As always, lying with his head on his wife’s lap, he could forget everything.
The longing that never seemed to fade no matter how many years passed, the anguish of being awake…
Leonard slowly opened his weary eyes. His wife, Rona, was smiling affectionately as always.
“You know.”
“Mm?”
“After you died, I tried to die along with you.”
“…”
Rona, who had been silent momentarily, suddenly hit Leonard’s forehead with her small fist.
“Ouch.”
“I hit you exactly because it hurt. Is that something a father of two sons and a daughter would say?”“Sorry.”
“So, you tried to die?”
“No, not to die… Ruby, our child… she didn’t know anything and was just laughing. She’s still so young, she doesn’t know that you’re gone. She just keeps laughing.”
“…”
“I didn’t want to suffer more than the kids left behind. I was being selfish like that, so I tried to die…”
“…”
“Seeing that child, who knows nothing and just laughs, reminded me of your request. You said she stood out the most.”
“That’s right. I was curious about how she would grow up, how she would look when she’s all grown.”
“So, I was worried I wouldn’t know what to say when I met you… I wanted to tell you how Ruby has been growing.”
“Well, then, my daughter saved her dad.”
“But there’s this… I, I couldn’t do anything for her.” His voice trembled. Leonard, covering his eyes with his large hand, sobbed. “Sorry, I’m sorry… It’s just, it’s been so hard. Waking up in the morning without you, it’s just… it’s so painful. Breathing itself feels so… difficult…” He clenched his chest, his face contorting as he sobbed.
Rona, who had been smiling bitterly, embraced Leonard. He cried in her arms like a child. “So, you messed up.”
“Yeah… Your request wasn’t about that. It was probably a request for me to be there instead of you until that child grows up beautifully.”
“Unfortunately, that’s not how it turned out. But there’s still a chance. If our Ruby takes after me, even if you were an indifferent dad, I’ll give you a chance at least once. Rona, who had let go of Leonard from her embrace, wiped away his tears and smiled. “So, are you going to fulfill my request properly now?”
With his eyes closed tightly, Leonard nodded.
“I’m relieved.”
“Me too.” When he opened his eyes again, he was smiling widely. His face looked much more relieved than before. “From now on… I won’t come to you like this again.”
“Yeah.”
“Until I die, we won’t meet in this fantasy.”
“Yeah.”
“Our children. I’ll make sure they grow up beautifully, just as you wish. And I’ll watch them have children of their own. I’ll live like that until I’m old…”
“Yeah. Just close your eyes when the time comes.”
He closed his eyes again, feeling the tears of the departed running down his cheeks, Leonard whispered, “It’s going to take a long time.”
“I’ll wait.”
“Okay…”
He hoped his last memory would be of him smiling.
The man, even as he cried, smiled brightly.
***
He opened his eyes.
It was the first time that he didn’t feel troubled even though the illusion had shattered. It wasn’t just because his heart had changed. It must have been because of the warmth that had kept him company while she slept.
“Rubette…”
He sat awkwardly by the bedside and looked at his daughter, who was dozing off with an uncomfortable posture.
“Dad?” Somehow recognizing the softly spoken voice, Rubette rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up. “Are you feeling better now?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, I asked you to summon the spirit… because you didn’t look so well, but if this becomes an addiction…”
“I won’t fall asleep like this anymore. Don’t worry.”
In response to Leonard’s resolute answer, Rubette, who had been staring at him blankly, nodded with a smile. “Okay.”
“Ruby.” Leonard, now sitting up and facing Rubette, reached out to her. “Let’s hug, just once.”
“Huh?”
“Why, don’t you want to?”
“I’m all grown up now, you know? Hugging a big girl like me is kind of weird.”
“If you don’t want to…”
Leonard’s words were cut off as Rubette entered his arms.
Soon, his trembling arms slowly rose, and he hugged his daughter. A rush of emotion surged deep within his chest.
“I’m sorry.”
“…If you’re sorry, then live a long, long life.”
Leonard chuckled at her curt words.
“Watch your children get married, see your grandchildren, become a gray-haired old grandfather.”
“Okay…”
Rubette, now feeling much better, got up and smiled. The face of Leonard, or rather, her dad, who was smiling back at her, was affectionate.
