IPBD Chapter 17

Emilina stretched her arms and spoke.

 

“I wish it could always be like this.”

 

“Like what?”

 

“Just… I want to keep living like this, peacefully, with nothing happening.”

 

“…Yeah.”

 

Kir smiled sadly.

 

Emilina tilted her head, puzzled.

 

She couldn’t understand why Kir was making that expression.

 

“Do you… not like it?”

 

“No! No, I want to stay with you too.”

 

Kir shook his head vigorously as he answered.

 

A smile spread across Emilina’s lips.

 

“Yeah. Me too.”

 

Emilina meant it sincerely.

 

She wanted to keep living like this, peacefully, without any incidents.

 

She wanted to continue enjoying this small happiness.

 

And to protect this peaceful daily life, she made a vow to herself.

 

‘I’ll live as quietly as if I were dead.’

 

She would absolutely avoid meeting or getting involved with the main characters.

 

So, she hoped that only good things would happen from now on.

 

…But not long after she thought that, Kir collapsed.

 

It was a terrible fever.

 

* * *

 

An empty hallway. Two neatly aproned figures moved silently down the corridor.

 

One of them broke the silence and spoke.

 

“You know… that room at the end of the hall? They say a monster lives there.”

 

“Really? But don’t they bring meals there every day?”

 

The maid, glancing around to make sure no one was nearby, raised a finger to her lips.

 

“Shh. This is a secret, but that place—”

 

* * *

 

Inside a room shrouded in darkness. Faint voices drifted in from outside the door.

 

In a corner of that darkness, a child sat with knees drawn up, covering their ears.

 

“I’m… I’m not a monster.”

 

They pressed their hands harder over their ears, trying not to hear, but the voices still seeped through.

 

Monster.

 

Black beast.

 

Child of misfortune.

 

At some point, the child had started being called those names by others.

 

The voices faded as the servants passed by, and silence returned to the room.

 

Only then did the child lower their hands.

 

“Mommy…”

 

A choked sob echoed through the room as the child buried their face in their knees and sniffled.

 

They didn’t know why they were in this place.

 

The eerie silence of the room was terrifying.

 

But even more than that, they were afraid to step outside.

 

Afraid of those who saw them as something alien, something to be avoided.

The child, with a face full of fear, reluctantly approached.

 

It was unbearable.

 

The child couldn’t stop thinking.

 

When, where, and why had things gone wrong?

 

Why were they being called a monster?

 

Perhaps it had started back then?

 

The child’s eyelids, which had been staring into the void, slowly closed.

 

“Mom!”

 

A woman collapsed to the floor, her face pale and drained of color.

 

The child tried to rush to her, but those around them held them back.

 

Before they knew it, the child’s arms were gripped by large hands.

 

“Let me go!”

 

“If you keep acting like this, Madam will be in even more danger!”

 

The woman’s personal maid desperately blocked Kirzen, who was trying to rush forward.

 

The maid knew. She knew about her mistress’s condition.

 

And she also knew that the very thing threatening her mistress was none other than the young master.

 

That’s why she was stopping him. To keep him from getting any closer.

 

But Kirzen wouldn’t listen.

 

He was angry at the maid for stopping him without reason when all he wanted was to go to his mother.

 

“Let me go!”

 

At that moment, a flash of light filled his vision, and everything turned white.

 

When he came to, gasping for breath, he saw the terrified servants.

 

At the center of it all was the maid who had firmly blocked him, now lying on the ground, bleeding profusely.

 

Instinctively, Kirzen realized. This was his doing.

 

“I… I didn’t mean to…!”

 

But it was too late. That act had become a signal, terrifying the servants.

 

“Ahhh! It’s… it’s a monster!”

 

One of the maids screamed as Kirzen reached out his hand.

 

Another maid fell backward, trembling as if facing a fearsome being.

 

Kirzen’s small hand froze in midair.

 

“I’m… a monster?”

 

The harsh word caught in his throat, and he felt as if someone had struck the back of his head, leaving him dazed.

 

When he slowly blinked and regained his senses, he was already in a dark room.

 

And… standing in the crack of the open door was his father, his gaze cold.

 

Without a hint of hesitation, his father pulled the door handle shut.

 

With a loud *thud*, the door closed, and Kirzen’s heart plummeted.

 

“F-Father…!”

 

Kirzen desperately ran to the closed door and began pounding on it.

 

“Father! I… I didn’t mean to do it!”

 

Tears streamed down his face as he called out endlessly, but beyond the door, there was only silence.

 

He was terrified that this door might never open again.

 

“Father! Father, please…!”

 

Please, listen to me. His desperate voice echoed, but no answer came.

 

In the empty hallway, only Kirzen’s voice reverberated endlessly.

 

No matter how much he pounded on the door, even as his hands bled and blistered, Kirzen couldn’t give up.