Chapter 70
Hermie lay under the covers and looked up at him quietly. In contrast to his cold, hardened face, the hand stroking her cheek was warm.
“Why didn’t you come? Did something happen?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“Just… it’s nothing much.”
The way he dodged the question made her heart ache and throb again. She felt like she’d become a nuisance. It was pitiful that she was locked in this room, seeing only Froy and thinking only of Froy, while he wasn’t like that.
Froy averted his gaze. A faint shadow of guilt passed over his face, as if he found it hard to face her tearful expression.
Froy checked the cold food and went out. The moment he left, Hermie got up from the bed.
Her movements were restless, as if driven by something. She stood before the door again.
Was he angry she hadn’t eaten? Was he going to come back late again? She was standing there blankly when, not long after, the door opened.
He stiffened, seemingly surprised to find Hermie standing by the door.
In his hand was a light soup. Seeing she hadn’t eaten dinner, he had prepared breakfast.
Seeing his flustered look, Hermie quickly made an excuse.
“I thought you were leaving again. So I was going to wait…”
She was afraid Froy would think she was strange. She herself didn’t understand why she had done this.
Anxious, restless, her blood running dry with worry, her body had moved on its own.
“Hermie.”
Seeing Hermie trembling slightly, Froy’s expression crumbled for a moment. He looked as if he had a lot to say, his lips moving slightly, but he couldn’t bring out any words.
Froy rinsed his face roughly with one hand, set the soup down on the table, and turned to Hermie. He took a short, sharp, suppressed breath, then spoke in a voice stiffer than usual.
“Sit. You need to eat something.”
Hermie timidly followed his words and sat on the chair. Maybe from sleeping on the cold floor, her head felt a bit fuzzy.
She didn’t even think to pick up the spoon and just stared blankly at the soup. So Froy sat beside her and picked up the spoon for her.
“Ah.”
She opened her mouth like a baby bird, accepting his feeding. She’d had maybe two spoonfuls when she shook her head, having no appetite.
“Eat a little more.”
“My stomach feels off.”
Seeing his worried look, she considered forcing herself to eat more. But on the other hand, the fact that he was worried about her made her want to act up a little more.
I thought you hadn’t come back all night because you’d grown tired of me. Do you know how scared I was? That anxious feeling had grown so large she was willing to accept even his pity.
“Does anything hurt specifically? Do you have a fever?”
“I don’t know. I think I feel a little dizzy, though.”
“Sleep more in bed.”
“You’ll sleep with me? You’re not leaving again, are you? When will you come back?”
Hermie, who had been hanging onto his arm while pouring out questions, flinched and hastily let go.
‘Ah, I did it again. I ended up like this again.’
The same situation from when she was trapped in the cage was repeating. Hermie would cling to Froy again, wait for him, grow restless, and get angry if he came home late.
She thought she might regain some composure now that things were back to normal, but it was still the same.
If she were pushed to the brink of losing her mind, she would act strangely, get her hopes up, and plunge into despair, over and over. It was the same ending.
Hermie realized that truth naturally.
No matter the method, in the end, Hermie would run away. Even if she loved him so much. Hermie wouldn’t be able to endure it.
“I want to go out.”
“Hermie, that’s—”
“Froy. I’m begging you. I can’t keep living like this here.”
Just as she had risked danger by jumping out the window, she would surely run away by any means necessary, even if it meant risking a potentially fatal situation.
So, she wanted him to let her go. Only then was there hope.
Hermie spoke with a brittle laugh.
“Do you know… how I managed to escape?”
He probably wouldn’t know. How desperate her heart was to escape.
She hoped he would realize that if he couldn’t understand that Hermie couldn’t be kept in a cage, then in the end, Froy would lose her and regret it.
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