I Woke Up from Hibernation and Found a Husband - Chapter 9

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 9
The words tumbled out abruptly, yet tremors flickered in the child’s eyes.
“It’s past lunch time. Surely you’re not hungry, are you?”
While Isabella floundered in confusion at my reaction, I simply waited in silence for the child to speak.
Isabella avoided my gaze and murmured hesitantly.
“I don’t eat lunch. I eat breakfast and dinner, so if I eat lunch too, I’ll get fat like a pig.”
At those words, my composure shattered.
“You only eat… two meals a day?”
This was blatant child abuse.
‘Isn’t five meals a day standard during growth years?’
During my own growth years when my appetite had been voracious, I had boasted the ravenous hunger befitting a bear-human.
Even the mountains of food Angela brought each month weren’t enough—I hunted and foraged myself to ensure every meal was abundant.
For me, the fact that Isabella, already so small, consumed only two meals was utterly shocking.
Noticing my expression of disbelief, Isabella added a few more words.
“That’s enough. If I eat more, I’ll get fat.”
“What? Fat? You’re talking about getting fat right now?”
As if I’d heard something absurd, my face twisted further. I swept my eyes over Isabella’s limbs without restraint.
Where on those skeletal arms and legs could there possibly be excess flesh?
From what she said, I could well imagine the state of those “breakfast and dinner” meals.
“Who told you such things, Miss?”
“I know what I know.”
Isabella clamped her lips shut as if unwilling to say more.
She turned and headed toward her Room. Through the open doorway, the space was tidy enough, yet it carried a desolate atmosphere unfit for a young lady’s quarters.
I watched Isabella with darkened eyes as she entered and moved to close the door.
If I simply left now, Isabella would wait for nightfall alone, her spirit utterly drained.
Just as I once had in the Cabin, back when I was still young.
“Miss Isabella.”
I gently caught the closing door and opened it.
“Would it be alright if I prepared lunch for you?”
At those words, Isabella puffed out her lips and pushed against me with all her strength to drive me out.
“I said I don’t need it! Get out!”
Of course, I didn’t budge. I ignored the pressure of her small, fern-like hands and continued.
“I can bring it secretly. And I’ll clear it away just as discreetly. I’m certain it will be delicious.”
“I’m not some insect to be fed!”
“An insect?”
In that instant, my expression turned cold.
Isabella realized her mistake and clamped her hand over her own mouth.
“Who said such a thing? Was it that person from earlier?”
Isabella’s face went pale. All traces of her fierce expression vanished as she watched my reaction nervously.
I sensed instinctively that my suspicion had struck true.
She decided to take a step back for the frightened child.
“Miss, I’m not angry with you.”
Claire made every effort to keep her voice as gentle as possible.
“I simply wanted to prepare lunch for you. The Young Master has been eating well and has grown much stronger because of it. Don’t you think it’s wonderful that he’s gaining weight?”
At those words, Isabella shook her head vigorously.
“No!”
“Exactly. You’re the same way. I want you to be healthy and happy.”
Isabella recalled the image of Claire wrapping cloth around her feet.
The only person who didn’t coerce her, who met her eyes.
A flicker of hope appeared in Isabella’s eyes before quickly fading.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Pardon?”
“You’ll end up just like the Governess eventually. Everyone did.”
Tears welled up, and with each blink, Isabella’s eyes released drops that stained the floor. She reached out and pushed Claire toward the door.
This time, Claire yielded to the child’s push without resistance.
She couldn’t tell her that things wouldn’t change. After all, she was someone who would leave once she’d saved enough money. But.
“Miss. If you ever feel hungry or need help, please tie cloth to the window frame. I’ll check it every day.”
Perhaps she could become a small opening through which this child, whose heart had closed behind despair, could breathe, even if only for a moment. Such a selfish desire had taken hold of her.
‘How selfish.’
Claire found herself unfamiliar now.
She had simply spoken from the heart, not wanting to see the child alone in her room, and it had carried her this far. Perhaps the problem was that memories from another time had overlapped with the present.
Claire pushed out, and the door slowly closed.
Just before the door shut completely, a small voice leaked through the gap.
“······Start bringing lunch from tomorrow.”
Click.
With those words, the door closed.
* * *
The sky had grown overcast.
Claire, who had been sniffing the air outside the window, closed it and spoke.
“It’s going to pour. It’ll rain through the night and won’t stop until noon tomorrow.”
“You can tell that much from a smell···?”
“Usually, yes.”
‘Hm.’
Most people might guess from the smell that rain was coming, but they wouldn’t know how much would fall.
Theodore had no energy left to pick a quarrel; he could only blink. The madness had just swept through him, leaving his entire body drained of strength.
“It’s a shame we can’t go to the Garden.”
Claire gazed disapprovingly at the dark, clouded sky.
A proper meal followed by a walk in the sunshine.
The disruption to the optimal recovery routine was deeply disappointing.
‘Once the rain stops tomorrow, it’ll be a bit chilly. I’ll start walks the day after. I can bring Miss her meals at the same time as the Young Master’s afternoon nap.’
As Claire mentally organized her schedule, she naturally added the task of ensuring Isabella’s meals to her daily plan.
It had been two weeks since Claire had snuck into the Annex and first spoken with Isabella.
Since then, she had not once failed to prepare Isabella’s meals during Theodore’s afternoon rest hours.
‘The way her guard gradually lowers is rather endearing, actually.’
At first, Isabella had been startled watching Claire climb the tree to reach the third floor, but now the shadow that peeked through the window at lunchtime each day was quite adorable.
‘I was wise to win over the Cook.’
Though “win over” was perhaps too generous a term—it was closer to coercion.
Extracting an extra portion of food for the child from someone thoroughly frightened by what had transpired in the Food Storage was hardly a difficult task.
Marveling at my own competence, I retrieved the chessboard.
“You’ll play again today, won’t you?”
“Of course.”
Another small change had emerged in my daily routine with Theodore.
Remarkably, this change had been Theodore’s own suggestion.
‘Shall we play chess? I’m tired of being confined to this room.’
I didn’t know the rules of chess, but the little raccoon was so endearing as he quietly pushed the board toward me that I’d been studying earnestly for four days now.
I was still far from beating Theodore, but chess proved more enjoyable than expected, making these days quite pleasant.
“Let me have that move back.”
“You must accept the outcome.”
“You flipped the board over last time.”
“That was because of my condition!”
“You should accept the outcome of flipping the board too.”
Theodore’s neck flushed as he struck his forehead and retracted his words.
Three months had already passed since Claire arrived at the Voltier Family. As the time they spent together increased, their conversations grew filled with trivial chatter.
“Checkmate.”
“Ah.”
In the end, I lost.
This time I gracefully accepted the result and reset the pieces.
“Will you play again?”
“Yes. This time I’ll take black.”
Just as I was about to rearrange the pieces and begin, it happened.
Tap. Tap.
Light tapping sounds came from the windowpane, and in an instant, a torrential downpour began to fall.
“It’s coming down heavily.”
“Shall I collect some water?”
“Rainwater?”
Theodore turned from the window with a puzzled expression, meeting Claire’s eyes.
“Yes. Where I lived, water would become scarce during the dry season, so whenever it rained heavily like this, I would set out buckets and collect rainwater.”
I gazed at the rainwater with longing eyes. With rainfall of this intensity, I could have stockpiled an entire week’s worth of water in one collection.
‘I suppose it doesn’t matter here.’
Still, what a waste.
As Claire sank into a nostalgia that was not quite nostalgia, Theodore’s eyes darkened.
‘Come to think of it, I know almost nothing about Claire.’

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————