# I Possessed the Villain’s Daughter – Chapter 16 #
It was perfectly reasonable for them to hate me. In fact, it was almost strange that they didn’t. That’s how overwhelming the love my father, my older brothers, and my uncle had for my mother seemed to be.
What if it had been me?
If someone had killed the person I loved and then their child was born… Could I still shower that child with unconditional love?
The honest answer was: I don’t know.
It would hurt too much. No matter how hard I tried to forget, seeing the face of that child would surely bring back memories of the person I had lost. My father had lived alone, never able to forget my mother. My two older brothers must have missed her deeply too. And yet, they loved and cherished me with everything they had.
Was I allowed to accept that love?
I lowered my head, weighed down by sadness.
I had said it without even realizing, but now I was terrified of how my uncle might react.
What if he came to hate me because of it?
Then, above my head, I heard my uncle’s low voice.
“Who told you that?”
“…Huh?”
I looked up, startled.
His face was twisted in anger. It was the first time I’d seen that expression on him, who had been smiling all day long.
Seeing that face, a sudden chill of fear ran through me.
“Ah… I just…”
What if he did resent me? The thought made my heart tremble.
But he didn’t hesitate and fired back quickly.
“Who said that to you? Brother-in-law? Edwin? Or Light?”
“U-uh…”
He seemed genuinely furious. His green eyes glowed with a fierce blue light. If I said, “~~said that to me!” right now, he might just leap down from this tree and go beat that person to a pulp.
I was completely at a loss for words. After stammering for a while, I finally managed to speak.
“U-uncle, please don’t be mad!”
Only after I tugged on him several times did he finally take a deep breath and try to calm himself.
“…Lala.”
“…Yes?”
I looked up at him, feeling a little deflated. My uncle met my eyes—eyes that were so similar in color to mine, a deep green. In that gaze, I felt like he could see straight through me.
“That’s not your fault.”
It was like a ripple had formed in my heart.
“To say that it’s because of you… That’s absurd. It was just an unexpected accident.”
“…”
“I won’t deny that everyone was in pain because of what happened. But that doesn’t change how much we love you.”
“…”
He looked truly distressed.
“We love you. From the bottom of our hearts.”
All I could do was blink. And in the next moment, I found myself wrapped in his arms.
“You’re only fourteen—you shouldn’t have to think about things like this. Smile, Lala. You’re still just a child.”
His warmth was comforting. Held in his arms, my eyes rolled slightly. What is this feeling? I hesitated.
“…B-but.”
I finally managed to open my mouth, and without realizing it, tears came spilling out with the words.
In that moment, the memories from my past overlapped.
When I was eight years old, my whole family died in a car accident.
They were driving to pick me up from school because I had collapsed with a high fever. The car was speeding through a rain-flooded road and swerved to avoid another vehicle cutting in. That’s when it lost control and crashed.
The insurance company refused to pay, claiming it was our fault. And just like that, my aunt was left to take care of me without any support. She always resented me.
She said it was my fault our whole family died. That if it hadn’t been for me, they would still be alive. She said it over and over again. I still remember the disgusted look on her face when she was told I’d be living with her. That hateful expression.
I always asked myself:
If it weren’t for me… would everything have been different?
If I hadn’t been sick, if it hadn’t rained, if the car hadn’t slipped…
Would something have changed?
Would I have grown up in my parents’ embrace? Quarreled playfully with my brothers like other siblings? Maintained a distant but respectful relationship with my aunt, visiting during holidays?
Would I have been happy?
Thinking about it made my chest ache so much it felt like I couldn’t breathe. The jealousy and longing for a version of myself that might have been happy burned painfully inside. I knew it was a fantasy that could never come true, but I kept replaying the past over and over. The belief that my family died because of me always tormented me.
My uncle gently patted my back.
“Don’t torment yourself. It’s not your fault.”
I couldn’t stop crying. In his arms, I wept and wept.
Lyla was someone else, and yet she was also me. After entering this unknown world, I had become Lyla, and Lyla had become me.
