One Step Forward to the Flower Path

Chapter 06

Sullivan immediately became serious when he said that the child in need of counseling was the guardian of the Holy Spirit.

She took out the paper and the quill pen from her bag and asked as much detail as she could about this Lady Ivanna.

The age of the child, what she has been through, when she came here, the attitudes of people towards her after she came here, and what she did and said.

Sullivan broke the quill she was holding when they told her that Ivanna had scraped her hands with pieces of broken glass while apologizing for breaking the cup.

“You should’ve prevented it before it even happens, you idiots!”

Dante’s confidence in Sullivan rose dramatically in the wake of the abusive swearing she was shouting.

Sullivan’s face was very dark as she wrote everything she heard on the paper and read it one more time.

“Have we made any mistakes with handling the child?”

“I will not be able provide any concrete opinion until I saw the lady in person myself. All I have right now are the lady’s condition from someone else’s point of view so far.”

Sullivan took off her glasses and looked at Dante who was sitting in front of her. There was a clear sign of tension in his stiff body.

Looking at him like this, it shows that even the famous Vicente Lancelot is just an ordinary father.

“However, one thing is for certain, the lady must have not realized yet that she was a princess of the duchy now.”

“I have already told her that I’m her father, and the Duke.”

“The problem lies IF the child fully accepted the Duke as her father. And are you even sure she can properly understand what the word ‘Duke’ means?”

The faces of McKellen and Alaine turned pale with the dangerous remark. No matter how bad the situation is, how could she talk so impudently right in front of the Duke of Vicente?

The mood subsided with the very rash and dangerous statement.

Dante tapped on his desk.

“She might not have realized it yet.”

Alaine and McKellen’s eyes opened wide. The duke spoke in a surprisingly calm voice but if you downright listen, he sounded sorrowful.

“It’s my mistake. I thought I was considering the child’s position enough, but I wasn’t. I’ll have to try harder.”

“You are a good enough father just to admit that. Because there are far more people who would not.”

Sullivan was truly relieved. She was extremely worried because it was the family of the duke called monsters. Fortunately, the people around the child, especially the relatives, are obviously worried about her, so she felt relieved.

The most important thing for someone with trauma is their surroundings. If the environment was not good, no matter how much you ask for treatment, it was meaningless.

Fortunately, this is a great sanctuary for a hurt child.

“The counseling will proceed my way. In the process, I may not be able to keep a courtesy befitting of nobles to the princess.”

“I won’t interfere with whatever needs to be done for the treatment of my child.”

There were knights all over Ivanna’s room guarding the child. He was willing to allow it because he would know right away if something happened.

Sullivan talked to Dante about a few more things and then immediately headed to Ivanna. On the way, she looked around carefully.

“Should we go in together?”

Alaine, who guided Sullivan, asked carefully with a worried face. Sullivan nodded gladly.

“Sure. Rather than being alone with a stranger, it would be better to have someone with a familiar face. However, please be sure to leave when I ask you to leave.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Alaine made a firm response and knocked on the door. Sullivan, who went inside after her, suddenly stopped in her steps at the disgusting smell that wafted her nose.

It was the next moment that a dirty ball of cotton caught her eye.

Sullivan forgot that she was in front of a child and almost used abusive language.

She did hear that the lady couldn’t be washed or even get changed in a clean set of clothes because of her fear of being touched by people. She also heard that she was severely abused.

Still, this was worse than what she had expected.

The skinny face had no flesh, the cheekbones were prominent, and the face was not properly visible due to the long, dirty hair.

Clothes that were like rags were full of unknown stains, and the limbs wrapped in bandages were almost impossible to tell whether they belonged to a human or were dry branches.

Orphans wandering the streets weren’t as serious as this. Among the people Sullivan had seen in her life, this was by far the most serious case.

She can see why not only McKellen and Alain but even the Duke was so gloomy.

Anyone who could look at the child and still be able to smile after should only be called heartless crazy bastards.

“My lady, the doctor is here today to see if you’re sick.”

Alaine knelt on the floor and lowered her gaze as much as possible. It was a great way to talk to the child.

Sullivan also hugged one of the black dolls tightly and knelt in front of the child, who was in a defensive posture.

“Doctor······?”

A child’s voice should be bright and lively, but Ivanna’s voice was muddy and cracked as if it was filled with quilted dust. Her condition was terribly serious.

Sullivan pressed down on her anger and laughed as kindly as possible.

“Hi, Ivanna.”

There was no honorific title nor formality designated for a noble in the way Sullivan talked to Ivanna. Alain was a little surprised but did not express it as she promised to leave the treatment entirely to Sullivan.

“I’m Sullivan.”

Ivanna didn’t take Sullivan’s comfortable tone as something strange. Alaine saw it and realized.

Ah, indeed, Ivanna has no sense of being a noble and the Young Lady of the Duke.

“Since I have a long name, would you comfortably call me Eve? Oh, come to think of it, we have the same nickname. Ivanna is also called Eve, isn’t she?”

