Stepmothers Are Not Always Evil

I headed out into the hallway with Mary in front.

A chill wrapped around my body as I went outside without a shawl.

It was so cold and there was no one to take care of him, so I rushed my steps because I was worried about whether the child would be okay alone or not.

Escal’s room was in the farthest corner of the mansion.

When I arrived at the front of the room, I caught the tray that had been laid down on the floor.

When I opened the dome plate saying, “No way,” the untouched food was intact.

“When did he get this?”

“This morning…”

“What?”

It’s been a while since lunchtime, so you’ve been starving all day?

I hurriedly pulled the doorknob, but the door did not open.

“What, why isn’t it open?”

“I think the young master locked it inside.”

At Mary’s words, I shook the door vigorously again, but the thick wooden door did not budge with my own strength.

“Escal, are you there?”

I knocked on the door and spoke to Escal.

He must have heard it, but there was no reply.

“Escal? Can’t you hear my voice?”

Did he fall?

My heart sank and I hurriedly said to Mary.

“Mary, go and get the axe.”

“Why the axe?”

“I don’t have time to explain, so bring me the axe!”

“Uh, yes!”

At my order, Mary hurriedly ran to get the axe.

“Escal, Escal! Answer me. Escal?”

There must have been something wrong with him, seeing that he was reply even though I was calling until my throat bursting.

Why doesn’t Mary come?

Not knowing what to do, while keep calling him, Mary returned with a servant and an axe.

“What’s going on, madam?”

“Tear down this door right now.”

“No, ma’am. Calm down. The young master has committed a great sin against the devil, but not….”

The servant stopped me with gibberish, thinking that I was going to break the door to harm Escal.

I don’t know the original Lenia do, but it’s not me, right?

“So noisy, break the door right now!”

With a loud sound, the servant closed his eyes tightly and raised the axe.

“I’m sorry, Young Master!”

Tak! Tak! The doorknob was smashed with axes.

I grabbed the handle that was barely hanging and pulled it out, then slammed the door and entered the room.

“Escal?”

The child was crouching alone in a darkened room without a single light.

I approached Escal cautiously and lowered myself.

“Escal.”

“…….”

Escal, who had his face buried in his lap, slowly raised his head.

The child looked up at me with empty eyes, neither crying nor looking at me.

My image suddenly overlapped on top of that child.

When I was a child, I stayed alone in a small room and waited all night for my mother who never came back.

I cleared my neck and asked softly.

“Escal, are you okay?”

“… sorry.”

“Escal.”

“I was wrong. I will never do that again.”

Escal repeated the words that he was wrong like a broken tape.

I hugged Escal, the tears welling up.

“It’s okay, don’t apologize. it’s okay.”

I hugged the child tightly and said it was okay, but Escal could hardly relax.

It’s natural for him to be unable to open my heart because he have been deviated from the start.

I patted Escal a few more times, then loosened my arms and asked.

“Are you sick anywhere?”

Escal shook slowly.

I sighed and held out my hand to the child.

“It’s too cold in this room, so let’s go somewhere warm. wake up.”

“…….”

Escal, who only looked at the outstretched hand, shook his head.

“The Duke told me to reflect here.”

His biological father, whom he had seen for a long time, seemed more terrifying than the stranger, the child answered.

I persuaded the child once more, thinking that we should have a serious conversation when Helios arrives.

“It’s okay. I’ll tell him.”

“I’m going to get scolded by the Duke….”

Escal, who was only watching, cautiously stood up.

I followed the staggering Escal and left the room.

Seen from a bright place, the colors are even more messy.

The son of the Duke of Anthemion, who is said to be overflowing with rotting money, is like that.

It’s natural for Escal to hold grudges.

I told the servant to fix the door before Helios returned, and asked kindly.

“Escal, have you eaten?”

“I just ate….”

Growl. There was a loud noise from the stomach of Escal, who was lying.

