The mansion door opened from afar.
In fact, from the moment Vania came into view, Nike's attention was drawn to her.
Because from the beginning, he came here thinking that he might be able to see Ryan's daughter.
He met Vania once when he went to destroy the supernatural experiment base...
“...Don’t worry at all. You don’t have to lose sleep over the thought of me telling Dad about today.”
He let the child go, believing only her words that she would keep it a secret from her father.
For some reason, he's really sure that Vania won't say anything.
When he actually talked to Ryan, he seemed completely unaware of what had happened that day.
That day, Vania was crying and scared in fear of being kidnapped...
Nike felt sorry for getting involved in something so trivial, but he was also grateful and concerned that she had kept her promise to him.
'That kid... wouldn't recognize me, would she?'
All Vania saw was the mask, so she wouldn't have been able to recognize the face.
But that day, the voice was heard several times.
He was nervous, wondering if she would doubt him when she heard his voice...
'What was that expression?'
The moment their eyes first met.
Vania's expression was strange, and Nike was confused.
His voice, which had been worrying, was heard before Vania could even hear it. Vania stood there, dumbfounded, staring intently at him as if possessed.
‘I thought she knew...’
The gaze that met his eyes for a moment was so persistent that he couldn't help but think that way.
Besides, for some reason, her expression was unpleasant the whole time they were in the same place. It was as if she would burst into tears if he touched her lightly.
Even so, she couldn't take her eyes off of him, and whenever she turned her head, her gaze kept meeting his...
Why?
Something was unsettling about the reaction to being a surprise at being recognized.
The emotion felt in Vania's eyes.
It is towards something...
'...yearning?'
Nike, who tried to recall the most similar feeling possible, quickly shook his head.
They met twice. And one of those two encounters was one that only he remembered.
Longing in the meantime?
Still, for some reason, Nike couldn't shake off thoughts of Vania.
He feels like he's missing something very... very important...
“Ugh.”
At that time, his head started to hurt so much that it felt like it was going to split open.
“Your Highness! Where are you feeling unwell?”
“No... It’s okay...”
Nike took a deep breath as he raised his hand to William, who was worried.
‘Why... this again...’
A while ago, he deliberately dug up unfamiliar memories that weren't in his head.
It was a similar pain to that time.
"...Sorry."
A head that is as hazy as a smoky fog.
A voice heard between them.
“I’m sorry I doubted your heart.”
It's painful.
“...I love you.”
Nike still wanted to know.
“...I love you, Nike.”
Who the hell are you...?
Inside the carriage on the way home.
Alex chattered incessantly.
“...Today was really, really fun! It was really funny when we had a snowball fight. Joseph hadn’t even thrown it yet, but I was running away and falling!”
“You are so cruel that you throw your balls at me while I am lying down?”
“Ahahaha! It was a showdown!”
Alec, Kali, and I had a blast playing with Jean's brothers today.
"It was funny how Melissa got hit in the back of the head while trying to help! Wow, the snacks were delicious, and my friends were all so nice. It was really, really fun."
It's cute.
I watched Alex with a pleased expression as he spoke.
Melissa is Jean's younger sister, the same age as me. She's so kind that she'll take the snow for me during a snowball fight.
She was sick originally, but...
As always, I stopped by the kid's room after she finished playing and fell asleep, and today was the end.
A treatment that was done secretly over several months.
“It was a shame that Kali only saw the referee, right?”
“No, my lord. If I get involved, it’ll turn into a blood feud instead of a staring contest.”
“Phahaha!”
Alex said, laughing excitedly.
"It would have been nice if Richard had been there too! Then, if the number of people was right, Kali could have joined too."
“Is this the older brother you grew up with at Windsor Castle?”
“Yeah! Before I came here, my brother and I had a snowball fight together....”
Alex, who was talking, glanced back at me.
“..."
“You idiot. Why are you looking at me?”
“...Um, do you miss your brother too? It’s been a while since we last saw each other.”
“I miss you.”
“...”
Alex, who had been looking at me with worried eyes, soon hesitated and opened his mouth.
"Actually... the last time I saw him, he cried a lot. He said he was so sorry to us. He begged father to let you live with us... but he wouldn't listen..."
“...I see. But Alex, that’s not something you should feel sorry about, yes?”
“Of course, I knew. That’s why I kept telling myself I was okay... but you still cried so much...”
“...”
Tears welled up in Alex's eyes.
I wanted to comfort him, but tears welled up in my eyes, so I turned my head out the window.
"There's nothing we can do about the children who are already under their father's care. You know that, right?"
What Ryan said yesterday...
Yes, that's right.
All children who have awakened this ability are like treasures to their father.
So there is no way to escape it.
All we have to do is hold out in the family home until Ryan and I can rescue them.
But...
