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Letizia returned to the room with Aria.
"Now it's time for the little lady to go to dreamland. Shall we lie back in bed?"
"I don't want to sleep..."
Aria pouted, but obediently headed to the bed anyway.
As Letizia was about to follow, Idris's coat, which had been draped over her shoulders, slipped down.
Only after reflexively catching it did she realize whose warmth had been protecting her from the night wind.
And the identity of the subtle fragrance that lingered around her nose.
'It smells nice.'
It was the scent that always emanated from Idris.
A refreshing scent that was like the scent of cool water or the smell of the wind.
It felt as if the scent entered her lungs and tickled her chest.
"Boss unnie, what are you doing?"
Letizia, startled by Aria's sudden interjection, dropped the jacket she was holding.
Then, she let out a self-conscious laugh, wondering at her reaction.
'It's not like I did anything wrong.'
But why is her heart beating so fast?
"Yeah, I'm coming."
Letizia picked up the jacket, placed it neatly nearby, and approached Aria, who was lying in bed.
The original plan was to put the child to sleep as quickly as possible, but...
'Maybe it's because she just woke up from a nap, but she's very energetic...'
Even after covering her with a blanket, Aria's eyes were sparkling.
The child, who had taken a nap while she was showering, didn't seem to want to sleep at all.
In the end, she gave up on putting Aria to sleep right away and decided to work together.
Letizia placed her notebook and Aria's sketchbook on the bedside table.
"Okay, Aria. I'm going to draw a butterfly now, so Aria, draw whatever you want."
"Okay! Aria is really good at drawing, just like Daddy."
"Really? Then will you show me how good you are?"
Aria nodded vigorously and immediately became engrossed in drawing.
Sparkling eyes, slightly furrowed brows as if concentrating, and tightly closed lips.
'She's cute normally, but children are always the cutest when they keep their mouths shut...'
Letizia, who was unconsciously watching Aria with a warm smile, soon began her work.
Her task was to decide on a logo and name to symbolize the brand.
'The logo is pretty much decided, but what should the name be?'
Just as Letizia was scribbling down butterfly shapes and a few names that came to mind,
"Boss unnie, ta-da!"
Aria, who had already finished her drawing, held out her sketchbook.
The sketchbook depicted an animal with large ears, but it looked too chubby to be a rabbit.
After hesitating for a moment, Letizia asked.
"Is this a rabbit?"
"No. It's a bear. It's really big and strong, so it can protect Daddy, Unnie, the Prince, and... Ah! Wig too."
The child, who had been afraid of Wig until just this afternoon, seemed to have quickly become friends with him after receiving snacks and a rabbit doll.
"Oh, that's a very cool bear. So what's this bear's name?"
"Its name is Aria too."
"Aria seems to like the name Aria?"
"Yeah."
"I like that name too. It used to be my name."
"Unnie's name is Boss, right?"
"Well, I had another name. The same name as Aria."
"So Unnie has two names?"
"Yeah. I had another secret name that I only told to very precious friends."
Actually, it was a name she made up because she was worried that if she told him her real name, the nobleman would realize she was a noble and be wary of her...
Maybe that's why she readily offered to take care of Aria.
Because the name from her memories came to mind.
"Yawn... I'm sleepy, Boss unnie."
"Then shall we finish drawing tomorrow and just sleep for today?"
Letizia put Aria to sleep in bed and moved to a nearby table to concentrate on her work.
By the time the butterfly drawing and countless name candidates filled one side of the notebook,
Letizia's eyelids, who had been suffering from childcare all day, also slowly closed.
It wasn't long after that when a familiar shadow entered the room where the two people's even breathing was heard.
The person who opened the door that Aria hadn't properly closed was Idris.
In his hand, he held the rabbit doll that Aria had received from Wig.
Idris quietly approached Letizia, who was asleep, and reached out to her neck.
Finally, as he swept away the hair covering Letizia's ear, a sigh escaped through his teeth.
"...Ha."
Behind her ear, which was not clearly visible, remained a small scar.
The same as Aria's.
Idris first met 'Aria' in the forest near the village.
It was early summer, not long after his mother had left on a distant journey from which she could not return.
Idris, who was picking berries and returning home from the forest, suddenly stopped, feeling a presence.
It was because he remembered what his mother had told him until just before she died.
"Idris, never let anyone see your eyes. Never..."
She said his eyes were cursed.
The person who saw his eyes, and he himself who made eye contact with that person, would be cursed.
So Idris covered his eyes with cloth and avoided even encountering other people as much as possible.
Except for Aunt Sarah, a neighbor who had been close to his mother.
He was about to reflexively hide himself, as had become a habit, but stopped, a thought suddenly occurring to him.
'What good is that damn curse now?'
Now that his mother is dead, what meaning is there in this life of living alone?
As his mother said, he had covered his eyes to avoid harming others, and had lived avoiding people.
But the result of succumbing to his unfortunate fate was just this kind of life.
The moment a rebellious spirit against his fate suddenly surged, the owner of the presence appeared with a rustling sound.
"Oh... Hello?"
A clear voice of a girl.
It was a different reaction from the village children, who occasionally encountered him inevitably, and hated and avoided him as a 'beggar.'
'But, so what?'
The reactions of people who saw him were divided into two categories.
They either avoided him or pitied him.
He hated the nobles who occasionally came to the slums to give alms and find comfort in what they had, more than the village children who avoided him.
'That child is probably one of those kinds.'
Idris ignored the child's greeting and walked past her with his cane.
But as expected, he heard a voice from behind.
"Hey, shall I help you?"
Words filled with pity that Idris hated so terribly.
Normally, he should have just ignored her and walked past.
But for some reason, he was annoyed that day.
"I don't need it, get lost."
"Huh...?"
"Are you deaf? Don't block the road and get lost."
Idris thought that she might throw stones at him or trip him, saying that he was just a blind man and was ignoring her, like other children, but the child did not.
However, he only felt a clumsy presence following him a few steps behind.
'Seeing as she hasn't touched me yet, she doesn't seem to have any bad intentions.'
If so, she must have followed him out of pity.
'...Annoying.'
When he reached the alley where his house was visible, Idris stopped walking abruptly.
Then, the presence following behind also stopped a beat late.
Idris asked without turning around. He wouldn't be able to see anyway since he was covering his eyes with a blindfold.
"Is it fun to watch secretly?"
"That's not it. I'm just, worried..."
"Ha... I hate people like you the most."
He felt the approaching steps falter at his sharp words.
Idris poured out his inner thoughts with the intention of driving the child away completely.
"You offer help that no one asked for, and if you hear even a thank you, you feel like you've become some great person, right?"
It was an emotion he had been holding back when his mother was alive.
Perhaps shocked by his direct words, the child hesitated for a moment and spoke in a small voice, as if mumbling.
"I'm sorry..."
Soon, the listless footsteps faded away with a patter.
Idris, turning to go home, felt relieved.
Like he had released a fire that had been boiling inside him for a long time.
But at the same time, he felt empty.
Really strangely so.
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