The Child I Could Not Embrace
With a brilliant silence, Demian Cloud entered the banquet hall alongside the Minister of Finance and concealed their presence. The crowd immediately regained its lively energy. The highest-ranking individual present and the most influential man in the nation—the Finance Minister of Westania’s supreme power and the head of the country’s foremost enterprise. What on earth could those two have been discussing? Speculation over the intriguing gossip burned hot.
“……”
Ellyse stared in the direction Demian had vanished, clenching her fist tightly. She measured a distance she had once failed to close—the gap between herself and the one person who had planted that dream in her before she became an inspector. Realizing what she was doing, she twisted her face in dismay.
…There’s no way it’s that person from back then. What am I even hoping for?
Even if it were true, so many years have passed. What meaning could it possibly hold?
Even as she repeated those words to herself, Ellyse could not tear her gaze away. Just as she had done as a child, she remained rooted in place, unable to take even a single step, simply staring in that direction.
Ashily Dolores tilted her head at the sight. She glanced back and forth between her friend’s expression and the direction of her stare, guessing what vision might be playing behind those eyes.
“……Oh ho.”
The corner of her mouth curved upward in a sly grin. The thought that had just occurred to her was utterly unlike her usual behavior, yet for some reason it suited the profoundly wistful look on Ellyse’s face perfectly. She sidled up to her close friend and whispered teasingly.
“Ellyse, you haven’t been to many parties lately, so today’s your first time seeing him, right?”
“……Huh? Who?”
“Demian. Demian Cloud.”
“Oh, is that so?”
His position was now impossible to ignore, yet the remarkable businessman Demian Cloud had risen to the mainstream of high society rather late. In the past he had focused on internal operations and small-scale meetings to revive a company teetering on bankruptcy. Only after Ellyse had entered advanced schooling did he truly begin expanding his business on a grand scale. His appearances in social circles had begun around the same time. Their schedules had simply never aligned while she was buried in her studies, so this was their first meeting.
……This is certain.
With that realization, Ashily Dolores formed a hypothesis.
“So, what do you think of him?”
“What nonsense are you about to spout now?”
“Doesn’t Demian just look so handsome?”
“No, what the—”
“At least he doesn’t look ugly, right?!”
“……Well, that’s true.”
“Oh ho, just as I thought! Ellyse, you’re in love! An older businessman is incredibly cool, after all!”
“……What?”
“Haha, pretending not to know.”
Ellyse blinked slowly. What nonsense was this girl suddenly talking about? She frowned and glared at Ashily, who was nodding to herself as though she had figured everything out.
Ashily stopped nodding, then flashed an annoyingly cheeky grin.
“Love at first sight?”
“Just shut up.”
Ellyse’s face grew deadly serious. She looked back and forth between Ashily’s face and her own fist, seriously considering whether she ought to punch her. But Ashily, oblivious to the threat, kept smiling brightly.
“Yes! Perfect! He may be a difficult man, but if I tell Father, it should work out somehow. For our precious Ellyse? A simple request for an introduction? Of course I can do that!”
Ashily’s friendship was sincere. The problem was that her sincerity was far too radical. Realizing her friend genuinely intended to set them up, Ellyse’s complexion darkened.
She’s seriously planning to introduce me to that man with romantic intentions?
…What ridiculous nonsense.
This idiot was completely serious. She had no confirmation that Demian Cloud was the person who had saved her as a child, yet she was ready to arrange a meeting without knowing any of the circumstances. If he wasn’t the one, it would be an absolute disaster.
Ellyse prepared to scold her friend in earnest. But Ashily noticed her intent first and quickly fired back.
“You! Ellyse! If you keep running away like this, you’ll never date anyone in your entire life!”
“……No.”
“When an opportunity appears, you have to seize it! You have to grab it while the person is standing right in front of you!”
“……Huh?”
“Regretting it after you’ve already let them slip away won’t change anything! You idiot, do you understand?!”
Ellyse’s eyes widened at the passionate lecture. She stared blankly at Ashily—whose face was flushed red from both zeal and alcohol—then slowly lowered her gaze to her own hand.
It was certainly larger and rougher than it had been in childhood, yet the palm remained surprisingly lovely. Would retreating forever truly accomplish nothing? Was she supposed to seize opportunities when they came? Would waiting forever leave her with nothing?
Ellyse Bertman superimposed her childhood self over her present self: the powerless child who had reached her physical and mental limits and could do nothing, and the proper, capable inspector she had become.
……Yes. What was the problem in the first place?
If she asked and he truly didn’t remember her, it would be embarrassing. But what if it really was him? She would live the rest of her life never knowing. She would repeat her daily routine, forever regretting that she hadn’t asked back then. On the other hand, even if it wasn’t him, the only thing she would lose was a moment of dignity…
Crack—!!
