Blake groaned, as he felt a headache come as soon as he tried to open his eyes. As he struggled to sit up, he heard multiple footsteps clambering outside the door. His eyes wandered around the room and realised, 'I'm no longer in Japan.'
"...this isn't a dream..." he mumbled, finally feeling the wave of bottled up emotions that flooded him instantly.
Grief, confusion, sadness, sorrow, regret, and finally, loneliness. The emotions he felt. Grief over his own death, confusion as to why was he in this world, sadness because he can no longer see his caring father. He felt sorrow, thinking of how his father is in Japan, alone and finding out his only son died after being pushed off a roof by his own Ex-wife. Regret, regretting the fact that he went on that roof, listening to his mother. And loneliness. He figured, no one else could understand what he felt currently, and he was right. Sure, some books have been told about people being transmigrated into a book, they would live happily. But what about Blake? No, what about Sugawara Kazuha? The boy who unwillingly died at the hands of his own mother. The boy who finally had the chance to pay back all his father's debts, repay all the kindness he felt from his father, only for that dream to be crushed in under a minute.
Suddenly, a knock on the door was heard. Blake only wrapped the sheets around his little body before burying his face into his knees, tears staining his clothes.
"Blake, it's me, may I come in?" a familiar feminine voice came from the door. Blake knew the voice so well, it made him cry even harder.
"Mmn..." he hummed loud enough for the person at the door to hear.
Soon, the door opened, revealing a youthful looking woman with smoky blue hair with frosted silver tips as her deep blue eyes sparkled with small spots of gold. It was the original Blake's mother, now someone the current Blake was attached to, Aliyah. Blake lifted his head and saw the same loving and doting smile he saw on the woman's face when he lived with her.
"M-mother...." Blake whimpered, holding both his arms up towards his mother.
Aliyah smiled, sitting down next to Blake and pulling him into a hug. Aliyah smelled of herbal medicine and antibiotics, mixed in with a light smell of lavender in her hair. Blake instinctively took a whiff and buried his head in Aliyah's chest, sniffing and drying his tears.
"Blake, do you want to tell me what happened?" Aliyah asked, stroking the young boy's head softly. And as a response, Blake shook his head, showing his unwillingness to share the events that took place. Aliyah smiled softly and placed a tender kiss on the young boy's head, "Alright. Rest, I'll bring you a bowl of chicken soup."
Blake nodded as Aliyah gently placed Blake on the bed, tucking him in tightly and leaving the room after giving him another kiss on his forehead.
Outside the room, the knight who protected Blake from the duchess stood, guarding the door. Next to him, was Flora, fidgeting with a flower crown in her hands as she looked at Aliyah expectantly. There, the duke stood, his forest green hair look disheveled as his yellow eyes shook from anxiety. A few other maids, the head maid and head butler stood anxiously as they already grew attached to the young boy.
"How's he doing?" the duke asked.
"He's crying," Aliyah said, closing the door behind her and leaning her back against it.
Everyone grew even more worried as they regretted not being there for the young boy. For the workers, Blake was a breath of cool breeze after a long day of hard work. His sweet smile and polite way of addressing everyone made them think of the young master in a very good light. Ever since Blake came along, the young miss, Flora had an extreme change in her personality, becoming more soft and understanding after mingling with Blake.
To the duke, Blake was proof of his and Aliyah's love. He was set on protecting Blake for the rest of his life, but the second he left the manor for a mission, the very child he pledged to protect was assaulted by his own wife. How could he say he was worthy at being Blake's father.
Flora didn't understand what was happening with her brother. Her brother was usually so kind, caring and doting towards her. But suddenly, for the past 3 days, he didn't go to meet Flora, nor has he exited his room. Flora was worried, who wouldn't? So, she spent most of her time outside her brother's room, waiting for the time he would come out and play with her. But.... he never did. Until one day, a woman who had the same colour hair with her brother, came and took a look at her brother.
Aliyah regretted the decision of letting Blake come to the duchy. If only she persuaded Blake to stay with her, none of this would have happened. Aliyah felt a tremendous amount of guilt weighing on her shoulders. Her heart broke into trillions of pieces seeing the bruises on Blake's body and face, the cuts on his hands and feet from the broken vase.
*****
Soon, Aliyah came back into Blake's room with a maid following behind, holding tray. Blake was still curled in his blanket. A few soft sniffles could be heard every few seconds. The maid behind Blake's mother was the head maid, the one who always gave him chocolates whenever she saw him read a book on advanced magic theories or about the kingdom's history. (which was almost every time)
"Blake, I brought you your chicken soup," Aliyah said softly, sitting on the bed and placing a hand on Blake's curled up figure.
Blake peeked out from under the sheets, revealing his red puffy eyes and red nose. He threw his blanket to the side and looked at his mother. Aliyah smiled as the head maid pushed the tray towards Blake.
A small smile could be seen on Blake's face as he looked at the food in front of him. A bowl of steaming hot chicken soup, a bowl of rice and a cup of pudding. Definitely something he would love to eat.
"thank you," he mumbled as he took a sip from the soup, smiling at the taste.
Both the head maid and Aliyah watched Blake eat with a doting smile on their faces.