Chapter 41
I ran toward Jin on my short legs, pattering quickly across the floor.
Rounding the corner, I thankfully spotted him.
Grabbing onto his leg, I made him halt and turn to look at me.
Soft sky-blue hair swayed with his movement, and those dark green eyes—so very cold—met mine.
My heart lurched when our gazes locked.
Before his red lips could part, I blurted out,
“I’ll give the key back!”
At my voice, Jin’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
He looked like he was in a foul mood, so I cautiously gauged his reaction.
Then, in a smaller voice, I added,
“I know it belongs to you, big brother. I’ll just use it later when I need it.”
I pulled the key necklace from under my clothes to show him.
“Or… you can hold onto it if you want, big brother Jin.”
After all, I couldn’t use it right now anyway.
If keeping it meant there’d be awkward tension between us, it might be better for him to hold it and just lend it to me when I needed it.
I looked up at Jin. He moved his lips.
“Did you follow me because you thought I wanted that key?”
After a brief hesitation, I nodded.
Then, carefully, I said,
“I want us to get along.”
After a heavy silence, Jin let out a short, dry laugh.
The corner of his mouth curled slightly.
A moment later, he spoke.
“I’ll refuse.”
My heart sank with a thud at his words.
Had I already fallen out of his favor? My throat suddenly felt tight.
But what he said next surprised me.
“It’s just… something outside my interest.”
Even staring straight into his eyes, I couldn’t read a shred of emotion in them.
As I stood there, he leaned toward me slightly.
“You seem frightened—so you must’ve misunderstood me.”
Those deep eyes came right up to mine.
I couldn’t say a word.
“The Black Flame that the heir inherits…”
Black Flame began to leak from Jin’s body.
It felt far more oppressive than when I’d seen it in the Darkness Chalice.
“…It stimulates the urge to dominate.”
I felt my body stiffen.
“So the reason I looked angry wasn’t because of your small, cute little key.”
The aura of Black Flame gently brushed my cheek.
His lips moved again.
“With two strong Winchesters here, the unrefined Black Flame keeps stirring. I’m just… excited.”
A chill ran down my spine.
Jin was still a boy.
His Black Flame was destructive, but he couldn’t control it perfectly yet.
If it was this strong now when it wasn’t even contained—what would it be like when he grew to Ricardo’s level?
In any case, I realized I had misunderstood.
I’d thought he was uncomfortable with me because Hector had given me the key—but that wasn’t it.
“Um… thanks for helping with the gold attack before. I just thought, maybe…”
But I didn’t have time to relax.
Those fierce eyes were still fixed on me.
“If you’re not uncomfortable with me, I’ll just go then…”
Just as I was about to step away, relieved at having cleared up the misunderstanding, his voice came again.
“…You said you wanted us to get along.”
A cold chill crept up my ankles.
When I looked at him in fear, he reached out his hand.
The moment I saw it, I remembered the flower turning to ash at his touch, and my body flinched.
Scary…
But he took my hand.
“Truth is, I do too, Sasha.”
The pond was so black it could swallow a body or two without anyone noticing.
It might be clear during the day, but at night, it was this dark.
On the surface of the water lay a reflection of the glittering Milky Way.
A chilling wind blew across, making me pull my collar tighter.
This didn’t seem like a place suited for “getting along.”
“At first, I thought you’d make a delightful addition to my collection.”
Jin’s voice came from beside me, his gaze fixed on the pond.
“I rather like piling beautiful things up in display cases.”
His low, emotionless voice sent a shiver through me.
In The Head of Taylors, Jin had been depicted as a sociopath—someone with overwhelming power and a brilliant mind, who saw everything beneath his feet as worthless.
He’d probably thought of Sasha Winchester the same way.
“But then I realized you move on your own—without anyone winding you up.”
Jin turned his head toward me.
Even in the dark, his eyes were sharp and clear.
I swallowed hard, not knowing what he meant.
“…What is it you’re looking for?”
