Chapter 22
“Did you bring toys?”
The word toys referred to the twins Father had brought with him.
“That’s…”
“Isn’t it, Leocal?”
“I thought you would understand to some extent even without my saying anything, Mother. But to call them toys…”
“Whatever they are, that’s how they look to me. In any case, I don’t like you. Every single thing you do.”
If only Grandfather were still alive, Father wouldn’t have been treated like this.
Unlike Grandfather, who loved his children more than anyone, Grandmother was nothing like that.
She was the kind of person who would willingly abandon even a child she had borne in pain if it meant achieving what she wanted.
“Even if you say that, what’s already happened can’t be changed.”
“Do you even know what you’re doing?”
“Yes. I merely brought in some pitiful children.”
That was when Grandmother’s lips twisted unpleasantly.
“Pitiful children, you say. How amusing.”
“Dad, I’m sleepy now…”
In front of Grandmother, Father could never win. Seeing the obvious situation unfold once again, I urged Father on. We needed to get out of here quickly.
This is why I hate Grandma.
She was the kind of person who made it perfectly clear that not everyone becomes an adult just because they grow old.
What on earth were we supposed to do with that old woman who had done nothing but age into senility?
It was right as that thought crossed my mind.
“Anyway, you’ll handle it yourself.”
As if she were a completely different person, Grandmother’s expression changed. She even stopped a passing attendant and took the wine he was carrying into her hand.
“Even if you’re leaving, you should still celebrate her birthday. She’s your daughter.”
Emphasizing the word daughter, Grandmother held out another wine glass in her other hand and offered it to Father.
“Since we’re still ‘fa-mi-ly,’ we should at least congratulate her on her birthday.”
Fa-mi-ly, my foot.
What kind of family is this, seriously? A relationship worse than pig’s trotters, yet they call it family.
She had never once considered me family, and yet she was so shameless I had no words.
But perhaps because he was happy that I was included within the category of “family,” Father accepted the wine Grandmother handed him with an unusually bright expression.
“Family… Hearing you say that, Mother, makes me happier than anything.”
Foolishly, Father completely fell for those words and smiled more brightly than ever.
“Good. Then let’s celebrate Amanet’s birthday together.”
Just from the sudden change in Grandmother’s attitude, it was impossible not to be certain that that was about to happen.
She’s definitely going to drop the wine glass.
My prediction didn’t miss by even a little. Exactly as expected, the moment Grandmother clinked her glass against Father’s, she immediately let it fall.
As a result, red wine soaked deep into Grandmother’s precious dress.
With the sound of glass shattering, silence fell.
“M-Mother!”
Holding me while gripping a wine glass, Father raised his voice in panic, but there was nothing he could do.
Instead, Uncle Behel hurried over to Grandmother’s side like an old fox.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. But the dress is ruined.”
Though it would have been natural for her to be irritated, Grandmother didn’t show the slightest annoyance—almost as if she had anticipated this situation in advance.
She’s not even surprised, just like I wasn’t.
It was laughable.
In the past, I’d been too shocked by this situation to notice, but now that I looked closely, Grandmother wasn’t flustered at all.
I had expected it to some degree, but seeing it unfold right before my eyes—anyone could tell this was the face of someone who had intended it all along.
“We should call someone to clean this up.”
There was no need for Grandmother to say such a thing. Someone would clean it up whether she said it or not.
In a society rigidly divided by status, especially in a place full of servants, she deliberately said something so unnecessary.
“Have them come in.”
As if he weren’t worried about Grandmother at all, Uncle Behel issued orders toward somewhere unseen. As though that command were a signal, the doors opened and several people entered.
Among them, one person was the problem.
Unlike the others, who were neatly dressed, there was one woman who didn’t look like someone who worked here.
So it ends up like this again.
Looking at her, I let out a deep sigh. I’d hurried Father along hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but what was meant to happen in the future happened anyway, in one way or another.
Maybe the past really can’t be changed.
“Ah…”
I could feel Father’s hands trembling as he held me. He, too, had seen that woman—the poorly dressed woman.
Black hair tinged with blue, as though it held the universe within it, and violet eyes…
Father once said that when he first saw Mother, he thought of a deep night.
Someone he couldn’t even approach, someone who seemed as though approaching her would consume him. And yet, that night was brighter than anything, warmer than the radiant sun.
Despite being a war orphan, Mother had a bright and warm personality. Her smile was beautiful, and she was never cowed by anything.
Amanet’s mother, whom I had only seen a few times through portraits, and the woman Father loved forever.
A woman who looked exactly like Mother had appeared.
Hah.
The reason my birthday became the worst day was because of Mother’s appearance. At the place where my birthday party was being held, a woman who looked exactly like Mother was doing menial work.
Of course, I knew she wasn’t Mother. Mother had been dead for a long time.
But Mother’s death was just as unsettling as Father’s death would have been. After giving birth to me, Mother’s health had been so poor that she couldn’t even move from her bed.
She couldn’t even eat and slept all day long.
And then one day, she suddenly disappeared.
Mother, who hadn’t even been able to nurse me once, vanished suddenly one night—leaving behind only a note telling us not to look for her.
All Father could do was wander around searching for her while holding me in his arms. But even after a month passed, he couldn’t find her. And just when Father was about to give up, Mother appeared.
Already dead. Having died long before…
Her form was barely recognizable, but the clothes she wore and her appearance made it clear that it was Mother.
After that, Father lived half-mad. He couldn’t accept the death of the woman he loved.
In the letter found on her, there was only a brief note from Mother saying she had lied to him. Because of that, Father lived depending on alcohol, unable even to care for me.
That was also the reason why Father treated me so well now.
After Mother passed away like that, Father lived madly for a year.
Amanet, who grew up somehow with great difficulty—barely fed, receiving no attention—was already emaciated by the time Father came to his senses.
Though she grew up drinking milk, she was picky and didn’t eat properly, and since Father didn’t pay attention, there was no one in the household who truly cared for her either.
After regaining his senses, Father doted on Amanet to an almost insane degree.
As if trying to atone for his past mistakes, he poured out excessive affection.
Father lived as though deliberately trying not to remember the past. Deep in his heart, there was a desperate longing for Mother, because the death of the woman he loved had never sat right with him.
And then someone who looked exactly like Mother appeared before his eyes.
“Ah… Loren…”
Ironically, the woman cleaning up the wine that Grandmother had deliberately spilled—the woman who looked exactly like Mother—was the problem itself.
She must have brought someone like that on purpose.
As Father naturally uttered Mother’s name, Grandmother snorted as if amused.
“Come to think of it, that child is also a war orphan. Perhaps children like that all look alike by nature.”
“……”
Even though Father should have been too distracted by the woman who looked exactly like Mother to hear Grandmother’s words, his expression hardened in an instant.
