I Kidnapped the Hero's Women-Chapter 195: Guilt and such (12)

"Older sister...?"

In the garden behind the mansion. Unlike the current blue garden, everything was wilted, and the flowers and plants were withered, making the place feel desolate. Young Irene stood there quietly, staring vacantly.

I was so distracted by that sight that I froze in place. I couldn’t help but gaze at her. After all, Irene’s expression was far darker than what I had seen in the Underworld.

Of course, the young Irene I had glimpsed in the Underworld wasn’t in a good state either. She looked unstable at a glance. She seemed like she could collapse at any moment. But the young Irene in front of me now was in an even worse state.

'She looks like someone who’s about to die.'

Her red pupils were completely devoid of light, stretched wide like buttonholes. Her complexion was pale. There was no emotion to be found in her expression.

She had passed the phase of crying from exhaustion and pain, or screaming in despair. It seemed she had entered the stage of numbness, where all emotions and senses had dulled. The face she had was one that no child should ever have. And without realizing it, my body moved.

"Master...?" "Let go of this." "You told me to avoid contact with people as much as possible, Master..." "That was under the assumption that I wouldn't regret it even if I didn’t touch it. Do you believe you can pass by that without regret?" "...." "I think I’ll regret it every night. I’ll never escape the feeling of regret for leaving that child in that state."

As if frustrated, Sylvia grabbed my sleeve tightly.

Just as Sylvia had suffered over the past month, tortured by guilt for not stopping the mana erosion, if I were to leave Irene in her current state, I would have to live my life in regret. That much, I simply couldn’t endure.

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"Truly... you are a selfish person." "I’ve always been like this. I act for myself, always on my own terms." "Mm... I suppose so..." "Don’t worry too much. I won’t do anything that will cause a great disturbance in the present."

With a small chuckle, Sylvia let go of my sleeve. I tightened my collar and stepped forward.

Sss, sss. The dry, withered grass cracked under my feet, making a chilling sound. But young Irene didn’t seem to hear it, not responding at all.

'What should I say?'

But when I got closer, I hesitated about what to say. Irene at this moment was truly cast into hell.

Since her birth, Irene has always been kind-hearted and tender. As a member of the Vermont family, she was expected to abandon her humanity and focus solely on greed, with whispers that she could be killed if she didn’t change. How terrified must she have been?

Unable to run, she had no choice but to comply with the demands. She was in a position where she had to go against her nature, defy morality, and embrace evil. A position where she had to deny herself and destroy her identity. This was a cruel and brutal form of abuse, one that no child should ever endure.

There wasn’t much I could do for Irene. Because of that, the choices became narrowed quickly. I felt my hesitation fade as I parted my lips.

"Irene Vermont. Don’t look back, just listen." "Who... who is it?" "You don’t need to be curious. I’ll disappear soon, so there’s no need to remember me."

Tap. When I placed my hand on her shoulder, young Irene flinched, trembling, reacting. Just as a sorrowful look was about to rise toward my face, I grabbed her chin and gently turned her back.

The chance of her recognizing the face of her older brother was extremely slim... but even so, there was no point in letting her see my face.

"You look like you have a lot on your mind." "Ah, that is..." "Some unknown person’s words. You can choose to ignore them. From now on, hide yourself." "..."

At that moment, Irene’s dilemma was obvious. Should she kill her heart and become a member of Vermont? Or should she run away?

There was no need to choose between them. In truth, Irene had already made the choice to act as if she were the "real Vermont."

The advice I gave her was merely a heads-up for her future choices. It wouldn’t significantly change her present situation.

"Close your heart, silence your voice. Hide yourself so thoroughly that, in the end, you forget who you are." "Until when...?" "..."

Young Irene asked again, her voice trembling. That question made me momentarily speechless. Until when must she live like this?

The answer was simple. To give that answer, I just needed to muster some courage. I clenched my fist and swallowed dryly before speaking.

"There will be someone you can trust. Just wait until then."

What young Irene needed now was hope. The hope that, after killing her heart, deceiving herself, and suppressing her identity, light would eventually come after enduring everything. So, I decided to prescribe that hope to her.

An indefinite and vague hope could be poison, but since I knew the future, I knew that if she clung to hope, one day there would be a moment when she could breathe again.

I had to be careful not to reveal too much, as it could distort the present. But planting a sense of certainty and hope in young Irene was within my ability. One day, someone would recognize her good heart and cherish her... that was what I could confidently say, for it was I myself who would be that person.

"I can’t say exactly when, but if you wait, they will appear." "And if they don’t appear...?"

At that moment, I saw Sylvia waving her arms in the distance, signaling to me. I quietly noticed that she was mouthing something.

'Are people... coming... closer...?'

It seemed it was time to leave. I sighed deeply and whispered softly in young Irene's ear.

"They will definitely appear. No. I will make them appear."

"...?"

With those final words, I removed my hand from Irene’s shoulder, as she tilted her head in confusion. She didn’t look back, continuing to walk without resisting the words I had told her. Her posture, although still pitiful, had improved slightly compared to when I first saw her. Her shoulders were more relaxed, her back straight.

[The Demon God, 'Cali,' assures you that it’s okay to leave now and tries to reassure you.]

Although her back was still sorrowful, it seemed like there was a slight hint of hope in it. Finally, I felt relieved and exited the garden to join Sylvia.

Then, from the other side, I heard voices murmuring and footsteps approaching. People were indeed coming. Since they were coming from both sides, there was no choice but to leave the mansion via the wall.

"We need to get out of here quickly." "Yes, let’s move fast." "...Why are you trying to get on my back so naturally?" "Do you think I can jump over this high wall with my strength?" "..."

When I tried to get on Sylvia’s back, she looked at me with a somewhat disdainful expression. What the hell? Should I carry you over the wall instead? Am I Superman?

Sylvia shook her head but still picked me up on her back. Then, she swiftly and silently climbed the wall and landed lightly on the other side.

"To think you’d climb onto the back of a child without hesitation... Don’t you have any shame?" "You used to say not to treat me like a child just because I look younger now. Have you lost your memory after the shock of crossing over to the past?" "..." "Stop saying strange things and open the crack. Let’s go back to the point where you were suffering from mana erosion." "...Yes."

After getting down from Sylvia’s back, I looked around. Fortunately, since we were at the back of the mansion, the view only showed the mountains. No one was watching us.

If there was ever a time to open the crack, it was now. Sylvia seemed to be puffing her cheeks and blushing slightly as she drew the sword from my mouth. It felt like she was drawing it more roughly than usual, but maybe it was just my imagination...?

"Hurry up and swing it, Sylvia. We don’t have time. The rumor that the older sister met an unknown stranger might spread, and they could come searching." "Yeah, yeah... I understand..."

Sylvia, who hadn’t swung the sword but was instead tilting her head repeatedly, suddenly raised the sword and swung it through the air with a sharp swish.

To me, it looked like the same swing she had made in the office when we opened the crack. But this time, instead of the crack opening, only the air sliced through.

"I’ll try again." "Yeah. Hurry." "Ugh, ah...!" "..."

She tried once, twice, three, four times, but there was no change in the air. Only the sound of air being sliced echoed, but nothing else happened.

Sylvia turned to look at me, her face filled with tears.

"What should I do... Master, I think I’ve forgotten how to open the crack..."

"..."

Ah, she messed up.