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SERIES: The Extra Guardian Has Missed Her Cue to Leave
CHAPTER: The Extra Guardian Has Missed Her Cue to Leave, Chapter 91
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The sound was so loud it startled Eugenia, who was standing behind her.
With wide eyes, she glanced at Aileen, then peeked toward the inside of the room, which Aileen was now blocking with her body.
‘Selmia must have been very surprised. What should I do?’
But with Aileen in the way, she couldn't see what was happening inside, and a sense of frustration grew.
Just then, Aileen’s hands slowly rose.
“……Hk.”
She brought both hands to her mouth, as if trying to stifle a sob.
‘She’s seen the children.’
Her body began to tremble violently.
Hitching sounds accompanied swallowed sobs.
Eugenia held her breath without realizing it, watching her.
However, it seemed the children hadn't yet seen Aileen’s face.
“What is it?”
Joshua’s sharp voice drifted out from the room.
‘They must have been drawing again.’
Around this time of day, Selmia would be drawing while eating snacks, and Joshua would be reading.
It was a rather quiet routine, so the commotion Aileen had just caused must have sounded incredibly loud to the children.
She was a little worried they might be frightened.
‘Why is she acting like this when she knows the children’s dispositions so well?’
Eugenia suppressed the sigh that rose in her throat.
She could more than understand the joy of their reunion, but she couldn't help worrying more about the twins than Aileen.
Just then, Joshua’s voice was heard again, as if he had finally looked up from his book.
“Who on earth is being so rude, calling my name without even knocking……. Huh?”
The boy’s words, laced with displeasure, trailed off unfinished.
“N-No way……”
Joshua’s voice was trembling.
Even without seeing his face, Eugenia could vividly picture his expression.
*Step.*
Aileen, who had been standing stock-still as if blocking the doorway, finally took a step forward.
“……Huh?”
This time, it was Selmia’s voice.
Eugenia pressed her lips together firmly and stepped forward.
‘It’s been a long time for all three of them. It’s bound to be a sea of tears. I should be the one to comfort them.’
Selmia, in particular, was prone to having fits from crying too much, so she thought it best to be prepared.
“Teacher, how about I go in first and explain the situation?”
But no answer came from Aileen.
Instead, a voice erupted from inside the room.
“Huh? Teacher?”
“Is it really Teacher Aileen?”
As Joshua and Selmia recognized her, Aileen seemed unable to hold back any longer and dropped the hands covering her mouth.
“*Hic*. My dears!”
She then rushed into the room in a single bound.
Almost sliding as she dropped to her knees before the children, Aileen tried to pull Joshua’s and Selmia’s small bodies into an embrace.
“Ugh, ow.”
But because her own frame was so small, it was nearly impossible to hold both children in her arms at once.
Yet for some reason, Aileen refused to let them go.
“Teacher…… it hurts……”
Selmia whined, her face looking as if she were about to burst into tears.
But Aileen didn't release her grip, as if she couldn't hear her voice.
“Teacher.”
Eugenia hurried over and tried to stop her.
“Teacher, please loosen your grip a little. Please?”
But in her heightened emotional state, Aileen seemed deaf to Eugenia’s voice.
The color drained from Eugenia’s face.
“Teacher, please!”
Aileen pulled the children even tighter toward her, as if Eugenia were an obstacle in her way.
As she tried to force the embrace, grimaces of pain appeared on Joshua’s and Selmia’s faces.
Joshua, who had been looking down at Aileen with a frown, let out a deep sigh.
“It’s fine, Eugenia.”
The boy looked up at Eugenia and slowly shook his head.
“But Selmia……!”
“It’s okay, just step back for a moment.”
Eugenia couldn't shake her anxiety.
Joshua continued, “From the looks of it, trying to stop her will only make things worse.”
“……”
Swallowing a sigh, Eugenia slowly nodded.
She removed her hands from Aileen’s body and stepped back, her heart filled with unease.
But she didn't go far. She only created a small distance, just enough to be able to restrain Aileen at any moment.
Of course, her worried gaze remained fixed on the children.
Aileen continued to weep.
“You’re really, truly alive! Thank goodness, thank goodness!”
Her emotions seemed to have reached a fever pitch.
Anyone watching would have thought she was the twins’ biological mother.
“If I had lost you two as well, I……! I……!”
She sobbed her heart out, muttering words of unclear meaning.
After letting Aileen pour out her emotions for a while, her sobs gradually began to subside. At the same time, the strength in her arms waned.
