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Chapter 47
I flinched involuntarily at the terrifying sight.
Carefully, I inserted my hand into the iron bars and grabbed only the ruby, then rushed out of the underground prison.
“I told you to let go! And compared to the injuries I’ve suffered because of you, this is nothing but a playful scratch.”
Justifying myself, I climbed the stairs and, coincidentally, Betty was coming down.
“Betty!”
“Miss! Why are you coming out so late?”
“Oh, some ticks attached themselves to me.”
“Ticks…?”
“Yeah. Really big and disgusting ones.”
In the end, I witnessed a bloody situation.
Betty, shaking her head at me, swiftly picked me up and ascended to the surface.
By now, the wooden door had become ragged as the monsters had apparently clawed and rampaged around.
Our Betty must have worked hard to keep the entrance from collapsing.
In the midst of that moment, I spotted dark pieces that had turned into mush.
I might have enjoyed it more than struggled, so my gratitude faded slightly.
Anyway, I hurried back to where Levi and Franz were, and for a brief moment, I passed through Franz’s paper airplane mountain.
Yup.
Without thinking, I grabbed a handful of them.
They were annoying, but now that I wouldn’t have to deal with them again, I was suddenly curious.
Were they just empty paper or had something actually been written on them?
I unfolded one.
[Idiot.]
Hmm?
I rustled through the other paper airplanes.
[Moron.]
Could it be?
[Annoying.]
No way.
[Ugly.]
“This little brat!”
Franz, you adorable little thing. These were all insults aimed at me, weren’t they?
I crumpled the paper and threw it at the black head that appeared right then.
“Huh? What?”
“Gossip will surely return to the person who spread it.”
I said in a solemn tone to Franz, who looked back at me. Then, I unfolded the last paper airplane in my hand.
This one was probably another insult aimed at me. Something like “spank your butt hard.”
[He’s my brother.]
I wanted to pet him.
I looked at him with admiration.
“Our deprived little black kitten…”
“I’m going to burn it all.”
Franz gritted his teeth and turned away.
I stared at him with a cute look, then realized and asked.
“By the way, where did Levi go?”
“To the front.”
“What? Why! That’s dangerous!”
“If I’m going to protect you, I have to do it properly,” he grumbled.
Whether he was speaking or gagging, he could only do one thing.
Well, I smiled to myself and spoke with a little swagger.
“Isn’t my husband cool?”
“…My brother is probably cooler.”
Rustle.
At that moment, a small monster resembling a rabbit hopped toward us.
I shouted at Franz, who was about to shoot an arrow.
“Wait a minute!”
“What?”
“Can we capture that…?”
My unexpected question made both Franz and Betty look confused.
“Do you want to raise it, Miss?”
“Of course not. I just…”
Maybe it’ll talk.
If I said that without Levi here, they would think I’m weirder than usual.
I stared intently at the hopping monster.
It was still black. When it found a human and started attacking recklessly, it would turn red.
‘Speak, speak. I’m listening. Don’t you have anything to say?’
But even after waiting, I didn’t hear the words from earlier.
The monster suddenly charged at us, and in the end, Franz and Betty had to stomp it into pieces.
What was that? Did I mishear something earlier? Or…?
‘Is there another condition I’m missing?’
I waited for the night to pass, with unease lingering.
Gradually, fewer monsters appeared, bit by bit, from the outside.
The sounds from outside also faded. Screams, dying breaths, swords being swung horizontally, and archers shooting arrows from the rooftop slowly quieted.
Eventually, the horizon in the distance brightened.
As the visibility improved, I could see the general formation.
‘A circle.’
The people at the front were drawing a large circle, and the rear was inside that circle.
Inside the circle, there were people like me and Franz, those relatively younger or capable of tending to the patients, including the doctor.
Behind us, in the inner circle, the patients were tightly surrounded.
I could see Charlie, who had rolled over from the earlier attack, and some servants who had fallen from the rooftop.
Excluding the archers moving freely on the rooftop, the mansion itself wasn’t entirely part of the circle.
This formation was telling.
In case of emergency, abandon the mansion. A person’s life is more important.
Honestly, I had been thinking we were fighting to protect the Bastion family or even the empire’s safety, but that wasn’t the case.
We were just protecting ourselves while also looking after our home.
