The Sleepless Night of the Maid

Eva reached out and grabbed Paul’s hand.
He must have been caught off guard too.
He was sleeping well until he suddenly got entangled in something terrible.
She felt bad thinking of him suffering from Baronet Biti after she and Cecil left.

 

“It’s not that, my lady.” Paul wiped his tears and looked at Eva, sniffling like a child.

 

“Paul…”

 

“It doesn’t matter if I get scolded.
But I feel sympathetic for you and Cecil, and now I’m thinking I am alone, it makes me sad…”

 

When he brought it up, Paul covered his eyes with his arm as he was about to cry once again.
Eva then understood the essence of his tears.
Paul, who came to an unfamiliar place, relied on Eva and Cecil.
When the two figures he viewed as mother and sister left like this, a sense of loss flooded in.
The gentle-hearted Paul might be afraid of the time he had to deal with something alone.

 

“Paul, once we settle down, we will send a letter to Crocs Field Cathedral.
When the time comes, you can join us too.” Cecil stroked Paul’s head while sniffling.
Like Eva, she seemed to be heartbroken to leave Paul behind.

 

“Is that really true? Are you really going to write me a letter and call me?” Paul, who was still crying, raised his face and stared at the two women.
His once-helpless-hollow eyes were now sparkling with life.

 

“Certainly.
We always said this, didn’t we? We’re a family, so we have to meet again and live together.”

 

Eva gave strength to his hand with a half-tearful and half-smile face.
The three shared their last warmth by holding hands tightly.

 

After a while, the sound of a carriage pulled by Father John was audible.
When the horse stopped right next to it, Paul got off the carriage first and moved their luggage.
After Eva and Cecil came out, they hugged Paul in turn.
The three stifled their tears silently without even saying goodbye, in fear someone would hear them.

 

“Farewell, my lady, Cecil.
Please write me a letter, you have to.”

 

“We will.
Take care, Paul.” Eva and Cecil climbed Father John’s wagon with unfaltering steps.

 

Paul stood back there with his hand raised until the carriage departed and darkness swallowed the silhouette.
The sight was painfully engraved in Eva’s and Cecil’s heart.
At this moment, their minds were aligned.
If they fled and found a place, they must bring Paul with them.

 

The carriage dashed for quite some time as they exited Crocs Field.
Her eyes trailed at the black world while bidding a goodbye to people and things she left behind.

 

‘Goodbye, Paul.

 

Goodbye, Father.

 

Goodbye, Bale Castle.

 

Goodbye, Crocs Field, and…

 

Edward.’

 

As the shadow of death and sin followed them, that was how the darkest and saddest night of Eva and Cecil’s life went by.

 

* * *

 

“Your Highness.
Your Highness.
Your Highness!”

 

Three days since Edward stayed at Bale Castle.
Six-year-old Eva followed Edward all day and called him.
It became a common occurrence to mindlessly come and talk.
If she didn’t play with him, she sat with her chin resting on one side of her hand and a wide smile.

 

It was cute, bothersome, and also absurd.
Edward felt strange every time he saw her eyes shimmering with different sparks, after only meeting with vigilant and wary eyes.

 

“I like Your Highness.”

 

“You’re kind.”

 

“You look beautiful.
Especially the eyes.”

 

Those were Eva’s answers that she responded without hesitation whenever he asked why she was following him so much.
Edward found Eva’s answers were really odd.
‘Why does she like someone who doesn’t trust people? Why does she think I am nice while in fact I am aloof and skeptical? Is it because she’s still a child?’ However, he must admit he agreed with the last answer.
Beautiful can also mean handsome, so that was true.

 

The next afternoon, Eva was nowhere to be seen.
Although he got breathing space, he felt uneasy.
Because he was accustomed to her voice and eyes.
He was going to the Imperial Palace tomorrow, so he intended to be nice and play with her today, but he didn’t know her whereabouts.

 

“Where is Eva?”

 

“She’s sleeping because she is slightly feverish.”

 

“She’s sick?”

 

Surprised by the aide’s answer, the next question popped up.
He was concerned and felt guilty, he was worried.
Sometimes he pretended not to be inside the room because he felt infuriated by her visit, or he ran away to a far place so that she couldn’t chase with her short legs.

 

‘Is that why she got sick? Because it’s too much to chase me around all day?’

 

“No, nothing of the sort.
She must be tired because she romped around too much.”

 

The aide replied indifferently but Edward’s face still scrunched up.
He jumped to his feet and headed to Eva’s room.
However, when he stood in front of her door and tried to knock, a thought of not wanting to wake her up for no reason occurred in his mind.

 

While he was hesitating whether he should go back so Eva could rest comfortably, he heard a strange noise coming from inside.
There was a mix of grunts and faint sobs as well as the sound of a man whispering mischievous things.

 

Edward instinctively bursted open the door.
What caught his eyes was the image of James covering Eva’s face with a sheet and pressing it down.
Having no time to think about the situation, he ran into Eva’s room.