Ran opened her eyes gently. The dim room caught my eye first. Let's turn our heads.
'Huh?'
Eustaf was sitting.
'Is it a dream?'
I have all the real dreams. Ran thought so and looked at Eustaf. He was reading a document in his hand. Focusing on it, Ran could see his profile without interruption.
I could see that his eyes were blue even in the dark room. Are you a little taller than myself now?
'he's going to grow.'
Ran smiled lightly. Then Eustaf looked back at her.
"Hello."
"Are you awake?"
"Yes."
Ran laughed again after answering. Eustaf reached out and lightly pressed her forehead against the back of his hand.
"No fever."
"Yes, Eustaf's fingers are pretty."
Eustaf flinched at the words she uttered. Ran grinned again. It's a dream, so it's good to be able to talk comfortably.
"Is it pretty?"
Eustaf looked into his hand and said, and Ran nodded.
"Yes, it's long and straight, so it's pretty. It's looks like can play instruments well. Oh, do you play the piano?"
"I play a little."
"I want to hear it."
"I'll let you hear it when I have time."
In Eustaf's reply, Ran smiled lightly and uttered, "It's cheap!"
"What do you mean?"
"Handsome, pretty hands, playing the piano-"
"..."
"Cheap, Eustaf."
He didn't budge his blue eyes in a word she said smile. I don't know what you're thinking even though it's a dream.
"I'm tired ·····."
Mumbling like a habit, Ran covered her eyes with the back of her hand.
"Shall I turn off the light?"
"No, just ·····."
Hesitatingly, Ran spat out softly.
"Eus."
"Yes."
"Don't kill me."
"..."
The answer didn't come back.
"I'll do my best ····."
Ran breathed out as small as a sigh and fell asleep again.
It was at dawn that she woke up again. While staring blankly at the brightened bed ceiling, Ran turned her head and found Eustaf.
He sat in the same position as in her dream. This time, he wasn't looking at the documents, he was looking at her.
"Are you awake?"
"Eus...?"
"Yes."
"Is this a dream, too?"
Eustaf's cold face is a little steamed up.
"No."
"Uh...?"
The situation was not properly recognized, so I stared at him blankly, and Ran suddenly lifted her upper body.
"Really?"
When I woke up suddenly, my head suddenly went spinning. Ran closed her eyes tightly and got up from her seat and Eustaf pressed her shoulder to lie back.
"I'll call a therapist, so please lie down."
"What happened? Is it winter? Did I sleep for half a year?"
Seeing the rambunctious Ran, Eustaf said, pulling strings.
"No, it's been two days since you collapsed."
"But why is Eus here ········?
Ran shook her head.
"No, it's not that I don't like you being here. 'Cause you're still in the academy--"
"I was on my way back. I'm glad the timing is right."
"Came back?"
Ran's face has hardened.
"What happened at the Academy? Who bothered you?"
"It's Not."
Eustaf said so and looked at Ran thoughtfully. Ran asked, worried now.
"But why? What happened?"
"There is a system called early graduation in the Academy."
"Huh?"
"You said you wanted it."
"Huh?"
"I got my credit, and I pulled my exams. Unless someone else gets perfect score, I'll be in place first."
Ran opened her eyes wide.
"Are you satisfied?"
"Amazing!"
Ran smiled brightly.
"Amazing! You're amazing, Eustaf. Really, really!"
Early graduation, perfect score.
"Amazing, Eus!"
"Not as much as Noonim."
"Huh?"
As I asked again, a therapist came in just in time. The elderly therapist looked at this and that at Ran and concluded.
"As expected, you've overworked. Eat well and rest well for few days."
"That's not possible."
Ran laughed, answering like that. The therapist sighed and said,
"For now, I'll make you some supplements."
"Okay"
Ran nodded. After the therapist left, Ran lowered her foot under the bed.
White bare feet touched the fluffy carpet. Eustaf looked at the tip of her bare foot without realizing it, and said, turning his eyes.
"Didn't he said you should rest?"
"Yes, but work is just beginning. Now is the time for the most work."
Eustaf grabbed Ran's shoulder and pressed her to lay.
"Eus?"
The green eyes look at themselves in surprise. Eustaf put her back on the bed with a little force. The shoulder under the palm of his hand was much sharper than I thought, so Eustaf swallowed his breath short and said, "Take a rest. I'm here because you said you were busy."
Her lips parted at the words. "On purpose?"
"I had early graduation requirements anyway." Ran's body lost strength.
"I see...Well, the work is going as written in the letter, and Elizabeth will have the documents for the details."
"I read it yesterday."
"Okay...."
After answering, Ran suddenly remembered her dream last night.
"Eus."
"Yes."
"Uh, well, I mean."
Ran rolled her eyes and asked cautiously.
"You were here last night?"
"Yes."
Oh, my God.
Ran covered her face with both hands. So, it wasn't a dream last night? You heard all the crap I said yesterday?
"Sorry."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, I said something stupid. Just forget it."
"I've never been praised for my pretty fingers."
Euaaaa!!!...
Ran's face heated up. So, I thought it was a dream, a dream, a dream!
"And."
Eustaf looked at Ran with her hands covering her face. I could see redness all the way to the end of her ears.
''Don't kill me', is the one I can't forget."
Kill her.
Eustaf looked down at Ran. I knew there was an option to kill her. But he thought his parents would come first if he killed them.
