Sick

"Ugh," a moan escaped from her lips.

All parts of her body ached tremendously, and a lack of energy hit her. Feeling fatigue, she had a hard time trying to open her eyes.

When she barely managed to lift her eyelids, the hazy view of the white ceiling fell into her line of sight and wondered what had happened to her.

Could it be that she had finally woken up from that horrendous dream?

Not caring about how weak she currently felt, she wanted to confirm that. That's why, pushing her hands on the bed, she wanted to sit up. But before she was barely able to lift her body, she collapsed.

"Seraphine Dear, you are finally awake!" 

A soft voice, filled with relief, entered into her ears. Finding the voice to be unknown, she slowly turned her head and took in the appearance of the blurry woman. After blinking couple of times, her vision started to clear up.

Noticing how the woman was strangely dressed, it seemed that she wasn't back yet. Disappointment crossed her chest due to it.

Seraphine noticed the tear that glistened at the corner of the beautiful lady, and this confirmed the Lady's identity as her mother. 

Evangeline Vougeious was well-known for her gentle nature and elegance. For her age, she appeared to be quite young.

She was the envy of many people.

Evangeline was one of the characters Seraphine was fond of in the novel since she was the one who truly cared for 'Seraphine' and supported her every little decision. Moreover, she wasn't a sick sadist!

Seraphine wondered how all of her sons turned out to be that way.

The answer to that came to Seraphine when her eyes fell on the man leaning against the wall. Folding her arms against the wall, he had his hands folded over his chest.

It was a shock to her that the man, Edward Vougeious, was even present here.

Throughout the entire story, he was to be described to indifferent to his family and had cruel methods when it came to people who wronged him— even if it was slightly.

Then, considering how he was the Duke, this wasn't shocking. He had to go through great pains in order to maintain his situation.

However, what aggravated her the most was how he treated his daughter like crap and gave more attention to his son. 

Even if this was considered to be a norm in the era of the storyline, as a modern lady, this wasn't considered to be acceptable.

Although the only person she could consider to be on her side was her mother, the power her mother had was quite low, and in the end, she was obedient to her father.

When her father did not show any signs of regret when appointing Lyle to oversee her education, even after knowing how he treated her, he doubted that he would help her.

Her mother, on the other hand, was too dense to notice that and thought that all of her children was going along well.

That's why, having minimum support, Seraphine had to plan carefully so that she wouldn't have to suffer the same fate as 'Seraphine' in the novel.

"How are you feeling now, Dear? Mom was incredibly scared when she got to learn that you fell into the pond," Evangeline softly said.

Even though she had accepted the fact that Evangeline was her mother now, treating her as one was a different story. After all, she had a mother in her actual world.

But Seraphine believed that it would be fine if she treated in front of her courteously.

"I am fine."

But those words of her came out hoarse, and as her throat hurt after that, coughs escaped from her mouth. Worried after that, her mother turned to face the doctor.

"Isn't there any way to alleviate this quickly?" her mother questioned.

"I am afraid not, Your Highness," the doctor answered.

"You can go now," Edward ordered.

The doctor nodded his head and spoke out, "As long as the Lady takes medicine and is taken care of properly, she would be fine in a week. Although the effects aren't that bad, it might get implicate her body in the future if she isn't taken care of well."

'Aren't you being too dramatic? This is just a cold!'

After that, the doctor bowed to both of her parents before stepping out of the room. As for Seraphine, the situation felt way too awkward; a crying stranger and a glaring stranger was too much for her to take in.

"Mama will go and bring your favourite porridge. My dear, if you need something, don't hesitate to ask your father, alright?" the woman gently said.

Those words caused her to subconsciously glance at the man, leaning against the wall, and she noticed the impassive expression on his face.

'You want me to ask him? Forget it!'

Seraphine merely stared at the woman— unresponsive.

°°°

She had been in an awkward eye contact with the man ever since her so-called mother had left. Since the man had no signs of diverting his eyes, she did not do the same as well.

Her persistent soul wanted to keep on challenging him.

But it slipped her mind that a toddler would not be able to compete against an experienced body. Therefore, much to her embarrassment, she had losing multiple number of times, and it ended up looking as if she had been blinking her eyes at him.

However, she did not want to give up easily with that.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" the man asked— his cold voice caused chill to go down of her back.

But it would only be shameful if she shied away due to that. Therefore, with creases appearing between both of her eyebrows, her stare became more intense.

However, not only was she a toddler, she also caught a horrible cold. Therefore, her vision was starting to get blurry, and tears started to form at the corner of her eyes, causing her dismay!

How humiliating was it to react like that in front of a man like him!

"Are you crying again?" he questioned.

Seraphine was baffled at the man. Is this how one treated a crying child? Even if she did not like kids, this is definitely how she would be reacting.

If it wasn't for how hoarse her voice was and it would be further embarrassing if it cracked, she would have retorted at him definitely.

Right now, all she could do was stare at him with an unwavering heart, having a feeling that the man was not fond of it.

"Aren't you talking all day long? Why are you so quiet now?"

