CHAPTER 10
At that time, Lennox was brushing a horse in the stable when he suddenly looked outside.
As expected. It was those guys again.
The ones who always picked on him had, for some time now, stopped approaching him and instead just peeked at him from a distance.
It was better than them coming over to pick a fight—but it was still irritating to be constantly watched like that.
‘So annoying…’
Truthfully, he wanted to beat them up, but if he caused a scene here, he might get kicked out. So, he held back.
Anyway, punks like that were bound to get in trouble and be kicked out eventually.
All he had to do was wait quietly until then.
‘…Because the outside world is dangerous.’
He knew all too well just how dangerous it was to be a child without a guardian in the outside world.
That’s why Lennox stayed as quiet as he could.
Then, yesterday’s incident suddenly came to mind.
“If you’re such a slow-witted kid, you should just go back to where you came from. Maybe that place suits you better.”
The woman who introduced herself as the contract agent “Rose” had spoken arrogantly, as if she were his real sponsor.
She was a completely different kind of person from Callisto Skylar, the eldest son of this mansion.
“That place suits me, huh.”
Lennox clenched his teeth.
Just remembering her words sent his mood crashing to rock bottom.
‘Do you even know what kind of life I’ve lived?’
Was that something you could just say so casually?
Still, if he refused the sponsorship out of pride, that woman named Rose really might have sent him back to where he’d come from.
He couldn’t let that happen.
Even if it killed him…
Before he realized it, cold sweat had formed on the hand holding the metal comb.
“Haa…”
Whenever he recalled his time back there, his hands would be drenched in sweat, as if from a nightmare.
Although honestly, it was even worse when he tried to recover his lost memories.
Leaning against the wooden wall with a throbbing headache, Lennox turned his head at the sound of someone approaching.
The servant boys who had been spying on the stable finally stepped inside.
Lennox looked at them coolly and thought,
‘Here to bother me again today?’
There had been rumors lately that he was receiving special treatment from the young master, and the bullying had intensified.
He’d experienced this kind of territorial behavior in the back alleys before.
But the level of bullying here didn’t compare.
Back there, fights over turf and extorting money were everyday events. If you didn’t steal food as ordered, you got beaten until you passed out.
Compared to that, this was child’s play.
‘Just bear with it.’
In a noble household like this, there was no benefit to causing trouble.
With that thought, it became easier to hold back.
But what happened next surprised Lennox.
“Hey, take this.”
One of the boys suddenly held out some bread to him.
Lennox stared blankly at it with a blank face.
“Hey! Why aren’t you taking it?!”
“I don’t want it.”
How could he trust it? Who knew what they put in the bread?
There’s always a hidden agenda behind unprompted kindness—that’s what he’d learned from five years on the streets.
“Why, why won’t you eat it?”
“Why would I trust you?”
Lennox responded flatly and went back to brushing the horse.
The boys looked increasingly anxious.
They were afraid he had already tattled to the young master about their behavior.
They’d briefly forgotten what kind of person the young master was—gentle, but utterly firm when something unjust happened.
After talking it over in a hurry, they made a decision: Let’s just let this go.
Since then, they’d taken turns watching Lennox, just in case, but had seen nothing suspicious.
Then one day, one of the boys injured his leg while playing in the garden.
It was an accident—he’d spotted a snake nearby, panicked, and twisted his ankle while trying to run.
It was the first time a snake had ever appeared in the garden, according to the gardener.
That made the boys suddenly remember what the golden-eyed young lady in the cat mask had said.
“If your malice deepens, something even worse might happen.”
Her warning flashed in their minds, making it hard to scold Lennox.
Normally, they would’ve dismissed it as superstition—but not coming from a noble lady.
Her tone, her gaze, her aura… something about her made them believe her. Even the cat mask added to the mystery.
Plus, the misfortunes she’d mentioned had been oddly specific and believable.
‘Do cursed dolls really exist…?’
Then another boy tripped over a rock.
And just like that, they all thought of the golden-eyed lady again.
“Hey! We saved this bread at lunch just for you, so it’s safe to eat!”
“…Why should I?”
Lennox looked at them suspiciously.
Why were they trying to feed him? It didn’t make sense.
There was nothing more essential to survival than food. Sharing it was like sharing blood and flesh.
So he didn’t understand their behavior at all.
“W-Well…”
The boys fidgeted and nudged each other.
“You tell him.”
“No, you do it!”
All Lennox could hear was muttering.
He was getting annoyed by these kids hovering around, interfering with his work.
Then suddenly, one of them turned red and blurted out,
“We’re sorry, okay?!”
He shoved the bread into Lennox’s hands and ran off.
“That’s our apology, got it?!”
“Yeah! And if you snitch on us, you’re totally dead!”
“Hey! Don’t say that kind of stuff!”
They continued bickering among themselves and left the stable.
‘Snitch on what…?’
Lennox looked at the crumpled bread forced into his hands with a confused expression.
“…What the heck.”
Picking a fight one day, acting nice the next—what a sudden change. It was ridiculous.
At the same time, it all felt strangely familiar.
Like the way the world itself treated him.
He didn’t show it, but he was deeply bewildered by all the recent changes in his life.
Just a few weeks ago, he’d been living on the streets. Someone had attacked him, and when he woke up—he was here.
Somehow, he had ended up getting hired at the Skylar estate as the youngest servant.
‘I lost the necklace, but…’
In truth, his current peaceful life meant far more than some mysterious necklace.
At first, the estate had only given him small tasks like watering the garden—but he voluntarily took on more chores.
Because he felt guilty.
‘The world is being oddly kind to me.’
Instead of being happy, the sudden kindness felt awkward and overwhelming.
The world had always been cold and brutal. Could it really be this peaceful?
He didn’t believe in peace that came so easily. That’s why he had actually felt reassured when the boys bullied him.
‘Yeah… the world isn’t so easy.’
He had nearly forgotten that. And with that, he remembered his place.
But the resolve Lennox had barely managed to hold on to was shaken once again last night—as he looked at the sponsorship contract alone in his room.
All living expenses will be covered by the sponsor. Educational expenses and future settlement costs for independence will also be fully supported.
Even while signing the contract in front of the agent “Rose,” he didn’t let down his guard.
He knew better than anyone that no good fortune came without a cost.
He had seen too many kids get lured in by sweet promises, only to be sold to slave traders or labor camps.
As he thought back to signing, he suddenly remembered something Rose had said.
Unlike her cold tone while demanding a signature, her final words to him were strangely warm.
“From now on, instead of thinking about how to avoid misfortune, start thinking about how to become happier.”
Her eyes as she said that… they were so sweet and warm, as if she’d never spoken harshly at all.
Like a dazzling sun rising after a long, cold night.
Recalling those sun-like eyes, Lennox murmured softly,
“…This isn’t a dream, right?”
Still not convinced, he sat down in a corner of the stable and pinched his cheek.
It hurt—his cheek throbbed.
Thankfully, it wasn’t a dream.
A teardrop suddenly fell to the floor.
“Sniff.”
And so, Lennox crouched in the corner and sobbed for a while.
Clutching the good fortune in his hands, the boy prayed that it wouldn’t slip away.
