He Likes Me a Lot More Than I Thought!

After thinking for a while, I slowly walked to the bed and sat down. Even then, the child’s flatten body was still clearly seen.

His small body trembled as if he was contemplating whether to run away at this moment. 

“…Hi.”

First, let’s start with the greetings.

“I’m Arwen. Your name is Shuel, right?”

“…….”

There was still no answer, but Shuel’s shoulders flinched. It at least meant that he was listening. 

I breathed out a small sigh and continued. 

“You’ve had a hard time. I brought you some food. You can eat that and the bathroom is over there. Call me if you don’t think you can wash up by yourself. Oh, and there is no poison in the meal.”

…I shouldn’t have said that it wasn’t poisoned. I think he’s trembling even more now. 

I was originally quite blunt and had an indifferent tone.

I had never spoken kindly to anyone, so my gentle tone sounds quite forced and didn’t sound very pleasing to me. So of course it wouldn’t sound nice to Shuel either.

I scratched my head and stared at his back, still curled up like a ball.

In fact, I didn’t like children very much. 

Bringing Shuel here was all out of sympathy, I couldn’t allow that child to be in an abusive environment. 

Therefore I felt pity for him, but this situation was making my head spin. 

How do I comfort him?

I wonder why I was trying to be nice to a child who’s only going to be here for a short time anyways.

Then again, I was too sympathetic to turn a blind eye towards his trembling appearance. 

I’m sure he was a precious young master in his home, but I wasn’t certain if he would fall and break his neck while washing himself in the bathroom. 

do not repost our translations. read only at droppedinks.wordpress.com

There were a lot of things to worry about but Shuel was trembling as if he would have a heart attack if I had touched him. 

Eventually, I sighed and laid down on the corner of the bed. 

If I pretend to be asleep, maybe he’ll get up and move around. 

After lying down for a while, I heard a rustling sound.

It was followed by the sound of footsteps as they walked to the table where the meal was placed. 

I felt hungry because I gave away my dinner. I tried to endure it like an adult and twisted my body in hopes my stomach wouldn’t make a growling noise. 

But at that moment, a thought flashed through my mind and I opened my mouth without realising it. 

“Oh, right.”

“…..!”

Thud, bang!

As soon as I spoke in a low voice, the sound of something crashing was heard. 

Astounded, I lifted my head and spotted a round bug – clearly Shuel – who rolled himself up in a hurry and rushed to the wall. 

I frowned as I witnessed him banged his head due to his haste to get away. 

He must surely be in pain. That sound could be heard from all the way here. 

The appearance of his small shoulders quivering aroused a lot of guilt in me. 

But I had something to say. 

I was contemplating which topic I should mention first, but in the end I decided to start with the most important one. 

“I’ll bring you home.”

I had no intention of letting him stay in this place for too long. It was no different than the orphanage Shuel was previously in. 

The choices I made come with responsibilities. My plan was to somehow take this child back to his parents before they die. 

At those words, the child’s trembling seemed to stop in an instant. 

I laid back down slowly, trying to not pay attention to the pitiful Shuel. 

“So, for now, don’t leave this room and stay inside. It’s dangerous outside.”

There was no reply. But I could tell Shuel was listening to me.

Listening to the sound of the utensils clinking on the plate, I fell into a deep sleep.

＊  ＊  ＊

Not long after that, he could hear the sound of peaceful breathing from the girl.

Only then did Shuel rise up from his spot.

His head had hurt quite a bit from when he had banged it earlier but that wasn’t the only reason why he was tearing up. 

I’m scared.

Where is this place?

He didn’t know how long it had been. It felt like a hundred nights had passed by. At this moment, for the first time in his seven years of living, Shuel was experiencing first hand the ‘scary world’ his parents had always talked about.

He just wanted to buy a cotton candy that he had never tried before. 

So he had sneaked out of the mansion, accepted the hand of a man who promised to buy him the cotton candy, then became unconscious.

The place he woke up to was an abandoned warehouse that Shuel had never seen before, even though he had always roamed around the Sebrirua territory. 

do not repost our translations. read only at droppedinks.wordpress.com

In a place full of pungent white smoke, he coughed and asked where he was but no answer was given. 