It was true that 'Seraphine' in the novel talked as much as possible when she was around her father— although that decreased by a lot when she grew up— for she wanted her father to communicate with her more.

But all she got in return for that was scornful remarks or silence. 

Born to a loving and caring father, 'Seraphine' despised the man's character.

Before Seraphine was able to be infuriated more, the door to the room was pushed open and entered in her mother with Betty and Anna. 

Luckily, she arrived in time.

°°°

Creases appeared between both of her eyebrows when Seraphine felt her perfect dream being interrupted due to noises. As much as she wanted to go back to her sleep, it wasn't possible anymore.

Her view was hazy as she opened her eyes slightly, and the cold touch on her forehead managed to soothe her. As she titled her head slightly, Betty's uniform came into her line of sight.

"Lord Clayton, Lord Lyle, Lady Seraphine is resting now," Betty spoke out, "It took quite a while for her to—"

Before Betty was able to continue further, Clayton exclaimed, "Oh! She is awake!"

The headache Seraphine thought was almost gone came back to her at a rapid speed— due to his loud voice— and this time it was worse than the last time around.

'Aish! This jerk! I swear that I will be torturing you when you get a cold!'

Wanting to confirm, Betty turned back. Now, that she was caught, Seraphine did not want close her eyes. Moreover, she did not want to put Betty in a difficult position.

Knowing how much Betty cared for Seraphine, she might try to disobey the brothers in order to take care of her, seeing how troublesome the brothers' personality was.

"Lady Seraphine, how are you feeling? Your brothers came to visit you," Betty said in a soft voice.

"You can leave us alone now," Lyle ordered.

Probably being aware of how the brothers' treated her, Betty vocalised, "But— Yes, Lord Lyle."

However, before she was able to continue, one intense glance from Lyle was enough to quieten her, and the only thing she was able to do was retort.

In a matter of minute, after bowing to three of them, Betty was out of the room.

Clayton was the first one to make a move towards her, and as mock showed in his eyes, he said, "See, because you misbehaved with me yesterday, you were cursed by this could. Now, if you apologise, I will get the fairies to heal you."

Seraphine held back the urge to roll her eyes.

'Do you actually take me for a four year old to believe those stupid words? Pft!'

"It's interesting how I told you take good care of yourself yet you fell into the pond and ended up with a cold," Lyle commented.

The expression on Seraphine's face went stiff.

'Don't tell me that you think a four year old planned this by herself in order to avoid meeting the important person? Wow! Although I actually did it for that reason.'

As expected from both of the brothers, instead of caring for her, they were here for mocking her. 

'Just look out for yourselves. Once I am cured from this, I will get back at both of you.'

Moving his hand closer to the girl, Lyle placed his hand on her forehead after removing the piece of clothing, and the touch of his hand caused her to shudder in disgust.

"The fever doesn't seem that bad," he voiced out before pulling his hand back.

'Pft! You think that you will be able to torture me soon because of this? I am telling you that will never be possible!'

"Why aren't you talking, Midget? Weren't you running your mouth around just fine yesterday? Did you lose your courage today after seeing me? You are so lame!" Clayton commented.

All the efforts of trying to keep her mouth shut was gone when she had been successfully provoked by the idiot!

"S-Shut u-up!" she exclaimed.

That act of momentary impulse had caused her more harm than advantage. As a sharp pain went through her neck, she started to cough violently, and tears started to form at the corner of her eyes.

This left her frustrated.

'Why were the kid's body so fragile?'

"Foolish," Lyle voiced out.

As for whether or not it was targeted to her or Clayton, Seraphine was clearly aware of it by how he was staring at her. 

For the sake of how she was ill and fast recovery, she decided to hold it back. Once she was all perfect, she will get her revenge.

With that thought in her mind, she pulled the duvet upwards to cover her face, but a groan escaped from her mouth when she realized that it was too heavy for her, especially since she was down with a cold.

Embarrassed, she couldn't bring herself to glance at the brothers, knowing that both of them were mocking her.

Since she wasn't able to pull it up, the only other way was to go down. Therefore, she slid her body to the point her head almost fell down the pillow and her face was covered by the blanket.

If it wasn't for the fact that her head was barely on the pillow— coupled with the brothers in her room— she would have called the situation perfect!

Her act managed both the brothers to let out a chuckle, and as the sound reached her ears loud and clear, she cursed at both the boys in her mind.

"Silly, what are you doing?" Lyle questioned.

With that, she felt a grip around her arm as she was pulled upwards. Once her head was properly placed on the pillow, he dragged the duvet so that it covered her properly.

As for Seraphine, she definitely wasn't touched by this action! If he truly wanted to help her, he would have surely made a move when he saw her struggling earlier.

This definitely showed that he was doing this to make fun of her!

"Don't get too excited and end up in a worse state," he said.

"Yeah, Midget, there is no fun with you being on the bed like this," Clayton expressed.

'At least your brother is more clear with his intentions than you!'

Not wanting to entertain both of them, Seraphine closed her eyes even if she wasn't in mood for getting some sleep.