Receiving love from this family had stung at first. It felt wrong, like I was stealing affection that didn’t belong to me. I thought the love they gave was meant for the real Lyla.
But why wouldn’t I be Lyla?
In this moment, in this world, there was no one else who was Lyla but me.
I was Lyla.
The one they loved was me.
I carried Lyla’s pain, her wounds, her thoughts—they were all mine too.
As I listened to my uncle’s words, I felt both her pain and mine slowly begin to heal.
“It’s not your fault.”
Maybe all this time, I had been waiting for someone to tell me those words.
Whether he knew that or not, my uncle gently stroked my back and whispered in my ear.
“Don’t cry, my sweet Lala.”
“Hngh… hhic…”
“Lala… please don’t cry.”
He kept comforting me.
His warm voice melted away my fear and anxiety.
And until even the smallest remnants of pain had dissolved,
My uncle held me close and patted my back.
After crying for so long, my eyes had become completely swollen—like an owl’s.
My family’s reaction when they saw me was… intense.
“What did you do to make her cry like this?”
Father, though trying to restrain himself out of respect for his wife’s younger brother, had a terrifying tone in his voice. The suppressed murderous aura seemed to manifest around him like black shadows. Even before Uncle could stammer out an excuse, Eddie-oppa cut in.
“Exactly. You’ll have to explain to us slowly—and in great detail—just what happened between you and Lala to make her cry like this.”
Elegant and noble as always, Eddie-oppa politely offered Uncle a seat with a gentle smile—but that smile looked eerily like the Grim Reaper’s.
“Oh my, what a night it is—makes me want to polish my sword.”
Eit-oppa suddenly drew the vivid blue longsword at his waist and began blowing on the spotless blade as if cleaning it.
“Um, well…”
Uncle looked around in despair at Grandma and Grandpa. But they were no different.
“Our precious puppy cried? Josephine, bring some cold water, a basin, and a damp cloth.”
“Tsk tsk. What could you have done to make her cry, Laska? Is this how I raised you?”
“M-mother, Father, please—listen to me for a moment…”
Uncle was completely flustered.
I watched silently, then cautiously opened my mouth.
To be honest, I was a little embarrassed about why I had cried. I wasn’t sure how to explain it to this family who loved me so deeply. So, I decided to change the topic.
“Um, everyone…”
All eyes turned to me.
“Uh…”
With all the attention on me, I hesitated—but my body betrayed me with an honest response.
Grrrrgle~
My stomach growled loudly in the parlor.
I could only laugh awkwardly.
“I’m… hungry.”
Maybe it was from all the crying, but I was really hungry. The tension eased for a moment.
“Well, there’s no helping it. Let’s postpone the discussion until after dinner.”
Eddie-oppa picked up the cloth himself and gently dabbed around my eyes. I giggled at the ticklish, cooling sensation. My swollen eyes seemed to settle a bit. Probably by tomorrow, they’d be fully back to normal.
“Yes, we have all the time in the world. Just remember—we’re only postponing this talk.”
“I need some time to clean my sword anyway.”
“Sigh… I always told you, never make a woman cry.”
“He’s still single, after all.”
With those words—and Grandma’s sharp jab—Uncle looked like his soul had left his body. At thirty-four, if he had married in his early twenties like most nobles, he might have had a daughter my age. He was the very definition of a hopeless bachelor. No wonder they called him eccentric.
When Grandma reached out her hand to me, I got up and brushed myself off.
“We’ve prepared something delicious. You like sweet things, don’t you, my puppy?”
“Yes!”
I ran over to her. As we walked to the dining hall, she described in great detail how talented the chef was, and how unbelievably creative his desserts were. As I nodded with deep interest, everyone watched me fondly.
Then, by chance, I turned my head and met Uncle’s gaze.
He smiled softly, his eyes curving gently.
My heart skipped a beat. That warm green gaze, just like the one I had only seen in portraits—so kind, so warm.
A gentle, tender color.
The color of my mother.
Uncle whispered to me,
“Welcome to our home, Lala.”
I smiled brightly in return.
Like the most loved child in the world—like the happiest girl alive.
