Chapter : 08
Elena stood in front of Sirius’s door, crying out desperately in her heart.
Please, my insurance—don’t die!
That’s right. Sirius was practically her one and only insurance policy.
So this absolutely was not an action born from guilt.
Because she had taken out “insurance” on Sirius, she had no choice but to worry about whether he might die and come check on him.
After thoroughly rationalizing things to herself, Elena took a deep breath and cautiously knocked on the door.
Knock, knock.
“……”
Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, the only sound that came from the other side of the door was silence.
Still, Elena waited for a moment.
Even though she could already tell there was no response from Sirius, her heart tightened with tension.
If he were even slightly conscious, it would be her who ended up in trouble.
Helping someone shouldn’t have to be done in secret…
When she thought about it, it really was a ridiculous situation. Even trying to help required this much caution.
But leaving this kind of impression in Sirius’s mind was far more terrifying.
Why? Because Sirius was not in a normal mental state.
A man whose life was steeped in revenge and the madness born from it—later, after returning to the imperial capital, he would slaughter countless people.
That included not only the emperor, the main culprit who had abused him, but also the one person who had treated him kindly during his childhood.
Sirius had known since he was young that this person reported his every move to the emperor and secretly poisoned his food.
Because of that, Sirius was extremely wary of anyone who helped him without an obvious reason.
Elena did have a reason for helping him—but she couldn’t exactly shout, “You’re my insurance!” to his face. From his perspective, it was the same as having no reason at all.
Feeling as though she were digging her own grave, Elena finally pushed the door open slightly.
I’ll just take a quick look.
If he looks really sick… I’ll just leave some medicine behind.
“Um… are you okay?”
The question she whispered through the crack in the door was her final check. Once again, there was no answer.
Now’s my chance.
She opened the door wide, moving quickly yet quietly.
But before her plan could fully turn into action, Elena froze, her breath catching at the horrifying sight before her.
“Haah…”
Sirius lay curled tightly on the old bed, his body soaked in sweat.
If not for the occasional groan escaping his small body, she might have mistaken him for dead.
What in the world did they do to such a tiny child…
Forgetting to quiet her footsteps, Elena hurried over to him.
“My goodness! Are you really okay?”
“……”
He lay facedown on the bed, still wearing clothes caked in dirt, unable even to change.
His beautiful silver hair had lost all its luster, matted with sweat and dust, scattered messily across the bed. Fever burned through his entire body, turning his face and every exposed inch of skin a deep red.
With trembling hands, Elena placed her palm against Sirius’s forehead.
It was so hot it felt like her hand might burn.
He survived in this condition?
Disbelief aside, the situation was urgent.
Elena ran back to her room and returned with towels and water. Of course, she also brought fever medicine.
The people of the Rode household treated her like she didn’t exist, but whenever she was sick, they were ordered by the duke to care for her—so she always had plenty of medicine in her room.
She never imagined she’d be grateful for that fact.
But there was no time to dwell on it now.
First, Elena struggled to turn Sirius onto his back.
“Hup.”
Earlier she had been overly cautious, but now her movements were decisive.
There was no way Sirius could wake up in this condition—that much was certain.
“Ugh…”
Even being touched seemed painful; Sirius let out a groan.
Seeing his condition clearly now, Elena was once again silently horrified.
She already knew it, but her father was undoubtedly insane.
One of Sirius’s hands was visibly swollen—clearly from being forced to swing a sword over and over again.
Repeating the same motion hundreds or thousands of times was practically torture.
“First, we have to bring the fever down.”
Having brought an extra calming ointment, Elena soaked a clean towel in water and gently wiped his face.
Even that seemed painful—Sirius furrowed his brow, and Elena found herself mirroring the expression without realizing it.
“The fever medicine…”
Keeping her eyes on his face, Elena picked up the medicine she had set on the floor.
She opened the lid and carefully brought it to his lips.
It was her first time nursing someone, and she probably spilled more than half—but she managed to confirm that he swallowed it.
After repeatedly wiping down the overheated areas with the towel again and again, signs of improvement finally began to appear.
“Haa…”
Elena let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
Sirius’s breathing had finally grown a little more relaxed.
But this was only putting out the immediate fire—the treatment wasn’t over yet.
