Here is the complete English translation of Chapter 5: Promise (4) – 5화. 약속(4):
Despite being skinny, the child’s transparent and clear skin gleamed as though it were bathed in light.
Staring blankly at Astein’s face, Elluciana flinched belatedly and opened her mouth.
“I-I was going to get some water.”
Astein leaned lazily against the head of the bed, smiling faintly as he spoke.
“…No need for that…”
As he finished speaking, Astein held out a small object about the size of a palm, smiling subtly.
‘What is that? Huh? That round shape…’
Elluciana’s eyes trembled ever so slightly as she looked closely at the object the child was showing her.
It was the summoning artifact that should have been inside the nightstand drawer—clearly in the child’s hand.
‘Wait, why is he holding that?’
Elluciana instinctively turned her head toward the nightstand, briefly processing her confusion—until the child firmly pressed the button on the artifact.
Bzzzt—
“…?”
With a low vibration, the lights on the artifact’s surface began blinking. Once it activated, a maid would arrive within a minute.
Blinking in confusion, Elluciana belatedly shouted.
“Hey! What are you doing right now?!”
In that moment, a cold smirk brushed across Astein’s face.
“I told you… there’s no need to go out…”
“…What?”
“Sit.”
“…!”
The round artifact in Astein’s hand swung playfully—as if he had seen right through her intentions from the beginning.
‘What the hell is this kid?’
A childlike appearance but with an expression devoid of any warmth.
His cold eyes showed no hint of emotion.
And that wicked, half-lifted smirk tugging at the corner of his lips…
‘Did he figure out what I was trying to do…?’
Chills ran down Elluciana’s spine.
It seemed she had brought something very strange into her home.
Meanwhile, Simon was enjoying a cup of tea in his study.
“What is the child doing now?”
Clink.
The silver-haired old butler carefully poured hot tea into Simon’s teacup, then stepped back with dignified grace to answer.
“He finished his meal and has fallen asleep.”
“Hmm. That’s a relief. Then I can assume the treatment worked…”
Though he said it was a relief, the furrow in Simon’s brow remained.
Pressing his temple firmly, Simon asked,
“Still no trace of the child’s origin? Where he came from?”
The butler hesitated, then finally spoke.
“In truth, there is something I must report to you regarding that matter.”
“What is it?”
“Considering how thoroughly his background has been erased, it appears the child may come from a rather… unusual origin.”
“I was thinking the same.”
Yet that only made things more puzzling. A child from a noble family that valued bloodlines wouldn’t be abandoned or abused like that.
“Hmm…”
Simon massaged the wrinkles on his forehead and looked at the butler.
“So, are you suggesting we send the child away?”
“If I may speak frankly… yes.”
“Hmm.”
“My lord, movements around us are growing suspicious. We must avoid doing anything that draws too much attention.”
Simon’s face darkened.
His once overflowing vault had been drying up rapidly over the past few years.
From the late Viscount, to his wife, and even his daughter—enormous sums had been poured into their treatments.
Too strange a coincidence.
And yet, even that was only a piece of the bigger picture.
The real reason Simon remained so wary—
“This isn’t over.”
There were many who viewed the Wires family as a thorn in their side. Having risen to power from low status, it was only natural they were resented.
“That child might even be part of a trap laid by them.”
On the surface, the noble faction led by Count Eragost might smile and act friendly, but in truth, they were always ready to drag him down.
“Perhaps I should have held onto the chancellor’s seat a little longer…”
Though he was barely holding them off for now, once a crack appeared, they would swarm like moths to flame.
And they wouldn’t stop until they devoured everything.
That was what the butler was hinting at.
“I understand your point. But the child came to us seeking help. Ahem… and my daughter personally took him in.”
“So it’s because of the young lady.”
“Let’s not be too cold-hearted. Let’s just keep him here until the treatment is fully complete. …You may go now.”
Simon, slightly embarrassed, waved his hand.
“As you wish.”
Nodding, the butler left the office.
Left alone, Simon took a sip of his now-cold tea. His embarrassed expression had hardened.
“I have no choice either, old friend…”
He muttered to himself.
A conversation from the temple resurfaced in his memory.
