CH 24

“Well, I’ll take care of the little problems. I can do anything for the Bauners.”

Michael came up to me and stroked a strand of my red hair.

The ring that rubbed against my eyes was cool.

“Never be arrogant, fire ant, it’s not you that father loves. The important thing is that you, a liar, gave him fantasy.”

“Brother is more worried about the Duke than I thought.”

I didn’t know whether I was intoxicated with the scent of tea or crazy, I looked straight at the red eyes that I had been avoiding even in my dreams.

But it was weird.

Why does this child care so much about the duke’s safety? He’s an illegitimate child and received little love.

“Because my father is my benefactor.”

Michael smiled softly and patted my shoulder.

“Well then, you’re just gonna be Lilietta, right?”

‘You’re going to live as a substitute?’ The boy asked.

I shut my mouth and scratched the tablecloth. Inwardly, I firmly refused, saying, ‘I can’t.’ 

My opinion didn’t matter in the first place. 

Even if I accepted the offer, once my debutante was held, everything would be over when I tried to awaken the power of God. 

‘I’m neither a beast nor a spirit.’

Even if I were to live as Lily, wouldn’t I be discarded after I become nothing in 4 years? 

“It’ll be troublesome if you reject it.”

Michael scratched the ring on his index finger with his thumb. There must be a sharp blade hidden inside like before.

But now I wasn’t afraid.

“Even if I don’t want to do it, you can’t kill me.”

I muttered confidently. It was impossible for Michael to harm me. If it was possible, he would have killed me earlier. 

According to him, Alan was in the midst of playing house.

In other words, it must mean that I still have value as a fake Lily.

As if stabbed in the right direction, Michael took his hand away from me.

“Is it because of the debutante? Indeed, you will awaken the power of God that day, but it would be difficult if the daughter of House Bauner was an ordinary human being.”

“…..”

“If that happens, my father will have no choice but to face the reality…”

‘Huh?’

There was the sound of something breaking. What happened? 

I tried to turn my head, but my body didn’t listen.

While Michael continued talking calmly, I only raised my eyes and grasped the situation.

Broken mug. The pushed out tablecloth.

I was lying on the floor. My hands and feet were numb and I couldn’t get up. 

“Relax. I don’t mean to kill you.”

Michael squatted down and gently stroked my cheek.

The voice of the boy, whose voice hasn’t even broken, rang in my ears.

“How far did I tell you? Ah, yes. 14th birthday. Debutante awakening ceremony. Before that… in beasts and spirits families, the children’s power is sealed as soon as they are born. Do you know why?”

“……”

“You don’t know? Then I’ll tell you. It’s dangerous for a baby to handle the power of God. It’s because he’s immature and he doesn’t know how to control it. It’s the Emperor’s order to prevent accidents as much as possible. What does this mean?”

The boy tapped my temple with his index finger, then closed his pretty eyes and smiled.

“No matter how old you are, if you are of a young mental age, you will not be permitted to awaken.”

The flickering focus reached the teapot that was barely hanging by the edge of the table.

How many cups of tea did you drink from that huge kettle? Two cups for Michael and one for me.

And it fell off. It was big enough to hold more than three cups.

“Isn’t that teapot amazing? The inside is divided into two parts, so different liquids come out depending on where you put the lid.”

「There is a mysterious teapot in the greenhouse of the Bauner family.」

The line, which I had only thought of a month ago, rose from a distant memory.

Michael got up, brushed his knees, and walked over to the closet.

When he opened the small door with vines painted on it, I saw several vials.

He picked up a glass bottle filled with white powder and waved it towards me.

“This thing in your tea is very precious. Rumor has it that it was made by an ancient witch… and the effect is simple.”

Whoo.

Michael blew the candle near the closet out.

“If you eat one spoon, you will be sick for about three months. If you eat three spoons, you die. Don’t worry, I only gave you exactly two tablespoons. Thank you for drinking so well, all at once. If you fell down while drinking, I thought I’d feed the rest myself.”

“Ugh… ugh..”

“Don’t worry too much.”

Darkness gradually obscured my vision. 

“You will be an idiot tomorrow morning.”

I was short of breath. It was hard to even move my toes.

“…You, you.”

“I’m going to disguise you as a courtesy.”

Michael casually wandered around the room and put out the rest of the candles.

The blurry vision gradually darkened.

“We magically bloomed a lot of flowers to hold a welcoming party. And there are some side effects. Even poisonous plants hidden in every corner bloomed to the fullest. In other words, the princess could have gone out for a morning walk and inhaled poisonous herbs that the gardener couldn’t properly pick out.”

