Chapter 115………………………………………
Ron’s expression brightened once again.
I smiled faintly as I looked at the three brothers.
“I was wronged too, you know. That means I get priority, right? Don’t I?”
“That’s true. Sorry—we were a bit hasty.”
At Shevert’s words, Ron and Krimu nodded at the same time.
“Then I’ll start, and after that I’ll leave it to you all. Handle it however you like.”
After confirming that all three brothers agreed, I swung my fist firmly toward Uncle.
“A—Aaagh… ugh!”
I landed exactly ten punches before leaving the reception room.
Right after that, with a loud crash, Uncle’s screams echoed all the way outside.
I smoothed the slightly crumpled hem of my dress and straightened my necklace.
Then, feeling the spring breeze blowing in from the garden, I walked out lightly.
As I did, I recalled what Uncle had said when I’d landed about three punches.
“So you’re saying there’s a guardian deity in the tree behind the house?”
That was what Uncle had claimed.
I knew the tree in the backyard very well. I’d gone there often while living in the estate after being possessed.
But usually other families had guardian deities residing in vast forests—so why did the Delve family have only a single tree?
Besides, when I’d gone near that tree before, there’d been nothing special about it.
Hah… this feels fake somehow.
I stopped my thoughts there.
After all, it was Uncle who’d said it—hardly a trustworthy source.
Time passed quickly.
A few days later, as the sun was beginning to set—
“Shevert.”
I approached him, already prepared to depart.
“Here—please take this.”
“A handkerchief?”
“Yes. I couldn’t give it to you when you went to the Academy last time.”
“Huh? The one you gave me back then is still in my room.”
What he’d taken back then was actually a napkin.
I’d been wiping my mouth with it at the dining table when he snatched it away outright.
Thinking of that made me feel a little guilty.
Come to think of it, for someone who was supposedly his fiancée, it was only now that I was giving him a proper handkerchief.
“This one’s better. Throw that old one away and use this instead.”
Shevert accepted the handkerchief, his bright red eyes shining.
The setting sun cast its light over him. I quietly watched as he squinted slightly against the glare.
Then, without realizing it, my true feelings spilled out.
“Please be careful. Don’t die. You probably won’t get hurt, but even if you do, make sure it’s only something minor—nothing life‑threatening.”
“Heh.”
Shevert burst out laughing.
“You haven’t forgotten that I saved your life from an assassin before, right? That means your life belongs to me.”
“Are you worried about me or not?”
“I am! Exactly! That’s why I even made you magic bombs.”
“True. Thanks for looking out for me.”
“……”
His words of thanks felt oddly bitter.
No matter how unpleasant the bond, it was still a bond that had formed.
“I’ll keep my promise not to die. So you make sure to keep an eye on Ron.”
“…Yes.”
“I’ll be waiting for the day my younger brothers can fight back against me. Tell Ron to hurry up and grow strong so he can face me.”
Though his words were harsh, his face looked as if he were genuinely looking forward to that day.
After mounting his horse, Shevert spoke again.
“Take care. And when I return… I’ll try to stand here as your fiancé.”
Complex emotions flickered across his face as he said those last words—
as if he were bracing himself for something difficult.
And so, as fiancés, we exchanged a brief farewell.
After that, Ron continued receiving his scheduled purifications and even learned directly from the Pope how to control malice.
The strange thing was that from that day on, the malice inside Ron truly stopped raging violently.
Even when it did surge, Ron was able to regulate it himself.
Naturally, he no longer went out at night to hunt monsters.
We only told Ron that Shevert had gone off for expedition training.
Since Shevert had always trained alone day and night before, Ron seemed to believe it.
Several peaceful days passed like that, until one day I happened to run into Grandfather in the garden.
The moment he saw me, he quickly turned away and tried to leave.
But I was faster, and in the end, I caught him.
“Grandfather, why are you avoiding me?”
It had already been bothering me that he hadn’t shown himself to the family lately.
Ever since Ron began receiving purification, it had been even worse.
He must have heard the news faster than anyone—
and that was probably why he’d been avoiding us.
“Hm…”
As he looked away, I spoke up boldly.
“See, Grandfather? I told you before, didn’t I? I said I’d handle it!”
