CH 126

Even I thought it was cheeky. As if it was not enough to fool him; I couldn’t believe I tried to teach Hugo.

But instead of getting angry, Hugo shrugged and leaned against the wall.

“…I’m sorry.”

It was rather disconcerting to see him looking dead, like a child with a broken heart.

I waved my hands in the air, but as if Pedro didn’t care, he grabbed my hands and shook them.

“Lily, Father will be back at dawn!”

From what I heard from Verney, Alan had gone so far to find me that it would take a full day to get back.

“I don’t know why he went out of the barrier. Because Lily, you have nothing to do there.”

Pedro let go of my hand and stretched all the way. Due to his large size, his elbows slammed into the ceiling of the carriage.

I made up my mind as I stroked my warm hand.

‘Let’s go see him tomorrow morning.’

Finally, the time had come. When the morning was bright, the end of the happy play of a father and a daughter would come.

It was sad, but somehow comforting.

***

After returning to the Duke’s Castle, I received a bath and clothes service as usual.

The larks, along with Verney, listened to all the truth, yet they took great care of me.

I was alone in my room, combing my wet hair when someone knocked on the door.

“It’s me.”

It was a familiar voice. When I opened the door, as expected, Hugo was standing there.

“What happened…?”

“That…”

Hugo shrugged, hesitating. I couldn’t let him stand in the hallway, so I invited him into the room and closed the door.

We looked into each other’s eyes until the white moonlight wet our feet. If this continued, I would not be able to say anything and stay up all night.

“…Um.”

“Um.”

I didn’t know why the words came out at the same time.

Hugo lowered his head again with a look of bewilderment.

“You go first.”

“No, more than me…”

“No.”

Hugo and I shuffled awkwardly as if we were seeing each other for the first time.

The meaningless battle continued, and in the end, Hugo revealed why he had come to the room.

“I want to know for certain what you plan to do in the future.”

“What?”

The words were so vague that it was difficult to understand the meaning.

“So…”

Hugo patted his nape and took a step towards me.

“You asked me. Would I like to return Lily’s body to the ground?”

“…Ah.”

I had definitely ever asked that in the ant cave.

Hugo licked his thin lips and raised his voice.

“If someone who wanted Lily to be buried in peace showed up, would you do it?”

The moment I heard those words, my heart sank. I lowered my head like a broken doll.

‘It seems that you want to get Lily’s body back now…’

Looking at it, I was not in a position to dispute his decision. Because I kept using a body that was not mine.

‘…But I can’t just give it back.’

I made eye contact with him and shook my head.

“No.”

I had to live to stop Benny’s revenge. Therefore, Hugo could not get back the body of his beloved sister.

“I will continue to live in Lily’s body. I’ll even live longer than Hugo.”

I spoke softly and shook my head again. It was more comfortable for Hugo to hate me.

I thought Hugo would be offended by my brazen attitude, but unexpectedly, he let out a slow sigh.

As if he was deeply relieved.

“…I have a different opinion than my brother.”

Hugo touched my cheek with his fingertips.

I involuntarily raised my head. Through the man’s eyeglasses, sapphire-colored eyes were clear.

“Definitely, you are not Lilietta von Bauner.”

Hugo’s tone was calm. He gently touched my hair, down my temple, and then lowered his hand.

“And… it’s something I’m prepared with. If Lily returns as a completely different person.” 

「That will never be Lilietta.」

「It’s just a completely different monster.」

Suddenly I remembered a sentence I had read in Hugo’s research journal.

Come to think of it, did Hugo continue to study resurrection magic even after writing in the journal that Lily would return as a monster?

“I think I lacked that determination for a while.”

Hugo gently brought his left hand forward.

A small wool doll was placed on his long, well-shaped palm.

It was the same color as the threads I saw on the carriage.

“I was making it as your debutante gift. Although in the end it was late…”

“Ah…”

I took the present from Hugo with trembling hands.

The doll’s body was split in half, as if different animals were interweaved.

Its right hand was a human hand, but its left hand had sharp claws. The odd shape was very lovely.

“…I’m sorry I couldn’t attend then. I should have congratulated you.”

Hugo kept looking around as he chose his words. I thought others would misunderstand that he had done something wrong to me.