The crazy woman and his father who was being possessed by her.
However, both of them were killed in a wagon accident.
'Don't kill me' even if I can't believe you. Did she think that anger that lost its goal would be directed at her?
Thinking about many things, Eustaf looked at Ran, who was making excuses. After making excuses for a long time, Ran glanced at Eustaf with her fingers open.
I thought it was so quiet that he wasn't there, but he still standing and staring at her. Ran coughed in vain because she seemed to have calmed her hot face.
"So, I'd appreciate it if you could just forget."
Instead of answering, Eustaf gently swept her forehead with the back of his hand and said, "Take a rest."
When he left, Ran said, "Ahhhh! "Really!" She turned over and buried her face on the pillow.
Don't kill me.
What would Eustaf think she was?
'No, maybe it's good.'
I think he found out that I'm afraid of him. Then you could be more generous to me. With her head rolling, the maid came back with medicine.
'Ugh, ····.'
The dark red, unidentified drug had a terrible herbal scent.
"Do I have to drink all of this?"
When asked by her, the maid said firmly, "You should drink." Ran was crying and grabbed her nose and drank medicine. Even though I grabbed my nose, it smells awful.
As soon as I drank the medicine, I quickly emptied the glass of water and lied down on the bed again.
"Get some more rest, Lord."
Ran nodded. The room became quiet when the maid soon took her glass and left. Ran tried to sleep with her eyes closed.
How long has it been?
'I can't sleep.'
Come to think of it, they said it's been two days since you collapsed. You've been sleeping like a baby for two days?
There's no way you'll fall asleep.
Ran slowly lifted herself up. Dizziness also disappeared, either because of medicine or after some time after waking up.
Sneaking out of bed, she put on her jacket.
"Let's go to the library."
Maybe I should go get some books. No, I think it would be better to read the documents if you read a book in the library. We should also talk about the issue of selecting a mine worker or a supervisor. ·····
Stuck through the slippers, Ran sneaked out of the room.
*******
Eustaf handed over the documents. Most of the documents are now in a certain format, so it was easy to recognize at a glance.
'A million verat.'
The huge amount was barely felt by Eustaf. In addition, Ran had no difficulty in proceeding with the draft.
He looked at the ice crystal on his desk.
'She found it then.'
I still remember that day clearly. Every New Year, the Duke of Lazia has a ritual to look at the door. Are there any cracks in the seal or scratches?
After inspecting the Knights, he goes to the door and returns to hold a New Year's party. It was a long tradition.
And it was the first year that stepmother and Ran went together. I even remembered the two sneaking out of the forest on their way back from looking at the door.
And he came back, and Ran didn't come.
'I got hit by my father for the first time.'
When I managed to find Ran, I also remembered that his stepmother wrapped him around the width of her skirt and stared at him with scary eyes.
As if he had sent Ran into the woods.
He said no, but she didn't believe it, and Ran didn't open her mouth either.
In the end, I was severely beaten by my father. After that, he was beaten by his stepmother one after another, and the scars still remains.
However, he was more shocked that he was beaten by his father than by his stepmother.
'She'd discovered it.'
Eustaf thought about it, closed his eyes and lightly swept the crystal away.
It is a mineral worth more than a million verats of shame, anger, pain, injustice, and injustice that I felt at that time.
It's not a bad deal.
He put down the document thinking so.
"I think we can go ahead with this way. What happened to the question of hiring a new accountant?"
Elizabeth answered politely, accepting the documents.
"I've selected a prominent candidate and put him on the list."
"I see."
Elizabeth stood there hesitating at his answer. "What?"
"Is the Lord all right?"
The tip of Eustaf's hand paused at the careful question. He looked up for the first time and saw Elizabeth.
Their eyes met and she quickly lowered her head.
"She's fine. He said it was overwork. So, I'll take care of the documents for a while."
"All right."
Elizabeth bent down and left the study. Standing behind the closed door, Elizabeth gave a short sigh.
"Did I touch you wrong?"'
It's been a little over a month and a half since Ran became a temporary Patriarch, and too much has happened. Everything quickly turned around Ran, and now and Eustaf took over, I felt a little crack.
It was a crack from anxiety.
When the superiors change, the system changes, and then you may have to start everything anew.
It was that kind of anxiety.
"Elizabeth."
Then someone called her and looked up in surprise, and Ran was gesturing over there.
"Lord?"
Elizabeth scrambled for a step. Looking at her clothes, she came out of bed and tied only one robe.
"Why are you here?"
"I couldn't sleep, so I was thinking about going to the library and I found Elizabeth."
Ran smiled lightly and pushed out her hand, and Elizabeth passed the document as if possessed.
Elizabeth looked around and whispered quietly when she saw Ran handing over the documents.
"Master Eustaf is back."
"Yes, I know. He came back from an early graduation. Isn't that amazing?"
Elizabeth was speechless for a moment. Is she really not greedy? Not a bit? Or is she acting?
With that ability, you're not even a little...?
"Eus is signing the papers now, isn't he?"
"Yes, he is."
"That's enough."
Ran closed the document back and handed it over to Elizabeth.
"Is there anything you want me to add?"
"Yes."
Ran nodded.
"If you're going to say this behind my back, just come to the study, Noonim and the administrator."
The voice from behind surprised both of them and turned away. Eustaf stood like a shadow.