“Keep your promise to the gods, Viscount Wires. If you fail to prove your faith, the daughter you cherish may return to His side. You wouldn’t want such a tragedy to repeat… would you?”
Recalling the veiled threat from the high priest, Simon let out a long sigh.
“To give up everything I have…”
Had he not heard it, he could have ignored it. But now that he had, he couldn’t pretend otherwise.
Even if it was all a lie—
“I can’t gamble with my daughter’s life.”
Simon smiled bitterly and drank the last of the tea.
Today, the tea tasted especially bitter and thick.
Elluciana frowned as she carefully examined the yellowish bruises around her eyes.
“The swelling’s gone, but why won’t the bruises fade?”
After visiting Astein’s room and getting hit in the eye, she hadn’t been allowed in his room for days.
That had already been ten days ago.
Which meant she’d been stuck inside her room all that time.
“So boring…”
Lying around, reading, even staring out the window—those things were tolerable for a day or two. But after three or four days, she felt her brain turning to mush.
If she hadn’t heard recent news about Astein, she might’ve gone mad.
“But why did he suddenly stop eating?”
Remembering Astein’s cold, sneering gaze, Elluciana unconsciously rubbed her wrist.
It shouldn’t hurt anymore, but she could still feel the lingering strength of his grip.
“Still, he’s so stubborn.”
Well, she could understand.
Having grown up exposed to abuse and violence, it was only natural that he’d be prickly and full of hostility.
And to wake up in a completely unfamiliar place?
Of course he’d be anxious.
He must have been scared too—not knowing whether this place was friend or foe.
Though, considering how he said everything he wanted to say without hesitation…
Ah! Maybe he let his guard down a little because I looked like a child too?
Seen from that perspective, everything made sense.
His pathological aversion to people, and how he terrified the maids who brought him food—
Well, those eerily red eyes… normal people probably couldn’t handle them.
If it weren’t for the fact that she had the soul of someone in her late twenties inside the body of an 8-year-old girl, she might have been terrified too.
“In the end, I’m the only one who can help him, aren’t I?”
A satisfied smile bloomed on Elluciana’s face as she thought of the prickly, hedgehog-like Astein.
“But—”
Suddenly, she looked serious as she stared into the mirror.
Smooth, marshmallow-like skin. Clear crimson eyes.
Her hair was a common brown, but her face was so lovely, it made even that seem special.
“What if… I’m too pretty, and he doesn’t recognize me?”
She had visited him when her face was all swollen. If he saw her now, with her beauty fully restored, he might not recognize her.
“He’s already guarded enough as is…”
Elluciana sighed as she stared at her reflection again, steeling her expression.
“Come on, the law of ‘original features don’t change’ still applies. No way he wouldn’t recognize me. That makes no sense.”
She chuckled to herself and waved her hand dismissively.
“Well, I’ll just find out when I see him.”
Elluciana picked up the items she had prepared for Astein and left the room.
“He should be awake around this time, right?”
Standing outside Astein’s room, she glanced down at the blue ointment container.
A special ointment from the temple.
She had brought it just in case—thinking maybe he was feeling sick and that’s why he was skipping meals.
He might have wounds where no one can see.
Maybe an infected wound was dulling his appetite.
Gripping the container she had gotten from Trisha tightly, Elluciana knocked.
Knock knock.
“…Hmm?”
No response.
She knocked again several times, but there was still no answer.
Elluciana hesitated for a moment, then carefully opened the door.
Creak.
As expected, Astein was leaning against the head of the bed, staring out the window.
Even though he must’ve sensed her presence, he didn’t move at all.
Hmm… this is different from what I heard.
Despite rumors that he hated people getting close, Astein simply stared blankly out the window.
As if he were in a completely separate world from the one he physically inhabited.
Elluciana turned her eyes from him to the table. The lamb soup brought for lunch remained untouched.
He really didn’t eat any of it.
Even the glass of water next to it remained full.
Elluciana’s gaze shifted again to Astein’s profile.
Ten days had passed, and yet he was still frighteningly thin.
Without realizing it, she let out a deep sigh.
And then—it happened.
Astein’s head slowly turned.
And those blood-red eyes, as vivid as fresh blood, locked onto hers.
