Don't Ask, It'll Hurt If You Know - Chapter 27
“Would you believe such an absurd statement if you were in my position?”
The monotone voice without any inflection pierced her eardrums. Chloe pressed her lips together, unable to respond. It was an undeniable fact. Even if she were in his position, she would never have believed it.
Knowing this, the reality of somehow needing to make her younger brother believe her was so despairing that she ran her hands down her face.
In fact, Chloe had thought convincing Jeremy would be easy. Unlike Aaron Elena, the eldest son of the family, or Mars Elena, the third child, Jeremy was kind and naive.
To the extent that he believed her when she said babies were picked up from under bridges—that they were all picked up from under bridges—until he was 12 years old.
So she thought that if she just appealed to his emotions a little, he would quickly believe her words. But this was an arrogant misconception.
What should she do? How could she make Jeremy believe that she was Chloe?
As Chloe thought carefully, a sudden idea flashed through her mind, and she tightly clasped her hands together. With this, she might be able to definitively prove that she was Chloe Elena.
“Do you remember how we used to visit the villa in Kuchen every summer before you entered the temple?”
At that moment, his eyes wavered. Jeremy looked down at the floor for a moment before lifting his head to face her again.
“Yes. I remember.”
“That time, when I asked you to keep a secret until my death?”
Jeremy was only 7 years old back then, and 8 years had passed since then. It was a time long enough to be completely forgotten, so Chloe first wanted to confirm if her youngest brother remembered that incident.
If he had forgotten, things would have become complicated, but fortunately, Jeremy nodded with an even more serious expression than before.
“Remember how we went to the riverside late at night because that fool Mars had lost his favorite bracelet and was whining for us to help find it? You were young and wanted to leave, but you insisted on following because you wanted to help.”
Eight years was a long time for Chloe too, but the memories of that day were as vivid as if it were yesterday. It was because there was such a special and incredibly embarrassing incident.
She didn’t want to recall it again, and even less did she want to speak of it, but she had no other way to prove she was Chloe, so she had no choice.
“While Aaron and Mars were looking for the bracelet, and you and I were searching together…… suddenly a cat jumped out from the bushes.”
The world was already full of darkness since the moon hadn’t risen, and it was so quiet that not even the sound of insects could be heard. In the midst of rising fear, something pitch-black suddenly leaped out of the bushes.
At the time, Chloe didn’t know it was a cat and screamed, falling flat on her back. Jeremy was even more surprised by his sister’s reaction and burst into tears.
Chloe, who preferred playing war games with boys, swinging swords and spears, rather than embroidering or flower arranging like other girls her age, found it incredibly embarrassing to have been so startled by a mere cat.
If Aaron or Mars knew about this, they would surely laugh and tease her for being a coward, so it absolutely had to remain a secret.
“So I grabbed you, the only witness, and earnestly begged you not to tell anyone about what happened here. And you kindly listened to me.”
Her long story to prove she was Chloe Elena ended there. Chloe finished her presentation and stared at Jeremy, tense like a student waiting for a professor’s evaluation.
Jeremy’s eyes of vigilance gradually softened. With trembling hands, he gripped his handkerchief. After remaining silent for a long time, he finally spoke.
“Actually…… I thought something was strange.”
Jeremy continued, keeping his gaze on his tightly clasped fingertips.
“The doctor said you couldn’t come to your senses because you’d seriously injured your head…… but somehow your condition seemed too good for that.”
Before being chosen by the divine, Jeremy’s dream was to become a doctor. Even after becoming a priest, he continued to study medicine.
“Moreover, the cross on the necklace I gave you was shattered to pieces. I wondered if some evil power was preventing you from waking up…… and it turns out that was true.”
“Does that mean you believe that I am Chloe Elena?”
Chloe asked in a trembling voice. Jeremy looked at her with eyes now completely free of wariness and doubt, moistened with tears, and nodded.
“Of course. I’m sorry for doubting you, sister.”
