Episode 41 – Eyes

*

,”Ed, let’s talk.”

I tilted my head.

After hearing about what happened at Robin’s mansion today, Lily had been quiet all day, without saying a word.

As if she had something to think about, Lily, who had been glancing at me with anxious eyes all day and deeply contemplating, took Lara to the bedroom when it was time for her to go to bed.

That was about two hours ago.

I stared intently at her face.

No matter how I looked at it, it wasn’t a face that had just woken up.

What on earth had she been worrying about that she couldn’t fall asleep and was awake until this hour?

Since I was already suffering from the silence of this early morning, I smiled and pointed to the sofa across from me.

,”Okay, sit here.”

,”…”

,”Should I warm up some tea?”

,”No, it’s okay.”

Lily, sitting on the one-person sofa, turned her head for a moment and warmed herself by the bonfire with her mouth tightly shut.

Perhaps because she was only wearing a thin nightgown, her thin and elastic figure, hugging herself with her arms crossed, was even more visible in the light of the bonfire.

Lily seemed to be organizing what she wanted to say in her head.

I didn’t rush her and waited for her to think enough, looking at the bonfire.

How many minutes had passed?

Lily finally looked at me and opened her mouth.

,”What you said today. About what happened at the mansion.”

,”Yeah, so what about it?”

,”…Ed, did you perhaps know?”

,”Know what?”

,”…”

Lily looked at me and stopped talking again.

It was as if she was surprised that I didn’t immediately understand what she was saying.

I kept staring at the bonfire.

,”Did you know in advance that Daniel oppa was going to attack Dena, that she was going to get hurt?”

,”…Ah,”

Only then did I realize why she had been so disturbed without saying a word after hearing my story.

She was shocked.

At my nonchalant attitude of saying that Dena almost died and that I used it, and at Lara and Mena, who didn’t care about Dena even after hearing that story,

I slowly opened my mouth.

,”I didn’t know. Even I couldn’t have known that Dena would be in front of Daniel’s grave.”

,”…Will Dena be okay?”

,”Well, I don’t know.”

,”…Ed”

,”Yeah.”

,”When you saw Daniel attacking Dena, what were you thinking?”

,”Seeing the child born between Robin and Jennifer suffering, I thought I was lucky…”

I closed my mouth.

It was because I was surprised by my own words.

What was I thinking when I saw Dena being bitten by Daniel, screaming pitifully, and gurgling with blood filling her throat?

Comedy.

I thought it was a funny sight.

Even when that 8-year-old girl fainted from exhaustion in the pain of her flesh being torn, I smacked my lips with regret that the show was over.

I didn’t even realize that fact until Lily pointed it out!

I couldn’t speak from the shock and only moved my lips.

Lily’s expression, which I saw out of the corner of my eye, was also filled with astonishment.

Lily looked at me with a sad voice and said.

,”Ed, I know too. What my father, Robin, did. So I will never stop Ed’s revenge. I will rather help. I will help destroy and kill my father. But…”

,”…”

,”Dena, what sin did that little child commit? She’s just an 8-year-old girl.”

I couldn’t say anything.

No, I shouldn’t have been able to.

But, unlike my thoughts, something was twitching in my mouth.

Or, is it different from my thoughts? Really?

I know too.

That Dena is innocent, or rather, that Daniel didn’t really do anything wrong to me in the first place.

I know very well that I am killing their innocent children just to torment Robin and Jennifer.

I opened my mouth quietly.

,”She’s Robin’s daughter. I don’t need to feel sorry for her.”

,”Ed… what the hell,”

,”I know what you want to say. But it’s all Robin and Jennifer’s fault! Betraying me, killing me, deceiving and stealing my lover!”

I shouted angrily.

Lily flinched in surprise at my roar.

Seeing that, I lowered my voice again and said.

,”That house, those children, they were all created while spitting on my corpse.”

,”…”

,”I know very well that Dena is innocent. What sin could she have? She’s just an 8-year-old girl. But you know what? I won’t feel any guilt about trampling on, taking away, and destroying their happiness.”

,”Ed… please, you shouldn’t do that.”

I kicked the sofa and shouted.

,”Why shouldn’t I? Do you think everything will be resolved if I just kill Robin and Jennifer? Do you think my resentment will disappear with just that?!”

,”But she’s innocent…”

,”I was innocent too! I was innocent too! Why did I have to lose everything? Do you think I just lost my life? Still, when I close my eyes…!”

,”…”

,”…Ugh,”

,”…Ed”

I covered my face.

In my vision, darkened by my hands, I could clearly see the small house in my hometown next to the valley and her waiting for me inside.

I sobbed and chanted.

,”…Still, when I close my eyes, I see Mela.”

,”…Ah, Ed…”

,”It’s not her whispering love to me 20 years ago that I see, Lily. Do you know what I see?”

,”…”

Lily couldn’t open her mouth.

I don’t know if it’s because she couldn’t find an answer to my question, or because my voice was cracking so painfully.

I continued in a terrible voice as if all my energy had been drained.

,”I see the Mela of the future who would have built a happy family with me, the her who doesn’t exist anywhere in this world. The lovely children that she and I might have had, I’m telling you that I can see those children who definitely don’t exist anywhere in this world.”

