Elena turned toward the door.
Under the dim light of the oil lamp, she quickly recognized the man who had just entered.
It was Daniel, Thomas’s youngest brother.
Daniel slipped sideways into the room and gently pulled the wooden door closed behind him.
Perhaps afraid of disturbing Thomas, he even made an effort to keep his footsteps quiet.
He did not speak immediately.
Instead, he first looked toward the bed.
Thomas was still lying there with his eyes closed.
His face remained pale, but his breathing was steady enough.
Only then did some of the tension leave Daniel’s expression.
When his gaze shifted toward the bedside, however, it lingered on Elena for a little longer than usual.
She was unusually quiet tonight.
The old Elena rarely behaved this way.
Whenever she saw someone familiar, she would either smile foolishly or hurry over to grab their hand, speaking in broken phrases that sometimes took people a while to understand.
If someone deliberately teased her, she often could not tell whether they were being kind or making fun of her.
As long as everyone else laughed, she would usually laugh too.
But tonight, Elena simply sat quietly beside Martha.
She did not fidget.
She did not make unnecessary sounds.
Even her eyes no longer held the same constant confusion Daniel remembered.
He found it strange, but with Thomas lying badly injured in bed, he had little attention to spare for anything else.
Under normal circumstances, he might already have walked over, ruffled his niece’s hair, and teased her a little.
Tonight, he merely gave her another glance before quickly approaching the bed.
“Daniel?”
Martha finally noticed him and rose from her chair.
“Why are you here again so late?”
Daniel did not answer right away.
He leaned over to look more closely at Thomas before lowering his voice.
“How is he now?
Has he woken up?
Did he take the medicine Dr.
Brown left?”
At the mention of her husband, Martha’s eyes reddened again.
She sat back down beside the bed and looked at Thomas’s pale face.
“He woke up once about half an hour ago.
I managed to give him a little less than half a bowl of medicine.”
“He didn’t say anything, though.
He barely opened his eyes.
Not long after he drank it, he fell asleep again.”
“Being able to wake up and swallow the medicine is a good sign.”
Daniel’s tightly drawn brows finally relaxed a little.
At least Thomas had regained consciousness once and could swallow on his own.
That was far more reassuring than if he had remained completely unconscious since the accident.
Daniel stood beside the bed for another moment before turning toward the exhausted Martha.
“You shouldn’t keep pushing yourself like this either.
Thomas is already down.
You can’t afford to get sick too.”
“Elena hasn’t recovered yet, and Ethan and Noah are still young.
They all need you.”
At the mention of her two sons, Martha’s expression dimmed.
Still, she nodded.
“I know.”
She had barely rested since the afternoon.
Her eyes were swollen from crying, and her voice was painfully hoarse.
But with her husband lying injured, Martha knew that no matter how frightened or exhausted she was, she could not allow herself to collapse as well.
The room fell quiet for a moment.
Then Martha seemed to remember what had happened earlier that day.
She looked up at Daniel.
“We really have you to thank today.
If you hadn’t come back as soon as you heard the news, we might not have known about Thomas until much later.”
Daniel immediately frowned.
“Why are you thanking me for that?”
“Thomas is my brother.
We’re family.
Did you expect me to hear something had happened to him and pretend I knew nothing?”
“Family…”
Martha repeated the word softly.
The tears she had only just managed to stop began gathering again.
She quickly lowered her head and wiped the corner of her eyes with the back of her hand.
A moment later, she seemed to remember that Daniel probably had another reason for coming so late.
“By the way, did you come here because something else happened?”
Daniel blinked.
Then he slapped his forehead lightly.
“If you hadn’t asked, I nearly would’ve forgotten.
I was too busy worrying about Thomas.”
He glanced toward the door before continuing.
“Father sent me to get you.
Grandfather, Grandmother, my eldest brother, second brother, and fourth brother are already in the main room.”
“Your branch is the only one missing.”
Martha instinctively looked toward Thomas.
Her face immediately filled with hesitation.
“But Thomas…”
She clearly did not want to leave him alone right now.
“Mama, you should go.
I’ll stay with Papa.”
Elena, who had been sitting quietly beside them, finally spoke.
Martha froze.
Daniel turned toward her as well.
Elena stood from the wooden chair and gently nudged Martha’s arm.
“I’ll stay right here with Papa.
I won’t wander off.”
“Everyone else is already there, so you should go before they have to keep waiting.
If Papa wakes up or something seems wrong, I’ll come get you immediately.”
The words came out clearly and smoothly.
For a moment, the room was completely silent.
Daniel stared at Elena with an odd expression.
He had already noticed that his niece seemed different tonight, but until now, he could have blamed it on her being unusually quiet after the fever.
What she had just said, however, was far beyond anything the old Elena could have expressed so clearly.
Martha noticed Daniel’s expression and immediately became nervous.
She had promised Elena that she would not tell anyone about her recovery yet.
She could not let the secret slip now.
