(SATVC) Chapter 21

I felt like it became a pick-up line. When I saw Kanarin’s wet eyes as if she were about to burst into tears, I couldn’t stay still.

“…Thank you.”

Kanarin, who shared her story, had a refreshed face. She had always kept it to herself, it wasn’t a secret. However, she must have had no one to talk to. I held Kanarin’s hand.

“You’re welcome. Kana, please call me by my nickname too. Oh, but I don’t have a nickname.”

“If you don’t mind, can I make one for you?”

“Of course!”

Usually, a nickname is a shortened version of your name. 

If you are a loved child, it is a name that you will naturally receive from your parents from birth. So, nicknames are usually given by parents.

“Ser? Nia? Or Sel?”

I was thinking about the number of nicknames that could come from my name.

“How about Nia?”

“I like it!”

I thought it was normal, but listening to Kanarin, I could see how much she thought of me when she gave me that nickname.

“It’s the name of a fairy from an old story my mother told me. She’s a mischievous but good fairy who loves and protects people. When I see Nia, I think of the fairy from the fairy tale.”

Fairy?! You look more like a fairy than I do. I’m taller than average, and Kanarin is shorter than average. Of course, Kanarin, who has a smaller face than me, is more of a fairy! 

I nodded my head, making my own conclusions. 

‘Ariel is more like a goddess than a fairy.’

I guess because of the duke’s blood, both the twins and I were tall. Although he was still 15 years old, Erial’s height was well over 170 cm, while Ariel and I were just around 170 cm. I think he told me my height when I was fitting my clothes in the dressing room, but I couldn’t remember.

TL/N: 170cm is about 5.5ft

I returned to the conversation after thinking nonsense. Anyway, it was an exciting moment when my nickname was made! I laughed and asked about the fairy. There were magic and spirits, so there could be actual fairies.

“I’m curious about the fairy tale! Can you tell me the title of the book later?”

“I have it, so I’ll lend it to you!”

Kanarin said she would gladly lend the book she had. It’s a book with memories of her mother, so I have to handle it with care.

Knock, knock.

“I’m sorry to interrupt you during your conversation. A carriage came from the duke. What should I do?”

We were chatting in a friendly atmosphere, but the butler came in with a knock. It had already been this long. At the butler’s words, I stood up.

“It’s the first time that time has passed so quickly like today.”

Kanarin, who stood up to see me off, spoke in a disappointed voice. She was thinking the same thing as me.

“That’s right. We’ll still meet at the Founding Festival in a few days! I’ll also write you a letter.”

“Yes!”

After Kanarin saw me off, I got into the carriage. I was relieved that nothing bad happened. Although I felt like the count was a piece of trash.

‘A nickname.’

That was definitely what I was missing. I’m still lacking. I did my best for the twins, but I was still inexperienced. Parenting was really difficult. Once again, I respected my parents in my previous life.

‘It must have been the first time my parents took care of a child.’

There’s no such thing as right parenting. Everyone goes through trial and error and learns step by step. I wanted to be a family to the twins.

‘You’re doing well.’

Even though I’m only a half-blood because I’m their cousin, the twins think of me as family. So does the duke. He must think of me as a family because he asked me to call him uncle.

Family is not a relationship that can only be tied through blood. There are various types of families in the world. Kanarin will not only have a family connected by blood, but a family she can truly trust. What I can do for her is be a reliable friend.

***

It was an ordinary day.

Daily life like yesterday without any special events. I thought that the peaceful time had passed like a calm river.

“Lady Sernia.”

I heard a voice. I barely opened my heavy eyelids, wondering if it was already morning, but the room was still dark. I used a thick curtain to block the winter cold, so it felt even darker. I closed my eyes several times to adjust to the darkness.

‘What? That woke me up.’

His voice was clear enough to be a dream.

Low and husky, but nice to listen to. Wait a minute?! I completely woke up from my sleep. Except for Erial and the Duke, there was no man who would visit my room in the middle of the night. And they don’t call me ‘Lady Sernia’. Then, who is it?!

‘Assassin?’

No. If it was an assassin, he would have killed me while I was asleep. There was no way they would have woken up a sleeping target and kindly announce that they would kill them now. There was no one who wanted to kill me by hiring an assassin. Then who is it?

“Lady Sernia. This way.”

As I was looking around the room with vigilance, I noticed a silhouette on the terrace. I approached cautiously with the small dagger I had kept in the drawer just in case. I grabbed the dagger with my right hand and pulled the curtain with my left.

“Huh?”

“Long time no see.”

