I Accidentally Saved The Male Lead’s Brother

“Nunna, catch Theo!”

Wrapped snugly in the red scarf Charlotte had made for him, Theo dashed forward, his little legs leaving trails in the freshly fallen snow. His rosy cheeks glowed even redder than the scarf, and Charlotte laughed as she jogged after him.

‘He’s having the time of his life.’

Snow had begun falling early that morning. Though it had snowed a few times since Charlotte arrived in the Heinst estate, none of those days compared to today’s heavy snowfall.

Theo had been ecstatic since the moment he woke up and saw the garden blanketed in white. He begged to go outside even before breakfast, bouncing with excitement.

Charlotte managed to coax him into eating first, and as soon as breakfast was over, Theo bolted outside, running around like a fish released into water.

“Theo, slow down!”

Charlotte followed close behind, worried he might slip and fall. But completely oblivious to her concern, Theo focused intently on his new game of leaving tiny footprints in the untouched snow.

Charlotte racked her brain for a way to get Theo to stop running around.

“Theo, want to play Angel-making?”

“Angel?”

Theo’s curiosity was piqued, and he began circling around her with eager eyes. Charlotte pulled up her hood, spread her arms wide, and laid down on a pristine patch of snow.

Watching her, Theo burst into a fit of giggles before flopping down beside her.

“Move your arms and legs like this.”

Charlotte demonstrated, sweeping her arms up and down and her legs side to side. It was a game she used to play as a child in Korea.

Once done, all she needed to do was stand up and draw a halo above the head, completing the angel shape.

Theo lifted his head just enough to watch her movements, then began flailing his limbs however he pleased. The result wasn’t exactly neat, but it resembled a baby angel nonetheless.

“Now, we just—”

“What are you doing?”

Charlotte froze mid-motion at the sudden voice and blinked up from her spot on the ground. Carcel was standing above her, peering down with a curious expression.

For a moment, Charlotte stared blankly at his upside-down face before quickly sitting upright.

Carcel’s question was asked out of genuine curiosity, but to Charlotte, it sounded like he was chiding her for playing such a childish game. Her face, already red from the cold, turned an even deeper shade of crimson.

“Brother!”

Theo waved his arms and legs in delight, careful not to ruin the angel he had made. His flailing limbs were his way of expressing his excitement at seeing Carcel.

“We’re playing Angel-making!”

“Angel-making?”

“Yep!”

Charlotte got to her feet and added an explanation.

“When you lie down like this and move your arms and legs, you can create an angel shape. Want to see?”

She removed her mittens and used her finger to draw a halo above Theo’s head. Then, scooping him up in her arms, she revealed the tiny angel drawn in the snow.

It was an adorable figure, but even cuter was Theo, with his rosy cheeks and glowing smile, squealing in delight.

“Baby angel!”

“Our Theo’s a real angel now.”

“Kyaaa!”

Carcel alternated his gaze between the two and the angel figure, nodding thoughtfully.

“It does resemble an angel.”

Then, as if affirming Charlotte’s angelic qualities, he crouched down and drew a halo above the blank space of her snow figure.

“You missed this part.”

“I… that’s because—”

Before Charlotte could offer an explanation, Carcel interrupted with a quiet statement.

“I like it.”

His unexpected words sent a fresh wave of heat to Charlotte’s already flushed face. Carcel picked up her discarded mittens and gently slid them back onto her reddened hands.

“The wind is cold. Please wear your mittens.”

He said this while his own hands remained bare.

“What about you?”

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.”

“I’ve endured worse during northern expeditions. This is nothing.”

“No, I don’t like it.”

Charlotte’s firm reply surprised both Carcel and herself. Only Theo remained oblivious, giggling brightly.

“Brother! Theo has mittens too!”

“…”

“…”

“Brother? Nunna?”

Theo tilted his head, confused by the sudden silence.

Charlotte was the first to recover. Clapping her hands, she grinned at Theo’s red mittens.

“Wow, our Theo’s warm with those mittens, isn’t he?”

“Yep!”

Theo puffed up his chest, looking ridiculously proud. Charlotte watched him with a fond smile before coming up with another idea.

“Theo, how about we play Warm Brother’s Hands?”

Before Carcel could question her earlier statement, she changed the topic. It also bothered her that Carcel wasn’t wearing gloves—no matter how much he claimed it didn’t bother him, she couldn’t bear to see his bare hands in the cold.

Charlotte’s suggestion puzzled Carcel but intrigued Theo.

“What’s that, Nunna?”

“Like this,” Charlotte demonstrated by rubbing her mitten-covered hands together before taking hold of Carcel’s left hand.

“We warm Brother’s hands by holding them tight.”

“Okay!”

Theo furrowed his brows in concentration as he rubbed his own hands together before grabbing Carcel’s right hand. Startled by the sudden attention, Carcel glanced back and forth between Charlotte and Theo.

