TFJB 36

Chapter 36

“We fought quite a bit back then.”

But they weren’t bad memories. It was less than a month, but we lived together almost like a family.

“I don’t know what Kin thought, though.”

Kin—no, “Hin”—was a boy like a wary wild animal. Only in front of young me and my baby sibling did he relax a little. In front of adults, he acted like a fierce wildcat.

My parents felt sorry for Hin.

“It seems he was treated cruelly by adults. Ash, won’t you help that child a little?”

“Tch… since you’re asking, Mom and Dad, I’ll try.”

And so, I ended up taking on the role of guardian to that rude boy.

“Back then, I was the leader.”

It was a memory from seventeen years ago, so it was vague, but also comforting.

Wasn’t he almost the only person I could remember my parents with?

“Seeing that he gave me back my handkerchief and asked about souls and such, he must think I’m dead.”

Well, of course. Seventeen years ago, our whole family was massacred by robbers.

“So he would naturally think I died too.”

I quietly unfolded the handkerchief and held it up to the light. It was cleanly washed, but worn from use.

I opened the box where I kept my important belongings and took out a small pouch.

Inside was half of a purple handkerchief, exactly like the one Kin had given me.

When I put the two together, they matched perfectly. Even after almost twenty years, it didn’t feel awkward at all.

“After all this time, it finally returns to my hands and completes Mother’s handkerchief.”

Looking down at it, my feelings were strange.

“Do objects have fate too?”

Thinking about what had happened over the past few days, it didn’t seem completely wrong.

The portrait inside the necklace returned to Bernard, and the doll returned to Anna.

They all went back to the people they belonged to and told their own stories.

Maybe, like that, this handkerchief met me again to tell me something.

…At that thought, I let out a small laugh.

“What is this? I’m getting too sentimental.”

This kind of overthinking wasn’t like me. Now wasn’t the time to drown in feelings.

It was much better to think about what to do next.

I crossed my legs and muttered out loud.

“Hm. Kin has treasured the handkerchief I gave him all this time, and he even showed the absurd wish of wanting to talk to the dead me.”

…Then, wouldn’t it be okay to reveal to Kin that I am that “Ash”?

If I revealed our past relationship, maybe I wouldn’t be treated like this anymore. Maybe I’d receive much better treatment.

Surely, if my parents were his benefactors, he wouldn’t treat their daughter coldly?

“That’s likely, right?”

Kin may be cold and calculating, but it’s well known in this castle that he cherishes his own people absolutely.

Even if he’s the king of criminals, a king is still a king.

Maybe this chance could give me a powerful backer.

As my thoughts reached that point, what I needed to do next became clear.

“Should I test the waters a bit and then bring it up?”

Tomorrow might become a turning point in my life.

“You look tired.”

At Kin’s question, I replied with a worn expression.

“Handling things like this one after another isn’t easy.”

No—that wasn’t it. I had stayed up all night worrying about what to ask, what to answer, and how to reveal the truth to Kin today.

I drew the curtains to create a dark atmosphere and placed the handkerchief on top of the crystal ball.

“This… belonged to a young girl.”

“That’s right.”

“The girl is calling the lord. …I-in, …Hin. She’s calling Hin.”

“…!”

For a moment, Kin stopped breathing. At that instant, I was certain.

“Kin—no, he really is Hin.”

If not, he wouldn’t look so shocked.

Kin stepped toward me.

“Is it really you, Ash? Ash, is it you?”

“Shh, calm down. This isn’t over yet. To fully summon the soul, I need a proper reason. You must tell me.”

Why would he want to meet Ash’s soul even to the point of necromancy? I needed to be sure.

Most people miss the dead, but they don’t want to summon them and talk to them.

“And we only spent about a month together.”

I decided to hear his answer before choosing whether to reveal who I really was.

“My lord, quickly. Time is passing.”

“……”

Urged on, he let out a low groan and finally spoke.

“That girl… I killed her family.”

“…What?”

“I want to apologize to her first.”

Killed my family? What was he talking about? Shocked, I jumped to my feet.

But because the room was dark, my stiff expression wasn’t visible, and Kin continued speaking calmly.

“They were killed because of me. In truth, it’s no different from me killing them myself.”

“So… that kind of killing.”

Even if it wasn’t a direct murder, the shock was still overwhelming.

“Kin—no, Hin—was involved in that incident?”

At the time, he had only been a little over ten years old. How could a child that young be involved in something as dangerous as murder?

I knew that Kin, the master of the Ashen Citadel, was a dangerous man, but what I just heard gave me a completely different kind of unease.

Anger and fear rose at the thought that my family had been dragged into something like that, and I erased my plan to reveal my identity from my mind.

For my future, I couldn’t form deep ties with Kin.

He belonged to a dangerous world, a world different from mine.

I barely regained my composure and continued questioning him. I couldn’t miss the secret tied to my family’s death.

“…Does that mean the girl’s family wasn’t killed by robbers?”

At my question, Kin’s blue eyes flashed in the darkness.

“…How do you know they were killed while disguised as a robbery?”

“I learned your old name from the soul. Shouldn’t I naturally know the cause of their deaths too?”

A sharp reply slipped out.

“I can tell you even more. The girl’s name was Ash. She was about three or four years old then. Her parents were Grace and Hardy, and she had a younger sibling named Polly.”

I knew I shouldn’t go this far, but my mouth kept moving.

“Now you’re certain that Ash is here, aren’t you?”

“…I believe you. That’s information no one but Ash could know.”

Dizziness washed over me, and I grabbed the table to steady myself.

“Ash is asking—if it wasn’t robbers who killed her and her family, then who did? And if you were involved, my lord, why did her family have to die? She wants to clear the doubts surrounding their unjust deaths.”

“…That.”

With a low groan, Kin turned his head away.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t say that in front of this astrologer.”

“You can’t say it in front of me? Why? I’m the one helping here.”

“Because it’s confidential.”

“Confidential…”

I quietly whispered my parents’ names and my sibling’s name to myself.

Seventeen years ago. I thought it was something I had completely forgotten.

But the moment I heard Kin’s words, that time came vividly back to life in my memory.

Neighbors were throwing water on a house engulfed in flames. It was our house.

“M-Mother? Why is it hot? Hic… where are Mom and my sibling? And Dad?”

“I don’t know! A lot of people died! Your parents might be among them. Go throw water too!”

My parents and sibling were found as cold corpses inside the burned house. The neighbors concluded it was a robbery and arson committed by vagrants.

That day, I lost everything—my family, my home, and my money.