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Chapter 49 - Massage (1)

"Uhmm… Ah…"

Shiver.

Charlotte trembled and groaned in her sleep.

Not because of physical pain, but because she was being dragged into a deep, dark nightmare.

A nightmare that tormented her with memories of a day she had desperately tried to forget.

Despite all her efforts to move on, Charlotte found herself reliving that day.

‘My sweet girl, you can sleep on your own now, right?’

‘Mom, where are you going?’

‘Just for a little while, I have something important to do. I’ll be back after ten nights, so stay here until then.’

‘But this place is for kids without parents, isn’t it?’

‘There’s no other choice.’

Her mother’s face, with that awkward smile, was still vividly etched in Charlotte’s memory, despite the years that had passed.

That face, once again brought to life in her nightmare, was filled with emotions—guilt, regret, sorrow, and pain.

Even after all this time, Charlotte hadn’t understood the true meaning behind that look.

How foolish she had been, waiting endlessly for her mother.

‘Hey, come play with us.’

‘No. I’m not like you. My mom will be back soon. She said she’d return after ten nights.’

‘You actually believe that?’

Charlotte had believed she was different from the other children, that she would soon leave that place.

Because of that belief, she distanced herself from the other kids and built emotional walls around herself.

Weeks passed, then months, and it was only when those months turned into a year that Charlotte finally realized something was wrong.

Most of the children there shared similar stories—they had all gone through something similar to end up at the orphanage.

By the time Charlotte figured this out and tried to adjust to life at the orphanage, it was too late.

‘You said you were different from us.’

‘Your mom is coming back, right? Just wait a bit longer.’

‘Hey, let’s go somewhere else. I don’t want to play with someone who looks down on us.’

The painful mistake of isolating herself came back to bite her, leaving Charlotte as an outcast.

Or so she thought…

‘My name’s Yuri. What’s yours?’

‘…?’

‘Your name. What is it? You have one, right?’

When Yuri showed up, Charlotte’s world changed.

Yuri was the first to approach her without hesitation, breaking through the bleakness that had surrounded her.

‘You look scary when you frown like that. How about smiling more?’

With Yuri’s hand guiding her, Charlotte slowly began to lower the walls around her heart.

As Charlotte changed, so did the attitude of the other children at the orphanage—they began to open up to her.

Slowly, Charlotte found herself moving forward, leaving the past behind.

She learned to smile again, even brighter than before, as if to cover the old scars.

‘Mom? I don’t wait for her anymore! I’ve forgotten all about her! Now I have you guys!’

Even when she felt sad, she forced herself to smile.

When memories of the past crept up on her, she buried them under cheerful laughter.

When dark thoughts started to cloud her mind, she pushed them away with forced innocence.

She had managed to live that way for years, but every now and then, when her body and spirit were exhausted, an overwhelming sense of dread would surge back.

‘Mom, don’t go…’

She thought she had overcome it.

She thought she had forgotten.

She believed she had grown stronger.

But this nightmare was telling her otherwise, whispering that nothing had really changed.

“No, nooo…! Gasp?!”

"Quite the dramatic awakening."

“…”

Charlotte bolted upright, eyes wide.

She found herself beside Aslan, who was calmly turning the pages of a book.

He glanced at her for a moment before returning his focus to the book.

"Did I… Did I say something in my sleep?"

"Who knows."

"I’m sure I was sleep-talking…"

"I wouldn’t know. You slept peacefully, as far as I could tell."

Oh… Really?

If that was the case, she was relieved.

Charlotte realized she felt surprisingly refreshed, not weighed down as she had before.

Turning her head, she noticed a pile of damp cloths—had Aslan been wiping her sweat all night?

“S-sorry… You stayed up all night because of me…”

"I don’t sleep much anyway. Don’t worry about it. I was just reading here instead of in my office."

"Hmmm?"

Is that true?

Charlotte switched to detective mode.

The book in Aslan’s hand appeared to be well-read, open about halfway through.

But the key detail was the bookmark—it was placed only a few pages in!

That meant he had barely read anything and had been putting the book down frequently.

But what had kept him so busy?

She didn’t know!

That was the end of her deductions.

"Okay, I’ll believe you!"

Charlotte laughed, stretching.

Despite feeling heavy the day before, now she felt fully recharged, like something had replenished her energy—though she wasn’t sure what.

Rubbing her eyes, she noticed dried tear stains on her cheeks.

Glancing over at Aslan, who seemed indifferent, still focused on his book, she wondered if he had noticed her tears.

She had cried in her sleep.

There was no way Aslan hadn’t seen it, yet he told her she had slept peacefully…

Charlotte realized there was a big gap between his words and reality, and she smiled.

"Feeling better?"

"Yep, I’m fine now."

