“...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 ant 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 ‘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 mont and answered casually.
“They stick to your mouth easily. They’re cute.”
“Ugh.”
Wasn’t he the one talking about how important nas and relationships are?
That sounded pretty unconvincing!
I’ll ask Borvel to teach how to make the most bitter dicine 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 off to the side of the lobby, walked over.
“I think he said sothing 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 sa ti. Balrok’s brow furrowed deeply.
“Isn’t all this Leviathan’s fault?”
Bang! Balrok couldn’t hold in his anxiety and punched the door. 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 seed 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 ‘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 Uncle in the hallway.
“Ah!”
Hey, Uncle! The weather’s great today. I ran three and a half laps around the ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) 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, Uncle ca over, lowered himself, and looked at .
“Why does your face look all puffed up like pudding again?”
“I’m not pudding... sorry...”
I added gloomily, and Uncle gently patted my head.
“You don’t have to call .”
“Hmm?”
“Ruby, you can call 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. Uncle smiled softly.
“But what if I want to call you?”
“Hmm.”
Glancing around, Uncle took a curtain decoration from the hallway wall. At the end of the string was a small bell.
“If you want to call , just shake this.”
“Are you telling to call you with a bell?”
“No, just shake the bell. Calling 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 , 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.”
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 tis! 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 sa path I had taken when I chased after Khalid’s squirrel.
“Ugh, this is tough.”
I was back at the Jebert family’s morial ground.
‘For so reason, I thought of this place.’
Borvel said it was a problem in my heart. I felt like I needed to tell soone about it.
At first, I reached out to touch my ear but stopped.
‘Khalid... his parents are gone.’
He said he didn’t even rember 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 naless graveyard.
“...”
I walked quietly so the gravekeeper wouldn’t notice and gently pushed the white fence.
The morial was located deep within the Jebert estate.
And at the farthest, deepest part was the grave of the unnad 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 stuck in my hair.
“Sorry, little one. This was ant to be yours, right?”
Actually, I knew about this pin from Hazel.
“I don’t know why I’m here... I just wanted to co.”
I muttered to myself.
It was strange—to feel such peace in a place I had never visited before.
There was no na on the black gravestone. Only the family na “Jebert” was written.
“I don’t have a family na, and you don’t have a na.”
Hehe. This feels strange.
The wind blew. I stared intently at the letters “Jebert,” 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 sothing more...”
Yeah.
I’ve always wanted to ask sothing here.
“Hey, is it okay if I borrow that na? Just for a mont... I’ll return it later.”
I was wondering if I was worthy of it.
To be honest, I regretted agreeing so casually when Uncle told I would beco 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 beco the child of this house.
But the Jeberts were warr and kinder than I expected, and that scared .
‘I thought I would leave without any regrets once I completed my goal.’
But what if I beco even closer to Uncle? Will I be able to leave?
If we really beco a family?
‘I’m a liar...’
The doubt remained in my heart like a stain.
At that mont, 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 prickled at my fingertips. I bent down and placed both hands on the ground.
‘Is it just my imagination?’
I thought I felt magic... but there was nothing when I touched the ground. Maybe I just confused it with the surrounding magic.
‘Well, ceteries 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 .
“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 ...”
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 morial.”
“Yes. I’ll leave imdiately...”
I tried to get up but slipped again. It seed like my body wasn’t cooperating.
“Oh my.”
The gravekeeper walked over, surprised, and set down the sickle and weeds she was holding, helping up.
“I didn’t an for you to hurry. I’ll have to call soone.”
“No. I’m fine... really...”
Maybe it was because I was startled. I couldn’t get the words out properly, though I ant to say I was okay.
I needed to say it quickly.
And I needed to run away.
But as always, my body betrayed , and sothing else ca out instead.
“I’m not... okay... Ughhh.”
It was a completely unexpected sob.
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