the culprit

It was already late at night when Cyril was sent to Heken's manor again.

The night sky was covered with dark clouds, and the wind blew through the gaps in the bare branches, brewing a devil's cry.

The taciturn fat driver listlessly shook the reins and turned the carriage around, without looking back at the poor young master before leaving.

The thin boy stood alone outside the closed gate, shivering in the night wind.The night was so thick that he could barely see the carriage that was integrated into the night, he lowered his shoulders, and no longer chasing after it with sobs like yesterday, he just raised his hand and knocked on the heavy door.

He didn't even expect anyone to hear the knock on the door at this time.

Maybe all night under the cold roof.

He hugged his arms tightly, rubbed his palms unconsciously, and paced back and forth at the door, watching his exhaled breath condense into white mist.The cut on his face was exposed to the cold air, and it hurt even more. He lowered his head, trying to make himself ignore it.However, thinking of the way his father suddenly raised his cane in anger, his eyes were still uncontrollably blurred, and there was a rapid heartbeat in his chest. He raised his hand and patted his chest, trying to prevent the unbearable pain from spreading to his body. other parts.

He always knew his father hated him.My father was very strict with his brothers and sisters, but he always listened to them patiently; his father would give his brother horses, and he would hire a craftsman to make the most beautiful gemstone brooch for his sister; but his father never took the initiative to talk to him, and never Regardless of his closeness, he has never given him any gifts.His brothers and sisters ignored him, and they laughed at him once when he was stung by a bee in the garden, and his father never even looked him in the eye.

He knew his father hated him.

He really wasn't the stupid guy that other people imagined him to be.

But he still loves his father.He hoped that his father was only blinded by the moving legends, and that his father didn't know the true face of the "servant".

Sobbing twice, Cyril wiped her eyes with her sleeves, and rubbed her arms with her palms.

At this moment, the closed door opened.

The person who came out from behind the door was Felix.He was no longer wearing the strange black cloak, and the thin silk shirt made Cyril feel unnaturally cold.Seeing the boy who had left at noon standing outside the door, the man was not surprised at all, stretched out his hand and pulled him in, and gently closed the door.

The corridor was dark, and Felix hadn't lit a candle.The boy followed the man step by step in the dark, and finally tripped over the steps of the stairs and fell.The burning pain came from his forehead and knees, and he exclaimed, trying to endure it, but tears still gushed from his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said, sobbing. "Please Mr. Felix to take me home, but Father sent me back anyway. I'm sorry."

The man who had been walking upstairs finally stopped when he heard these words, but he still didn't speak.

"I'm sorry..." the boy couldn't hold back his sobs.He climbed up the stairs, grasped the handrail in the dark, and followed Felix cautiously step by step.

"It's a waste of your kindness." He sniffed.

"Father doesn't like me...he's always, always been cold to me..." His knee hurt, but not to the point where he couldn't walk, and the boy walked slowly to Felix, raised his face, as if trying to Look at his expression at this time, "But I thought it was just indifference..."

A cold hand reached out, and the thumb landed precisely on the fresh wound on the side of the cheek.Cyril flinched in pain, wondering why Felix could see the wound on his face in such a dark place.

"It's disgusting not wanting to see you." Felix caressed the boy's wound, almost imagining how the gemstone on the cane cut the skin and stained it with blood.He took the boy by the hand and led him upstairs.

"He doesn't want to see me." The boy said quietly, and unconsciously grabbed Felix's fingers.

"It's not that he doesn't want to see you." The man sent the boy back to the room, raised his hand and pushed the door open, "That's not disgust." He pushed the boy into the room and closed the door.

Felix slowly walked towards the stairs, and there was the sound of the door opening behind him. The boy ran out in a panic and stopped him timidly: "What is that? If my father doesn't hate me, what is it?"

But Felix ignored his questioning and went downstairs.

The boy stood at the door in a daze, hoping to get an answer, hoping that the kind Felix could explain it to him.

However, he didn't know that the servant's "kindness" was definitely not good intentions, but just a means to make him realize the reality earlier.

From Heken's few words, it is easy to get a glimpse of the fact that there are always various reasons for a child not to be favored, and the one belonging to Cyril is the most incomprehensible one. In the beginning, this five-year-old child would not be sent here.

Felix slowly returned to Herken's room, the two small holes in the human's neck were still bleeding.He went to bed, even if there was no light, he could clearly see the dead expression of human beings.He leaned over to lick the blood on Heken's neck, and whispered his master's name.The human took off his shirt with both hands and stroked his cold back.

"You knew he would be sent back before you sent him back."

Felix didn't respond to Hucken's guess, but kissed his neck and ears with bloody lips.

A child as young as Cyril only knows how to like and hate, love and fear, and nothing can make him understand what hate is.

So the pain is bound to continue, he will still struggle, and he will use a hundred reasons to convince himself.

This is true for everyone.

Felix had seen many victims, the last one was Hucken before him, and he had become the same as every previous victim.

will become so.

He couldn't say he was looking forward to it, but he wasn't bored either.

Herken parted Felix's legs, and the servant kissed his master lightly on the lips.

