episode_0203

A memory from some time ago.

It was a familiar hospital room, and a familiar sight of white.

The angel with a frail body would often smile brightly.

Always clinging to the boy as if overjoyed.

“Oppa!”

What could have made you so happy?

Even though the world abandoned you and treated you harshly.

“Hehehe!”

“I was brave with Nurse Unnie again today!”

You never lost your smile.

Even if you cried sometimes, and were scared… in the end, you would smile brightly.

If you asked how I endured those days, my answer, without hesitation, would be you.

Because you were my everything. My wish was for you to live even one more day.

Precisely because of that, I couldn’t be a good guardian.

Because I could rarely stay by your side.

“Oppa… are you leaving…?”

“You just got here. The sun hasn’t even set yet, and I’m not even sleepy…”

I’m sorry.

I have deliveries piled up, so I think I have to go right away.

“But you said you’d stay with me late today… it was a lie again.”

Forgive me.

Instead, I’ll stay with you all day this weekend.

Of course, Oppa wants to be with his little sibling too.

“You said that last time and didn’t keep it.”

“Oppa is a liar.”

This time, I really mean it. Believe me.

I’ll pinky swear.

That I’ll definitely be with you all day on the weekend.

“Really…?”

“Hehe, then I’ll forgive you.”

“But you have to be careful at work, okay?”

The pinky finger they had so painstakingly linked.

However, that promise was not kept.

Because the person from the previous shift didn’t show up, I had to cover their duties.

In the end, you were alone even on the weekend. How hard I struggled to appease your sulking back then…

It wasn’t just that time; we were always like this.

“Oppa is a liar.”

I was a liar.

At least in my relationship with you, I could count on one hand the times I actually kept my promises.

To you, who would soon leave, I repeated only the cruelest lies.

Using the excuse that I just wanted you to smile.

‘I…’

I’ll be back early tomorrow.

I’ll definitely be with you next weekend.

Oppa will surely make you well.

Once you’re well, I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.

Once you’re well, I’ll buy you anything you want.

‘Liar.’

A lie.

Over a lie, another lie.

And over the thickly piled ones, a new lie.

The foolishly layered lies became a single life.

I was a person walking among collapsed blocks.

Leaving crimson marks on the soles of my feet.

‘I’ll always be by your side.’

A promise whispered hundreds, thousands of times.

Knowing I couldn’t keep it, I pinky swore with you countless times.

And, using that moment as an excuse, I walked away from you.

I pushed myself into the dirt, piling up bricks and cement.

I thought that was for your sake.

“Oppa… I’m scared.”

“Can’t you just stay by my side until I fall asleep, just for tonight?”

“I won’t ask for this again next time…”

Poor child.

I should have spent more time with you.

You must have been lonely. You must have been scared.

I simply turned my back, saying I had no money, saying it was for the future.

Even while hearing your sobs, I made excuses, saying it couldn’t be helped.

I lied countless times like that.

“Oppa is a liar.”

Sorry.

“Oppa is a liar.”

I’m sorry.

“Oppa is a liar.”

If I could turn back time, I would have spent more time with you then.

I would have shared more stories, left more happiness, and wouldn’t have made you feel lonely.

I wouldn’t have created such deep regret and a sense of loss.

It was only after standing before your memorial that I thought.

Looking at you smiling through the photo frame.

“Liar.”

It was too late.

The quietly accumulated lies pierced through my very core.

Perhaps this was why my ability itself was a lie.

It was something a mere person like me wouldn’t know.

I merely…

“Ah.”

…still missed you.

***

Several days had already passed since returning to the academy.

Even the spring season was now gradually taking on the heat of early summer.

The vast sky painted the background with a vibrant blue hue.

It was summer. A time to jokingly add such a footnote.

I reflected on the greenery visible outside the window.

“……”

What touched the tip of my nose was the scent of grass blades.

Through the half-open window, a gentle breeze seeped in.

I was lost in thought.

“Liar.”

Was it because of the old memory?

A sinking feeling for no reason.

It seemed the previous nightmare had left lingering aftereffects.

I briefly fiddled with the teacup in my hand.

‘Of all things… memories of a past life.’

It was good to see a familiar face after a long time, but I couldn’t help the bitter aftertaste.

A scene that wouldn’t fade. Everyone must carry at least one such moment.

In my case, it was just a little darker than others.

I made an effort to shake off the wave of distracting thoughts.

Then, I raised my head.

“Ahem.”

An old man sat across from me.

Blue eyes gazed at me without a word.

With a cough, I gathered my lagging consciousness.

Breaking the slight silence.

“My apologies. I got lost in thought for a moment.”

“It’s fine. Rather, why don’t you get to the purpose of your sudden visit?”

“Don’t you already know? Even Dean-nim must have expected it.”

“Well. Perhaps because I’ve been swamped with work lately, I’m not as sharp as I used to be.”

“You’re lying without even wetting your lips [a phrase for brazen lying].”

“Isn’t it the same for both of us?”

I was in the Dean’s office.

This time too, there were a few things I needed to confirm.

As if even this had been read by him, he had prepared teacups even before my arrival.

