I Ended up Raising the Children of the Protagonists

“Ma’am, the master will be arriving soon.”

 

I took a deep breath at the now familiar title of ‘ma’am.’ The woman in the mirror took a deep breath and exhaled just as loudly as I did. A familiar face now. However, there are times when I wonder if I was still dreaming.

 

“My lady.”

 

“Are you ready…?”

 

“It’s done.”

 

I asked, hiding my agitated feelings at the urging voice. The maid responded by lowering her head and asked me to wait outside as I would be leaving soon. Fortunately, the maid left without asking anything else. When the maid left, the only sound in the room was the ticking sound of the clock, indicating that time was passing by. In the silence, I turned my head and looked at the woman in the mirror again. The woman in the mirror was tying her white hair together in a bun, like a snowy field. The quietly locked purple eyes were clearly looking at ‘me’.

 

Marchen Tiye, no, Marchen Rainswain,

 

“I want you to be happy.”

 

I closed my eyes at the end of the voice of a woman whose name I didn’t even know. I wandered and roamed around in the dark, looking for my younger siblings. I cried and begged him to come back quickly, saying I had done everything wrong.

 

“Sister.”

 

“Sister.”

 

Then, I heard a nostalgic voice and thought, ‘Ah, it was a dream.’ With that thought in mind, I opened my eyes. What greeted me was not the white chrysanthemums or the smiles of my younger siblings in the photo. An unfamiliar ceiling and a trembling breath. I wanted to call Yebin and Yeban.

 

“My lady!”

 

“Hurry and bring the doctor!!”

 

However, the voice that was trying to call my precious younger siblings became a whining sound and was scattered. It was difficult to come to my senses as memories that were not mine came pouring in all at once. It seemed like people who were busy were calling me several times, but I couldn’t answer.

 

My vision got dark.

 

It wasn’t until I opened my eyes that I realized that the name wasn’t calling me. It was a week later that I opened my eyes again. At first, the name ‘Rainswain’ that followed was more familiar than the name Marchen. This was because it was the name of ‘Ainz Rainswain’, who had been in love with Sirena in “One Greater Happiness” but eventually gave up on her. I thought it was mentioned in passing. Ainz also met her lover first, but in her memories of Marchen, Ainz was in a worse relationship with her than others.

 

“Ma’am, you have to leave now.”

 

A somewhat anxious voice was heard along with the knocking sound. It seemed like they were worried that I wouldn’t go out to see the guests who would come with Ainz. I didn’t know who the woman was who held my hand and said she wanted my happiness… but she asked me. She said she didn’t want to see her younger siblings. There must be a reason why I woke up in this body. The reason I am so close to my younger siblings who left. That’s why I guarded this mansion for a little over a year, holding on to Marchen’s memories. Of course I wanted to get out of here. I wanted to get away and look for my younger siblings. Nevertheless, the reason I am staying here is because Yebin left the house saying that she would come back soon. So I had to wait. If my younger siblings were in this world, they were here with the memories of a certain character just like me.

 

“My lady.”

 

I got up from my seat when I heard the urging voice again. he quiet purple eyes, which may feel unclean in some ways, are following me. From that gaze, she turned her head and walked away. The sound of the clock ticking disappeared as the minute ticked away.

 

* * *

 

Rainswain’s symbol was an eagle with a sword. A black eagle with red eyes, carved on a white background, was approaching, fluttering in the wind.

 

Little by little, my fingertips begin to tremble.

 

Knights dressed in white armor could be seen surrounding a large black carriage. ‘Rainswain’ protects this country, the Irsilla Empire, from the ‘Destroyed Forest’ in the north. And the Rainswain family was guarded by the Knights, Lysia.

 

As the carriage got closer, the corners of my mouth naturally hardened. It wasn’t my will. This was because of the long-standing habits of Marchen, the owner of this body. The body becomes heavy, as if a weight was felt in the air. Whether it was Rainswain or the Russians protecting him, Marchen hated them all. She hated and hated them the same. And the end of that feeling was futility. This was despite the fact that she had ‘Rainswain’ after her name and was being protected from ‘Lysia.’

 

Knowing the reason, I grabbed the hem of my dress and lowered my eyelids. I tried to cover the memories that were not mine with mine.

 

“My lady.”

 

My raised eyelids fluttered at the voice calling me. As my eyes filled with blackness, the surroundings seemed to become quiet for an instant, and I could hear my heart beating loudly. The steady sound of the heartbeat soon lost its sound to the bustling footsteps of the knights.

 

The door opened.

 

The sound of people holding their breath and disappearing in the middle of the footsteps could no longer be heard. Memories that were not mine came flooding back to me and I closed my eyes. I let out a trembling breath in order not to be swept away by those memories.

 

“Sir, I’m so glad you came back safely.”

 

There was no voice returning to the old butler’s words. When the eyelids were lifted again, a man appeared. The person I had pictured while reading the story, the person who existed in the flood of memories, was standing in front of me.

