episode_0034

The girl, Julia, was still staying in the narrow basement.

But what was different from before was that, although it was narrow, it was no longer a dark, closed room.

Because the magic light bulbs that ‘that person’ installed here and there brightly illuminated the space.

That wasn’t the only thing that had changed.

There was a bed in the corner of the room, and a bookshelf took up space next to it.

There were also desks and chairs where one could eat or read a book.

Of course, so that ‘that person’ could get it secretly without being caught by others.

Also, to fit into this narrow space, the size of the furniture had to be kept to a minimum.

For her, it was a change that was almost too much to discuss her grievances.

Instead, it seemed as if she had wanted to decorate the room as much as possible, as the room was filled with cute items, including dolls.

But of all the things in this space, if there’s one thing that’s changed the most… .

It was none other than Julia herself.

I got up from the bed I was lying on, took a few steps forward, and stood in front of the mirror.

Julia originally had a wild appearance as she had never been cared for since birth.

Hair that grew long enough to scrape the floor, long fingernails and toenails like those of an animal.

The body, with its bones exposed, was unkempt, not to mention uncared for.

But there was no trace of that on the girl reflected in the mirror now.

Brown hair that grew down to her waist, golden eyes that sparkled like jewels, and smooth, milky skin.

There was a pretty girl there, more doll-like than any of the dolls on the bed.

Of course, all these thoughts were just opinions that ‘that person’, not her, always babbled about until his mouth hurt.

The person who brought about all these changes was none other than ‘that person’.

With my inexperienced beauty skills, I trimmed her hair and fingernails.

Also when he noticed that she had a talent for manipulating spirits.

He first brought in books and materials containing the contents of theology and made a contract with the spirit of water to manage its purity.

He secretly took his own portion of food and fed it to her, who had not been able to eat well until now.

Because it also included many other dedicated efforts.

Now, after a year, I was able to become the person I saw in the mirror.

“Ugh… !!”

Didn’t they say that the force that makes a child grow the most is praise?

Julia, whose self-esteem wasn’t low, but rather non-existent.

Because I kept hearing compliments like, “You’re pretty,” “You’re cute,” and “You’re the best.”

At first, I was not impressed by my appearance in the mirror, but at some point, I became satisfied with it.

At that moment, the faint sound of footsteps coming down the stairs could be heard beyond the iron gate.

Julia hurried to the desk, sat down in front of it, and opened a book.

Squeak-!!

The now familiar sound of an iron door opening could be heard from behind her as she sat at her desk.

“Julia? Were you reading a book? You’re amazing, my sister.”

The voice of ‘that man’ followed. He slowly approached her, and Julia turned her head.

There was a face there that looked exactly like the one she had seen in the mirror.

A brown-haired boy, no different from anyone else except for the length of his hair, was smiling happily.

“Come on in, Julian.”

“… Don’t call me by my name, call me oppa.”

The boy, Julian, pouted as if he didn’t like the way Julia greeted him.

“Okay, Julia? Speak slowly after me. Oh. Brother.”

“Ju.Li.Ann.”

“Should I add a word after that? Oh. Brother.”

“No. No!”

“… It’s not easy.”

In the end, Julian, who had always been the first to raise the white flag, patted Julia on the head as if he could take her place.

“… Huh.”

But surprisingly, Julia did not reject this affectionate contact.

Because the unique warmth felt through my palms felt good.

Julia was purring, feeling warm like a cat.

“Ah, Julia, today my brother brought me an interesting story.”

Julian opened his mouth as he took back the hand that had been stroking his hair.

But instead of feeling dissatisfied, Julia’s eyes lit up.

For Julia, who could not leave this underground chamber, the stories he brought about from the outside world were like dog mint.

“A funny story? What is it?”

Julian smiled at his younger brother’s urging and slowly opened his bundle of stories.

“Have I ever told you the story of the Everharts, the ruling family of the North?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“I met the successor today, his name is Eugene Everhart.”

“Eugene… ?”

“Yeah, but this guy looks cool on the outside, but he’s actually a pretty funny guy… .”

That day was like that.

