Chapter 7

“Here, check it.”

“Ha. Didn’t I say I would walk, young master?”

“You must have come this way because you’re slow and I’m fast.”

Leo grumbled as if he didn’t like being dragged by the neck, but he carefully examined the state of the awakened Solitaria.

Only after a bit of conversation and various examinations was Leo able to be freed from Heinrich.

“This appearance doesn’t even look like a 7-year-old. A child who should be 12, or rather now 13, looks like this… First, nutrition intake is the most important.”

“It is small.”

“If you poke it wrong, it could break, so don’t bully the weak child.”

“What do you mean by bully? I’m not bullying anyone.”

Leo squinted his eyes at Heinrich as if he couldn’t trust him and glared at his young master. Heinrich poked at Leo’s eyes, which had been rude since last time.

“Ugh.”

“Why are you looking at me like that? If you’re done, get out.”

Once Leo disappeared, Heinrich turned to look at Solitaria. The cold voice and gaze from earlier were nowhere to be found.

He approached her very cautiously and slowly, as if unsure how to treat this small creature.

“Are you awake now? You couldn’t even open your eyes before. Does it still hurt? If so, I’ll go catch that guy for you…”

“Ah.”

Before Solitaria could finish her sentence, her mouth opened first. Heinrich hurriedly picked up the water beside him and handed it to her.

As her hand kept slipping as if it had no strength, Heinrich fed her with his trembling hand.

Once he confirmed that she had finished drinking, Heinrich quickly stepped back from Solitaria.

“You need to eat a lot. You’re weak. Ha, you really might break if I hit you.”

Heinrich roughly swept his hair back in front of her, who was staring at him with wide eyes. There was a hint of whining in his mumbling.

In an instant, Solitaria realized who he was.

The boy who resembled an angel that rescued her from the cage, or rather, that hell.

“Ah! Ah… Aah.”

Solitaria couldn’t say a proper word. She hurriedly got off the bed and knelt. Heinrich was startled by her action. He picked her up and sat her back on the bed.

“Hey! What are you doing.”

“I… I was trying to thank you…”

Solitaria mumbled and couldn’t speak clearly. Heinrich could have felt frustrated. But he slowly processed her words and understood exactly what she meant.

“You’re not even well. What are you doing? It’s fine.”

“Thank you. Young Master.”

Heinrich waved his hand to say it was okay. But he froze and stared at Solitaria after what she said next.

She didn’t seem to understand why he had frozen. She tilted her head and called him again.

“Young Master?”

“Why. Why do you call me that.”

Heinrich looked at Solitaria with a completely dazed and foolish expression. It was natural for her to call him that. Yet Heinrich kept asking as if he couldn’t understand.

“Because you are the Young Master.”

“Just call me by my name…”

“No I can’t. That would be wrong…”

Solitaria had been looking straight into Heinrich’s eyes until just a moment ago. Suddenly she became frightened and started trembling. It seemed a certain word had triggered her fear.

“If I’m wrong. I get hit. I hate it…”

The word ‘wrong’ held a very significant meaning for Solitaria.

She remembered the maids who would say “You’re being hit because you’re wrong” whenever she was disobedient. She also remembered her mother saying it was natural for her to be treated poorly because “Your very existence is wrong.”

Heinrich looked at the terrified Solitaria. He soon raised his hands as if surrendering.

When Heinrich raised both hands Solitaria naturally expected to be hit. She flinched in premature fear. But instead of sharp pain warm words came to her.

“I don’t know anymore. Call me whatever you’re comfortable with.”

At his calm and quiet voice Solitaria lifted her head and met his eyes. He gave her a very bright smile. Then his eyes twinkled as if he was boasting about something and he spoke.

He said there was no one here who would torment her.

“Those vermin-like Repus beastkin aren’t here. So don’t worry.”

Then as if a memory from that place suddenly came to him, Heinrich wrinkled his nose. Solitaria watched him quietly and she tried to wrinkle her nose just like him.

Seeing that Heinrich let out a dry laugh and told her.

“Don’t copy me.”

“Okay.”

Even after hearing that Solitaria beamed. She seemed so happy about something.

Heinrich watched her directly from the front. He froze on the spot.

She was terribly thin with only skin and bones. She definitely looked shabby. Yet flowers were fluttering all around behind her back.

But it’s winter now.

Solitaria must have found Heinrich’s dazed state strange. She tilted her head and looked at him. Then he finally snapped out of it and began to tell her things one by one.