‘But you won’t be able to fool Alan’s eyes.’

I thought so and looked at Michael.

Michael chuckled as if he had read my mind.

“Why? Do you feel it is unfair? After trying to imitate someone else’s dead daughter? Ah! Or are you worried that Father will scold me for making you a fool? Well, it’s a fire ant. Haven’t you ever thought that Father would like it? You, who pretended to be his daughter, was fed taffy and could stay in a fantasy for a longer time.”

I felt like I had been stabbed in the back. 

Alan’s friendly smile revolved around my dizzy head.

He acted like the world would collapse if I got hurt.

…If ‘Lily’ gets hurt.

“Fake. You do not know what family this is.”

At the end of his field of vision, Michael’s smirk flickered.

I knew the Bauner family is a villainous family without blood or tears.

He is only kind to Lilietta. And I am not Lilietta.

“See you tomorrow morning. I don’t know if you will recognize me.”

Michael approached the last candle with fresh steps.

The boy’s scarlet eyes were so creepy that I couldn’t believe he was a child.

Brilliant blonde hair and red eyes. A young devil with a beautiful dot like a star…

“You.”

I suddenly opened my eyes wide.

“Who, are, you?”

“What are you talking about?”

Paralyzed lips trembled. But I did my best to pronounce it correctly.

“Are you… really, the Duke’s son?”

The rule of fantasy novels that came to mind when looking for the main character.

The character’s appearance resembles their parents. 

The first, Pedro, resembles Alan with his black hair. The second, Hugo, has his blue eyes, although the color is a little darker.

Lily alone stands out, but according to Nike, she looks like her mother.

But Michael didn’t resemble anyone. Maybe it was because he’s an illegitimate child, but somehow…

Whoo. 

Michael blew the last candle. 

I saw clearly just before the light went out. The sight of the smile disappearing from the boy’s lips.

The sound of a door closing was heard, and then there was complete silence.

“Someone…”

I stretched my hand out in the air and dropped it.

“Someone, help…”

No answer came back. 

Oh, I see. This is normal? 

No one was going to help.

Left in the dark, I lost my consciousness.

***

I had a dream. 

In the evening when the sun went down, I was running through a pile of garbage, gasping for breath.

“It’s fire ant, fire ant! I’ll treat whoever hits it. Let’s see where and how much redder it gets!”

Bugh! 

I was hit by a stone and knocked over. Blood trickled down the pile.

I jumped up.

It was painful, but it was obvious that I would be an easy target to hit if I just stood still.

Klaus and his gang of bad boys were throwing stones at me while on a huge dirt wall.

Looking down from a height of about three stories, my location would attract attention, so no matter how hard I tried, it was hard to avoid.

This is an ant cave. A huge and barren pit where the poor live.

It was a memory of a time when I couldn’t even imagine living in the Duke’s Castle.

“It’s so fast, fire ant. But isn’t her running posture really weird? She’s not looking forward, and keeps looking down. She’ll fall down.”

Klaus rolled stones as if juggling, then burst into laughter as if he wanted me to listen.

“Hey! Are you running like a fool for fear of being stoned?”

A roar of laughter echoed, out of reach.

I ran and ran again without a moment to feel humiliated.

The stoning that fell like drizzle followed me like a tail.

I usually don’t get too close to the wall. Because the children who live above keep tormenting me. But today, something happened.

‘Dad, where are you?’

My father went out drinking and didn’t come back. He was nowhere to be seen in his regular bar.

“Hey, where are you going?! You should keep playing with me!”

Ignoring Klaus’ call, I did my best to get out of the dump.

I felt dejected. Why am I here?

There was no way he was going through the garbage with his own hands. My dad couldn’t come to pick me up.

The dream landscape had been turned upside down. All of a sudden, I was standing idly in the shopping street outside the ant cave.

There were beggars here too, but I, who came from the ant cave, was very dirty and smelly.

People passing by always stared at me.

The garbage I was covered in was poured into the ant cave by the people who were munching now, but I didn’t think about it.

I hurriedly moved on. The passage connecting the ant cave and the outside world was closed at a certain time.

If I failed to return, I’d be arrested by the vigilante and taken to a detention center.

I looked around nervously, but suddenly stopped as if I was possessed.

I didn’t find my dad.

It was because the whipped cream cake in the shop window caught my eyes.

The white icing without a single speck was like a field of snow that no one had stepped on.

“Wow…”

Without realizing it, I approached the show window and put my forehead against it.

Then, through the show window, the store owner made eye contact.