This was the day when Eugene first entered Julia’s small world.

***

“That guy, Eugene. He’s a total monster. He’s the same age as me, but he can use his auras so freely, right?”

My twin brother, Julian, has been talking about him often since he made a friend named Eugene Eberhart.

“He hid his noble status and went on an undercover mission, and caught an apprentice knight who was threatening the owner of a weapons shop with his bare hands.”

He had a variety of stories prepared every time he visited, but Julia liked Eugene’s story the best.

“… I just recently went to the front line for the first time, and unfortunately, a kid my age got killed. That Eugene guy, he felt guilty even though he didn’t need to.”

You mean inner intimacy?

“If that guy becomes the leader, the North will definitely change. I don’t know if it will be for the better or for the worse… I have to help too.”

Through the stories she had constantly heard from Julia, Julia had begun to feel a deep affinity for Eugene.

That’s why I brought it up without thinking.

“I want to meet you too.”

Julian, who had been sitting on the floor with her and telling her a story, paused for a moment at her words.

“… You want to meet, are you talking about Eugene?”

“Yeah.”

“That guy’s outside? Do you want to get out of here?”

As she nodded her brown hair up and down in response, her golden eyes, identical to hers, looked at Julia in confusion.

That would be the case, since two years have passed since Julia and Julia first met in this underground secret room.

Because she never once expressed a desire to do anything through her mouth… or more precisely, to go out.

Actually, there wasn’t any special reason for that.

No matter how many wonderful and exciting stories Julian tells us about the outside world,

For her, who had lived in a secret underground chamber her entire life, it was nothing more than a story from another world.

Of course, when I heard it, I felt fun and excited, but in the end, I dismissed it as a story that had nothing to do with me.

But the story of a man named ‘Eugene’ was a little different.

Eugene was the only person whose story consistently came up in Julian’s mouth.

Even if that weren’t the case, if I only heard it as a story.

Because Eugene made me think that he was like the hero in the storybook that Julian brought me.

A young child who does not know the ways of the world may feel interest when he hears stories containing the experiences and wisdom of adults, but he will not sympathize with them.

On the contrary, during such an innocent childhood, they admire the princes and princesses in fairy tales and want to become like them or meet them.

And before Julia knew it, Eugene, who she had only heard about through stories, had become that kind of person.

“… Sorry, Julia. I don’t think I can let you meet him yet.”

For the first time, a negative statement came out of Julian’s mouth, who seemed like he would listen to everything.

That was a strange thing.

Clearly, when they first met, Julian had been eager to get her out of this secret room.

“… No? Why?”

So for the first time, Julia had to wonder why she couldn’t leave this place.

“My brother doesn’t have the strength to protect you yet.”

“I’m strong.”

“Of course Julia’s spirit is awesome, but… the outside world isn’t so easy that it can solve everything.”

As the denial continued, she inflated her cheeks with air.

Julian could only look at his younger brother, who was so awkward in expressing his frustration, with a pitiful gaze.

But there was nothing I could do.

It’s not like Julian didn’t make any effort to get her out of the underground chamber.

But the more this happened, the more I felt the ominous stereotype the world had toward the existence of ‘twins’.

If they were ignorant, they might not know, but their parents, who were educated nobles, kept their younger sister Julia locked up here for her entire life.

Just because I was swayed by such a trivial superstition.

“… I want to go out.”

Still, I felt strong pity for my sister who had died.

Julia felt pathetic and utterly helpless at not being able to listen to her wishes even though they were the first to reveal their own.

‘Eugene, if it were you, it would definitely be different from me.’

Julian is such a great friend of mine.

I thought of the boy who made my precious little brother curious about the outside world.

“… Okay, Julia. I’ll get you to Eugene.”

In the end, Julia couldn’t be defeated by Julia.

I will make my brother happier than anyone else in the world.

I will give you in my arms what you have not received before.

Because that was the day I met Julia in this secret underground room, I decided to do so.

All responsibility and risk is borne by him, who has monopolized the love that should have been shared with his younger sibling.

… It was just a story of such a simple and straightforward principle.