Part Two: Permeating(4)

Translated by Gina
Edited by Tea

Hadelion seemed like someone who didn’t know what fear was in the first place. Obviously, if the castle’s owner, Archduke Gray, made up his mind, he would be kicked out without saying a word, yet, Hadelion was consistent.

As always, he knocked on my door at night.

“Lillian, are you sleeping?”

“Nope”

“Then can I come in for a moment?”

“Why do you ask? Even if I say no, you will.”

I heard the door open. Hadelion’s shadow rushed into the dark room. I didn’t think it was very pleasant for other people to invade my territory, but I didn’t necessarily stop him. It was strange. Was I immersed in the sentiment created by the atmosphere of the night for a while?

“Aren’t you tired?”

“Of what.”

“Coming to my room every day to get an attendance stamp.”

“Lillian told me to come.”

“When did I?”

“Still, it’s Lillian’s first request to me.”

He always rushed to my room around eleven o’clock. Then we spent time looking out the window as if we had promised. Even though I didn’t do anything in particular, the time passed quickly regardless. The breath shared with him in the same space penetrated into the embrace of silence.

“What are you thinking?”

“What about you?”

“About Lillian.”

Involuntarily, my eyes turned to him. My image was reflected in the deep blue eyes that seemed to swallow me.

“What are you so curious about?”

“Even if I ask, you won’t answer.”

“Mng, I won’t. But I want to know what you are curious about, so ask.”

“How can you do that, you’re cheap.”

“I’m usually cheap. Nothing new.”

He shook his head and chuckled as if he couldn’t win.

“Lillian is really different from me.”

“Is that an insult?”

“No, I’m just jealous of the way you look so free and not tied to anything. You say everything you want to say and act without paying attention.”

“It’s an insult.”

“I am really envious. I’ve never done that before…”

Sitting below the bed, he hugged his knees while speaking. Somehow, he looked kind of pitiful. The moonlight falling on his shoulder made it even more so.

“I’m envious of Lillian, who always does as she pleases.”

“You are swearing at my face.”

“It’s not really an insult. I like that kind of Lillian.”

“Don’t like it.”

I was sincere. I didn’t want to leave any regrets behind when I left this world.

The conversation was cut off for a while. The prolonged silence was frustrating, so I shifted my gaze to him. Somehow, the eyes I met looked a bit sad.

“Why? Because I’m too young?”

 No, I’m afraid it will hurt you later. I almost spat those words out unintentionally. The words that almost rushed out of my throat stung. I didn’t like being pathetic. I hated even more to remain a bad memory for him.

“Yeah, I’m not interested in little kids.”

“…So what if I become an adult?”

“It’s not on my bucket list to be next to a young immature man just because he’s all grown old.”

“I’m not that young.”

I know, your real age is twenty-five. I also know that there’s only two years difference with Lillian, who is 27 years old.

But now, his appearance was nothing but an ungrateful five-year-old kid.

“I have no intention of meeting someone who’s 22 years younger than me.”

“…I will grow up soon.”

“And that’s how old I will be.”

“It’s not like that… Anyway, there is something like that.”

Right. As he says, in a little while, he will recover all his mana.

‘Then I’ll be back real soon.’ It had already been over a month since he came to the mansion.

“When I grow up, I will be much taller than Lillian.”

“How are you so sure of that?”

“…Just, it will be like that. Undoubtedly.”

“To do that, you should not be a picky eater and drink tons of milk. I will cheer for you.”

“Don’t make fun of me, Lillian.”

‘How can I increase his sense of humor?’ I tilted my chin while staring at his sulky profile.

 “I got caught.”

“…Forget it.”

“Are you upset?”

“…No.”

If anyone saw it, they would immediately know he was sulking. His lips were slightly pouting. I knew it was really mean, but it was so funny that I just wanted to keep teasing him over and over again. 

To let it go for a while, I came up with another idea. The beginning of the original story was just around the corner. 

The novel begins when Hadelion, who had mana exhaustion due to the Emperor’s excessive mana extraction, escapes from the Imperial dungeons. While wandering around as a child, he accidentally meets the heroine at the academy. ‘And he also runs into Lillian’s brother, a supporting role.’ The original male lead, the Emperor of Oborduz. Hadelion is a supporting character destined to be ruined. Another sub-male-lead and Lillian’s older brother, Rizzo Grey. And I am a time-limited supporting actor, known to readers as a villainess.

In this way, the wheel carrying the fate of four people begins to roll with the ‘Academy’s Summer Vacation’ as a starting point. The fact that the original work beginning was just around the corner could be seen by the cluttered atmosphere of the castle. In a few days, Lillian’s older brother, Rizzo, will return home.

‘I’m sure your girl will come, too.’

Hadelion’s ‘she’ was Rizzo Grey’s pupil. I recalled the name of the heroine, whom he would soon fall in love with.

‘…Lucy.’

As if I had forcibly swallowed something dirty, my mouth became somewhat dry.

“The academy’s vacation will start soon.”

“Lillian’s brother… You said he would return?”

“Mng, I can’t wait.”

“Is it because you have been away from each other when he’s family?”

No, when the original begins, you will be restored to your original form. I just smiled without answering. The corners of his mouth, which had barely risen, trembled.

‘How did you interpret it?’ He muttered a little.

“I want to be Lillian’s family too.”

“I didn’t know you dreamed of being adopted by Archduke Grey.”

“No. It’s not that. That’s not the only way to become a family.”

“Then what? Are you saying you want to marry me?”

After a moment of bewilderment at the direct question, he shyly nodded. I was somehow satisfied with the appearance, so I chuckled.

“Someone needs to handcuff you.”

“Why is this a crime?”

“It’s not normal to have a man who is twenty years younger than oneself as a husband, right? I don’t know if I’d rather have you enter the family register as my adopted son.”

“I don’t want that.”

“I like it even now. Hadel, I guess you don’t like it.”

“Now it’s too… It’s an incomplete relationship.”

It was a quieter voice than usual, but I couldn’t figure out why I could hear it clearly. The sight of him fiddling with his sleeves kept stealing my gaze. Hadel seemed anxious that I could abandon him at any time.

‘You must be thinking about your mother abandoning you.’ Somehow, my heart felt heavy. A thought that I had been trying so hard to not know and turned a blind eye toward slowly lifted my head. 

‘The dream of the day his mother asked for money from the Emperor and sold his body after he tried to die…’ I actually knew. The reason he came to my room every night was because of the nightmares of that day. When he faced the truth he had barely buried, something deep in his heart sank greatly.

The day he decided to give up his life, when his paused breath returned after a brief moment, he was alone behind a large iron fence. His mother, who was always with him, was released in exchange for selling him.

‘Soon the heroine will heal Hadel’s deep wounds.’ It was more painful because I knew everything. Thinking about the future in which his wounded soul would be drawn like fate to the lovely heroine kept hurting my heart. He fell in love with her and eventually fell into ruin. A supporting role was the role given to him. Somehow I didn’t feel comfortable.

‘You will only look at that child from beginning till end. Even if I knew that your love will never come true.’ And I’ll have to look at you like that. My heart ached. I couldn’t know where the pain was coming from, but it pushed me into an endless corner. I ended up being impulsive again.

“Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“Let’s go for a walk. We couldn’t do it these days, because of my father.”

I grabbed his hand all of a sudden. Startled, he got up and followed me without saying a word. This time, I walked according to his stride.

“When you can’t sleep, come to my room.”

It was a night full of willfulness that even I couldn’t understand the purpose for.