#5.
Allen seemed absolutely convinced that I wasn’t trying to help him.
Feeling awkward, I reached out and gently brought the handkerchief to his face. As I wiped off the dust, Allen stared at me expressionlessly, as if silently asking what I was doing.
“We agreed to take the punishment together, but you were trying to do it all alone?”
“You’ve never helped me before.”
That… was true.
Yes, the original Roni always deliberately caused trouble and then pinned the blame on Allen. Allen had grown used to being punished for things he didn’t even do.
That must’ve been the case that day they went out too.
It upset me that this small child had learned to accept unfair treatment from such a young age. I crouched down opposite him and spoke.
“I’m really sorry about before. I mean it. I treated you horribly, and I apologize again.”
“Why are you suddenly acting like this? Just act the way you usually do. Don’t confuse people.”
Allen responded with a stiffer face than before. He was still a child and couldn’t fully hide his shaken emotions.
His voice carried genuine feeling. I didn’t know what to say to a boy like him. Saying “I’m not actually Roni” would be ridiculous.
When a person suddenly changes, it has to be for a reason—like suffering a major shock, or being close to death.
I couldn’t pretend to be terminally ill or anything, so I only had one option left.
I made a tearful face, trying to look like a scared child who’d experienced something terrifying, and spoke to Allen with a serious tone.
“Actually, the night before I bullied Sasha, I had a dream… She came to me in the dream, all angry, and then… she ate me. When I saw her at the lake, that dream just hit me all over again.”
“……”
“It felt so real, like I was actually being eaten. That’s when I thought—so this is what dying feels like.”
“…So, because you thought you were going to die, you started regretting everything?”
“Exactly! I knew my Allen would get it.”
“……”
“You still don’t believe me, huh? But hey, it’s not every day a 13-year-old dreams about dying. You saw me put Sasha down, didn’t you? Would the old me have done that?”
Allen quickly shook his head. Yeah. That was the Roni he knew.
I went on and on, explaining how horrible the dream was, how terrifying, and how it made me reflect on so many things.
The more I talked, the sleepier Allen’s eyes looked, but I ignored it. Roni, like Allen, was just a child in a new world.
Sure, she bullied Allen relentlessly, but she was still just a kid. It only got worse as they got older and drove Allen to the brink.
There was still a chance to fix their relationship. I looked as remorseful as a child could and spoke again.
And what’s the most childlike way to atone? Doing someone’s chores, of course.
“So… I want us to get along now! If you don’t believe me, I’ll pull all the weeds today—your share too!”
“No thanks. Why should I trust you to do it alone? You’ll probably just tattle to the Duke like always.”
Allen still didn’t trust me and shook his head.
I snatched the weeds from his hands and pointed to a nearby tree.
“Then go rest over there. I’ll handle the rest.”
“I said no.”
“Tsk! Just trust your big sister for once!”
“That ‘sister’ of yours, seriously…”
Though Allen grumbled, he moved toward the tree, glancing at me the whole way with a clearly displeased expression.
His tiny hands had already pulled quite a lot. Actually, they weren’t so tiny—his hands were bigger than most kids’, but thanks to my favoritism, he just looked cute to me.
To be honest, even though I said I’d do Allen’s share, he had already finished more than half. I rolled up my sleeves and started pulling weeds with determination.
Huff, huff. Why are there so many weeds?
It didn’t take long for me to realize that Roni’s body only had the stamina of a child.
Being a kid meant I had very little strength in my hands. Even pulling one weed was a struggle.
If I were in my original body, this would’ve been a piece of cake. But I wasn’t. And since Allen had been doing all the punishments before, I had no immunity to this kind of labor.
Even with gloves on, my hands were starting to hurt.
Did this body never exercise? Huff, huff.
As I panted and struggled through pulling half the weeds, Allen, who had been watching me, clicked his tongue and took the weeds from me. I stared at him in a daze.
