TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 190
During the passing time, the Villainess and I were able to share more stories.
-Damn it!
-What now?
-No, they’re calling me a beggar without even a Butler.
-It’s not that you’re a beggar, you probably chased them away.
-No!
-Lie.
-I’m not lying! I just said a few words, and they ran away crying!
-That’s what chasing them away means, idiot.
-Eeeek!
The Villainess and I became close enough to casually point out each other’s flaws.
A relationship I thought would be fleeting. The thread of a connection I believed had no chance of intertwining began to entangle bit by bit.
Although, this relationship started from one-sided obsession.
-Damn it! Fight me again!
-No.
As time slowly passed, our conversations deepened, and we became more entangled in each other’s connection.
The feelings I initially thought didn’t matter shifted to hoping her future wouldn’t be the worst, wishing the future described in the novel wouldn’t come true.
-Why are you stealing my bread?
-Heheh, it’s delicious.
-You eat a lot of good stuff. So why are you stealing mine, pig?
-Nom… It tastes better stealing yours here.
-You crazy…
-Don’t curse!
-Do I look like I wouldn’t curse?
-Eeeek!
As time went on, I started waiting for the Villainess.
When the Clock Tower’s Clock passed noon and headed into the afternoon, I began to enjoy the wait, thinking of the shadow of the Villainess who didn’t come, telling myself, “Just one more hour.”
At first, I just thought of her as a client who paid a lot. But now, I found the stories she shared entertaining, and her stubbornness endearing, making me want to wait for her more and more.
Today, she fought with the Drill-Haired Noble Lady and won. Although she got a little hurt, she bragged about hitting her more. The Villainess’s amusing stories seemed to have become one of my hobbies.
Then one day.
The Villainess made me a proposal.
A proposal not to visit the Orphan of the Slum, made with her characteristic stubbornness.
-Do you want to be my Butler?
-Butler. Say it after me, Butler.
-Butler!
-I guess you’ll need to be reborn?
-Eeeek!
A proposal to become her Butler. It wasn’t the kind of offer you’d make to a beggar living off dust in the slum.
I knew.
How precious this proposal was.
Even if ordinary Little Kids didn’t understand, as someone who knew the weight of the name Desmond, I realized how tempting the Villainess’s proposal was.
The position of Butler of the House of Desmond, coveted even by the children of most Nobles, was not an opportunity that would come to a beggar living in the slum.
The Villainess spoke with a puff of air through her nose.
-With me, even World Domination is possible.
-Then what about me?
-You’ll be a sidekick.
-…?
However, I rejected that proposal.
It was an attractive offer, but the weight of the information I held couldn’t be satisfied with the position of a Butler.
On the scale of a life that could collapse with the slightest tilt, the weight of the Villainess’s existence was too heavy, so I turned down the tempting proposal.
-No.
-Why!
-I just feel like I’d be ruined if I stayed with you.
-I’ll feed you! Our Family Is Wealthy!
-It feels like everything would disappear because of you.
-Why? Because I’m too pretty?
-No, because you’re stupid.
-Eeeek! You’re dead.
Even so, the Villainess kept proposing to me.
Even after a day, even after two days.
It seemed she liked me, as she kept making the proposal, but I continued to reject the Villainess’s offer.
I felt that if I endured just a little longer, I might someday escape this place following Mikhail.
A year at most.
A month at the shortest.
Although the novel didn’t explain the process of why Mikhail left the slum, it was true that the time was approaching.
Today, after rejecting the Young Lady’s proposal again, I looked up at the rainy sky with a bitter smile.
“It’s raining.”
It was a rainy day.
-Swaaah.
The rain, which could be easily blocked with an umbrella, was soaking the Slum Streets.
Taking shelter from the rain under a roof, I looked at the children gathering one by one and spoke.
“Is this it?”
“Yeah.”
Mikhail, standing next to me, answered.
This was everyone who had gathered.
The Slum Streets were quiet. The space under the roof, once bustling with no room to step, was now empty, revealing silence.
Including myself, there were only three children on the street. I smiled bitterly, forcing an awkward smile.
‘It’s really over now.’
For many reasons, we said goodbye.
Because of illness.
Because of adoption, having met good parents.
Because parents whose circumstances had improved came back for their children, we were saying goodbye.
Today, too, we had gathered here to say goodbye.
It wasn’t a bad reason like death, but a goodbye starting from a meeting. I looked at Mikhail’s gloomy expression with an awkward smile.
“Let’s smile.”
“…”
“It’s the last time, so we should send them off with a smile. Right?”
Mikhail clenched his fist and lowered his head. Perhaps because of the rain, Mikhail seemed sullen, letting out a Deep Sigh before nodding.
I tousled Mikhail’s hair and looked at the Little Kid running toward us from afar.
“Big Brother!”
Holding their parent’s hand, the Little Kid ran toward me without even using an umbrella, as if they were in a hurry. I reached out and picked them up.