Just as she had always imagined.
“But…”
With an excited tone, Rubette asked, “Yes?”
“Is there no room for compromise regarding the choice of your marriage partner? Does it have to be the crown prince?” Leonard said, full of dissatisfaction.
Rubette laughed and turned away. “I’ll handle that myself, Father!”
***
Leaving my dad’s room, I wandered around the mansion instead of returning to my room immediately, feeling a bit lost.
This place where I, or rather, Rubette, had lived for 45 years…
“I’m sick of this whole house.”
It all came into view at the entrance of the mansion’s grand interior on the first floor—the high ceilings and wide staircases.
I looked around the house, quietly imagining Mom still alive, and Dad in good health. My brothers… And me, Rubetria, happily laughing among them.
‘Alright. Now that everything is back in place, let’s just be sad for today.’
And as I was about to return to my room, I paused. I raised my gaze at the sound of someone coming down to the first floor.
Lillia was accompanied by her maids as if she were a princess. She was dressed up as if she were going somewhere important.
“You’re going to roam freely around the house now?”
Ignoring her comment, I tried to return to my room, but I couldn’t help but laugh. “This is my house, you know? Can’t I wander around my own house as I please?”
“It seems more like my house. You’ve barely left your cramped little corner, and now you’ve suddenly blossomed?” With a quick step, Lillia approached me, bringing her face close to mine, and whispered quietly, “Did you tell His Highness to kick us out? You crazy…”
“…”
“But what are you going to do about it?” Lillia chuckled. “It seems like everything changed with one word from Brother Viego.”
“Is that so? Too bad.”
I responded casually, but suddenly, I became curious. Did the twins not know that their own mother was a murderer? Or perhaps, did they know and still…
“You’re revoltingly stubborn, aren’t you? Acting cute with your shrunken face, and now your father listens to everything you say like it’s your world.”
“…”
“Just wait and see. Your little show won’t last long with that inflated ego.” With her arms crossed, Lillia smiled mischievously and added, “You’re better off quietly hiding and breathing. You might get hurt if you wriggle around too much, you vermin.”
I sighed and muttered quietly, “You’re just like your mother, with your sharp tongue. You keep talking, but nothing worthwhile in what you say.”
“…What?” Lillia stiffened. “What… did you just say?”
“Well, I can understand. If you learned from that mother of yours, how could you possibly speak normally?”
“Ha, ha… You…”
“Boy, every time you make that surprised expression, it’s just too amusing.” I chuckled and teased her, “You should have thought that someday you might have to eat what you spat out with your vulgar mouth.”
“Wh-what…”
“Why can’t you stand it when you have to eat garbage like this? Huh?”
“You, you’re insane. You… to my mother, you…”
Lillia, whose eyes widened, turned to the maids behind her. “Did you hear what she’s saying about my mother?” The maids froze and nodded. “You heard, right?”
“What, are you trying to gather evidence or something? There’s no need for that. I can say it as often as you want.” I shrugged and added, “You and your vulgar mouth resemble your trashy mother—who crawled into someone else’s house with that cheap body of hers. You guys are the parasite vermin here, not me.”
“…Hey!!!” Lillia finally exploded and grabbed my hair. Her body shivered dramatically. “Hah, are you insane?”
“Argh!”
I grabbed her hair without letting go. We struggled fiercely, entangled with each other for a while.
The maids seemed too frightened to intervene.
“Let go, let go! Argh!”
At that moment.
“Hey! What are you two doing right now!?”
Someone with strong force separated me and Lillia—it was Ricky.
“Lillia, are you okay?”
“Ugh… Ricky, do you know what that girl said about our mother?” Lillia, her hair in disarray, sobbed and complained to Ricky, who was helping tidy her hair, “She called me undignified! She said I look like Mom, a parasite who came with one body and lives in this house!”
“What?”
I tidied my hair and watched them calmly. Soon, Ricky walked over and stood in front of me. In just one year, he had grown easily two inches taller than me.
“There are things that should be said and shouldn’t.”
“I don’t recall saying anything I shouldn’t.”