 

Ainz Rainswain.

 

Red eyes turned to me. His black hair was gently blowing in the wind. I felt suffocated and suffocated by the darker color than the carriage behind me. I didn’t know the name of this feeling. I pursed my lips, but no voice came out. Finally, I closed my mouth and faced him. Red eyes moved slowly. In the end, there was no greeting between us.

 

Ainz moved his mouth toward the inside of the carriage. The sound was so small that even I couldn’t hear it. Soon he lifted the silver-haired child out of the carriage. The children, barely taller than my waist, immediately hid behind Ainz.

 

“I think I’ll bring the kids.”

 

I thought they were the ‘children’ in the voice in Marchen’s last memory. Ainz let out a soft sigh. The face looked like he didn’t know why the kids hid behind him. This was because, having come to an unfamiliar place, the only person to hold on to was the person who brought them, but Ainz did not know this.

 

Yes, Ainz Rainswain was that kind of person. My hand, grasping the hem of her dress, was suddenly wandering in the air. I put my two wandering hands together and smiled slightly. These were not the children I was waiting for. Above all, the feelings that ‘Marchen Rainswain’ has towards those children are a mixture of despair, love, and hatred. That feeling still appears and tries to ensnare me…

 

I was not Marchen Rainswain.

 

I walked towards the children, trying hard to hold on to a smile that seemed like it would disappear at any moment. I saw a delicate hand holding the hem of Ainz’s clothes tightly. Her head was down so her face was not visible. However, facing the small, trembling body, I bent my knees.

 

“It’s okay.”

 

There was a day when my younger siblings trembled and bowed their heads at even the slightest mistake. At times like that, I said it was okay. I just said it was okay and hugged the kids.

 

“It’s fine.”

 

Why did I remember those childhood memories? I smiled faintly. I held out my hand to the children who were hiding behind Ainz and didn’t know how to come out.

 

“…are you okay?”

 

Just as he was thinking about whether the children would come out from behind Ainz, his big violet-like eyes turned to Ina. The child’s silver hair, revealed by tilting her head slightly, came down in a wavy motion. I swallowed her breath and looked into her eyes that were looking at me.

 

“Sister, are you okay…?

 

Yebin, who was shaking for fear of being scolded, asked me that every time I hugged her if she was okay. Only after she heard the child’s question did she realize that I was crying. It was only then that I realized that her tears were flowing down her cheeks.

 

“…Liev did something wrong?”

 

Then Yebin wiped away my tears. I saw Yebin, the child who wiped away my tears. Yebin comforted the child who has a completely different face and says different words than before. The sound of my heart beating loudly hit my ears.

 

“Don’t cry.”

 

I took a deep breath. The breath that filled my throat filled me, unable to escape. I heard Yebin’s voice as she wiped away my tears and snuggled into her arms. I remembered that warm feeling.

 

“Uh… uh, don’t cry.”

 

‘No. It shouldn’t be. Even if it’s true, they don’t know me…’

 

“Liev, did you do something wrong?”

 

“Liev didn’t do anything!”

 

The blue eyes of the girl, whose silver hair was blowing gently in the wind, turned to my sister and then to me. It overlaps again this time. It’s not just because they’re fraternal twins.

 

“Don’t you want to see the kids?”

 

With that alone, he caught the woman. So I opened my eyes here. In order not to be swallowed up by the memories of Marchen that attacked me, I pushed myself out. I was waiting for the day to meet her younger siblings again, but why?

 

“Ainz, what did we do wrong?”

 

‘I remember you, but why don’t you remember me?’

 

I bit my trembling lip. My tears eventually rolled down my cheeks. Yebin did not wipe away my tears like before. Yeban tilted his head with a sullen face. Even if I were in this world, my younger siblings don’t know me, and I don’t know what they look like either. Would I be able to recognize their faces…?  I was worried about whether the two of them would ever be together. It was a ridiculous worry. It was so easy to recognize it that I wiped away the tears that had fallen and immediately focused on the blurry images. The faces of my younger brothers, whom I could never forget, overlapped with each other.

 

I closed my eyes and exhaled the breath that was filling my throat.

 

“Butler, my wife is not feeling well…”

 

“No.”

 

Ainz interrupted and lifted his closed eyelids. I wonder what kind of face Ainz might be looking at me with. No, I didn’t know if he was actually looking at me. I smiled as I looked at the children with silver hair blowing gently in the wind.

 

Instead of the name I wanted to call you so much

 

“Hello, Liev, Josef.”

 

Bring up another name. She said that she hoped for my happiness, but held out her hand to her children, hiding her seething heart, whether it was sadness or anger.

 

“I am… I am Marchen Rainswain.”

 

Sirena and John, the children who lost their parents who were the main characters of the novel, are my younger siblings.

 

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Translator Note: