What I Can Do For The One I Love (11)

Stay calm. Don’t tremble. Don’t show any emotion. If you do, he’ll think something’s wrong with you.

I forced myself to suppress my anxiety and managed a small smile. Thoughts raced wildly through my mind. Just as I was about to speak…

“Father.”

Someone unexpected stepped in. Jayden, who’d been quietly watching everything from behind.

“It’s just a servant’s face. There’s no need to worry. With so many people coming and going, it makes sense you wouldn’t remember them all. But, I think you’re running late. If you stay here any longer, something unexpected might happen. Didn’t you always say we should stick to the plan? You should go now, before it gets too late.”

“Hm…”

Father’s unsteady gaze drifted to the child in his arms again. That brief moment seemed to stretch on forever. I hardly dared to breathe.

“If too many people are watching, things will only get more complicated.”

At those words, Father finally lost interest and turned away. The sound of his footsteps as he passed by me had never felt so terrifying.

Jayden glanced at me once before silently following after Father. I didn’t move a muscle until their footsteps had faded into the distance.

I was terrified Father might come back to see the child’s face again. Or that Jayden might say something about what he’d noticed. It was a real relief that Jacob, who was always so curious, hadn’t been here just now.

Hurriedly, I took the child and made my way toward the back forest. After what had just happened, the child followed quietly.

The silent forest ahead was so thick you couldn’t see a step in front of you. There, hidden beyond the dense bushes, was a path. A secret passage leading out. Someone had once told me that nobody knew about this path in the back forest anymore. I can’t remember who.

We stopped at the entrance.

“I’ll give this back to you.”

I handed the child the knife… the one I’d been stabbed with when we first met. It didn’t feel right for me to keep it. The child took it in silence.

“If you go straight down this path, you’ll get out.”

I pointed the way and looked at the child again. The child just stared at me.

Suddenly, the child reached out and carefully took my bandaged hand. Slowly, the child unwrapped the bandage and checked my palm. The wound the knife had made was already healed. There wasn’t even a scar.

When the child saw that, their expression grew unreadable.

“So you really are a monster.”

The words came with cold certainty.

“My father is dead. Even if he isn’t, he’s as good as dead. That’s why you’re not taking me to him, isn’t it?”

“…”

“My mother and my sister, too… your family killed them. You’re all monsters.”

“That’s right. I’m a monster. This whole place is a den of monsters.”

This time, I didn’t try to deny it.

“And here’s some advice: Don’t tell anyone what happened here. Once you get out, just focus on surviving. Find somewhere to hide. Even if you go back to the Riatrice family, our family won’t stop until yours is wiped out.”

“Why?”

“Because of a prophecy. You know what a prophecy is, right?”

The child shook his head… he didn’t know.

“Then look it up later. You need to know. Don’t come back with half-baked revenge in your heart. Even if you see my family again by chance, pretend you don’t know us. That’s the only way you’ll survive.”

“Why are you helping me?”

The child’s eyes were confused.

“Is it because you pity me? Because I’m weak? Is this just mercy?”

“…”

I studied the child’s face for a moment before replying.

“I like adventure stories most, out of all books.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

The child frowned. It was a familiar expression… I found myself laughing softly.

When I was young, if I couldn’t sleep, my nanny would read me stories. That was my favorite time. She read me all kinds of fairy tales, but my favorites were about heroes defeating villains and saving the world. I really loved those stories.

Jayden said we could never escape this family. No matter how hard we tried, we were Pacula blood. The only way anything would ever change was if we drained every last drop of blood from ourselves. That was both our curse and our fate. We were born to live as monsters.

A family of monsters, staining the world with darkness. The child came to protect his own family, only to be captured by monsters. The prophecy’s conditions were all there. I believed the prophecy wasn’t about just one family, but about this child.

Meeting you was fate. That’s what I think. Even if it isn’t, this moment will always be a special memory for me.

“If it was our family who killed yours, what will you do?”

“I’ll take revenge.”

“Will you kill all the monsters?”

“Yes. I’ll kill them all.”

“Then we’ll see each other again.”

I smiled brightly at the child, who seemed a little flustered.

“I’m happy. It feels like we’re friends.”

“Don’t say stupid things!”

“Shh, shh! If you shout, someone might come.”

I put my finger to my lips and gently tried to hush the child with my other hand. The child muttered quietly,

“…We’re not friends or anything.”

“Okay. We’re not friends.”

“…”

“When you get out, do whatever you can to survive. Get stronger. Come back for revenge. I’ll be waiting.”

It was time. I couldn’t wait any longer. If someone found us like this, it’d all be over. I gave the child a gentle push on the back.

“Go. Quickly. Before anyone comes.”

“…”

“Hurry.”

The child walked a few steps, then turned back to look at me.

“What’s your name?”

I blinked in surprise, then smiled softly.

“Razella. And you?”

“Helcion.”

Helcion. I repeated the name in my mind.

“Survive, Helcion. No matter what.”

Survive, and come find me.

Come to kill me.

“See you.”

I smiled as brightly as I could, hiding everything I truly felt. The child’s face twisted a little, as if he truly thought I was strange.

I was worried we’d be discovered if we stood there any longer, but the child finally turned away and didn’t look back again. I waved after him until his small figure vanished into the darkness, waving and waving as he grew more distant.

“You’re only just getting back now?”

I tried to sneak quietly up the stairs, but a voice called out. I looked up and saw someone standing in the shadows.

“Jayden…”

It was my older brother, Jayden. Why was he here? I let the question go. Jayden leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

“Did you get the child out safely?”

We both knew who he meant. I didn’t know how much he’d figured out. There was no point lying to him. He was never someone I could deceive.

“Are you going to tell Father?”

“I haven’t decided. What do you think I should do?”

His voice was flat, as if he was still mulling it over. Jayden was always like this… he acted as though nothing interested him, as if all curiosity had long since vanished. No matter what happened around him, no matter who died, he didn’t even seem to care that he was a monster. In that way, he was like Jacob.

And yet…

“Why did you help me?”

Why?

“Why did you step in just now? Why did you stop Father?”

“No reason. I just felt like it.”

It was such a simple answer. But it was true. Jayden probably did it just because he wanted to, because he thought it’d be fine. He was always like that. On the other hand, if Father had pressed him, he probably would’ve told the truth without hesitation.

“If Father asks, say the child is dead. Say I drained the life from them. Then he won’t be suspicious.”

“You’re not going to ask where the child went?”

“No. I’m tired.”

Jayden uncrossed his arms, looking ready to go back to his room.

He turned to leave, then paused and looked at me again. His gaze was oddly piercing, hard to bear. He was the hardest person to read in the whole family. Even more than Father.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I hope your wish comes true.”

“…”

“I mean it.”

With that, he walked away. I stayed frozen until he vanished at the end of the hallway, then finally went back to my own room.

I quietly burned the mud-stained pajamas I’d hidden deep in the wardrobe. By the time they were reduced to black ash, rain began to fall outside my window.

It rained a lot that day. Countless drops washed everything away. The rain fell so hard that even the small footprints left behind in the night were completely erased.

The next day, the head of the Riatrice family was found dead. They said his body was discovered in the forest.

The lady of the family and their daughter had already been murdered, and now the family head who’d gone out to catch the killer was found dead as well. The royal family sent soldiers to find the culprit, but his corpse was in such tatters that there were no clues to be found.

And the only remaining son, the family’s heir, had disappeared. People wondered if the killer had taken him, but there was no trace.

After that, the Riatrice bloodline suffered one strange accident after another. Horses went mad for no reason, carriages lost wheels and overturned, people were murdered just walking down the street. It was as if someone was deliberately targeting them, and misfortune never ceased.

In time, the once-glorious Riatrice family faded from history.

Some wondered if the prophecy had been wrong. Others questioned if it had been meant for a different family.

But I know the truth. The missing heir is alive somewhere, hiding, waiting for revenge. I can feel it, even if I never search for him.