Episode 4
“Oh my.”
Lorei, who entered the room at exactly 7 a.m., let out a surprised voice when she saw Sophia already up and sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Aren’t you supposed to be a growing child?”
“I’m just following Lorei’s advice about getting nine hours of sleep.”
“Well done. This Lorei is so proud.”
As Lorei smiled playfully and prepared the wash water, Sophia glanced around the room from the corner of her eye.
She noticed a large pile of presents stacked next to the full-length mirror.
But… there seemed to be more than usual.
“Lorei, those…”
“Oh, the lord and young masters sent them. And there are also gifts from our side.”
It was always said that the gifts were from the lord and the servants. But something that shouldn’t be included… was.
The young masters?
They hadn’t celebrated her birthday once since they began distancing themselves from her.
And above all, there were simply too many gifts. What used to be three or four boxes had become well over a dozen.
“It’s too much.”
Sophia frowned as she spoke, and Lorei, wiping her pale cheeks with a warm towel, replied.
“Seems like a lot had piled up.”
“…No way.”
“The young masters always prepared gifts for you, miss.”
“….”
“They just never sent them.”
“Why…?”
Suddenly.
In all her past lives, they had never sent her a single gift. And yet, in this life—where she hadn’t done anything differently—why now?
Lorei misunderstood Sophia’s question, assuming she was wondering why they hadn’t sent gifts before, and added,
“They’ve always had a lot on their minds. They worry too much.”
“….”
“They’ve been very ill for a while, but they seem to be doing better now.”
They didn’t meet her because they were sick and didn’t want to pass it to her?
There was no way she could believe such a foolish reason. The past Sophia might have trusted any word Lorei said, knowing nothing—but not now.
“Send them all back.”
She had no intention of accepting them. Gifts from those who had pretended not to know her.
In a life where her goal had been to reform them, perhaps she would have welcomed the gifts—but now that she had given up on that, they were unwelcome.
Only now was she finally breathing to live her own life.
Of course, Benjamin and Joshua had been kind to her at times due to her efforts. But in the end, they had all betrayed her.
Rather than bind herself to such people again, fearing betrayal and dreading rejection, it was better not to form ties at all.
“…Yes.”
Lorei glanced between Sophia and the gifts with eyes full of regret, then finally nodded.
She still hoped for the day Sophia would be with others again—but the person she needed to respect most was Sophia herself.
While the maids helped Sophia dress, Lorei gathered the gifts and left the room.
She exited Rosent Castle, where Sophia lived, and delivered the gifts to the servants at Forn Castle, where Joshua and Benjamin resided.
It wasn’t difficult to return the gifts that had been sent to Sophia by their hands.
“Don’t look so disappointed. I told you this wouldn’t work.”
Joshua, snatching cookies from Benjamin’s room, shot back coldly when Benjamin looked dejected while holding one of the unopened gifts.
“I mean, come on—if someone ignored me for four years and suddenly sent me a present, I’d be pissed too.”
“You sent one too.”
“I knew it’d get sent back. But I just wanted to show her something.”
Joshua took another bite of the cookie and tried to sound casual as he continued.
“Sophia once said she wanted to see a mountain of gifts.”
“You still remember that?”
“I remember everything. How could I forget? It’s about Sophia.”
“Impressive.”
Though Benjamin replied like that, he too had never forgotten Sophia’s wish.
He opened the wrapping to read the letter inside.
Happy 8th birthday.
The letter was old, a little faded, and contained just that one sentence.
9th, 10th, and 11th birthdays—all were the same.
The 12th, though…
“I thought maybe she’d read this one, so I wrote a bit more.”
A birthday greeting, a question about what she liked nowadays, and a bit about what he’d been up to.
He’d written it formally, knowing he wouldn’t be able to send a real gift. But this time, he had decided to send something, so he’d written more.
In the end, it came back without even touching her hands.
Folding the letter with a sigh, Benjamin asked Joshua,
“Are you sleeping okay?”