The identity of the silhouette was revealed once the curtains were lifted. Sirius. Even the moon was covered by clouds, and his face looked particularly white under the dark sky without a single light. Why is he here so late at night? I stopped thinking for a while due to the unexpected person.

“Why?”

I was so embarrassed that I spat out words before completing my sentence. However, Sirius, who understood what I asked, smiled awkwardly, slightly lowering his head, scratching the back of his head as if he were shy.

“I was anxious because the next time didn’t come.”

“Next time?”

What nonsense. 

I didn’t understand. It was ridiculous, but I opened the window and went out to the terrace. It was completely winter, so a cool wind passed by my cheek. 

I should have worn a shawl.

“It’s cold. Wear this.”

Sirius took off his coat and covered my shoulders with it. It was the clothes he was wearing, so his warm body temperature lingered.

“Oh, thank you. This late at night, no, this is the duke’s residence. Where did you come from?”

I didn’t know what to tackle first, so I spoke in gibberish. Sirius laughed loudly, covering his mouth with his white, long hands as if it was funny.

Oh, your hands are pretty. 

I glanced at Sirius’s outstretched fingers for a moment.

“Thanks to this kid, I was able to get in easily.”

I followed Sirius’ finger as if possessed. The child he pointed to was a bundle of black fur sitting quietly under his feet. It was Bam.

TL/N: I changed the dog’s name from night to bam bc it sounds better and it’s night in korean.

“Bam, why are you here?”

This was the second floor. A small Pomeranian like Bam was not tall enough to come in from the outside. When I called Bam’s name, she wagged her tail and came to my side.

“Did you name it Bam? It suits her well.”

He had a bright smile on his face as if he was having fun.

‘Maybe he’s smiling so I can let my guard down.’

His first impression was so intense that I felt that everything he did was a pretense. I thought this behavior was also a kind of acting. As I hardened my face and took a step back, his smiling face changed subtly.

“There’s nothing to be wary of. That child is connected to me by magic. Based on the connected magic, I broke through the barrier, received the coordinates, and teleported.”

Wow. He’s so versatile. When I went to work in my previous life, I wished I had that kind of ability.

 While I was thinking nonsense, I felt a sense of strangeness that Bam and Sirius were connected by magic. At the same time, I also remembered that the duke prohibited Bam from entering my room.

“To be connected with Bam by magic means that you share a sense or something like that?”

“I haven’t tried it, but maybe it’s possible. Shall we try it?”

“No!”

I made a loud noise without realizing it, and Sirius put his long index finger to my mouth and whispered, ‘Shh’.

“I’m sorry. It was a joke, but I didn’t expect you to react so intensely.”

“Of course! That’s a crime. Absolutely not.”

“If Lady Sernia doesn’t like it, I won’t do it.”

​​For some reason, I thought she was smart for an ordinary dog, but she was connected to him by magic. I was surprised by the new fact about Bam, but it was also difficult to scold Sirius for making a mistake when his eyes were half-lowered, making a sad expression on his face. 

Yeah, he grew up with no proper education for 15 years, so he couldn’t know what was wrong. 

I grabbed my throbbing head and led Sirius into my room.

“I… can I come in?”

“It’s a cold day, and I don’t think the conversation is going to end anytime soon. I can’t call a maid, so I can’t serve tea.”

I put Bam on my lap and stroked her head while facing Sirius. Sirius, whom I haven’t seen in a long time, had changed a lot. Compared to Helios and Erial, I was thinner and shorter, but is it because they are growing adolescents?

“First of all, how did you call me earlier? It sure sounded as close as a whisper in my ear. Is that magic?”

I pointed it out from the very beginning. The voice calling me was not loud in my head or from afar. It was dreamy, but I was certain.

“Yes. It’s sound transmission magic. I put the sound I wanted into magic and sent it to Lady Sernia’s ears.”

“Am I the only one who could hear that?”

“Yes.”

No wonder he whispered in my ears. I solved the first question and asked the second question.

“So what does ‘next’ mean?”

I was nervous because ‘the next’ didn’t come. No matter how many times I repeated it, it was a word I couldn’t understand in English. Sirius looked me in the eye and answered.

“Didn’t you promise last time? I’ll see you next time.”

“Last time?”

I pondered on the word last time.

Maybe the last time I saw him, I said it out of courtesy? I think I did. 

At this point in time, six months ago, I couldn’t exactly remember that day, but it seemed like I greeted him in a way that meant I would see him next time.

‘You were waiting for that?’

I was stunned because it was a meaningless greeting. I couldn’t believe he thought of it as a promise.

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