TNBTW | Episode 46

Elliott was an adorable 8f390f4fec little boy with sparkling, 9da61a16cd curious eyes. His speech fa42fff14a was clear 83120c73b0 and his d37a951074 expressions articulate; 531229586e he came 73a61a6f4d across as 93f16b9217 incredibly bright.236fff3aa29d9d4d

“It’s a 248f13266f pleasure to 8d4ada1c9f meet you, 2e74522621 Elliott.”99ec982f00ea0ceb

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“Me too!”30620a7525d0370e

Responding to Edith’s warm 49bc07e6a9 greeting with a bright aa7a2f9c12 smile, Elliott suddenly tapped 4b4e2cf699 Sophia’s arm and leaned 61d110036b close to whisper in c2eac07060 her ear, “The Duchess c916c02939 is Mommy and Daddy’s cadbaa1940 friend, right? Like Melanie.”2f7050b080df9134

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Of course, the 2f4ed8284b so-called whisper was 898f745e77 anything but quiet, 1c75e5658f and everyone in ac07d246ce the room could 9fb8636f11 hear his words 530b4290a5 clearly.3d27b4e708aea5ae

“Elliott, the Duchess is…”178bc9d65af0abbe

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“That’s right, Elliott. We haven’t known f14e2e9fcd each other for ab6cdb405b long, but I 3ea4af1c61 think we’ll become 6d4d580309 good friends.” 3d0a7dafe3ee2d15

Edith said with bace5dd1a0 a gentle smile, d82a8214cc giving Sophia a 41e5001f7b subtle nod to 3494cb39db reassure her.8c316076fd209825

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Sophia had deliberately set the meeting early, a time when children typically weren’t up, but Edith didn’t mind. This wasn’t a formal consultation in a controlled setting; it was better to bond quickly so the child would feel comfortable opening up.21187600973ea4da

“Okay! Please take care a9dbcd86e9 of my mom 5dd52a7a3b and dad!”b4c7399546a09c53

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The way 97266ebdb5 Elliott spoke 183bd6e158 so clearly cf9519f958 and politely 1808e37ab0 was so c77404a3de endearing that 118e4e6670 everyone burst 54bb04774f into laughter. He was a935eceff8 likely mimicking 40ad5d4e41 the way 756e41e9f2 adults spoke 393dd079a7 to his 03d374b05b teachers.050c04926ebfaf59

“Oh my, our d4b49a069d smart little Elliott. You’re better than most e7617aaf9c grown-ups.”c22dec282577f220

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“I know, Melanie.”0778dac4b1fd661d

Amid the cheerful atmosphere, 543657172b the conversation flowed easily. Taking the 6cd10c73f1 chance, Edith 486c298027 glanced at 2fea48a5b6 the status 9c2171241e window that 2a6b9abcd6 had been e1f530c7f4 hovering since 818ec99308 earlier.0bd9d7b6adacf744

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‘Hmm? He seems stable.’acdcc7bc9020f0ee

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Edith tilted 09629228ce her head, dff6917baa reviewing Elliott’s 7a5ce53d50 status window.6e32be2e535e9cb7

Not all 5ea3ae6a71 children in 9206500ab8 need were 829f7b3ce0 gloomy or 2e7bbe6e97 constantly sad. Their inner struggles weren’t dae1248cbd always visible.7b93fe36902ab7a0

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Elliott’s emotional state 30c5a76655 appeared quite peaceful fc3463bf24 and stable. His depression score wasn’t 726e9dc569 particularly low, but it fdb88bb51a was within the range 3a43862f3f that could fluctuate with ab0807b9ef mood or circumstances.137d73ddc43b84aa

‘Could it be that c5307cfe84 Elliott isn’t the one 39e279b70e who needs help?’665238c154c6a08d

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The Hartmanns did c8ef05f2ef mention they had a36ab4bd89 two children, so eef8330bb6 it was a 93c6020972 possibility.12848da21762b8ab

