episode_0052

– Save me… scared… help me… .

Belle’s voice crying sadly lingers in my head.

-Where is everyone..? Why aren’t you coming to save me?

Belle is scared.

I am shaking with anxiety.

– please… Save me… mom… .

The instinctively shouting “Mom” broke my heart even more.

“Ah… Ahhh… . bell… .”

I am helpless.

I can’t protect the bell.

Everything prepared to protect that child is useless.

“It’s okay… are you okay… I’ll save you… .”

The self-talk I was repeating over and over again was not directed at Belle, but was only scattered in the air.

“I’ll save you… I… Mom will save you… .”

Sorry.

I’m sorry for being helpless.

I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.

I’m sorry for being such a helpless mother.

*

*

I still remember that moment.

The moment I came to life.

The first thing I saw when I suddenly came into existence was an adorable little child. The child called me mom and held me in my arms, and for the first time in my life, I felt happy.

I knew instinctively that I was made for this child.

Belle’s biological mother was a beautiful woman named Vishka.

She was a prostitute, and while working she became pregnant with Veronica.

Vishka gave birth to a child who she did not know whose father was, and who could become an obstacle in her life. And he poured out his love generously to Belle.

But I couldn’t be by Belle’s side at night when I had to work.

Because of this, I was born.

With an appearance similar to Vishka,

To serve as her replacement.

Vishka was not afraid when she saw me, who looked just like her.

She quickly accepted the situation and was even happy about it.

There was no need to hire a babysitter every night, and more importantly, Belle could stay in her mother’s arms even if she was a replacement.

Vishka began to educate me.

So that I, who was like an empty shell, can become a perfect replacement for myself.

She poured all her knowledge and values into me.

The boundary between me and her gradually collapsed to the point where I sometimes thought that I was not Belle’s alter ego, but Vishka’s alter ego.

*

Three years have passed, and Belle has already turned five years old.

My hair has grown a lot and I can now tie it up.

He spoke clearly and well.

Expressed his thoughts actively.

Sometimes I told obvious lies.

I fell in love with children’s books and always begged to read them.

The once lovable child became even more lovable as time passed.

Vishka increased his work.

I started doing things during the day that I used to do only at night.

Because Belle had me, I didn’t feel Vishka’s absence too much, but I felt sorry for Vishka.

Smart Vishka always thought about the future.

Since she couldn’t raise Belle like that forever, she tried to save as much money as possible.

Once we have enough money, the three of us can set off and find a truly happy life.

But even she, as smart as she was, could not have predicted the twisted jealousy of humans.

Vishka, who was young, beautiful, smart, and able to please men, boasted the highest price in the palace.

But despite earning so much money, unlike other prostitutes, she did not enjoy luxury.

Where is all that money being spent?

Or are you even spending money in the first place?

The natural question, and the answer that followed, was clear.

Other prostitutes noticed that she was saving up money to quit her job.

They were jealous of Vishka.

She was young, beautiful, smart, and knew how to discipline herself for the future.

They were clearly doing the same thing, but Vishka was a completely different kind of person than them.

Unlike themselves, who had no future, Vishka’s future seemed very bright.

They felt it was unfair and decided to bring her down to the same position as them.

Vishka could not understand their intentions.

They were not struggling to escape from their own misfortune, but were struggling to bring down happy people, and they were literally a completely different type of person from Vishka.

Prostitutes gathered street vagrants.

And he told them that Vishka had saved hundreds of millions of money.

The vagabonds were in trouble.

A huge amount of money is hidden in a house where a woman lives alone.

She boasts the highest price in Changgwan and is like a pie in the sky to vagabonds.

It was like a table prepared just for eating.

The good news was that there was at least one conscientious person by Vishka’s side.

Vishka heard about the situation from a fellow prostitute.

A group of people who are jealous of her will use the vagabonds to commit robberies.

We acted quickly.

Since she was a prostitute, there was no need to clean up her affairs, so she took only money and small belongings and ran away.

However, the vagabonds who were watching immediately chased after them, and it was impossible for two helpless women and a small child to avoid the pursuit of the men.

In the end, Vishka made a decision.

The tramps don’t know about me and Belle.

Therefore, once she is caught, the chase is over.

I noticed Vishka’s thoughts.

Needless to say, over the past three years, I have become another Vishka.

“I will stay. I am your replacement. In this case, what remains is the role of a replacement product.”

I suggested to Vishka.

It was a reasonable opinion.

I am her replacement, an alter ego created by Belle, a fake human.

Living humans and fake humans. It was clear which of the two had to make the sacrifice.

“Belle needs her mom. So run away, Vishka.”

I thought that if she was smart, she would definitely understand.

“That’s right. Belle needs her mom.”

She seemed to agree.

