C 12
I froze with my eyes wide open in the unexpected situation.
I fell under his feet, and the stuffed tiger I was holding rolled away.
<Erno Etham's madness sometimes manifested even when he wore a magical power-restraining accessory.
Not long ago, while we were eating together in the greenhouse, he had an attack, went berserk, and killed dozens of people. He only regained his composure after the incident.
After that day, he was detained for a while and earned the title "the monster of the Etham family.">
I opened my eyes wide at the scene from the novel that suddenly appeared in my head.
"So that scene was today."
I hadn't paid it much attention because I ate with him in the greenhouse almost every day.
"No, this can't happen..."
After that incident, Erno Etham really closed the door to his heart except for the two brothers who were his sons.
But why does this novel focus on the heroine's fate?
Erno Etham also gradually changed due to the heroine's ability to calm his madness.
Of course, it was portrayed as if he was close to her only to take advantage of the heroine...
Even if the heroine wanted something, Erno Etham would give her everything.
After this, Duke Miriel would definitely bring the heroine, and everything would flow like the novel's plot.
"However..."
It seems he's in a lot of pain.
"Hey, no one can stop him when he goes berserk. While Father resists, let's go as our father told us."
After talking to Silian, Callan ran towards me, took my hand, and said those words.
When Callan took my hand, I couldn't simply walk away.
The stuffed tiger lying on the floor seemed to be crying.
"It's true that the doll isn't the real Erno Etham, but..."
But, I want to save him.
Since I knew better than anyone how painful it is to be ignored in the most difficult times.
"What do I have to do?"
I immediately racked my brain.
"Ah, then..."
Suddenly, I remembered something, then clenched my fist.
At the end of the original story, there was a medicine to calm the madness.
It wasn't the medicine the heroine invented. In fact, it was the herb that Callan Etham would discover later.
Since today's incident, Callan had been continuously developing the sedative, and the herb he discovered became the main ingredient of the medicine.
However, if the herb is consumed raw for a long time, it can cause side effects...
Now is not the time to contemplate that.
"Brother... I won't leave my father!"
I pulled away the hand Callan was holding onto, then ran towards the forest inside the greenhouse.
"Eh! Where are you going? Are you crazy?!"
I heard Callan Etham calling me, but I kept running as fast as I could.
"If Father were on probation because of the incident here..."
I closed my eyes tightly.
"My money can fly!"
My reward!
Investment money for a happy and exciting future!
... And it's too soon to wake up from that dream.
... I don't want to.
<—Damn it, we're so stupid. I didn't expect the herb to be so close.
"Well, who would have known it would be in Father's greenhouse...?"
"This herb bears red fruits all year round, right? The climate here is always like early summer. Did Mother already know about this?"
"I'm not sure... It's a plant that grows where it's warmer and covered with a big shadow. Maybe this is a gift our mother gave us, so they sent us here.">
Although I was out of breath, I racked my brain and explored my memories.
Then, I remembered the scene where Callan Etham, who had just successfully developed the medicine, spoke with Silian Etham.
That's enough information.
"The warmest place, covered by a big shadow, red fruits..."
I finally found that herb as soon as I entered the spacious greenhouse.
The small red fruit, about the size of a pinky finger and cracked from ripening, was in the shade under a very large zelkova tree...
The problem is that there are many thorns on the flowers.
It will surely hurt if I touch them with my hand, but saving someone's life is more important than that.
I don't like pain, so I tried to carefully pick the fruit only.
I shook the jewelry bag I had with me in case of emergencies.
"It's regrettable..."
But I can pick it up later.
I set the jewels aside and filled the bag with fruits.
I got up from my seat after collecting the fruits with both fists.
Even though I only picked the fruits, I couldn't avoid being scratched by the thorns, so a few drops of my blood mixed with the fruits. However, it wasn't very noticeable.
I immediately returned to the original area. Contrary to my racing heart, my feet stumbled several times, resulting in numerous falls.
"Grrr..."
"Ugh, h-help... please..."
When I arrived, the dining table had rolled onto the floor, and a servant whose neck was being strangled was struggling and crying.
He growled like a beast that seemed to have lost his mind. It wasn't the Erno Etham who was always calm.
Gulp, I'm scared.
I immediately ran towards him and grabbed the hem of his pants.
"Father..."
I called out to him while hitting his legs.
His gaze, which had already turned red as if he felt an itching sensation, landed on me.
Erno Etham narrowed his eyes, smiled as if he had found a new prey, and then threw the servant to the ground.
"Hyuk, hyuk!"
The barely escaped servant crawled on the ground to flee. This time, Erno Etham's hand turned towards me.
"Hey! You, where were you...?"
Callan Etham appeared from among the bushes, sweating profusely as if he had been searching for me.
"Father!"
I turned towards Callan Etham. At that moment, my feet were already in the air.
Erno Etham grabbed the back of my neck. It was as if I were floating in the air.
When he tried to strangle me with his other hand, I immediately flew towards his face.
Like a cricket clinging to an old tree.
It was at the moment when he hesitated as if he hadn't expected it.
"Now."
I placed the fruit in Erno Etham's mouth.
The crushed fruit filled his mouth.
"It's a bit mixed with my blood, but it'll be fine."
I covered his mouth with my hands, afraid he might spit out the fruit.
While I desperately hung on and covered his mouth, he waved his hand in the air to let me go but ended up losing his balance and falling backward.
He sat on the ground and stopped moving.
"Did it work?"
I quickly moved my hand to the bag to take out fresh fruit.
Perhaps it was too much for my small hand, but the fruit fell and scattered on the floor.
"Oh no..."
My body trembled with fear. The tips of my fingers were a mess of dirt and small scratches.
Bum, bum, bum.
His murderous gaze pressed down on me.
I'm afraid of people when they're angry. Everyone in my family would get angry when they saw me. I thought I had made a mistake.
"It's okay. This isn't that house."
I tried to shake off the unsettling memories and picked up the fruit that was falling to the ground.
There was a hand reaching out.
"Do you need this?"
It was Callan Etham's hand.
I couldn't respond and just nodded, then he picked up the fruit that had fallen to the ground and placed it in my trembling hand.
I'll put the fruit back in Erno Etham's mouth.
However, an extremely large hand reached out and gently held the back of my trembling hand.
It was Erno Etham's hand.
My eyes widened. His bloodshot eyes had returned to their original state.
"Father...?"
"...Yes. It seems you're hurt, daughter."
He frowned and looked at my hands.
"Father... Don't be angry... I'm scared..."
Only then did the belated fear set in.
I couldn't hold back the tears that welled up in my eyes, so I cried and told him through tears.
He stood up and hugged me tightly.
"...Yes, it's okay now."
He patted my head as usual. Within his arms, the tears I had held back burst forth with a brief sigh.
"Waaaah...!"
"Shhh, it's okay..."
After sobbing and crying for a long time, I finally glanced at the floor.
The stuffed tiger that was on the floor was covered in dirt everywhere.
"My daddy's plushie..."
I reached out to pick up the plushie, but my body wouldn't listen to me.
"I also need to pick up the jewels that spilled earlier..."
I fell asleep because the tension was over.
I shook my head to dispel my drowsiness, but I couldn't finally overcome the drowsiness that kept coming...
My vision suddenly darkened.
