~Chapter 49~
“…I have that umbrella. I bought it the day before yesterday.”
“Hahaha! Yeah, you did great!”
Grandpa laughed heartily and patted my head.
“Then, tell the little brat to do it! Tell him to do all the dangerous things!”
I quietly guessed what he meant and just smiled. Grandpa, unable to hold it in any longer, rubbed his face against my cheek.
“It tickles, it tickles!”
Suddenly, as I was being bombarded by his beard, I had a thought.
“Ha, but Grandpa…”
“Hmm?”
“Why do you call me ‘little booger’?”
Grandpa raised his thick eyebrows. As I said it, I felt strangely wronged.
“Boogers are dirty! They’re insignificant!”
Grandpa thought for a moment and answered casually.
“They stick to the mouth easily. They’re cute.”
“Ugh.”
Wasn’t he the one talking about how important names and relationships are?
That sounded pretty unconvincing!
I’ll ask Borvel to teach me how to make the most bitter medicine in the world!
Rubian shouted and ran off.
Balrok scratched his head as he watched her disappear across the lobby.
“Is this not it?”
Then, Maurice, who had been standing by the side of the lobby, walked over.
“I think he said something like a real grandparent. Isn’t this it?”
The large shoulders drooped. The old noble’s servant spoke coldly.
“Did you speak the way I advised?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Well, then it should have added a bit of warmth and kindness, but this is strange.”
“Right?”
The two servants tilted their heads at the same time. Balrok’s brow furrowed deeply.
“Isn’t all this Leviathan’s fault?”
Bang! Balrok couldn’t hold in his anxiety and hit the door with his fist. The thick door cracked easily.
“If Ruby rejects the Jebert family’s title…”
His furious face suddenly turned sulky.
Maurice comforted the old noble, who seemed restless.
“In that case, how about we host Lady Rubian in our annex?”
“Hmm?”
“Since the old noble is her ‘grandfather,’ the title is closer, isn’t it?”
“Oh, I see.”
Seeing the scheming smile on the servant’s face, the old noble also smiled darkly.
“I guess I’ll have to live with her calling me ‘Grandfather’… Hmm! Problem solved!”
What problem was solved?
The servants who were quietly listening were left thinking deeply.
I was about to go back to my room when I ran into the uncle in the hallway.
“Ah!”
Hey, uncle! The weather’s great today. I ran three and a half laps around the training yard. My stamina is growing as big as the sword and Void’s height…
I summarized all that with a simple exclamation.
Standing stiff as a statue, the uncle came over, lowered his body, and looked at me.
“Why does your face look all puffed up like pudding again?”
“I’m not pudding… sorry…”
I added gloomily, and the uncle gently patted my head.
“You don’t have to call me.”
“Hmm?”
“Ruby, you can call me when you feel like it. I’ll wait. And don’t apologize.”
“Ugh…”
I felt a strange, tingling feeling in my chest.
Looking into his kind eyes, I could only mumble with my lips. The uncle smiled softly.
“But what if I want to call you?”
“Hmm.”
Looking around, the uncle took a curtain decoration from the hallway wall. At the end of the string, there was a small bell.
“If you want to call me, just shake this.”
“Are you telling me to call you with a bell?”
“No, just shake the bell. Calling me with it is a bit much.”
I quickly shut my mouth.
Holding the little golden bell in my hand, I shook it lightly, and it made a clear, sweet sound.
“Like this?”
“Yeah. If you want to call me, just shake the bell. I’ll understand.”
Does he think I’m a cat? Or does he want to be a cat himself?
I shook the bell like crazy.
“Okay.”
The uncle answered casually, and seeing his face, I felt a strange pang in my chest. I slapped his broad shoulder and shouted.
“I shook it four times! Why only answer once?!”
I can’t go on like this!
As the sunset slowly fell,
I secretly snuck out of the castle. It was the same path I had taken when I chased after Khalid’s squirrel.
“Ugh, this is tough.”
I was back at the Jebert family’s memorial ground.
