What I Can Do For The One I Love (6)

“Don’t like stew? Want something else?”

I set the spoon down and picked up a forkful of salad, holding it out to him. Still, he wouldn’t eat.

“Or do you want this? It’s good.”

I tore off a piece of honey-glazed flatbread, took a bite myself, and held out the rest for him to see. He only frowned at me.

“I’m not eating. Take it away.”

“You’re picky, you know that?”

He glared at me, fierce as ever, but honestly, it just made him look more stubborn than scary.

“Give me back my knife.”

“I told you, I can’t do that.”

“And why not?”

“Just try this. It’s really good, I promise.”

I tried to offer the bread to his mouth, but he slapped my hand away. The bread tumbled onto the carpet… what a waste.

While I was distracted, he suddenly bolted for the door.

I lunged, grabbing him by the waist before he could get far. He kicked and twisted, doing everything he could to shake me off. We wrestled, both of us sweating by the time I managed to shove him back under the bed. He fought so hard I was out of breath.

Once he crawled under the bed again, he went quiet. I pushed my messy hair back, breathing hard.

The food I’d brought was scattered across the floor after all that chaos. I sighed at the mess, then leaned over and peeked beneath the bed.

“Are you really not going to eat? It’s fine if you don’t want to.”

I stuck my head under, but the boy ignored me, sulking. In the end, I gave up and ate by myself.

The stew and salad were ruined, so I was left with just the bread. It had tasted sweet earlier, but now it felt dry in my mouth.

After that, he tried to escape several more times. I coaxed and blocked him, over and over. More than once, I had to grab his waist just to stop him from running off.

Once, when I let my guard down, he tried to climb out the window. I caught him just before he could fall… my heart nearly stopped. Thankfully, the servants outside were too busy to notice anything strange.

“Let me go! Untie me!”

As a last resort, I wrapped him up in a bedsheet. Bundled like a caterpillar, he thrashed and kicked so hard I worried the noise would reach the hallway.

His determination to find his father was so wild it almost impressed me. He seemed like he’d come here prepared to die, but I doubted he really understood what death meant.

Of course, I knew where his father was, but telling him would be pointless. There was no hope… not unless a miracle happened, and miracles didn’t exist in a place like this. And honestly, I didn’t have the courage to save his father, either.

“Don’t waste your energy. It’s morning now.”

“You told me not to go out at night, too.”

He sounded tired, his voice mumbling. Normally, I’d comfort him, but I didn’t have time for that today. So I used my last card.

“If you go out and get caught, they’ll know I helped you. Then I’ll be in real trouble. You don’t want that, do you?”

“I never asked for your help! I said I didn’t need it!”

“But the truth is, you did get it. Whether you wanted it or not.”

Anyone would feel guilty if someone else suffered because of them… especially someone who tried to help. I used that.

He finally shut his mouth, even if he looked even more sullen. I felt bad for a second, but at least he understood. I sighed, tucked him firmly under the bed, and left the room.

But reasoning with him couldn’t go on forever. He’d figure out something was off.

With his stubbornness, who knew what reckless thing he’d do next? The more I tried to stop him, the more rebellious he got. But letting him wander outside wasn’t an option.

“Razella.”

He was deep in enemy territory… no, it was worse. He was surrounded by monsters, whether he realized it or not. Maybe he was truly ready to die, or maybe he just didn’t understand what real danger was. Either way, I had to keep him hidden, at least until I could get him out safely.

Until then, all I could do was keep him close and wait for the right moment.

“Razella!”

A shout pulled me out of my thoughts. I turned… Father was staring at me, expression unreadable.

“I wonder what you’re thinking about so seriously.”

“Ah… sorry.”

I straightened, facing forward. Conversation had stopped, and silence pressed down. Jacob looked at me, puzzled, and Jayden, as always, just sat there, unreadable. I mumbled something about not sleeping well and tried to act normal.

Today was a family gathering day.

From breakfast to tea time, we were expected to ‘share’ recent news and ‘decide’ the future together. But really, it was just Father making decisions. To an outsider, it might look like a warm family meeting, but in truth, it was surveillance.

Jacob bragged about his twisted hobbies, Jayden listened quietly and only spoke when spoken to, and I simply sat there, empty as a doll.