“Vania... I don’t want to live like this....”
My brother, Richard, was weak.
He finally took his own life in the spring of his twenty-second year, when I was nineteen.
“...He feels so sorry towards my sister and me...”
No, rather...
I felt even more sorry for not being able to get him out of that hellish place right away.
I thought of my father, who had tormented Richard all his life, and soon made a resolution.
'Wait, brother. Just hold on a little longer.'
The capital, the Duke of Wassenberg's residence.
Across the luxurious hallway adorned with gold and jewels, Duke Edgar Wassenberg was heading somewhere.
“Richard.”
Son's room. The servant guarding the door immediately reported.
“He hasn't gone to bed yet. He been in the same state every day since his visit to Windsor Castle.”
“...”
Edgar swallowed an annoyed sigh at the unchanged report.
Even when he kicked out that girl named Vania, Richard was like this. How much time had he wasted trying to appease and soothe him?
But... He had to.
Edgar could have rendered all his children powerless and brought them to their knees before him, but at the same time.
If the children with special abilities were powerless, then they would be human and unable to do anything on their own.
The power of the children is Edgar's power.
So, the thing he put the most effort into to maintain power was managing his children.
Click.
Opening the door, Edgar knocked lightly twice.
"Son."
“...”
A beautiful face with warm, wheat-colored hair. But expressionless, like a doll, Richard sat on the bed.
“Can’t sleep?”
His son simply nodded. Edgar approached, sat down next to Richard, and hugged his shoulder.
"...Father?"
Richard tilted his head at the sight of Edgar in his bed.
“I came here because I wanted to sleep with my son for the first time in a while. Why?”
When Edgar, who was chuckling, lightly touched his cheek, Richard smiled weakly.
Like a loving father, he showers his children with affection, spends time with them, and listens to their every need as much as possible.
Even so, there are times when his children try to disobey, but he doesn't force them to do so. He knows that this will only intensify their rebellion.
For Edgar, who has already spent more than half his life pouring out his children like tongues in his mouth, this is as easy as breathing.
“Are your younger siblings on your mind?”
"... Yes."
Richard raised his head. His green eyes were clouded with tears.
Edgar stroked Richard's cheek with a sad expression.
In the eyes that share without words.
Edgar's eyes also turned red.
“…Oh, my son.”
Edgar, speaking in a choked voice, hugged Richard.
“What should I do, your heart is so fragile...?”
In fact, from the moment Vania came into view, Nike's attention was drawn to her.
Because from the beginning, he came here thinking that he might be able to see Ryan's daughter.
He met Vania once when he went to destroy the supernatural experiment base...
“...Don’t worry at all. You don’t have to lose sleep over the thought of me telling Dad about today.”
He let the child go, believing only her words that she would keep it a secret from her father.
For some reason, he's really sure that Vania won't say anything.
When he actually talked to Ryan, he seemed completely unaware of what had happened that day.
That day, Vania was crying and scared in fear of being kidnapped...
Nike felt sorry for getting involved in something so trivial, but he was also grateful and concerned that she had kept her promise to him.
'That kid... wouldn't recognize me, would she?'
All Vania saw was the mask, so she wouldn't have been able to recognize the face.
But that day, the voice was heard several times.
He was nervous, wondering if she would doubt him when she heard his voice...
'What was that expression?'
The moment their eyes first met.
Vania's expression was strange, and Nike was confused.
His voice, which had been worrying, was heard before Vania could even hear it. Vania stood there, dumbfounded, staring intently at him as if possessed.
‘I thought she knew...’
The gaze that met his eyes for a moment was so persistent that he couldn't help but think that way.
Besides, for some reason, her expression was unpleasant the whole time they were in the same place. It was as if she would burst into tears if he touched her lightly.
Even so, she couldn't take her eyes off of him, and whenever she turned her head, her gaze kept meeting his...
Why?
Something was unsettling about the reaction to being a surprise at being recognized.
The emotion felt in Vania's eyes.
It is towards something...
'...yearning?'
Nike, who tried to recall the most similar feeling possible, quickly shook his head.
They met twice. And one of those two encounters was one that only he remembered.
Longing in the meantime?
Still, for some reason, Nike couldn't shake off thoughts of Vania.
He feels like he's missing something very... very important...
“Ugh.”
At that time, his head started to hurt so much that it felt like it was going to split open.
“Your Highness! Where are you feeling unwell?”
“No... It’s okay...”
Nike took a deep breath as he raised his hand to William, who was worried.
‘Why... this again...’
A while ago, he deliberately dug up unfamiliar memories that weren't in his head.
It was a similar pain to that time.
"...Sorry."
A head that is as hazy as a smoky fog.
A voice heard between them.
“I’m sorry I doubted your heart.”
It's painful.
