“Mother, are you asleep?”

“No, not yet. What is it, my daughter?”

Her mother gently stroked Selena’s face. Snuggling into her mother like a little bird, Selena smiled faintly.

It was late evening, and for the first time in a while, Selena was lucid enough that her family gathered in her room.

There was nothing special happening. They simply shared stories.

No talk of getting better, everything will be okay, it will improve… Just ordinary, everyday conversations as if it was a normal day of their normal life.

Private joys, serenity, just that sort of daily life.

That was their ultimate luxury and peace.

The chatter continued a bit longer than usual that night.

Thanks to Selena feeling particularly well, even though her memories showed slight confusion during the day, her physical condition appeared better than ever.

She didn’t faint while talking and didn’t bleed. She smiled, laughed, talked, and listened without feeling exhausted at all. Selena herself was surprised. Soon, time flew by without them realizing, and the night deepened.

Under the high moon, the family had to reluctantly leave.

“Sleep well, Selena.”

“See you tomorrow.”

“Have sweet dreams, my daughter.”

After saying their goodbyes one by one, the family members turned their backs and left.

Selena silently watched them leave. Suddenly, the dream she had the night before came to mind.

The decoration of lilies. The painted portrait. The tears of her loved ones. The white coffin.

“Mother.”

As her family walked away, Selena raised her voice just before the door closed.

In the quiet room, her weak voice echoed.

The three visitors stopped in their tracks.

After a moment of tense silence, exchanging looks, the Duke and Aaron left first, leaving the Duchess alone in the room with Selena.

“Why did you call, my daughter?”

Selena blinked.

In her blurred vision, her mother’s face was hard to see.

But that voice remained unchanged in its tenderness. In the darkness of her mind, the image of her mother smiling softly emerged. That was enough.

She still remembered that face.

A vague smile lifted the corners of Selena’s mouth. She soon grabbed her mother’s hand and gently pressed it against her face.

Then, like a child craving affection, she whispered softly.

“Can you sleep with me tonight?”

At Selena’s voice, the Duchess smiled. However, before her smile could fully form, her expression stiffened suddenly.

A chilling sensation crawled up her neck.

A cold shiver ran down her shoulders.

Strangely, today… the shadow cast over Selena felt unusually dark.

“Mother?”

When Selena called out to her again, the Duchess snapped back to reality.

‘To have such thoughts when my healthy daughter is right in front of me… What am I thinking?’

After briefly chastising herself, the Duchess lightly massaged Selena’s hand and nodded. Selena burst into a bright smile in response.

The two lay side by side on the bed.

With the candles extinguished, only the moonlight softly infiltrated the room. Even in the gentle moonlight, they could see each other’s face.

“Mother, are you asleep?”

Selena asked, squinting.

“No, not yet. What is it, my daughter?”

Her mother gently stroked Selena’s face. Snuggling into her mother like a little bird, Selena smiled faintly.

“Have you been troubled because of me all this time?”

“…What trouble could there possibly be?”

“Just, a lot of things. I’m sorry, Mother.”

The Duchess didn’t reply. She just reached out to gently pat Selena’s slender back.

Matching the rhythm of the patting, Selena breathed slowly.

“Mother, you know… I want to hear a lullaby.”

“A lullaby?”

“Yes. A lullaby.”

It was a vivid memory from her younger days.

When a cold storage room became her bedroom, she heard her mother’s lullaby from Eunji’s room.

Before Eunji was born, she used to sing it to her, too.

And it became a song she could never hear again.

Crouched in a corner of that cold room, the young her sang along.

Very softly, quietly.

Just loud enough for her ears.

‘Sleep tight, my little one… in the front yard and the back hills…’

Distant lyrics whirled around in her head.

“A lullaby… Should we?”

“Yes.”

The patting slowed down.

She reached for the blanket and carefully tucked it under Selena’s chin and gently arranged the hair that had fallen over her face.

Once she had finished, a soft hum began to fill the room. Selena closed her eyes, focusing on the sound of the song.

“In the land of joyous flowers, in the realm of happy dreams, oh my child, my baby. Let’s go on a journey, to play in dreams. My child, my baby… let’s wander in dreams. Has the blue flower bloomed, or is it the pink one… my child, my baby, our little one.”

Selena smiled faintly with her eyes closed, finding the song pleasantly tickling her ears. The repetitive humming soothed her mind into tranquility and drowsiness. Deep enough to fall into a profound sleep.

“Mother, I… I’m getting sleepy. I should sleep now.”

The singing stopped at her murmuring voice.

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I… will go to sleep first. If I wake up too late… don’t worry… it’s just because I’m really sleepy…”

Selena’s slurring speech stopped the gentle patting on her back. The mother’s gaze began to flutter with an indescribable sense of unease.

“Selena?”

“Yes.”

“…Selena, my daughter.”

“…Yes.”

The Duchess called her name, and Selena responded slowly. Her delayed response made the Duchess’ throat prickle strangely as if tears were about to spill. To prevent them, she blinked repeatedly.

The Duchess looked at her daughter and hugged Selena’s slender body. The warmth that enveloped her made Selena chuckle lightly.

“I love you, I love you… I love you, my daughter…”

“Yes, me, too….I really love you all, too.”

“Yes, yes… I love you. I love you, my daughter. I really do. Mom loves you so, so much. I love you.”

There was no reply from Selena. Only the steady sound of her breathing filled the air.

The Duchess paused as her daughter lay motionless, deeply asleep.

“Are you asleep… Selena? Are you sleeping?”

“……”

“…Yes. My daughter… my beloved daughter. Sleep well. Let’s meet again tomorrow. Sleep tight, my daughter.”

With those murmured words, the Duchess forced her eyes shut, hoping for the darkness to pass quickly…..for the new day to arrive sooner.

* * *

The next day, the sun rose high, illuminating the morning and filling Selena’s room with its light.

However, Selena’s eyes did not open.

The sun set.

The setting sun dyed the world and Selena’s room a deep red.

Still, Selena’s closed eyes did not open.

The Duchess stayed by Selena’s side all day and finally burst into tears.

Night was approaching.

With the deepening of the night, a day would pass since Selena fell asleep.

Just before, while wiping Selena’s sleeping body, the Duchess discovered the sixth petal bloomed on her chest. It hadn’t been there just the day before, so it must have bloomed during the night.

Silently and without warning.

“Has the blooming of the sixth petal put our Selena into a deep sleep? Our Selena … .Will she wake again…?”

“…Of course, Mother.”

Aaron quietly wrapped his arms around his mother’s shoulders. His hands trembled slightly.

The Duke clasped his hands as he looked down at Selena’s sleeping face. He was repeatedly haunted by terrifying thoughts and checked her breath with a finger under her nose.

The day’s time felt like an eternity. As the sun set, the moon rose.

Dark night was coming.

* * *

At the same time, someone walked quietly in the corridors of the mansion as if holding their breath.

Click, clack. The sound of footsteps echoed through the hallway, stopping only when they encountered someone else.

A man with silver hair quietly observed the owner of the footsteps.

“…Are you really going to do it?”

“It seems you’ve heard from the Young Lord.”

“Are you really going through with it?”

Aiden closed his eyes briefly before opening them again. Under the slowly lifting eyelids, his green eyes shone clearly.

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