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Chapter – 53
The small, rundown building stood isolated. It was about the size of three wardrobes pushed together.
A broom served as a makeshift latch on the wooden door, which looked like it could fall apart at any moment.
It seemed as if something inside had been locked away.
Sniff.
I inhaled sharply through my dry nose and approached the door.
“…….”
For once, Manette showed some tact.
She carefully lifted me closer to the latch.
Grunting, I removed the broom holding the door shut.
At that moment, the old wooden door creaked as it opened.
Through the slit of the opened door, a thick cloud of dust poured out.
Once the dust settled, I saw a boy curled up tightly, lying on the floor.
“…Rix.”
The person I had longed to see, my savior.
Calix.
Darkness was familiar.
So was the dust that filled his mouth.
And the wind that seeped through cracks.
They were like hunger.
At first, it was painful. Then, it became numb.
It seemed bearable, until suddenly it tightened its grip again.
‘Why am I locked up this time?’
Calix stared blankly at the faint sunlight filtering through the old window.
“Oh, cleaning.”
He was imprisoned simply because the cleaning of the main building wasn’t up to someone’s standards.
He had been locked up so many times for various reasons that recalling the reason had become tiresome.
Instead, the memory of the first time he was locked up remained vivid.
“…Filthy thing. A parasite with tainted blood, how vile your actions are! You dare steal items from the temple?! Reflect on your sins here!”
The item he had “stolen” was just an apple.
He had been too hungry and had eaten one while running errands.
That day, he was locked in the abandoned warehouse for an entire day.
No matter how loudly he begged to be let out, no one came.
Occasionally, he could hear voices and laughter from nearby, but it was as if no one outside could hear him.
‘I wonder when they’ll let me out this time.’
He rubbed his stomach calmly.
After a day of hunger, his belly was hollow.
The familiar pangs of hunger gnawed at him.
The pain had passed, and it felt bearable.
Which meant…
‘The tightening must be coming soon.’
He curled up on the floor.
From experience, it was better to fall asleep before the pain of hunger struck.
If he was lucky, the painful part might pass while he slept.
…If unlucky, he might die.
‘…I should’ve brought the candy jar.’
He had hidden it somewhere no one would look, so he hadn’t been able to bring it.
At this moment, he wanted that candy jar more than anything.
Not to eat it.
Even if he couldn’t eat it, it didn’t matter.
He just wanted to hold the small jar in his hands and gaze at the brilliantly shining star candies inside.
He wanted to count how many purple candies were there among the multicolored ones.
Long eyelashes cast dark shadows as his eyes closed.
How much time passed like that?
“…Ugh.”
Calix let out a small groan and opened his eyes.
His hollow stomach hurt.
It seemed the plan of sleeping through the pain had failed.
Too weak to stand, the boy lay there blinking.
Footsteps came from outside.
‘Has someone come to get me?’
It seemed about time.
“Hybrid. Have you reflected yet?”
They would ask with a bitter smile.
Calix would silently nod.
If they expected his reflection to be hunger, he was plenty hungry already.
Creak—.
The door opened with a groan.
Light poured into the dark space all at once.
Floating dust sparkled in the sunlight.
I couldn’t take my eyes off it today.
As the sparkling dust slowly settled, I saw a small figure.
Who was that?
Perhaps the trainee priest had been ordered to open the door this time?
Then…
“…Rix.”
Hearing his name called with a voice wet with emotion, the boy blinked.
‘That voice…’
“Nanu Menronia. Mel! Roni.”
“I… I’m coming to see you again.”
“I’ll definitely come again later. So, you have to stay well, alright?”
The words she thought would never be kept floated in his mind.
“…Meloni?”
The boy’s voice was cracked and weak as he spoke.
“Huup. R-Rix….”
The child who called his name approached through the dust.
She plopped down beside Calix’s head.
She brought her cold hands together, placing them over his small hands.
“I… I’m sorry for being late. I promised I’d come, but… I’m sorry I’m late.”
Her tearful purple eyes glimmered in the dim light.
‘…Star candies.’
They looked just like star candies.
White, small candies given by small hands.
“…There were twelve.”
“Eh? What?”
“The number hasn’t changed. Still twelve.”
The child tilted her head in confusion.
Calix slowly blinked.
‘Even now, there are still twelve.’
Among the colorful candies, the number of purple candies had never changed.
From the beginning until now, there had always been twelve purple star candies.
“Rix…? Rix!”
Rix mumbled something about twelve candies and closed his eyes.
“Oh, oh no!”
I held Rix’s fallen hand, anxious.
“Wait, Princess. Let me see.”
Manette stepped in, trying to calm me down.
“Let’s move him outside first. This place is too cold and dusty.”
“…Ah!”
Manette carefully moved Calix outside the warehouse.
“Luckily, he doesn’t seem hurt. He probably lost consciousness from relief after seeing you, in addition to being constantly hungry.”
Placing her hand on Calix’s stomach, Manette muttered something.
A faint white light flickered from her hand and disappeared.
“I’ve calmed him with divine power, so there shouldn’t be any major problems.”
“…R-Really?”
“Yes. Don’t worry, Princess.”
“Phew… thank goodness… huup, thank goodness.”
My throat felt tight, and words barely came out.
I tried to lift my head and hold back tears.
‘I don’t want to cry.’
Rix hadn’t cried, so I didn’t want to either.
Though I had struggled to live well after reincarnation, I had been living comfortably in Panteibe.
Three full meals a day.
Reading freely.
Drawing a lot.
Eating delicious snacks.
One day, my belly was so plump that Lewis teased, “…aren’t you a raccoon?”
So, my heart ached even more.
While I had lived happily, Rix had been trapped in this dark, grim place.
To think that the savior who had given me the will to live had spent his childhood like this…
It was infuriating and heartbreaking.
At the same time…
“…I want to see Abadi.”
“Huh?”
“I want to see Abadi.”
Strangely, I wanted to see the Duke.
Huup.
The tears I had tried to hold back welled up again.
Seeing my sobbing, Manette stomped her feet, unsure what to do.
“Shall I fetch the Duke?! Ah, but I can’t leave the Princess here… And I can’t take the young trainee priest…”
“…Abadi.”
Once the sorrow surged, it became overwhelming.
It felt as though my body was being controlled by my emotions.
In other words, I felt as sorrowful as a four-year-old.
“Abadi. Daddy. Daddyyyy….”
At that moment…
“Yes. You called, my daughter?”
A familiar voice came from behind.
I turned quickly and saw the Duke smiling at me.
“Ah… Abadi?”
“Oh, I quite liked being called Daddy, too.”
He teased, spreading his arms and bowing slightly.
“Come here, my little marshmallow.”
“……!”
I ran and jumped into his arms.
He skillfully held me, patting my back.
“Now, who made our daughter so sad?”
