That Bad Ending Is Not The End? - Chapter 15

Dominic, who quickly noticed this, had annoyance swirling in his eyes. After the old man’s illness had worsened, he recalled his intention to tell him to find a partner every time he saw his face.

The old man, who was desperate to match any young woman visiting the viscount’s house with his son, wouldn’t miss such an opportunity. For Dominic, it was just a ridiculous idea.

‘What nonsense with such a child….’

Though her sulky face had matured a bit, it was really not much different from when she was young. The proof was that he had almost unconsciously placed his hand on her round head as she bowed her head. Recalling the woman’s clear face that had been constantly watching him, Dominic argued in an indifferent voice.

“…I simply hadn’t forgotten. Memories aren’t something I can discard just because I want to.”

“It’s been well over 10 years, and you say you only saw her briefly. Well, she was quite adorable. She used to follow you around too.”

“At that time, Father’s drunken ramblings while crying to me were also just a brief scene.”

“…You never lose an argument, do you?”

“I didn’t particularly intend to win, but it turned out that way.”

The old man groaned at those words.

“I’m sick, so let me win for once.”

Dominic sighed at the other person’s meaningless act of trying to gain the upper hand by bringing up his illness.

“I can hear the honor of the Imperial Navy hitting the ground.”

“Honor? That’s all just a facade. Winning is more important. If you lose, it’s all for nothing…. Besides, it’s been over ten years since I retired!”

Dominic nodded vaguely at the old man’s gruff voice. The face saying ‘I lost’ was that of someone just trying to avoid a bothersome situation. Looking at his face, Herman asked again.

“Doesn’t she look lonely?”

“I couldn’t tell such things in detail. But she didn’t seem to have any memories of Mr. Prieto. She didn’t even know she had a grandfather.”

“That might be for the better. So, does she seem to be eating well?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Was she pretty and cute?”

“……”

“If she’s the same as when she was young, she surely must be.”

The old man, who had come to his own conclusion, laughed heartily. He soon moved his body with a light face. He followed up by saying that since he felt better after a long time, he should go for a walk.

“If I weren’t in this condition, I’d like to go meet her once. Ah, being intoxicated by medicine, I don’t even know when the seasons change… Tsk. I don’t even know how old I am now.”

“Shall I tell you?”

“No, since I’ve forgotten anyway, I’ll think of myself as about twenty.”

“Rumors will spread that Viscount Vicenti has gone senile.”

At his indifferent retort, Herman burst into laughter once again. Dominic’s gaze lingered on the old man’s empty leg. He soon lowered his body habitually and began to attach a wooden prosthetic to his foster father’s leg. Herman’s voice, having stopped laughing, was heard above his head.

“If only I had known sooner that Emily became like that.”

“…How could you know about someone you deliberately cut ties with?”

“How unusual. You’re talking my side.”

“I’m just stating the facts. When she passed away, you were in a similar situation, Father.”

Herman smiled faintly at his matter-of-fact statement.

“Well. Those are all just excuses. In the end, I survived like this, you see. Despite everything, I’m certainly partly to blame for that child growing up lonely. I should have at least corrected Emily from going astray…. I missed opportunity after opportunity.”

“Someone might think you’re blood-related.”

“I wished we were. Even if not, I regretted not becoming family. If I hadn’t hesitated every time an opportunity arose, things might have been a bit better for Emily and that child.”

“……”

“Well, Emily might not have wanted it anyway. …Sometimes I idly imagine… just as you became my son, Emily becoming my daughter, and that child becoming my granddaughter.”

The old man, who had been desperate to win even small jokes, ruminated on his mistakes for quite a while. Dominic looked at his father, then once again recalled the small woman who had trembled before him.

And over that memory, the image of a young girl clutching at his clothes in a similar manner overlapped.

“……”

Instead of her unstable-looking mother, a young girl clinging to an expressionless, unfamiliar boy. It was something Dominic hadn’t told his foster father, but he remembered it for quite a long time. Vividly enough that when he saw her black eyes as an adult, the memory from that time came alive.

