SYOV 18 🛖

Chapter 18

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“…What?”

Verity shot to his feet in shock, then immediately turned to check on Ian and Flora.

Thankfully, both of them were still sleeping soundly.

Honestly, I was even more surprised than he was.

“Is something like that shocking even to a demon?”

“Demons absolutely adore their children! In our world, child abuse is punishable by death without exception! Isn’t that just common sense?”

“Wow. I definitely need to be reborn as a rich demon’s pet dog next time.”

As expected, my reincarnation plan had been flawless.

Anyway, after that day, my family completely fell apart.

Verity quickly corrected me.

“From what I can tell, your family was already falling apart. Those people simply dumped the blame onto an innocent child.”

“I know.”

Though…

It took me a while to realize that.

Until then, even someone like me always walked around with my head lowered.

“Then one day, I watched a TV program.”

“A TV program?”

“A current affairs program. There had been a huge case where an elementary school student died from domestic abuse, and the whole country was talking about it.”

The abusive parents blamed everything on the dead child.

They insisted they had merely been disciplining the child appropriately and claimed the death had been nothing more than an accident.

Meanwhile, the child’s body had been covered with bruises and broken bones.

Mine had looked the same.

“That’s when it suddenly occurred to me… maybe what I was going through was also something terribly wrong.”

“…It’s not maybe a problem. It was obviously a serious problem.”

“So I looked up that program.”

After watching it…

For the first time in my life, I felt exhilarated.

Ah…

So it’s okay for me to get revenge.

It’s okay to fight back.

The vicious side of Chae Habin that I had buried deep inside was finally set free.

“I immediately looked up the statute of limitations for reporting domestic abuse and how to collect evidence.”

“Didn’t you ask anyone around you for help?”

“Then I wouldn’t have been able to get revenge.”

“…What kind of revenge did you take?”

“I smashed a chair over my dad’s head.”

Verity’s eyes went wide.

Smiling, I continued.

“You know… once people think you’re easy to bully, they just keep doing it.”

Whenever my dad cursed at me, I hit back with a chair.

Whenever my mom hit me, I grabbed her by the hair.

Whenever my older brother pulled my hair, I kicked him right between the legs.

As for my younger brother…

Instead of hitting him, I poured water all over his expensive computer.

That hurt him a lot more.

“After it happened enough times, all the chairs disappeared from the house. Watching them stand around the dining table while eating was absolutely hilarious.”

Later…

Whenever they saw me coming out of my room and instinctively flinched…

I almost burst out laughing.

That was when I realized something.

Those monsters who had tormented me…

…were actually far more pathetic than I’d ever imagined.

“Wooow.”

Verity genuinely sounded impressed.

“As expected of a Clavis.”

“That’s an insult, isn’t it?”

“This time, it was a compliment.”

Verity asked if he was allowed to laugh.

I gladly gave him permission.

The moment I did…

He laughed so hard he practically collapsed.

Seeing him laugh so happily made me start laughing too.

After laughing for a long while and finally catching his breath, he asked,

“But were you really okay afterward? From what you’ve told me, those people don’t sound like the type to back down so easily.”

“They weren’t.”

“But I was fine.”

My family always pretended to be wonderful people in public.

My father was an executive at a major corporation.

My mother was a respected church deaconess in our community.

People even thought they were the perfect married couple.

My older brother and younger brother were both considered outstanding students at their schools.

My older brother was even the president of his university’s student council.

So…

I used that against them.

“I threatened to expose all the evidence I’d gathered to their coworkers, church members, and classmates.”

“Ooh…!”

“They immediately demanded proof, so I showed them everything I’d secretly collected over an entire year. It’s a shame I can’t show you how perfectly I organized it.”

Of course…

I also made sure to store copies in multiple places.

After that…

My life became peaceful.

For the first time, I received an allowance.

For the first time, I lay on the living room sofa and monopolized the TV all day.

I stole my younger brother’s snacks.

I borrowed my older brother’s laptop whenever I wanted.

From then on…

They were the ones watching my mood and tiptoeing around me.

“When I entered high school, I attended a boarding school, so I moved out. Before leaving, I warned my family that if anything ever happened to me, one of my friends would release all the evidence online and send it to TV stations.”

“…Though it was actually a lie.”

“Wow. You really thought everything through.”

“It was just a childish little trick.”

After graduating…

I moved out immediately.

Of course, I made them pay my college tuition and part of my living expenses.

Technically, I extorted it using the evidence.

But considering everything they’d done to me…

It wasn’t nearly enough compensation.

“Even now…”

Nowadays I could laugh while talking about it.

But…

“I still wonder.”

“Why did they hate me so much?”

Back then…

I was desperate.

They’re still my family…

Is it really okay to do this?

Maybe they’re right. Maybe I’m just a bad child.

There had been countless times when I almost surrendered to those doubts.

“I honestly don’t know either.”

Verity answered without hesitation.

