[Episode 40]
I looked at the hand outstretched to me and held my breath.
What was in front of me was like a dream, so I couldn’t bear to hold it. If it’s a dream that will disappear if you catch it, it’s painful.
“If you need time, I will give you time to think.”
“…”
“But please do your worries and thoughts by my side, daughter.”
“…”
“I was surprised that your daughter suddenly disappeared.”
I took a deep breath and clenched my fists at the friendly voice I remembered.
His outstretched hand was still in front of me, and I still couldn’t put my hand on the palm.
“Play… Zana…”
“What are you talking about?”
“Both my father and daughter… are both playful. If you get tired of your father… I’ll have to leave.”
If that’s the case, I don’t want to go back. A life full of fear has always been difficult.
I’m tired of acting to be loved. But in my previous life, I lived every moment like that.
At work and at university, I lived a life that suited others’ tastes. While creating the appearance of ‘me’ that the other person would like.
But you don’t know how tiring it was.
I had many friends, but no real ones. Because I could only maintain a shallow and wide relationship with a fake appearance.
“…yes.”
he said softly.
My shoulders trembled greatly.
“Obviously it was at first.”
No, that sounds like it’s not now.
“But I seem to have been more sincere with you than you thought, and more than I thought.”
“…”
“When you called me father and everyone ran away, only my daughter ran to the front and saved me. From that moment on, maybe I thought of you as my real child.”
It was unbelievable.
People can hate even their own children. Even a child born with a stomachache could be truly resentful of people.
“I am… a disgusting and ugly lizard
.
At my words, Erno Etam raised an eyebrow.
“It’s not.”
“yes…?”
“It is my favorite animal.”
“…yes?”
“In the first place, it didn’t matter whether you were a prisoner or not.”
At the unexpected words, I let out a short breath.
“But I wanted you to tell me in advance. Because I didn’t want to know that.”
“…ah.”
“But your daughter must have been afraid too.”
I was afraid.
I’m afraid that the momentary dream I’m barely maintaining will be broken.
Well, in the end, it was forcibly broken by Mayla.
“I can’t even humanize properly…”
“I’ll bring you a prisoner from the Southern Continent to teach you.”
“I’m not going to tell you a secret…”
“Whatever you do, move with me on your back. Your daughter can sit down and command anything.”
I slowly raised my trembling hand.
I had no family.
Never once in my life did I feel like I belonged somewhere.
He waited patiently despite my slow movements.
“Even if I use it here, I can rent it…?”
“okay.”
It was a short answer, but it sounded like a promise to me.
Then, when I put my hand on his palm, Erno Etam grabbed my hand and lifted me into his arms.
“I’m here… how do you say?”
“Always around you…”
He opened his lips slowly.
“It smells refreshing.”
Having said that, Erno Etam hugged me tightly in his arms.
‘A refreshing smell?’
I put my nose in the hem of the dress and sniffed, but there was no particular smell.
“Did you enjoy running away, daughter?”
“…Nope.”
“okay. The second runaway… I want to tell you in advance.”
A cool, subdued voice quietly warned.
‘If you say and run away, is that runaway…?’
it’s going out
“Welcome back, Eirin.”
“…I’m home.”
In reply, he gently patted my back.
Was it because I was reassured?
My eyes quickly became blurry. My head landed on Erno Etham’s shoulder along with a warm pat on my back.
‘Lucilion… I was supposed to wait.’
That was my last thought.
* * *
“Terem.”
Seeing that Eirin was asleep, Erno Etam muttered in the air.
Then, somewhere, a man dressed in black prostrated himself in front of Erno Etam with his hood pulled down.
Terem.
They were a group that had been supporting the Etham family for a long time and could do any dirty job perfectly.
They are the shadows of the Etam family, and they are also arrogant beings who only listen to the orders of the master they have chosen and the next master they have chosen.
“Wipe it all away.”
“Yes, Lord Soga.”
The man in the black mask, casually reciting the title that Erno Etham hated the most, disappeared.
Erno Etam does not use terem. Normally, they were not allowed to come near the room where I live.
For Erno Etam, who had no intention of inheriting the Etam family, not using Terem was a rebellion against Duke Miriel.
He broke the rule that seemed like an unwritten rule.
Therefore, Terem’s leader ‘Khan’ could not miss this opportunity.
The fact that Erno Etam used them meant that he was also considering inheriting the dukedom.
‘Is it because of that child?’
Even though they tried so hard and followed around, the crazy Sogaju who grabbed them by the collar and threw them into the poop was using them.
‘It didn’t come out even after I searched for it…’
Khan had also inquired about the child with Terem, but had not been able to find it.
‘It’s amazing where he came out from hiding.’
It was hard to believe that it was only because of one young beastman that the wooden and stone-like Sogaju was moved.
Khan quickly moved out of Erno Etam’s sight to tell the other Terems the good news.
“Come to think of it, daughter. Then you won’t even think about leaving home because of your family.”
Without hearing Erno Etham’s low chant, which would have been lamented by all of Terem had he heard it.
* * *
“… Ha ha.”
Lucillion, who returned right after taking Enosh to the imperial palace, let out a white breath.
“Master…”
He frowned.
The protective shield he had left behind was broken, and the surrounding grass was trampled here and there.
However, the child’s footprints do not show any signs of escaping.
That meant that Eirin obediently followed someone who came to her.
“You said you would wait…”
He tilted his head.
There was no reward at all for the effort I had put in.
“You lie too much.”
Taking a short breath, he lowered his head. Her white hair flowed down and fluttered in front of her eyes.
“Where would my master go…”
He lowered his eyes slowly.
“I’m a little annoyed, but I have to go and pray for the first time in a while.”
As if regretting it, Lucillion rubbed the spot where Eirin was supposed to be with her toes several times before turning around.
no i tried to turn
If it weren’t for a large man wearing a fox mask and holding a bruised sword blocking the way.
“What’s this? I don’t know where the smooth-looking thing came from, but… it wouldn’t be bad.”
Lucillion grinned.
“I’m not in a good mood right now, so I’d like you to step aside.”
“This older brother is also in a bad mood. A few high end items have run away. Besides…”
“Oh, that’s it.”
“Yeah, it’s good that you understand quickly. Good good. It’s bad if you follow the words well…”
“Kneel, who dare you hold your head so high in front of.”
A ring of pure white light appeared in Lucillion’s blue eyes, and at the same time, the large man in the fox mask knelt down.
Lucillion smiled at the man whose eyes met only then.
“It would be good for Shinto to repent.”
“What the hell… you damn bastard…!”
“If everything goes back to nothing, it is actually good and evil, and there is nothing to share.”
Lucillion’s small palm landed on the man’s head like a priest giving a blessing.
“what are you doing…!”
A white light covered the man’s head. After an instant, Lucillion let go.
“Repent for the rest of your life for standing in front of me today.”
The man’s eyes widened and his mouth opened wide.
“Hehehe…! I’m really sorry… Hehehehehehehehehe… In repentance…”
The man opened his mouth and started smirking as if his head had turned into a blank sheet of paper.
Lucillion walked away slowly.
Before long, the castle of fantasy, which had been sitting like a dream overnight, was filled with screams and the smell of blood.
