‘I read because I liked that kind of thing.'
As I was thinking about this and looking at Naran, his expression seemed strange.
His big eyes widened even more, and his mouth opened slightly.
"…What did you say?"
“I loved her.”
When I said that without hesitation, his eyes widened even more.
'Does he think my taste is weird too?'
Of course, I'm now in Lizzie Alheim's body.
That is, my appearance is very innocent and holy.
No wonder it's hard to believe I have skewed taste.
“I know it's hard to understand.”
“…….”
"But I really like this type. I'm not lying, really."
I sent him a sincere look.
'Didn't I love the movie Friday the 13th the most when I was little?'
Loving gory scenes doesn't necessarily mean a bad thing.
Of course reality and fantasy have to be separated, but I just love the excitement that fantasy provides.
So, please respect my taste.
Naran kept staring at me silently.
She smiled at him lightly.
“Won't you show me? How to use it.”
I'd like to see it once.
“...Do you love her?”
“Yes. It may be hard to believe, but I really like her.”
“…….”
Naran slowly turned his gaze and opened his mouth to speak.
"…It is enough."
"What?"
“It's getting boring.”
What is this?
Was my response that bad?
I was excited and anticipating, and finally like this.
But I hid my disappointment, and spoke in a soft, friendly tone:
“Okay. But if you want to show me again, you have to tell me, promise?”
Usually, shouting or urging does not work for such children.
'Anyway, I'll be here for three months, so I'll see her at least once.'
At that moment, I heard my stomach growling.
Oh, right, I haven't eaten yet.
This is what I came for...
I felt embarrassed and a little lazy, and I was depressed, until Naran opened his mouth and stared at me.
“You said you were looking for the kitchen, right?”
"Yes."
I shook my head, and Naran took his steps and said:
“From here.”
Yes!
“Are you going to take me there?!”
She asked happily, and he narrowed his eyes.
“This corridor was intentionally made to make it difficult to find your way through. Those who were being tortured, or… those invited, should not escape without permission.”
“So you want to guide me?”
“Lizzy, you are a valuable hostage.”
Naran smiled lightly.
He returned to the image I knew of Naran Kayin.
When we reached the kitchen, Naran summoned a red-haired woman who looked like the butler.
“Will you bear responsibility if the hostage dies of starvation?”
“I'm sorry, sir. I'll definitely take care of it.”
Naran bowed in front of her, smiling sweetly.
“Of course. If anything happens to Lizzie, your life alone will not be enough to apologize. Go.”
Before the dazzled woman moved away from the horror of the situation, she gave me a sharp look and whispered:
“If you stay in the room, I will make sure the food is served on time.”
Did you feel blamed because of me? There was some displeasure in her eyes.
“Dessert is also preferable.”
I said that with an innocent smile, and she responded with a small, surprised laugh.
Naran watched this quietly while laughing lightly.
“Okay, let's go back now.”
Naran told me:
“No matter what, you can't wander into the palace without permission.”
I followed him willingly.
Even as we walked up the stairs after leaving the kitchen, Naran kept staring at me silently, his eyes holding something difficult to understand.
❖ ❖ ❖
Shortly after I returned to the room, one of the maids came carrying a tray of food.
This was my first meal here.
I sat chewing a piece of bread as I rethought what had happened a while ago.
'I can't believe I met two firemen...'
Naran, the youngest of Kayin's brothers, was a beautiful boy like an angel, but in reality he had the deepest and strangest souls among the three brothers.
This is because he has a strong feeling of inferiority towards his two brothers, especially Arkell.
Naran was an extraordinary child with superior intelligence and keen intuition, but he was always compared to his sister Martha and brother Arkell who were abnormally strong.
The eldest sister, Martha, was the most ambitious of the Cayenne family, adept at politics, negotiations, and all manner of outward cunning.
As for the middle brother, Arkell, he was not as ambitious as Martha, but he was undisputedly the strongest in the world.
Since his childhood, Naran has been constantly compared to them, suffering from discrimination and jealousy.
Although the original novel follows Jin Alheim as the protagonist, what happened to the Kayin family can be understood from Naran's statements midway through the novel.
When Jin infiltrated Kaien's house, he first wanted to get rid of the animal-intuitive Naran, so he spread false rumors that Naran planned to kill his brother and sister and become the head of the family.
Even Martha, who did not believe it at first, was convinced by Jane's false evidence, and eventually executed Naran.
Before his execution, Naran looked at Martha and sneered:
“You stupid sister, do you really think I did that?”
