Episode 52

 Dietrich’s POV

Thinking about it, Dietrich had little memory worrying about his emotions. From the moment he signed the contract with Baal, all his feelings seemed to have been confiscated.

Because Baal had no feelings.

Baal was a gray member that remained neutral even in hell. He was a guide who led the silent evil to hell, and to him right or wrong, joy or sorrow were not clear.

‘Does that affect me too?’

At the threshold of the Romendov forest, Dietrich worried for a moment. If he hadn’t signed with Baal, maybe this blurry feeling would have been a little more pronounced.

Pretending to cherish someone was harder than he thought. She simply did not starve to death and removed the candidate who threatened the child.

Funnily enough, the child began to follow him without a doubt.

However, even though things were going as planned, he couldn’t even laugh.

As Dietrich looked at the giant trees of Romendov, he thought of the tiny little Anissa.

‘Perhaps because she’s too small that I feel this way.’ 

She was too small to be the payment in order to become  the head of the family. 

Even if those two feet, which was smaller than his palms were to suddenly disappear, the world was unlikely to become any lighter.

Dietrich wanted to distance himself from Anissa. He had already shown Anissa to Derek, so it was useless to maintain a friendly relationship.

He acquired the ‘precious being’ to be presented at the last gateway, and that’s all Anissa’s use. 

But Anissa, who was supposed to be easy to use and thrown away, began to reach out to him. No matter how much he shook her off, she clung to him.

‘Wasn’t she the one who said she will protect me?’ 

Eventually, she refused Josef’s offer because of Dietrich. What if she followed him? He was worried for a moment. (note: It’s vague who was worried.) 

“Because Detrie ish family.”

He laughed a little when he knew about that fact. Dietrich hardened his expression as if he made up his mind, and found the cabin where Josef was hiding.

“You’ve grown up.”

The old man greeted as though he had been waiting.

“What’s going in here? I thought you didn’t like places like Romendov, but did your demon beg for you to come?”

The forest of Romendov, a boundary, was a strange place where worshippers of demons and believers of the sun god Hela coexisted, and it was the hometown where Baal lived when he was a human. 

“I won’t come to see you just because my demon is nagging.”

Dietrich shook his head and denied Josef’s words.

“Then it’s because of Anissa.”

He nodded briefly as the old man already knew. 

“How is the child doing?”

“Well, she’s alive.”

The old man shrugged his shoulders helplessly at the blunt answer.

“Ask me what you need to ask.”

Dietrich faced the old man’s unwavering green eyes. His eyes were wrinkled, but it did not lose its intelligence.

“Is Anissa my younger sister?”

“Sister?”

Josef murmured quietly. He had a soft spot for the child he didn’t even know.

“Now you seem to be curious about Anissa’s identity.”

“. . . . .”

“You’re young, but you’re alert and thorough. There’s no way you couldn’t have realized by now that she’s different compared to others.”

Josef slowly opened his mouth. 

“Anissa is a child of the South. I can feel the energy of Eredia. Somehow, she was just born with red eyes.”

“You mean she’s not my sister.”

At what Josef said, Dietrich showed no sign of surprise. He only nodded his head as if he had only confirmed what he already knew.

The old man frowned as he tried to read Dietrich’s expression. However, nothing can be felt from the boy’s still face.

“Are you checking to relieve your feelings of guilt?”

Dietrich raised the corners of his mouth at Josef’s words. It’s amusing. 

Being a monster looking for a scapegoat to live has remained unchanged, but if he sacrifices his blood sibling, he should feel guilty and if she’s not a blood sibling, it should be okay?

“It doesn’t matter if that child is my younger sister or not.”

“If so?”

“I was wondering what would change if I checked.”

Dietrich murmured softly, opening and clenching his fist repeatedly.

“I don’t think a family needs blood ties.”

He thought that if he had confidence that she was not his younger sister, the feeling that was squeezing his heart would go away a little, but it didn’t at all.

Just like always, when he thought of the child, strange emotions soar.

“Dietrich, Anissa is a child who truly cares for you.”

“I know.”

The boy held in his hand a candy that the child had secretly handed over. It was nothing, but he couldn’t bring himself to eat it.

The child had become that existence to him.

She wasn’t a big deal, but she clung to him, and he couldn’t get rid of her.

