The bear’s eyes were bright, and when I looked closely, I saw that they were made of sapphires.
“Hey. It’s very expensive. This.”
“Huh? Really?”
Reina looked at the teddy bear with a happy face.
Marianne, who was watching from the side, had just approached. She usually had a blank face, and she now spoke with her characteristic quiet face and tone.
“…A bear with this eye color… Legendary rare teddy bear…”
“Wow, I see!”
‘Children, don’t you all know it’s a jewel?’
It seemed that the mystique of the ‘legendary rare teddy bear’ was more appealing to babies than the capitalistic thoughts that jewels incite.
The children quickly gathered like clouds and congratulated Raina.
Robert, with wheat-colored hair and healthy tanned skin, asked;
“Did Reina’s prospective parents give you a present for the first time?”
Reina shrugged her shoulders.
“That’s right!”
“Wow, that’s a really precious thing.”
“Yeah! I’ll cherish it!”
‘If it’s a sapphire bear, it should definitely be cherished. Hah. That’s two months’ worth of living expenses for the nobles in the capital.’
I nodded, thinking a little cynically.
Of course, there were things that were valuable even if they were not expensive.
For example, like this one.
I took a shiny, pretty apple from my pocket and smelled it.
“Hmm.”
The refreshing scent of apples eased my tension and made me feel good.
‘Haha. It’s my baby’s first gift.’
I liked the feelings contained in this apple.
The pure and kind heart that picked the prettiest apple and yielding it without hesitation.
‘…Why did such a good and innocent Sislin have to suffer?’
It wasn’t that Sislin wanted much.
It wasn’t that he was greedy, wanting to enjoy something large.
All I wanted was for Sislin to come out of the dark cave and to live a normal life, just like the other children.
Not shivering in the cold and not sleeping. Walking under the bright sunlight.
That was it.
‘…But why is even such a basic and ordinary thing so difficult for Sislin?’
‘Some people think unhappiness is the default.’
Misfortune was embedded in fate, so just being normal required a lot of effort.
I had seen people like that often in my past life.
To be honest, I also belonged to that kind of people, so I was even more concerned. I know a little bit about that kind of life.
‘Sislin is too young to get used to misfortune.’
A life full of unhappiness since birth…
My heart ached as if it was on fire when I thought of Sislin, who must have suffered all this while.
“……”
It was when I was holding the apple and having gloomy thoughts.
“Annette.”
A soft voice came from behind like a spring breeze. There was only one person in this world who called my name in such a voice.
I turned to the boy, still holding onto the apple.
Then, as if I was never depressed, I smiled warmly.
“Sisl, thank you so much for the apple. You know, I think this apple is the prettiest in the world!”
Then, Sislin playfully curved his eyes, and his red, friendly eyes looked at me calmly.
The boy said to me;
“Then I’ll call Annette ‘Apple’.”
“Ugh, why am I an apple?”
I asked, and immediately realized.
“……!”
‘Did he call me apple because this apple looks the prettiest in the world?!’
My face turned red because I was flustered. As expected, the obsessive Gwanggong sprout…! He was saying everything despite being an 11-year-old.
I roughly stammered out gibberish .
“…I’m not an apple, I don’t like any of it, so call me rambutan or dragon fruit…”
When I attached some odd-looking fruit to it, Sislin grinned.
After clearing my throat, I quickly stored the apple away carefully.
Then I started thinking inside.
‘Should Sislin be aware of the situation?’
Since, technically, this was something that happened to Sislin.
A little devil was trying to drive him out of this Forest.
‘It doesn’t make sense that the party involved doesn’t know. But…’
Wouldn’t it hurt too much?
I looked at the boy, and recalled the slight trembling in my arms.(TL/N: reminder, Sislin trembled when he faced the viscount.)
I couldn’t predict Sislin’s reaction if I were to tell him the truth.
Then Sislin asked me first.
“Do you have something to tell me, Annette?”
“Yes?”
He seemed to be keenly aware that I was hesitating on something.
“…Oh, uh.”
‘I have to say this. Please don’t get hurt too much.’
I took a deep breath and quietly started speaking.
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“Sislin, listen to me. It is no coincidence that Viscount Puterio came here.”
“……”
“Someone deliberately gave the Viscount your location so that he would bother you, as well as the location of the hideout to the madam.”