The child’s face turned red.

“You haven’t eaten yet, would you like to eat together?”

“Me and you?”

Escal asked with surprised eyes. I replied kindly.

“It doesn’t taste good if you eat alone. But if you don’t want to eat with me, you can say no.”

“No, let’s eat together.”

“Is that so? Then let’s go to my room.”

I smiled broadly and took the child’s hand.

It was unbelievably small for a six-year-old, and just by looking at her skinny body, it was clear that no one cared about him.

‘Why did a person called birth mother leave her child like this?’

If Helios is good, even his children will be nice to him.

I went to my room, quenching my anger towards Charlet Melks.

The room was warm thanks to the fact that a sick person was not allowed to stay cold and had been burning firewood all day.

I brought a chair in front of the fireplace and put Escal on it.

The face reflected in the light is twisted.

I told Mary that I wanted to wash before feeding.

“Tell them to go to the kitchen and prepare a meal.”

“You want to eat?”

“Yes. I’m going to eat with Escal, so please food for two people. Bring a towel and hot water.”

“You don’t have to….”

“Don’t say anything and go.”

“… Yes.”

After letting Mary squeal in dissatisfaction, I looked at Escal again.

The child who had been warming up close to the stove glanced at me and carefully opened his mouth.

“Aren’t you sick now?”

“Yes?”

“You suffered a lot because of me.”

Escal bit his small lip.

I looked at the child with sad eyes.

This kid thinks it’s all his fault.

The reason people don’t like him and he don’t get loved is because his fault.

So it is natural to be ignored.

It hurts my heart to think of what this child must have gone through before he being loved by his parents.

“Escal. It’s not your fault.”

“It’s because of the cookie I gave you.”

“Escal.”

I said quietly, ignoring the choking in my throat.

“I can’t eat shellfish. Shrimp, crayfish or crab. Those with hard shells and living in the sea.”

“… I heard that.”

The child bowed his head like a criminal.

“Instead, I like meat. Chicken, duck and beef steaks are especially good. Does Escal like steak?”

Escal, who hesitated, nodded.

“Then what about fruit? I like the fruit to be sour. Oranges, pineapples, strawberries, etc.”

The boy who was listening to me swallowed his saliva.

Growling once more heard from his stomatch.

“What does Escal like?”

“I….”

Escal, who was asked the question, wiggled his fingers.

The child, who was trying to choose his favorite food, was speechless for a long time.

Then, the tears began to drip down like beads.

“Escal?”

“Uh….”

As if surprised by his tears, Escal kept stealing the corners of my eyes with the back of his hand. But once the tears flowed, the tears did not stop.

I seemed to know why.

This kid had never been asked such a question before, so he didn’t even have a chance to think about what he liked.

“It’s okay. It’s okay, Escal.”

I felt like I was looking at my childhood, so I hugged Escal as hard as I could.

“Ugh, Hic….”

The wound was so deep that the child in my arms cried bitterly.

I thought that maybe he couldn’t cry to his heart’s content, so I quietly read the child.

“… I’m sorry.”

Those were the first words of Escal, who stopped crying after a while.

“What are you sorry for?”

“I’m crying….”

“How about crying?”

“The Duke told me not to crying….”

“It’s okay. You can cry anytime. Basically, children grow up crying.”

I said so and wiped his face with a handkerchief.

He is a young child who snorts with the tip of his nose dyed red.

Still, pretending to be resolute was even more pitiful.

“We have to washed your face.”

Just then, Mary came into the room with a washcloth and a towel.

There was a sign of dissatisfaction in the eyes that glared at Escal.

In the original story, Mary didn’t like Escal because of Lenia.

It wasn’t as much as it was back then, but I was seriously ill from the cookies Escal gave me, so she didn’t feel good towards the child.

“Mary, I’m going to wash him, so put it down here and you go out and do your work.”

I let Mary out and picked up the towel myself.