CH 188

Sera returned to her room as if she had escaped.

She thought that she should avoid shedding any tears in front of Helios, and though she determinedly managed not to cry, she couldn’t hide her gloomy expression.

Now lying in bed, she couldn’t brush aside her melancholy.

The bed was so large that it was lonesome to lie down alone on it, and even if she tossed and turned, there was still so much empty space.

It was a bed that’s too big and fancy with all its decorations.

Sera was struck once again with the realization that this did not suit her.

The sheets wrapped around her body were soft, and she was contentedly warm, but she still couldn’t fall asleep.

‘There’s only six days left.’

Sera counted on her fingers in the dark, counting the days left ahead. That was the remaining time they’d be staying here at the villa.

She clutched her hands with each other, as though trying to grab onto the time that was slipping through her fingers like grains of sand.

Sera chuckled bleakly as she thought that it was something that Rosé and Ferre would have likely done, too.

However, at the end of her laughter, the bitterness of regret lingered.

‘What now. It’s not like I’ve gone through this only once or twice. In my previous life, I had to part with the children I taught each year. It’s natural for a teacher. This time, too, it’s just six months.’

This was the inevitable reality of a teacher.

It’s time for the teacher and students to say their goodbyes around the time that they had already grown attached to each other. This wasn’t the first time she had to do it, and it was a rather familiar experience.

However, this time, it felt as if the entire day was too long whenever she wasn’t together with them, and the pain she felt now was far greater than the other times.

‘I guess there’s nothing that can be done about it.’

Sera raised her hands over her hot eyes, feeling that she was really about to cry now.

The heavy thoughts weighing her down must have played a part, and so her mind gradually sank into the depths of darkness.

Slumber had still yet to grace her. On the contrary, her mind became even more riddled with plaguing thoughts.

She tossed and turned a few more times, but the ensuing lack of sleep shook her mind with even more disarray.

‘There’s nothing I can do.’

After burying her face in her pillow for a moment, Sera carefully got up from her bed.

In the end, she figured that she needed to switch up her mood.

Sera put on a light shawl that was hanging by the bed.

And, she slowly walked out to the balcony, where the subtle glow of the moonlight could be seen.

* * *

Helios stayed behind a little longer by his younger siblings’ side even though it had been a while now since they had slipped into the comforts of dreamland. Then, he later went back to his bedroom.

‘Miss Popo, she… looked quite downcast.’

His younger siblings had opened up their hearts to Sera and were following her well, and it was certainly because of Sera’s sincerity towards them. This was a fact that he knew well enough.

It’s only a given that she would have to leave their side, but they would surely be sad and disappointed that she would go because they had already given her much of their hearts.

As he sat on a high-back chair next to a narrow table, leaning over deeply as he brooded, he recalled how Sera was a while ago.

Melancholy was painted upon her expression, and as she closed her eyes, there was a subtle glimmer at the corners of her eyes.

She was gentle and endlessly tender towards the twins as she usually was. Watching as Rosé and Ferre fell asleep early from exhaustion unlike any other day, she might have felt more solemn this time.

Her blue eyes, as she quietly watched the children, showed an exceptionally sad glow tonight.

‘Perhaps because it’s the last time.’

After the children had gone to sleep, they talked face to face, and her voice had been very calm.

However, it was impossible not to notice the slight tremor in her voice as she recalled her memories of the past.

Before he knew it, the area around her eyes had reddened already. He couldn’t help but feel sad as well.

He was overcome with the urge to hug her slender shoulders, to envelop her petite body entirely in his embrace— but he could not reach out.

‘After the last time, whenever I reached out, Miss Popo’s reactions weren’t very positive…’

As Helios’s eyes were closed until now, he opened them and let out a quiet sigh.

He felt suffocated. Like something was being blocked at one side of his chest.

This stifling feeling was getting worse by the day.

Tousling his hair, which glistened softly beneath the moonlight, he soon pursed his dry lips.

Maybe he’s feeling like this because he felt regretful about her leaving. Maybe it’s because he wanted to keep her as Rosé and Ferre’s tutor as long as possible.

Maybe he just wanted to keep Sera in the palace for as long as possible.

But when he was faced with the reality that this was impossible, he urged her to come with them here at the villa.

Under the pretext of saying goodbye.

‘I said that it was for my younger siblings, but perhaps it’s because I’m the one who doesn’t want to part ways with her.’

After admitting this to himself, Helios’s thoughts spun chaotically in his mind.

But as if to relieve his anxiety, a cold night breeze flowed in through the open window.

He rose from his seat and closed the window, but he hesitated to return to bed.

Sleep refused to come to him tonight, so he figured that it might be good to get some fresh air.