Two cups of black tea neatly placed, as if the timing had been perfectly matched.

And then he pretends not to know… I gazed at the Dean with slightly fed-up eyes.

This old man also had a subtly cunning side, no less than the original Yuda.

I glanced sideways for a moment before speaking.

“Then… shall we get straight to the point?”

There was no need for ice-breaking.

After all, he must already know what point I was going to make.

Adding a separate introduction would be inefficient, so I would just ask.

In a way, it was also convenient.

Because there was no need to explain.

“I’ve recently learned a few interesting facts.”

The Emperor, Valkaros.

The former head of the Beniti family.

And finally, the Lord.

I had gathered various clues in the meantime.

I had constantly been unable to shake off the creeping doubts.

“The recent events… you were always behind them.”

“And several years ahead of time at that.”

First. Regia, the protagonist of this world.

Before her enrollment, the girl who had been wandering the continent was suddenly scouted by an old man she met on her travels.

The one who wrote the recommendation letter for her to enter Gallimard Academy was none other than the Dean himself.

To explain this in simpler terms, it meant he brought the protagonist onto the stage.

Behind Regia’s turning point, the old man was positioned.

This was merely the beginning.

“Gaston Gallimard.”

“He informed me about the curse sharing.”

“To be precise, it was merely advice to look into the imperial library…”

“Thanks to that, I was able to save Elize.”

According to Valkaros’s testimony, the Dean was also the one who had intervened in the imperial family.

Elize, a turning point that affected not only the frail girl but also Charlotte.

The old man had been involved in both of their lives.

And it didn’t stop there.

“This letter will probably be my last testament.”

“Gaston Gallimard. I should thank that troublesome old man.”

“If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have been able to choose this end.”

“Despite everything, he’s a good old man.”

The former head of Beniti.

The letter left by Emilia’s father also contained the following.

Words written with such composure, just before he was assassinated by his own younger brother.

It was as if someone had told him what was going to happen.

The Dean was also present at Emilia’s turning point.

“Didn’t you ever find it strange?”

“Neria. How was the kingdom able to find that child?”

“Who tipped them off about that child’s existence?”

“Gaston Gallimard… the Dean of that place.”

The Lord had said something similar.

Neria, who had been living in hiding for several years in the deep northern frontier.

The one who had given information about her to the Lord was none other than the Dean.

He was invariably present at the Vice-Commander’s turning point.

“Teacher-nim.”

In Selena’s case, it went without saying.

She was his adopted disciple from childhood, and their relationship was no different from father and daughter.

If Gaston hadn’t been there, she wouldn’t have become a professor.

The old man’s trace was embedded even in such a turning point.

‘If so.’

A reasonable premise can be established.

The premise that the Dean was involved in the turning points of the main characters.

I recalled the setting for the only remaining character, Irene.

The fox who was an orphan from childhood. That’s why Irene was raised by her teacher.

To be precise, when she was a newborn, someone entrusted Irene to her teacher.

The identity of that ‘someone’ wasn’t explicitly written in the lore book…

But at this point, it was a sufficiently inferable part.

“Surely, even that was you?”

“……”

The old man did not answer.

Of course. The restriction placed by the world must still be in effect.

I, too, had no intention of getting anything out of this old man.

I just wanted to organize my thoughts.

“Hoo…”

It was a question I had been confident about from the beginning.

I let out a soft sigh.

The old man was connected to every past event.

As if he had set up a single grand scheme.

At this point, then, I had no choice but to ask the old man.

I knew no answer would come, but it was a single word, almost unavoidable.

If only to clarify the complex timeline.

“Who… exactly are you?”

These were parts that were not revealed in the original story.

To explain it as the butterfly effect, it was already a problem of a different dimension.

How far away was the destiny the old man carried, and the world itself?

How deeply had it infiltrated the main story?

I pondered inwardly.

“……”

Only silence returned.

The restriction placed on the Dean had many questionable aspects.

In some parts, it allowed answers, but in others, it demanded silence.

Sometimes, it unsparingly took away a hand. The old man still had one hand missing.

But sometimes, he was allowed a little conversation. We had discussed sensitive topics a few times.

Because of that, I couldn’t get a grasp of it. Where exactly was the ‘line’ the world allowed?

What defined the boundary where the old man’s answers diverged?

It seemed, this time, I had crossed the line.

‘Was I wrong?’

It seemed to be in vain.

I sighed lightly and sipped from the cooled teacup.

Then, the old man, who had been maintaining silence, suddenly parted his lips.

An answer came to my question.

“Your question was wrong.”

“Hmm…?”

“What you should question is not what I am, is it?”

His blue eyes gleamed.

Pupils as deep as the abyss.

“You should question what *you* are.”

“……”

“The Book of Truth, Chapter 3, Verse 14. Dolls do not cry.”

It was a familiar verse from the Bible.

The surrounding air grew heavy.

I gazed at the old man with my eyes half-closed.

In his aged pupils, only the boy with golden hair was reflected.

The words that followed felt like treading on a blade.

“The Snakers family.”

The point where I was possessed.

And Yuda’s ancestral home.

“Go there. To the place of your origin.”

The old man was talking about home.