“There is one more thing I want to ask you.”

The sound of gulping was loud and the movement of his Adam’s apple was clear. He grabbed my forearms with both hands and asked an unexpected question.

“Perhaps… will you feel uncomfortable if I continue to treat you like a younger sister?”

As soon as I heard those words, heat surged up in my heart, which had become cold for a while, as if I had ignited a fire.

‘There’s only one reason for him saying that…’

Without realizing it, I gripped the wool doll. Tears formed at the warm sensation.

“…What do you mean uncomfortable? It’s so nice.”

No matter how hard I tried to smile, my expression kept getting distorted. I hugged the doll in my arms and licked my lips.

Hugo glanced at me and asked.

“A-Are you okay?”

I couldn’t stand to see him struggling because of me.

“Why… Why don’t you curse at me?”

I ended up asking like that.

“I lied for four years. I’m fake, but I pretended to be real…”

I was afraid. Everything seemed like a dream, so I was afraid to open my eyes.

It felt like all the affection I felt would disappear like a mirage if I was a little careless.

“But why are you accepting me?”

I was accepted so easily that I was rather scared. I wasn’t a child to be treated like this.

“…If it was right after you came to this castle, I would have been angry. Because I am a narrow-minded person.”

Hugo leaned down and looked straight at my face. The protruding joints of his hand touched my cheek.

“But now I can’t.”

Hugo swiped a long finger against the still wet cheek.

“Did you see that the duchy road was cleared?” 

He grabbed my nape and pulled me into his arms. Without resistance, I leaned over and buried my face in his chest.

“…Yes.”

The dedicated road we rode on was as messy as an abandoned road four years ago.

But after I came, Alan repaired the road. Not only that, he remodeled all the land owned by the duchy.

“Since you came, the Duke’s Castle has changed. We cultivated a garden with only weeds, the number of servants multiplied several times, and we even built a new greenhouse.”

The Duke’s Castle had changed dramatically over the past four years. The old castle, which was like the ruins of the dead, finally felt like it was meant for people to live in.

“Our house has become more like a home.”

Hugo tapped his chin with his index finger.

“It’s all thanks to you.”

I felt nauseous. I couldn’t digest Hugo’s words at all. He was praising me for some reason.

“Even though you lied to me for four years… But you’ve been by my side for four years.”

Hugo ruffled his wet hair over and over again and lowered his long eyelashes.

“Will you continue to be a part of our life?”

I was dazed by the request that I had never even heard of in my dreams.

“Not the perfect little sister I imagined… as you.”

The strength in my hands was reduced. Inadvertently, I dropped the wool doll.

I tried to pick it up right away, but I couldn’t move because Hugo was hugging me tight.

Hugo reached out towards the fallen doll. He seemed to be trying to lift the doll with magic.

However, the pure white magic stayed at his fingertips and then disappeared. It’s because I’m a demon.

I hurriedly pulled my body out. I didn’t want to interfere with the magic of the archmage. If I did, I felt like I was going to receive a bit of hate.

But Hugo grabbed my wrist as if to not let me go.

“…I see I can’t use magic.” 

Hugo picked up the doll with his own hands and dusted it off.

“It feels like going back to my childhood.”

He smiled brightly and held out the wool doll he had woven by himself.

At that moment, a burning urge enveloped my whole body.

I couldn’t stand it, and ran into Hugo’s arms. The man’s body, which was stretched out like a tree, staggered momentarily.

“Thank you, Brother.”

I buried my wet eyelids between his shoulder and neck. I repeated it several times despite not having gotten permission.

“Brother Hugo.”

“…….”

Hugo hugged me with the arm that didn’t hold the doll. He had a smile similar to mine.

“The pleasure is mine.” 

***

It was a bright sunny morning.

As usual, I washed my face, got dressed, and ate in the dining room.

Alan returned home early yesterday morning, but did not appear for a meal.

Even the meticulous man overslept at least once a year.

While we were eating, Pedro and Hugo fought over me.

The situation that I was used to happened again so peacefully that it was unrealistic.

It was an ordinary daily life. Everything was the same as before.

The only difference was that I went to Alan’s room as soon as I finished breakfast.