Chapter 62
“…Huh?”
What kind of random nonsense was that all of a sudden?
Esther’s face went blank at the incomprehensible words.
[Dylan Egbert is experiencing intense feelings of betrayal.]
A parchment suddenly appeared in midair. Above a long line of writing, a large padlock hung.
‘Betrayal?’
What betrayal?
Esther narrowed her eyes and looked at Dylan Egbert.
He looked as if he had suffered some kind of immense shock.
“Why don’t you come see us anymore these days?”
You guys said you hated me.
“You said you wanted me as your sister, didn’t you? Then you should come earn points!”
“…Mhm.”
I don’t know.
She had grown to really hate exclamation marks. She didn’t even want to see one for a while.
A red exclamation mark clearly wasn’t something trivial either.
What happened with Lila had been shocking enough, and no matter how obsessed Esther was with breaking seals, she needed some rest for a while.
‘I miss Dad.’
To be exact, she just wanted to curl up in his arms.
While Esther was thinking sluggishly and turning her head, Dylan Egbert suddenly shoved his face right in front of hers.
“Hey!”
“What.”
“Y-you… Did you find someone else besides us? You said you wanted to get close to us!”
Maybe she had said something like that before. But back then, she’d been a little too obsessed with clearing those exclamation marks.
‘In the long run, I guess it’s true I should behave well.’
But the sense of defeat weighed heavily.
If she had been in her original form, she wouldn’t have died so pointlessly.
If she’d had even half her original power, she wouldn’t have done something so foolish.
But Lila, though hiding her strength, was still far stronger than Esther was now.
She could have easily stopped Esther.
That was why Esther couldn’t even use magic, and ended up surviving without a scratch only because of Lila’s help.
The helplessness was indescribable.
“You said you hated me, didn’t you?”
“I-I never said that?!”
“You did.”
At Esther’s words, Dylan Egbert let out a low groan, recoiling backward.
“A-anyway! You think some boy you picked up outside can become your new brother?!”
“…Huh?”
“You’re too young to understand, but brothers have to be from the same family!”
Dylan said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Well, of course.
Esther nodded, stepping back slightly.
The little boy’s face, pressed so close that his spit was flying, was a bit overwhelming.
“You’re too close.”
“Huh? Ah—ah…! Oh, sorry.”
Dylan’s face flushed bright red, and he hurriedly stepped back.
Way back.
If before, their faces had been less than 5cm apart, now it was easily over a meter.
He had retreated all the way to the door.
“Even if I said that, I still felt really hurt when you brought home another boy.”
Since when were we close enough for this to suddenly matter…?
“Still, you can’t just go and fetch a brother from outside.”
But that wasn’t a replacement brother—it was just a wolf cub she’d happened to pick up.
“Geez! You guys do hate me!”
Annoyed now, Esther raised her voice. Dylan flinched, his shoulders jerking.
Pressed up against the wall, he shouted back with an unfair expression.
“I-I gave you snacks when you were sick! I gave you dolls too!”
The glisten in his eyes looked truly aggrieved.
Esther fell silent, at a loss for words.
“And young masters Dylan Egbert and Aaron Egbert also left behind dolls and snacks in abundance.”
Right, Shiphon had told her that.
Now that she thought of it, she hadn’t thanked them.
“Oh, thanks for that.”
“Right? Right! You’re thankful, aren’t you?”
Dylan quickly snatched up her words.
Esther looked at the boy, now wagging his metaphorical tail after rushing back over despite how she had just yelled.
“That time… Was it because of us that you got sick?”
Ah, so that’s the misunderstanding.
Esther grinned slyly.
“Mm, maybe… just a little?”
“…But you were in the wrong too. You said you didn’t need your father even though you have one…”
Dylan muttered, looking deflated.
‘So he resented me because I had what he wanted. Sounds like jealousy.’
It must have been a feeling close to that.
Esther tilted her head, puzzled at first, but then nodded in understanding.
“Sorry.”
The moment she politely spoke the apology, Dylan’s eyes widened—
And the parchment, locked tight until now, suddenly unfurled before her eyes.
[The Brothers’ Wish
Dylan Egbert and □□ □□□□ suffered deep sorrow after losing their father, Hakan Egbert.
Everyone was kind, everyone was gentle—but the young boys knew it was really just pity.
They had no mother, no father.
The label of being parentless children colored every gaze and clung to them like a tag that never left.
Everyone said their father devoted himself to noble work, but that didn’t matter.
They had no memories of their mother. They had no memories of their father.
The demons had stolen everything from them. Because… ]
As she read, Esther suddenly froze.
There are two ways to make someone angry: one is to stop mid-sentence, and the other is…
Staring at the parchment, Esther’s face twisted in irritation as frustration welled up.
‘Ugh! Too much!’
She stomped her feet.
Looking beside Dylan, she saw Aaron Egbert with his arms crossed.
A padlock still hung over his exclamation mark.
So that must have been incomplete information. The hidden name was clearly Aaron Egbert’s.
‘Damn it.’
Esther’s face crumpled.
‘I’m curious.’
But at the same time, she wasn’t sure she wanted to be.
If she read further, it would mean having to act again.
‘But why do they hate demons so much?’
She was curious.
Esther couldn’t hold back her rising curiosity and looked at Aaron Egbert.
Compared to his brother, he was very calm. When their eyes met, he smiled maturely, narrowing his eyes.
‘He hates me.’
Even if he was smiling, the instinctive aversion didn’t go away.
“Brother.”
When Esther addressed Dylan, his eyes widened, then he beamed and nodded vigorously.
‘What’s with him?’
Well, he had blushed furiously the last time they parted ways too.
“Where’s your dad?”
“…What?”
“I… I might be able to help!”
“…You?”
“Yeah! Esther’s a genius!”
Even without seeing the parchment’s end, she had a pretty good idea what the two boys wanted.
They wanted to meet their father.
‘If he’s dead, that’s impossible…’
But the fact that the parchment appeared at all might mean their parents were still alive.
The parchment never gave completely impossible tasks.
“…Our father is dead.”
“Mmm, but maybe he’s alive?”
“Alive…? That’s impossible. They said our father became a sacrifice to suppress the Demon King’s power.”
“…The Demon King?”
Why was that name popping up here? What connection did the Egbert family have with the Demon King?
Esther tilted her head in confusion.
“You really don’t know anything, do you?”
“Well, I mean… I am a genius, but I was only just born not too long ago…”
At her words, both boys fell silent.
She wasn’t wrong.
A child who’d only been alive for five years—how much could she possibly know?
Maybe that was why even the composed Aaron Egbert grew quiet.
“You think you can help us…?”
“Yeah, but I don’t know much yet, so I’ll have to figure it out.”
“How are you going to let us meet someone who’s already dead? Our mother and father are both…”
Aaron clenched his fists tight. His usually calm eyes burned red—whether from anger or sorrow, it was hard to tell.
“But brother.”
“Y-yeah?”
“I’m sleepy, so can I come back tomorrow? I’m too tired today.”
Even if she wanted to hear more, she didn’t have the energy.
“…Is there really a chance our dad might still be alive?”
Dylan Egbert swallowed nervously and asked in a careful voice.
Do you want me to keep translating the rest of this story if you share more, or would you like me to refine this into smoother, more novel-like English prose?
