Dominating the Love of the Villains

‘Because of you, because of you… mother, our mother died.’

 

Chase Ceviche Roberti. It was in her second life that she heard about her situation. When Sophia was 5 and Benjamin and Joshua were 12, Sophia’s mother, Benny Lancel, was alive and well. About three years after Benny, a street girl, came to live in the castle thanks to the generosity of the castle owner, Benjamin and Joshua saw a strange man sneak into the castle and talk to Benny. A man with purple, shaggy hair was holding Benny’s hand and telling her various things.

 

The drawback was that it was difficult to see his words or facial expressions due to the distance, but since she saw him sneaking in without leaving a clear path, he was sufficiently suspicious.

 

“Should I tell your father, Benny?”

 

“That person said he could bring guests over at any time. He doesn’t have to get involved, does he?”

 

Benjamin shrugged his shoulders as if he wasn’t really interested in Joshua’s question. Then Joshua opened his mouth, his eyes sparkling seriously.

 

“If you’re a guest, you don’t sneak in like that. We may have witnessed the culprit of a big incident that will happen later.”

 

“I heard you’ve been reading detective novels lately, and I got wind of it for no reason.”

 

“Still, isn’t it plausible?”

 

Benjamin didn’t hide his laughter, as if it was fun. He became so serious about something that made no sense. It was quite fun to see Joshua, who had always shown indifference to things that did not interest him, show interest, but any more interest than this was unnecessary. A few days ago, a servant made fun of her about Benny and had his tongue cut out.

 

“Not at all. If we say anything, she might get scolded by father, so let’s pretend not to know. Because my father cares about that person more than us.”

 

Benjamin and Joshua, who were hiding in the grass and talking in whispers, soon made a decision and quietly left the scene. They did not report that a suspicious person had entered the castle. Because they also loved the peace that came from Benny’s arrival. A few days had passed, and Joshua, who was walking down the hallway, happened to see the man he had seen back then again. A man with his shaggy hair well-groomed and a neat appearance. He looked more like a person than before, so he might not have been able to recognize him, but Joshua was able to recognize him properly because he was concentrating on the man at that time.

 

“Josh, the cookies baked well this time and I’m going to take them to my mom… What are you doing there?”

 

When Joshua stopped walking at the sight of a familiar face, Benjamin, who was carrying a small basket full of golden brown cookies, spotted him and ran over.

 

“I think my mother has a guest.”

 

“A guest?”

 

He didn’t come secretly this time. Guided by the servants, the man wearing quite luxurious clothes confidently entered the parlor with Chase. He had purple eyes that resembled Sophia’s, but paradoxically, they did not resemble her at all.

 

“That person… I guess he knew my mother.”

 

“I know. I guess he wasn’t a bad person.”

 

As Joshua mumbled in awe, Benjamin chewed the cookie as if he was laughing at him. After seeing Benjamin brutally eating animal-shaped cookies, Joshua turned his interest in the man towards him.

 

“More than that, what kind of cookie is your topic? I’m sure Henney made almost everything.”

 

“No, it’s not? The chef told me to stay still and I made it really well by myself, right?”

 

“Anyway, I won’t eat. Eat it knowing what it will taste like. I couldn’t forget the taste of fire back then.”

 

“Sophia said it was delicious this time! Open your mouth, I’ll throw the whole basket in!”

 

Joshua ran with all his might to avoid Benjamin, who was running after him. Despite Lorey’s advice not to run, the two continued to play tag. It was peaceful. It was a peace that would last a lifetime if Chase hadn’t gone crazy after meeting that man.

 

“Mom, it’s me. It’s Benjamin! Joshua is also next to me. Josh!”

 

“Benji, Benji… Josh, where are you… me…!”

 

“Mother…”

 

She went crazy. She could not recognize who was who, left the room in disarray, or attempted suicide. It was a very difficult suffering for a child to bear. Joshua and Benjamin cried and asked their father, Bled, for help, but he remained silent. It was obvious he knew something, but he didn’t say anything. His eyes wanted to say something, but in the end he didn’t open his mouth. As if someone had covered his mouth.

 

“…sorry.”

 

While she was just getting that one word out, the situation got worse. Chase was having more and more seizures throughout the night, and Benjamin and Joshua were living in their mother’s room. Because they were the only ones who could protect her side. One day, when Chase woke up nauseated and scared, she sobbed as she held her sons in her arms.

 

“Every time I dream, I feel strange… I think I’m going to die. No, I think it will kill me.”

 

“It’s okay, Mom. We are by your side.”

 

“Oh, my… Benji… Josh… Sophie, Sophia…”

 

So she fell asleep again. The two were puzzled at the time by Sophia’s name that suddenly appeared, but it didn’t take long for them to realize what Chase was trying to say.