"Then go have some breakfast. Julia should be eating by now."

"What about you?"

"I’ll finish reading first."

"…"

Without another word, Charlotte folded the blankets and gently slid off the bed, landing softly on the floor.

She noticed that while she had been changed into fresh clothes, Aslan was still in the same outfit from the previous evening.

"Did you carry me here, Mister?"

"Sylvia did."

"But I remember… You carried me."

"…Alright, I did."

Aslan reluctantly admitted it.

"Did you change my clothes too?"

"The maids did that."

"But I remember… You changed me."

"…Don’t make things up."

"Hehe. I was just joking."

With a playful hop, Charlotte landed behind Aslan, jumping onto his back and peering over his shoulder.

She brought her lips close to his ear and whispered softly.

"Please don’t tell Julia that… I cried. I don’t normally do this, but I guess I let my guard down because I’ve been feeling so comfortable lately."

"I won’t. I’ll forget everything that happened last night."

He’s really bad at this, Charlotte thought with a giggle.

"And sometimes… Can I come to you when I feel like crying?"

"Do as you please. Holding back tears can make you sick."

"Hehe. Then I’ll have to make sure to come to you often."

I’m fine.

I’ve forgotten everything.

I’ve overcome it.

But now Charlotte realized that she couldn’t hold back her tears forever.

She had kept them hidden from Yuri and from Julia.

But if Aslan had already seen her at her weakest, then there was no point in hiding it from him anymore.

"From now on, I’ll only show my weak side to you, Mister."

As Charlotte whispered those words with a sultry voice, she felt Aslan flinch slightly.

Hehe. Gotcha!

Feeling victorious, Charlotte laughed softly as she let go of Aslan and stepped away.

"Time to eat! What’s for breakfast, Julia?"

"…"

With her usual lively tone, she sprinted out of the room.

Left alone, Aslan rubbed his now-red ear and muttered to himself.

"I really feel like I’m becoming a babysitter…"

He wasn’t particularly curious about Charlotte’s past or the trauma she carried.

He just hoped that from now on, she would only collect happy memories and that her future would be filled with joy.

After all, his life might depend on it.

[The Evil God, ‘Kali,’ is demanding that you check our Dark Knight’s health again.]

"You sure you’re okay?"

"I’m fine."

She said she’s fine!

[The Evil God, ‘Kali,’ is demanding that you take her temperature one more time.]

"Let me check your forehead again."

"Ugh, come on. If you keep doing this, my forehead’s going to wear out."

By now, I had checked her temperature about ten times—by hand, with a thermometer, everything.

The results were always the same: normal.

[The Evil God, ‘Kali,’ is demanding that you call the doctor again…]

"Alright, that’s enough. You seem fine, so you can go outside and train."

"Yes!"

[The Evil God, ‘Kali,’ is openly expressing dissatisfaction!]

At this point, it was overkill.

The doctor was probably busy, and it wouldn’t make sense to keep calling him for nothing.

I decided to ignore Kali’s final demand and gave Charlotte the green light to go outside and play.

"…"

When I first saw Charlotte’s vulnerable side, I worried a lot.

Despite her cheerful demeanor, her guardedness made me suspect that the darkness inside her might be deeper than she let on.

How deep were those hidden wounds?

Were they festering?

Would she start avoiding me after knowing I had seen her like that?

But…

"Whew. What a little devil…"

I never expected her to turn it into our secret.

I tried to pretend I hadn’t seen or heard anything, but she went ahead and made me promise that she’d show her vulnerable side only to me.

It was a bit unsettling, but it was also fine.

Charlotte now had a safe space to cry, which was invaluable for an orphan like her.

Maybe Julia needed that too.

Should I tell her she could cry in front of me anytime?

…I thought about it for a moment but quickly decided against it.

‘She’d probably tell me to get lost.’

Ten times a day was about as much as I could enjoy Julia’s disdainful glares.

Anything beyond that would actually start to hurt.

Sighing, I closed the book and stood up.

"Ow?"

Was it because I had been sitting for too long?

Suddenly, a cramp hit my leg, making me stagger.

It hurt. I wasn’t sure I could stand up straight.

Sylvia? Sylvia, are you there?

That girl—she’s always hiding in the shadows when I don’t need her, but now, when I actually do, she’s nowhere to be found.

"Ugh…"

"Mister?"

At that moment, the door creaked open, and Charlotte peeked in, her head tilted in curiosity.

Then, with a sly grin, she approached me.

"Mister, you’ve got a cramp, don’t you?"

"I’m fine… Just go…"

"Looks like it’s time to use that massage coupon, doesn’t it?"

Hehe.

With a mischievous smile, Charlotte walked toward me slowly.

This wasn’t how I expected to use that massage coupon…