Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: The Misunderstanding Cousin
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My cousin bit his lip.
“Are you always sick? Or is it because you inhaled the poison? Your symptoms are different from theirs, so you must have been sick before, right? You idiot, what's a sick kid like you doing drinking poison… It can't be that strong, can it?”
Hey, give me a chance to speak…
I guess caring for his sick father for so long has given him a sharp eye.
He was looking at me like a patient.
“Why isn't the bleeding stopping?”
“Ung, well…”
“Forget it. You're dying, aren't you?”
“Huuh?”
Heuk Gyewon's handsome face turned deathly pale.
“Something felt off. If you were a normal kid, you would have been sent to the main residence to be raised, like Second Uncle's daughter.”
He means the heroine?
*‘She was sent to the main residence because she showed signs of having an ability from a young age.’*
I was sent here with my dad because I was weak and showed no such signs…?
Anyway, I wish he'd give me a chance to explain.
“Hey, the watuh bottle pwease…”
“Water? You want some water?”
Thankfully, Heuk Gyewon brought me the water bottle. But he snatched it away before I could even open it.
Heuk Gyewon raised a hand and started scrubbing my face with his clothes.
“Uwaah, waah, wha-what are you, mph! Doing!”
“You were exposed to poison smoke. Wiping it off is basic. You know that, so what's the big deal?”
I felt so wronged by the boy's hand scrubbing furiously at my face.
“Here, blow!”
“Not… blow! *Cough!*”
No, all I need is that water to be healed!
It hurts!!
* * *
A short while later.
I was sitting across from my cousin with a sullen face.
“…So, you're saying you have a healing ability?”
“Yeah. You saw.”
I had cleared up the misunderstanding. No, wait, did I really?
In any case, I had used my ability to heal myself in front of Heuk Gyewon, but he still looked unconvinced.
*‘Ugh, I thought my face was going to be scrubbed right off.’*
Though the redness from all that rough scrubbing also disappeared when I healed.
“You came to treat my father. You?”
“Ung.”
“And you've already started treating Second Uncle? And he's shown improvement?”
“Ung!”
I also told him about Heuk Birang. It would have been best if Heuk Birang had been here with me.
*‘Is it about time for that guy to wake up?’*
I counted the days, but not yet.
*‘He’s no help. No help at all.’*
Like some useless princess in the woods.
“I understand everything. It sounds like a ridiculous story, but you did show me your ability…”
My cousin, who had been contemplating, looked at me.
“But I can't take you to my father.”
“Ah, why! 'Cause you think I'm wying?”
“No.”
My cousin shook his head.
“Father is in a period of madness right now. He's locked himself away so he can't meet anyone.”
Heuk Biwon.
My eldest uncle.
This man's illness is ‘madness.’
His nicknames are the madman, the lunatic, the beast.
His time is divided between periods of sanity and madness. When he goes berserk during his madness, no one can stop him.
*‘I heard he was an incredible warrior before his illness. Good enough to be ranked first or second?’*
Among the nature-related abilities that people from the Eastern Continent could use, he could wield lightning, on top of his martial prowess.
I heard that before he fell ill, even the imperial family was desperate to recruit him.
“You can only see him after that period passes.”
If that's the case, it can't be helped.
I had seen my eldest uncle, Heuk Biwon, in my first life. I died after getting caught up in one of his rampages.
“Otay. I'll come back then.”
“Wait a moment.”
What is it? I was about to stand up, but I paused.
“I've decided.”
…Decided what?
“Even if my patients increase from one to two, my duty remains the same.”
What is he suddenly talking about?
“I've concluded that it won't be a problem for me to take care of you as well.”
“Eh.”
I'm not a patient, though?
“Why are you gonna take care of me?”
Well, my lifespan is short, but that's a problem for later.
“Besides, have you still not cleared up this misunderstanding? I'm not sick.”