Scared, Shuel burst into tears and was slapped on the cheek. 

Shuel had never been slapped on the cheek. Occasionally, he’d had to raise his hands or be punished but this was the first time he had been hit like this.

Shuel, who was so stunned that he stopped breathing, glanced at the man in shock who then clicked his tongue.

“Don’t cry. It’s noisy.”

Shuel held back his tears desperately. Why did he sneak out? Dad said it was dangerous outside. He should have listened. 

‘But he said he’d save me soon.’ 

If a stranger ever kidnaps him, his parents have taught him what to do.

Don’t go against your opponent’s will. Leave as much evidence as you can of your stay. We’ll be there right away, so don’t be afraid and wait for us.

Shuel believed in those words and waited. However, his parent’s couldn’t find him easily and he was transported away in a wagon to another warehouse. 

It was a small building and inside were many children of the same age as Shuel.

Shuel thought he finally was safe but it turned out to be similar to where he had stayed before.

A man who called himself the director put Shuel to work. Cleaning and laundry were things that he had never done before. 

He tried his best, but because he was clumsy, he kept making mistakes. He was either beaten or locked up in a cell every time he failed to complete his work. 

It was a solitary room, barely the size of a closet. 

Being locked up in a compact room with no source of light shining in was one of the biggest reasons why Shuel couldn’t stop crying. 

The sound of crying eventually stopped in the cell, but he couldn’t breathe.

The memory of that room was still very vivid.

The girl sleeping on the bed wasn’t as large as the previous guy, but her posture was similar to the initial man who kidnapped him, who laid on the bed after beating him. 

“Dad….”

I should have listened to you when you told me not to go outside. Shuel recalled his regrets so many times that he had lost count.

Tears welled up at the thought of not being able to see his mom and dad anymore. 

Shuel sat down on the cold floor and sniffed. 

After crying for a long time, Shuel heard a sound. 

Shuel looked around in surprise but found nothing.

Gurgle. He heard the sound again. His stomach growled at the same time. 

‘…..I’m hungry.’

Sniffling, he got up from his spot while wiping his nose.

In fact, when the girl pointed out the dishes earlier, he had almost ran to the meal in a daze. He had been starving for such a long time that his stomach was hurting.

Shuel’s eyes widened as he slowly crept to the table in case there were any sounds of her waking up. There on the table was soup and bread.

He devoured the food, forgetting to be careful about not making any noise.

The small amount of food ran out quickly, but he was able to stop his hunger. 

After having a bit of food, he started to feel a little better. 

Shuel stared at the empty plate sadly, then glanced at the bed where the little girl was laying. 

‘You gave me food.’

And it was a normal meal. 

So far, the other people have not been feeding Shuel properly.

When he felt like he was about to collapse from hunger, they threw hard bread and gave him rotten soup.

Although the amount of food the girl gave him was small, it was delicious and not rotten.

That alone raised some hope in him that the girl might actually be a good person.

Besides, she definitely said it to him before she fell asleep.

‘I’ll bring you home’, she said.

She should not have known where Shuel’s home was located, but she seemed confident in her words and her tone was oddly trustworthy to him. 

Come to think of it, while he desperately tried to call for help, no words were able to come out of his mouth. 

How did this girl know and bring me here? 

While thinking so, his trust in her increased.

It had been very scary before but it started to seem incredible to him that he was lying in a room when before he had been shaking and unable to move.

do not repost our translations. read only at droppedinks.wordpress.com

It finally occurred to him that he didn’t answer back a single word when the girl was talking to him earlier. 

At the time, he didn’t comprehend what she was saying so he couldn’t give an answer, but she also didn’t force Shuel to reply.

It was very rude to not reply back to a greeting. Especially to your benefactor that had helped you. 

‘I have to say hello as soon as I wake up in the morning!’

Shuel curled back into the corner and fell asleep again with a determined ambition to fix his errors.

＊  ＊  ＊

The sun shined brightly into the room. I grimaced and turned over, rubbing my eyes. 

Ugh, the morning always comes so soon.

When I opened my eyes in the morning, the time would always strike 7. At this hour, I had to get up and start my day. 

Stretching out once more, I slowly opened my closed eyes,

“Oh, hello…..!”

I was met with a pair of bright pink eyes.