It was such a dreary and grotesque voice. I could sense his steadfast determination to take me with him. I put my hands over my ears because I could no longer bear to listen. But it was in vain. I heard his tenacity in my head, not in my ears.
“Let’s go, Mary. Please. Let’s go.”
This was undoubtedly the work of the devil.
“Come, come with me.”
A phrase heavy with love
“Let’s go, Mary. Let’s go.”
I’m not sure why, but as I’m listening to the director, the poem and the lake come to mind. I started getting goosebumps all over. When the director looked at me and laughed, I felt as though a powerful wind was passing through my body, draining me of all of my strength. I flopped down. The director came to a halt as he approached me. The voice that kept saying, “Let’s go,” ceased.
“Do you really think they love you?”
I nodded as vigorously as I could. Yes, yes, my father loves me as well as Gilbert, Aiden, Theodore, Lucas and Hestia.
“You saw, Mary.”
“…….”
“You know that.”
“What do you…”
“The End of Mary.”
I raised my head. As opposed to earlier, when he made a big deal out of taking him, the director’s voice did not sound depressed. Instead, it was calming and pleasant. However, this side was more bizarre. How many personalities do you have?
While I was unconscious, the director appeared to be aware that I had a dream. What do you know so far? How do you know that, too? Mary’s downfall. Are you aware that I am not Mary at this point? I have to pull myself together. I firmly bit my lip.
“What do you know?”
“I saw it, I saw it.”
“Who are you?”
“If you do something wrong, they will abandon you.”
“Who are you?”
“Poor Mary. That family, too.”
I began scanning the ground for something I could use to strike him. I can’t stand it. I was itching to strike him at least once. It was better when he was like a parrot. I wanted to use force to shut his mouth. I was in such a desperate situation. The sensation of an intangible voice gripping my heart was both humiliating and repulsive. I’d rather be humiliated at Lausanne’s salon or bet a hundred times with Cameron. It’s better to roll in an orphanage.
“But do they really love you?”
“…….”
I gave up looking for a stone, stood still, and fixed my eyes on the director. I felt rather calm when I made eye contact with the director.
“Who are you?”
“It must have been hard.”
“You’re not the director, who are you?”
“How can you say it’s love?”
“Who are you?”
The person speaking in front of me right now is not the director. This person who is speaking out of the director’s mouth…… It’s that person. The person who left me to the director and set up this situation. He’s the one who really wants to take me somewhere.
The man continued to give me irrelevant answers regardless of how I posed my questions. What does this person want? Taking me along with him? Why is he fixated on me so much?
“They sacrificed your mother, too.”
“What do you mean….”
I unintentionally walked up to the man when he mentioned the word “mother.” Why do you say that?
“Wow!”
It was then. Something rushed up and stood between me and the man. I collapsed to the ground in surprise before I could approach the man. The figure standing in front of me was Arsene.
“Grrrrrrrrrrrr.”
Whenever I’m in trouble or going through a difficult time, Arsene appears. I’ve only had a few encounters with Arsene, but I’ve never seen him so hostile. The man’s face became annoyed when Arsene showed up. He appeared to be familiar with Arsene.
“Oh, you’re disturbing me again…….”
“Roar.”
“Why did you come?”
The man said dejectedly while scratching the back of his head. Arsene kept threatening the man by showing off his enormous fangs.
“See you again.”
“What about Leo?”
I approached the director, the man, and sincerely asked him. The director shook his head side to side as he laughed. It was obvious that he knew something about Leo. The director then collapsed to his knees.
“Arsene, what is this?”
Arsene approached me and licked the back of my hand with sad eyes as I murmured lowly. I had so many questions I wanted to ask, but since Arsene was a dog, he couldn’t respond.
“Arsene.”
Arsene leaned its head carefully against me. I felt a warm sensation. Arsene affectionately rubbed its head against me and began to turn around again.
“Where are you going?”
I didn’t want to be alone with the director, so as soon as Arsene attempted to leave, a black light simultaneously appeared in front of me. What is it? I felt a little bit of relief as I stared at this tiny light.
“Mary!”
