3 bar menu

Chapter 86 Part 7 – Things that never change. And a promise. In order to protect the lives of the mother and the baby, Countess Rosenthal will put everything on the line to fight against Alisa.

Before I knew it, the tears I was trying to hold back were streaming down my cheeks.

As the drops of my tears fell onto the teardrop-shaped Ruby of the True Emperor, more light was emitted and spread out in ripples. As if being pulled, my perception suddenly expanded. The sensation becomes clearer as if the fog had cleared.

I noticed that there were two small lights moving around the grieving Countess Rosenthal as if trying to get closer to her. They were blinking like fireflies, trying to get the Countess to notice them, but the glow seemed like it was about to fade away at any moment.

「…… I found it. It was here after all ……」

It was just as I had guessed. I was already aware of the true identity of those lights.

Even in death, people leave behind a remnant of their feelings for those they loved. And I can find those feelings. That’s what 「he」 had taught me.

When I reached out my hand, the light shook like a kitten and happily approached me. The Ruby of the True Emperor sparkled lovingly. Then, when I touched the light with my fingertips, a gentle feeling flowed into me.

「…… I see …… So that’s your wish ……!!」

The feeling was so beautiful that I almost cried again as I tightly hugged the two lights.

「…… What are you doing? Sca-chibi. ……!! Could it be ……!!」

Bradd asked me with a puzzled expression, then he gasped. I choked back a sob and finally answered him.

「…… Un, that’s right …… These lights are Rona-san’s twin younger brothers …… Ronny and Teddy’s memories. They have …… always stayed by Rona-san’s side.」

Countess Rosenthal looked up as if she had been electrocuted.

As she looked closely, the two lights grew in intensity and materialized into a ball of light visible to all. It was the last glow before the candle burned out.

「…… Rona-san …… Embrace this light, this is your younger brothers’ memories …… You should know what these children wished for ……!!」

I tried to hand it over to her, but Countess Rosenthal turned pale.

「…… N-No ……!! I don’t have the right to touch Ronny and Teddy’s memories ……!! After all, it’s my fault that the two of them ……!! …… I’m sorry ……!! Ronny, Teddy ……!!」

I rebuked the crying Countess Rosenthal.

「…… If you love them so much that you would cry, why don’t you hug them?! This is their last spark. It wouldn’t be strange for the memories of these children to disappear at any moment now. Or is it that you actually don’t love them!? If so, I won’t hand it over to you …… I’ll hold it tight in my arms until it disappear.」

It was a drastic measure and I feel bad for saying that, but time is running out. Just like the memories of her younger brothers, Countess Rosenthal’s life is also at a state where it can be extinguished at any moment.

「……!! You don’t know anything ……!!」

Countess Rosenthal lifted her head and glared at me. Not wanting to lose, I also glared back at her. Sparks seemed to fly. I knew that I was saying terrible things, but I couldn’t back down now. If I backed down, these gentle and kind siblings would lose their chance of getting rewarded.

After glaring at each other, it was Countess Rosenthal who gave up. Her stern expression became crumpled and large drops of tears began to fall down.

「…… There’s no way that I don’t love them ……!! I’ll accept it even if you two terribly hate and resent me ……!! Please, Ronny, Teddy ……!! Let me give you a hug ……!!」

Countess Rosenthal opened her arms and called out. The two lights happily fluttered in my arms, jumped out by themselves, and plunged into her embrace.

「…… I’m glad you’re finally back to where you belong. I’m sorry for saying such terrible things to your kind older sister.」

When I smiled and apologized, the light flickered as if to say thank you and goodbye. I swallowed back my tears and gently waved my hand to say goodbye. This light is just the memories of the two of them and their souls had long since departed. But I really couldn’t think so.

「…… Ahhh, Ronny ……!! Teddy ……!!」

Countess Rosenthal bowed her head slightly to me and hugged the light so tightly as if to say that she was never going to let it go again. In response, the two lights became one and enveloped her like gentle sunlight filtering through trees.