“Raggedy!”
“Big Brother!”
“So, are you happy to meet Mother?”
“Yeah! It’s all thanks to you, Big Brother!”
“What’s thanks to me?”
“You found our Mother and Father for us!”
The Little Kid, looking at me with an Eye Smile, had a beaming grin on their face.
I chuckled softly, placing a Pouch of Money into the Little Kid’s small pocket and patting their back.
“Go on, and listen to Mother.”
“Okay!”
“Don’t get annoyed, and no picky eating.”
“Okay, I won’t!”
“Kid.”
I patted the Little Kid’s head, reminiscing about the memories we had shared. Laughing together, fighting Delinquents, and comforting the Little Kid who cried missing their Mother—those memories were gently folded into the paper of Goodbye and sent away.
“Take care.”
The Little Kid’s parents, standing behind them, were nodding at me as if to greet me. Perhaps the Little Kid had talked about me on the way here. Embarrassingly so.
Seeing the parents continuing to bow their heads toward me, I awkwardly nodded back with a smile.
I was glad they looked happy.
The child.
And their parents.
They looked happy.
Not knowing what their Future holds, I waved my hand at the Little Kid’s Back Figure as they walked away, hoping that smile would last.
‘Now, there’s no reason for me to stay here anymore.’
Because now, it was just Mikhail, one Little Kid, and me left in this Street. The reason to protect this Street out of a Sense of Responsibility had disappeared.
Mikhail had a Bright Future ahead of him, and the Little Kid standing next to me already had a home.
Now, I was the only one left.
‘I have to do my best.’
Whatever it may be.
Looking at Mikhail awkwardly waving his hand, I spoke in a Small Voice.
“Are you crying?”
“I’m not crying.”
“Don’t cry. Good things will happen to you too.”
“…No.”
Mikhail was weak when it came to Goodbyes.
Whether it was someone’s Death.
Or the Footsteps of someone leaving.
He was a Fool who cried easily.
Especially when it came to saying Goodbye to friends who met their parents and left, like now, Mikhail’s tears flowed the most.
Because he was envious.
Because he hated remaining here and envied the children who left, Mikhail cried.
There were times he cried all day Underneath the Bridge, and times he threw his Teddy Bear on the ground and cried.
Today, too, Mikhail looked gloomy.
With an awkward smile, I glanced at Mikhail. Every time this happened, I struggled with how to cheer him up.
I understood how he felt, but I didn’t know how to comfort him, so situations like this were difficult for me.
With a more Stern Expression than usual, Mikhail stared at the ground. After standing still for a long time, looking at the empty Street, he grabbed one leg of the Teddy Bear he had been holding tightly and dragged it along the ground as he walked to a corner.
I lightly punched Mikhail’s shoulder and spoke playfully, trying to cheer him up.
“Mikhail! We’re going again today!”
“…”
“The Bridge… aren’t we going?”
Mikhail didn’t respond.
He simply stood there in the rain with a Stern Expression on his face. Awkwardly, I bent down to pick up Mikhail’s Teddy Bear, which was getting soaked in the muddy water.
No matter how much pain or hurt he felt, he always held onto that one Teddy Bear tightly.
Just as I clumsily reached out to grab the Teddy Bear that seemed about to slip from Mikhail’s hand, Mikhail coldly avoided my touch.
Mikhail dropped the Teddy Bear to the ground as if it didn’t matter to him anymore.
Then, after stopping in his tracks, he walked past me and spoke.
“I’m not going.”
“Huh…?”
“I said I’m not going.”
“Huh…?”
I stood there like a Fool.
No matter how much Time passed.
Even on the days of Free Meal Distribution.
It was shocking to hear Mikhail say he wouldn’t go to the place he always sought out.
Had he overcome his sadness, I would’ve been happy, but Mikhail’s current appearance was one of sorrow, as if he might crumble at any moment.
In a Foolish voice, I asked Mikhail. To reconsider.
“Why?”
Lowering his head deeply to the ground, Mikhail spoke in a trembling voice.
“Why?”
Mikhail clenched his fists and shouted at me with a voice full of Resentment, as if mocking me.
“Did you really just ask why?”
“Mikhail, you seem really angry right now. Calm down a little…”
“Ha.”
Letting out an Empty Laugh, Mikhail’s shoulders lightly shook.
“If you were me, would you want to go?”
“…”
“You know.”
“…”
“You’re pretending not to know, aren’t you?”
“Haha…”
Ignoring my awkward laugh, Mikhail shouted.
“You know they’re not coming! So why are you asking me?”
“No…”
“Why! Why do you keep asking me! It’s so hard!”
It burst out.
The wound I thought was healing for Mikhail was reopened by the gentle waves of emotion, and it finally burst open.
I was used to accepting the Resentment of the Young Child, but Mikhail’s deeply rooted Resentment pained me greatly.
Because he was a Friend…
Because he was a Friend I had shared so much with.
It hurt my heart.
I understood.
