Chapter 5
‘Huh?’
‘You really are a good child.’
A good child, huh. I hadn’t actually been kind at all. I only acted harshly because I believed that being “good” wouldn’t work on Rubleo. I simply chose to be unpleasant—but from that day on, Rubleo misunderstood it all as if I were doing it for his sake.
I never wanted to change someone else’s future. I was afraid that if I started interfering with fate, an unknown future might emerge—one I couldn’t control, one that wouldn’t go the way I wanted.
“In the end, Rubleo… you ended up inside my boundary.”
When I first met Rubleo, I thought he was just like the other children. A child favored by the priestesses. A boy who lacked nothing yet always wore an irritated expression. A child who separated himself from us, unwilling to mix with others of “lower status.” But that wasn’t it.
From the moment he was born, unwanted attention surrounded him. Simply by existing, Rubleo was isolated. All he wanted was to play with the other children, but the priestesses overprotected him, insisting he was too precious to be hurt.
Children their age were supposed to get hurt while playing together—that was normal.
It didn’t end there. Even when sharing food, they wouldn’t let him eat freely, fearing he might get sick from anything.
His nobility turned into excess, excess turned into overprotection, and overprotection turned into isolation. Step by step, everything piled up until Rubleo was unwillingly left alone. And the isolation he suffered was excessive.
“If it were just someone you met outside, you could endure it for a short time… but…”
An orphanage is a place where children live together twenty-four hours a day, even while sleeping. In such a place, how painful must it have been to be completely excluded?
Looking at Rubleo, who had entered my boundary, I made a decision. I would include him in my future. That was also part of the reason I chose Marquis Colin.
“Still, I’m here. I’m right here, Rubie.”
But I could no longer stay here taking care of Rubleo. It was time to cut our ties. For both of us—to avoid a dreadful ending.
“Ruble.”
“Yeah.”
“Whatever anyone says, I’m leaving.”
“……”
“You’re my friend, so you’ll respect my decision, right?”
“Yeah…”
After all, he was only a nine-year-old child.
To Rubleo, I was his first friend, his first family.
So I held his hand tightly.
“I have one favor, Ruble.”
“What is it? Don’t tell me to forget you.”
“That’s not it. Ruble… I don’t want you to be adopted.”
My memories of Rubleo had returned quite late compared to the others. In fact, only recently.
“Why? If I’m adopted into a good family, I’d have to go just to see you. I wouldn’t be able to see you if I stay here.”
Rubleo looked at me with a gloomy expression, like a puppy abandoned by its owner.
“If I get adopted, I’ll lose all memories of this place. So don’t do something stupid like getting adopted just to see me.”
“You’re cruel… Rubie. How am I supposed to live without seeing you? You’re my only family.”
“Yes. I’m awful. I’m cruel. So don’t try to see me. I’ll get adopted into a good family, forget you, and live well.”
There was a reason I had to say this.
I knew Rubleo’s future. The son born into Marquis Colin’s family was incompetent and possessed no holy power, so the Marquis intended to adopt a new heir. That child, purchased from the temple with a large donation, would be Rubleo.
When the temple resisted handing him over, Marquis Colin even lied that Rubleo was his long-lost son.
And in the process, he sought a way to transfer Rubleo’s power into his own son. In the end, Rubleo—like me—would be used until nothing of him remained, not even his name.
No one would know whether he died, became nothing but a disposable tool like me, or lived somewhere trapped, drained like a mosquito sucking blood forever.
‘Still… Rubleo. If I prevent the Marquis of Colin from ever adopting another child again… if I take away that opportunity… then at least that terrible future won’t happen. I’ll protect your future.’
I smiled and reached out my hand. Since I was much smaller than Rubleo, whenever I reached out like this, he would always lower his head toward my hand.
As always, I shrugged lightly and patted his head.
“You’re so pretty.”
“……”
“You’ll listen to me, right, Ruble?”
“…No. I’m going to come see you. I’m going to get adopted no matter what.”
“Don’t do that. I want you to stay here and grow up well as the youngest high priest instead. If you want to see me, become someone useful. Got it?”
It hurt that I had to say such things to a child like him. But our future had to be changed now. Children who had nothing could only live like people once they became adults who had something.
“If you become that kind of useful person, I’ll see you then. But if you become some half-hearted noble, I won’t.”
“…You want me to become a high priest?”
“Yes. I want a powerful friend.”
“A powerful friend…”
Rubleo repeated my words over and over, as if engraving them into his mind.
“Then I’ll go. I’ve got an adoption appointment, I’m busy.”
But it didn’t seem like Rubleo intended to let me go. The moment I stopped patting his head, he naturally grabbed my wrist.
His faint expression, his messy blond hair, and his drooping golden eyes like a puppy stabbed painfully at something deep in my chest.
“…Are you really going?”
“Yes.”
After staring at him for a moment, I shoved my hand into my pocket, restless. I felt like I had to give him something to calm him down. But what could an orphanage child possibly have? I couldn’t even tear my clothes to give him anything.
Then, my fingers touched something—the chocolate I had received after breakfast.
I took it out and placed it in Rubleo’s hand.
“A gift.”
“Eh…?”
Chocolate resting on his small, pale palm.
“It’s not like we’ll never meet again, so don’t be upset. If you become powerful enough, you’ll be able to see me anytime. Who knows? If you gain that much power, you might even be able to lock me away forever so I can never leave.”
“……”
Rubleo stared at the chocolate in silence for a long time.
“…Then I’m going.”
Did that calm him a little? Slowly, he released his grip on my wrist. Whether he finally realized nothing he said would change my mind, or whether he simply liked the chocolate, I didn’t know.
‘Did Rubleo always like chocolate that much?’
Still, seeing him somewhat soothed, I felt satisfied that I had at least left him with a warning. I quickly left the place.
And I made a decision.
If what I could do was a small butterfly’s wingbeat, then I would flap those wings with all my strength. I would change not only my future, but Rubleo’s as well. With that resolve, I returned to my room more energetically than ever.
The next day, Marquis Colin visited the temple and completed the adoption paperwork with the priestesses.
It wasn’t anything particularly complicated. Since the children legally belonged to the temple, the document simply stated that custody would transfer after a set period if the child was properly cared for. On the surface, it looked like the child was being treated with care—but in the end, they were still being treated as property.
Whether he knew it or not, Marquis Colin signed elegantly, nodded, and held the stamped document tightly against his chest before reaching out to me.
“Let’s go.”
“So soon?”
I had expected the impatient Marquis Colin to take me today, but the priestesses seemed unprepared and hurriedly stepped in to stop him.