“Refrain from going out for a while. Times are unstable.”

“Yes, Father.”

We all answered at once. I glanced at Father.

“But you seem to be in a good mood today.”

“Do I? Perhaps I am. Something pleasant happened.”

Father’s smile as he swirled his wine was genuine. I felt a chill. I knew too well what that kind of smile meant.

Jacob, across from me, grinned.

“Hey, have you been to the storage shed on the hill? There’s something interesting there.”

“There’s a shed up there? I didn’t know.”

I acted innocent, taking a sip of water. Even surrounded by family, I felt suffocated, trapped.

Father soon ended the meeting, clearly restless. He wasn’t going far… I could tell by the way he kept fidgeting in his chair.

Jacob trailed after him, excited, while Jayden stayed behind, always the quiet observer. He always understood more than he let on.

But I was the one with the real secret.

If any of them found out, what would they think? Betrayal? Or would they just say, “I knew it”? Somehow, neither option seemed that bad.

I asked the maid to bring me something light and hurried back to my room. It was quiet. I’d only been gone a few hours, but worry gnawed at me.

I lifted the bedsheet. The boy was still there, asleep. I let out a long breath.

‘I should wake him…’

He slept so deeply I felt almost guilty disturbing him. For a moment, I just watched. His face looked gentle, so different from when he was awake… almost pretty, even. That thought surprised me.

Maybe he sensed my gaze, because his eyes opened. I reached under the bed and pulled him out. He scowled, instantly bristling.

“What?”

“Let’s eat something.”

I held out the food. He’d skipped both lunch and dinner, after all.

“I’ll feed you.”

“…Get that away.”

“Are you a picky eater?”

“Who are you calling picky?!”

He slapped my hand away when I tried to hush him.

“Don’t touch me. I don’t like it.”

“Fine, but don’t yell. You remember what I said, right?”

“…”

“Let’s eat.”

“I don’t want it.”

“You’re really not hungry? You skipped breakfast and lunch.”

“I said get that away.”

I’d even asked the kitchen for something we could share, but he was just as stubborn as before. I could have forced him, but I knew what it was like to be so hungry and still refuse to eat, just out of pride.

“You know, when you’re hungry, nothing works right. It’s like being sleepy and unable to sleep. Didn’t you say you want to find your father? You can’t do that if you’re starving.”

“…”

Speaking softly seemed to work. He hesitated, eyeing the plate of sandwiches I held out… fresh bread, vegetables, and meat. Finally, he snatched one and began eating, tearing into it hungrily, like he hadn’t eaten in days.

“Tell me if you want more.”

He looked at me with suspicion, but didn’t say anything. I stopped trying to make conversation.

He finished off everything, even what I’d planned to save for myself. I stared at the empty plate, speechless. He’d acted so stubborn, yet he’d been this hungry.

As if to answer my stare, he licked his lips.

“What. What is it?”

“…Nothing. Just… be careful. They’re watching even closer today. Don’t go out.”

“Don’t order me around.”

“It’s not an order, I’m just worried. If something happens to you, it’s bad for me, too. You get that, right? If my father finds out, I’m finished.”

“Guess you’re scared of your father.”

He sneered. I snorted.

“I am.”

Father was my whole world… he always had been. I never had a mother; my nanny raised me. She was my world once, until I ruined that, too.

“Very, very much.”

Once I learned the truth, I realized I was never free. Resistance, refusal… none of it mattered. He always saw through me. I was just another toy in his hands. Even a baby knows when it’s powerless. I knew a long time ago I could never truly betray him.

“What about your mother?”

“I don’t have one. She died giving birth to me.”

Jayden, Jacob, and I all had different mothers, but none of us had one now. Their mothers were at least of our own kind. Mine wasn’t.

Jacob once called me a freak because my mother was human. Even though his own mother was killed for being useless after giving birth to two sons, he still respected Father. That made us quite the pair.

“Anyway, I hope you’ll think about my situation, too.”

“Then just don’t hide me.”

“For someone who needs help, you sure talk back a lot.”

If it were me, I’d just say, “Thank you,” and accept the help. But this boy… he had to argue about everything. Even now, he glared at me for what I said.