“Oh my. You’re amazing.”

“What is.”

“It looks like it’s already healed so much, there might not even be a scar?”

Deborah said with a bright smile, clapping her hands.

“Ah. Is that ointment so amazing?”

“I usually heal well even without applying that ointment.”

The boy who was irritated at Deborah muttered, avoiding her gaze as she stared at him.

“…You’re making a fuss over nothing.”

“Is that so? Still, I don’t regret it.”

The wind carried Deborah’s laughter as it moved slowly.

The boy felt like Deborah, right in front of him, might disappear at any moment. Like an illusion, like a dream.

“Did you wait for me, by any chance?”

The boy asked Deborah. His gaze didn’t leave her hair fluttering in the wind.

“Of course. I definitely waited.”

Deborah’s gentle voice tickled the boy’s ears. In fact, the boy knew that Deborah had been waiting for him.

Because he had been watching all along. But still, the boy wanted to hear it directly from Deborah.

“You’re not stupid…”

The boy, his cheeks flushed red, grumbled and pouted. Deborah found him adorable and smiled brightly.

After that, the boy and Deborah met every day.

“You worry needlessly about my wounds. That’s why I’m meeting you.”

“Thank you. I really do worry a lot.”

“…How foolish.”

Although it was only for about 5 minutes each time, the boy came to know quite a lot about Deborah.

“Your name is Deborah?”

“Yes, close friends all call me Debby. You can call me Debby too.”

“…As if I’d have any reason to call you.”

The boy also learned that Deborah’s nickname was Debby.

“Do you really not need any bread?”

“I told you I don’t need it.”

“But the bread at our mansion is really delicious.”

“Why don’t you eat that delicious bread yourself and grow up well?”

“What? If we’re talking like that, shouldn’t you be the one eating it? You’re too skinny.”

“What?”

He also learned that she saw him as skinny.

“I’m eighteen this year.”

“You’re older than I thought. You’re short, and you act completely like a child, so I thought you were about fourteen.”

“Oh! Really?”

“Why are you happy about that?”

“I’ve always been told I seem like an old person! It’s nice to be seen as young.”

He learned her age and also that she was often called an old soul.

But Deborah didn’t know much about the boy.

She asked his name, but he didn’t tell her, and when she asked his age, he only got angry saying, “I’m older than you think!” without giving a proper answer.

‘He’s quite a secretive child.’

But there was something Deborah did know about this boy.

“Do you pity me too?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, do you pity me like those kids you give bread to?”

The boy asked, glaring at Deborah with deeply hurt eyes. Deborah shook her head.

“No?”

“Then why do you meet with me?”

“To check if your wound is healing well…”

Deborah murmured, then quickly shook her head.

“No, more than that, I meet you because it’s fun to be with you.”

“I’m fun?”

“Yes.”

Deborah smiled brightly.

Actually, she wanted to ask “What about you?”, but she couldn’t.

The boy, his face red and scrunched up, surely wouldn’t give a proper answer even now.

Anyway, Deborah learned that the boy disliked being pitied.

Deborah didn’t think badly of pity. Rather, she thought pity was a necessary emotion in current society.

‘But since this child dislikes it.’

Deborah was constantly careful and tried hard not to make any mistakes. Even trying hard was fun. It was strange, but it was.

As the brilliant spring passed, and the fleeting summer too, the beginning of autumn came.

The leaves on the trees in each mansion turned yellow and were removed. Thanks to that, fallen leaves piled up early in the back alleys.

Until then, Deborah still met the boy at the same place every day.

The boy learned that Deborah was an orphan, that she was satisfied with her current job, and that she loved cats, all too well.

In contrast, Deborah still didn’t know the boy’s name, age, or where he lived.

But she had come to know much more than when they first met.

For example, the boy reluctantly ate the snacks Deborah handed him, saying they would make her feel better if she ate something sweet.

‘He doesn’t seem to like sweets much, but he probably eats them so I won’t feel awkward.’

Also, the boy’s hair was dark brown.

He still never took off his hat, but the hair that occasionally peeked out from under it was almost black.

‘The color seems to change a little each time we meet, but that might be my imagination.’

Also, the boy didn’t come on rainy days.

He even gave advance notice in his characteristic blunt manner, worried that Deborah might be waiting in the rain.

“How kind of you.”

“Don’t treat me like a child!”

Grateful for his thoughtfulness, she smiled and praised him, but got the usual grumpy response.

The boy was also intelligent. Not just smart, but exceptionally brilliant.

He remembered everything he heard or saw briefly without missing a single detail, and could quickly do complex calculations in his head.

“I think you’re a genius.”

“Don’t exaggerate. It’s nothing special.”

“But ordinary people can’t do that.”

