“She finally fell asleep.”

Daphne’s breathing, which escaped the nightmare, stabilized. At the sound of Daphne’s breath, Lennox sighed and stopped the lullaby.

However, the patting didn’t stop, and Ricarda, who was staring at him, laughed.

“You’re almost done being a big brother now! I wish you could’ve done that for me too.”

“You were already a grown-up when you were ten.”

It’s gross.

Ricarda acted as if the words had sincerely hurt him.

“Can’t you be nice to me, too?”

“I thought I was friendly enough.”

“Oh~ if Ricarda of the past hears it, I think he’s going to run out calling it nonsense?”

At Ricarda’s voice full of laughter, Lennox finally managed to form a smile. Still, his expression was not good, so Ricarda, who was staring at Lennox, asked.

“Hyung, did something happen?”

“…nothing.”

“Just by looking at your face, I can see something is troubling you. By chance, is it because you heard from Daphne not to be friendly?”

“.….”

When Lennox questioned him about how he knew it, Ricarda thought it was as he expected and slightly raised the corner of his mouth.

“She said it to me too. Our Daphne did.” (Ricarda)

“…were we burdensome to her?” (Lennox)

“It’s probably because she doesn’t believe us yet.” (Ricarda)

“You have to understand. If I were Daphne, I would have done the same.” (Ricarda)

“I’m not blaming Daphne. I’m blaming myself for not giving her answer right away.” (Lennox)

At Lennox’s words, Ricarda looked appalled, thinking if he really did it.

“Ah…I mean.”

“Hyung, I’m disappointed. You should’ve answered her right away and gave her a pat telling her not to be nervous.”

“I was going to tell her today. I was going to ask her permission to allow me to be friendly to her…”

“Aren’t you an idiot? Do you express that in words?”

Ricarda crumpled his face saying it wasn’t the right way. Lennox tried to raise his voice as if he were agitated but soon shut his mouth at the sound of Daphne tossing and turning.

“Pff-.”

When Ricarda laughed at the sight, Lennox glared at him, but Ricarda didn’t stop his laughing.

“Why? You don’t like our youngest being greedy? I like the youngest, even if she is greedy.”

“Did Daphne say that?”

“Yes, she said she didn’t want to lose the affection she receives because she was greedy.”

As Ricarda’s explanation continued, Lennox grabbed his head because he felt his head throbbing for some reason.

‘I didn’t know Daphne thought like that.’

What if she is greedy?

I had the confidence to give all the affection and not receive any in return. She was a child who had already entered the line of our family.

However, for Daphne, who had no family, all these moments were unfamiliar and scary.

‘She must have said it because she was afraid that she would be hated.’ 

Lennox heaved a sigh.

I felt uncomfortable because I couldn’t see the heart that Daphne wanted to hide.

“That can’t be true. Daphne can have a lot of greed. No, I hope she is full of greed.”

“Then you could say that. Why couldn’t you say that like a fool?”

“You’re getting cocky to your brother?”

Lennox, who was still listening to the teasing voice, raised the corner of his mouth and sneered.

“No, come to think of it, perhaps the reason Daphne was burdened with us was because you kept forcing her to call yourself ‘Oppa’.”

When Lennox sneered and blamed Ricarda, he jumped up from the floor feeling that he was falsely accused.

“No, why! Can’t I call myself Oppa if I’m an ‘Oppa’!”

“Do you know that your forehead slightly frowned every time you emphasized that you are ‘Oppa’?”

“…seriously?”

“I’m serious.”

Somehow Ricarda’s reaction was solemn.

When Lennox laughed at the look that he never knew existed, Ricarda, who felt unfair, sat back down and grumbled again.

“But, that’s the way it feels to be a little more like a family.”

“… family?”

“Yes, family. Because Daphne doesn’t know what to call us, I wanted to let her know that I’m her brother and that I’m someone who’s going to be her family.”

“… was it like that?”

‘As soon as she woke up, it felt like she was hesitating about what to say to mother.’

Ricarda said sullenly.

“When I was ten years old before I came here, I was raised by my father. I really hated that time.”

It was the first time he heard it, so when Lennox looked surprised, Ricarda smiled bitterly.

“Because my father always ignored me as useless. It wasn’t to the extent of Daphne, but I got beating to some limit.”

“I didn’t know…”

“You didn’t know it, because I never told you. I didn’t say it because Hyung is soft-hearted.”

Even though he was his brother, Lennox was unsure what expression to make like to the past he heard for the first time.

“When I came searching for mother, there was an elder brother above me, and he didn’t even introduce himself first, and he didn’t ask me to call him brother.”

