GDWY 16

Chapter 16

Rosha, awkward in relationships, didn’t know how to approach someone who had come to hate him. Nervously, he scratched his palm with his fingernails.

“I was adopted here since I was too young to remember, but ever since I started forming memories, there’s something I’ve been told over and over again.”

At an age when the world should have seemed beautiful, the boy trembled with a voice full of anger. It was a pitiful sight, and though Rosha felt a faint sense of guilt, his own immediate predicament took precedence.

“They said it’s creepy that I was brought from Beria. Instead of eating that newborn, the monster must have planted a curse!”

At that moment, Rosha felt as if his heart had dropped.

“I survived, but to people, I was a creepy child—someone the monster saved for some reason.”

He realized a similarity he hadn’t thought of before between Joshua and Lily.

Both Joshua and Lily were survivors of demons, orphans who had lost their parents, and they were the same age.

Of course, Joshua was adopted into a count’s family and became a noble, but according to Joshua, even after being adopted, he likely still faced disparaging remarks for surviving the demon.

Then what about Lily?

Even Joshua, now a count’s adopted son, heard such things, and Lily, with no one to rely on, would have endured far harsher words.

“Every day… every day… whenever I see something strange… whenever someone dies, ugh…”

“……”

“I felt like I was really a cursed child, and that’s why… ugh…”

“……Joshua.”

“I thought Rosha would be different…”

The moment Rosha began to overlay Joshua with his own image of his younger sister, the guilt in his heart multiplied.

“Of all the countless illusions the shadows showed me, the only person who cried for me was you, Rosha… so I thought I could open my heart to you…”

“……”

“Because you summon monsters too, ugh! Isn’t that… terrible…?”

The sorrow that poured out of Joshua seemed like it could have belonged to Lily.

“That day… I should have died too…”

I should have died that day.

“……”

Over Joshua’s voice, Lily’s voice was layered in.

“Rosha, I’m scared too. I’m scared of people pointing fingers at me, of hearing strange illusions and voices…”

Sister, I’m scared. People point fingers at me. The monsters keep appearing…

“Why did you come looking for me, Rosha?”

Sister, why couldn’t you come find me?

“Even though you’re going to hate me anyway…”

Anyway… are you happy without me?

“No!”

Without realizing it, Rosha raised his voice, denying Lily’s words. He hugged the young blonde girl, who stared at him with startled eyes, and whispered endlessly, hoping to heal her wounded heart.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It’s not like that… I came too late, didn’t I? I’m really sorry…”

How could I have been happy without you? It’s not like that, Lily. Not a single day passed without thinking of you.

“I’ll make sure no one ever points fingers at you again. I’ll protect you from monsters. I’ll do anything for you. I’m sorry, I’m really sorry…”

“Rosha…?”

“……”

When he heard a slightly different timbre, Rosha lowered his head.

The hair that had been blonde moments ago had returned to silver. In his arms was not his sister Lily, but a boy the same age.

He had been mistaken. Seeing this child’s situation, he had impulsively imagined it might be what Lily had gone through, and he lost reason, mistaking Joshua for his younger sibling.

His hands trembled as he held Joshua.

“Ro, Rosha…”

Joshua called in a voice mixed with worry and fear.

For some reason, Rosha didn’t want to release the boy from his arms. Perhaps because he had just mistaken him for Lily, his heart softened toward Joshua.

“I… I’ll apologize.”

At the same time, this was an opportunity—the only chance to reconcile with this child whose heart had turned away from him.

“Actually, you know… I have a younger sibling the same age as you.”

‘Sometimes revealing a little weakness can help win someone’s heart.’

Remembering Noah’s teachings, Rosha cautiously explained his situation to Joshua.

“There was a demon attack in our village too. My whole family died then, and I lost contact with my sibling. But finally, I got news of them.”

“You found your sibling?”

“…No.”

Rosha stroked Joshua’s head and gave a wry smile.

“They disappeared just before I could reach them.”

“……”

“I only heard this news yesterday.”

Listening quietly, Joshua’s tear-streaked eyes twisted again as he bowed his head, holding Rosha’s clothing.

“That must have been hard…”

Seeing the boy empathize with the tragic story of someone he had just hated made Rosha feel heavy at revealing his own story intentionally. Yet he continued.

“I didn’t treat you badly because I genuinely doubted or disliked you. I just… vented my frustration on you…”

“……”

“I’m really sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“……Yes.”

“Will you forgive me?”

Rosha looked Joshua straight in the eyes as he apologized. Joshua hesitated, his pupils shifting, unsure whether to easily accept the apology. Rosha began to feel anxious.

“I never hated you from the start, Rosha…”

Thankfully, the boy forgave him easily.

