Irene Decided to Die - Chapter 158
She knocked softly, but there was no response. Thinking her mother might be asleep, she opened the door, only to find the room empty.
She then went to check her father’s room, but it was the same. Where could they be at this hour?
Pondering this, she decided to head toward the study.
The door to the study was slightly ajar.
“Honey, our Ramiel, what are we going to do? I can’t believe it. How could she be a servant of the demons? I just can’t believe it.”
Her mother was crying.
“I can’t believe it either. Our sweet Ramiel, having fallen to the demons…and the massacre, how could she have done that?”
As soon as she heard this, Ramiel felt her heart drop.
Her parents knew everything about what she’d done.
They didn’t believe it before, but what if they kept hearing the same stories? Would they eventually start believing it?
Ramiel looked down at her feet, clenching her fists tightly.
[So, what will you do? Will you go in?]
“I will.”
She still believed in her parents.
They’ll recognize me.
They’ll understand me.
They’ll protect me.
Holding onto this belief, she opened the door.
“Who’s there?”
Her father turned around.
“Father.”
“Who are you!”
Her mother screamed next.
“Kyaa!”
“Father, don’t you recognize me?”
“Who are you?”
Her father raised his sword.
“She’s a demon, a demon! Look at those red eyes!”
Shielding her mother behind him, her father pointed the sword at Ramiel.
“Don’t you recognize me? It’s me, Ramiel.”
“My daughter doesn’t look as hideous as you!”
Her past came to mind. The day she first saw Irene, Ramiel recalled her own thoughts.
‘So there are people as ugly as that. How pitiful.’
At first, she even tried to be kind to her.
But it never really sat well with her. The ominous symbol was proof of demonic blood after all.
And now, she found herself in that very same position.
Ramiel laughed. Her mind felt like a complete mess. She couldn’t think of anything, and pain stabbed through her head.
[Ahahaha!]
Because of it, she didn’t even hear the laughter of the vile thing above. She didn’t remember hurting her father or making her mother cry.
Ramiel returned to her old self, back to the time when she had ruined Sage.
“Honestly, it’s so loud.”
“Honey, honey!”
“It’s so loud, I can’t stand it.”
Just as she raised her hand to finish it, a loud sound came from outside.
A bright light accompanied a strong man who burst in, sword drawn.
It was a holy knight, stationed around the Maras estate just in case.
Her still weakened body couldn’t withstand the sword’s strike.
‘It hurts, it hurts!’
As Ramiel writhed in agony, Camille extended her hand.
[My child, come with me.]
Ramiel willingly took her hand.
* * *
When Irene returned to the North after so long, she was greeted by an enormous dog whose size surpassed her waist.
“Woof! raf!”
Startled by the dog’s bark, she quickly hid behind Burt, only to see the dog looking disappointed.
“Have you forgotten? This is Cocoa.”
“Huh? Cocoa?”
The once knee-high puppy had grown into an energetic adolescent.
With patches of fur missing here and there and a wild energy about him, he almost seemed half-crazed.
“Dogs are always like this at this age.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Try calling him. He’ll come running, excited.”
“C-Cocoa?”
As soon as she called, Cocoa flapped his ears and charged toward Irene. If Burt hadn’t grabbed the leash mid-charge, she would have been knocked over.
“That was close!”
“That’s why I caught him.”
“That’s not the point!”
Irene protested to Burt. It seemed she needed to meet Cocoa again after he had some more training.
“But the room is different from last time.”
“We moved you to a bigger one.”
“The previous one was already big enough.”
Her grumbling had no effect on Burt.
“Don’t worry, we brought all your things from the previous room.”
In the wardrobe, the silver fox fur cloak Burt had once gifted her was neatly stored.
“For now, rest well for a few days. Then, when you’re ready, we can start doing the things you’ve been thinking about. It might be a good opportunity to find a hobby.”
On their way here, she had mentioned she didn’t have any hobbies, to which he suggested they find one together.
“What’s your hobby, Burt?”
“Hunting and training.”
“That sounds boring.”
“It has its own fun. But I don’t think it would suit you, so let’s look for something else.”
During her rest, Burt brought various things for her to try. The first was embroidery, something noblewomen often enjoyed.
“I’ve just realized… I’m not good with my hands.”
Irene sighed as she struggled to untangle the threads. When embroidery didn’t suit her, Burt showed her how to weave fabric next.
But working the loom wasn’t to her taste either. More than anything, it was exhausting to keep her arms moving.