I looked up to see Grand Duke Estin and Aiden coming toward me.
“Dad…”
I wanted to run right away, but my legs weren’t cooperating. The tension appeared to have subsided. Grand Duke Estin came rushing over and gave me a bear hug before I fell. There was a sweet smell.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes…”
“I was afraid it’ll happen again.…. dad is….”
It was the first time I saw Grand Duke Estin tremble like this. I hugged Grand Duke Estin even tighter to reassure him. He set me back down and went to the director, who was lying on the ground unconscious.
“What is that?”
I hesitated for a moment to say.
“When I was at the orphanage……. He is the director.”
Hearing the words, Aiden reached out to the director, but was stopped by Grand Duke Estin. He drew me toward Aiden and went over to the director. He stood there for a while, searching, and then he shoved the director’s stomach with the toe of his shoes.
“Good to see you.”
“Keugh…”
“If you were in the same situation as them earlier, you wouldn’t die easily.”
“…….”
“Then I’ll hit you a little before you die.”
The voice of Grand Duke Estin sounded so cold. My eyes were partially obscured by Aiden. Why are you covering it? I’d like to see him get struck. I was listening to the director’s moan, which was accompanied by a bursting sound, when I smelled something burning. No, now is not the time to make jokes. However, what is burning?
I sneezed and whispered to Aiden, who was obstructing my vision.
“I think I smell something burning…….”
“Father!”
Aiden released his grip over my eyes and called Grand Duke Estin. I could see the director burning as I adjusted to the brighter view. Grand Duke Estin also began to run to me as if bewildered.
“He did a trick.”
“What?”
“He cast a terrible spell. Just in case we catch him alive.”
The director started the fire, which slowly started to engulf the forest. And then it started to rain like a lie. The Grand Duke Estin stopped. Next to me, Aiden removed his jacket and put it on me.
The dense forest turned somber. It was the same for me. I asked Grand Duke Estin.
“By the way…… where is this place?”
“The Conler’s Forest.”
“It’s a relief. Because it’s in Conler’s territory.”
I fell to the ground as soon as I realized I was in Conler’s forest.
Why does this keep happening? There’s nothing I can say even if they called me a nuisance. My throat started to sob. I fought the urge to cry. I resisted wanting to cry. I refused to start crying.
“Heuk, it’s because…….”
“Mary.”
“It’s all because of me. If I hadn’t come back, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I should have just been stuck in an orphanage…….”
“What do you mean?”
I remembered the words I heard at my maternal grandmother’s funeral when I was Ha Sohee.
‘Look at him raising his eyes like that! As expected, the unlucky one is different.’
‘She must have been cursed.’
‘You look like an ugly duckling.’
Am I really driving this bad luck because I’m unlucky and cursed? Isn’t it better to live alone if that’s the case? Aiden was restless as he watched me cry. He seemed to be saying that it wasn’t my fault, but I couldn’t relate to it. Why is it not my fault? The Conler forest has been burned this much because someone is after me.
“Yes, it’s because of you.”
“Father!”
Grand Duke Estin placed his hand on my head while I was sobbing and said, Aiden looked at Grand Duke Estin in shock. I blinked my weeping eyes open and turned to face Grand Duke Estin. He bent down and wiped my tears away.
The eyes of Grand Duke Estin looking at me were more affectionate than I thought. Why are you looking at me, the one who ruined everything, with such a friendly gaze?
“No, should I say it’s all thanks to you?”
“Yes?”
“We now have a place where we can move the villagers.”
“Due to the imperial order, many people will be relocating to our territory, but I was unsure of what to do since the reclamation of Padula’s coast was not yet complete.”
“Ah!”
“They finally have a place to stay for a while.”
“That’s right.”
Aiden smiled at me. Then he bit his lip tightly for a moment. Then he pulled me in his arms.
“I’m glad you’re safe.”
While hugging me, I carefully raised my hand and tapped Aiden on the back.
This is how much my family loves me. I closed my eyes. I was perplexed because I remembered my dream from earlier. Family. Is this what you would call a family? Will everything be the same as the original story? As the man said, everything will end even if I do nothing.
