Chapter 14
I could see their bodies stiffen as if turned to stone. Yet even as I watched them, my mind remained cold and clear.
I understood that saying they had “taken away” might not perfectly fit the situation. Still, I wasn’t about to quietly accept it without saying anything.
If I just let this slide, I’ll be nothing but a pushover.
I was a typical, small-minded citizen of South Korea. I wasn’t the type to think, This is wrong! I have to step in and fix it! — I was more the type to prioritize comfort, content if I could live reasonably well.
But I wasn’t naive enough to ignore something that could be exploited if I stayed silent.
They want to say, “It may be confusing, but give us a chance”? Just the audacity of asking for a chance already ruins it.
Sure, they might feel anxious because I had been dodging them, but to say it out loud like that—no.
I don’t know what the real Erina would do, but I’m not going to accept this meekly.
I had been a reader observing Erina as an outsider. And I had been someone who supported her.
I wasn’t sure I had the right to, but surely I could at least return a little justice to this so-called family.
Since I occupied Erina’s body, I owed at least that much.
Even ignoring this strange, surging emotion, shouldn’t I at least show some courtesy for inhabiting this body?
Even for my own survival.
“Taken… away?”
“I felt as if something had been taken from me.”
I continued in a calm tone, recalling the diary entries I had stumbled upon before coming here, letting a few of them slip into my words.
“When suddenly Mother was gone, when the warmth vanished from the house after she disappeared… it felt as if someone had taken her away from me.”
Through the eyes of a child, that was how it seemed. In the diary, scribbled in clumsy handwriting, was the raw, lost heart of a child.
“My older brothers awakened and were able to see Mother, but what about me?”
“….”
“I never saw Mother again after that. The last time I saw her was at her funeral. I endured it because I didn’t want to risk affecting the Awakening Ritual. So I held back.”
I lifted my fork and lightly touched the cake. A dab of pink cream clung to the tip.
“The reason I like this the most… is because I always ate it with Mother.”
A frozen silence followed. The three of them sat quietly, seemingly unsure of what they could even say, and I let out a small laugh.
“Father, does my opinion matter?”
“….”
“No one has ever listened to my opinion until now. Not a single person.”
The Duke had been absent from the estate, so there was no one to hear me, and Gwen and Russell? It would have been pointless to speak to them.
“There’s no need for anyone to care about my opinion, just like it’s always been.”
“No, Erina. That’s not it.”
I met the Duke’s gaze as he said this. He let out a low sigh and fell silent.
“The one at fault is me. It has to be me. Right? I was young, inadequate. A child who knew nothing. I couldn’t awaken early like my brothers.”
I took a short, sharp breath.
“Just consider it all my fault. That way, at least my heart can rest.”
Even though these were the kind of words the original Erina might have said briefly, the expressions on their faces were utterly priceless.
From their faces, I felt an indescribable sensation.
Is this why people read regret stories?!
No, wait—this isn’t a novel; this is reality. Seeing the faces of handsome men full of regret right in front of me… something inside me feels like it’s awakening that shouldn’t.
Heart racing, I scanned the Duke, Gwen, and Russell. They looked at me with faces full of words they couldn’t bring themselves to speak.
I had seen this expression fairly often since I possessed this body.
In a regret story, what drives the regretful person crazy?
Indifference. Fine, let’s try that.
For some reason, I felt a little excited, as if I were a character in the story.
No, no. I can’t just enjoy this. I need to provoke their guilt just enough to tilt the situation in my favor.
I wanted to torment them a little, and maybe enjoy their expressions—just a little, very little.
“If it’s not my fault, then why… until now?”
I let my voice trail off deliberately, lowering my gaze. The atmosphere immediately grew heavier.
“…I don’t know.”
I said that and stood. Feeling their eyes on me, I hesitated whether to say another word.
No, better to stay silent here.
Let the misunderstandings pile up. With that thought, I backed toward the door.
I saw Russell spring up as if to stop me, but I quickly opened the door and left the room.
You can’t repay ten years of wrongs to Erina in one blow. Let them burn with regret, little by little.
Meanwhile, I could think about escaping to the temple and how to do it safely.
If I say I’m going to the temple, they might think I’m just leaving because of them and try to stop me.
And if possible, I should consider alternatives to becoming a priest. Life in the temple isn’t bad, but there might be a better way.
First, escape. Escape.
Let the men of the Marvas Duke family stew in regret. It’s their karma.
The three men, who had followed Erina’s departing form, darkened with unspoken feelings.
“…We have a long way to go.”
The Duke muttered quietly to himself, voicing their shared sentiments.
“Perhaps it would have been better to tell her some of the truth to some degree…”
“You mean, tell her she’ll be assassinated in the future? That we want to prevent it? That we’ve realized how much we’ve wronged her after seeing the future?”
Russell shut his mouth. He had considered it better to speak, even reporting his opinion to the Duke before they gathered.
But the Duke’s stance seemed unchanged from before.
“What good would that do? Look at Erina’s reaction. Do you think she would even listen to anything we say?”
Gwen replied this time.
“…Then isn’t that all the more reason to tell her…”
“Perhaps that would be more efficient. That may be the better way to protect her.”
The Duke’s crimson eyes glimmered coldly, calculating.
“But is it enough if Erina simply doesn’t die?”
“…That’s not what I meant.”
“Erina could interpret it that way, perfectly reasonably.”
Gwen fell silent. She couldn’t confidently say she knew otherwise, remembering Erina’s expression just before leaving the room.
“…You mean we should act while thinking of how Erina would interpret it?”
“Isn’t that what one does naturally? We simply ignored her under the name of family until now.”
The Duke exhaled sharply. Speaking those words seemed painful even for him.
“Shamefully, you are slightly better than I am. I neglected you all in the name of Penelope… I was a useless and harsh father.”
Gwen clenched her fist.
“No, I’m no better, Father.”
Russell likewise looked down at the floor with a gloomy expression.
“We have no right to say we are better than Father. To Erina, we’re all the same.”
Silence fell again. The long pause revealed just how lost they were.
“…I will accompany Erina when she goes out.”
Gwen broke the silence, drawing the Duke and Russell’s attention.
“If this is difficult for Erina to accept, if it’s unfamiliar behavior… then just show her that it’s not unfamiliar. Not just with words, but with actions.”
She quietly clenched her fist and released it.
“Simply act this way… to show that it’s not a whim, but deliberate behavior.”
“…I didn’t expect you to suggest that.”
Russell muttered, half in admiration, half in ridicule, but Gwen ignored him. She looked only at the Duke.
“Please allow me to go out with Erina tomorrow.”
The Duke looked at his eldest son, fully aware that he was trying to fill his father’s absent presence.
“…Yes. That would be best.”
Exhaling deeply, the Duke nodded.
“Remember this well. Ensure Erina’s safety as a basic principle, but above all, we must soothe the wounds we have caused her… not just acknowledge our mistakes.”
He sighed with deep regret.
“It is a lifelong debt of the heart. Why did I not realize it then? Penelope… cherished Erina deeply. She always looked forward to the day they would attend a ball together.”
A sigh of regret escaped him. Gwen and Russell also felt it.
Because they too were fools, unsure how to act after all the wrongs they had done Erina.
No one else would believe it. The Marvas Duke family, one of the empire’s pillars, producing skilled mages and royal guards… yet, for ten years, they only hurt their youngest child, their daughter. Who would ever believe it?
