Chapter 2
Cordelia had been in the hospital for three months. It was a normal day. Eileen straightened the sheets as soon as she woke up. The smell of Gail making breakfast wafted in from downstairs.
“I think this is the first steamed fish I’ve had in a long time!”One of the children snorted and jumped up excitedly, and Eileen grinned as she and Cordelia left the room.
“Mina’s always been a big fan of fish.” “Eileen doesn’t like fish?” “Good morning, Mother Superior. Fish? I don’t really like it or dislike it.”Eileen said nonchalantly as she turned to face Cordelia and took a bite of fish fillet.
“Ah.”A flashback to the future of the original story, where she’d been cut off, hit her in a flash.
* * *
“Cordelia, you saved my life, you should be responsible.”A sharp-looking, handsome man with dark hair sat across from her.
“Stop it…”Cordelia covered her face with both hands and gasped. After a moment, her hands came down, her face flushed red.
“I’m sick of it, I’ve done everything you’ve asked, I’ve catered to your every whim, I’ve played your damn games, and now you’re making her…”The man’s face fell as he watched Cordelia’s rage. He’d been bored watching the snow flurry outside the window while she ranted, but when she calmed down, he spoke up.
“She wasn’t worthy of being your friend, look how ugly she got for a few bucks.” “Why do you get to decide that!”Cordelia shouted, finally collapsing on the table in tears.
“You’re horrible. Lucian Elric Gaudium…”The man, Lucian, said quietly, hugging her from behind as she collapsed.
“I know. I love you too, Cordelia.”Only the sound of the blizzard hitting the spear echoed between them as they closed their mouths in despair and madness.
* * *
“…is dead.” “Eileen?”Eileen, who hadn’t
even chewed half the fish before swallowing it roughly, slammed her head against the table.
“Eileen?!”There were two futures in this original version of Eileen. One is a grown-up Cordelia talking to a man named Lucian, who reeks of thick madness, in the middle of a blizzard.
The other.
“It’s coming, Cordelia!” “What?”The beginning of the endgame.
An unspeakable scream swirled in Eileen’s gut. The second future she saw seemed not far from now.
Lucian.
The sole heir to the venerable Duchy of Gaudian, and the madman who would return the favor to the benefactor who saved his life.
“First, drink some water!”Cordelia, panicked by the sight of Eileen’s chest heaving, hurriedly held out a glass of water. Eileen gulped it down in frustration and tried to compose herself.
‘Calm down. Calm down. This future is still pretty detailed for a f
irst appearance, and avoiding it might b
e easier than you think.’
Fortunately, Lucian wasn’t born a madman.
In this world, magic is spread as thinly as the atmosphere, but there are places where it’s particularly concentrated.
They called it the Overlap. The Overlap was responsible for most of the strange things that happened in the world, such as the forests where it was easy to get lost, or the canyons where the voices of the dead could be heard.
They weren’t dangerous in and of themselves, but they were dangerous because they were filled with magic, and if a magical energy seeped into them, a demon could be born.
‘The problem is that Lucian buried the magic and found the lake.’
Lucian, who is otherwise normal, searches for the lake because it is said to grant wishes for his mother, who is dying after a long illness.
Unfortunately, the lake has no such powers. Rather, a demon born from the long-dead horse was absorbed by the lake, and the demon that was born attacked him.
It was only when Cordelia awakened her elemental powers to save Lucian from the creature that the tragedy began.
‘I feel sorry for him, though.’
Lucian is rescued by Cordelia, but the aftermath of his prolonged immersion in the water leaves him in a coma, and the traumatized duchess dies of a rapidly deteriorating illness.
When he finally awakens, he is confronted with his mother’s death and his father’s bitter resentment.
‘No, no matter how painful the reality is, it’s still painful, but to turn it into an obsession with Cordelia is crossing the line!’
From then on, it was all about The Little Mermaid, where the prince is a trash-obsessed overlord.
Having lost the one he loved most through his own mistakes, Lucian becomes pathologically obsessed with Cordelia, the woman he saw just before he lost consciousness underwater.
“She has to live first.”It’s a harsh sentiment, but there’s no room in his heart to consider Cordelia’s situation.
This time, she would never let Cordelia near the lake.
Lucian would die if he did, but Cordelia and everyone at the orphanage were more important to her than some stranger she didn’t even know.
“Eileen, are you okay now?”Cordelia asked worriedly as she looked at Eileen, who nodded.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”She should be fine, then.
This was their first chance to avoid the blood route.
Not wanting to blow it, Eileen nodded vigorously.
* * *
Anne was in a terrible mood lately.
“Eileen used to be my best friend…”The fact that Cordelia had gotten between her and Eileen, the only other girl her age in the orphanage school, was the last thing on her mind.
“Cordelia only acts nice in front of Eileen!”Moreover, Cordelia’s demeanor changed 180 degrees depending on whether Eileen was around or not. When Eileen was around, she’d be all smiles and sweetness, but when she wasn’t, she’d quickly turn sour and distant.
Anne, still reminiscing about the past, grabbed Eileen’s arm that night and exclaimed.
