Chapter 25
After watching Eldern disappear down the corridor, Elyra ran as fast as her small legs could carry her.
Her tiny shoes slapped against the polished floor.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Each step was uneven and desperate, shattering the usual silence of the hallway as she struggled to keep up.
Ahead of her, Elyra could still see Eldern's retreating figure as he walked toward his room without slowing down, without hesitating, and without looking back even once.
The sight made her chest tighten painfully. For reasons she could not fully understand, watching him leave like that felt as though something precious was slipping away from her, growing farther and farther out of reach with every step he took.
This time...
I couldn't let him go.
"Eden!" Her voice rang through the corridor, desperate and fragile, the final syllable cracking as it left her lips.
Eldern immediately froze.
His foot stopped mid-step.
Slowly, he turned around.
"Wha—" The words died in his throat as his eyes widened in shock, a stunned expression flashing across his face.
Elyra had collapsed onto her knees, her tiny frame trembling uncontrollably as she leaned forward against the floor. Tears poured down her cheeks without end, and the pain on her face was so raw that it looked as if her entire world had fallen apart in that very moment.
"Young Lady!" Sasha gasped as she immediately rushed forward, the two nearby guards reacting just as quickly. "Young Lady, are you hurt?" one asked urgently, while the other followed just as fast, "Are you alright?"
But Elyra could not hear them. Or perhaps she simply did not care. Through her tear-blurred vision, her eyes remained locked on a single person and a single person alone—Eldern.
The moment she saw him looking at her, Elyra scrambled to her feet, ignoring the hands reaching out to help her. She nearly stumbled in her haste as she rushed toward him, tears still streaming down her face.
"Eden!"
Her voice trembled as she called out to him.
"I'm sorry!"
More tears spilled from her eyes.
"Eyya is sorry!" She did not even know what mistake she had made. Had she done something wrong? Had she upset him somehow? She truly did not know.
But if apologizing could make him stay, then she would apologize as many times as necessary.
"Don' weave Eyya…" Her voice broke completely, the last words barely leaving her lips as nothing more than a trembling whisper.
Eldern's heart clenched painfully, the guilt crushing down on him instantly. Without thinking, he ran, his small feet pounding against the floor as he closed the distance between them. The moment he reached her, he wrapped his arms around Elyra as tightly as he could.
"I'm sorry."
His voice shook.
Elyra trembled in his embrace.
Tears soaked into his clothes.
"Why awe you ignowing me, Eden?"
The question was soft.
But the hurt behind it stabbed straight into his heart.
"Did I do somethin' bad to you?"
Eldern immediately shook his head.
"No."
"Den why?"
Fresh tears gathered in Elyra's eyes.
"Why do you wan' to weave me?"
Her frustration finally burst out, everything she had been holding in spilling over at once—confusion, fear, sadness, all mixing together until she could no longer separate them.
Eldern hesitated.
His face turned slightly red.
"M-Mama."
Elyra blinked.
"...Mama?"
Eldern swallowed nervously.
"This is all because of Mama."
Several hours earlier..
Near Natle Village, Valdwess Region..
Elina gently pinched Eldern's cheeks.
"Eldern."
The boy looked up at her.
Elina smiled softly.
"Your little sister loves you more than anyone."
Eldern still looked unconvinced.
"If you don't believe me…"
Elina leaned closer.
Then she whispered into his ear.
"There is one way to find out."
"Just ignore her for a little while."
Eldern's eyes widened slightly.
Elina continued calmly, as if it was the simplest thing in the world.
"Let's see what she does if you're not always there."
Back To The Present
Eldern tightened his embrace.
As if afraid she might disappear.
"I will never leave you."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
Carefully, he wiped away her tears with his small hands.
"I'm sorry, Elyra."
Elyra sniffled, her cheeks flushed red and her eyes swollen from crying, yet she did not push him away. Instead, she buried her face against his chest, clinging to him as the familiar warmth settled over her and calmed her almost instantly.
Not far away— T-This kid! Elyra grumbled internally, still clinging to him as her embarrassment slowly began to replace the sadness she had just been drowning in.
