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Molga said, her eyes sparkling.
“Of course, who’s the one who gave birth to you guys?”
There are plenty of spirit users who have contracted with low-level spirits. What she needed was a spirit that could unleash a bit more power.
‘If only that spirit who grants wishes were here…’
With the mark of the government, and days spent watching my back in the Duke’s house, that would soon be over.
They say that there isn’t a wish that spirit can’t grant…
Molga’s children, who would need to bow to no one, wouldn’t even envy the Emperor anymore.
“Mom believes in my little ones.”
“Yes!”
“Yes, yes!”
The twins answered loudly, and Molga gave a sly smile, hugging them tightly.
In her eyes, as always, there was a flicker of wicked desire.
Suddenly, my eyes opened.
I looked up at Wishit, who was watching me with a concerned expression, and said in surprise, “What kind of dream is this?”
“What dream did you have?”
“I dreamed I went out with Dad on an outing. I was on a diet, but we went to a restaurant and ordered lamb steak with a course meal, you know? I even finished all the desserts without leaving anything. I didn’t even lick the plate; it was such an achievement.”
“That’s a good dream.”
“Yeah, but thinking about how much I ate, my back is cold now. I’m glad it was just a dream.”
After eating together with Dad, we went flower-viewing and even saw a play. I think I whined about something, but in the dream, Dad was giving me a kind smile that he would never give in real life, saying, “Anything is fine.”
It was embarrassing, but…
“Looks like this is really what Rubet wanted in reality. It’s weird, but I feel much better now.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“And I’m sorry.”
Wishit’s eyes widened when I suddenly apologized.
“What for?”
“I told you not to worry, but I showed you such a weak side. I didn’t expect that just hearing Molga’s name would make me react like that.”
“…”
Wishit paused for a moment, then sighed and placed his hand gently on top of my head.
“I expected this when you absorbed Rubet’s memories completely. You need to take care of your heart. Don’t apologize for things like this.”
“Come to think of it, I acted out in front of Dad, too.”
I had been acting indifferent and telling Dad not to worry, but in reality, I was rebelling a bit.
‘Did I really ask him to hug me? How embarrassing.’
Shaking my head, I suddenly heard a loud knock.
“Ah, what’s this?!”
Without warning, the door opened, and a familiar face appeared.
‘Dad?’
In the blink of an eye, he looked just like when I was a child.
‘No, wait…’
‘Why is my older brother in my room?’
It was Diego Diolus, my first older brother, whom I hadn’t seen since I woke up as Rubet.
Diego, who looked just like Dad, was panting, seemingly having rushed over.
“Big brother?”
“…”
Diego, standing silently at the door, stared at me and then said,
“Looks like you’re alright.”
He left those words and slammed the door behind him.
“What…?”
I was about to get up, but slumped back down on the bed.
“Ugh, what a jerk.”
A brief encounter of less than ten seconds left me sighing.
“The Duke carried you out, and they called for a doctor. I guess he’s worried about you.”
“So what?”
I flopped back down with a click of my tongue.
Diego Diolus.
Neither good nor bad. He wasn’t particularly close or affectionate. He was just my first brother, with no special memories of being kind to me.
When our mother passed away when we were young, Diego, who felt deep gratitude towards Molga for taking care of the three of us, would do anything she asked and loved the twins, thinking that Molga’s affection was enough for them.
In the end, his priorities were always with Ricky and Lilia, the twins, not with me or Victor.
‘Stupid ally. Sometimes, a foolish ally is more dangerous than a smart enemy.’
I stared at the door Diego had closed and sighed again.
The reason Rubet couldn’t speak about the abuse she suffered from Molga, even though she had lived with it all her life, was largely because of Diego’s foolishness.
Three years from now, Diego would officially become the Duke, and as the Diolus Duke’s 9th head, he would be a powerful figure, serving as Molga’s shield.
It had been two days since Molga came back.
I had expected her to come check on me, but she hadn’t made a move.