Eventually, he called out to a passing servant.

“Bring me gloves.”

The servant, who had been watching the trio with a fond smile, quickly returned with a pair of gloves. Carcel donned them and showed his hands to Charlotte.

“Is this better?”

“Much better,” she said with satisfaction.

Theo, however, puffed out his cheeks, disappointed that his fun was cut short. Charlotte whispered something into his ear, and Theo’s eyes lit up as he tugged on Carcel’s hand.

“Brother, let’s make a snowman!”

Carcel glanced at Charlotte before following Theo, who was already bounding toward the snow.

Charlotte waved at them from her seat at a nearby table.

Though initially awkward, Carcel soon became engrossed in shaping snow under Theo’s direction. His large frame hunched as he rolled snowballs, creating a comical yet heartwarming sight.

The garden, once bare with its leafless trees, was now lively with the sound of Theo’s laughter, growing snow mounds, and fresh flakes falling from the sky.

The snowman they built had a large, smooth body crafted by Carcel, while the smaller, uneven head made by Theo looked more like a lumpy snowball.

Still, Theo was thrilled.

Charlotte fetched supplies from Theo’s second garden to decorate the snowman: a carrot for the nose, kidney beans for the eyes, and peas for the mouth. Strung together, the peas formed a gentle smile.

Adding flowers for buttons, the snowman became a whimsical blend of winter and spring.

Carcel contributed by finding sticks for arms, completing the masterpiece.

“Wowww!” Theo circled the snowman, clapping his hands.

“It’s missing something.”

Charlotte tilted her head in thought before removing her scarf and wrapping it around the snowman. She started to take off her mittens as well, but Carcel stopped her.

When she looked up questioningly, he wordlessly placed his own gloves on the snowman’s “hands.”

Theo let out a delighted shriek.

“The snowman has clothes!”

“Yes, it does!”

Charlotte laughed, her joy echoed by Theo’s gleeful giggles. Even Carcel allowed himself a faint smile.

It was a rare, peaceful moment in the waning days of winter.

 

After playing in the snow, the three headed to Theo’s playroom. Theo warmed himself up in front of the fireplace and sipped on a moderately warm cup of cocoa.

 

Charlotte observed Theo while drinking her tea. And Carcel was looking at Charlotte, not Theo, without even touching his tea cup.

 

When Charlotte felt a hot gaze and looked around, her eyes met Carlisle’s.

 

“Why, why are you looking at me like that?”

 

“Your cheeks are still red. Are you cold?”

 

“No, it’s not cold… … .”

 

Is it that red? Charlotte was looking around for a mirror that wasn’t around, but Carcel grabbed her hand and got her up.

 

He took a bewildered Charlotte to the fireplace and sat down next to Theo.

 

Theo noticed, put down his mug, and slowly sat down on Charlotte’s lap.

 

“I think it would be a good idea to warm up here for a bit.”

 

Charlotte thought that her face was frozen, just as Carcel had said. She hadn’t noticed it before, but when she sat down in front of the fireplace, her frozen cheeks began to thaw and her face began to sting.

 

Carcel carefully cupped her cheek. His hand felt hotter than the heat of the fireplace.

 

Soon his hands were no longer hot, because Charlotte’s face had become just as hot.

 

Charlotte cleared her throat and rubbed Theo’s belly for no reason. Then she realized that Theo was staring at the fireplace without any trauma.

 

‘Erasing memories is only a temporary measure.’

 

In fact, the best thing would be to treat trauma without erasing the memories.

 

However, because of Theo’s personality, Rosito, it was more dangerous for him to have a seizure due to trauma, so with a heavy heart, he had no choice but to erase the child’s memories.

 

But Charlotte had no intention of sealing Theo’s memories forever. She would regain them once Theo was old enough to overcome his trauma.

 

Wouldn’t it be better to become friendly with fire from now on so that you don’t have a hard time then?

 

“Theo, isn’t the fire pretty?”

 

“yes!”

 

Charlotte rubbed Theo’s belly as she tried to choose her words. The boy leaned back lazily, perhaps pleased by Charlotte’s display of affection.

 

“The fire is hot, but it’s not scary. But if you’re scared of the fire, I’ll be there for you. Okay?”

 

“Huh?”

 

But perhaps it was a difficult word for Theo to understand. The child puffed out her cheeks and tilted her head. Still, Charlotte continued to whisper earnestly in Theo’s ear.

 

“Fire is not scary. If Theo is scared, he doesn’t have to be scared because his sister and brother will always be there for him.”

 

“Theo, is not afraid of fire!”

 

Theo clenched his fists and shouted, perhaps sensing Charlotte’s concern. Tears welled up in his bright face for no reason. It would have been better if such a thing had never happened in the first place.

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