Chapter 76
“Mom should be in heaven.”
Pushed Mom away with my little palms.
Although she seemed bewildered, she smiled and patted my head as if she understood everything.
“Originally, my body should have returned to nature and stayed in the spirit world, but Dad preserved my body well.”
“So you came back?”
“I came to see my daughter.”
…Right. There is no way Mom would have come without permission.
After hearing the explanation, I understood.
‘So now I can really hug Mom?’
I stared at Mom.
The face I had longed for.
The smile I missed.
The touch I missed.
I stared at it without even blinking for fear of missing even a moment, and Mom did the same.
She played with the bridge of my nose with her soft thumb.
“…Of course, I only came here briefly with God’s permission. I have to leave for the spirit realm soon.”
“…Why?”
“Hmm?”
“Can’t you just stay here?”
I clumsily snuggled into her warm embrace.
Thick tears were welling up between my heated eyes.
Every time I got scared, I thought about Mom.
I held on to Mom thinking about her, and I didn’t want to let her go again.
My small hands desperately grasped the hem of Vivian’s clothes.
“Dad used Magi to preserve Mom’s body. Can’t we just live together?”
“Billishia.”
“…But, Dad and my brothers will miss Mom too. Doesn’t Mom want to see our family?”
“…Hmm.”
As I spoke in an angry tone, a pitiful groan came from the other side.
I knew it too.
Vivian said that in 10 minutes she would be gone to the spirit realm.
I don’t know why God showed her mercy, but I know that Mom shouldn’t stay here for long.
However.
“You’re my mom, so you have to stay by my side. Huwaaaaa!”
As I let out a cry that I had been suppressing, a buzzard flew over and licked my tears.
Titi was equally taken aback.
“Beep-beep.”
Titi must have become anxious when I cried, so it held my chubby legs and cried bitterly.
The bewildered Mom and the birdhead made eye contact.
She quickly bent down her upper body and hugged and stroked Titi.
“So, did your cat friend bring you here?”
“Huwaaa! T-Titi suddenly ran away here. Uwaaaah!”
“Aren’t you curious why that happened?”
“Huwaaaaah…?”
“Aren’t you curious?”
“…?”
I cried loudly and blinked my wet eyes.
When I thought about it, I was curious.
“You’re curious, aren’t you?”
…I’m curious.
“Should Mom tell you?”
“…Hmm…”
“I can only tell you when you stop crying, though?”
Stopㅡ
Curiosity was more important than sadness, so I came to my senses and kept my mouth shut.
At my serious Tibetan fox expression, she burst into laughter and hugged me.
“…My daughter, why are you so cute? Hahaha!”
That’s how the secret story began.
***
“The reason Mom didn’t reveal my identity is because of the laws of the spirit realm. You know that too, right?”
My heart calmed as I was held in her warm arms.
Before I knew it, the bright sky had turned a deep orange.
It was a peaceful sunset.
“First of all, Mom is an ‘extra’ expert like you. I am, more accurately, playing the role of the villain’s wife.”
“Really?”
“Of course. In fact, I’m the one who has received the mercy of the God of this world.”
Vivian began talking in earnest.
“…Did God notice that I died helplessly? I returned to life by God’s mercy, but my time-limited role didn’t change. While I was worried, I handed God’s mercy to you.”
“…Gasp.”
I gasped as I played with her mother’s fingers.
‘She handed over God’s mercy to me?’
Only then did the unsolvable puzzle slowly begin to come together.
My heart was pounding.
“I was terminally ill, so returning was meaningless. But you were different. You have a healthy body and are also smart. And deep down, I knew that you had a kinder heart than anyone else.”
“…”
“That’s why I ran away with you when I was young. From then on, you were the one who returned, so I couldn’t change the original story with my own hands.”
Vivian smiled sadly.
“I’m sorry for making you go through such heartache one more time. I couldn’t believe how much my heart collapsed when I watched you cry.”
“…I’m okay.”
As I answered cheerfully, wiping away my tears, a gentle hand came down from above.
“You’re okay. Snort.”
“Pshhht!”
Is it because I cried too much?
Mom wiped my nose and fiddled with the tissue as if it wasn’t dirty at all.
“Anyway, thanks to you, Cassis has made up his mind. I knew it would be like this.”
As I was nodding, the surroundings felt heavy for some reason.
“But I guess another regressor had a different idea.”
A shadow appeared on Vivian’s face as she continued speaking.
“…I realized this when I saw the bird crying and wandering around the spirit realm. Children need parents. I protested by holding on to God’s trouser legs, and God acknowledged my rights this time.”
“…Did God allow it because you protested?”
Very Mom-like.
Vivian grinned.
“Yeah. How can He beat a mother? Now my daughter can reply to the letters without having to tear it up.”
“…Hoo?”
I pricked up my ears at those words.
Even though today will be the last time I see Mom face to face, I can still send and receive letters.
Once my curiosity was satisfied to some extent, I changed the topic.
Actually, what I was most curious about was Titi.
“Mom. So what do you mean Titi brought me here?”
“Aah. That’s right, your friend.”