“...I love you.”
Nike still wanted to know.
“...I love you, Nike.”
Who the hell are you...?
***
Inside the carriage on the way home.
Alex chattered incessantly.
“...Today was really, really fun! It was really funny when we had a snowball fight. Joseph hadn’t even thrown it yet, but I was running away and falling!”
“You are so cruel that you throw your balls at me while I am lying down?”
“Ahahaha! It was a showdown!”
Alec, Kali, and I had a blast playing with Jean's brothers today.
"It was funny how Melissa got hit in the back of the head while trying to help! Wow, the snacks were delicious, and my friends were all so nice. It was really, really fun."
It's cute.
I watched Alex with a pleased expression as he spoke.
Melissa is Jean's younger sister, the same age as me. She's so kind that she'll take the snow for me during a snowball fight.
She was sick originally, but...
As always, I stopped by the kid's room after she finished playing and fell asleep, and today was the end.
A treatment that was done secretly over several months.
“It was a shame that Kali only saw the referee, right?”
“No, my lord. If I get involved, it’ll turn into a blood feud instead of a staring contest.”
“Phahaha!”
Alex said, laughing excitedly.
"It would have been nice if Richard had been there too! Then, if the number of people was right, Kali could have joined too."
“Is this the older brother you grew up with at Windsor Castle?”
“Yeah! Before I came here, my brother and I had a snowball fight together....”
Alex, who was talking, glanced back at me.
“..."
“You idiot. Why are you looking at me?”
“...Um, do you miss your brother too? It’s been a while since we last saw each other.”
“I miss you.”
“...”
Alex, who had been looking at me with worried eyes, soon hesitated and opened his mouth.
"Actually... the last time I saw him, he cried a lot. He said he was so sorry to us. He begged father to let you live with us... but he wouldn't listen..."
“...I see. But Alex, that’s not something you should feel sorry about, yes?”
“Of course, I knew. That’s why I kept telling myself I was okay... but you still cried so much...”
“...”
Tears welled up in Alex's eyes.
I wanted to comfort him, but tears welled up in my eyes, so I turned my head out the window.
"There's nothing we can do about the children who are already under their father's care. You know that, right?"
What Ryan said yesterday...
Yes, that's right.
All children who have awakened this ability are like treasures to their father.
So there is no way to escape it.
All we have to do is hold out in the family home until Ryan and I can rescue them.
But...
“Vania... I don’t want to live like this....”
My brother, Richard, was weak.
He finally took his own life in the spring of his twenty-second year, when I was nineteen.
“...He feels so sorry towards my sister and me...”
No, rather...
I felt even more sorry for not being able to get him out of that hellish place right away.
I thought of my father, who had tormented Richard all his life, and soon made a resolution.
'Wait, brother. Just hold on a little longer.'
***
The capital, the Duke of Wassenberg's residence.
Across the luxurious hallway adorned with gold and jewels, Duke Edgar Wassenberg was heading somewhere.
“Richard.”
Son's room. The servant guarding the door immediately reported.
“He hasn't gone to bed yet. He been in the same state every day since his visit to Windsor Castle.”
“...”
Edgar swallowed an annoyed sigh at the unchanged report.
Even when he kicked out that girl named Vania, Richard was like this. How much time had he wasted trying to appease and soothe him?
But... He had to.
Edgar could have rendered all his children powerless and brought them to their knees before him, but at the same time.
If the children with special abilities were powerless, then they would be human and unable to do anything on their own.
The power of the children is Edgar's power.
So, the thing he put the most effort into to maintain power was managing his children.
Click.
Opening the door, Edgar knocked lightly twice.
"Son."
“...”
A beautiful face with warm, wheat-colored hair. But expressionless, like a doll, Richard sat on the bed.
“Can’t sleep?”
His son simply nodded. Edgar approached, sat down next to Richard, and hugged his shoulder.
"...Father?"
Richard tilted his head at the sight of Edgar in his bed.
“I came here because I wanted to sleep with my son for the first time in a while. Why?”
When Edgar, who was chuckling, lightly touched his cheek, Richard smiled weakly.
Like a loving father, he showers his children with affection, spends time with them, and listens to their every need as much as possible.
Even so, there are times when his children try to disobey, but he doesn't force them to do so. He knows that this will only intensify their rebellion.
For Edgar, who has already spent more than half his life pouring out his children like tongues in his mouth, this is as easy as breathing.
“Are your younger siblings on your mind?”
"... Yes."
Richard raised his head. His green eyes were clouded with tears.
Edgar stroked Richard's cheek with a sad expression.
In the eyes that share without words.
Edgar's eyes also turned red.
“…Oh, my son.”
Edgar, speaking in a choked voice, hugged Richard.
“What should I do, your heart is so fragile...?”
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