‘She’s cautious, sharp, and knows how to manipulate things.’
Molga must have sensed something different in me by now.
That sly fox was probably checking the atmosphere at the Duke’s residence under the radar, managing the hired staff now that her underlings had been fired.
‘It doesn’t matter to me. I have trauma, so whenever I face Molga, I can’t hold onto my sanity.’
Even though it was the calm before the storm, now was the perfect time to act.
At 15 years old, as Rubet, with no connections, no skills, and no influence, no one would listen to the daughter of the Duke if I tried to expose Molga’s true face.
‘Let’s work. I’m going straight to cast the model today.’
I steeled myself, taking a bite of the half apple I had.
“You know, eating a whole apple won’t make you gain weight. I don’t get why you eat just half every time.”
I was having breakfast with Dad, as usual, and he was holding the other half of the apple in his hand.
“I wanted to share it with you, Dad.”
Dad seemed like he was about to give me more diet advice, but I blocked him off early to prevent any lecture, and he gave me a strange look.
Without saying anything, Dad took a bite of the apple and then handed it to me.
‘He didn’t ask anything. Well, I’m thankful for that.’
He hadn’t asked about the episode the other day when I had a panic attack and passed out. If he had, I would have had to mention Molga, and that would have been uncomfortable for me.
In this house, everyone is on Molga’s side, so anything I do could backfire.
“Today, you’ll be having lunch alone, Dad.”
“Why?”
“You better not drink secretly when I’m not around. I’ll ask the kitchen staff.”
“Why are you eating separately?”
“I’m going out to the city today. I’ll probably eat lunch outside.”
“Why are you going out?”
“I’m going to see a play.”
“What play?”
“…”
The endless questions made me speechless.
‘Why does he have so many questions?’
I didn’t expect this talk about lunch to go on so long.
Dad seemed to realize he was being too nosy and avoided looking at me.
“Well…”
After some hesitation, I moved over to sit next to him with a magazine in my hand.
“Want to take a look at this?”
It was a magazine from the academy, and inside, there was a picture of a beautiful actress.
“This is Sarah Wigo, the most popular actress from the academy right now. I’m a big fan of hers.”
The top actress in the academy at the moment, Sarah Wigo.
I gazed at her picture greedily, like a merchant looking for a deal.
Dad, who had been flipping through the magazine without any real interest, asked,
“When are you leaving?”
“Right now.”
I stood up quickly, and Dad paused.
“Don’t skip lunch, okay?”
“Wait.”
Dad hesitated as he grabbed my arm, like he was having second thoughts.
“Why?”
His gaze was fixed on the bright window.
“…”
It was as if he was a vampire afraid to step into the sunlight. After staring at the window for a long time, Dad finally turned to me and said,
“Let’s go together.”
“What? You’re going out?”
I was surprised. Since Mom died, Dad had been a shut-in, hardly ever leaving his room.
“Why? You don’t want to?”
“No, it’s not that…”
It was hard to believe that Dad, of all people, had decided to go outside.
Of course, it wasn’t a bad thing for him to join me. It would help my plans, and it would also be a good start for him to live a little more like a person again.
“Alright then!”
I quickly nodded, afraid he might change his mind.
“But I’m picking the lunch menu.”
“I was thinking about going to the salad place on Devian Street. Is that okay?”
“No greens.”
“Well, I’ve been dieting, so I need a different menu…”
Dad stared at me for a moment, then suddenly stood up.
“Yikes!”
The next moment, I was startled as Dad picked me up effortlessly.
“Didn’t you notice? You’ve lost half your weight in a week, and now you’re not heavy at all. Stop worrying about it.”
“No, I can’t.”
“…”
Seeing the determined look in my eyes, Dad reluctantly backed off.
“Well, at least don’t eat greens today.”
“Fine…”
Since I had stuck to a strict diet for a week, maybe I could enjoy a cheat day today.
With Dad still holding me, I shrugged and said,
“Okay, then. Get me something delicious.”
