father died, he changed his position due to conflict with Duke Touro and moved his post to the north. He looked at the man with sharp eyes. Unlike the last time he saw him, the left side of his face was distorted.
“The face...”
“It is arbitrary.”
He tilted his head. The man moved his blue lips. He said that he disfigured his own face to disguise himself and hid in Lugdun. He is currently working as a gatekeeper at the castle and said that he has set up a hut near the castle walls. Liena bit her lips and narrowed her brows as if she had heard the word hut. It seemed that she was saddened by the fact that a knight of the King’s guard had voluntarily disfigured his face and was living in a hut. Sybil looked down at the man, leaving Liena behind, who was wiping away her tears.
“Your Majesty’s face...”
“These dirty things will tear apart your Majesty...!”
Sibyl stopped Liena, who was raising her voice and snickering because she couldn't control her excitement. There was a sneeze at the corner of her mouth, but it wasn't enough to bother him. Travasta was a country founded by knight Kings, and all Kings were warriors and knights on the battlefield. Sibyl had also been on three campaigns, and in his first campaign, he was wounded in the side.
“I heard that the lord’s daughter wants to keep His Majesty by her side.”
“How could there be no way? I heard that no one in the castle could stop that girl.”
“I heard about that kid from Sir Oscar in advance.”
“I didn’t say she was a bad girl, but she looked like a crazy girl to me. What kind of girl could do that in front of all the servants? And she wants to have His Majesty, you little brat!”
Liena bit her lip, swearing incessantly as if her anger was not going away. The man turned his gaze away from her and stared at Sibyl.
“If it is alright with you, Your Majesty, I will try to help you. It may be inconvenient, but if you stay in the stables as planned, it will be easier to communicate and travel...”
Sybil shook his head. Liena looked at him with a stern face.
“Don’t try to force it. There was already a commotion in the castle because of me once.”
“However...”
“Have you not heard about the lord’s daughter? She is said to cause trouble if you do not please her.”
“That’s true. She’s a bit of a weirdo.”
“To the lord, his daughter comes first.”
With or without affection, he was a man who wanted his daughter to live.
“There’s no need to cause a fuss and attract Philip’s attention.”
"... Yes."
The man bowed his head. It was a sign that he would follow the will. Liena pursed her lips. As dawn broke, the Baron left the bedroom.
“Why don’t you accept Baron Obron’s training? I’m not a bad person, but I...”
With a thud, Liena's cheek turned to the left. It was a strong hand. Her cheek, which immediately turned bright red, trembled. Liena, who was stiff, bent her right knee and lowered her head. Sibyl's eyes looked at the corner of her mouth that was twitching shallowly.
“I am your King since I have become a dog to a nine-year-old girl.”
“That is nonsense.”
Liena answered quickly. After swallowing the blood that had pooled in her mouth, she looked down at her feet wearing old shoes. Since his last meeting with the lord’s daughter, the King had become noticeably colder. He was originally a boy as cold as an ice pick. He was a boy with a dry and indifferent nature. Even when his father died, his face was this dry.
However, even if he was indifferent, he did not show his thorns like this. If it had been in the palace, she would have been kicked out. If she looked back at what she did wrong, there was only one thing: the King was displeased with her insulting the lord's daughter.
“Don't try to go against me.”
It was a low hum. Liena clenched her fists. She wanted to say that she had never offended His Majesty. But Liena swallowed what was pouring out of her like blood.
"Sorry."
The gaze that had been weighing her down disappeared. The King turned around. Liena, who had been kneeling, got up and left the bedroom. The door closed and Sybil looked at the light that was slowly starting to rise. The lord’s daughter had been suffering from a fever for three days. Was it he who had given her the fever she couldn’t overcome? Was it Liena? The eyes that had been groping the blue twilight of dawn closed for a long time. The round outlines were vague and wandered through his mind.
“If it is alright with you, Your Majesty, I will try to help you. It may be inconvenient, but if you stay in the stables as planned, it will be easier to communicate and travel...”
Sybil shook his head. Liena looked at him with a stern face.
“Don’t try to force it. There was already a commotion in the castle because of me once.”
“However...”
“Have you not heard about the lord’s daughter? She is said to cause trouble if you do not please her.”
“That’s true. She’s a bit of a weirdo.”
“To the lord, his daughter comes first.”
With or without affection, he was a man who wanted his daughter to live.
“There’s no need to cause a fuss and attract Philip’s attention.”
"... Yes."
The man bowed his head. It was a sign that he would follow the will. Liena pursed her lips. As dawn broke, the Baron left the bedroom.
“Why don’t you accept Baron Obron’s training? I’m not a bad person, but I...”
With a thud, Liena's cheek turned to the left. It was a strong hand. Her cheek, which immediately turned bright red, trembled. Liena, who was stiff, bent her right knee and lowered her head. Sibyl's eyes looked at the corner of her mouth that was twitching shallowly.
“I am your King since I have become a dog to a nine-year-old girl.”
“That is nonsense.”
Liena answered quickly. After swallowing the blood that had pooled in her mouth, she looked down at her feet wearing old shoes. Since his last meeting with the lord’s daughter, the King had become noticeably colder. He was originally a boy as cold as an ice pick. He was a boy with a dry and indifferent nature. Even when his father died, his face was this dry.
However, even if he was indifferent, he did not show his thorns like this. If it had been in the palace, she would have been kicked out. If she looked back at what she did wrong, there was only one thing: the King was displeased with her insulting the lord's daughter.
“Don't try to go against me.”
It was a low hum. Liena clenched her fists. She wanted to say that she had never offended His Majesty. But Liena swallowed what was pouring out of her like blood.
"Sorry."
The gaze that had been weighing her down disappeared. The King turned around. Liena, who had been kneeling, got up and left the bedroom. The door closed and Sybil looked at the light that was slowly starting to rise. The lord’s daughter had been suffering from a fever for three days. Was it he who had given her the fever she couldn’t overcome? Was it Liena? The eyes that had been groping the blue twilight of dawn closed for a long time. The round outlines were vague and wandered through his mind.
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