“You heard Leo earlier right? To get healthy you need to eat and exercise. You’ll eat with me. I need to see if you’re a picky eater. And you’ll exercise with me too. I’ll help you with everything. Also if you’re curious about anything just ask. I’ll tell you.”

Heinrich wasn’t even aware that he was doing a year’s worth of talking right there. Solitaria nodded her head without much reaction.

Frustrated by her appearance Heinrich first asked if she had any questions. But she just shook her head and didn’t open her mouth. Seeing that Heinrich felt something welling up in his chest. He let out a hollow laugh and looked at her.

“This is a first. A beastkin who isn’t interested in me.”

A smile never left his lips as he mumbled something absurd and ridiculous.

Heinrich soon clapped his hands neatly and smiled brightly.

“It’s fine. You can ask later if you have questions right?”

Solitaria wasn’t interested in him. But Heinrich was quite interested in her.

He wanted to ask what she was thinking in that small head of hers one by one. But he carefully chose his words fearing she might run away. He asked the one thing he wanted to ask the most.

The one thing he couldn’t find out no matter how hard he tried.

“What’s your name?”

At that question Solitaria’s eyes wavered.

She seemed to be contemplating whether she dared to say those words. As if noticing her hesitation Heinrich didn’t rush her. He just blinked and waited.

After moving her lips for a long time Solitaria could finally say her name. Five syllables.

“It’s… Solitaria.”

Hearing that Heinrich rolled the name in his mouth trying to pronounce it. The name didn’t come out easily. Solitaria spoke to Heinrich as if she was used to it.

“The name is long and inconvenient. So you can just call me this or that or hey.”

At those words Heinrich frowned as if he didn’t like it. He called Solitaria.

His eyes looked like he had a lot to say.

“Solitaria?”

At his call Solitaria felt as if the world had stopped. She stared blankly at him.

Seeing that Heinrich misunderstood. He thought she was like that because he had been annoyed. Just as he was about to apologize, tears started to fall from Solitaria’s eyes. Drip. Drip.

“Uh…?”

“Hey! You why.”

Flustered, Heinrich awkwardly fumbled with Solitaria’s face.

“Hey. Hey? Solitaria! Did I do something wrong? Don’t cry. Huh? Why are you crying?”

Her tattered and insignificant name was called warmly for the first time in her life. An ocean flowed endlessly from her large green eyes.

Solitaria cried quite pitifully. She tried her best to hold back her sobs. She bit her lip hard. Her blood-engorged lips and clenched teeth looked quite pathetic.

“Just cry out loud. Open your mouth. If you bite that hard your teeth will all get damaged okay? No. You shouldn’t bite your lip either. It’ll burst and look bad. If you really need to bite something.”

Heinrich looked at his finger then held it out.

“Bite this.”

It was clumsy comfort. Words that a third party might not even recognize as comfort. As if he himself knew it was strange his ears were flushed red. However Solitaria who had never received comfort in her life opened her mouth as if even this was a joy. She burst into tears, wailing.

The sorrow of a child who had never felt warmth combined with his comfort. It became large drops of water and engulfed Solitaria.

“Sob…”

“It’s okay. Cry louder.”

Once the tears started they didn’t know how to stop and kept flowing.

How long did she cry? By the time the bright sun had set, Solitaria stopped crying. Thanks to the tremendous thunder rumbling from her stomach.

Hearing the rumbling sound Heinrich laughed so hard the room seemed to shake. Watching him Solitaria also burst into a bashful smile.

At that moment, the wind blew in through the slightly open window.

Heinrich’s hair fluttered in the wind. He swept it back as if it were annoying and asked her.

“Shall we eat now?”

Solitaria’s eyes were fixed on his fluttering black hair. They didn’t seem to want to look away.

‘Black hair… how can it shine like that?’

Unable to resist the impulse, Solitaria unconsciously placed her hand on Heinrich’s head.

Three seconds. Exactly three seconds.

For a moment silence fell there. Solitaria was startled. She apologized to him and removed her hand.

“Ah! Ah! Sorry. I’m sorry!”

“It’s okay. It’s really okay!”

Both his ears were bright red and his body had stiffened like a tree branch. Seeing Heinrich like that, Solitaria couldn’t say anything and just stared.

If James hadn’t come in midway, their absurd staring contest would have undoubtedly continued until nightfall.