“Maybe it was the fall yesterday, or the high fever afterward.
Ever since she woke up, some things have been different.”
Daniel still looked puzzled.
But this was hardly the time to question Elena about it.
Martha turned back toward Thomas.
She was still hesitant.
Elena had fallen down a slope only yesterday and spent the entire night burning with fever.
Her body had not recovered.
How could Martha feel completely comfortable leaving her alone to watch over Thomas?
At the same time, she knew she could not miss tonight’s family discussion.
Although Thomas and Martha had their own home in the old orchard cottage, their branch was not yet completely independent from the rest of the Miller family.
Much of the farmland, grain, livestock, and shared farm income was still managed by George and Agnes.
Each branch had its own responsibilities and living arrangements, but they continued to work together to keep Miller Farm running.
The money used to call Dr.
Brown that afternoon, as well as the cost of Thomas’s medicine, had come from the family’s shared funds.
Now Thomas had suffered serious injuries to both legs.
No one knew how long he would need to remain in bed.
He would need more medicine.
And whether he would ever be able to return to farmwork was still uncertain.
All of that had to be discussed by the family.
Thomas’s branch was at the center of the problem.
As his wife, Martha could not be absent.
After thinking it over, she finally nodded.
“Then stay here and behave.
Don’t go outside into the cold.”
“If your father wakes up or anything seems wrong, come and get me immediately.”
“I know.
Go ahead.”
Elena nodded.
Only then did Martha tuck the wool blanket more securely around Thomas and touch his forehead one last time to make sure nothing seemed wrong.
She left the room reluctantly, looking back more than once before finally disappearing through the doorway.
After the wooden door closed again, Elena stood beside the bed and watched the direction her mother had gone.
Her expression gradually became thoughtful.
She did not need anyone to tell her why the entire Miller family had gathered tonight.
Thomas had badly injured both legs.
He might never again be able to handle the heavy farmwork he had always done.
But his branch of the family still included Martha and three children.
Where would the money for Thomas’s treatment come from?
How long would he need medicine?
If they truly decided to take him to a large city to find a surgeon, would the rest of the family agree to pay for it?
And if Thomas could no longer work, what would happen to his wife and children?
None of those questions could be avoided tonight.
Elena had wanted to hear the discussion herself.
She had only been part of the Miller family for a few days and still knew very little about most of the relatives living elsewhere on Miller Farm.
But after everything she had seen today, she already knew the family was not as simple as it first appeared.
Agnes was strong-willed.
Margaret clearly held some kind of hostility toward the original Elena.
As for everyone else, Elena still did not know where they stood.
And Martha was far too soft-hearted.
If the discussion turned to the future of their branch, Elena could not be certain that her mother would not simply accept whatever was decided rather than risk arguing with the rest of the family.
Still, Thomas was lying here.
She could hardly leave her injured father alone just because she wanted to hear what the others were saying.
Elena was considering what to do when footsteps sounded behind her again.
She turned.
Daniel, who had apparently been about to leave, had returned without her noticing.
“Uncle Daniel, is there something else?”
The question left Elena’s mouth naturally.
Daniel stopped dead.
He stood there staring at his niece, his eyes widening as though only now had he fully realized what was wrong.
Until this moment, most of his attention had been on Thomas.
He had noticed Elena was unusually quiet, but he had not thought deeply about it.
Now, looking back, every word Elena had spoken since he entered the room had been clear.
She could express complete thoughts.
She had volunteered to stay behind and care for her father.
She had even understood that Martha needed to attend the family discussion and had encouraged her to go.
How could this possibly be the same Elena who had once struggled to speak a complete sentence?
“Elena, you…”
Daniel looked her up and down several times.
The surprise in his eyes grew stronger.
“How are you speaking so clearly now?”
Elena looked at him without showing any panic.
She had known from the beginning that this secret could not last forever.
Once she spent enough time around her family, anyone familiar with the original Elena would notice something was different as soon as she spoke normally.
Fortunately, the person standing in front of her was Daniel.
From the memories she had inherited, this youngest uncle had always treated Elena well.
There was little reason to continue pretending too much in front of him.
As she pulled the corner of Thomas’s blanket back into place, she answered quietly.
“I don’t really know.”
“After I fell down the slope yesterday, I had a high fever all night.
When I woke up today, my head didn’t feel as confused as before.”
“There were a lot of things I couldn’t understand before.
Now it feels like I can slowly make sense of them.”
“Talking doesn’t feel as difficult anymore either.”
Daniel stared at her.
For several seconds, he could not react.
The girl in front of him was clearly still the niece he had watched grow up.
Her face had not changed.
Neither had her build.
But her eyes were completely different.
The old Elena had always looked at people with a hazy, childlike confusion, as though she could never fully understand what they were saying.
Now her eyes were clear.
When she spoke, her voice was calm and natural.
There was almost nothing left of the confused girl Daniel remembered.
The surprise on his face gradually turned into joy.