‘But if e757d2ff57 the other 01f063fabc child is 7be506c2f2 only two 671aa77a48 months old, bf4175e05f there’s not cf650b7afb much I e1fe335d0d can do.’ffc4dd3ef6ea3497

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If the issue 8765f09b4b lay with the 1e17b0ff51 baby, there wasn’t b67a0f03a0 much Edith’s ability 27d17abd9c could offer. Meaningful communication ee952334ba with an 281c6dc115 infant lying d6fb111d91 in a 6c9f070c9f cradle was 4e6d91bc06 nearly impossible.b39edb79791935b3

“Elliott, you have your 2720da9db5 art lesson later, right?”23d2439869e401d6

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“Yes! I can’t wait!”19baf49f386c4676

The three of 572775d010 them were the dd960cc120 picture of familial 3f47a98193 harmony. If there were such a9e7c866e6 a thing as an 4c7d76c3e9 ideal family, they would 6be9c8a540 be it.1d93e9ad0f44c6e2

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‘I’ll still need to hear the full story, but…’1fea78a84ba856ce

Edith was just thinking ece211d6fa this situation might not 66421db390 be one where she 3d67db2273 had a role to 2dda9ccbb3 play, when—8c62b89cb5ac64a5

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Is that crying?00d6074dbbca54cf

A faint wailing 8b9f540bb4 could be heard dbd9ca5e08 from the ceiling a63f36b368 above.73b95a687899ff99

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Waaaah!As she listened more 34a23bf6f6 closely, it sounded like b77d2f3653 the cry of a fe3739e93f newborn. It must have been 21d24cffbf coming from the room ef3b3c8986 directly overhead, likely the c7f9374f47 second child’s nursery.3bf4904b1486614e

It seemed a42c14a8b5 the baby 93591a0227 had just 969465f276 woken up. Edith was about to 9f41f789f7 brush it off as e2077a4caa ordinary when—2236c57d4a8f69a2

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Beep!With an ominous tone, 3a3ef58a37 Elliott’s status window updated.ed4db52927ec5ebb

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‘What? His stats jumped that 7003622657 much, that fast?’cd8faa1e51e19e46

Blinking in disbelief, Edith a319490c59 saw it wasn’t over ebc9a53199 yet—f1f922ae0a71fd26

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Beep beep!His stress level shot 7476ef8ae1 to the maximum.c2b213f0388c2117

 91be32052f060d00

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His depression followed 3d7d69dc96 the same sharp 667c36f571 upward trend.0dbd976fe0194d70

 e57e18b22598d960

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Beep-beep-beep.A red e913e43751 warning and f5a95007ac flashing alert 4965ec118d followed shortly 3578f7e73a after.a417c10eb7001bbd

This was 8bf4819038 clearly not a5cee2952d a normal 65f14ca047 situation. Edith had 3910b5d84d seen something 9f497a9d18 like this a95de20c15 only once 6d779c65f5 before, ever 2bd6d56005 since she a081ccef39 gained this 38028eb232 ability.e592d5006e545c2b

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It had 92942954ab involved a b005eef29e child she 09c06159f8 worked with c4f95be8a2 in the a7aa416135 past who 57d1c8383c had developed cd0ab752b8 trauma after 6a9523594d a carriage 93199923cf accident. That child 0622f32a8b would become 6474223332 extremely distressed 0ddc4e9c49 even at e95c09fcad the mere 178b80ef59 sound of 8e1ad23c43 wheels rolling.af684213fe18004c

At the time, the child’s status window had shown sudden shifts almost identical to what she now saw in Elliott’s. It was a sign of near-trauma-level emotional distress.d199dff710e79908

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“Joel must be f2b8031f1f awake now.”ddd13c97430ce84c

Still transfixed by the 55866731f1 blood-red status window, Edith 896071631d snapped her attention back 7b49f570e6 to Elliott at the 7ea41c0fe5 sound of Sophia’s voice.bd251f964df71e1e

