Chapter : 06
Elena was shocked. She had never imagined, even in her dreams, that Sirius could shed tears.
The Sirius in the book had seemed impressive simply because he was the protagonist, but in reality, he lacked even the smallest trace of humanity.
His childhood had been slightly better, at least. Even so, the oppression and abuse inflicted by the emperor had dulled his emotions all the same.
For example, when Sirius was being taught by Duke Lode and received corporal punishment for the first time—a slap across the cheek—he hadn’t so much as flinched.
That kind of thing was already far too familiar to him.
And yet now, that very Sirius was crying out loud.
“……Hngh.”
Earlier, she hadn’t noticed because she’d been lost in thought, but now she could hear the sound of sobbing even without pressing her ear to the wall.
Of course, it was so faint that one could easily miss it if they weren’t paying attention. Without realizing it, Elena bit down on her lip.
Whether she understood the situation or not, having someone cry in the next room made her uneasy.
‘What should I do? What am I supposed to do?’
Come to think of it, Sirius had only arrived here yesterday.
In a completely unfamiliar place, he was being pressured by someone who claimed to be his teacher, and on top of that, he had already experienced hostility from the duke’s children.
Above all, he was only a ten-year-old boy.
No matter how numb his emotions had become, this was still an age when one could be crushed by despair.
What could have made him cry?
Even she felt gloomy when she thought about how her father’s affection had vanished in an instant, even if she told herself she didn’t care anymore.
She doubted she would ever be able to feel indifferent about it, even as an adult.
Sirius was born different from her, so maybe it wasn’t the same for him—but still.
‘Should I go comfort him?’
But that was something meant for the Sirius of the future, the adult Sirius.
Right now, he was still a boy whose emotions hadn’t fully hardened.
Unless she had never known at all, it felt wrong to ignore someone who was crying.
And if that someone was a child her own age, it felt even worse.
Restless, Elena tossed and turned on her bed, then suddenly froze.
What if Sirius realized she was awake?
…Though worrying about something that trivial felt pointless, considering how much she’d already been talking to herself.
Talking to herself had been a habit ever since she first learned to speak—there was nothing she could do about it.
Back when her father’s affection had been lavished upon her, her siblings had openly resented her, so she couldn’t talk to them.
Later, when she was relegated to the attic, everyone mocked and ridiculed her, and no one would associate with her at all.
Only then did Elena realize that Sirius was the only person she’d had anything resembling a real conversation with recently.
And yet here she was, hesitating over whether or not to comfort him.
Thinking that made the weight on her chest feel even heavier. Elena squeezed her eyes shut.
‘…No. I can’t.’
Even if it made her uncomfortable, she couldn’t go comfort him.
After agonizing over it for a long time, Elena decided to stick to the plan and do nothing.
If the House of Lode was to fall smoothly in the future, she couldn’t afford to cause any change in his state of mind.
Variables could derail the original story.
Besides, if she went into the next room to comfort him, she’d be admitting that she had been listening through the thin wall.
That would be like advertising herself to a wary wolf already on edge, begging to be bitten.
And they weren’t close enough for comfort, anyway.
If Elena hugged him, it would be completely out of place.
Even after coming up with countless excuses, Elena couldn’t fall asleep easily.
Her conscience pricked at her relentlessly. Thanks to that, she spent the entire night awake.
“Ugh… my head feels fuzzy…”
Elena changed her clothes in a state that felt like half her soul had left her body.
Children needed lots of sleep to grow properly, but she hadn’t slept a wink last night.
If she ended up not growing tall enough, she’d blame Sirius.
Objectively speaking, staying awake all night just because she felt uneasy was a complete waste of energy.
Sirius was someone who carved out his own path better than anyone else.
Who was worrying about whom, really?
It would have been more sensible to spend that time worrying about her own future.
Even so, the lingering discomfort wouldn’t go away.
As she replayed the sound of his crying in her head, Elena finished getting ready. It was time to go eat breakfast.
She flung open her door to head for the dining room. Since she hadn’t slept, she needed to eat well, at least.
But the moment she opened the door without thinking, Elena nearly collapsed where she stood.
“Eek!”
The instant the door opened, her eyes met Sirius’s.
Startled, Elena screamed as if she’d been ambushed.
“……”
“……”
What followed was an awkward silence that made her scream feel embarrassing.
Unlike Elena, whose face instantly turned red, Sirius sat calmly on the low window frame in the hallway, his expression completely blank.
He looked like he was waiting for someone—but surely not her.
Elena quickly erased the thought.
Why would he be waiting for her?
