“Sister…?”
Behind the mansion, in the garden.
Unlike the vibrant garden it is now, the space was barren, with every flower and plant withered.
Young Irene Vermont stood silently, staring blankly into the void.
I found myself frozen, unable to look away.
I couldn’t help it—her expression was even darker than the one I had seen in the other world.
In the other world, young Irene’s state had been grim, precarious.
She had seemed ready to crumble at any moment.
But the Irene before me now looked far worse.
‘She looks like someone on the verge of death.’
Her crimson pupils had lost all light, expanded like hollow buttonholes.
Her complexion was ashen, and her face was devoid of any emotion.
The phase of crying from pain and despair was long past.
She had entered a state of emotional numbness, where all feelings and senses dulled.
It was the kind of expression no child should wear.
My body moved on its own.
“My Lord?”
“Let go.”
“You told us to avoid interacting with others as much as possible, didn’t you…?”
“That was under the premise that I wouldn’t regret leaving them be. Do you think you can walk past her without regret?”
“…”
“I’d think about her every night. I wouldn’t be able to escape the guilt of abandoning that child for the rest of my life.”
Sylvia gripped my sleeve tightly, as if frustrated.
Just as she had been tormented for the past month over the guilt of being unable to prevent her mana corruption,
if I walked away from Irene now, I knew I’d live in regret forever.
And that was a burden I couldn’t bear.
“You really are… so selfish…”
“I’ve always been that way. I act for myself and no one else.”
“Hah… Of course you do…”
“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything that will disrupt the present too greatly.”
Sylvia sighed and released my sleeve, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
Adjusting my coat, I stepped forward.
Crunch. Crunch.
The sound of withered grass underfoot was unnerving, but young Irene showed no reaction.
‘What should I say to her?’
As I got closer, I hesitated.
This version of Irene was living in a literal hell.
From the beginning, Irene was innately kind and gentle.
But as a member of the Vermont family, she was expected to abandon her humanity and prioritize greed above all else.
She must have been terrified after overhearing that she would be killed if she didn’t change.
She couldn’t run away and was forced to comply.
She had to defy her nature, her morals, and embrace evil.
To deny herself and destroy her own identity.
It was a cruel and relentless abuse, especially for a child.
There wasn’t much I could do for Irene.
So, the options narrowed quickly.
Feeling my hesitation fade, I opened my mouth.
“Irene Vermont. Don’t turn around. Just listen.”
“Wh-Who…?”
“No need to wonder. I’m someone who will soon disappear, so there’s no point in remembering me.”
Tap.
I placed my hand on her shoulder, and only then did young Irene flinch and tremble.
Just as her pitiful gaze started to rise to meet my face, I gently grabbed her chin and turned her head forward again.
The chances of her recognizing the face of her grown-up brother were slim, but there was no benefit in revealing it to her.
“You look troubled.”
“Well, that’s because…”
“This is advice from a stranger. Take it as you will. From now on, hide yourself.”
“…”
Irene’s dilemma at this point was clear.
Should she kill her heart and become a Vermont, or should she try to escape?
She didn’t need to choose either.
In truth, Irene had ultimately chosen neither.
She chose to “pretend” to be the real Vermont.
The advice I offered was merely a hint toward that future decision.
It wouldn’t significantly alter the present.
“Shut your heart, silence your voice. Hide yourself so thoroughly that even you forget who you are.”
“For how long…?”
“…”
Tears welled up as young Irene asked, her voice trembling.
Her question left me momentarily speechless.
How long would she have to live that way?
The answer was simple.
All it required was mustering a bit of courage.
Clenching my fists tightly, I swallowed dryly and spoke.
“Someone you can trust will appear. Just wait until then.”
What Irene Vermont needed now was hope.
The hope that, if she endured—suppressing her heart, deceiving herself, and stifling her identity—light would eventually find her.
So I chose to prescribe her hope.
Baseless hope could become poison, but I knew the future.
I knew that as long as she held on to hope, there would come a day when she could breathe freely again.
I couldn’t tell her too much, lest the present be disrupted.
But I could give young Irene certainty and hope.
Someday, someone would appear who understood and cherished her kind heart.
That person would be me.
And because of that, I could say it confidently.
“I can’t say exactly when, but wait, and they will come.”
“What if they don’t…?”
Behind me, Sylvia was frantically waving her arms, signaling something.
When I looked, her lips were silently forming words.
‘People… are… coming…?’
It seemed it was time to leave.
Letting out a deep sigh, I leaned close to young Irene and whispered softly in her ear.
“They’ll come. No, I’ll come for you.”
“…?”
With those final words, I released my hand from Irene’s small shoulder.
She didn’t turn around, as instructed, even as my footsteps crunched against the brittle grass.
Her shoulders, once slumped, now held a bit more strength.
Her back straightened ever so slightly.
[The Evil God ‘Kali’ assures you that you can leave without worry now.]
Though her figure was still heart-wrenchingly pitiful,
it seemed a faint glimmer of hope had taken root.
Only then could I leave the garden and rejoin Sylvia with peace of mind.
From the other side, I could hear murmurs and the sound of footsteps approaching.
It seemed people were indeed coming, and from both sides.
There was no choice but to climb over the wall to escape the mansion.
“We need to get out of here quickly.”
“Yes, let’s move.”
“…Why are you casually preparing to climb onto my back?”
“Do you think I can scale that high wall with my strength?”
“….”
As I moved to climb onto Sylvia’s back, she looked at me with a mix of disbelief and contempt.
Ridiculous. Did she expect me to carry her over instead?
What am I, Superman?
Shaking her head, Sylvia begrudgingly hoisted me onto her back.
With swift, silent movements, she climbed the wall and leaped down gracefully.
“You really have no shame, letting a child carry you like this…”
“Didn’t you insist before that you’re just small in appearance and shouldn’t be treated like a child? Have you lost your memory from the shock of traveling to the past?”
“….”
“Enough nonsense. Quickly open the rift. We need to return to the moment when you were overtaken by mana corruption.”
“…Understood.”
Climbing off Sylvia’s back, I scanned the surroundings.
Fortunately, we were at the back of the mansion, where only the forested hills lay in view.
No one was watching us.
Now was the time to open the rift.
For some reason, Sylvia puffed out her cheeks and blushed slightly as she drew her sword from my side.
She seemed rougher than usual, but surely that was just my imagination…?
“Hurry up, Sylvia. We don’t have time. If rumors spread that Irene met a mysterious stranger, a search party might be dispatched.”
“Yes, yes… I understand…”
But instead of slicing the air to open the rift, Sylvia hesitated, tilting her head and faltering.
Growing impatient, I urged her again.
Finally, she raised her sword and swung it with a sharp whoosh through the air.
To me, it didn’t look much different from the slice she had used in the office to open the previous rift.
But this time, nothing happened.
The air didn’t split, and the rift didn’t open.
“Let me try again.”
“Fine. But hurry.”
“E-ei…!”
“…”
Once, twice, three times, four times.
No matter how many attempts she made, the air remained unbroken.
Only the sound of her sword cutting the wind echoed around us, with no sign of a rift appearing.
Sylvia turned to me with a tearful expression.
“Wh-what do we do…? My Lord, I think I’ve forgotten how to open the rift…”
“…”
Ah.
This was bad.