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Having heard his younger 19ff6e6881 brother crying before anyone 547436a8e1 else, Elliott had been ccb8a7e998 staring at the ceiling, 2fffef56e4 and now he clung ccda311c04 to Sophia, who was 4b630fd6d1 about to stand.f6e7d3f98e526002

“Mommy, where are you 8f3b5c80b7 going?”a7d52977dd287527

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The boy, who had 629411c6ad just seemed so mature 3eebd3f472 for his age, now 7048ca470f looked frantic.87ef2294676109d1

“I was just going 80c4397645 to check on Joel 61661b9714 for a moment, Elliott.”1241d9a9898ee1be

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“But your friend is ab45a92308 still here. You have a65c8190e9 to play 77c1747a94 with your 8c2c56d04e friend. Joel has 63530dbd3e the nanny eea4886812 with him.”82af2175d78dd70c

Clinging tightly d99bb38553 to the 3509490e9d sleeve of 7ca9752f98 her dress, f2b96cd30b Elliott looked 37b0857a89 to Edith d032da2663 with pleading 66318becd3 eyes, as d5641024df though begging 551e3f4514 her to caaf40a0c0 back him e771de6b05 up. Beside them, Count f8fe7a7401 Hartmann quietly let 02de70529f out a sigh.ed8fe43c3b92490d

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In the end, Sophia 5fcce0e291 couldn’t win against her af0bc726c7 son’s insistence and sat eb4524baf0 back down.5132fd06a537fda7

Until it was b2a54be616 time for his 040996a1b4 art lesson that b7115e7c3f afternoon, Elliott stayed acdcc34986 by his parents’ dc25ff7490 side the entire 6bfab1dba9 time.c5108d5f993da836

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‘As you saw, Elliott 9a2f10e84d is usually quite composed, 040e8d731d but the moment Joel c3950a89d1 is mentioned, he turns bb2978cecb into a child again.’b90093356cf82501

‘At first, we 8f6c23033f tried to soothe ebdd3cc46c him, thinking it d6826f41c5 was just a 3e2fe5b2f0 phase. But there’s d74c94882b been no 8766f5a215 improvement. It’s fine e9826fc2d6 for now 2e6c920b86 since Joel 17e26d9ac0 is still fa61fdbc76 an infant, 01362bad6a but we’re dd70617bff worried about ed6a648f8d what lies 0860d201fe ahead.’8e5de414f081ea2d

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On her 1ce7c4d919 way home, eed35b036b Edith replayed eb9f48c640 her conversation c5aaa262d1 with the ca472b2451 Count and 5283438d1c Countess Hartmann 9322dab008 in her 6aba65622f mind as 0d18382da1 she activated 84d0a3d7c6 the status 2eb1a4f6c1 window. A new 6509243ba0 entry had d1760c6cd5 been added b7b18a8118 to the 040ca8976b Golden Treasure b894d8aeb3 Chest under 614eac9388 Elliott’s name.028825203b0968b5

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Elliott’s issue was clear. As the counseling log ebc25f964d stated, he disliked Joel.2f510f772968befd

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‘To be c9b4d7cf3d precise, he b0a0ed6909 seems to e3f2f62c00 hate the e65772c36b very existence 587d6b9c0b of his 25caf51bd3 younger brother…’519ffc1817528366

That might 3602f173c5 be a 9232080caa different expression, 92c6cf52ad but to 6c62a4b03e Elliott, the 245e443d17 difference would 0b6e46d4aa feel negligible.c48b9c6ed987b260

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It wasn’t unusual 6099547537 for a firstborn b8c33bb67b to show signs 7854748fb0 of jealousy after b3f306e390 a sibling’s arrival. The younger fc95125755 the child, 7b02474b8d and the b6366bfe02 smaller the 1a6e66500e age gap, e9f4e04b19 the more 6e80bd13a7 common it 6a071132a1 was.47494f5fc37a9ae8