A sigh of laughter flowed from Ricarda’s mouth.

“That’s why I wanted to let her know that she can call me ‘Oppa’.”

Ricarda grinned, hiding his disappointment.

“I wanted to let her know that it’s okay to call me that because we’re family. But now, I’ll have to control that because Daphne hates it.”

“I didn’t know you thought so… Ask Daphne later. Maybe she’s thinking the same thing as you.”

“Well, I guess so!”

Ricarda smiled brightly like he had never been sullen.

Daphne’s appearance was more noticeable to him because he had been abused by his father when he was young. Ricarda overlapped his young verse with Daphne, who was struggling to live.

I heard it late, but she said she wanted to change her fate, so she came here herself.

 ‘Like me when I was young.’ 

I didn’t want to live like a slave under my father, so ready to be beaten, I came looking for my Mother.

Ricarda could understand Daphne more than anyone else.

I wanted to make this child happy, just as he came here and became happy.

Lennox had never experienced such a thing, so he never knew Daphne’s mind completely. But now he could see it clearly.

Ricarda, even Lennox himself, and his mother, who only came back home late at night after the work’s done for Daphne, were all sincere.

That’s because, after work, she was also already preparing to get together in this room.

Strangely, if your heart keeps on fluttering, you can think of it as fate, and we can take care of you.

That way, If you open your heart like that and become a family, we can make each other happy.

Lennox grinned, seeing his mother standing in front of the door, not even knowing when she had returned home.

Then he handed Daphne over to his mother, who, as soon as their eyes meet, opened her arms as if she had waited.

I could hear a little whining as if Daphne was waiting for Mother to be stabilized, so I was a little disappointed.

“Have you taken care of all the urgent matters?”

“Enough for me to stay at home for a few days.”

Thought his gaze grew heavy, a smile formed around his mouth.

Even though she was tired, Chloe, Lennox, and Ricarda smiled as they were happy to see Daphne.

“That’s not like a mother.”

At first glance, it seemed to be blaming, but Chloe carefully placed Daphne on the bed with a smile.

Then Lennox’s gaze turned to the bag near the bed, and he asked Chloe,

“So, what did you decide to do with the seal? Did you take it separately?”

An unusual seal was found while looking through a bag. The first person to discover it was Chloe, who had been fiddling with the seal for a long time, and in the end, put it back to the bag, not knowing how to handle it.

To the question, Chloe answered as if it were nothing.

“Daphne wanted to leave it as a last resort, so I should pretend I didn’t find out. How admirable it is not to put everything as a commodity for a deal.”

“You don’t really look like our Mother. You’re so sweet! Where did you sell our Mother?”

Lennox was startled by Ricarda’s rising voice and glared at him, asking him to be quiet.

Chloe smiled as she watched the two brothers bickering with each other.

After meticulously covering Daphne with a blanket, she who was still smiling said,

“Do you know that you’re not like yourself too? I can’t believe my sons were so friendly.”

“It’s an exception to our Daphne.”

“Me, too.”

“Oh my,  you good-for-nothing kids.”

The room heated with natural bickering. The room was very warm.

***

Daphne, who woke up when she was in Lennox’s arms, listened to all their conversations without even waking up.

‘You really meant it.’ 

Mother, Lennox, and Ricarda, they were taking me seriously.

I didn’t expect you to pretend you didn’t know the seal. I didn’t even know that and used thorns to them like a hedgehog.

When I knew that both kindness and consideration were sincere, I felt something filling in my heart.

Suddenly, I remembered what Mother said.

‘She said, our relationship was different and special from others, but we would make a better and good relationship than them.’ 

Did she slowly open her heart to me from then on?

Was I a person who could receive such affection?

I tossed and turned in a fit of shame that came in.

When I turned around, I felt a hand that patted me. I never expected to receive such affection in this place.

‘I pretended not to know their affection for me, but now I realized it was already in my heart.’

This affection was already melting into my heart.

It was so warm and full of happiness.

Is it okay for me to be a little happy?

Is it okay to be happy even though I’m the daughter of a wicked woman?

Things that had been rationalized by the wicked woman’s daughter began to fade little by little from some point on.

Now, I had a feeling that I could write a new story as Daphne, not the daughter of a wicked woman.

‘I want to be happy. If that’s okay, I want to be happy with them.’

Even if they were entangled in a deal, with them who were more sincere than me,

I want to be happy.

If it’s okay to be happy…

If so, I want to convey affectionate feelings to these people who will be my family, just as they let me have it.

The first, gentle humming, regular patting touch, warm room temperature, and cozy blankets that I received,

And a heart filled with happiness.

With all these combined, I felt like I could have a good dream today.