Chapter 66: Farewell to the Past

In the darkness, illuminated only by the flickering red fireball.

“Snap out of it, Viola!!”

“I won’t disobey Father again. So please…!”

I couldn’t hide my bewilderment.

Why was Viola acting like this all of a sudden?

Her trembling wouldn’t stop.

Viola kept muttering empty words in a shaky voice.

I tried to deduce the reason for her reaction.

When we met Count Amorin.

Viola seemed scared then too, but she wasn’t this panicked.

Her condition worsened after we entered this room.

More precisely, after seeing the objects in this room.

Was this place triggering her trauma?

I quickly covered her eyes.

“Sob…! Sister….”

Only then did her trembling begin to subside as her vision was blocked.

She started to cry, calling for her sister.

I sighed, feeling the dampness on my palm.

What kind of place was this that made her so panicked?

I looked around.

The same desolate objects.

Not just an ordinary room.

Grim objects, seemingly created solely to inflict pain, were scattered around.

I had never seen any of these things before.

So they definitely originated from Viola’s dream.

I was about to ask Viola what was wrong, now that she had calmed down.

But a loud noise stopped me from speaking.

Bang!

“Viola!!”

Count Amorin’s voice echoed from outside the door.

Viola’s body stiffened again at the sound of his voice.

He was persistent.

I didn’t know why this nightmare was so relentless.

Leaving Viola trembling, I got up.

Crash!!

“Where are you hiding, you
!!”

The wall with the steel door exploded, and Count Amorin appeared.

His body was even larger than before.

And his already grim face was now demonic.

I flinched momentarily at his terrifying appearance.

But remembering that I was a powerful being in this place, I faced him boldly.

A bazooka appeared in my hand.

I fired a missile at Count Amorin’s face.

“Take this!!”

Boom!

A large explosion erupted, and smoke billowed from Count Amorin’s face.

But.

“Get lost, brat!!”

“Gah…!”

He wasn’t affected at all and swung his fist at me.

“Louis…?”

I was sent flying and crashed into the wall. I staggered to my feet.

Perhaps because this was a dream.

It didn’t hurt as much as I expected.

But I couldn’t help but feel extremely unpleasant.

He dared to throw me against the wall?

He was dead.

Filled with rage, I was plotting my revenge when I had to stop.

Viola was standing in front of Count Amorin.

Why was she there?!

Viola, still not recovered from her panic, would surely be unable to withstand Count Amorin’s attack.

“Viola!!”

I shouted her name, but it was too late.

Count Amorin’s fist had already struck Viola.

When did it start?

When did my kind father turn into a demon?

In all my memories, my father was always smiling kindly at us.

But at some point, our peaceful family fell apart.

Father’s words and actions became increasingly harsh.

And eventually, he started abusing us.

Whenever things didn’t go his way, he would lock my sister and me in the dark basement.

And unleash his violence on us.

But perhaps because I was too young.

Most of the violence was directed at my sister.

Every day, the number of wounds on my sister’s body increased.

But she silently endured Father’s abuse.

Covered in wounds, enduring painful days.

We endured those hellish days together.

With the single belief that our kind father would return someday.

But no matter how much time passed, our broken father didn’t return.

And finally, when his violence turned towards me.

My sister resorted to the last resort.

One day, my sister secretly left the mansion.

And when she returned, she was accompanied by fully armed knights.

I clearly remembered that day.

My sister, with tears in her eyes, pointed at Father.

That was the last time.

I never saw Father again after that.

I later realized what had happened to us.

But back then, I was too young and just happy that I didn’t have to be locked in that hellish basement anymore.

A lot of time had passed since then.

My sister became the head of the vacant Amorin Count family.

And I entered the academy and continued my studies.

It was something that happened more than 10 years ago.

Now, I wasn’t even curious about what happened to my abusive father.

But the scars etched in my heart had taken so much from me.

The Gray Doll.

A derogatory nickname given to me, who always wore an expressionless face.

Since then, I stopped trusting anyone and didn’t open my heart to anyone.

It was a story that was already over.

But the memories still haunted me like ghosts.

So I shut myself in my room.

I immersed myself in books, not wanting to waste my emotions.

At least while reading, I could escape those nightmarish memories.

But that was such a childish thought.

I realized I couldn’t move forward by just running away.

My foolish self in my childhood, who just cried while watching my sister suffer.

The stupid Viola, who succumbed to violence without any resistance.

But now, I was different.

I was tired of crying like a tragic heroine.

I was no longer the child who just watched her loved ones get hurt.

I had grown.

And become an adult.

So.

I wouldn’t be consumed by this nightmare anymore.

Viola, now an adult, blocked Count Amorin’s fist with one hand.

She stood before him, no longer the scared, timid child from before.

“You dare defy me, Viola…!!”

“I’m no longer that little girl.”

Not the scared, timid child from before.

But with a confident demeanor.

“You dare rebel against me!!”

“I’m tired of shedding tears.”

“What can you even do?!?”

Count Amorin was still threatening.

But Viola remained calm.

This was the nightmare that had tormented her for so long.

But she faced it without any fear.

“You are nothing but my possession.”

“No, I’m not your thing.”

The frightened young Viola was gone.

Now she faced her nightmare head-on.

“I am myself. An individual who can think and make decisions on her own.”

“You dare defy me, you insolent…!!”

“Yes. I’ve become an adult now. I will move forward.”

So.

“I should be able to shake off a nightmare like this.”

With a voice filled with firm resolve.

Viola reached out her hand towards Count Amorin.

“What can you even do?! You should just stay locked in the basement and obey me!!!”

He roared, swinging his fist at Viola in a desperate outburst.

But with a simple wave of Viola’s hand.

Count Amorin turned into a pile of ashes.

And.

Rumble

The world began to crumble.

Was I finally waking up from this tedious dream?

Viola stood firm amidst the collapsing world.

My vision, fixed on her, gradually turned black.

I woke up to the warm sunlight.

Looking up, I saw the sun rising outside the window.

I blinked my drowsy eyes, trying to shake off the lingering sleepiness.

When did I fall asleep?

I thought I was concentrating on studying.

But morning had already come.

“Good morning, Louis.”

I lifted my head at the voice from across the table.

Lisa, sleeping soundly next to me, and Viola, sitting across from us.

My eyes met Viola’s, who was still lying on the desk, staring at me.

“You seem to have had a nightmare.”

At her words, I touched my face.

Was it that obvious?

I thought I had a rather strange dream.

But for some reason, I couldn’t remember the details.

I felt like I had a rough dream….

Well, it must have been just a simple dream.

Letting go of the lingering thoughts about the dream I couldn’t remember.

I stared blankly at Viola.

I didn’t know when it started, but she was calling me by my name.

Not the formal title she used before.

But by my name, Louis.

Had something changed her mind?

I made a slightly puzzled face.

But Viola, looking at me, seemed somewhat at ease.

It wasn’t just my imagination that her expression had softened compared to before.