Chapter 31
Chapter 31
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: A Father's Request
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“A gward?”
Come to think of it…
That guy mentioned assassins when we first met, didn’t he? He must get attacked more often than I thought.
“Oh, okay.”
“Right. So you don’t do anything foolish again the moment you open your eyes.”
“Huh? Who?”
“Who do you think?”
“...Me?”
No answer. Does he really mean me?
What did I do?
I was baffled.
“Where am I?”
“The place I’m staying.”
“...It’s a house. You talk funny.”
“Because it doesn’t feel like a home.”
My father flopped down in front of me.
The door was slightly ajar, letting in a pleasant breeze. A large hand rested on my forehead.
“Are you warm?”
“Mmm...”
I felt hazy. A cool breeze blew past, lingering only by my side.
It feels nice...
“Your fever’s gone down.”
I stared blankly as my father's long hair swayed gently.
“Are you going to do something foolish again?”
“Huh?”
Ugh, my head wasn't working. A conversation right now would be a disadvantage.
“So, let’s hear it. Why in the world did you do something so crazy?”
“Well...”
The evidence my father presented was very effective. A brilliant move, making optimal use of his wind ability.
But.
*That wasn't enough.*
My eldest aunt's influence is immense.
If I didn't end this properly now, Heuk Daewi would have gotten off scot-free and would have surely come after me again.
There's no telling what kind of dirty tricks he'd use then.
*Not that I'd be scared, whatever he did.*
I just didn't want to be bothered.
*I have to treat Eldest Uncle first. And my younger uncle, too.*
I had a mountain of things to do. I couldn't let myself be held back by a cousin who looked like a poison toad.
My eldest aunt's poison is very effective. I made it just in case I ever needed it.
*I originally intended to turn it into a gas to use against enemies if it came to that.*
It was made for self-defense, and it came in handy. So it all worked out, right?
“He said we should have a serious talk about your condition.”
“Who?”
“My brother.”
...Should I avoid Eldest Uncle's residence for a while? Yes, let's do that.
“He said you're much weaker than others your age. Are you aware of that?”
“Who said that?”
“The physician who helped with the antidote.”
“Ah.”
I understood. I answered the question. The answer was already decided.
“Yes.”
Of course I know. I've lived my whole life in this pathetically weak body.
It was hard at first, but you get used to it as you go on. You just have to endure a little more hardship.
I said nonchalantly.
“But, Dad... Isn't dat obvious? Dere's nothin' here.”
I thought it was amazing I even survived until age three in my first life without any memories.
“Dere's no comfy pways to sweep. The food isn't fwesh. Dere's no medicine.”
At first, I couldn't even start a fire. I felt a little miserable. No, I think I was very miserable.
“I didn't have a gwardian, either.”
I stated the facts indifferently.
“It's the wowst environment for a child to gwow up in.”
What a relief it was that the land had a mild climate.
“So. Isn't it amazing dat I'm even alive?”
* * *
For the first time in a long while, Heuk Bihu felt what it was like to be suffocated.
His mind was calm.
He knew there was no reason for him to feel suffocated.
He wasn't the one who had abandoned the little brat.
Why should he feel responsible for something his past self, the one before he lost his memories, had done?
“Dad?”
Biyu tilted her head.
“...I'm listening.”
Heuk Bihu focused on her tiny mouth. He had rarely concentrated this hard on anything since losing his memories.
And considering that every instance was related to the brat...
...it made him realize anew what a storm the child had brought into his life.
“Anyway, dat's how it is.”
The child, with a composure unbelievable for a three-year-old, calmly pointed out each fact.
“It might be a miwacle dat you and I even met.”
Her eyes were large and clear, looking as if tears would fall at the slightest touch.
Those eyes were impassive, and they seemed to say, ‘You did not raise me.’
No.
That was just how he perceived it.
“It's not wike you wanted to be dat kind of dad, was it?”
The child smiled as if it were nothing.
Heuk Bihu easily understood the hidden meaning.
This was resignation.
And it meant she'd never had any expectations to begin with.
“Heehee, so tweat me like I'm pwecious. I'm a physician who has a contwact with you, after all, wight?”
She had been a strange child from the very beginning.
Meanwhile, Biyu felt a sense of anxiety watching her silent father.
*Why isn't he saying anything?*
So when a large hand touched her, Biyu flinched in surprise.
It was because she remembered the hand of Heuk Daewi, who had struck her long ago.
“N-No!”
“...?”
“Ah...”
People had always treated her harshly.
She had lived a life where no one went easy on her just because she was a child.
Coming to her senses, Biyu quickly grabbed Heuk Bihu's hand.
She offered an awkward smile.
“Sowwy... You supwised me.”
The child let go of his hand casually, unaware of the expression on Heuk Bihu's face.
“Surprised, you say.”
Heuk Bihu said nonchalantly. His voice reassured Biyu.
The large hand hovered in the air for a moment before pinching the child's chubby cheek.
“Oooowww, what was dat for...!!”
“I have a favor to ask you.”
“A favow?”
Heuk Bihu recalled what had happened after Biyu collapsed.
‘He really...’
‘He really...’
It had been utter chaos.
‘I should have wiped them all out. That would have been the right thing to do...’
‘I should have wiped them all out. That would have been the right thing to do...’
Heuk Bihu had never seen his brother so furious.
No, with his unstable memories, it might not have been the first time, but it was the first he could remember.
Heuk Biwon had seen and heard, along with him, how Heuk Daewi had tormented Gyewon and Biyu.
Heuk Daewi had not poisoned Biyu.
And yet, his brother was genuinely enraged. Heuk Bihu couldn't understand the reason for his brother's anger.
‘...Aren't you ashamed that two adults couldn't handle one thing properly and had to rely on a child?’
‘...Aren't you ashamed that two adults couldn't handle one thing properly and had to rely on a child?’
Heuk Biwon was furious, but his madness hadn't manifested.
Even those who had been prepared for Heuk Biwon's madness seemed surprised by the situation.
In any case, the situation was resolved when his eldest sister, Heuk Haran, provided the antidote.
Because the poison had been revealed so spectacularly, punishment became unavoidable. Just as Biyu had wanted.
Heuk Daewi would be punished one way or another.
Heuk Bihu recalled Biyu's face as she had warned him all along. A face that was far too calm for someone about to take poison.
‘Don't be too supwised. I'll be okay.’
‘Don't be too supwised. I'll be okay.’
Who would believe it?
That the mastermind behind this whole affair was a mere three-year-old child.
“What happened after I cawapsed?”
Heuk Bihu briefly explained to the child what had happened afterwards.
“Ah, really? That pig—no, Heuk Daewi is getting punished? How satisfying!”
After hearing everything, Biyu, her cheek still being pinched, broke into a wide grin.
It was a smile that would have looked right at home among wildflowers.
“But Dad, what was dat favow you wanted to ask?”
The matter that had been put aside for the explanation now came to the forefront.
Before stating his request, there was something Heuk Bihu needed to make clear.
“First, before that, it was truly an experience I hope to never have again.”
“Huh?”
“Watching the physician who promised to cure me suddenly attempt suicide was, even for a madman like me, quite a novel experience.”
His words were brutal.
*Huh...? Why is he angry?*
Biyu shivered, sneaking a glance at him. Her father's voice was calm, but his words were utterly scathing.
“That spiteful, crooked way you see the world... it's just like me.”
In appearance, the father and daughter had nothing in common.
“Is that why you're my daughter?”
Biyu couldn't hide her bewilderment that the first resemblance her father had ever pointed out was *this*.
*You're terrible at telling jokes.*
That damn father of mine, was he serious right now?