“How long has it been, anyway.”

Rebecca bent her knees and lowered her body, locking eyes with me as she slowly caressed my face.

“You’ve been well, haven’t you? You look better. I hardly recognized you.”

“……”

“Looks like you’re surprised. I didn’t expect to see you in a place like this either. Will you tell your mother how it’s been there? Are people treating you well?”

“……”

“Why are you so tightlipped? Don’t they teach you manners there? You’re supposed to answer when an adult asks you something.”

“……Yes.”

I barely managed to utter a word, moistening my lips. Rebecca rolled her eyes; my rigid demeanor seemed to frustrate her.

“I guess I don’t need you to tell me you’re doing well. You’ve gained some weight. Your skin has become softer too.”

I didn’t know whether I had responded or not. All I could feel was my increasingly rapid breath, and I was just gasping for air.

‘It’s okay, it’s okay.’

Rebecca brushed through my hair as if combing it. The more she did, the more tangled my hair became, and tension built up in my head.

“Ugh!”

“Didn’t you want to see your mother? I visited several times.”

‘You came looking for me?’

My surprised expression slightly narrowed Rebecca’s brow.

“Oh, right. They didn’t tell you? I suppose they wouldn’t, after they rudely kicked me out. How could they tell my daughter that?”

“Why, why did you….”

“Why? Lill, you’re my daughter. Does a mother need a reason to visit her daughter?”

Rebecca grinned widely. I felt my heart drop as I lowered my gaze. Freckles were visible on her wrist.

“Why do I bother with such a disobedient child. That’s why they say you can’t ignore the emotional investment of raising a child, right?”

Rebecca gently patted my head.

“You may not know, but you shouldn’t cross me. You’ll eventually have to come back to me anyway….”

Her voice, usually so melodious, now trembled with hurried breath. Suddenly, Rebecca frantically rummaged through her pocket.

“Br, br, breath, he, hey, my medication, wait a moment.”

Her hand left my body. This was my chance to run. No, this was the only chance to escape.

I immediately turned and took a step.

“How dare you!”

The place Rebecca had brought me to wasn’t far from where the children were. The thought struck me and I stopped running.

‘What if I run there?’

What if Rebecca goes after those kids too?

Bang!

A powerful blast resonated from behind, strong enough to shake the ground. I halted and turned to look.

“Urgh, ack!”

The first thing I saw was Rebecca, pushed against a wall. She was suspended in midair.

Dark energy oscillated around her neck. Clutching her throat with both hands, Rebecca choked.

Her feet quivered in the air. Her eyes widened in fear as she flailed about.

I slowly followed the line of energy to its source. A boy was emanating it.

“Sa, save, save me.”

“Quiet.”

The ashhaired boy who was facing Rebecca spoke.

He had ashcolored hair. The boy turned his head slightly sideways as Rebecca moaned.

“Shut up.”

As he spoke, Rebecca’s mouth closed tightly. Struggling ceased, and at some point, her body went limp.

The energy holding her dispersed into the surroundings and vanished. Rebecca collapsed onto the floor.

I covered my mouth with both hands at the sight. The ashhaired boy turned his head to look at me.

“It’s no big deal,” he said nonchalantly.
“I didn’t kill her because she seemed familiar.”

“……”

“Should I have killed her?”

Startled by his question, I quickly shook my head. The boy just shrugged his shoulders at me.

“So she was that kind of girl.”

Just then, a voice came from right next to me. It was the same voice as the boy who had been speaking with me earlier.

Startled, I lost my balance and fell flat on my behind.

“Why are you falling over by yourself?”

The person standing next to me was another boy who looked exactly like the one I had just seen. He cocked his head, looking at me with an expression that said he found me strange.

He twirled a slingshot in one hand.

‘Could it be the one who threw the stone earlier…?’

Just then, another boy in front of Rebecca spoke again.

“Dayban, let’s go.”

“Aren’t you curious? About the daughter Father brought?”

“Not really.”

“Don’t be like that, come and see. She really has black hair just like Father.”

“I can see that from here.”

I was busy turning my head from side to side, following their conversation. Two boys with the same appearance, the same voice.

Their indifferent demeanor even after seeing a woman fall right before them.

“So, you didn’t kill her? You acted like you were going to.”

“She’s someone I know.”

“Is that so?”

I looked back and forth between the two and muttered to myself.

“Mikael, Dayban…”

Both boys’ gazes were instantly fixed on me.

A hint of interest emerged in the boy in front of Rebecca, and a smile formed on the lips of the boy who had come close to me.

“Do you know us?”

“Father probably told you. Or maybe my brother did.”

‘Actually, I know because of the original story.’