The moment a gap appeared, Selmia moved before Joshua.
She took a step back from Aileen.
Selmia’s golden eyes, looking at Aileen, were moist with tears.
The sniffling girl immediately turned and ran toward Eugenia.
“……Sister!”
Selmia threw her arms around Eugenia’s waist.
Aileen stared blankly at the scene, her lips parting.
“Selmia……”
In an instant, the light vanished from her eyes.
They looked as if they were filled with a hollow emptiness.
For a moment, Eugenia found the sight chilling. And it seemed she wasn't the only one who felt that way.
“Uuh……”
Selmia, too, grew frightened and subtly shifted her body behind Eugenia.
As if hurt by Selmia’s avoidance, Aileen spoke in a trembling voice.
“Selmia, it’s me. Teacher Aileen. Don’t you remember?”
Aileen started to turn her body, apparently intending to bring the girl back to her side.
It was then.
“Teacher.”
Joshua, still standing before her, called out to her in a low voice.
Aileen’s gaze shifted to the boy.
It seemed he had decided to face Aileen alone for Selmia’s sake.
And his strategy appeared to be working.
“Oh, my child. Joshua.”
Aileen smiled at Joshua, her voice as sweet and soft as if she were wandering through a dream.
Her face was slick and shiny with tears from how much she had cried.
With a look and voice full of affection, Aileen slowly raised her hand.
Joshua flinched at the movement, likely thinking he was about to be hugged again.
Witnessing his expression from up close, Aileen’s hand paused.
This time, she didn't embrace him.
Instead, her trembling fingertips merely touched the boy’s cheek.
At that small contact, another tear rolled down Aileen’s cheek.
Aileen was weeping as sorrowfully as a mother who had truly lost her child.
“I really, really missed you so much.”
Eugenia, who was patting Selmia’s shoulder while watching the scene, swallowed a sigh.
‘I suppose it’s understandable.’
In her inherited memories, Aileen and the twins had been incredibly close.
‘In the original story, she looked after the children even at the risk of her own life.’
As her thoughts drifted, Eugenia’s eyes narrowed.
She took in the sight of Aileen’s profile as she continued to speak to Joshua through her tears.
‘But why didn’t Aileen come looking for the children that day?’
Questions began to bubble up in Eugenia’s chest.
“I went to the Marquisate of Kereyton to find you, but……”
“What? Teacher, you came to the marquisate?”
“Yes, of course. But no matter how much I looked, you weren't in your room, or in our hideout……”
Eugenia pressed her lips together, which were clamped shut like a clamshell.
‘From what she’s saying, it seems she did come to the mansion to look for the children afterward.’
Aileen, seemingly overcome with emotion again, continued speaking through her sobs.
“I wasn't feeling well. I meant to rest for just a moment, but I think I started moving too late……. How much……”
Ah. So that’s what happened.
Eugenia nodded to herself.
It seemed the reason Aileen hadn't come that day was because she had fallen seriously ill at some point.
‘I never would have guessed. Should I have waited a little longer?’
But Eugenia quickly shook her head.
‘It might be for the best.’
After all, if Aileen, Joshua, and Selmia had moved together, they would have followed the course of the original story.
‘What matters is that all three of them are alive and have met like this.’
It was then.
Feeling a tug on her clothes from below, she looked down to see Selmia sniffling and looking up at her.
“Sister.”
Eugenia quickly knelt to Selmia’s height and examined the girl’s arm.
Because her skin was so delicate, a faint red mark was visible.
‘At least it won’t bruise.’
Eugenia gently stroked the girl’s arm with her palm as if to say it was okay.
“Selmia, you were very surprised, weren't you? But I think Teacher Aileen was just surprised and happy to see you at first.”
She forced a smile and continued.
“She seems to be okay now, so would you like to go over?”
“U-uhm.”
The girl hesitated, glancing sideways.
It seemed being held so tightly earlier had startled her quite a bit.
“You missed her a lot too, didn't you?”
Though she was startled, Selmia kept glancing over at Joshua and Aileen.
Eugenia had noticed the girl’s demeanor early on.
“Go and tell your teacher you missed her very much. I’m sure she’ll be happy.”
“……Okay, I will, Sister.”
As if she had mustered her courage, Selmia finally nodded and hesitantly approached Joshua and Aileen.
Soon, the three of them were standing in a circle, facing one another.
‘Aileen has calmed down a lot, too.’
What a relief.
Eugenia, who had been watching them quietly, silently moved away to allow the three to savor their reunion.
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