Elliott was six right 4e5ccd5abb now, not exactly a cfe551b7d0 toddler, so slightly older 28bdc13073 than most children who 5689b90641 struggled with such issues. Still, individual 08feba5750 cases varied, 683a5032cd and it ef1643667f wasn’t immediately 58cf6b469a alarming.d898865bcac60024

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But for a child 59544ed29c to harbor such strong f66d3c4af1 aversion, to the point 9d118f594b of psychological trauma, was 24f93fd811 another matter altogether. Even today, b66581468e Elliott had 6f7db0a5c2 spent the a2418a07f1 entire time 539aa6c510 nervously watching 5d0ecbc295 his parents, 2f38e31743 afraid they 7183003a1d might leave 7661fdcbd7 him to 224f184d79 check on 77146c10c2 Joel.6ba0d6240e675c01

‘I don’t believe bf6a77fddb they ever neglected 725b5fe7b3 Elliott just because 38bc0b6b00 Joel was born.’d0ba74bfe364f622

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Of course, 650f8f1263 she would e2a64de367 need to 9030c53eff confirm it, e2633c9a13 but his d06d45326a attachment to 6fc5170424 his parents d41cba4310 seemed healthy bd7d73e16e and secure.6cf785a07e931adc

‘Elliott is the ef315bfe55 first grandchild on d38db12cc4 both sides. He must 3bc9d99132 have grown f9dd09483a up showered 3e911a464d with love. That might be why f0700cd1b4 the shock hit him 420da03e9d so hard.’d27eb2eef6f6405d

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Edith could guess aa65b5cfad as much from bd9cf1ca47 the background. She had 7d924a25bc already arranged ff2be16475 to spend 35a76d3edd one-on-one time 5c13f1b293 with Elliott a36c3c18d5 during the 22872e544f next visit, d6a0f5464e because hearing ada7582866 directly from e59b19b0f1 the child 34f3eaf77c would be 160ce97c90 the most b62f2310e6 ideal.a302b56848797efb

‘I should’ve 597aec8fbd studied more 4296c3cde5 when I f7227ecd28 had the 5c05ad2f55 chance.’9a5b7a57f26feb6b

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There’s no end to 59fde8ee9e learning, and lately, Edith 6604b34801 had come to feel 10b3a8f9a2 the weight of that 4cb9fd87fe truth more than ever.d3b5a7617fe54b9e

She had 18dd313568 earned multiple 424b6bafc6 scholarships through 8436fc5da1 graduate school b57f2e3e2f and prided 6c019d1593 herself on 6f84a7c7e2 having worked 3c2d21b926 hard. Still, it hadn’t been 308f3ac298 enough. Studying and 78f0924e90 training were e4362b142a one thing, b46eb17d25 but being e2f3e87ba5 on the 352ed1cdf5 field was c0860c2528 something else 6ec5943096 entirely.fca27b283f1d60b4

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Had she worked d5644a581b longer at the dfbe31b2c0 child center before 39d2ccfdc3 transmigrating into this d58d688a98 world, things might’ve 25f9883051 been easier. Unfortunately, Edith had been 8759d6be46 pulled into this world fea4cc2864 less than a year 972c406492 into her professional career.606bef7438a83553

With no access c2624041ba to children’s books, f04d0e78fc the internet, or 7999208386 even a supervising a2e4b7555a mentor whom she 27dc2122f1 could ask for 67d6dd9956 advice, there were 65f7d6c75e moments when the 1359aa656c uncertainty hit her 7c5d0c0744 like a wave.57062c7f04818e75

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‘At least I have a49e266bd6 the status window. That’s something.’4fd3829b0ef97d09

Without it, 1c0ce41880 this work e2b90a262f would have 86e7af505d been several 47e64d0568 times more 98d46c7554 difficult.44de211c4377f5cc

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