────── 〔✿〕──────

“It’sh loud.”

I woke up from my sleep at the buzzing sound from the window outside of the room, surprised I was alone.

Marilyn, with a similar look, gazed down at me.

“It’s noisy?”

Dahlia Palace had no children after me.

Instead of children, the only residents here were Lancel and Marilyn that it was always quiet and sometimes lonely.  

‘Not to mention, I could barely see Dietrich and Lancel around.’ 

Marilyn cared for me, but due to a lot of work, she couldn’t play with me all the time, and Baal was a demon who only showed up when really needed.

Dahlia was always quiet enough that there were many days when I couldn't talk to anyone all day.

‘That’s why my pronunciation doesn’t get better!’

However, the palace that used to be like that was especially noisy today with people gathering.

“. . . . . Why?”

“I-I don’t know? I think it’s coming from the garden.”

I grabbed Marilyn’s hand who was also puzzled as me and hurried to the garden.

I was only a few steps from the front porch of the palace, but I was able to identify the cause of the loud noise. 

“What are you all doing. . . . .?”

All of the Lagrange children seemed to have been gathered.

I opened my mouth as I pointed my fingers at the children coughing up the dust from the old marble fountain.

‘What’s all this?’

The children gathered were noisy in the garden of withered roses.

The garden of withered roses was the only place where the villain Dietrich gained comfort, and it was an old garden in Dahlia Palace which was a million light years away from the word ‘crowded.’

However, the noise from the garden was now similar to that of a small school athletic meet.

‘There were a few familiar faces.’

The tripletsI saw at Rose Palace, a boy my age, Veronica, Yuric, a newborn baby in Yuric's arms, and a few children whose faces I didn’t  know.

“Why awe you guys gathewing?”

At my question, Yuric walked out of the crowd with an embarrassed face and scratched his head.

“I was the only one who wanted to come, but these kids kept trying to follow me.”

His voice was somehow full of pride. He put his hand on my shoulder as if he was showing off his friendship with me, and smiled suspiciously.

‘Moreover, I don’t think that they were following him, more like they already followed him.’ 

I looked up at Yuric and tilted my head. Veronica stood forward and opened her mouth.

“I was already here, Anissa. I’m different from these kids.”

She came to me with her chin up as if to establish her position.

Then I heard a small ‘uwa, uwa’ from the children.

“That kid must know her.”

“How do you know! We weren't originally close.”

“If you have any business with Anissa, tell me first.”

Veronica, like a celebrity manager, decided the order of the children who would come to me.

As if it was urgent, the triplets, who were stamping their feet, were the first to step forward.

“Give us back the necklace!”

The children confidently held out their hands to me.

‘I was wondering when you were coming.’

I was going to go to Rose Palace if you didn’t come. I planned to return it anyway, so I quickly rummaged my pocket and took out the necklaces.

‘Let’s say the triplets were here to get the necklace.’

Yuric and Veronica would do the same, but why were there first timer kids here?

Before I even asked, the boy who was close to Yuric widened his eyes and grabbed my sleeves.

“I heard you cured a headache that even Josef can’t solve.”

When I looked at the aura of the child who spoke, he looked as if he was possessed by a curse, just like Lancel was before.

‘Am I some kind of an aura janitor?’

It must be a rumor from Liatris. Grumbling inwardly, I cleaned up the child’s aura.

Then the child’s darkened expression gradually brightened.

“I’m really looking at you and I don’t think my head hurts. What are you? Fairy?”

“No, Anissa said she was a demon.”

As if to contradict the child’s words, one of the triplets made fun of him.

“Come on, next.”

When Veronica gave her permission, the children who were holding hands as if they couldn't be separated approached.

It was a sideline group of Lagrange, who was not even assigned to the palace. The sloppy-dressed children opened their mouths at once, offering their own toys or snacks.

“We want to pley a gem too!”

“Huh?”

The children continued, disregarding my dumbfounded face.

“We want to play the Rose of Sharon gem too!”

“. . . . what?”

I didn’t know why that kind of rumor spread, but I couldn’t get out of the hands of the children looking at me with sparkling eyes until the sun fell.

‘This is how the curse ripple effect worked.’

Lagrange quickly became a kindergarten.

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