“You know I’ve been better lately. Still can’t sleep without Rosha, though.”
Joshua gave a short, self-deprecating laugh and pointed to the bottle of Rosha on the nightstand next to Benjamin’s bed. There was an identical bottle in Joshua’s room.
It was a strong but sweet liquor—something that helped them fall asleep quickly without thinking too much.
“We really don’t need to be this alike.”
Restless dreams, sleepless nights, depending on alcohol just to get through it.
It was enough that they looked alike. The rest being so similar was starting to get on Benjamin’s nerves.
He walked over to the nightstand, grabbed the bottle, and poured a full glass of Rosha before offering it to Joshua.
“Want one?”
“No, I’m saving it for bedtime. Serita told me not to drink more than two glasses a day.”
“How much were you drinking for her to say that?”
Serita, their attending physician, wasn’t one to scold. The fact that she had said something like “drink moderately” amused Benjamin.
Joshua scratched his neck sheepishly and answered.
“Maybe… about two bottles a night. Rosha is just too good.”
Alcoholic. That’s what Benjamin’s eyes said as he looked at him, and Joshua chuckled under his breath, muttering,
“I can’t help it. I told you—it’s a habit. I couldn’t sleep without two bottles.”
“Well, you don’t get drunk easily, at least.”
“Exactly. You can sleep after just one glass. I can’t.”
Fortunately, he’d started sleeping better even before Serita’s warning.
If he had still been doing badly when she told him to quit drinking, he might’ve stayed awake for days until she begged him to drink again.
Benjamin gave a bitter smile and brought the glass he had offered to Joshua to his own lips.
The sweet scent and satisfying taste went down smoothly. He’d had a glass last night too. Come to think of it…
“How do you think Sophia found out about the tower?”
“I’ve been wondering that too. It couldn’t have been Lorei.”
Last night, while sipping Rosha as usual, they had seen Sophia heading toward the tower with a lantern in hand.
The tower was near Forn Castle, and the path to it was clearly visible from their rooms.
They had deliberately chosen the rooms with the best view of the tower—and the lantern’s light was unmistakable.
They saw someone walking the dark path, their tiny frame easily recognizable.
Benjamin, seeing her through his window, had immediately gone down to Joshua’s room, and Joshua, seeing the same thing, had headed up to Benjamin’s—meeting halfway on the stairs.
‘You saw Sophia, right?’
‘Yeah. Go get the lantern. I’ll light some candles from the hallway.’
Following Joshua’s instructions, Benjamin fetched a lantern, and they both headed for the tower.
The tower was surrounded by forest. Wild animals could be out there. That’s why a hunting competition was held every year during the Olavi Festival.
And yet, that little girl had gone there alone.
At first, they didn’t realize she was headed for the tower. After all, she wasn’t supposed to know about it.
But she stopped right in front of it—and laid down flowers.
Blue roses. The same ones they had placed there that morning.
She wasn’t supposed to know. Not about Chase’s death, not about the tower, not about the meaning of those flowers.
But she knew everything.
‘She said sorry. What could Sophia possibly have done to be apologizing for…?’
‘Turn off the lantern, Josh. Be quiet. She’ll hear us.’
‘Benji, I don’t understand what’s happening. Why does she know everything about that day—and why is she apologizing?’
‘Josh, calm down…’
‘What did Sophia even do…!’
As emotions ran high, Joshua’s wild gestures shook the bushes they were hiding in, and Sophia turned her head in their direction.
Benjamin quickly covered Joshua’s mouth and assessed the situation. If needed, he’d even meow like a cat to cover it up.
Luckily, a breeze blew at the perfect moment.
Their father had forbidden them from meeting Sophia, and appearing now was not an option. So Benjamin just kept his hand over Joshua’s mouth and held their position.
“…I wish I could’ve died.”
Those were Sophia’s last words before she left the tower.
It was shocking enough that she knew what she shouldn’t. Unfathomable, really.
But more than anything, those words wouldn’t leave their minds.