…… Ronny and Teddy’s fond memories of Rona overflowed. From their perspective, Rona was far more noble, kind, and beautiful than her own self-assessment.

I can see from the scenes of the past just how much Rona loved her younger brothers. How she tried her best to protect them …… And just how grateful Ronny and Teddy felt toward her.

Rona protected them from their father’s violence by covering them with her small body with her arms outstretched. She pretended that she had eaten and gave them what little food they had. These everyday acts, which Rona took as a matter of course and had ignored in her own memory, made her look like a saint. Even after the death of their beloved mother, she always smiled in front of her younger brothers so as not to worry them. And when she couldn’t stand it, she would muffle her voice and cry all by herself in a place where her younger brothers are not present.

For the two of them, their older sister Rona was a symbol of human conscience.

Even on freezing nights, their hearts were warm thanks to Rona, who would come close and hug them in order to keep them warm.

Then, we heard a conversation between the two of them.

「…… I want to stop being a child as soon as possible. I want to become a full-fledged adult and repay my debt to Rona-nee. I want to save up a lot of money and buy Rona-nee clothes that don’t need to be mended …… Then, I’m sure Rona-nee will be seen by a gentle man and become a happy bride ……」

Rona prioritized her younger brothers over herself and always wore clothes with lots of patches. Seeing Ronny letting out a sigh, Teddy smiled.

「Yeah, actually Rona-nee is incredibly beautiful. She’s also good-natured. Although she’s a little scary when she gets angry. But she’s always concerned about us and puts her own appearance in the back seat …… You know, I’m going to start working next month. There’s a place that thinks I’m fast on my feet and is willing to hire me as an errand boy. And if I can get that person to look after my money, that money wouldn’t be blown away on father’s alcohol expenses.」

The two of them made a vow. They are going to work together to save money and get out of this slum. They will become strong enough to fight off their father’s violence, set free their older sister who has sacrificed her life to bring them smiles, and at that time, it would be their turn to let her have a smile for the rest of her life.

Sitting on the stone steps in the back alley, their cheeks were flushed under the cold starry sky and their faces were radiant as they talked about their hopeful future. Forgetting the passage of time, they talked about what they wanted to do for Rona.

When Rona came looking for them, worried that they had not returned home, they answered cheerfully, 「We’re coming home now」, and their smiling faces were dazzling as they ran competitively with their white breaths.

「…… Aaah ……!! …… Aah ……!!」

Seeing the nostalgic sight of her younger brothers, who would never again return, expressing their feelings and care toward her, Countess Rosenthal could no longer endure it. She clenched her teeth and burst into tears.

…… But fate was cruel.

Teddy’s leg was broken in a fit of anger by their father and Teddy could only crawl after that incident. And yet, their father, the main culprit, demanded that Teddy keep earning the same amount of money as before. He relentlessly kicked Teddy, who couldn’t move, and said, 「Don’t be lazy, hurry up and go earn the money for buying alcohol」. At that rate, Teddy would be killed. Ronny took on Teddy’s share of the unreasonable quota which caused his health to deteriorate. Their father could only see alcohol and didn’t even understand that a child would die if he didn’t eat.

And when their alcohol-addicted father finally came up with the idea of selling Rona to the men for more money to spend on alcohol, Ronny could no longer endure it and confronted his father for the first time.

「Why would you want to do that to Rona-nee who has worked so hard!! …… Someone like you …… is not worthy of being a parent!!」

No matter how many times he got beaten and how swollen his face was, his blood-stained body stood back up as he cried.

「Nee-chan!! Hurry up and run away from here!! Don’t go back to this place!!」

Teddy dragged his crippled legs and clung to their father’s legs, trying to block his movements.

They realized that a future in which all three of them would be happy would no longer come. But they would not let their older sister, Rona, fall into hell any further. With a man’s pride in their hearts, the young Ronny and Teddy were prepared for death when they challenged their father.