“But, since I was busy working, I wasn’t by Belle’s side… I think you, who were always with me, are my real mother.”

“…What?”

“When I came home from work last night… I saw Belle asleep in your arms. Belle… He was smiling like he was really happy.”

“What? What are you talking about? Why, why are you saying that?”

“The fairy tale that was at Belle’s bedside… I’ve never read that book before.”

“What’s important about that? You can read as many fairy tales as you like. After you survive, you can do whatever you want!”

“For Belle’s happiness, I need you.”

“What is that… . I’m fake, I’m an illusion!”

Vishka said, holding my shoulder.

“Vishka. From now on, you are the real Vishka. Please, protect Belle. Make Belle happy. Don’t replace me, but be the real me.”

I couldn’t understand it.

I couldn’t understand.

Why is smart Vishka acting so foolish and frustrating?

I’m fake.

You are the real mother.

Why are you trying to die in place of a fake?

“I am a greedy person. The happiness of my daughter and the happiness of my friend who is like my alter ego. I don’t want to lose anything.”

“……”

In the end, I had no choice but to choose to survive.

Because I was an alter ego that could not disobey the orders of the ‘main body’.

Even with the ‘main body’ in front of my eyes that was about to be trampled and die horribly, I had no choice but to run away.

Because he was such a helpless being.

*

A lot of time has passed since then, and a lot has changed.

Belle stopped calling me mom.

Has he accepted the fact that his real mother is dead, or has he forgotten that he even had a mother?

Bell didn’t tell the truth.

I honed my own weapon.

Because I can’t be helpless again.

To protect Belle, who is more precious than anything else in this world, for my precious friend and ‘main body’.

Strong strength was needed.

At first, he opened a store in the slums and had his self-immolators make money.

When I saved up money, I opened a business in a more prosperous area.

Gradually, my alter egos began to seep into the empire, and my alter egos were incorporated not only among the magistrates but also among women in general.

Knowledge is power.

The only power I had was information.

All the clones spread across the empire saw and heard was fragmentary information.

But when the fragments came together, it was possible to complete one huge picture.

Through this, I was able to understand all the big and small events that occurred throughout the empire, and while keeping Belle safe, I was also able to manipulate events to my will.

Around that time people started calling me Banshee.

A banshee, a female fairy in legend, predicted ‘death’ and announced it to people through crying.

So, when a banshee cries, it is said that a person will die, and it was treated as an ominous entity.

I thought the name Banshee was appropriate.

Because most of my information was closely related to someone’s ‘death’.

But more than that, I liked the fact that the banshee’s cry contained mourning for the dead.

Because the noble death that I had to mourn for the rest of my life was nestled in a corner of my heart.

*

*

The director visited the isolation room.

– Tell Veronica that I will come to rescue her, so just wait patiently.

The world seemed to be falling apart at the thought that Belle had been kidnapped, but funny enough, his words put me at ease.

Since when did I start to trust the director so much?

Not long ago, I was planning all kinds of tricks to kill him.

‘Is that why…? .’

None of the traps and schemes worked on the director.

No matter how complicated the situation was, he always brought about the best outcome.

Once or twice is just a coincidence,

If it happens more than ten times, it is a miracle.

If that happens every time, it’s an ability.

The director can see the future.

It is even possible to change the future.

Until a few years ago, it was thought that his power came from his excellent information network and excellent reasoning and insight.

Because I too was able to predict the future by collecting information from all over the empire.

But no.

I planted an alter ego in the management bureau’s information network to monitor information going to the director. There was no particularly great information, and it was only weaker than the information network I had.

Numerous eyes and ears were placed around the management bureau to monitor whether the director was going undercover. But he didn’t go out unless there was something special to do.

No matter how crazy your reasoning skills are, if you don’t have information, it’s useless.

He is getting information from somewhere.

And that’s information with a hit rate close to 100%, without anyone knowing.

That’s why he can see the future.

There is no other way to explain his power.

Additionally, recently, I began to think that simply looking into the future is not the end.

No matter how much you can see the future, it is impossible to always achieve the best results while looking at the ever-changing future.

Perhaps his true power lies in choosing possibility.

The power to select and ‘confirm’ the one you want among numerous future possibilities.

A gift that allows you to manipulate the incomprehensible realm of the future at will.

No, I don’t even know if that power can simply be called a gift.

Maybe the power he has is the power of God?

Then, what exactly is the director, a man named Siegfried?

These questions that arise from time to time quickly dissipate like smoke.

Whether he has the power of God or a brilliant mind.

Whether he is a divine being or an ordinary human being.

It’s not important at all.

What matters to me is whether he can protect Belle on a helpless day.

To find out, even if you have the power of God, you have to test it.

This will probably be the last exam.

If he were the director, he would save Belle just to show off.

As always.