‘…But that doesn’t change anything.’

“If you’re curious, I’ll try to arrange a meeting.”

“No need. There’s no reason to increase the number of funeral guests. What good would come of it?”

“……”

“Don’t make that face. Didn’t you say she doesn’t even remember her grandfather? Rather than digging into unpleasant matters, it’s better to leave them buried. That damn bastard had plenty of money, so I hope she lives comfortably with that. I asked you to help with that early on.”

“…I see.”

“Yes. Though I’m not sure if it was time that could be compensated with money.”

After saying those following words, a dejected face came to mind.

“If it were me, no matter what Emily said, or rather, especially if she said bad things, I would accept this. As a kind of compensation.”

Indeed, on the face of the woman who had received cold advice, there was not the slightest hint of joy about the ‘compensation’.

* * *

With a gloomy face, May was tightly gripping the hem of her dress near her knees.

“I’m sorry…. For avoiding you without explanation….”

She apologized in a mumble, unable to look at the person in front of her, and bit the soft flesh inside her mouth.

The man’s face, which she glimpsed, was calm, but his golden eyes were more subdued than usual.

‘He must be very angry….’

And for good reason. After recalling her memories with Johan, May had continued to live in seclusion, avoiding him. This meant she had locked herself in her room, coming out briefly at dawn like a thieving mouse to steal food.

She ignored the knocking sounds on the door each time, and occasionally refused requests for conversation from beyond it, using the excuse of being ill.

Avoiding him wasn’t something May couldn’t do. Setting aside her embarrassment, fear arose about having her strange condition discovered.

Johan was truly the first person in a long time with whom she felt close. The thought of receiving a negative look from him seemed unbearable. The long-standing isolation and resulting defensive thinking made her preemptively avoid situations where she might be disliked.

So, in her mind, even the fact that Johan had first mentioned ‘help’ or ‘advances’ was erased. As well as who had been more aggressive that night.

After several days like this, as usual, late at night, while May was quietly climbing the stairs after getting food from the kitchen, Johan lightly caught her. When she was suddenly slung over the man’s shoulder, May quickly resigned herself. She saw the bread she had dropped rolling down the stairs.

As if this was inevitable, Johan gently sat her down on the top step of the stairs on the second-floor, accepting the situation while immediately going limp. He stood a few steps below, looking down at her intently.

…That was the current situation.

“How long were you planning to avoid me?”

“Um, as long as I could…”

“Ah, perhaps until my probation period ended?”

“…Yes.”

At the unexpectedly candid response, one of the man’s eyebrows twitched.

“So you were planning to chase me away right after that, I see.”

He chuckled softly as he said this. It certainly didn’t seem to be in a good way. It was more like a laugh of disbelief.

“Did you hate it that much?”

“…Pardon?”

“I wondered if you were avoiding me because I was too rough that night.”

Hearing his direct question, May’s face turned bright red. It was because the memories she wanted to forget suddenly flooded back.

“Th-that’s not…”

“Then?”

At his immediate question, her hands gripping her skirt tightened even more. After contemplating, she finally answered in a trembling voice,

“…Just, it’s strange…. My condition, I mean…”

“What kind of condition?”

“……”

It was a barrage of persistent questions. May, who had been answering somewhat faithfully despite her hesitation, kept her mouth shut at the last question. It was a given that the man in front of her had noticed her strange symptoms. However, talking about the cause was a different matter.

Her sexual desire increased after touching a strange compass? To the point where normal daily life became impossible?

If this were the kind of story that could be easily told and simply believed, she wouldn’t have turned back from the temple entrance several times. She wouldn’t have avoided Johan like this either….

But in this situation, what excuse could she make? To begin with, May wasn’t talented at lying. The unnecessary ramblings she spewed every time she told a lie were proof of that.

Finally, with a resigned look on her face, she looked up at Johan and carefully said,

“It’s a story you probably won’t easily believe…”

“I’ll judge that after hearing it.”

“Well…”

Soon, her small mouth opened hesitantly and began to spill out the story that only she had known.