It was such a dreary and grotesque voice. I could sense his steadfast determination to take me with him. I put my hands over my ears because I could no longer bear to listen. But it was in vain. I heard his tenacity in my head, not in my ears.
“Let’s go, Mary. Please. Let’s go.”
This was undoubtedly the work of the devil.
“Come, come with me.”
A phrase heavy with love
“Let’s go, Mary. Let’s go.”
I’m not sure why, but as I’m listening to the director, the poem and the lake come to mind. I started getting goosebumps all over. When the director looked at me and laughed, I felt as though a powerful wind was passing through my body, draining me of all of my strength. I flopped down. The director came to a halt as he approached me. The voice that kept saying, “Let’s go,” ceased.
“Do you really think they love you?”
I nodded as vigorously as I could. Yes, yes, my father loves me as well as Gilbert, Aiden, Theodore, Lucas and Hestia.
“You saw, Mary.”
“…….”
“You know that.”
“What do you…”
“The End of Mary.”
I raised my head. As opposed to earlier, when he made a big deal out of taking him, the director’s voice did not sound depressed. Instead, it was calming and pleasant. However, this side was more bizarre. How many personalities do you have?
While I was unconscious, the director appeared to be aware that I had a dream. What do you know so far? How do you know that, too? Mary’s downfall. Are you aware that I am not Mary at this point? I have to pull myself together. I firmly bit my lip.
“What do you know?”
“I saw it, I saw it.”
“Who are you?”
“If you do something wrong, they will abandon you.”
“Who are you?”
“Poor Mary. That family, too.”
I began scanning the ground for something I could use to strike him. I can’t stand it. I was itching to strike him at least once. It was better when he was like a parrot. I wanted to use force to shut his mouth. I was in such a desperate situation. The sensation of an intangible voice gripping my heart was both humiliating and repulsive. I’d rather be humiliated at Lausanne’s salon or bet a hundred times with Cameron. It’s better to roll in an orphanage.
“But do they really love you?”
“…….”
I gave up looking for a stone, stood still, and fixed my eyes on the director. I felt rather calm when I made eye contact with the director.
“Who are you?”
“It must have been hard.”
“You’re not the director, who are you?”
“How can you say it’s love?”
“Who are you?”
The person speaking in front of me right now is not the director. This person who is speaking out of the director’s mouth…… It’s that person. The person who left me to the director and set up this situation. He’s the one who really wants to take me somewhere.
The man continued to give me irrelevant answers regardless of how I posed my questions. What does this person want? Taking me along with him? Why is he fixated on me so much?
“They sacrificed your mother, too.”
“What do you mean….”
I unintentionally walked up to the man when he mentioned the word “mother.” Why do you say that?
“Wow!”
It was then. Something rushed up and stood between me and the man. I collapsed to the ground in surprise before I could approach the man. The figure standing in front of me was Arsene.
“Grrrrrrrrrrrr.”
Whenever I’m in trouble or going through a difficult time, Arsene appears. I’ve only had a few encounters with Arsene, but I’ve never seen him so hostile. The man’s face became annoyed when Arsene showed up. He appeared to be familiar with Arsene.
“Oh, you’re disturbing me again…….”
“Roar.”
“Why did you come?”
The man said dejectedly while scratching the back of his head. Arsene kept threatening the man by showing off his enormous fangs.
“See you again.”
“What about Leo?”
I approached the director, the man, and sincerely asked him. The director shook his head side to side as he laughed. It was obvious that he knew something about Leo. The director then collapsed to his knees.
“Arsene, what is this?”
Arsene approached me and licked the back of my hand with sad eyes as I murmured lowly. I had so many questions I wanted to ask, but since Arsene was a dog, he couldn’t respond.
“Arsene.”
Arsene leaned its head carefully against me. I felt a warm sensation. Arsene affectionately rubbed its head against me and began to turn around again.
“Where are you going?”
I didn’t want to be alone with the director, so as soon as Arsene attempted to leave, a black light simultaneously appeared in front of me. What is it? I felt a little bit of relief as I stared at this tiny light.
“Mary!”
