# Chapter 8
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Episode 8
How long has it been?
Anita covered Lancelo's sleeping shoulders with a blanket and quietly left the room.
"ah."
I was so nervous that my forehead and palms were drenched in cold sweat.
She turned around tiredly.
Lancelot seemed to get sicker every day.
The amount of painkillers he swallowed gradually increased, but it didn't seem to have any effect.
Claunia said that although doctors across the continent had treated Lancelot, they were unable to find the appropriate name for his illness.
Anita couldn't understand what she said.
Is there any disease in the world that doctors cannot treat?
So what about Lancelot?
Do I have to suffer like this for the rest of my life?
Like you're going to die?
This is so unfortunate.
It would be nice if I could share some of Lancelot's pain.
Just a little...
I can bear it.
'But what were those eyes?'
The light that shone in Lancelo's eyes.
A golden glow in the eyes that didn't belong to a person.
As I recalled the memory, goosebumps appeared on my back.
If it weren't for Lancelot, I probably would have run away.
'yet...
.'
I was happy that Lancelo was sleeping.
It was really lucky.
***
Lancelot seemed to have completely forgotten what happened last night.
He had regained his unrecognizable vitality and was now able to move around without any problems, even outside the room.
"What are you looking at?
Just do what you want."
It was the first time I felt so welcomed by a consistently cruel tone of voice.
Anita did not tell Claunia and Lancelot about the injuries she suffered that day.
I decided it would be better to forget such painful memories for the rest of my life.
Instead, he reported the events of that night to Duke Edenbahir.
Duke Edenbahir did not hear Anita's story in vain.
Instead, I looked and listened with more serious eyes than ever before.
"Were you with Lancelot at that time?"
"yes."
The Duke of Edenbahir who said this had very complex eyes.
Lips that looked exactly like Lancelot's opened and closed several times to say something.
However, he remained silent until the end and silently stroked Anita's hair.
"Thank you, Anitta."
Was it because it was an unexpected compliment?
I hung my head in shame.
"Don't tell anyone what happened today.
"Especially, you must never tell the lady."
"He doesn't want to talk to me.
So even if I wanted to tell you, I can't."
Duke Edenbahir, who was silent for a moment, slowly bent his knees in front of Anita.
And he asked, making eye contact with her gaze, which was much lower than his.
"Anitta.
"Do you know this?"
Duke Edenbahir's eyes were so gentle and warm that they were incomparable to Lancelot's.
"At the beginning of winter, the duke's servants become noisy.
"Everyone seemed happy, thinking about what kind of cake to make for you and what kind of bedding to prepare for you."
"Cake?"
"Every day a sweet cake is prepared, right?
But no one likes sweet food in Edenbahir.
It's a difficult sight to see unless it's winter.
"It's made just for you."
"I'm...
."
Oh, I didn't know.
Did he hear a voice whispering softly?
A gentle smile appeared on Duke Edenbahir's face.
"More people like you than you think."
So don't waste your kindness on rude people.
It was the first time I heard comfort from an adult.
It wasn't even a great story.
Duke Edenbahir's words gave Anita a wonderful magical gift.
The great lady's disgusting gaze no longer burned, and the words and phrases that mocked her no longer hurt.
Let's not waste my kindness on rude people.
Well, except Lancelot.
Lancelot is just...
You're just a little more sensitive than other people.
'Your Excellency is right.'
There's no time just to reciprocate the person who likes me.
I can't waste my time being depressed alone.
'During this time, I had more fun with Claunia, and...
'Because I discovered that Lancelot was in more pain than I thought.'
Because I knew that just hearing the sound and smelling it was painful.
I should try harder.
"Hello, Lancelot.
Good morning."
Say hello more forcefully.
“Lancelus.
"What book are you reading?"
Talk more.
"Lancelo!
Look at the raspberries that Cláunia came to visit.
"It's so red!"
"It's noisy, so shut up and leave."
"If I see this, I'll leave."
Even if I get scolded for being noisy, I work harder.
"Nice to meet you, Lancelot.
Oh, please take care of this winter too.”
More difficult.
"Hello, Lancelot.
Good morning.
"Did you see the snow that fell all morning?"
try hard.
"mountain range."
Did he recognize Anita's efforts?
'...
'Did I hear wrong?'
Little by little, the words and actions that were once as cold as frozen ice in the middle of winter began to melt.
"Hello, Lancelot. long time no see! how have you been?
"He's gotten a lot taller."
A family reunion every late winter.
As visibility visibly increased as the days passed, Lancelot's harsh voice fell like a spring flower into Anita's ears.
"You haven't grown up."
I was so happy that day that my heart sank.
'You answered my greeting!'
Cláunia, replied Lancelot!
You responded to such an informal greeting!
As we hugged each other with our eyes wide closed in joy, Claunia laughed and patted her on the back.
"It's really funny.
"I think he became a person."
Conversations with him increased.
The habit of narrowing my eyebrows every time I speak has visibly diminished.
I tried to answer all the questions briefly and didn't get nervous.
Claunia's comment on Lancelot's surprising change was terse.
"It's because you're cool."
Claunia, my friend, older sister and younger brother, whispered with a mischievous smile.
"You are so kind that even a demon like Lancelot no longer has the energy to be mean to you."
How I feel when I look at Lancelo.
I think it was precisely at this time that the feeling I felt when making eye contact with him and hearing his voice changed in relation to what I felt when dealing with Claunia.
How many seasons have passed like this?
"Anitta! oh my God!
"I'm going to study abroad in De Rolland!"
Claunia went to study abroad, in a kingdom across the sea.
"No matter how beautiful your grandmother is, if she is so ignorant that she can't communicate, she is useless!"
"For my maternal grandmother to say that means she is not on the level of a human being."
"You're noisy, Lancelot!
...But where is De Rolland?
What is the name of the country?
Or the name of the school?
It was a three-year farewell.
She hugged Anita and wiped away all the tears and snot, and left for the De Rolland Kingdom with swollen eyes.
That year, Anita thought she could no longer visit Edenbahir.
Now that Claunia is gone, is there no more reason to visit her?
But Lancelot.
"See you next year."
He stroked Anita's head for the first time and promised to meet again on a winter day next year.
Tears welled up.
I'm grateful you asked me to meet you again.
I really liked the hand that gently held you with a rude face.
Oh yes.
'I like him.'
Anita really liked Lancelot.
When I see him, not only the heat of my cheeks, but also the constant beating of my heart.
All the sensations and emotions provided by Lancelot were extremely precious.
The next three years passed quickly.
Everything was peaceful.
Although Lancelot realized that he had no feelings for her.
So I was a little unhappy.
I thought it was a perfectly glorious life.
Until his father disappears and the family falls apart.