Eve.

Ivanna, who was wary of the sudden appearance of the stranger, listened.

Mom often called her Eve.

But the first time she saw that woman, she had the same nickname as herself. She’d never seen anyone like that, it was amazing.

“My Mom called me Eve.”

“Your Mom must have loved Eve a lot, seeing how she called you by such a pretty nickname.”

“Pretty nickname?”

“Yes. Eve, you’re pretty. Eve doesn’t like being called Eve?”

Ivanna shut her mouth and seemed to be worrying for a moment, but soon shook her head.

Sullivan laughed kindly.

“Then can I call you Eve?”

Ivanna gave a nod.

“You can call me Eve, too. I’m glad we have the same nickname. It makes me feel like being loved, too. “

“Being······ Loved······?”

“Yes. Like Eve’s mother loved Eve.”

Again, she nodded. A little bit of strength loosened from the arm that was holding the doll tightly.

Alaine was amazed at how relaxed Ivanna was while talking with Sullivan. She prayed for the day Ivanna could become the happy and beloved princess she was supposed to be.

But a title can never be a name.

“Is Eve here to take my power, too?”

At last, it has come. Ivanna’s habit of speaking and the evidence of the abominable abuse she suffered.

Alaine was nervous. How will Sullivan solve this?

“The power of Eve?”

“Yes. Everyone wants to have it. Because my strength is for everyone. So take everything. Eve came to do that too, right?”

Ivanna, who was crouching, got up from her seat and quickly approached. Then she extended her skinny arms towards Sullivan.

“You can take it. I have meows, so I can bear with it now.”

Meow. She heard it from the Duke of Vicente. It was created by Louise for Valerie and Luan, and the two were willing to give it to Ivanna.

She thinks she can now endure the pain of pulling out her power just by having a doll with the traces of her mother.

How long has she had nothing to receive comfort from just two dolls?

“I’m not taking Eve’s power.”

For such a child, she had to make it clear that some people do not want strength.

That was the first thing she had to do.

“Then will you take it tomorrow?”

“No, I’m not taking it.”

“Then tomorrow’s tomorrow?”

“I won’t take it tomorrow, or tomorrow’s tomorrow.”

The child rubbed her mouth that had tattered skin. She seemed full of confusion.

“I don’t need the power of Eve.”

Ivanna opened her mouth wide, she seemed to be very shocked.

I don’t need power.

It was the first time she heard something like that in her life.

“You don’t need it?”

“Yes, I don’t need it. So I won’t take it.”

“Everyone wanted it······. But nobody ever said they didn’t want it······.”

“Did Eve’s mom also want Eve’s power? Did she pull Eve’s power?”

Ivanna couldn’t say anything.

Her mother, who was always sweet and kind, had never bothered her. She never hurt Ivanna, nor wanted her powers.

“No, my mother didn’t······.”

“I am like Eve’s mother. Just like her, I don’t need any power from Eve.”

“But you are not mom, how can you be the same?”

“It’s because I love Eve as your mother did.”

Love? This Eve in front of me loves her, too?

It was exactly what her dad said last night.

Ivanna was confused. Only my mom loved me, but why does Dad and this Eve say they love me? Why?

The child’s confusion appeared on her face. A poor child who not only didn’t know what love is but also didn’t understand how to receive it.

Realizing that Sullivan went too far, she decided to stop here today.

Originally, such deep wounds could not be cured in just a day.

“I am not taking Eve’s power today, so let’s play together.”

Sullivan laid her back on the floor and lied down comfortably. Ivanna quickly opened her eyes round when she saw the face of the woman down below her.

It was the first time she had to look at someone down below her.

Ivanna was in a strange mood and sat down again. Even so, Eve in front of her was still below her eye level.

Strange. It’s odd. Everyone looked down at her from above, but this person looked up at her.

It’s really weird.

“Then what shall we play now?”

Sullivan smiled brightly. Ivanna hugged the meows tightly and rubbed her fingers.

It was strange, but it was not scary.

‘I’m not going to take Eve’s power. I don’t need the power of Eve.’

The words kept lingering in her ears. Her mother never wanted her strength, but she never said that.
(TL: of course she never said that she didn’t even think about taking it, that’s why there was no need to say.)

No one ever said that.

It was her first time hearing it, so she felt it was weird, but she wasn’t scared.

‘Just like mom.’

Just like a magic spell.

✧────── ೋღღೋ ──────✧

After the first consultation, Sullivan went to Dante with a weary face. Dante, who was in the middle of his work, hurriedly finished all of them just to accommodate Sullivan.

“How was Ivanna?”

“I see why the Duke said to look at her first. Will you take care of my room and boarding from today moving forward? “

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Dante sighed when Sullivan said she would stay at the Duke’s residence and actively help Ivanna’s treatment.

Ivanna’s condition is serious. He still had hoped that the case would be different from what he expected, but all of his hopes were crushed by the specialist’s serious demeanor.

“I will do everything for my child.”