Seeing such a pure child, Rosha felt a mix of pity, frustration at his naïveté, and even affection, letting out a small chuckle.

Joshua, watching Rosha, carefully spoke again.

“I’m okay, but what about you, Rosha…?”

“Me? Why me?”

“Rosha…”

With eyes that seemed on the verge of tears, as if recalling his own sadness, Joshua asked,

“Is your heart okay, Rosha?”

No one had ever asked Rosha this before. People pitied him, but no one ever shed tears for him.

“I…”

Rosha opened his mouth to answer Joshua firmly, but no words came. Then he felt a small warmth on the back of his hand.

Joshua had taken Rosha’s hand.

For some reason, Rosha felt like crying again, a feeling he hadn’t experienced since early childhood. He sometimes screamed and cried alone at night, worrying about Lily or reliving the night his family died, but that was long ago.

Rosha had to grow up quickly. While other children complained to their parents or went to school, he learned to fight evil.

Though his siblings loved him, he knew there were limits to leaning on family not truly his own. To become a perfect member of the Golden Dawn, he studied the types of demons and the groups trying to dominate the world until he bled from his nose. He also had to complete advanced education at headquarters at a young age.

It was bearable.

This was nothing. He had already endured worse.

Thinking of Lily still made him ache, but he didn’t feel burdened. Being busy, he had no time to feel it. Naturally, his tears dried day by day.

But now, like those young days, he felt the urge to cry again.

The boy, much smaller than him, patted the back of Rosha’s hand.

“Don’t cry, Rosha.”

Though he hadn’t really been crying, Joshua’s words made Rosha feel as if he truly had, like receiving warm comfort.

But the feeling was unfamiliar to him. Rosha didn’t know how to temporarily put down the burden of his heart when comforted. Awkwardly, he pulled his hand back and turned away, glaring to keep the tears from falling.

He hesitated at the door, repeatedly gripping and releasing the handle.

“Hey, Joshua.”

“Yes?”

“If it’s okay…”

Rosha exhaled slowly, as if letting out a sigh.

It’s fine, this is a mission. I can’t leave him behind.

“We’re going to the orphanage where my sibling stayed. Want to come with me?”

This wasn’t an offer to let the boy be near him.

But regardless of Rosha’s intention, Joshua seemed happy.

The boy jumped from the bed, wrapped in a blanket, and ran to Rosha, hugging him. His face was bright with an innocent smile.

Rosha felt the weight of seeing such a pure face.

Angel Orphanage, where lovable and pitiful children were abandoned and cared for.

Within the clean building was a deep basement. Following the dim stairs, one would reach a prayer room, softly glowing with red light.

Even today, the director’s earnest prayers rang out, devoted to the children.

“God, forgive their sins today as well.

Your foolish children

shun darkness and follow the light,

avoid pleasure to live righteously,

and do good to avoid corruption.

Yet they commit sins, worship false gods.

Strip the flesh of your sinful children,

cover them, pile bones, paint with blood,

to build a tower reaching the heavens.

Forgive their sins through this.

The day You ascend the tower to the sky,

Your child, who bears the sins of the world, shall be with You,

and the faithful who built the tower will gaze up from the depths.

On that day, the sun will be obscured by the moon,

the moon by the sun,

all lights will be extinguished,

and perfect darkness will descend upon the earth.

God, punish all humans who sinned against You.

We shall do it.

Let our great God do nothing,

and simply reign in the heavens.”

The prayer eventually shifted into a hymn.

“As darkness falls upon the world,

sinners shall see nothing.

O you who worship false gods, listen.

You shall not see ahead.

You shall not see your family massacred before your eyes.

You shall not know when your eyes are plucked out.

Those who believe and worship false gods,

those who fattened themselves through false gods,

those who chose evil yet begged forgiveness from false gods,

none shall see ahead.

On the day darkness comes,

only those at the Tower of Babel shall see ahead.”

Though the melody was bright, the lyrics were not. Blood from the woman’s arm surrounded her, forming a vivid red magic circle on the floor.

As the song climaxed, the circle darkened to purple.

The child watching from the door held his breath quietly. The scene was grotesque and frightening. He knew he should report it but couldn’t summon the courage to call the director, stepping back instead.

“Ugh…!”

His plan to quietly leave failed. He misstepped and fell on his backside.

Squeeeak—

The door fully opened, and the child met the director’s gaze. The director’s head, which had been looking at the inverted cross on the wall, now turned completely toward the child.

“Eeek!”

The child covered his mouth.

‘If I scream, there’ll be more penance!’

The director had said that screaming during sacred prayer was fear of God, requiring penance. The child held back the scream.

