Chapter Ten

I’d turned my head without even realizing it. When our eyes met, Shuell tilted his head to the side. In the novel, Shuell lived in an orphanage in Broschte until he turned nine and was then sent to the same orphanage as Rietta. So Rietta should only figure out who Shuell was after she turned seven. Still, Shuell was now seven, and Rietta was two years younger than him.

It was Rietta before traveling back in time, but why was she here?

The original novel began when Rietta, who died at fourteen, traveled back in time and started her life over. In her first life, Rietta died after being abused at an orphanage, and she went back in time to when she was six years old. During her new life, Rietta tried her best to escape the orphanage to avoid the same grim death and ended up being adopted by Marquess Schreider. Her new family loved her, and she learned to heal from her past hurts.

Though she slowly overcame her painful past, she suddenly remembered Shuell, and they finally met again when she turned ten. By the novel’s story, Rietta shouldn’t be here right now. Rietta only left the orphanage because she traveled back in time. Something had changed, but I didn’t know what. The Duke and Duchess had found out Shuell’s whereabouts and arrived much earlier, and Rietta, who should be at an orphanage, was here in Severilous.

What had changed?

As I stared at the girl, immersed in my thoughts, she shifted uncomfortably and hunched her shoulders. It wasn’t only because she was wary of me. Rietta’s green hair and gray eyes were a source of trauma for her. She thought that anyone who looked at her would consider her disgusting.

It’s not weird, though.

As I struggled to find the right words, Kendrick stepped forward, smiling.

“This is Arwen. She’ll be living here with us from now on, but her room hasn’t been decorated yet, so could you share this room for a few days?”

Though Kendrick spoke kindly, Rietta’s lips trembled. It was clear that she wasn’t comfortable with my presence. I understood that completely. Rietta had lived a harsh life. She couldn’t afford to trust strangers blindly. I understood that, but it hurt nonetheless.

After a while, she managed to say, “Yes.” Her voice was coarse, as if she hadn’t spoken in a long time.

“Oh, and this is Shuell. He’s our son. You’ve mentioned him before.” Kendrick gently pushed Shuell forward, and Rietta’s eyes widened.

She had been frozen stiff in front of me, but that tension seemed to melt away slowly. Her eyes squinted slightly. It looked a bit like a smile and a bit like elation.

“Hi.” Her voice was quiet and shy, but it rang clear in the room.

That was when it hit me. Rietta’s reaction wasn’t to make new friends. She was much too wary of me for that. Plus, there was what Kendrick had just said. According to the novel, Rietta wasn’t supposed to know Shuell yet, but this girl did. What if Rietta’s time travel happened much earlier than I had known, and she came straight to Severilous to tell them of Shuell’s whereabouts instead of going to Schreider? Though Shuell and Rietta hadn’t now met at a Broschte orphanage, she must have mentioned something they had shared in the past, given how close they had been.

Shuell stared and reflexively muttered a greeting back at Rietta. I smiled to myself as I witnessed a budding romance’s beginning. The story had changed from the novel, but that was set in motion when I left Broschte with Shuell. I had no idea why she traveled back so fast, but did it really matter?

In the end, the Severilouses were alive, and both Shuell and Rietta could escape their abuse much earlier. Shuell would fall in love with Rietta, and they would achieve their happy ending with the love and protection of those around them. I had read a little bit of Rietta’s life. She had been badly hurt, and I wanted her to regain her smile.

While I continued to stare at Rietta, Kendrick, Marias, and Shuell left the room, letting us know that we would be having a grand meal and telling us to get along now that we shared a room. Left alone in the room with me, Rietta became visibly anxious.

“Rietta,” I called.

Her shoulders shook, but her clamped lips appeared determined. She looked like an angry hedgehog. Instead of comforting her, I decided to be honest with her. I was much more comfortable doing things the way I was used to, rather than clumsily attempting to soothe someone.

“I won’t be here long.”

Kendrick had told her that I’d be living here from now on, but I knew better than anyone that I couldn’t stay here. Rietta blinked at my stern tone. Her round eyes, typical of children, were adorable. Rietta was a lovely child and deserved all the love she could get. I wanted to tell her all the things I had wanted to while reading the novel, but I begrudgingly held back, knowing she would never believe me.

“This is your place. I won’t take it from you, so don’t worry.”