I knew what Mikhail was feeling now.
Because I was also an Orphan and had waited endlessly. I knew the feeling of looking at the Opening Door every day, hoping and being crushed.
That feeling of not seeing a Bright Future.
Watching the Orphans leave, thinking, ‘Why only me…?’—I understood that feeling better than anyone, so I bit my lip and listened to Mikhail’s Resentment.
“You’ll pretend not to know and laugh behind my back! Thinking, ‘He really must’ve been abandoned.’”
“No, that’s not true.”
“Don’t lie!”
With a bitter smile, I approached Mikhail.
“It’s okay, maybe today will be different.”
“Today…! Today…! I’ve waited every single day thinking ‘just today’!”
“Mikhail. Just calm down for a moment…”
“Shut up!”
Mikhail roughly pushed my hand away and burst into tears.
“I’m so sick of this…!”
Clenching both fists tightly, Mikhail glared at me.
“Waiting in a place like this.”
“…”
“Being with someone who reeks like you…!”
“…”
“I hate eating weird-smelling bread too!”
“I see…”
With a sad smile, I approached Mikhail.
I thought there were many things I had failed to notice. I resolved to try a little harder.
So, I cautiously spoke to Mikhail. Apologizing to him.
“I’m sorry.”
“…”
“I’m sorry for not paying attention.”
With Flowing Tears, Mikhail spoke.
Like the Whiny Complaints of a Young Child, he poured out his feelings to me. Without realizing those words could hurt someone.
He simply wiped away his tears and spoke.
“I have a Mother too… Unlike you, who doesn’t even know your Mother’s face, my Mother promised she would definitely come!”
‘…What?’
That shouldn’t have scratched me…
I shouldn’t have been hurt by such words.
But strangely, it felt like a small Wound was forming in the deeply hidden Thorn within my heart.
I clenched my Fist and calmed myself down.
It’s nothing.
Mikhail is just a child, so it’s understandable.
But Mikhail continued to hurt me.
“I hate it! I hate this. Being here. Being friends with someone dirty like you!”
“…”
“I want to be friends with cool kids. Clean and tidy kids!”
“…”
“Not someone ugly and smelly like you!”
Mikhail said words that hurt me.
All the Best Effort I had put in until now felt meaningless, as if my existence was only that of someone who brought food.
I shouldn’t have taken it this way, but the way I had tried my Best Effort felt so foolish that I couldn’t help but take it negatively.
As an adult, I should have brushed it off lightly.
But Mikhail’s words, which touched the Reverse Scale of my long-forgotten heart, wouldn’t go away.
I bowed my head.
Because I thought he would get angrier if I said anything.
“I hate this place and someone like you who likes trivial things.”
“…You don’t know me.”
“And you don’t know how I feel either. You didn’t live with a Mother like I did, and you didn’t hear a Promise from her.”
“…”
“You’ve always been alone from the start.”
“Stop it.”
“You’ve been alone from the beginning, so you don’t know how I feel.”
“I said stop.”
Grinding my teeth, I told Mikhail, but he crossed the line I had drawn.
“You and I are different!”
-Snap.
‘Ah.’
It broke.
The last thread of reason I was desperately holding onto snapped in the end.
I don’t care anymore.
With a Deep Sigh, I threw Mikhail’s Doll, which I had picked up, onto the ground. Because I thought even this effort was meaningless.
In a Calm Voice, I said.
“Then do it on your own.”
“What…?”
I shouldn’t have done that.
“You said being with me is disgusting, right? Then do well on your own.”
“No…”
“What? Am I wrong?”
“That’s not it…”
“I did my Best Effort.”
“I gave you everything without expecting anything in return.”
“But what…?”
“Disgusting…?”
“Then figure it out on your own. Find the Mother you’re looking for by yourself, eat by yourself. Maybe then, just as you said, your Mother will come.”
“Unlike me, of course.”
I ended up leaving Mikhail behind.
Maybe it was because I felt conflicted, thinking that what I started with good intentions had become poison to Mikhail, or maybe it was because his words had hurt me, but I began wandering the Street alone.
And then.
“Hyung!”
“What.”
“That Arrogant Kid! No, I think Mikhail’s Mother is here!”
“What?”
I frantically started searching for Mikhail. Without thinking.
I don’t know why I did it.
Even though I knew that child’s words were a lie.
Even though I knew that child was a Lackey of the Heretics. Even though I could see the topics that child liked to talk about, I foolishly kept running.
Even though I knew from the Novel that Mikhail would meet his Mother as an adult.
“Where is Mikhail?”
“The Bridge.”
Even though I knew the Ending, I foolishly began running through the Street to find Mikhail.
Because I wanted to make him smile for some reason.
And so, I…
“Huff… Huff…”
Fell into a trap.
“It’s you, isn’t it?”
“I Was Wrong….”
“The person this Little Kid is looking for.”
It was a rainy day.
A day when Sad Rain fell heavily.