‘For some reason, I thought of this place.’
Borvel said it was a problem in my heart. I felt like I needed to tell someone about it.
At first, I reached out to touch my ear but stopped.
‘Khalid… his parents are gone.’
He said he didn’t even remember them.
‘What if I hurt him?’
And he would probably answer indifferently with, “Just shake the bell. What’s the problem with that?”
‘Maybe Grandpa?’
After the recent conversation… Pass.
‘Hazel?’
But Hazel hadn’t been around all day. She was probably busy, so… pass.
‘Or Void?’
Just pass.
‘No one…’
Then I thought of this place.
The nameless graveyard.
“…”
I walked quietly to avoid being noticed by the gravekeeper and gently pushed the white fence.
The memorial was located deep within the Jebert estate.
And at the farthest, deepest part was the grave of the unnamed baby.
It felt like a place that strongly expressed its will not to allow any more turmoil.
“Ah, I only have this to give.”
Seeing the flowers placed under the gravestone, I suddenly realized.
Without thinking, I took off the pin that was stuck in my hair.
“Sorry, little one. This was meant to be yours, right?”
Actually, I knew about this pin from Hazel.
“I don’t know why I’m here… I just wanted to come.”
I muttered to myself.
It was strange. To feel such peace at a place I had never visited before.
There was no name on the black gravestone. Only the family name “Jebert” was written.
“I don’t have a family name, and you don’t have a name.”
Hehe. This feels strange.
The wind blew. I stared intently at the letters “Jebert” and then bowed my head.
“You know… do you know why I’m doing this?”
Of course, there was no answer.
“Actually, I want to ask something more…”
Yeah.
I’ve always wanted to ask something here.
“Hey, is it okay if I borrow that name? Just for a moment… I’ll return it later.”
I was wondering if I was worthy of it.
To be honest, I regretted agreeing so casually when the uncle told me I would become the youngest.
‘I might have made a bigger mistake than I thought.’
I only wanted to stop the original story’s ending, and without thinking, I agreed to become the child of this house.
But the Jeberts were warmer and kinder than I expected, and that scared me.
‘I thought I would leave without any regrets once I completed my goal.’
But what if I become even closer to the uncle? Will I be able to leave?
If we really become a family?
‘I’m a liar…’
The doubt remained in my heart like a stain.
At that moment, a leaf flew by and spun in the air, then gently landed on my head. I removed it and smiled shyly.
“I don’t know if it’s approval or rejection.”
Through my narrow vision, I saw the dry leaf that had fallen onto the gravestone. I reached out to remove it without thinking.
“Hmm?”
A strange unease hovered at my fingertips. I bent down and placed both hands on the ground.
‘Is it just my imagination?’
I thought I felt magic… but nothing was there when I touched the ground. Maybe I just confused it with the surrounding magic.
‘Well, cemeteries are full of all kinds of energy…’
I felt a chill run down my spine. As I rubbed my arms and was about to get up, I suddenly heard a voice behind me.
“Who’s there?”
“…!”
The unfamiliar voice pierced my back like an arrow.
I was so shocked that I fell to the ground.
When I turned around, the gravekeeper, with brown hair tied up and wearing a gray robe, stood there with a sickle.
“Y-You scared me…”
Cold sweat ran down my neck.
‘I thought it was a ghost…’
It was a woman’s voice coming from the graveyard! How could this be?
“Right now, it’s restricted to enter the memorial.”
“Yes. I’ll leave immediately…”
I tried to get up but slipped again. It seemed like my body wasn’t cooperating.
“Oh my.”
The gravekeeper walked over, surprised, and set down the sickle and weeds she was holding, helping me up.
“I didn’t mean for you to hurry. I’ll have to call someone.”
“No. I’m fine… really…”
Maybe it was because I was startled. I couldn’t get the words out properly, though I meant to say I was okay.
I needed to say it quickly.
And I needed to run away.
But as always, my body betrayed me, and something else came out instead.
“I’m not… okay… Ughhh.”
It was a completely unexpected sob.