Truthfully, I was hitting my limit. I had been wondering whether I should just say sorry and ask him to help, and his reaction felt like a lifeline. I stretched my aching back.
“I could have done it by myself! …Huff, huff.”
I still had to save face after claiming I’d handle it, so I put up a bit of a front. But Allen didn’t miss a thing.
“Catch your breath first before you talk.”
“Yessir. Huff… huff.”
Allen answered bluntly and silently began pulling weeds again. I took the chance to wipe the sweat from my face with a handkerchief and took deep breaths.
I didn’t know it’d be this exhausting.
Once I had somewhat recovered, I crouched back down and continued. Allen glanced at me, surprised I hadn’t given up, but he didn’t tell me to leave like before.
We kept pulling weeds in silence. I was so tired I didn’t even have the energy to chat with Allen.
“All done!”
I cried out breathlessly, throwing my handfuls of weeds into the air like a victory cheer. Allen looked at me like I was totally weird.
But he didn’t ask why I was acting like this anymore—maybe he’d figured out it was useless.
I dropped my arms and lay back on the grass. Forget lunch—I didn’t even have the strength to move.
How had Allen been doing this all alone?
Allen stared at me lying there. I smiled brightly at him—a joyful smile saying We did it! We finished!
But the moment I smiled, Allen’s expression stiffened. He flinched and quickly stood up, brushing dirt off his clothes. The dust flew into my face, making me cough.
“Achoo! Geez, you’re not supposed to shake off dust near people.”
“I’m leaving.”
Allen backed away from me fast. I called after him as he walked off.
“Wait! We’re gonna eat lunch anyway—come with me!”
But Allen didn’t stop and just walked off alone. So coldhearted.
They say food after hard work tastes the best. Was this really the same food I’d always eaten? Did the chef change or something?
Chewing on the meat on my plate, I pondered. Maybe it was just because I’d worked so hard all morning—it felt like the meat melted in my mouth.
Allen didn’t show up to the dining hall. Maybe he was eating in his room.
Did I do something wrong again?
Was it because I smiled? Maybe it creeped him out since I never smiled before.
I kept chewing the meat, deep in thought. Gale stared at me suspiciously.
Even while scarfing down meat, he didn’t take his eyes off me. Just as I was about to ask what was up, he grumbled with a clear complaint.
“What’s wrong with you lately?”
“What do you mean?”
I tilted my head, and Gale slammed his fork down on the table. That determined look… he clearly wanted a confrontation.
“First you called the mutt ‘hyung,’ and now you’re acting all weird!”
“What weird behavior?”
“I saw everything earlier. You used to always make Allen hyung take your punishments behind Dad’s back, but today you tried to do his share!”
When did he spy on me?
I clicked my tongue, thinking about Gale secretly watching me. Yeah, from his point of view, it must’ve looked really strange.
Even though I knew Roni’s personality, I wasn’t skilled enough to perfectly imitate her.
Just like I told Allen, I told Gale the story about Sasha appearing in my dream and killing me—with a very serious face.
After listening, Gale scowled and shouted:
“Just say you don’t want to talk to me! What kind of nonsense is that?!”
“It’s not nonsense. Allen believed me.”
“What? Dung—no, wait. Allen hyung? You told him about your dream before me?”
Wait, why is that the part he’s mad about?
I gulped, remembering how much Gale looked up to Roni. In the original story, he hated Allen for stealing his sister’s attention.
If I acted too obviously like I favored Allen, it might ruin his future at the magic academy.
Scratching my head, I took a piece of the meat I’d been saving and placed it on Gale’s plate. Food was the best way to calm a child.
“This is my favorite part.”
At the words Roni’s favorite part, Gale quickly popped the meat into his mouth like someone might steal it, still grumbling.
“…I–I’m not just gonna! Let it go ‘cause of this, okay?!”
Sure, sure. You keep telling yourself that.
