Chapter 48
“Elisa. How about Elisa? Her nickname could be Elli. But I wonder if she’ll like it.”
“I’m sure she will.”
I don’t really know why, but I have a feeling that’s true.
‘After all, the female lead never had a name of her own during her childhood.’
It’s true that she definitely had a name on official documents.
Her original name was Kelliana. She used to be called Kelly.
I had only tried to change her life just a little, but now everything was straying far beyond my expectations.
“Well, if Amanet says so, then I suppose that’s how it is.”
I suddenly found myself wondering how the ending of this novel would turn out. If I changed my father, helped the twins grow up properly, and let the female lead grow up in an ordinary family, would everyone become happy?
But that sense of unease was soon swallowed up.
This is better than everyone moving like puppets playing their parts in a script designed for misery.
“Dad.”
“Hm?”
“They say life is a series of choices.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
At my sudden words, Dad merely tilted his head in confusion. Perhaps because my words sounded far too mature for my age, he reacted with visible surprise.
“Where did you hear something like that?”
“In a book. I’ve been getting smarter lately, you know. I’ve been reading a lot.”
“Is that so?”
“They say that because you made the best choice you could at the time, the you of today exists.”
“Ah….”
“So, Dad, you shouldn’t regret anything, and you shouldn’t doubt yourself wondering if it was okay. You should believe that you made the best choice.”
Dad’s lips trembled.
“I only read it in a book, so I’m not even sure if it’s really true!”
“It is true. Absolutely true. Amanet, you’re like a goddess to your father.”
“A goddess?”
Only then did Dad smile brightly.
“They say everyone has a god who watches over them. For me, that god seems to be you.”
“Hehe.”
“A god your mother sent.”
It seemed his heart had finally settled, because Dad began walking again.
“What kind of person was Mom?”
Normally, Dad never talked about Mom at all, but today it felt like he might tell me everything.
“You’d be curious. Your mother lived no differently from the child in that room….”
With a bitter expression, Dad headed straight into the room where the female lead was and gently set me down beside the bed.
“It seems Elisa hasn’t woken up yet.”
“Looks like it.”
“She must have had a family too.”
Dad slowly stroked the female lead’s small head.
‘A family that might as well not exist. Better not to find them.’
I watched the situation, hoping Dad wouldn’t look for Elisa’s family.
“Abandoning a child at an orphanage must have come with their own circumstances, but to never look for her even as she grew this much—that’s not what ordinary parents would do.”
Exactly. Why do protagonists in novels always have to be unhappy? Why do the endings of people who were once happy always end in misery and death?
“So if this child doesn’t want it, I won’t look for her parents either.”
“Okay.”
“That’s why I wasn’t planning to tell you about your mother unless you asked me yourself, Amanet. Hearing the truth could hurt you.”
I wondered why he suddenly started talking about this…
At Dad’s unexpected consideration, I could only blink my big eyes.
“I’ll tell you about your mother. It’s not such a grand story.”
“Okay! I still want to hear it!”
“Your mother, you see… she was similar to you, Amanet. Bright and warm.”
“Ooh, I see.”
“Even though she was a war orphan who lost both parents to the war. Your father fell for her instantly.”
“How did you meet Mom?”
Whenever I had asked about her before, Dad would only give a sad smile and say nothing more.
But now, perhaps having changed his mind, he continued.
War orphans had a hard time finding proper jobs, so most of them took on short-term labor. Mom first met Dad at one of those jobs.
Just like the woman Grandma had brought to my birthday party last time, Mom was a temporary worker at a party that needed a lot of help. Dad, who usually never attended parties, went only because Grandma pressured him—and that’s where he met Mom.
As if by fate, the two fell in love and even promised to marry, but they ran into Grandma’s opposition.
In a way, it was only natural.
“For the first time, I rebelled. I left home, held a small wedding with your mother, and lived together. When we had you, everything felt happy.”
As if reminiscing, a small smile spread across Dad’s face.
“But I didn’t know. Your foolish father didn’t realize how poor your mother’s health was. When she collapsed in her final month of pregnancy, there was nothing I could do for her. I had left home with nothing.”
Dad’s eyes slowly grew moist.
“The only thing I could do was take her to your grandmother. In exchange for coming back, we managed to get a doctor to see her—but it was already too late.”
“Ah….”
“So before you could even see your mother, she left this world. It’s all your father’s fault.”
I shook my head at Dad, who blamed everything on himself.
“No. It’s not Dad’s fault or Mom’s fault. It’s just… you didn’t know.”
“Amanet.”
“Besides, didn’t Mom try to protect me?”
Dad silently nodded.
“Your mother’s death is absolutely not your fault.”
“Of course. I won’t feel sorry to Mom. I’m sure Mom wouldn’t want me to feel guilty either.”
As I accepted the situation in an unexpected way, Dad’s expression slowly began to change.
So that’s why Grandma’s grandchildren made such a fuss, saying I was a child born after killing my mother.
I recalled those brats who tormented me in new ways as the days went by. Back then, Dad had only told me to ignore their words and never said anything more.
“You’re better than me, Amanet.”
“Of course! Whose daughter do you think I am? They say children are supposed to surpass their parents.”
“Haha. Is that so?”
“Yeah! So don’t worry about me!”
A bright smile spread across Dad’s face.
“Our daughter is so brave.”
“Yep!”
“Rescuer—”
That was when it happened.
As Dad and I were talking, a voice I had never heard before pierced my ears.
A husky voice. Finding its owner wasn’t difficult.
There were only three people in this room: Dad, me, and the female lead.
“Are you awake?”
Startled by the sudden voice, Dad quickly turned his gaze toward the bed.
But the female lead didn’t answer his question. She simply stared at me in silence.
“Sweetie?”
Dad urged her again, but she pressed her lips tightly together, as if she had decided she would never respond to him.
“She must be shy around strangers.”
“Is that so?”
“Um… Rescuer.”
The moment she heard my voice, the female lead opened her tightly closed mouth.
Me? No, why am I the rescuer? Dad was the one who saved her.
Her gaze was strange.
The back of my head felt chillingly cold. I had a bad feeling, like I’d made a wrong choice. Why was she blushing and acting shy like that?
Was she always this kind of character? In the novel and in the past, the female lead wasn’t afraid of people and got along well with everyone. That’s how she became close to the twins too.
“……”
“Um…”
When I silently looked at her, her eyes sparkled as she slowly got up from her seat.
“May I ask the rescuer’s name?”
“Me? I’m Amanet! But why am I the rescuer?”
It didn’t seem like she was calling me that just because I saved her.
The female lead gave an answer I never expected.
“Because God told me that someone who would save me would come!”
“God?”
I knew she would later entrust herself to a temple and become a saintess, but she had never been able to hear God’s voice. And yet now she was saying she heard it.
Everything keeps changing too much from the past I know.
Perhaps because I died and time reversed, the female lead’s abilities have been upgraded.
Something feels… cold.
