Chapter 38
Irybelle's dark eyes softened at the adorable sight of the young girl blushing in the mirror. "Is that so?" she murmured fondly, gently running the fine-toothed comb through Elyra's silky locks. "And what about the Lord Count?"
Elyra's tiny hands immediately tightened around the damp edge of her towel.
She stared fixedly at her reflection, suddenly finding the polished, gilded surface far more fascinating than the maid's question.
What about him...?
Damnern?
A sudden, overwhelming cascade of memories flooded her mind, drowning out the ambient quiet of the dressing room.
What did she truly feel toward Damnern?
Images of their very first encounter resurfaced with terrifying clarity—the day his carefully constructed tactical plan had utterly collapsed, leaving him frozen in sheer, unadulterated horror. She remembered the moment Damnern had ceased to look like a man and transformed into an apex predator, the agony of his neck being severed in his past life, and the cold, merciless gaze that had burned itself into his soul. That scar still lingered, raw and unyielding, in the depths of her mind.
Do I hate him?
Yet, the Damnern of this life was entirely different. He was a living contradiction.
Her mind drifted back to a quiet afternoon when she was merely two days old.
"Papa, Eyya is holding Eden's finger!" a tiny Eldern had cheered, his green eyes sparkling with joy.
Not wanting to be left out, Damnern had immediately shoved his massive, calloused index finger into her tiny field of vision. "Here, hold Papa's too."
She remembered him painstakingly hand-carving a miniature wooden training sword just for her, and how he had stayed by her bedside, sleepless and frantic, nursing her through a sudden fever.
I don't understand these feelings at all... It's so hopelessly complicated.
If I come to care for him... am I betraying who I used to be? Am I betraying Ryudien?
Besides... who am I, really?
Do I even have the right to receive this kind of love?
A sudden, chilling realization struck her like a physical blow. If he ever finds out that I'm actually the male assassin he slaughtered in his past, now trapped inside the body of his baby daughter... would he still love me?
Her mind went completely blank, a cold void opening in her chest.
No. He can never know... Never.
I'm sorry, Elyra... she apologized mentally to the innocent soul whose identity she occupied.
Elyra's cheeks puffed out slightly in a desperate bid to mask her inner turmoil.
"He's..." She hesitated, the words catching in her small throat.
Irybelle waited with patient, gentle stillness.
Elyra lowered her gaze, her tiny fingers nervously curling into the plush fabric of the towel.
"He's... vevy annoying," she mumbled quietly.
Irybelle's lips twitched upward into a subtle, amused smile. "I see."
"B-But... Eyya still wuvs him," Elyra added, her voice dropping to a barely audible whisper.
Yes... of course it's Elyra who loves him. Not Ryudien.
I'm so sorry once again, Elyra... Please, just let me borrow this small slice of happiness a little longer... Just a little.
"Jus' a wittle bit!" Elyra blurted out defensively, instantly slapping both of her tiny hands over her burning face. "Don't tell him!"
Unable to resist the overwhelming cuteness of the display, Irybelle let out a soft laugh. She leaned down from behind the vanity stool, wrapping her arms around the little girl in a warm, gentle hug.
"Don't worry, Young Lady. Your secret is safe with me," Irybelle whispered playfully, bringing an index finger to her lips in a universal sign of secrecy.
Elyra watched the maid's gesture through the gaps of her fingers in the mirror.
Once she had finished styling her blonde hair, Irybelle helped her step into a delicate, night-purple gown adorned with faint silver embroidery.
"All done, Young Lady. You look absolutely lovely," Irybelle praised smoothly, stepping back to inspect her work.
Elyra stared at her reflection, mesmerized for a moment by the image of the pristine little noble girl looking back at her.
"If you need nothing else, I shall take my leave," Irybelle said with a respectful bow, turning gracefully toward the door.
Click.
The heavy wooden door shut behind her, sealing Elyra inside her sanctuary.
Outside in the corridor, Irybelle's suppressed squeal echoed faintly through the wood. "The Young Lady is so ridiculously cute!"
"Right?!" another maid's hushed, enthusiastic voice chimed in response.