“In your smart eyes, everyone looks stupid. Naran, I knew from a young age that you hated us.”
“Haha… Yes, I hated you. I even wanted to kill you. If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have cursed myself, but actually killed you…! Is it my fault that I wasn’t as good as you?!”
That was the scene in which Naran lost his temper for the first time, screaming madly after always being accustomed to smiling calmly and confidently.
Then Martha took matters into her own hands and snapped his neck directly, considering this the last favor she could do him.
At the time, I thought it was just an exciting scene, but when I thought that I had met this person directly, I felt a strange feeling.
'He didn't seem that evil to me.'
When I thought back to Naran's last words before his death, I felt something strange in my heart.
'Maybe his immersion in his workshop was just a desperate attempt to cling to his own world.'
‘……’
This feeling of Naran was not completely foreign to me.
I also sought refuge in another world to avoid feeling helpless in reality.
Besides, Naran is still young...
Now he is just a collector of torture tools and has never harmed anyone, but years later he will become a real torture freak, and he keeps suspecting the undercover Jin in everything, persistently wanting to torture him.
That's why Jin was going to remove it first...
However, I felt that a simple interest would have been enough to prevent him from getting this far.
'Oh, right.'
Naran used to say that he cleaned his workshop himself every morning.
'...Maybe I can help him?'
The workshop is quite large, so having an extra hand would be helpful.
If I can win him over like this, my life here will be easier.
I would also love to explore the workshop longer…
'Because loneliness is an annoying feeling.'
In fact, it was nice to have someone share my simple daily life.
❖ ❖ ❖
The next morning.
I quietly opened my eyes and left the room.
Today too, there was no one guarding the door.
'I'll be back before the food is ready.'
I went down the stairs and crossed the wide hall, remembering the way.
Looks like I was here...'
As I was examining my surroundings, I heard a voice calling to me:
“Lizzie?”
I turned to see Naran looking at me in amazement.
He was carrying a bucket of cloth, and seemed to be on his way to the workshop.
Naran smiled lightly, as if he found the situation amusing.
“See you back here. What a rebellious hostage.”
“You're going to the workshop, aren't you?”
He seemed surprised by my knowledge, so I told him directly:
“I overheard that you clean the workshop yourself every morning. So...”
I looked at him with kind eyes and said:
“I want to help you. Can I?”
“Help clean the workshop? Why, Lizzy?”
I wanted to win his favor and make my life easier here, and I did not tell him that it was because I felt pity.
“Like I said yesterday, because I like it.”
In a situation like this, I prefer to rely on my taste.
She smiled innocently at him.
As I said yesterday, we have the same taste.
As a horror movie fan for over a decade, I was confident that I would take care of his collection without scratching a single item.
Real tools are expensive.
“...Haha.”
Naran laughed lightly, looking at me with a strange expression.
Then he looked at me with slanted eyes, a slight smile on his lips.
“Why are you only telling me what I want to hear since yesterday?”
"What do you mean?"
"Now I understand. You want something from me, don't you? But it's useless."
He smiled artificially, a little frightened, and said:
“Even if you do, I won't be able to release you.”
“I don't want you to release me.”
"So what's your goal? I admit I'm easier than facing Arkle or my sister Martha. Well, listen to me."
“I told you, I want to help you clean the workshop.”
“Then why- ha… well.”
Despite his sarcasm, I answered without hesitation, and Naran sighed.
'Does he still not believe my taste?'
His cold reaction last time and it's all undoubtedly because of my childish appearance, this seven-year-old face... really a problem.
I decided to finally assure him.
If he doesn't believe me now, I'll tell him a favorite scene from a horror movie, and then he won't believe it.
I said in a low, clear voice:
“I really like this.”
I was about to say your workshop-
When Naran suddenly shouted:
“Enough, enough-!”
He suddenly interrupted me.
“Don't lie. There's something you want, isn't there? Why else would...”
His face is confused, he runs his hand through his front hair violently.
“I don't understand...”
Under his messy black hair, his face was blushing.
“How could anyone love someone like me...”
huh?
I didn't mean you...
But Naran, not knowing my intentions, looked completely bewildered.
“Why would you care about trash like me...”
There it was again, that lack of self-confidence.
“It's not like that.”
Naran was surprised by my words, then he smiled as if it was expected.
“See? I knew... that lie about you loving me and all that...”
“You're not a bad person, Naran.”
"What…?"
Naran kept looking at me silently.
~
Translated by Len Sunada