The question stabbed right into my chest.
Back when I was even younger, Jin had noticed I understood words.
But I hadn’t thought he’d pick up on the fact that I had a goal.
“Sasha…”
“If you want us to get along, you should answer honestly.”
I never knew the phrase “get along” could sound this menacing.
The Black Flame in the air wavered.
If I said the wrong thing, I might end up at the bottom of that pond.
I regretted coming along—though, to be fair, I hadn’t exactly had a choice.
Jin didn’t seem like he’d accept some half-hearted answer.
So I decided to mix in a bit of truth.
“…I’m sick.”
His brows twitched at that.
“I… will be sick.”
I made sure to look as pitiful as possible.
It was true.
“What do you mean?”
“I know I’ll get sick later. I don’t want to be sick.”
The Black Flame brushed gently over my body.
“…I don’t want to die. So I’m looking for a way to get better.”
Was he gauging whether I was telling the truth? The Black Flame swept over me, almost as if scanning.
After a moment, his lips moved again.
His brows furrowed slightly now, unlike before—like someone who’d just found out a treasured possession didn’t have long left.
“Who told you that? Did you inherit your mother’s dream ability?”
I’d heard Trisha had the ability to see the future in her dreams.
I didn’t bother answering.
I couldn’t exactly tell him this world was from a novel I’d read in my past life.
But if he could sense the truth, he’d know I wasn’t lying.
In the deep silence, I could feel his gaze on me.
“I see. So maybe it wasn’t the Black Flame that stopped the assassin, but Quell’s power…”
That cold, heavy gaze stayed on me for a long time.
Then he asked,
“Is that why you’ve been so busy lately?”
I had been—visiting the library constantly, solving Hector’s problems. I’d been unusually active for my age.
I gave a small nod.
I didn’t bother to see his expression. I wasn’t curious enough.
“Who else knows?”
I shook my head and looked at him.
“No one but you. I’d like it to stay a secret…”
The Winchester family lived by the law of the jungle—weaklings were weeded out.
Even direct bloodlines weren’t exempt from that.
If the family knew, and I was someone they were already watching closely, the fallout could be dangerous.
I hoped Jin could understand my desperation.
At the same time, I regretted telling him. He might start despising me for being weak.
He already found me annoying enough as it was…
I clenched my fists.
“…I see, Sasha.”
His deep voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
He was looking at the pond again.
His lips moved softly, the starry sky reflected in his eyes.
“…Don’t worry. I’ve never had anything of mine taken away.”
A cold chill seeped into my fingertips.
Even knowing he meant no harm, I couldn’t shake the unease.
Almost to himself, he murmured again,
“Your second secret is just as thrilling.”
The rustle of leaves in the wind mingled with his voice.
Time in the Winchester estate passed slowly but was full of events.
Grandfather Hector, who had said he’d leave in spring, stayed for years instead, personally overseeing my education. I took on occasional quests, leveled up steadily as I grew older, and lived each day productively.
Jin kept his position as the slightly dangerous older brother whose true thoughts were hard to read. Othello and I bickered like mortal enemies.
Life here wasn’t as brutal as I’d first imagined. I was adapting well.
I wasn’t a baby anymore—I was a child now!
One day, just before my seventh birthday—
Robin scratched his head as he looked at my shocked face.
“Have you met him before?”
To be exact… I wasn’t sure.
The special symbol for viewing characters had shown up when I’d encountered Evan Taylors, but I couldn’t clearly remember his face.
“Still, this is ridiculous! It’s way too sudden.”
“It’s the master’s decision… It bothers you, doesn’t it?”
I was flustered, not knowing what to do.
Just when I’d managed to live peacefully among my fearsome father and brothers, a massive bomb was about to drop into my life—
One that didn’t even exist in the original story.
“Still, it’s just for a few years. And really, there’s nothing to endure. Even if he’s the Taylors heir, he’s coming as a hostage. What could he possibly do?”
