ICTV - Chapter 38

ICTV - Chapter 38

I Changed The Villain



"No."

I shrugged.

"I don't know. Is it good or bad?"

Mera looked back. Through the open door, I could see Belial, who was still resting his forehead and not moving, and the bewildered knight. 

Aha, Mera quickly figured out everything and walked faster. 

Mera stood next to me.

“Well, Lady. This time, I would like to give you some advice.”

“What advice?”

Mera narrowed one eye and spoke in a playful tone.

“Don’t be impatient.”

"..."

“You will find out someday. The reason.”

I want to know now. I swallowed those words. The reason it wasn't like me was because of Belial, who asked for a kiss while wearing a veil. He's a good person to me.

Is it because of Edgar who said something to me?

It can't be because of both, right?

I was lost in unresolved worries and then realized something.

“In the end, I couldn’t tell him in detail what happened with Edgar.”

We can talk about it later. It was when I ignored it.

“Huh? Your brother is over there.”

“Hey, pumpkin blossom!”

It was Kedis and Beryl's voice. I turned my head. The two, who had just finished training at the gym, approached me holding a water bottle and a towel.

“I heard you’re having tea with Belial. Has that bastard gone?”

“What is that bastard? To your future brother-in-law."

Beryl's whole body immediately started to grow prickly at Kedis's point. Beryl trembled and shouted.

“Who is my brother-in-law..?! Don’t use creepy titles!”

“You hate your brother-in-law? Then what do you call it?"

"Is that what you mean? Ah, do you just want to live comfortably with your brother and sister? That would be fine too."

“What makes it okay?!”

Beryl pushed Kedis and screamed.

“Don’t say such horrible things when you’re not even close to me! I can’t bear it!!”

Kedis was immediately convinced and scratched the back of his head.

“Oh, sorry. I crossed the line. Please forgive me."

"..."

I always think about it, but it seems like these two will stick together for the rest of their lives. I am relieved that I will never be lonely if I only have one friend like that. I thought so and said.

“Why don’t you go take a shower quickly, brother? Your sweat smells bad.”

“I was already thinking of doing that.”

“You said you were going out to eat with your parents today. Don't forget either."

“I’ll never forget that either. Get ready quickly. Don't just go back and sleep."

I nodded and went up the stairs. Beryl motioned for Kedis to follow me.

“You wash up in the bathroom in the guest room.”

“Okay. By the way, you said you were going on a trip with your younger sister, right?”

Beryl nodded.

“Did you plan your trip well?”

"Not yet. Right now, I’m going on a trip with your younger brother. Do whatever you want. If she gets married, you won’t be able to have time together even if you want to.”

Beryl stopped. Beryl turned his head enough to make a loud noise and fired.

“Why can’t I have it? Even after she got married, I often came to that crazy guy's house to make sure he wasn't bothering my younger sister and said, "I'm going to go!"

“Hey. It’s easier said than done. Even if you want to, you can’t after getting married.”

"Why?"

“Because it’s natural.”

Kedis spoke calmly.

“Don’t you know that women are outside the Buddhist priesthood?”

Beryl's face immediately contorted into a scowl. Beryl breaks the railing. He held it tightly with the intention of throwing it away.

“Why don’t I know that?”

He's been hearing this since he was young. Beryl thought of many old people, including his grandparents. 

“Then there’s no need to explain. No matter how close you are, you know that if you get married, you will end up being strangers.”

“Me and Pumpkin Flower won’t do that. She will never forget that our family is the foundation.”

“Even if you don’t think so, the environment will make it that way.”

“Why do you keep making such over-the-top remarks from earlier? I’m starting to want to hit you.”

"Sorry. But I think you need to mentally prepare from now on.”

“Are you mentally prepared?”

"Okay. Otherwise, only you will have a hard time.”

The two talked while walking down the hallway.

“Like you said, we’re not close friends, but we have something in common: we both have younger sisters. Why do you think the elders of our family like Judith?”

“Why do you ask that? You must be happy because she did something pretty.”

“No. It’s all because of the idea that if she gets married, you’re out of the family.”

"What?"

“When Judith gets married, I won’t be able to see her even if I miss her, so I’m making her as pretty as I can now.”

Beryl, who had been silent, asked a question to which he already knew the answer.

“If she married, why do you want someone from a different family? Does it work?"

“First of all, the last name will be changed, and the place of residence will become that family’s mansion, right?”

"..."

“But your sister is very lucky. There are no adults in the Serinity family who can act as parents.”

“...That’s right.”

“It is said that in other families, as soon as an engagement is decided, the daughter is forcibly taken away. You need to educate them thoroughly before marriage.”

Ah, his head got hotter. Beryl just rubbed his face.

“I don’t understand. If that’s the case, don’t we have to forcibly take that family’s son and educate him?”

"I know yeah. I think there's a lot to teach. There is a saying that a husband is someone who gets married and becomes comfortable with others."