I looked up to see Grand Duke Estin and Aiden coming toward me.
“Dad…”
I wanted to run right away, but my legs weren’t cooperating. The tension appeared to have subsided. Grand Duke Estin came rushing over and gave me a bear hug before I fell. There was a sweet smell.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes…”
“I was afraid it’ll happen again.…. dad is….”
It was the first time I saw Grand Duke Estin tremble like this. I hugged Grand Duke Estin even tighter to reassure him. He set me back down and went to the director, who was lying on the ground unconscious.
“What is that?”
I hesitated for a moment to say.
“When I was at the orphanage……. He is the director.”
Hearing the words, Aiden reached out to the director, but was stopped by Grand Duke Estin. He drew me toward Aiden and went over to the director. He stood there for a while, searching, and then he shoved the director’s stomach with the toe of his shoes.
“Good to see you.”
“Keugh…”
“If you were in the same situation as them earlier, you wouldn’t die easily.”
“…….”
“Then I’ll hit you a little before you die.”
The voice of Grand Duke Estin sounded so cold. My eyes were partially obscured by Aiden. Why are you covering it? I’d like to see him get struck. I was listening to the director’s moan, which was accompanied by a bursting sound, when I smelled something burning. No, now is not the time to make jokes. However, what is burning?
I sneezed and whispered to Aiden, who was obstructing my vision.
“I think I smell something burning…….”
“Father!”
Aiden released his grip over my eyes and called Grand Duke Estin. I could see the director burning as I adjusted to the brighter view. Grand Duke Estin also began to run to me as if bewildered.
“He did a trick.”
“What?”
“He cast a terrible spell. Just in case we catch him alive.”
The director started the fire, which slowly started to engulf the forest. And then it started to rain like a lie. The Grand Duke Estin stopped. Next to me, Aiden removed his jacket and put it on me.
The dense forest turned somber. It was the same for me. I asked Grand Duke Estin.
“By the way…… where is this place?”
“The Conler’s Forest.”
“It’s a relief. Because it’s in Conler’s territory.”
I fell to the ground as soon as I realized I was in Conler’s forest.
Why does this keep happening? There’s nothing I can say even if they called me a nuisance. My throat started to sob. I fought the urge to cry. I resisted wanting to cry. I refused to start crying.
“Heuk, it’s because…….”
“Mary.”
“It’s all because of me. If I hadn’t come back, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I should have just been stuck in an orphanage…….”
“What do you mean?”
I remembered the words I heard at my maternal grandmother’s funeral when I was Ha Sohee.
‘Look at him raising his eyes like that! As expected, the unlucky one is different.’
‘She must have been cursed.’
‘You look like an ugly duckling.’
Am I really driving this bad luck because I’m unlucky and cursed? Isn’t it better to live alone if that’s the case? Aiden was restless as he watched me cry. He seemed to be saying that it wasn’t my fault, but I couldn’t relate to it. Why is it not my fault? The Conler forest has been burned this much because someone is after me.
“Yes, it’s because of you.”
“Father!”
Grand Duke Estin placed his hand on my head while I was sobbing and said, Aiden looked at Grand Duke Estin in shock. I blinked my weeping eyes open and turned to face Grand Duke Estin. He bent down and wiped my tears away.
The eyes of Grand Duke Estin looking at me were more affectionate than I thought. Why are you looking at me, the one who ruined everything, with such a friendly gaze?
“No, should I say it’s all thanks to you?”
“Yes?”
“We now have a place where we can move the villagers.”
“Due to the imperial order, many people will be relocating to our territory, but I was unsure of what to do since the reclamation of Padula’s coast was not yet complete.”
“Ah!”
“They finally have a place to stay for a while.”
“That’s right.”
Aiden smiled at me. Then he bit his lip tightly for a moment. Then he pulled me in his arms.
“I’m glad you’re safe.”
While hugging me, I carefully raised my hand and tapped Aiden on the back.
This is how much my family loves me. I closed my eyes. I was perplexed because I remembered my dream from earlier. Family. Is this what you would call a family? Will everything be the same as the original story? As the man said, everything will end even if I do nothing.