Vivian, who was stroking the area around my cheek, lowered her upper body.
“Beepㅡ?”
Titi’s tail swayed lazily from side to side as its eyes met hers.
Even without talking to Titi, it seemed to instinctively know that Mom was someone friendly.
“Mom’s power has gone to you as I have turned God’s mercy upon you.”
“…If it’s your power…”
“Divine power.”
“…Aha! So that’s why I can use divine power!”
Wait.
I realized something and opened my eyes.
“Mom! Then you can use your divine power to cure your terminal condition!”
“Haha. Divine power can be used on others, not on yourself. You can’t heal yourself.”
“Aha…”
It was a twist of fate.
It may have been unfair, but Mom poked Titi’s cheek area with a carefree face.
“Anyway, it seems like my power was transferred to you then Magi and divine power were combined. I think that force may have played a role in the birth of Titi.”
“Beepㅡ?”
“I think the reason this child ran towards the garden was because of the divine power within its own body.”
Oho.
Mom’s divine power and my Magi combined within Titi?
“Anyway, my baby.”
“huh?”
As I was making eye contact with Titi, Mom grabbed my armpits and spun me around.
“There are no main characters in this world.”
The blue eyes that forced eye contact glowed firmly.
“Now the person who survives is the main character.”
***
[P.S. Please tell Dad and the twins that I love them too. Let’s keep writing. I love you.]“…Dad? When did you come?”
While I was reading the letter Mom left behind, Cassis sat down in the dark sky.
His large hands were holding documents and a lamp.
Come to think of it, Dad sometimes used to work in Vivian’s garden when he couldn’t sleep.
“It’s time to sleep, yet you’re not going to bed.”
Contrary to his worried tone, he did not send me to the castle.
Instead, he wrapped his jacket around my shoulders like a blanket.
It was just getting a little chilly.
I pulled up the jacket, which was dragging on the field.
However, even though I was standing upright, the jacket was dragging on the floor and I just sat down in the field.
“It’s dangerous to walk around the garden alone, so tell me when you want to sleep. I’ll take you there.”
After a simple request, he concentrated on his work.
His cheeks glowed softly in the light of the lamp.
‘…Hmm.’
I happened to be sitting next to Dad.
I fiddled with the awkward letter.
The bird said Vivian’s identity shouldn’t be revealed.
It was natural.
As a professional extra, I knew that much.
‘But Dad missed Mom so much.’
Finally, I took out the letter.
Cassis was no longer just a ‘dad role’.
He’s truly my dad, he loves Mom desperately and still misses her.
Wouldn’t it be a bit of a betrayal to Cassis if I were the only one to talk to Mom?
“Dad.”
“Hmm.”
A friendly voice was heard.
However, he seemed to be quite busy and didn’t take his eyes off his documents.
Will Dad like it if I show him the letter?
As he struggles to forget Mom, his madness may explode again.
“…Nothing.”
In the end, when I said that I had put the letter in my pocket, he chuckled while twirling his pen.
“Silly.”
“Actually, Mom appeared in my dream.”
“Did she?”
“Mom says she loves Dad very much.”
He closed his mouth while trying to answer, and then he stared at me.
A bit of surprise and longing were intertwined in the strange purple eyes.
“It’s just like that, it doesn’t mean anything…”
“…Dad.”
“Hmm?”
“When you see Mom again in your dreams, tell her you love her too.”
Dad slowly raised the corner of his lips and smiled charmingly.
“…She won’t appear in my dreams.”
He muttered to himself and resumed his work with a lighter expression, perhaps feeling refreshed.
I looked at Dad in surprise.
‘Now, Dad doesn’t get serious when he talks about Mom.’
I was taken aback by Cassis’ reaction, which was cooler than I expected.
I thought his face would harden or become gloomy when the topic of Mom came up.
I felt like a fool for worrying about it.
Grinㅡ
The corner of my lips twitched up at the sight of his changed appearance.
Mom said she could usually see what was going on around me.
She must be watching even now.
“Dad, Dad. And in my dreams, Mom stroked my cheek.”
“Did she?”
“Mmhm. We played together and played with the bridge of our noses.”
Wiggle, wiggleㅡ
As I crawled over wearing a large jacket, Cassis looked up from the documents and his expression softened.
“Is that so?”
“Mmhm And with Mom…”
It was then.
“?”
As a shadow passed over the field colored by the light of the lantern, Dad snatched me away.
Vivian’s garden was a place where entry was prohibited except to immediate relatives.
Even my dear Lisa stayed away when I was in the garden.
‘Who is it, I wonder.’
“I must have told them not to let outsiders in.”
There was a low sound that gave me chills just by hearing it.
If it was a Vallois servant, it would end as a warning, and if it was an outsider who wasn’t invited, prepare to die.
‘…Another assassin?’
I’m getting tired of it, but it’s still scary.
I had already been kidnapped several times, so the hair all over my body stood up.
Even the shadows.
Swishㅡ
It wasn’t one, but two.
Two shadows cast in front of the heels of Cassis’ shoes were slowly approaching us.
Heavy Magi flowed from the body of Cassis, who had trapped me.