“I’m going to sleep with her tonight!”Then Cordelia, who had sneakily grabbed Eileen’s other arm, looked at her plaintively and spoke.
“I want to sleep next to Eileen too.”Pajama breezy Eileen ruffled her troublesome hair.
“What’s with you two all of a sudden…”If asked who she would rather sleep with, Eileen didn’t want to sleep with anyone.
The single bunk bed wasn’t big enough for anyone.
“But I think I’m going to have nightmares today without Eileen.” “I can’t even go to the bathroom without Eileen!” “That’s not bragging.”Suddenly, Eileen, who was cooling off, had an idea.
“If you both want to sleep with…”The next day.
Gail came out to the yard to find the kids pulling carrots at the crack of dawn and screamed.
“Kids, why are you working at this time of the morning?!” “Leave them alone.” “Eileen?”Eileen was sitting in her rocking chair, looking at the children, sweating profusely.
“They’re both just trying to earn praise points, so let them do what they want.” “Praise points…? What’s that?” “It’s something like that. It’s for the best kids with the most energy.”The way Eileen smirked as she said it gave Gail an inexplicable chill.
She’d come up with a trick to get the kids to sleep with each other every night: Praise Points.
It was a simple wager: whoever did more praiseworthy things would get to sit next to Eileen.
Anne and Cordelia had been in a frenzy of activity since they’d woken up to make sure they weren’t exhausted.
They tidied up the garden, helped the children eat, and headed to the laundry, where their tiny hands worked tirelessly at the washing machine. Some of the children seemed to find it amusing, so they joined in, and the pile grew.
“Oh, this is good.”Eileen smiled with satisfaction as she stroked the shiny table. Gail looked at her bored, then asked.
“So, who are you going to pick as the winner? I’m sure there’s going to be a ruckus if you pick just one.” “Oh, you worry too much.”With that, Eileen smirked. It was a mischievous grin, with the bridge of her nose scrunched up.
* * *
“This is a really good idea.” “Isn’t it?”The kitchen was clean. Bedding was spread out where the desks had been pushed away. The children had been up all day and had long since drifted off to dreamland, tangled together. Cordelia and Anne were also asleep, occupying Eileen’s left and right sides.
“Sometimes it’s nice to sleep together like this.”The sound of small children snoring softly drifted in and out, and a grasshopper chirped outside.
She couldn’t help but feel both adorable and pity for the little heads who had worked so hard all day without realizing it.
Gail looked over at Eileen, who was looking at the children with affection in her eyes, and she couldn’t help but smile.
She reached out a large hand and ruffled the child’s hair roughly. At Eileen’s annoyed reaction as she pushed his touch away, Gail chuckled and turned off the light.
“Good night. Eileen.” “Good night, Mother Superior.”Gail went upstairs and everyone fell asleep, but Eileen found it hard to close her eyes. She could still hear the children tossing and turning, but now that it was pitch black, she felt a little scared.
‘If what I’ve seen is the future of the world, is everyone in this room going to die?’
‘Is this really a future that can be stopped? What if there’s some sort of force from the original?’
‘Should I ask them to move? We’re already struggling to make ends meet, and for what reason?’
The unanswered questions lingered in the back of her mind like a dark intoxication.
“Eileen.” “Cordelia?”Eileen turned her head at the sound of the call. Cordelia was wide awake, staring at her with piercing eyes like the moonlit night sea.
“Can’t sleep?” “Yeah, a little. You must be tired, go back to sleep.” “What are you worried about?”At the words, Eileen rolled over and locked eyes with Cordelia. The child, who had spent her entire life being watched, was endlessly analyzing Eileen’s mood and attitude even at this moment.
She knew better than anyone that behind that blind, thirsty gaze hung a tiny scream of abandonment. She’d seen it in her past life.
Unsure of what to say, Eileen’s lips parted cautiously.
“You know, Cordelia, the world is a rougher place than you think, and there’s a lot of crazies out there who’ll turn on you if you give them a little attention, so you have to be careful, and it’s good to be strong.” “Does Eileen like strong people?” “Huh? Well, I guess it’s nice to be strong, but I’d rather have a healthy mind and body than a strong person…” “Then I’ll be a strong person too!” “Huh?”Eileen sucked in a breath as Cordelia wrapped her arms around her, and Cordelia burrowed a little deeper into Eileen’s embrace.
“I’m gonna get super strong and take all your worries away!”‘No. You do get stronger, but you go on a rampage at the end and blow it all up.’
“Mmhmm… thanks.”Eileen’s pupils dilated in embarrassment.
“So… Keep going…” “Yeah, what? I couldn’t hear you in the back.” “It’s a secret!”Laughing mischievously, Cordelia began to pat Eileen on the back with a clumsy hand. Eileen’s eyelids slid down without resistance, and she was sucked into sleep. Before she was fully conscious.
“Good night, Eileen.”With one last glimpse of Cordelia’s bright smile, she slipped into a trance.
She smiles like the darkness. It was accompanied by a bittersweet sentiment.
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