I expected him to look flustered and at a loss.
But his reaction was a little different from what I’d imagined.
Grandfather lowered his head and couldn’t say anything for a long while.
“Grandfather… are you okay?”
When I called out cautiously, he slowly lifted his gaze.
“I’m sorry… I’m truly sorry…”
He kept repeating how sorry he was.
He confessed that he hadn’t even been able to face the family.
“Is that why you didn’t come out for meals? Everyone was wondering.”
“…They were wondering about me? Who?”
“Everyone. From Father to Krimu. Even the head chef, Pure, was sad every time he prepared a separate meal just for you and sent it up to your room.”
“…I see.”
Something like a sigh slipped from Grandfather’s lips.
Then he looked straight at me and spoke.
“But is it really true that Ron was purified? How—how on earth was that possible?”
“I’m a dark‑attribute mage, remember? I absorbed part of the malice inside Ron. Of course, I sealed it afterward.”
“Th‑Then the annihilation of the Kereis family…!”
“That kind of thing will never happen again.”
Grandfather looked stunned—deeply shaken.
His body wavered for a moment.
“Grandfather!”
“I‑I’m fine. Ha… I should sit for a bit.”
We sat side by side on a garden bench.
After taking a few steady breaths, Grandfather spoke first.
“That… is that truly the truth?”
“You can confirm it through His Holiness the Pope. He purified the remaining malice with his divine power.”
“If only… that had been done earlier.”
For a while, Grandfather closed his eyes, unable to speak.
Then he slowly opened them and looked at me.
“Thank you, Anne. You’ve been through so much.”
“The one who suffered more than anyone was Ron. You should go and tell him that yourself.”
“…Yes. I will.”
Ron still hadn’t accepted Grandfather’s apology.
It would take time.
After a brief silence, I spoke again.
“His Holiness said you visited the temple a very long time ago, Grandfather.”
Grandfather tried to hide the surprise in his eyes.
“Why couldn’t you use divine power back then?”
“At the time, there was no one with strong divine power. Even the current Pope was just a priest with weak abilities.”
“That’s a shame. There must have been some way.”
“It was largely my fault. I didn’t even tell Getre—I tried to solve everything hastily on my own.”
For a moment, I vividly imagined Grandfather struggling alone back then.
Grandfather in despair after hearing the guardian deity’s prophecy.
Grandfather visiting the temple, only to return without accomplishing anything.
I wasn’t sure if these images came from the original novel or my imagination.
But one thing was clear—Grandfather had tried in his own way.
“But in the end, I kidnapped that young child from the forest and sold him far away… It was something I did with my own hands.”
I took Grandfather’s hand.
“But before that, you tried to save young Ron.”
“…Anne. You accomplished what I couldn’t. Thank you—truly.”
“Ron may still find it hard to accept you. But you’re still his grandfather… so please, never abandon Ron again.”
“…Thank you, Anne.”
Grandfather’s bright red eyes, catching the light, seemed faintly moist.
At last, the final day of purification arrived.
After examining Ron, the Pope declared that there was no malice left to purify.
Today was the end.
“Thank goodness…!”
Looking at Ron, fast asleep, I felt my eyes grow hot.
It was really over now.
“You’ve endured so much, Ron.”
From the day he disappeared as a child until this very moment—
he’d endured an unbearably long time. I felt both proud of him and heartbroken.
“From now on, only good things will happen.”
After steadying my emotions, I suddenly became aware of myself sitting beside him.
With the seed of disaster—Ron’s malice—purified, the horrifying future would never come to pass.
Shevert and Marianne would not kidnap Bianca.
Ron would not mercilessly take lives.
“I should leave.”
That was the right choice.
If I stayed here, the only thing I could do as Shevert’s fiancée would be to marry him.
“Yes… that’s why I saved up so much money.”
And yet… I didn’t want to leave.
Something seemed to cling stubbornly to me, holding me back.
And I knew all too well why.
“Because they’re family… because I’ve become family.”
I’d once joked to myself about just marrying Shevert outright.
I’d laughed it off quickly.
I used to think it was easy to leave when you didn’t know the warmth of an embrace.
But now that I knew how good it felt—how happy it could be—I hesitated.