In the darkness, Felix didn't miss Hucken's distorted expression full of hatred.

The next one is the kid.

will become so.

Felix gasped in a low voice, and put his hand on Herken's shoulder.

He stopped thinking about the boy.

And the boy huddled in the quilt and kept thinking about his words, and kept thinking about what else his father could be if he wasn't disgusted with him.

If it wasn't disgust, why did his father never smile at him.

If it wasn't disgust, why did his father never care about him.

If not disgust, why did his father just turn a blind eye to him.

If it wasn't disgust, why did his father insist on sending him here knowing the consequences?

The boy couldn't figure out what else it could be if it wasn't disgust, what else it could be.

It was damp and cold in the room without a fire, and he shivered under the quilt until he finally fell asleep with red eyes until dawn.

When he got up the next day, he didn't see Uncle Hickey, nor met the kind servant.Seeing him appearing in front of her, Mary was stunned, grabbed his shoulders and yelled, then bent down to pick him up and ran to the kitchen, waking up the dozing fat cook, and gestured at him.

After breakfast, Mary took him into a room, sat him in the sun, and went to light the wood in the fireplace herself.

The flames were roaring, and the winter sun was very pleasant on the body.The gloomy mood was dispelled by the warmth, and Cyril sat in the light, thanking the old lady happily.Mary laughed so much that her mouth parted, revealing her jagged, yellowed teeth.After a while, she seemed to be aware of her appearance, shyly covered her unseemly teeth with her hands, and left the room in a hurry, but came in with a plate after a while.

There was a plate of refreshments, which she graciously passed to Cyril.The boy took it in surprise, his cheeks flushed with a smile.Mary went in and out again to get tea and other snacks for the boy. Seeing that he was eating happily, she covered her mouth and laughed again.

In the next few days, the owner here, Heken, still did not show up, and Felix never showed up during the day.Cyril was alone most of the time, but Mary was more than happy to stay with him if he asked.The old woman took good care of the boy, and the boy was willing to be close to her.She couldn't talk, there was no conversation between them, and the boy would ask her to bring two teacups and they could sit and drink tea.

A room with sunlight, a warm fire in the fireplace, and someone who would drink tea with him.

For Cyril, it couldn't be more perfect.

He is forbidden to have breakfast and afternoon tea with his family, and he can only sit with his family at dinner time every day.Even so, he was placed in the farthest position from his father at dinner, and there were even two chairs between him and his brother.The servants don't like to talk to him, even if he pulls him forcibly, they always perfunctory.

My father's favorite second sister raised a cat called Hello Kitty, with long white fur and a pair of mandarin duck eyes of different colors.When drinking afternoon tea, the second sister would always put the well-behaved and lazy cat on her lap, and stroke it with her gloved hand while drinking tea.Once, when he peeked outside the door, he even saw his father reach out to touch it and call it by name.

He was very envious.

He envied Katie and wished he could become a cat sleeping on his second sister's lap.

His father doesn't even call him by his name.

Whenever Cyril thinks of this, he always puts down the snack in his hand sadly, and looks down at the toe of his shoe in embarrassment.Mary never knew why he was depressed. She always thought that her indignity spoiled his mood, so she fled out in a panic holding the hem of her skirt.

It took a long time for Cyril to notice Mary's departure each time.

Time seems to be frozen in the dead manor, and the winter is as long as a frozen river.Uncle Heken still disappeared for a few days and then suddenly appeared for a few days, and he would still say something that made him very sad and terrified when we sat and had dinner with him.But the terrible servant hadn't been seen since his return.The boy guessed that he might have been lying in his room and resting. He knew that the servant's room was at the end of the second floor. Everyone in the manor would carefully avoid it, not only him, not only Mary, but also the one who carried the The strong old man he had come back—Old Jack was the old man, the boy remembered Felix had mentioned—wouldn't dare approach any of them.

On fine days, Cyril would stay in a sunny room and take a nap, and on snowy days, he would hide in Uncle Hicken's study.Uncle Heken seemed to have never been here, the tables and chairs were wiped clean, but the books in the bookcase were covered with a thick layer of dust.He quietly climbed up the ladder to count those heavy tomes, and now he knows too few characters. Sometimes he can't even read the titles of the books, so he can only look for books with beautiful illustrations and make up stories against the pictures.

One day Mary took him out of the mansion like a sudden awakening, and he was delighted to find that green leaf buds began to emerge on the bare branches.He grabbed the old woman's sleeve and danced and said that spring was here. Mary patted his head, knelt down and made a gesture of digging the soil and planting seeds. He guessed that she meant to say that they could plant some flowers when the weather warmed up.He nodded vigorously, and Mary laughed, the lines on her face squeezed together like dried orange peel.

While they were gesturing and talking, a black shadow suddenly appeared in the vision of the two of them.The black shadow walked in a hurry, and looked a little staggering and tired.Cyril let out a soft "ah", thinking that a stranger was visiting, and turned her head to look at Mary uneasily.But Mary suddenly withdrew her smile, got up and hurriedly greeted her with staggering steps.