Ellyse clenched her fist with fierce determination. The sheer intensity made Ashily flinch.
She’s not actually going to hit me, is she…?
Just as that worry crossed Ashily’s mind, Ellyse murmured.
“Idiot Ashily, you just watch.”
“……Huh?”
“I’ll ask him myself.”
The resolve on Ellyse Bertman’s face was firm—almost sacred. Ashily’s mouth fell open.
“……Yesss.”
And so the incident reached its climax.
“Haven’t we met somewhere before?!”
Compared to her modest attire, Ellyse Bertman—blushing furiously yet radiantly beautiful—delivered what felt like the confession of a lifetime.
Yeah, well done.
Her greatest friend, Ashily Dolores, judged it an excellent flirtation. Was her friend lacking in status, appearance, or intellect? No—she was perfect. The line itself was slightly regrettable, but it was still a solid beginning.
…So, the answer?
Ellyse, who had closed her eyes, peeked at Demian’s face. In the distance, Ashily—who had been eavesdropping—perked her ears.
The man hailed as the greatest businessman of the era and the villain of small merchants slowly tilted his head. He frowned, carefully studying the girl who barely reached his chest.
“Hmm.”
Demian Cloud’s expression was strangely complex. The gaze he fixed on the woman before him seemed distant, as though dredging up old memories. If one had to describe it, the atmosphere felt almost favorable.
Ellyse’s face brightened with fragile hope at that vague impression.
“After giving it careful thought,” the cold-blooded Demian said with a faint smile, “I still don’t recall meeting you.”
Ellyse Bertman’s mouth fell open.
“It appears this is our first meeting.”
She had been denied.
The indigo sky had fully surrendered to night, replaced by the city’s artificial lights. A full moon hung overhead. Vehicles and pedestrians still hurried along their busy paths. I rested my chin on my hand and quietly watched the world beyond the car window.
My body was exhausted, yet my eyes felt no fatigue. The lights did not sting my vision; their gentle glow was pleasant. It seemed I was destined to grow closer to the night than the day. I did not know about the creatures that stirred at that hour, however.
“No, make an exception for me. We’re friends, aren’t we? Best friends who have been nurturing this friendship for ten whole years already.”
At some point the secretary driving the car had eyes that glowed green. A delicate, thin voice emerged from the sturdy man’s mouth.
“Hello, Demian.”
“Bathory.”
“Yes. Was the party enjoyable? It seems so. Your expression was thoroughly unpleasant when we left, but now you look completely refreshed.”
The secretary who was usually meek and constantly watched my mood now shook with delight, lips curved in a broad smile. He—she—was not normally like this, but she appeared to be in as good a mood as I was.
Bathory Erzsébet narrowed her eyes and studied my reflection in the rearview mirror.
“Did the negotiation with the minister go well? No, I think the woman you met at the very end had more influence on you. You’ve been smiling ever since.”
“Hah. And you still claim you’re not a stalker. You perverted creature.”
“Ahahaha! It’s an important matter, so of course I have to watch whether my friend succeeds. But Demian, why did you pretend not to know her at the end?”
The secretary’s entire face drew a perfect arc. The smile was so wide one worried whether it could ever return to normal. Yet the demon spoke with laughter in her voice, completely unconcerned.
“You knew exactly who that woman was.”
Ellyse Bertman. A genius who had topped the inspector examination at the age of nineteen and now served in the Special Affairs Division of the National Security Bureau—our natural enemy. Notable details included the fact that, despite being the daughter of a prestigious family, she had chosen the harsh path of an inspector, and that she had once been rescued by an unidentified individual.
Yes. I knew her. I had known her for a very long time.
“You’re the one who saved that child, Demian. Why are you being so cold and saying nothing?”
The demon scolded me. I turned my head away in disgust at her increasingly distorted face. Beyond the window, the brilliant city lights overlapped with the memory of a woman who had shone even more brightly. I remembered the child who had once looked up at me with sparkling eyes. The corner of her mouth that had secretly mocked my ridiculous appearance. The small hand that had tried to catch me as I suddenly walked away. The tears that had fallen along with her sobbing face.
I clearly remembered the first person I had ever saved—the day a young boy had set out with nothing but childish impulse. I knew the child who had kept running without giving up even when her entire world was under threat. She had been brilliant despite her fragility, and today she had become an even more radiant person. Tomorrow she would shine brighter than the sun itself.
Nevertheless, the reason I could not embrace that admirable child and tell her she had done well was the same as it had always been.
“It smells of blood.”
The brilliant radiance that instinctively drew the eye—one must not fly toward it blinded. Insects could only burn. To tarnish that existence with even a speck of dust would make it impossible to explain the meaning of one’s own life. It would lead both of us to ruin.
“Hmm. How wise.”
It was something that must never happen.