Chapter 272: Lullaby
Although Armand had confidently told Carle that he would handle all the paperwork properly even while working from home, now that he was actually sitting down to do it, he just felt overwhelmed. Maybe it was because he hadn’t worked in a while, but looking at the annoying stack of documents just gave him a headache.
“Mr. Armand, your coffee.”
Clink. Evelia gently placed a cup of coffee on Armand’s desk.
Even though Armand didn’t like strong sweet-and-sour tastes like ketchup, that didn’t mean he liked bitter coffee either.
People often say that those who drink bitter coffee have more refined taste, but to Armand, who already had trouble eating most foods, drinking bitter coffee just for that idea felt like a punishment.
Following the old butler’s instructions, Evelia brewed a full pot of coffee with one-third milk in it so that Armand could easily get refills.
And yes, she really needed to prepare that much, because this was already his fifth cup.
Sleepiness was starting to take over Armand’s brain. If he lost focus for even a moment, he might fall asleep.
Right now, Armand was fighting against that tiredness. He squinted, then forced his eyes open again, looking just like a student trying not to doze off during class.
“Alright, thank you.”
Most people enjoy coffee by sipping it slowly and tasting the rich, deep flavors of the beans. But not Armand.
He was treating it like plain water.
Gulp, gulp.
The coffee cup was quickly emptied. According to Evelia’s mental count, he drank this cup even faster than the last one.
“Mr. Armand, maybe you should rest for a while?”
Evelia took the empty cup, then poured a fresh cup at the side table and handed it to him.
“There’s no reason to sleep after drinking so much coffee.”
Armand grinned and took the cup, thinking that maybe he should’ve just drunk straight from the coffee pot.
Hic...
But after only one sip of the sixth cup, he gave a small hiccup and awkwardly covered his mouth.
He was already full just from drinking all that coffee, but the sleepiness still stuck to him like spring willow fluff, light but impossible to shake off. No matter what he did, he couldn’t fully wake up.
“Are you very tired?”
“...Not really.”
Armand didn’t want to show his weak side in front of Evelia. In fact, he had even asked her to come over to help him stay awake. But now, the mental fatigue was starting to overpower his will.
More than being tired, it was just... sleepiness. Just sleepy.
His body wasn’t at the point where it felt weak, but his mind would blur without warning, and then, without even noticing, he’d fall asleep.
It felt like getting drunk, when he woke up, some recent things would be unclear in his memory, or even completely forgotten. Although he could recall a few details after settling down, right after waking up, he really had no idea what had happened.
Because of this, Armand had started resisting sleep again.
At first, it was because he was being cautious of Evelia, who had entered his house under suspicion of being a spy. But now, he was trying to guard himself, from his own unreliable mind.
The result of this battle? He kept losing.
He never knew exactly when he fell asleep. After attending the funeral last time, he had even fallen asleep in the carriage on the way back.
When he opened his eyes and found himself at home, he was confused for a moment, wondering, “Did they cremate the old guy that fast?” It all felt like a blur.
Clearly, this problem was starting to affect his daily life. He was trying to stop taking the medicine, but the side effects weren’t going away quickly.
Strangely, this only happened during these sudden sleepy moments. Regular sleep didn’t cause that “memory blackout.”
It was as if he wasn't tired, but simply, his mind just shut off at that moment.
“Mr. Armand, please take a short break. You went to bed really late last night, didn’t you? You must not have slept well.”
“Hmm? No need to rush. I still have some things to finish.”
The “things” he mentioned were mostly the random, unimportant documents Carle had given him. Most of them could probably be folded into paper airplanes without much loss. After all, Armand would never bring any truly important work back to his estate.
But... how did Evelia know he slept late last night?
Was it because of the dark circles under his eyes again?
Armand rubbed his eyes with frustration, thinking to himself. It felt like ever since he arrived at the estate, the dark circles under his eyes had never really gone away. Luckily, they weren’t that obvious.
“Mr. Armand.”
“Hm?”
But Armand’s careless response clearly made Evelia a little unhappy. When she called his name, her tone carried a strange pressure.
“You look just like a little kid who doesn’t want to go to bed at night.”
Evelia had once bought parenting books in order to “become a good mom.” Now that things had settled down, she’d picked up those books again recently. That was probably why she suddenly used such an odd comparison.
“What kind of comparison is that?”
Armand almost lost his composure when he heard her words.
“Because you won’t go rest.”
“W-Well, I still have work to finish!”
“Little kids who don’t want to sleep always find excuses too.”
“What do you mean excuses? This is real work!”
“A real reason is still a reason, Mr. Armand.”
“But—!”
Just as Armand was about to explain things to this rather stubborn Evelia, he was suddenly wrapped in warmth.
Pat, pat, pat, pat.
Evelia was gently hugging him now, softly patting his back like she was comforting a child, and speaking in a calm, low voice near his ear with childish-sounding words.
Unfortunately, Evelia still hadn’t fixed her emotionless tone, so even though her words were meant to be soft and warm, they came out sounding stiff and flat.
“Mr. Armand, do you have a favorite lullaby?”
She continued gently patting the “big kid” in her arms, who was actually a head taller than her, while thinking about how to sing a lullaby, just like the books described.
“…Lullaby?”
Feeling Evelia’s warmth and softness, Armand felt even sleepier.
“Yes, a lullaby. It’s the kind of song you hear before bed.”
“You know how to sing?”
“No, Mr. Armand.”
“Then why are you asking me…”
“I just want you to sleep more peacefully.”
“There’s no way I can sleep comfortably in this weird position…”
Armand was about to complain about how awkward it was sitting while being hugged, but as soon as he brought it up, Evelia hugged him even tighter. If she squeezed any harder, her softness might actually make it hard for him to breathe.
If he fell asleep like this, he might really suffocate.
“Hm... hm-hmm…”
But just as he tried to get up, he heard her humming a tune.
Maybe because she had to lift her voice a bit to hum it, this time Evelia’s voice sounded especially sweet.
Of course, her voice was already beautiful. It was just that her usual flat tone always made it hard to notice.
…Ah, this song…
Armand still remembered, it was a lullaby he had heard when he was a child.
His mother had been a knight, so she wasn’t very good at singing or dancing. As a kid, this was the only lullaby she ever sang to him.
The gentle melody slowly pulled Armand deeper into his fatigue. He didn’t dislike this feeling, in fact, he was afraid that once he fell asleep, he might forget this moment. Even losing just a tiny part of it would make him feel sad.
He wanted to stay awake, but his consciousness kept getting heavier.
Maybe it was because he had burned down everything he once had in that huge fire, now that he heard this lullaby again, memories of his childhood came flooding back.
But when the dream finally took over, what filled his mind wasn’t a warm memory from his early days.
A damp, cold memory climbed back into his heart. In a prison cell lit only by moonlight, a boy in a black cloak leaned against the icy wall. On the other side of the iron bars, a smaller, frightened boy sat shaking.
The boy in black awkwardly hummed the same childhood lullaby, keeping the other boy company through those cold, lonely nights.
Drip.
A cold drop of water fell in the dream’s prison.
And just like that, Armand’s consciousness sank quietly to the bottom.