My Name is ‘Misa’ (4)
***
Rain was falling.
Between the two of us, rain fell, soaked with the regret of scars from memories that could not be erased.
-Swaaah.
Michail was looking at me.
He stood there, staring at me with rain-soaked eyes, without saying a word.
His lips twitched as if he wanted to say something, but Michail clenched his eyes shut and his shoulders trembled.
“I...”
What had happened?
Michail was trembling like someone who had been frightened. He couldn’t meet my eyes properly, his pupils trembling, unsure where to rest.
I didn’t know what had happened, but I gave a small smile as I looked into Michail’s melancholic eyes.
“Misa.”
As always.
I couldn’t say anything.
“Misa.”
I couldn’t respond to his gentle voice. I couldn’t even manage the simple word “Yes,” nor could I meet his gaze.
Michail couldn’t think of what to say, or how to begin. He didn’t dare to open his mouth.
Those red eyes staring at him.
Just looking at his back, the shoulders he once hated, made Michail’s heart ache.
-Swaaah.
Ricardo, who was standing in the rain without an umbrella, was smiling. He was showing me that same smile I had once despised, the one I never understood. r�
My heart hurt.
It hurt so much... it was hard to even breathe.
“...I.”
What had I done?
“I...”
Who had I hated?
“I... I.”
Why had I done it?
A tidal wave of unbearable regret crashed over me. Even if I wanted to deny it, the regret that gripped my heart was undeniable.
Don’t speak carelessly.
My heart was pounding wildly, as if telling me, “How dare you lift your head?”
“Are you okay?”
Ricardo looked at me with worried eyes.
-Are you okay?
-Don’t pretend to care, it’s disgusting.
-...Seeing you talk like that, you seem fine.
His voice, along with the mistakes of the past, echoed in my ears.
“Misa, you don’t look well. It’s raining like this, and you don’t even have an umbrella...”
-Are you a training freak? It’s raining like this, why are you training?
-Don’t worry about it. It’s none of your business.
-Still.
-Don’t cover me with your filthy hands...!
The umbrella I had dropped on the ground back then flashed before my eyes.
Ricardo’s pitiful expression overlapped with the image of that child in my memory. The child who always smiled at me and never said anything unpleasant. Ricardo’s smile overlapped with his.
I had finally found the path I had been searching for at the crossroads I had wandered for so long. I had learned not only that the child was alive, but also who he was and what his goals were. Yet here I was, unable to say anything, just standing still.
Michail couldn’t meet Ricardo’s eyes.
After all, it was Michail himself who had expelled him from the academy, where graduation guaranteed success. He resented the past version of himself who had spoken such harsh words to Ricardo.
“Why...”
There were so many things I wanted to ask.
Why had someone as brilliant as you become Olivia’s butler?
Why had you, who once showed mercy to an orphan who only caused trouble, become someone who tormented the weak?
There were so many things I wanted to ask.
But Michail couldn’t open his mouth.
Maybe.
“Why did you...”
“But don’t come to our estate. Make sure you send a letter first. Something like, ‘I’ll be there at this time, please make some time for me.’”
Ricardo looked around and spoke in a playful tone.
“There’s a terrifying monster living in our estate... If you get caught, you’ll die.”
Michail nodded.
His eyes were filled with tears.
His heart was heavy with regret, but he nodded with a hollow heart.
Just having a way to talk to him was enough. Approaching him as Michail was unthinkable. Wearing the mask of lies and approaching him was all I could do.
I knew this wasn’t the right way. It might even be the worst choice, but Michail couldn’t let this opportunity slip away.
“Can I...”
“Yes.”
“Can I really do that?”
“Hmm...”
Ricardo placed the umbrella in Michail’s hand and smiled.
“As long as you show a little sincerity, it’s possible.”
Ricardo, looking at Michail who had lowered his head under the umbrella, nodded and said his farewell.
“You’ll catch a cold.”
“...”
“And don’t cry.”
‘Ah...’
For a moment, Ricardo’s face overlapped with the boy from my memories.
Just like that day when he handed me the box he had been using to cover his head on a rainy day.
-You’ll look ugly. Don’t cry.
“You’ll look ugly. Don’t cry.”
It was the same.
After Ricardo disappeared from sight.
-Thud.
Michail collapsed to the ground and cried endlessly.
He dropped the umbrella onto the street and sobbed helplessly.
“Heuhuh... Heuaaah. I...”
“Now... Hic... Heuaa...”
“What do I do now...”
He pounded his chest endlessly as he wept.
***
Another peaceful day at the Darbav estate.
“Father.”
“...It’s fine. Father will take care of everything.”
“Brother approves too.”
“Mother will allow it as well.”
Sitting on the floor, Olivia was picking her nose, basking in the expectations of her family.
“Hmm.”
Olivia shook her head and spoke calmly.
“No. What if it fails again?”
“It’s just a demotion. Father values the present more than that.”
“I’ve sent all the servants home, so it’s fine. I’ve set up double and triple barriers, and if anyone comes in, I’ll make sure they leave this world without a trace.”
“Mother will help too.”
I smiled as I stopped the young lady from putting her finger in her mouth.
“That’s not for eating.”
“...It
“No.”
“...”
The young lady smiled bashfully and nodded.
“Then, let’s give it a try.”
The Desmond family was full of anticipation. They watched as the young lady rolled up her sleeves.
“Eeeeek!!!!”
They were waiting for little Olivia.
End of Chapte