It would be nice if the house survived…
“The master is coming!”
We were able to welcome the return of the person.
Those who had clearly shown signs of exhaustion from staying up all night cheered. Benjamin, who had been the overall commander, slumped down in place.
On the ridge where monsters had been relentlessly attacking, Wolfgang and the knights were riding toward us.
With the rising sun on their shoulders, they came proudly.
Right. If they were coming from there, it meant there were no more monsters left to escape.
“…Morning has come.”
I looked up at the dark sky I had been staring at through the foggy breath of the night. Instead of stars, sunlight began to fill the sky.
“Thank you for your hard work outside, Father.”
“…Why are you doing this, daughter-in-law?”
“I thought you should take care of the house chores now.”
Asha, who had been smiling brightly, pushed Wolfgang and Franz into a room and quickly shut the door.
“First, let me talk to my cute little son!”
“Sleep…!”
Franz, unable to stop her, squirmed his hands.
After staring at his own feet and at Wolfgang’s shoulder for a while, he finally opened his mouth.
“I’m sorry.”
“Hmm?”
“The lie I told last spring…”
“Certainly not a good thing.”
He flinched.
Franz’s eyes seemed to be turning red.
Wolfgang looked at him gently, almost with curiosity.
“You cry well.”
“…”
“You laugh well. You get angry well. You’re lonely. You like people.”
“Not very Bastion-like.”
“Not common, huh?”
Wolfgang’s response, not denying it, made Franz smile bitterly.
Yeah, Asha wasn’t very Bastion-like, but there was definitely something unique about Bastion.
Emotions are faint and weak. We are weak in empathy.
That’s why we tend to be indifferent, cold, and cruel.
But Franz was different.
Compared to others, he was cold, but in Bastion, he was an anomaly, someone with abundant emotions.
He was definitely not very Bastion-like…
“But what’s your name?”
“Huh?”
“Your name.”
“Franz… Bastion.”
“Right, you’re a Bastion.”
Wolfgang knelt down and sat.
The father and son’s eyes met.
Purple eyes like amethyst. Franz probably didn’t know, but Wolfgang was always proud of those eyes.
“Has there ever been a time when you weren’t a Bastion?”
“….”
“Has there ever been a time when you weren’t my son or Levi’s brother?”
Not even once?
Franz slowly shook his head. He had always been Franz Bastion, Wolfgang’s son, and Levi’s brother.
Something that resembled the lump in his chest seemed to break apart little by little.
A small smile escaped from Franz’s lips.
Wolfgang stared at him intently.
Crying, laughing. He still hadn’t met his partner, but it was easy for him.
“I don’t understand you.”
“…Me?”
“I don’t know what to do for you. You don’t resemble me.”
That was the honest feeling.
So, I just wanted him to do whatever he wanted—whether it was a lie or even something bad.
It was a different feeling from how I controlled Levi.
Rather than discrimination, the two sons were so different, and Wolfgang… well, he was a little awkward.
In the end, neither of my sons grew up the way my wife asked.
“If I go to hell, my wife will probably kick me to death twice.”
I’m looking forward to that day, but it’s still a long way away.
If I die early, leaving my two young sons behind, she might really kill me twice.
Chuckling lightly, Franz mumbled.
“I wanted to be like you and Levi.”
“Really? I’m glad you don’t resemble me.”
It was really an honest statement.
Wolfgang lightly tapped the corner of Franz’s eyes with his fingers.
These eyes. The atmosphere. The personality.
You cry well. You laugh well. You get angry well. You’re lonely. You like people. You like vegetables. You like sweets. And you like to share what you like.
“Franz, you’re like your mother.”
“…”
“Your mother, who I loved.”
Franz’s purple eyes widened.
For the first time, he realized how it sounded when someone said he resembled his mother.
Wolfgang, who had lightly tapped his eyes again, stood up and added.
“And your mother, too, was a Bastion.”
“…Katrin Bastion.”
“Right.”
Wolfgang smiled and gently ruffled his black hair.
It wasn’t an awkward touch. It had taken time and effort, and a certain noisy person’s teachings.
When the door suddenly creaked open, he heard someone saying.
“Ugh…!”
“Eavesdropping is bad, daughter-in-law.”
“Cough! I’m just trying to contribute to the peace of the household!”
Anyway, if only she’d stop talking.
