Sylvia Eleonore lived a life full of hardships.
From a young age, she was born with a cursed eye called the Ma-an, and because of that, she was rejected by her father, and her mother passed away after giving birth to her younger sister.
Because of this, she was always an outcast in her family.
Her younger sister, who was much younger, would occasionally visit her, but after being caught and beaten by her father every time, even that became rare.
When she learned that people referred to her as a witch, Sylvia thought that her very existence in this world was wrong.
She had always been kind-hearted and had never blamed anyone, so instead of cursing God or her parents who gave her life, she began to blame the sin on herself and called herself a witch.
“I’ve arranged a match for you. It’s the only thing you can do for the family, so you must succeed.”
This twisted routine continued for almost 20 years, until one day, her father Creed secretly called her and brought up a rather sudden topic.
She had never even met a man close to her age, let alone been in a relationship, so the sudden mention of a match was quite shocking.
If she had been another noblewoman, she might have stood up immediately and protested, even if it was her respected father’s request.
“Yes, Father.”
But Sylvia couldn’t do that.
In fact, she couldn’t even find a reason to do so.
She had never expected that a man would ever love her, cursed as she was.
If, as her father said, this was the only thing a sinner could do for the family, Sylvia thought it was the right thing to do.
Even if the man who appeared at the match was at least twice her age and a fat, greasy fellow, she promised herself that she would accept the reality with humility and headed to the meeting place.
Knock, knock.
As she waited, leisurely drinking tea in a rather fancy greenhouse, someone knocked on the door.
Soon, the thin, high-pitched screech of the door opening filled the air, and the person who appeared beyond it was surprisingly a young man with a clean appearance.
Unlike her long, flowing hair, which was close to white rather than silver, his hair was as dark as the night sky, a little untidy as if he hadn’t cut it in a while.
When his faint amber eyes met hers through his hair, Sylvia suddenly realized that she hadn’t even greeted him and quickly opened her mouth.
“It’s an honor to meet you. I am Sylvia of the Eleonore family. You must be Lord Lyard, correct?”
She had already heard his name from the servant who had guided her, so she greeted him politely.
The man stared at her for a moment and then muttered something so quietly it was hard to tell if it was a compliment or just a thought.
“…Beautiful.”
“…What?”
As soon as those words escaped his mouth, Sylvia’s movements stopped, and the man’s eyes widened.
It seemed like he hadn’t realized what he had said.
The man, who regained his composure a moment later, quickly corrected himself.
“…My apologies. I’ve never seen red eyes before, so I must have expressed my admiration without thinking.”
Saying such a thing on the first meeting might suggest his character was flawed, but Sylvia wasn’t bothered by it at all.
What caught her attention was the content of his words.
‘Beautiful? This cursed eye?’
She was in disbelief and instinctively touched her right eye.
Even her father had never told her that her blood-red eyes were beautiful or pretty, even as a courtesy.
Her younger sister had even once said she found her right eye a little scary at first.
It was the first time someone had said such a thing.
“Ugh…”
As she realized this, the red hue in her right eye seemed to spread across her cheeks, making her face burn.
Her ears turned bright red, and she lowered her head, unable to look at him.
This was the first meeting between Sylvia Eleonore and Kyle Lyard.
Luckily, the match seemed to go well.
Somehow, it felt as if Sylvia had clung to him and Kyle had accepted her, but even so, Sylvia was simply happy.
She was happy just knowing there was someone who treated her as Sylvia Eleonore and not as a witch.
Perhaps because of this, she would visit him whenever she found an excuse.
His side felt more comfortable and pleasant than the Caintrache Castle, where she had lived for almost 20 years.
Most importantly, he wasn’t excessively kind, nor was he as cold as he had been at first, with his rude and distant attitude.
He was a man who smelled of humanity, more than anyone she had met.
“It’s been a while, Lord Lyard.”
“…You’ve come again.”
After about five unannounced visits where she greeted him without making a prior appointment, Kyle no longer seemed surprised.
Instead, he sighed openly, giving her a look full of annoyance.
Although his attitude could have been disappointing, Sylvia was just happy.
It wasn’t because she had a strange preference for bad men, but because she knew that whenever she came, he would take care of her with sincerity.
Despite his gruff attitude, she had come to realize through their past few months of interactions that he was a warm man at heart.
“It’s a little disappointing. I came all the way here as your fiancée, and this is how you treat me…”
Even so, sometimes she would make comments like this, as if whining.
It was a kind of playful teasing.
She never expected that she would one day joke with someone.
Such a trivial joke felt almost like a miracle to her.
“You can grin and say you’re disappointed, but I don’t believe it at all.”
“Oh, you caught me? Maybe I need to practice my acting a bit more.”
“Please stop. Your intentions are already hard enough to read.”
Of course, Sylvia knew very well that Kyle Lyard was not the kind of man who would be easily flustered by such playful teasing or pretending.
But every time he reacted like this, it was so entertaining that she couldn’t stop.
He was the kind of man who made her realize how mischievous and playful her own nature could be.
It wasn’t that his reactions were exaggerated, but for some reason, Sylvia couldn’t help but think that this might be what people mean when they say someone is “love-struck.”
“So, where would you like to go today?”
At first, he had brushed things off with a wave of his hand, but now, perhaps out of a sense of resignation, he would always ask her this question when they met.
Some might criticize a man for being indecisive and say he should make his own plans, but Sylvia didn’t see it that way at all.
She, who was filled with a desire to experience new things in life, felt that even his indifferent words were a form of consideration.
“I heard there’s an elephant that breathes fire in the Lyard territory. Do you know about it, Lord Lyard?”
“Yeah, I know about it. But I didn’t know you’d be interested in such things.”
“New experiences are always precious.”
“Always talking so eloquently. Well, wait here for a moment while I change my clothes.”
“Yes, take your time.”
There was no need for the unnecessary formalities or polite excuses like apologizing for making the guest wait; there was none of that between them.
For Sylvia, who was experiencing human relationships for the first time, the current distance between them felt comfortable.
They didn’t expect anything grand from each other, nor did they wound each other with harsh words.
“Shall we go, then?”
“Heh, I’m looking forward to it. Everywhere I went with you, Lord Lyard, was enjoyable.”
At the same time, Kyle Lyard had given her the most new experiences in her life.
The novelty of receiving care and attention from others.
The novelty of enjoying and experiencing things with others.
The novelty of exchanging emotions and building bonds with others.
Without a doubt, she had experienced more in these few months with him than in the 20 years of her life.
‘He probably doesn’t realize it.’
But this indifferent man surely didn’t know how grateful she felt.
No, if he did find out, he’d probably just shrug and say, “So?” without a care.
That’s why Sylvia wanted to express her gratitude someday.
She wanted him to know that the things he had given her in this short time were the greatest things in her life.
But sadly, it seemed that destiny had no intention of fulfilling even this little wish of the small girl.