“……”
Still, since he was staring at her so intently without saying a word, it wasn’t unreasonable that she’d misunderstood.
Elena considered just walking past him, but that felt even stranger, so she greeted him instead.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah.”
The short reply came back. She liked that—it was such an ordinary, forgettable exchange.
But it was too soon to relax. Unexpectedly, the conversation didn’t end there.
“Did you sleep well?”
“…Yes.”
Since she hadn’t expected him to return the greeting, Elena replied after a slight delay.
She felt bewildered. Had Sirius cried last night and suddenly awakened into a gentle personality?
As if. That idea was about as ridiculous as saying a wolf had become a vegetarian.
It made more sense to think he’d noticed she was listening and was now interrogating her.
‘But… he looks like he’s in a good mood.’
As she answered, a faint, warm sensation drifted from Sirius—something soft and gentle.
It was subtle enough to go unnoticed unless one paid close attention, but there was no way she was mistaken.
The memory of him crying the night before felt almost like a dream.
‘What is this?’
Confused by the lack of logic in how things were unfolding, Elena started walking.
Sirius hopped down from the window frame and followed after her.
Pretending not to notice, Elena stole a glance at him.
He was already sharp-looking and handsome. When he grew up, Sirius would probably become a strikingly cold-looking beauty.
But for now, a child was still a child. His silver hair, slightly tousled from sleep, floated like dandelion fluff.
And now that she looked properly, he was shorter than her.
Yesterday, even standing still, he’d felt intimidating, so she hadn’t noticed.
Later on, with the finest genes in imperial history, he’d grow to be a head taller than everyone else—but for now, he looked a little cute.
Not wanting to seem like she was staring too much, Elena looked straight ahead.
Even so, she could clearly feel that he was walking close beside her.
“……”
“……”
This time, Elena didn’t say anything embarrassing like asking why he was following her.
He seemed to be sensibly tagging along to eat breakfast.
Sirius was human, too—he had to eat breakfast. Of course he did.
Since the dining room was far from the west tower, they worked their small legs hard to get there.
Creeeak.
As expected, no one was there.
It was already late for breakfast. Only after the rest of the family had finished eating did it become her turn.
Naturally, the food served was different as well.
Duke Lode didn’t just discriminate in how people lived—he did so even with food.
A family like this deserved to fall.
Elena reaffirmed that this place absolutely had to be destroyed.
‘It smells like tomato stew!’
That was Sirius’s problem to handle someday. For now, she planned to quietly eat breakfast and let him carry her to the end.
As usual, she walked past the dining room and grabbed the handle to the kitchen door.
“Where are you going?”
Suddenly, Sirius grabbed her arm.
His gaze was tense, as if he thought she might shake him off at any moment.
Elena almost screamed again, but thanks to yesterday’s lesson, she managed not to.
“…To eat breakfast?”
“But this is the dining room.”
“That’s true, but even if we waited here all day, nothing would come out.”
To eat the tomato stew, you had to go into the kitchen and bring it yourself.
That applied both to someone cast aside like her and to Sirius, who had only just arrived at the duke’s estate.
Rather than explain further, Elena headed straight for the kitchen.
Actions spoke louder than a hundred words.
Still holding onto her arm, Sirius followed closely.
“If you come here every day, you can just get your meals like this.”
Somehow, Elena ended up demonstrating how to ladle out the stew for him.
…Why did she feel like she’d become a mother bird?
By the time she felt the awkwardness, she had already served a portion for Sirius as well.
“Nice that it’s simple.”
Unlike what one would expect from someone of imperial blood, Sirius accepted the bowl without complaint.
He even looked cheerful just to be able to eat breakfast.
It spoke volumes about how much the emperor had oppressed him—but Elena asked nothing. She was focused on survival.
In any case, the two of them carried their bowls with their small hands and returned to the dining room.
When Elena sat down, Sirius naturally took the seat across from her.
A position where their eyes would meet as soon as they looked up.
But it wasn’t anything special—just eating together.
Elena swallowed reflexively. The stew was cold, but it still looked perfectly edible.
‘Looks delicious!’
Today was a lucky day. It had been a while since there was decent food left in the kitchen.
Excited, Elena picked up her spoon with a bit of haste.
Suddenly, the back of her head prickled.
She looked up.
Sirius was staring straight at her with a blank expression, his spoon still untouched.
Why is he doing that all of a sudden?
Trying to read the room, Elena thought desperately.
He didn’t look angry… did he have a grudge against food?
Not knowing what was going on, cold sweat nearly broke out.
Feeling pressured to say something, she opened her mouth as if being chased.