 

“Sophia tried to kill my mother!”

 

“This is nonsense. There’s no way I did that.”

 

“She is right! The kid has no reason to kill mother!”

 

That day, the words she couldn’t bear to say.

 

‘Sophie, Sophia… I feel like it’s going to kill me…’

 

Benjamin and Joshua realized what else they were going to say after that.

 

‘When that time comes… You are the ones protecting it.’

 

Why did I now understand the words he said that day with his eyes?

 

The two, who realized Chase’s intentions only belatedly, raised their voices, but Bled gave an order. Chase ceviche locked in a spire and told to give him only a plate of water once a week. The Ceviche family protested, saying it was excessive. How could the child of the mistress be more important than the wife of the lord of the castle? However, Bled ignored everything and continued with his work. How could people live in that spire? The spire was narrow and tall. The room at the end was limited in the amount of space you could squeeze yourself into. As if being stuck there wasn’t enough, a dish of water? She wanted to argue with them right away, but they couldn’t. He was generous enough to spare her direct descendants without excommunicating them.

 

“That man must be the cause.”

 

Joshua said this one day when he was in tears. Benjamin of course agreed. After meeting that man, his mother suddenly became strange.

 

“He was close with that guy. Sophia’s mother.”

 

“I heard her relatives say that he may have done this to oust my mother and take her place.”

 

“…To have her own daughter as the next castle lord? Does she want to become the wife of the castle lord?”

 

“Maybe… huh.”

 

“But mother…”

 

She wanted to protect Sophia. It didn’t make sense in the first place. Weren’t Chase and Benny close? Didn’t Benny refuse the position of her mistress or her concubine? It was a puzzle that went astray, but it was a puzzle that would fit together if you just changed the direction.

 

‘What if acting friendly and being nice were lies?’

 

What if Benny Lancel actually formed a friendship with Chase with bad intentions? What if her rejection of mistresses and concubines was to pretend that she was not interested in power? The innocence that had smiled at them in a part of their hearts told them that they were never the type of person to think such things, but that was not enough to stop them from feeling like they were being sucked into the deep sea by their mother’s death. Deep and deep. Just as he was about to hate Benny and the other person named Sofia, Sofia came to them holding a blue rose.

 

“This is a miracle. The language of flowers.”

 

“…ah.”

 

Small hands grabbed Benjamin and Joshua’s collars, and at the same time, they felt like they had been rescued from the mire. A small ray of sunlight sparkled before her eyes and shook the flowers.

 

“Do you know why?”

 

Sophia pursed her lips with a smile, thinking that she had learned something else from Loray, thinking of sharing what she had learned with others. Sophia would have no idea what happened to the castle now. Chase would have explained her sudden disappearance simply because she was in her room with a bad cold, and he couldn’t have let Bled or Benny know that he had almost killed her. Because Sophia was still young.

 

‘Yes. Young. I, who don’t know anything, am almost…’

 

Sophia continued talking, not knowing that Benjamin and Joshua’s bitter smiles were directed at her.

 

“Blue roses did not exist in the first place, but the flower wizard created them. They say it’s a miracle because they created something that didn’t exist before, so it’s like a miracle.”

 

“Yeah, you’re smart.”

 

Benjamin smiled faintly and stroked Sophia’s head. Joshua was also next to him, looking at Sophia with a relaxed face. Sophia, who would have smiled happily when she received the compliment, still had a serious look on her face. She realized she had something else to say and waited for Sofia’s next words, when Sofia fidgeted with her rose and interrupted her.

 

“So, give this to Cherry…”

 

“So?”

 

“You’ll say you wish your cold would heal like a miracle!”

 

Cherry was Sophia’s nickname for Chase. When Chase came to see me, she always brought a cherry and called him “Cherry,” and Chase told her to call her that from now on because she thought it was cute. But Cherry could not receive this flower. Because she was destined to be trapped in the spire and count the days until she died without being able to meet anyone.

 

Joshua took the rose from Sophia’s small hand and opened his mouth.

 

“We will deliver this to you.”

 

“Huh? You? “I’m going too.”

 

“No. Sofia is weak and I caught her cold.”

 

“I’m strong! I’m so strong!”

 

Sophia said in a loud voice that she would never take me away if she didn’t get out of here strong, but Joshua pretended not to hear all that and ruffled Benjamin’s hair with more force than he had used.

 

“Benny gets upset when Sofia catches a cold.”

 

“Ah…!”

 

“So we’ll go by ourselves. Unlike Sophia, we are strong.”

 

Just Joshua and Benjamin walked up to the spire, leaving Sophia behind.

 

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Translator Note:

I’m back. I hope you enjoy this new story <3