“But that would be impossible?"

"Yes."

This time, they both fell silent at the same time. From there, he could see the guest room. Beryl opened the door to the guest's room. Kedis went into the bathroom, grabbed a towel, and then looked back at Beryl.

“How do you feel when your sister gets engaged?”

Beryl answered without hesitation. 

"No matter how ugly he is, he is not that ugly. Do she want to share her future with that guy, right?”

“I think you understand. But isn't he as ugly as Belial? You might not know it before, but now you're a completely new person. You were extremely devoted to your sister.”

“… … Oh, if the pumpkin flower wants, she looks like she will pick a star. So I think it’s more of a problem.”

Kedis' eyes narrowed. There are so many different things, Kedis argued.

“Stop it now! You still haven’t let go of your suspicions about that guy?!”

“Actually, yes. I still think he has some dark intentions.”

“If he had an ulterior motive, your sister would have found out long ago. Your sister is much smarter than you.”

“What do you do if she's smart? There’s a high possibility that she didn’t notice because she was so dazed and not interested in her own business.”

I really don't understand what you're saying. Kedis argued, waving his towel.

“Okay, then let’s say he has some ulterior motive. Some crazy person in the world has much less power than him and comes from an insignificant family. Would you spend that much money to invest in a girl? 

“Is there something I can pick up to eat?”

Beryl accepted sullenly.

“How can I, a normal person, know what a crazy person is thinking?”

He'll be amazed. Kedis grabbed the back of his neck.

“Stop talking bullshit, stop now!"

“When did I say bullshit?

"Hey!"

Kedis was not to be outdone and screamed.

“You love your sister so much! That's why you're so mean to Belial! It’s like Belial taking your sister away!”

Beryl's face heated up.

“I said let’s see if this is really true... ! Don’t talk nonsense just because your mouth is open! I don't like it! At all!! Why do I have that ugly pumpkin flower instead of anything else... !”

“Oh, then why are you so upset? Don’t you know that a strong negative is a strong positive?” 

"No! now I'm really mad. I hate it so much that I strongly deny it…!”

“Stop denying it. Even if you and I are not close, we can still talk about this, right? You really are my little sister..."

“You are such a fool, my brother!!!”

Kedis was shocked.

“Who, who…! Who likes such an obnoxious fox?!”

“Then why are you drawing my sister’s face instead of anything else? Have you never seen your brother draw your little sister’s face?”

“I’m doing that because it’s amazing! I'm so excited! How can a person look like that? Wow!”

Kedis spoke desperately.

“If you see something interesting, you just observe it! It’s the same thing!”

This is an excuse that won't work anywhere. Beryl snorted.

“Every morning, when I look at the pumpkin flowers at my house, I think to myself, ‘How can a person be that ugly? However, I have never wanted to draw on paper."

"How can you do such a creepy thing?”

“How creepy! You’re being too harsh!”

“And most importantly, I heard you also painted Judith’s face-off portrait? I heard that Judith in the portrait is so pretty that people are flocking to your house!”

“Ugh...!”

Beryl shivered as if it was terrible to even imagine it.

“You may be really crazy, but you are definitely crazy. How can you glorify your younger sister? I could never do that, ugh! It’s scary to even imagine!”

"Then what should you do with me?”

Unable to bear it any longer, Kedis suddenly threw his towel on the floor.

“What can I do when the elders are interfering with each other from the side?”

Beryl, who had not expected Kedis to be this angry, hesitated. Kedis continued to scream.

“The pain of the person you are painting. Do you even know?!"

Beryl's momentum subsided due to Kedis's extremely desperate actions. Beryl asked cautiously, fearing that if he provoked him further, he would hit the person.

“Hey, why are you so angry?”

“Then you don’t get angry? I asked them to draw the same thing and I drew it so realistically that it made their shoulders hurt, and the ugly fox cried when he saw the picture and said that he didn't look like this! I managed to calm her down and start drawing again from scratch, but the elderly people next to me noticed that her eyes were smaller, and Judith's skin was whiter. That wave when painting the dress. I interfered with everyone, telling them to paint her a pretty blue color instead of yellow! Do you know how crazy that makes people?!”

Beryl slowly took a step back. Kedis' eyes were completely bloodshot.

“I had to edit it 15 times, a whopping 15 times!! I still don’t know if the pretty blue that the elders talk about is Prussian blue, cobalt blue, or royal blue!!”

“… I'm sorry. I did something wrong, so please calm down.”

“Draw it exactly like it actually is, but the conditions are pretty! This is the world's greatest contradiction! This is why you shouldn't accept work from your family! If I get asked to do portraits by my family one more time, I will no longer be a person!!”

Beryl looked at the wheezing Kedis and asked.

“...If I give you a lot of money?”

Kedis immediately looked at Beryl with a straight face, as if asking him when he had gotten so excited.

“You have to give up being human and receive it.”


Previous            Next


Support Novellate!



Comments