SWNOVELXO Chapter 12: Today, I Will Never Leave Him
Ezrel liked to think of himself as cleverer than most people.
He has already lived longer than his parent.
Not only that, in his previous life, he'd been a politician. A smooth talker. The kind of man who could silence a senate with a sigh.
And now?.
How can he lose to his sister?
Four years old girl.
Now he had a private room.
His own door. His own bed. His own bath.
No more shared bed. No more nursemaids. And most importantly..
No more her.
He dragged a study table across the bedroom door.
He locked it. Then latched it. Then kicked the door twice to test it.
"Nothing's getting through that,".
He said, nodding with satisfaction.
Then, he yawned and curled up in bed wearing his fluffy robe.
"Tonight...".
"Tonight, I will dream in peace..... I will sleep like a king."
He whispered.
-----
Five Minutes Later.
The door creaked.
Ezrel's eyes snapped open.
"No," he said aloud. "No no no—"
The table slid. The handle turned.
Clack.
The door opened.
And there she was.
Lysette Dormir. Four years old. Wide-eyed. Clutching her favorite pillow like a ritual object. Her nightgown wrinkled, her hair softly tangled from sleep.
Ezrel sat up like he'd been stabbed.
"HOW?!"
She tilted her head.
"I checked that lock three times!" he said. "I reinforced it with a table! I booby-trapped it with sugar cubes and doll!"
Lysette stepped into the room without hesitation.
"I made sure," she said simply.
Ezrel pointed at her like she was a ghost.
"You made—what?!
She didn't respond.
I was a politician! A seasoned manipulator of men! There is no possible way I'm losing to a four-year-old barefoot girl with a ribbon in her hair!"
He thought....
She just walked right past him and climbed into the bed like a professional.
"Don't make yourself at home!" he barked.
Too late.
She lay down. Closed her eyes.
Ezrel's jaw dropped.
"You can't just invade people's beds!"
No response.
"You're not even saying anything! That's psychological warfare!"
She rolled to face him.
He scowled.
"…Stop..... being cute."
----
The Next Morning
A maid opened the door.
Frozen.
She saw her young master, Ezrel, half-asleep, one eye twitching while his sister Lysette looked perfectly content, holding his sleeve like a sacred relic.
The maid slowly closed the door again and walked away.
No words.
----
The Day After That
Ezrel moved his sleeping spot to the linen closet.
Then the library.
Then the balcony.
All of this just to avoid being discovered by her.
But.....
She found him every time.
She didn't follow footsteps.
She just knew.
And somehow, she came before he fully fell asleep.
It was starting to scare him more.
----
In the Study Hall.
Ezrel sat across from his tutor, nose buried in a worn book.
"You've improved," said the tutor. "You can clearly pronounce the Aurum language now."
Ezrel grunted.
"Yeah, I've had plenty of motivation to master the language."
The tutor tilted his head.
"Mo....Motivation?"
Ezrel turned a page. "I need to be able to write my restraining order."
''Huh????", the tutor exclaimed while being confused by it.
----
Later That Day
He collapsed onto his bed with arms outstretched.
"Okay....,".
He muttered to the ceiling.
"I surrender..... I ....give up.
Take my peace. Take my privacy... Just leave my dreams alone."
He heard nothing.
There is no response for it.
And that was worse.
He sat up slowly.
Then rolled over.
And nearly screamed.
Because there she was..
Stare quietly at him.
She was already there.
Snuggled under the covers.
How.... Did..... She.... Get.... In....
Quietly.
He stared at her.
She stared back.
"You're four," he whispered.
"You're not supposed to be capable of this."
She tilted her head.
Ezrel groaned.
"You're going to make me look forward to dying. I hope you know that."
---
Lysette's POV
She didn't understand everything.
Not books. Not nobles. Not adult words.
But she understood him.
She knew when he would sleep.
She knew when he was tired, even if he didn't say it.
She watched his body like other children watched storybooks.
She timed his footsteps. Memorized his door creaks. Learned to trace the air he left behind like thread.
Because every time she wasn't near him…
Her heart screamed.
The thread inside her pulled tighter.
She had to be close.
To feel whole.
To feel real.
To be safe.
And tonight...
Ezrel finally fell asleep first.
And for once, she wasn't already beside him.
She arrived quietly.
She reached for his sleeve.
And the moment her fingers brushed it.
A shimmer.
A single, golden thread appeared.
Faint...
Invisible to all but the blessed.
A warmth bloomed in her chest.
And her vow etched itself into fate.
It a vow without words.
Today, I will never leave him.
But the blessing clearly understood it.
Her backhand glowed softly.
A divine mark..
A golden thread knotted in a loop.
She didn't know what it meant.
But she felt it mattered.
She smiled. Closed her eyes.
And slept beside him.
----
In Divine Realm
In the divine realm of silk and shadow.
Nyemari, the Silk Mother, sit on her throne.
One of her spiders bowed low.
The first vow was made.
A thread now wove forward, linking future to fate.
Nyemari extended a single hand.
"The Oath of One begins," she whispered.
"The stitch cannot be undone."