“They’re just stupid.”

“My goodness. Isn’t it better to praise yourself than to put others down?”

“It’s my opinion.”

Deborah was happy talking with the boy. She began to look forward to that short time every day.

When going to sleep, she hoped tomorrow would come quickly, and when waking up, she wished it was time to meet the boy soon.

Deborah found this behavior of hers a bit unfamiliar and strange.

Deborah got along well with everyone in the Heather household except Sage, so why was she waiting for the boy?

‘Hmm. When I’m with that child, my heart feels at peace.’

Then why did she feel this strange tranquility when talking to this prickly boy?

‘Is it because it’s not a work-related relationship?’

Around the time Deborah had these doubts, Sage discovered her handing out bread to children.

“If those kids keep coming to the mansion and causing trouble, I’ll say it’s all because of you. Then even Madam, who adores you, will have no choice but to throw you out!”

Sage shouted that and then turned around abruptly to return to the mansion.

Deborah, who had been smiling awkwardly, soon drooped her shoulders and let out a deep sigh.

After blowing away her worries with a sigh, Deborah gestured towards the inner alley.

Then, from a corner that seemed empty, the sound of stepping on fallen leaves was heard.

Deborah took out a handkerchief-wrapped snack from her pocket. And smiling brightly towards the darkness, she said,

“Come quickly, I saved this for you.”

The boy approached with a deeply furrowed brow and said,

“Are you stupid? Why do you just listen to words like that?”

Thinking ‘So he heard everything after all’, Deborah smiled gently and said,

“I didn’t just listen, you know? I answered properly.”

“Is that what you think I’m talking about right now?”

To Deborah, who was looking at him with innocently wide eyes, the boy said angrily,

“You should get angry too. How can you let someone shout at you and try to teach you like that?”

The boy was fuming, unable to contain his anger. Deborah blinked her eyes.

‘Why is he so angry?’

As Deborah was lost in thought, the frustrated boy shouted,

“If I see this kind of thing again, I won’t hold back!”

Startled, Deborah looked at the boy’s face and thought. So that means…

“You held back today?”

Deborah asked, leaning her face towards the boy.

The boy’s face instantly turned red at Deborah’s suddenly close face and her words.

“Is that what’s important right now?”

The boy didn’t understand, but it was important to Deborah.

‘I think I know why I feel comfortable being with this child. Maybe I wanted to have someone of my own, like my other colleagues.’

Deborah always smiled and listened when her colleagues talked about their families or hometown friends, or when Madam Heather bragged about her husband, but she felt a little envious.

Sometimes Deborah had thought like this.

If Deborah were to be disliked by the people working in this mansion, who would take her side?

‘I thought there would be no one.’

So there were times when she felt sad. Even though she knew such a thing wouldn’t happen because all her colleagues were good people…

‘I guess I was a little lonely.’

No, I must have been very lonely. Seeing how she ended up blushing and smiling at a boy smaller than her getting angry on her behalf.

“What are you thinking about so intently?”

Zen asked Deborah, who was staring at a candy can as if it were a jewel box for a long time.

Deborah focused on Zen, who was looking at her seriously through the can.

“Seeing this just reminded me of some good old memories.”

Zen frowned. He immediately thought of her ex-husband.

‘His name was Charles, right?’

Did that man give her gifts like this? Well, even if they were poor, he could have occasionally given such small gifts.

‘Though he couldn’t have given anything better.’

Deborah would have smiled sweetly even if she had received cheaper candy than what Zen had given her.

‘Damn it.’

Zen tightly closed his mouth to avoid blurting out any nonsense due to his unpleasant feelings.

At that moment, Deborah lowered her eyes.

Whether it was because of the firelight or Zen’s imagination, her eyes, which seemed to shine more colorfully than usual, hid under her deep and lush eyelashes.

“When I see yellow candy, it reminds me of a precious person.”

Zen was sure that the person she missed was her husband. Who else could it be? But then she said,

“It was a child with golden eyes like you, Mr. Baker.”

Zen’s eyes widened. Deborah tilted her head and said,

“Ah, I suppose he’s not a child anymore. It’s been 10 years…”

Deborah never learned how old the boy was.

So she didn’t know how old he was now, but she could guess that he must be an adult.

“My goodness. To think he’s all grown up now…”

Deborah murmured, trying to imagine what the boy looked like now.

How much had he grown? Would his personality be the same? He had such a pretty face, so he must still be beautiful.

‘No, I should say handsome.’

Deborah smiled and looked at Zen as she spoke.

“Maybe he’s grown up to be as handsome as you, Mr. Baker. That child was really…”

Deborah couldn’t finish her sentence. Her smile disappeared. For a moment, she saw that boy in the man now looking at her with distorted eyes.