“You'd want to say that. I understand. Father couldn't accept it for a long time either.”
No, I'm really not!
My cousin didn't seem to be listening to me. It was so frustrating.
“Heuk Daewi will definitely come back for revenge. Live with me.”
Aha. So he feels responsible.
I thought about it for a moment.
It'll still be a little while before my younger uncle wakes up. If I'm going to treat my eldest uncle, it's better to be nearby.
*‘Well, if he wants to misunderstand, let him.’*
If we live together, he'll soon realize I'm not a patient.
*‘He’s making such a fuss just because I coughed up some blood from the poison.’*
When I nodded, my cousin gave a barely perceptible smile.
It was a neat smile, but I felt an unidentifiable chill from it.
“You can think of it as a sign of my gratitude. I believe I owe you a great debt.”
Heuk Gyewon extended his hand.
My cousin closed his eyes and seemed to concentrate. Then, from his fingertips, *crackle*, a small spark of static electricity jumped.
…It was lightning.
“It's a secret. I'm an ability user, too.”
Children who show nature-related abilities or signs of them must be raised in the main residence, without exception.
He wouldn't be able to care for his father then. It seemed he had chosen to hide it.
*‘Huh, but… in the original story, he awakened his ability in prison. Is this a hidden part of the plot?’*
I blinked.
“Because thanks to you, I think I was able to avoid killing someone for the first time.”
“…”
“Father would have been sad, too.”
My handsome and tidy, yet somehow unsettling when he smiled, cousin said.
“You can think of it as me repaying a debt.”
If he had stopped there, it would have been quite touching.
A moment later, the place where we were sitting facing each other was my room.
“I'll raise you.”
Because Heuk Gyewon, who had been looking around my room, made a disgusted face.
“It'll be better for you than living in a pigsty like this.”
…What did you just say, you punk?!
* * *
A few days passed.
Heuk Gyewon was a very diligent person.
From the morning, he diligently drew water from the well and cooked warm rice.
Sometimes, he would even make restorative tonics with medicinal herbs.
*‘…I thought he was a warrior, but is there anything he can't do?’*
On top of that, he helped me wash my face and even did my laundry.
*‘…Huh, this is a better deal than I thought?’*
Was he some kind of house spirit?!
Being dragged to Heuk Gyewon's place to live was more comfortable than I could have ever imagined…!
If all kidnappings are like this, maybe it's not so bad?
I'd been living off of grass until now.
The servants would give us ingredients, but they sent them to my father's side, and I didn't particularly want to go there.
“When can I see Eldest Uncwe?”
I was eating while Heuk Gyewon was folding laundry. My cousin spoke without looking at me.
“Have another spoonful of rice. I'll tell you after you eat.”
This cousin of mine was quite skilled at handling people.
The side dishes are tasty, so I'll eat it!
“I ate it!”
“We should be able to go soon.”
“Today?”
“Yeah. It should be fine.”
Heuk Gyewon finished folding the laundry and plopped down next to me.
“But you have to finish everything before we leave. You eat too little. You need to grow taller.”
Then he scooped up a spoonful and fed it to me.
…But I'm full?
“You're too thin. Eat more. I'll only take you if you finish it all.”
Unbelievable. Does he really see me as just a kid?
I'll eat first and deal with him later.
This nine-year-old boy ended up making me eat all the rice gruel.
*‘To think he becomes the mastermind in the third timeline. Why is he using that brain on me?’*
After the meal, we started heading to where my eldest uncle was.
“Biyu can do the dishes!”
“Hah? If I let you do it, who knows when it'll ever get done.”
“I'm gonna grow up.”
“Right, you just worry about growing taller.”
No, I'm good at it. I've lived on my own longer than you have, you little brat.
After the dishes were done, my cousin said my steps were too slow and carried me on his back.
We finally arrived at a certain place.
“This is it.”
It was the storehouse where my eldest uncle, who suffered from madness, was confined.