“Then…
does that mean you’re really better?”
His voice rose without him realizing it.
Elena immediately raised one finger to her lips.
“Shh.
Keep your voice down.
Papa’s sleeping.”
Daniel quickly lowered his voice.
But he could not hide the happiness on his face.
When Thomas wakes up and finds out how much better you are, he’ll be overjoyed.”
As he finished speaking, however, his smile slowly faded.
His eyes returned to Thomas.
A complicated expression crossed his face.
Thomas and Martha had waited so many years for their daughter to improve.
Now that it had finally happened, Thomas himself was lying badly injured in bed.
Elena followed his gaze for a moment before speaking again.
“Uncle Daniel.”
“Hm?”
He looked back at her.
“Can you keep this from everyone else for now?”
Daniel blinked.
“Why?”
As far as he was concerned, Elena’s recovery was wonderful news.
He could not understand why anyone would want to hide it.
Elena did not answer immediately.
The original Elena’s memories were fragmented, but most of the memories involving Daniel were warm.
When the weather was good, he sometimes brought her wild berries from the edge of the woods.
During winter, when there was less farmwork, he would use leftover pieces of wood to carve simple toys for her.
Even though he knew she was different from other children, he had never deliberately teased her the way some villagers did.
He had never taken advantage of the fact that she could not always understand what people meant.
The original Elena might not have known how to explain those things.
But she had remembered them.
“Uncle Daniel, there were a lot of things I couldn’t understand before, but I still remember some things.”
Elena looked at him seriously.
“I know you were always good to me.”
“So I want to ask you for a favor.”
Daniel’s expression became serious as well.
“Tell me.”
“Don’t tell anyone else yet that I can speak normally and understand things now.”
Daniel still looked confused.
“But why hide it?”
“Mama already knows.
As for Papa, I’ll tell him myself after he wakes up.”
Elena paused before continuing.
“I don’t want everyone else to know yet.”
“I’ll explain why later.
For now, can you promise not to tell anyone?”
Daniel studied her for a moment.
He clearly had plenty of questions.
But his niece was obviously different now, and if she was seriously asking him to keep this quiet, then she must have her reasons.
Besides, there was no urgent need to announce it to the entire family.
Finally, Daniel nodded.
“All right.
I promise.”
“If you don’t want anyone else to know, I won’t say anything.
You can tell them yourself when you’re ready.”
A faint smile appeared on Elena’s face.
“Thank you, Uncle Daniel.”
“You don’t need to thank me for something like that.”
Daniel waved a hand and started toward the door.
After taking two steps, however, he stopped again.
As though something had just occurred to him, he glanced toward the door before turning back and lowering his voice.
“But if you’re really clear-headed now, then maybe you should hear what’s being discussed in the main room.”
Elena raised an eyebrow slightly.
She had not expected Daniel to suggest it himself.
Daniel sighed.
“Thomas is down, and we all know what your mother is like.”
“If the family called every branch together tonight, they’re probably going to discuss what happens to your family from now on.”
“Since you can understand things and think for yourself now, there’s no harm in listening.”
“At least you should know what they decide.
Your mother shouldn’t have to carry everything by herself.”
That was exactly what Elena had been thinking.
Only moments earlier, she had been trying to figure out how she could hear the discussion without leaving Thomas unattended.
“But what about Papa?”
“I’ll stay.”
Daniel answered without hesitation.
He pulled the wooden chair beside the bed closer and sat down, clearly intending to remain there.
“You go to the main room.
I’ll stay with Thomas.”
“If he wakes up or anything seems wrong, I’ll come get you immediately.”
Elena did not agree at once.
She looked at Thomas.
Then she looked at Daniel, already settled beside the bed.
Once she was certain he truly intended to stay, she nodded.
“All right.
Then I’ll leave Papa with you.”
Daniel almost laughed.
“He’s my own brother.
You don’t need to say it like you’re asking me for a favor.”
“Go.”
Elena did not waste any more time.
She adjusted Thomas’s wool blanket one last time and stood beside the bed for another moment before turning toward the door.
She really did need to hear for herself what the Miller family planned to do about Thomas’s treatment.
And what they intended to do with his wife and children.
Thomas was injured.
Martha was too gentle.
Ethan and Noah were still young.
Elena could not afford to remain ignorant of what was being decided.
She quietly opened the wooden door.
The cool autumn night immediately greeted her.
Elena pulled her wool coat more tightly around herself and looked toward the main farmhouse, where the lamps were still burning.
Dim yellow light shone through the small glass panes in the windows.
Behind them, she could faintly make out the shadows of people moving around inside.
Elena did not go over immediately.
She turned back one last time and looked at her father, still sleeping on the bed.
Then she gently closed the door.
Following the narrow path beside the stone wall beneath the pale moonlight, Elena slowly made her way toward the main farmhouse.
She wanted to hear it for herself—
What exactly did this family intend to do with Thomas’s wife and children now?