,”…Ah, Ed,”

I slowly took my hands off my face, which had been covering my face and eyes.

The damn undead body can’t produce tears, but Lily must be feeling it.

That I’m crying now without a single tear.

Seeing my distorted expression, she slowly got up and came to me.

I looked up at the ceiling and said.

,”That’s what I lost. My life, my lover, my love and my future, my family. Even my happiness.”

,”…”

Lily slowly came to me and hugged me.

The fabric of her too-thin nightgown didn’t hide the touch of her skin and breasts at all.

The touch, warmth, and scent of her body were being conveyed to me as they were.

Unlike my cold body, her body was hot and soft like freshly baked bread, and it smelled fragrant and pleasant.

,”Then Ed, what about me?”

,”…What?”

,”Are you going to kill me too?”

,”…Your situation is different, Lily.”

,”Ed, you haven’t even been able to look me in the eye and have been avoiding me the whole time we’ve been talking today.”

,”…”

I lost my words.

Certainly, in the 5 months since I opened my eyes, I had never properly looked her in the eye.

The only time I looked into those blue eyes that resembled Robin’s was the day I first woke up in the Demon King’s castle and came out of the castle,

It was only the moment when I saw Lily aiming her bow at me outside the castle.

I shook my head and said.

,”Still, this is different.”

,”How is it different?”

,”Well… because it’s Lily. You know all about my situation and left Robin with Lara. You even experienced a crisis where you almost died because of me in Flavis. You’re no longer just Robin’s child to me.”

I continued, quite ramblingly, unlike usual.

Lily hugged me even tighter, then grabbed both of my cheeks and turned my face towards her.

I reflexively closed my eyes.

,”…If that’s what you really mean, look into my eyes.”

,”…Ugh,”

,”As Ed said, I’m Lily. Not Robin’s daughter.”

I stood there with my eyes closed for a long time.

But Lily didn’t let go of the hands holding my cheeks.

Like I did, she was giving me enough time until I was ready.

After a long time that felt like a whole day, I slowly opened my eyes.

I saw blue eyes that resembled Robin, but not that disgusting blue color, but like the Milky Way in the dawn sky.

It was like a large, blue sapphire full of sparkling jewels scattered like countless stars.

The starlight in her blue and clear eyes flickered.

She smiled while shedding tears.

,”…Nice to meet you, Lily.”

,”Me too, Ed.”

Lily wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me.

I patted her back without saying anything.

,”Ed, I will always be on Ed’s side.”

,”…Yeah, thank you.”

,”I will help until you finish your revenge. If necessary, I might even be able to turn a blind eye to innocent sacrifices if Ed really has to. But,”

,”…”

,”Please don’t get used to cruelty. Please. Please don’t become insensitive to making innocent sacrifices.”

,”…I can’t promise that.”

,”You don’t have to promise. It’s just a request.”

Lily slowly moved away from me.

I kept looking into her eyes as she moved away from me.

Lily bowed her head and went back to the bedroom.

*

Lily closed the bedroom door and looked at the bed.

Her mother, Lara, was sleeping in the next bed, so she carefully lay down on the bed so as not to wake Lara.

Unlike her quiet movements, her head and mind were noisy as if they were about to explode.

She had a conversation with Ed while looking into his eyes,

He was able to look straight into my eyes!

She couldn’t believe what had just happened.

Suddenly overwhelmed by embarrassment and excitement, Lily, who suddenly wanted to hide, pulled the blanket over her head.

She twisted her body in the blanket where no one could see her.

A ticklish feeling around her chest.

She felt that ticklish something rising to her face, and when she touched her cheek, it was surprisingly hot.

She grabbed her cheek as it was.

,”Hehe,”

Lily, who was smiling like an idiot thinking of Ed looking at her, soon became hot inside the blanket.

Her pounding heart was beating fast, making her whole body feel hot.

She pulled back the blanket and moved her head from side to side to find the cool side of the pillow and lay down on her side.

At that moment,

She thought she was going to stop breathing.

Lara was looking at her lying in bed, shining her eyes in the darkness.

,”Oh, Mom.”

,”…Lily”

An eerie light was leaking from both of Lara’s eyes.

The warm and ticklish something that had been filling her whole body until just now disappeared without a trace, and a cold and sharp something crawled all over her body, giving her goosebumps.

Lily swallowed her breath like a child caught doing something wrong and hiccuped.

Lara opened only her mouth without even blinking her gleaming eyes and said.

,”You can do whatever you want. Mom doesn’t have the right.”

,”What does that…”

,”But,”

,”…”

,”If you interfere with Ed, I don’t think Mom can forgive you, no matter how much you are Lily.”

,”…O-okay,”

,”You understand?”

,”…Yes, I understand, Mom, good night.”

Lily closed her eyes tightly like a child who had seen a ghost.

I can’t believe Mom woke up.

Lily trembled all over and recalled the madness that had been smoldering in Lara’s eyes a moment ago.

Just thinking about that scary figure again made her flinch in surprise.

It felt like the first time she had ever felt such a terrifying sensation in her life.

On the other hand, Lily also knew how much Lara thought of Ed, so she felt a little sorry for Lara.

Fear and a slight sense of guilt towards Lara.

Lily squinted slightly and looked at Lara.

Lara was still looking at her.

.