Chapter 115………………………………………..
Ron’s expression brightened once again.
Smiling softly at the three brothers, I spoke.
“I was the one who got hurt, you know. That means I have priority, right?”
“That’s true. Sorry—we were a bit hasty.”
At Shevert’s words, Ron and Krimu nodded at the same time.
“Then I’ll start, and after that I’ll leave the rest to you. Handle him however you like.”
Seeing all three brothers agree, I swung my fist decisively at my uncle.
“A-Anne… ugh!”
After landing exactly ten punches, I left the drawing room.
Immediately afterward, a loud crash and my uncle’s screams echoed all the way outside.
I straightened my slightly crumpled dress, fixed my necklace, and stepped out lightly, enjoying the spring breeze blowing in from the garden.
As I walked, I recalled something my uncle had said when I landed about three punches.
‘So you’re saying the guardian deity resides in the tree behind the house?’
That was what my uncle had claimed.
I knew the tree in the backyard very well.
I’d often gone there when I first started living in the mansion after possessing this body.
But usually, other families had guardian deities tied to vast forests—so why did the Delve family only have a single tree?
Besides, when I’d been near that tree before, there hadn’t been anything special about it.
Hah… This has to be fake.
I stopped there.
After all, it was something my uncle had said—hardly trustworthy.
Time passed quickly.
A few days later, as the sun was beginning to set—
“Shevert.”
I approached him, already prepared to depart.
“Here. Please take this.”
“A handkerchief?”
“Yes. I couldn’t give it to you when you went to the academy before.”
“Huh? I still have the one I got back then in my room.”
The one he’d taken back then had actually been a napkin.
I’d been wiping my mouth at the dining table when he suddenly snatched it away.
Thinking about it made me feel a little guilty.
Come to think of it, I was his fiancée, yet I was only now giving him a proper handkerchief.
“This one’s better. Throw the old one away and use this instead.”
Shevert accepted it, his crimson eyes shining brightly.
The light of the setting sun poured down on him.
I watched quietly as he squinted slightly against the glare, and before I realized it, my sincerity spilled out.
“Please be careful. Don’t die. You probably won’t get hurt, but even if you do, just make it something minor—nothing life-threatening.”
“Kuh.”
Shevert burst out laughing.
“You haven’t forgotten that you saved my life from an assassin before, right? That means my life belongs to you.”
“Are you saying you’re worried, or not?”
“I am worried! That’s why I even made magic bombs for you.”
“That’s true. Thank you for caring.”
“……”
His words of thanks felt a little sad.
Even if it was an affection born of irritation, affection had still formed.
“I’ll keep my promise not to die. In return, keep an eye on Ron.”
“…Yes.”
“I’m always waiting for my younger brothers to grow strong enough to strike back at me, so tell Ron to grow quickly and come fight me.”
The words were fierce, but his face looked as though he genuinely anticipated that day.
Soon, mounted on his horse, he spoke again.
“Take care. And when I return… I’ll try to stand here as your fiancé.”
Shevert’s face, as he said those final words, was clouded with complicated emotions.
As though he were steeling himself for something difficult.
And just like that, we—engaged as we were—shared a brief farewell.
After that, Ron continued receiving his scheduled purification, even learning directly from the Pope how to control malice.
The strange thing was that from that day on, the malice inside Ron truly stopped raging violently.
Even when it surged, Ron was now able to regulate it himself.
Naturally, he no longer went out in the middle of the night to hunt monsters.
We only told Ron that Shevert had gone on an expedition for training.
Since Shevert had always trained alone regardless of day or night, Ron seemed to believe it.
Several peaceful days passed like that, until one day I happened to run into Grandfather in the garden.
The moment he saw me, he hurriedly turned and tried to leave.
But I was faster, and soon caught him.
“Grandfather, why are you avoiding me?”
I’d already been uneasy about how he hadn’t been showing himself to the family lately.
Ever since Ron began receiving purification, it had become even more noticeable.
Grandfather must have heard the news faster than anyone.
That was probably why he’d been avoiding us.
“Hmm.”
As he turned his gaze away, I spoke up confidently.
“See, Grandfather? I told you before—I said I’d take care of it!”