“You’ve gone insane. Aren’t you even a bit scared of Brother Viego?” Ricky chuckled, looking incredulous. “He knows everything, including that you talked to His Highness about kicking us out. Don’t you have any sense? Do you not know who you should be nice to in this house? Is your head that empty?”
“Your head must be the empty one. All you know how to do is play ‘Brother, Brother’.”
“Who was it that couldn’t even call ‘Brother’ in this house and had to tiptoe around like a bug?” Chuckling, Ricky lowered his head and whispered, his face nearly touching mine, “No matter how much you fly and crawl, it won’t work. Do you know what kind of person our mother is to Brother Viego?”
“…”
“We’re family. The impurity and parasite in this house is you.” Ricky laughed brightly and then stood up again.
As I looked at his dirty face, resembling his mother, I was momentarily at a loss for words. The twins were completely unaware of the day they would meet their end…
But in my past life, Ricky’s words might not have been entirely wrong when I knew nothing—I was the parasite, the impurity in this house.
“As I think about it, it pisses me off again.”
“What?”
I said, rubbing my throbbing temple, “Hmm, sure. Keep up with your antics. You and your mother hang on like a leech, so you’ll have to hold on tight and resist like a proper leech.”
“Hey! Why are you talking about my mother like that?”
When Lillia, standing behind, rushed forward and yelled, Ricky extended one arm to hold her back.
“You vulgar- Your confidence in talking is something else. But what are you going to do?” Chuckling and muttering, he leaned closer to me again. And then he said, “You don’t even have a mother, do you?”
I was momentarily stunned. “…What?”
“Fuhahaha!” Seeing my dazed expression, Ricky held his stomach and laughed heartily.
As I watched him, something welled up in my chest. Of all people…
Him?
The child of my lifelong enemy, the one who killed my mother…
“You crazy bastard.”
Slap! I quickly opened my wet eyes and fiercely slapped Ricky’s cheek with all my strength.
A smile broke out on his slightly turned face. “Heh, heh… You hit me, huh?”
“…”
“You hit first?”
With a grin, he retaliated by striking my cheek with the force of his hand.
Smack!
The force was immense. Unlike Ricky, I staggered so much that my body wobbled.
“Ha.”
My cheek stung. It hurt, but… Truthfully, the pain wasn’t that significant.
I just felt sad. Disappointed, and a bit sorry for myself. It was all over already. There wasn’t much time left for demons like them to act all proud. Despite knowing that, I felt no relief, and Ricky reminded me of the reason.
Yeah.
Our mother, who had passed away, would never come back.
“Brotheeer!”
At that moment, Lillia ran off, sobbing. Viego had appeared amidst the commotion.
“Brother!”
Ricky also rushed over and muttered something.
I stood still, watching them. For some reason, my ears felt stuffed, and I couldn’t hear a thing. The twins, crying with their pretty faces, and the maids comforting them…
“It’s Rubette!”
“Brother, my cheek hurts so much. That girl is getting weirder. She just hit me out of nowhere!”
“…”
It was a familiar sight with them looking like a real family and me standing far away, longing for a family’s love.
Soon, Viego approached me step by step.
I silently stared at his expressionless face. Viego knew all the truth, but ironically, I wasn’t sure how he would react to the unfolding events.
‘Does Viego think the twins are innocent? Even without Molga, he might think of them differently because they’re like real siblings…’
For some reason, I felt annoyed as I looked into Viego’s piercing gaze. If, by any chance, he were to scold me again foolishly, I might not be able to resist and could end up slapping his cheek.
“…?”
However, as Viego gently grabbed my arm and turned me around, I found myself facing him again.
“…”
His piercing gaze remained just as intense as before, but his eyes slightly veered away from me and fixated on my flushed cheek instead.
Ricky soon came next to me, crying, “Brotheer!”
“…Did you do this?”
“I got hit first!”
“Is that so?”
“It wasn’t even my fault this time! Rubette grabbed Lillia by the hair first and then yelled about our mother-”
Smack!
Thud!
“…!”
Ricky crumpled down, and I gasped in shock for a moment.
Viego, who had struck Ricky’s face with incredible force, looked down at him with cold, fierce eyes.
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