Elyra flushed beet red as their admiring chatter drifted through the door. Embarrassed, she reached up and absentmindedly twirled a strand of her spun-gold blonde hair around her finger.
Am I really that adorable? she wondered, tilting her head at her reflection. Maybe I am...
She shook her head vigorously, attempting to clear the nonsensical vanity from her mind. Focus! It's time to wait for that brat.
Then again, he's really not a kid at all.
Whatever. It doesn't matter.
Hours slipped by in quiet solitude.
Elyra sat perched upon the stone bench of her private balcony, bathed in the cool, ethereal luminescence of the midnight moon. The midnight air was crisp, and despite her best efforts to remain vigilant, her eyelids grew progressively heavier. Her head began to nod rhythmically, her body fighting an uphill battle against infantile fatigue.
"Evwyone in the manor should be fast asleep by now..." she muttered, rubbing her eyes with a tiny fist.
"Whewe is he? Don't tell me he isn't coming after all... Haaahmm..." Elyra yawned wide, her small jaw stretching before she rubbed her eyes once more to chase away the sleepiness.
In the blink of an eye—without a single rustle of wind or sound of footsteps—a compact, dark figure materialized atop the stone railing of the balcony.
Elyra's eyes snapped wide open, instantly alert.
"Nufer!" she gasped excitedly, keeping her voice low.
Nufer stared down at her, his striking purple eyes cold and unreadable beneath the moonlight. "How about our deal?" he asked flatly.
"D-Deal...?"
Elyra froze.
Oh no. I totally forgot.
In an instant, memories of her afternoon in the grand archives came flooding back. Her grand strategic plans had completely evaporated the moment she stepped inside the library, utterly derailed by the serene atmosphere and the story Eldern had read to her.
"Before he left, the warrior kissed his daughter on the forehead," Eldern's young voice echoed in her memory, his small finger tracing the printed lines across the parchment.
Elyra had tilted her head in genuine confusion. "Why did he kiss her, Eden?"
"Because a kiss is a way of showing love," Eldern had explained with supreme, big-brother authority.
Elyra had blinked her sapphire eyes. "A way of showing wuv...?"
Eldern had nodded proudly. "Mm-hmm. It means you care about someone very much."
She had fallen silent, her sharp mind processing the concept.
So... kissing someone means you love them?
Images of Damnern constantly kissing her forehead when she was a baby flashed through her mind, rapidly followed by the horrifying memory of her own spontaneous action earlier that day—when she had leaned forward and kissed Damnern on the cheek.
I-That wasn't my intent! It was an instinctual reaction!
Overwhelmed by sudden, agonizing embarrassment, Elyra began frantically waving her small hands in the air as if trying to physically swat the memory away.
Nufer stared at her, his brows furrows in utter bewilderment. "What are you doing?"
Elyra snapped back to reality, freezing mid-motion. "A-Ah! Nothing!"
Nufer's eyes narrowed into a cold, suspicious glare. "Where is the book you promised?"
"I... I..." Elyra stammered, completely unable to meet his sharp, violet gaze.
"Huh?" Nufer's patience was visibly wearing thin.
"I fgot... I'm sowwy," Elyra squeaked, looking down at her slippers.
"A-Are you kidding me?!" Nufer's left eyelid twitched in utter disbelief. In that single, ridiculous moment, all his dark suspicions about her being a calculating, dangerous toddler completely vanished, replaced only by utter, exasperated disbelief at the toddler standing before him.
Krik, krik...
An agonizing, awkward silence stretched between them, punctuated only by the distant chirping of night crickets in the garden below.
"I was wrong," Nufer spat, his tone laced with deep irritation. "I shouldn't have put any faith in the words of a toddler."
He turned his back on her, shifting his weight to leap down into the shadows. "This was a complete waste of time."
"W-Wait!" Elyra panicked, stepping forward to catch him.
You complete idiot, Ryudien! How could you let yourself get so distracted by a stupid storybook?! she scolded herself ruthlessly.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Suddenly, heavy, rapid footsteps echoed down the grand corridor outside her room.
Before either of them could react, the grand wooden doors of the suite were slammed open with terrifying force.
BOOM!
"ELYRA!" Damnern roared, bursting into the room.
To be continued...