I’d expected him to look flustered.
But contrary to my expectations, he lowered his head and remained silent for a long while.
“Grandfather… are you okay?”
When I called softly, he slowly lifted his gaze.
“I’m sorry… I’m truly sorry…”
He kept repeating how sorry he was.
He confessed that he hadn’t even been able to face the family.
“So that’s why you didn’t come out even during meals? Everyone was wondering.”
“…They were wondering about me? Who?”
“Everyone. From Father to Krimu. Even the head chef, Pure, prepared separate meals just for you and felt sad every time he sent them up to your room.”
“…I see.”
A sound like a sigh escaped Grandfather’s lips.
Then he looked straight at me and spoke.
“But is it really true that Ron was purified? How—how on earth was that possible?”
“I’m a dark-attribute mage. I absorbed part of the malice inside Ron. Of course, I sealed it afterward.”
“Th-Then the annihilation of the Kereis family…!”
“That won’t happen anymore.”
Grandfather looked stunned.
He seemed deeply shaken, his body swaying slightly.
“Grandfather!”
“I-I’m fine. I should… sit down for a moment.”
We sat side by side on a garden bench.
After taking several deep breaths, Grandfather spoke first.
“Is what you said… truly the truth?”
“You can confirm it through His Holiness the Pope. He purified the remaining malice with his holy power.”
“If only… that had been done sooner.”
For a long while, Grandfather closed his eyes and couldn’t say a word.
Then he slowly opened them and looked at me.
“Thank you, Anne. You’ve been through so much.”
“The one who suffered most wasn’t me—it was Ron. Please go and tell him yourself, Grandfather.”
“…Yes. I will.”
Ron hadn’t yet accepted Grandfather’s apology.
It would take time.
Until then, everyone would have to try.
After a moment of silence, I spoke again.
“His Holiness mentioned that you visited the temple a very long time ago.”
Grandfather seemed to struggle to hide his surprise.
“Why couldn’t you use holy power back then?”
“At the time, there was no one with strong holy power. Even the current Pope was just a priest with weak holy power then.”
“That’s a shame. There must have been some way, though.”
“The fault is largely mine. I didn’t tell Getre, and tried to solve everything hastily on my own.”
Suddenly, an image of Grandfather struggling alone back then came vividly to mind.
Grandfather, despairing after hearing the guardian deity’s prophecy.
Grandfather, going to the temple only to leave without accomplishing anything.
I didn’t know whether this came from the original novel or from my imagination.
But one thing was certain—Grandfather had tried, in his own way.
“But in the end, I kidnapped that child and sold him far away with my own hands…”
I took Grandfather’s hand.
“Before that, you did everything you could to save young Ron.”
“…Anne. You accomplished what I could not. Thank you—truly.”
“Ron might still find it hard to accept you, but you’re still his grandfather… so please, never abandon Ron again.”
“…Thank you, Anne.”
The crimson eyes of Grandfather, catching the light, seemed faintly moist.
At last, the final day of purification arrived.
After examining Ron, the Pope declared that there was no malice left to cleanse.
Today was the end.
Thank goodness…!
Looking at Ron sleeping deeply, I felt my eyes grow hot.
It was really over now.
You’ve endured so much, Ron.
From the moment he went missing as a child until now, Ron had survived an unbearably long time.
I felt both proud of him and heartbroken.
From now on, only good things will happen.
Once I managed to steady my emotions, I suddenly noticed myself sitting by his side.
With the seed of calamity—Ron’s malice—purified, the horrific future would no longer come to pass.
Shevert and Marianne would not kidnap Bianca, and Ron would not slaughter lives mercilessly.
I should leave.
It was right for me to go.
If I stayed here, the only thing I could do as Shevert’s fiancée was marry him.
That’s why I saved up so much money in the first place.
And yet… I didn’t want to leave.
Something seemed to cling stubbornly to me.
And I knew the reason all too well.
Because they’re family… because they’ve become my family.
I’d once jokingly thought about just marrying Shevert outright.
I laughed it off quickly back then.
I used to think it was easy to leave when you didn’t know warmth.
But now that I knew how warm it was—how happy it could be—I hesitated.