How could I ever take the protagonist’s place? I had neither the inclination nor the ability to do so. I lay down on the bed without waiting for her to answer. I was worn out from the long ride, and the bed looked so inviting. As I closed my eyes, I felt her approaching me. I peeked at her under my half-lowered eyelids. She studied me awhile, tipping her head to the side before finally poking the end of my hair. As expected of the protagonist. Shuell had done the same thing.

Silver hair was rare, so she must have been curious about it despite her wariness. She was still a child, after all. I opened my eyes slowly, and Rietta retreated immediately. I held out my hand to tell her that it was all right, but she was already on high alert. Approaching me when I was asleep and being on guard when I was awake. She was acting exactly like Shuell. However, Rietta was much more afraid of me than he once was.

Well, there goes being friends.

Children’s wariness went a long way, and I was somewhat stern, personality-wise. What I had told her before lying down was the extent of my kindness. Between my sharp features and my age, there was little possibility of Rietta opening up to me. Maybe she would, given enough time, but I would be leaving soon. I smiled bitterly.

Shattering all my expectations, Rietta slowly approached me like a spooked kitten. Her wary eyes lost their fear, and her mouth opened and began to spew curt phrases. I knew it was because she wanted to be friends with me. I was glad she was becoming more comfortable around me, but on the other hand, it also troubled me.

Still, I accepted it. The novel’s Rietta, the Rietta who had lived at the orphanage, was similar to Shuell. It was probably her first time making friends, so she would surely be excited. I could understand that.

***

And what was the heroine doing at the table right now?

“It’s marmalade.” She pushed the jar toward me. “Wen doesn’t like sausages, dummy,” she said to Shuell.

Oh dear. It’s only been a week.

How could I explain the fact that the two protagonists were fighting . . . over me? In the novel, Rietta and Shuell were close, to the point that her first request to Marquess Schreider was to rescue Shuell from the orphanage. That was how much she adored him. Though Shuell was wary of everyone, he acted like a meek sheep in front of her, and though Rietta’s family disapproved of him, he stuck by her side. Everything I was witnessing now threw these facts out the window.

Guys, you were in love.

Rietta had seemed fond of Shuell at first, and Shuell had shown no sign of animosity toward her. How did things end up like this?

“You!” Shuell yelled, his face red. “You haven’t even been with Wen that long! Don’t act like you know her better than I do. Wen lo-lo-loaves marmalade.”

“Loathes, not loaves,” I interjected.

“Have you ever shared a room with Wen?” Rietta replied. “I’m going to share a bed with her tonight too. Wen hates sausages way more than she hates marmalade. So much more.”

“What does sharing a room have to do with my food preference?”

The children seemed oblivious to my muttering and continued to argue with their flawed logic. I tried to smile, but I was getting dizzy from all the fighting and screaming. Honestly, I’d never seen anything like this in any household.

“Um, I like both.”

Why must they fight whenever they met eyes? Over such trivial things, to boot. I tried to break it up, but it made things worse. Both children turned around and fixed their gazes on me.

“Wen, do you like marmalade more? Do you like that yucky jam Rietta is giving you? No, right?”

“Wen, do you prefer sausages? What that dummy gave you, and not me?”

Their faces were splotchy and red from arguing too much.

“Hey!” Shuell shouted.

“What?” Rietta shot back coolly.

Shuell looked unmistakably angry. Rietta pretended to keep her calm, but she was also panting.

My preference for both sausages and marmalade had already been overruled. Still, if I were to pick one over the other, one child would definitely get upset, so I struggled to find a solution. I caught the gaze of Marias, who was gracefully cutting up her steak. Having watched over this whole situation, she slowly blinked once. Then, she turned her eyes back to her steak and took a bite. My expectations vanished to nothing. I looked up to find Kendrick, but he wasn’t there.

Ah, yes. He had gone to make dessert. The children were still fussing and fighting. There was no sign of them stopping any time soon. Just when I was about to say something, Marias’s long arm reached across the table. The last sausage that Shuell had left for me and the whole jar of marmalade that Rietta had given me ended up next to Marias. While we all gaped at her in wonder, Marias casually spread a dollop of marmalade on the sausage. She ate the whole abominable concoction without batting an eye.

“Don’t fight over food.” Her icy voice was enough to silence the whole dining room.