His refusal to comfort me with empty words felt a little cold.

But…

I was actually grateful for it.

“However, there is one thing I’m absolutely certain about. Every unfair thing that happened to you was entirely their responsibility. No matter what circumstances they may have had.”

“Now that I’m gone… do you think they’re relieved?”

“They’re exactly the kind of people who would be.”

Verity smiled faintly.

“To them, your funeral would have been a celebration.”

“Haha… figures.”

A hollow laugh escaped me.

All the struggles I’d gone through just to survive suddenly felt meaningless.

I guess once you die… everything really is over.

But Verity wasn’t finished.

“They’ll break.”

His words sounded like a prophecy.

One that was certain to come true.

“Miss… I’ve lived for an extremely long time.”

“I’ve seen countless kinds of humans.”

“People like your family never feel guilty.”

“Do you know why?”

I couldn’t answer.

“They throw away every chance they have to feel guilt.”

“Without realizing how precious guilt actually is.”

“…”

“They blame everyone else while denying all responsibility themselves.”

“Eventually, they lose touch with reality.”

“And then… they become more and more distorted.”

I did nothing wrong.

It’s all that child’s fault.

“Do you think someone consumed by that kind of delusion can ever live a proper life?”

“…”

“At least…”

“I’ve never seen it happen.”

Not even once.

Verity shrugged with complete confidence.

As if he were simply stating that the sun rises in the east.

“Haha.”

A laugh slipped out of me.

“I see…”

“So… I was just incredibly unlucky.”

Back when I was in college…

A friend once invited me to join a cross-country walking trip.

I turned it down because of my part-time job.

Though secretly I had thought,

Wow… voluntarily choosing to suffer? Their life must’ve been way too easy.

…I really was pathetic.

The reason that memory suddenly came back now…

…was because I found it unbelievable that I had been walking through the Primordial Forest for two whole days.

So this is why people enjoy long walking trips.

We rested occasionally…

But walking between those enormous, densely packed trees was still exhausting.

Even so…

I didn’t hate it.

It makes me feel… like I’m really alive.

I liked the ache in my feet.

I even liked being slightly out of breath.

“Maybe… enjoying pain is actually my hobby.”

“Please have a healthy hobby that’s appropriate for a seven-year-old.”

Ian sighed.

“My little sister is giving me a headache.”

His serious response made me burst into laughter.

“Flora, are you tired?”

“No.”

Walking beside me, Flora shook her head.

Her voice sounded much more confident than before.

“We’re almost there.”

Verity was right.

When I looked into the distance…

Bright light pierced through the darkness.

It was Exilium…

The exile village hidden deep within the Primordial Forest.

“Flora, this is the village where we live.”

I explained what kind of place it was.

“It’s a wonderful base where kind people falsely accused of terrible crimes gather to someday overthrow that bastard Emperor.”

“Our Miss has grown into such a determined young lady. Even in such harsh conditions, she never forgets revenge…!”

Verity dabbed at his dry eyes with a handkerchief as though he were deeply moved.

Meanwhile…

Ian desperately pretended he hadn’t heard anything.

Being a former Imperial Knight, words like overthrow and rebellion clearly made him uncomfortable.

“From now on, you won’t have to be separated from your mom anymore.”

“You’ll stay together forever.”

“Okay…!”

“When you see her… give her a big hug.”

“And tell her you missed her.”

“Okay!”

“And if you tell her you love her…”

“She’ll be even happier.”

“I love my mom!”

“I know.”

Click.

As the forest barrier opened…

Brilliant sunlight poured in.

My eyes, accustomed to the darkness, stung for a moment before adjusting.

“Kids!”

“Welcome back!”

All of the exiles had come out to greet us.

After nearly a week apart…

Everyone looked healthier.

They no longer resembled prisoners condemned to hard labor.

“Hebenia! Ian Oppa! Lord Verity!”

Libby ran toward us.

“Welcome back! Are you hurt anywhere? You all worked so hard! Lord Verity too!”

“It’s not like we got hurt.”

Feeling embarrassed, I answered a little gruffly.

Ian and Verity both grinned at me.

“Hello.”

“You must be Flora.”

Libby noticed Flora hiding behind me.

“My goodness, you’re just as beautiful as your mother!”

“…”

But Flora didn’t even have time to respond.

“Mom…”

Because all of her attention had already been captured.

Libby stepped aside without hesitation.

Not just Libby…

Every single exile moved aside.

Together, they formed one clear path.

At the end of it…

…stood Dalis.

Now that her mind had completely recovered…

She looked like an entirely different person.

Her eyes were clear and intelligent.

Her shoulders were straight.

Her posture was elegant.

For a brief moment…

I could see the woman who had once lived as the Lady of House Deste.

“Flora!”

“M-Mom!”

The mother and daughter burst into tears and ran toward each other.

Dalis, with her longer legs, reached her first…

…and wrapped Flora tightly in her arms.