The director, seeing the fearful child, wiped his arm clean, stopping the bleeding and healing the wound.

The director tidied his clothes, put on glasses, and extended a kind hand. Trembling, the child took it and stood.

“You’ve become good, no longer afraid of God.”

“T-Thank you.”

“Yes, child. You came for a reason, right?”

“Well… someone came to see me…”

“There shouldn’t be visitors today.”

“The pretty pink-haired lady who came last time.”

“Huh…”

The director sighed heavily at the mention of her. The child added,

“This time, she came with someone else.”

“Who?”

“A boy with white hair, about our age.”

“……”

The child’s hands shook at the director’s increasingly strange expression. The once annoyed face had transformed, hair neatly tied, smiling mechanically.

“Child, pretend to play outside with the other kids.”

The director patted the child’s head and went ahead, displeased about the interrupted prayer but accommodating the special visitor.

“Time to greet our guest.”

The child followed.

When Rosha returned the next day, the orphanage was much the same. Some kids read on the snow or played together, while the rest of the place remained quiet.

Joshua, usually isolated in an annex, was frail and struggled to walk. Rosha, unused to caring for anyone weaker than himself, hadn’t realized Joshua was thinly dressed. Seeing Joshua’s reddened nose, he decided to act, taking him into the director’s office to warm him up.

“Rosha, is it okay to enter someone else’s space like this?”

“Of course not.”

“Then why do you?”

“I didn’t want to walk, and you’re cold, right?”

“That’s right.”

“So I came to a comfortable place.”

“But that’s wrong behavior.”

Joshua was more moral than expected and asked persistently if unsatisfied.

“Joshua, one must live flexibly. You wouldn’t want to freeze to death trying to be polite, right?”

“……Right.”

“To survive, sometimes you have to abandon etiquette. Understand?”

Joshua nodded as if enlightened, adding, “I see.”

“Now think in reverse. A guest comes, and the latecomer is at fault, right? Plus, this orphanage lost my sibling. I have the right to make a fuss here.”

While Rosha was teaching Joshua these unorthodox lessons, the director’s office door opened.

“Lily’s sister has visited again.”

The director held a large Bible, nameplate visible. Rosha read it unconsciously:

‘Susan Reiletra…’

Though he heard the name before, reading it in writing felt odd, strangely familiar.

“And today, she brought a new little guest as well.”

The director welcomed Rosha with an unusually bright smile, but Rosha didn’t return it. He wasn’t visiting for pleasant reasons, only hoping to learn something about his lost sibling.

He couldn’t understand this woman, smiling so brightly in front of the family of the missing child.

And somehow, her name’s spelling unsettled him.

‘It’s not a common surname.’

Initially insignificant, the name now felt oddly familiar.

Reiletra.

A surname he had never heard, yet somehow seemed known.

The director bent to look at Joshua, smiling warmly, clearly fond of the boy.

“What’s our little guest’s name?”

“Joshua von Baldwin.”

“Ah, Joshua! Would you like cocoa? Or honeyed milk? Ah, cookies and cake too!”

“Excuse me.”

Rosha stopped the director, irritated by his over-familiarity in front of the family of the missing child.

“Joshua, come here.”

Joshua immediately went to Rosha’s side. Director Reiletra observed silently, smiling mechanically.

“Director, are you smiling? I couldn’t sleep a wink last night.”

“Apologies. I failed to consider the guardian’s feelings.”

The director bowed, surprisingly apologetic. Yet switching from laughter to pity so abruptly felt insincere to Rosha.

“I didn’t come to play. I want to know if there’s news of Lily or how to find her.”

“Hmm… unfortunately, no news yet.”

“And you plan to search?”

“Of course. I even reported it to the police this morning.”

“Quick report, indeed.”

“You seem very angry.”

“Is that a question?”

Rosha now suspected even that.

“I’ll make flyers about Lily.”

“Good idea.”

“Since I’ve been away from her for so long, there may be things about Lily I don’t know. Director, please write down everything about her.”

“Of course. While I write, would you like to look at Lily’s room?”

“Sure.”

“Our little gentleman looks tired; offer him some cookies while you do.”

“No.”

Why so obsessed with Joshua? Watching him closely while talking to Rosha felt unsettling. Rosha hid Joshua behind him and firmly said:

“Wherever I am…”

“……”

“Joshua will always be by my side.”

Was it his imagination, or did Director Reiletra’s lips twitch slightly?

“Do as you wish.”

The director handed Rosha the key to Lily’s room and explained its location. Rosha held Joshua’s hand and left the office, glancing back.

Seated at the desk, Director Reiletra did not once take his eyes off Joshua—

Not a single blink.