At that moment, Elina and Damnern finally arrived.Both stopped when they saw Eldern comforting Elyra.
Elina blinked and then she quietly gave Eldern a wink.
A wink that clearly said—
See?
Mama was right.
Elyra caught it immediately, her eyes narrowing as a sharp, almost deadly glare shot straight toward Elina. Elina instantly whistled and looked away, pretending she had absolutely nothing to do with any of this at all.
Then her gaze slowly shifted toward Damnern, and Elyra's glare became even sharper.
Damnern froze.
Why am I suddenly involved?
Elyra felt her face burning as the realization fully hit her. This is so embarrassing... She had cried, in front of everyone, over Eldern.
Her dignity had completely vanished. What are you looking at? Elyra clicked her tongue sharply. "Tch."
Damnern blinked.
"W-What did Papa do?"
His voice was full of genuine confusion.
Elina immediately patted his shoulder with a sympathetic smile. It was the sort of encouragement one gave to a man marching bravely toward his inevitable doom.
Damnern frowned.
"Hey—why am I involved?"
From the side, one of the guards suddenly couldn't hold it in anymore and burst into laughter.
"Hahaha—!"
"E-Eiler!" Sasha immediately scolded him.
The guard coughed violently, trying to regain composure.
"S-sorry—HAHA—!"
Damnern stared at him blankly, completely unimpressed.
"Is that funny?"
"N-no!" the guard replied quickly, straightening up.
"We… we take our leave now, Count Damnern!"
A moment later, faint laughter echoed from somewhere in the estate. Damnern's eye twitched slightly. He did not even need to guess who it was. Elina was still laughing. After everything that had happened today, it seemed that his dignity had suffered the most damage of all.
Meanwhile, Elina simply let out a soft laugh before pulling both children into her embrace, wrapping one arm around Elyra and the other around Eldern. The warmth of her hug enveloped them both, gentle and comforting, as if the tension from moments earlier had never existed. In that moment, everything felt familiar again, and it was almost as though things had quietly returned to normal.
"Well then, Elyra..." Elina suddenly said.
Elyra looked up.
Elina smiled mischievously.
"Between Ryker and Eldern..."
She paused deliberately.
"Which one would you choose?"
The question immediately confused Elyra. What kind of stupid question is that? She stared at Elina, completely baffled.
"Of couwse I choose Eden."
The answer came instantly. To Elyra, the answer had never changed.
Without even a second of hesitation.
Hearing that, Elina smiled. Then she turned her gaze toward Eldern.
Eldern stared at Elyra silently, the insecurity, doubt, and jealousy in his eyes all seeming to fade away as everything slowly disappeared from his gaze, as though the answer he had been searching for all this time had finally arrived.
"I'm sorry, Elyra."
He apologized again.
This time more sincerely than ever.
Elina also lowered her head dramatically.
"Mama is sorry too."
She even put on a pitiful expression.
Elyra folded her tiny arms.
Still upset.
"Fine."
"But don't do it again."
"Okay."
"Okay."
Mother and son answered at the exact same time.
Elyra nodded proudly.
Justice has been served.
Inside her mind, however—
My dignity just died. She wanted to disappear on the spot. She had cried so hard just because Eldern had ignored her, and now the embarrassment felt unbearable.
How embarrassing.This body… Elyra silently blamed her current child body again, convinced that her emotions had become far harder to control compared to her previous life.
At that moment—
"Papa is sorry too—" Damnern quickly attempted to join the reconciliation, but before he could finish—
Elyra suddenly turned toward him, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at him.
Damnern immediately felt danger.
Over the past few days, she had been playing too much.
Elyra's expression slowly turned serious as the thought settled in her mind. She had sworn to become stronger—strong enough to protect Elina and Eldern, strong enough to never again be trapped by her own helplessness or regret her weakness. And in her heart, there was only one path forward that could lead her there.
Training.
Her gaze remained fixed on Damnern.
Damnern suddenly had a very bad feeling.
"Pa..pa.."
"E-Eyya wan' to twain too." The declaration echoed through the corridor, small but firm despite her trembling voice. A heavy silence followed, settling over the space like a weight no one immediately dared to break.
End of Chapter 25