Next was the swollen hand.
It wouldn’t completely relieve the horrific muscle pain, but applying ointment was far better than doing nothing.
She focused carefully on spreading the medicine when, at some point, Sirius’s breathing became uneven again.
Hearing it, Elena looked up and murmured blankly.
“He’s crying again…”
She had wondered why his breathing sounded strange—now his small cheeks were soaked with tears.
His shoulders trembled faintly, and the swollen fingertips shook ever so slightly, yet the scene was eerily quiet.
Because it was a cry without sound.
Elena suddenly felt her chest tighten.
“Why… why are you crying?”
The words slipped out like a lament.
As far as she knew, even at this time Sirius was never weak.
In the hostile atmosphere of the Rode household—no different from the imperial palace—he only sharpened his venom.
True to that, Sirius behaved resolutely whenever persecution and abuse were rampant.
But when night came and no one was around, he cried alone.
Was it that once no one could touch him, the relief finally overwhelmed him and brought tears?
Elena hesitated, then gently shook her head.
Somehow, that explanation didn’t feel sufficient.
“…You should just cry out loud.”
If he cried a little less miserably, she wouldn’t feel this miserable too.
Elena sighed softly.
The crying child looked small and harmless.
An overwhelming wave of pity surged through her.
Without thinking, she reached out and took Sirius’s hand.
“Haa…”
At that, the sound of his crying grew just barely louder—then gradually subsided.
Even after he quieted down, Elena found she couldn’t bring herself to let go of his hand.
And so she stayed like that for a long while, only returning to her room when dawn began to break.
Where had the person who cried in pain gone?
Elena blinked.
For a moment, last night felt like a dream.
After a short nap, she opened her door to go eat breakfast—only to see Sirius sitting on the windowsill as usual.
“Good morning. Did you sleep well?”
Since pretending she didn’t know anything was her role, she spoke to him as naturally as possible.
Aside from looking slightly sluggish from his condition, Sirius looked exactly the same as yesterday.
…No, one more thing stood out.
The way Sirius looked at her as he returned her greeting seemed oddly sharp.
When Elena visibly flinched under that gaze, he asked in a probing, brisk tone.
“Why are you coming out so late today?”
“…I overslept!”
It was an unpolished excuse made in haste, but still a harmless answer.
Even so, his gaze didn’t soften easily.
Why? What? Why?
Feeling guilty for no reason, Elena added unnecessary words.
“Um—why do you ask?”
“Just wondering…”
Unlike his earlier sharpness, his tone now sounded strangely deflated.
The gaze that had seemed sharp moments ago now appeared calm, as if her impression had been mistaken.
The sensation of suspicion that had been pricking at Elena vanished in an instant.
As she stood there, stunned by the sudden change, Sirius turned away sharply and said,
“Let’s go eat breakfast.”
…That was way too sloppy.
The quiet words Sirius muttered afterward never reached Elena’s ears.
She was too busy replaying last night in her head as she followed him.
Seeing his face and hair clean this morning would naturally raise suspicion.
And with someone living right next door, it wouldn’t be strange to name her the prime suspect.
But there was no need for her heart to shrink in advance—Sirius had no proof.
He hadn’t opened his eyes once last night. He showed no signs of waking.
He had been completely unconscious.
So unless he were a god, there was no way he could have known she’d been there.
If she just denied it to the end, he’d soon assume a kind maid had come by, or that the duke had sent a physician.
While Elena reassured herself, Sirius continued walking ahead.
Even though she had confirmed with her own eyes that he was fine, it still felt amazing.
Considering yesterday, the fact that he could even get up and move was a miracle.
Without realizing it, Elena kept glancing sideways at the boy walking beside her.
Sirius staggered slightly, but thankfully, nothing seemed seriously damaged.
Whether it was thanks to her care or Sirius’s almost supernatural recovery, Elena finally began to relax.
“Enjoy your meal.”
“Yeah.”
Just like yesterday, they arrived at the dining room, brought food from the kitchen, and ate breakfast.
There wasn’t much conversation.
As Elena lifted her final spoonful, she allowed herself a small hope.
Is this really going to pass without issue?
Just as she began to relax, Sirius abruptly set his spoon down with a clatter.
“Now that you’re done, come with me.”
