Chapter 82
“Amused, you say?”
“Yeah. To him, this is all just amusing.”
You struggling to adapt here. You giving him kindness, then being tormented by guilt when you see me suffer.
Carlton didn’t bother to say the rest aloud.
“I get it.”
Sensing the heavy mood, Velia nodded quickly.
“Don’t be kind to me.”
“Alright.”
“Don’t just say it half-heartedly.”
“I won’t. Really. Okay now?”
“…Just don’t. Anyway, thanks for the medicine.”
“Hehe.”
Carlton avoided Velia’s beaming smile.
“Well? You’re grateful, right?”
Velia leaned closer, trying to catch Carlton’s eyes as he turned away.
“…Go away.”
Carlton pushed her face back, but even so, Velia kept laughing brightly, and he couldn’t help but stare at her.
Fiddling with his now-healed arm, Carlton slowly asked,
“Why do you… do all this for me?”
“Hm?”
“Do you like me that much?”
His serious tone silenced the two of them for a moment.
The dried blood stains on the wooden floor and the scattered syringes made for a cold, oppressive backdrop to such a strangely out-of-place conversation.
Velia blinked, then her face flushed red—not because her feelings were exposed, but because the blunt question clashed with the noble dignity she had been raised in.
For a young noble lady, it was far too direct.
“Are you doing this because you… like me? In that way?”
Unlike the flustered Velia, Carlton’s face was tightly drawn. To him, everything about this was both strange and unsettling.
Born into persecution, he had never been used to receiving kindness.
“No!”
“Then why?”
“What?”
“If you don’t even like me that way, why go so far? Even if my wounds heal, you’re the one who suffers so much for it.”
No matter how much Carlton looked after Velia, it was on the same level as he treated any of the others.
That was why Velia puzzled him.
Even those who had been with him far longer never treated him with such care. Many even took his kindness for granted.
Of course, if it was because of guilt, he didn’t resent it. But Velia’s inexplicable kindness—it was too unfamiliar.
“What do you expect to get from me?”
“Um…”
Velia fell into thought at Carlton’s question.
His red eyes trembled with unease as he looked at her.
Guilt.
Sometimes Carlton despised himself for having helped bring her here.
Kindness with a reason, versus her kindness without one.
Sometimes, Carlton wondered if his misfortune wasn’t coincidence at all. Maybe he was simply the kind of person who deserved it.
“…I just want to get along, I guess? Not that I expect anything in return.”
Carlton turned his head, sweat already breaking across his forehead.
“But we already get along.”
“Yeah, but… I want us to get along better, maybe? No, it’s not that… I just want to be good to you. You came to me when I was sick, brought me food, and…”
“I don’t only do that for you.”
“I know. That doesn’t matter. You do it for me too, like you do for others. But… hmm… Oh! I get it. You comfort me. You’re someone who comforts me when I’m sick or sad.”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
Velia’s clear eyes locked onto Carlton’s as he avoided her gaze.
“If you weren’t here, it would’ve been unbearable. Right now, the most precious thing I have… is you.”
“I’m… precious?”
“Yeah.”
“Me?”
“Yes! Of course. Don’t you think I’m precious too?”
“…Precious?”
Carlton closed his mouth, unable to answer.
Velia studied him, then gently took his hand.
Startled, he tried to pull away, but she gripped tighter and drew him closer.
Then, letting go, she cupped his cheeks with both hands.
“What are you—!”
“There it is again, that face!”
“What?”
“Sometimes you look way too much like an adult.”
“What are you talking about? Let go.”
He tried to pull her hands away, but Velia only met his eyes firmly.
“The butler once told me—being an adult means carrying heavy burdens. I never understood what that meant… but seeing you, I think I do.”
Carlton said nothing. He thought he understood what she was trying to say.
“Just let go.”
“Only if you smile.”
“What?”
“If you smile, I’ll let go.”
“I don’t—”
“If you don’t smile, I won’t let go.”
“…Let go.”
Carlton awkwardly tried to lift the corners of his mouth, then gave up.
What am I even doing…
He looked at her, half-resigned, and then asked what suddenly came to mind.
“So, how do I look?”
“What do you mean?”
“…My face. How does it look?”
“Oh.”
Carlton tensed.
“You look… like you’re suffering. Like you’re in pain. Much more than me.”
His black eyes—were they always this heavy?
Caught in a feeling he couldn’t name, Carlton stilled as Velia let go of his face.
“That’s why!”
Her sudden movement made him release her arm. Just as the room felt colder than ever, Velia grabbed his hand again.
She grinned at his wide-eyed look.
“Don’t suffer so much. I know it’s hard, but… I’ll be your strength!”
Velia patted her chest.
“Just trust me!”
Carlton fell silent.
Looking between her face and her hand, he turned away before tears could fall.
“How will you give me strength?”
Though he felt strange inside, his voice sounded as flat as ever.
“The same way you give me strength.”
Velia didn’t notice the shift in him and giggled.
“If we keep giving each other strength…”
She glanced around, then lowered her voice.
“One day, we’ll escape. If we just endure, we’ll make it out. And when we do, come to my house. We’ll play in my room together.”
“…Alright.”
Normally, he would’ve been cold, but this time Carlton quietly nodded.
“One day, we really will get out. I don’t want to stay here forever.”
For days after, Carlton couldn’t forget Velia’s smiling face as she told him to just trust her.
Time kept passing, but nothing changed.
Seven years went by since Velia first arrived. And then, the tiniest change occurred.
“We can do it. Let’s escape.”
Hope returned to her eyes as Velia freely wielded the white light she had awakened.
It was the power Bain had long sought—light that nullified dark magic.
And it was strong enough to weaken the barrier surrounding the mansion.
This escape might be their last chance. They put everything into it.
“Should we take the other kids too?”
“Yes.”
A week before the attempt, Carlton hesitantly brought it up.
“Won’t it be difficult? They… they still blindly trust Bain.”
“They’re only like that because they have nowhere else to lean. If they realize they can really leave, they’ll follow you.”
After a short sigh, Velia agreed.
She already knew, without him saying it—that Carlton carried a sense of debt toward the others.
“…But I have one request.”
When she accepted his plan, Velia prepared a sword. She didn’t explain why, quietly readying herself for the final variable.
Then, at last, the day came.
The children, who had always longed for the outside world, joined together. With Velia’s power, they dismantled the barrier.
But the long-awaited chance crumbled.
One child’s selfish betrayal ruined it all.
In the end, Carlton was left with Karin—the only survivor besides Renee.
Determined, he searched for another subspace Bain might have created.
They scoured spellbooks, risked their lives testing dangerous rituals, chasing every trace of Bain.
Bain was gone, but the gateways to his pocket dimension had to exist within the mansion.
So Carlton and Karin searched day and night, never stopping.
Nearly two years passed.
And finally, Carlton found Velia.
