Chapter 15 – Part 3

He picked up Marie and stood up.

「Eeep!」

Ambrosine plopped herself down on the path.

「If it’s your fault, then it’s no matter to us! Don’t come over here!」

She said, but you could tell she was scared, as her voice fluttered.

Dexter was so taken aback that he didn’t even open his mouth.

「You shameless fools!」

「Eeek!」

「Gyaa!」

Ethelreed shouted and raged at the two, and the other two siblings fell back onto the ground.

His voice didn’t even sound human, but it did ring through the forest.

He had lost his humanity completely.

There wasn’t a trace remaining of a timid and friendly boy.

Just a strange power that seemed to even surpass his father, Desmond.

Marie remained in his arms like a fallen angel that was possessed by someone with the face of a vengeful demon.

His shock of losing Marie had burned away every semblance of kindness…otherwise, he could no longer live. There was no way to remain sane.

「You think that excuse will save you!? What reason do you think I will survive this? It’s to bring revenge against the Shylock company! As long as I haven’t gotten vengeance for Marie, I will never die…even if I die, I will remain…」

He said in a low voice, like a curse.

A swirling wind surged around the house of Shylock.

Swirling around the standing body of Ethelreed,

~Friend! You are our true friend!~

~We will aid you! We will acknowledge you!~

~Kill! Kill Shylock!~

「Revenge yourself on Shylock! Impossible! You can’t do that!」

Ambrosine wanted to curse him, but the fear of him kept her from doing so.

It was all clearly a bluff, anyway.

Even Dexter was recoiling from what he had seen.

「No matter how many years it takes, I will get revenge, and after that, I’ll die next to Marie.」

Ambrosine was afraid that her brother had gone mad.

His eyes were dark as the path to hell, but they glimmered with something different.

And another sudden blow buffeted them.

Almost like the touch of a cold ghost…both of their skin erupted in goosebumps.

Dexter clambered backwards in attempts to escape.

Ambrosine snorted and followed.

He could still act unaffected, but his face had lost a lot of blood.

After the two left, Ethelreed laid Marie on the ground and kissed her. Then he smiled.

He tried to summon something like I smiled, but it was from a depressed heart, so it was a sad smile.

「Marie…I’ll give you this last smile to compliment you…the last smile of my life.」

At the end of that word, he stopped smiling altogether.

And he would never smile again until he died.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

「Look at the smile of the misses…a smile of an innocent angel herself.」

Mary said with a joyful voice.

Well, infants in this time of their life aren’t all fun and laughs.

「Ah…uh…ooo…」

I tried to keep my face in a smile as I remembered all the scholarly stories I had heard in my previous 108 lives.

It seems the only weapon that a helpless baby like me had was its cuteness.

Hearing that the smile of an infant was another weapon, I was quite impressed.

It was a very tactical weapon. Dumb infants. But I wasn’t a fan of surviving this way.

I was a villainess that lived 108 times and would not lose this time.

So I smiled as well as I could again.

What do you think? This is the super attractive smile of a woman that was praised as the flower of Hydrangea, the smile that would cause the male nobles to line up to see it!

「I wonder if misses is peeing…she had such a strange expression.」

Mary said questioningly.

Dammit! I guess a little baby smile like this is completely different due to my undeveloped muscles!

Since I tried to smile like an adult, I ended up making a wicked, weird smile!

I hate this damnable baby body!

Hey, can someone give me my face back!?

「Hey! You’re trying to make a weird face…are you trying to show off?」

Bradd said, peering into my face.

Wait, so now I’m a maiden being heaped shamed upon by this group of upstarts?!

I truly am a tragic heroine!

Sorry…I guess I’m erasing all my previous comments.

And it made me remember the face of someone I really hated.

「Ah…it’s so hard being me, Alisa…」

Even her voice is back!

Dammit! I’m about to break out in hives just thinking about it!

Just put me back in the cradle! I want to avoid any contact!

「She’s really proud of this weird face of hers. Glad my brothers and sisters didn’t end up like this.」

AS IF ANOTHER INFANT COULD END UP THIS GOOD!

I’ll say it again and again, Bradd Stalker!

You…need…to…learn…how…to…treat…babies…all…OVER AGAIN!

Not everyone else learns to walk before one like you did!

You-super-elite-of-the-Lawless-Crew-bastard!

Wait…is it normal for a one year old to walk?

Yeah. On the ground. This guy walked the trees.

This Lawless Crew tried to put their kids in trees to teach them balance early.

…what a bunch of freaks, right?

I just tried to smile too hard, it doesn’t look weird from the outside, right?

It’s not a weird face!

It’s a S M I L E…just a little too much of one.

Speaking of which, there was one person that never smiled in my 108 lives.

He had half a face of scars, always glaring at anyone around him.

Maverick Ethelreed of Shylock Company.

He was their second son and went overseas for five years in attempt to overthrow his father’s company.

He came back to Hydrangea after a massive push from his father.

It seems that he had pushed the company to the edge of bankruptcy.

Messed the whole thing up, just like his face.

He was no merchant either, but a general with a terrifying aura.

I didn’t hate the guy at all, though.

He was so disciplined that it was impossible to imagine that he had Shylock blood.

I think I was five when he first met my father.

I used to play the game “I love…” a lot back then.

Adults usually get sappy sweet and smile when their kids play that game. I would have fun and use it whenever I met an adult, almost as a greeting.

Even without this 108 cheat knowledge, I’m good with meeting people.

I played it whenever I met Ethelreed.

He had such a scary face, so I tried to make him laugh.

「I love your smile」I’d say.

Then he would suddenly stand there and weep, wiping away tears that never seemed to end.

I was surprised. A rock-ribbed warrior like him, weeping openly.

I would stare at him and try to reach up to soothe him, but his massive body…and his crying like that frightened me!

But I knew somehow he wasn’t a bad guy.

He never smiled, but whenever I wanted to play, he would bend over and we’d play whatever game I wanted.

Even this 109th time, I’m sure he already has that sour face of his.

And maybe he’s already overseas by now.

…hmm hmmm hmmm

What sound is that?

「She hasn’t pissed herself at all!」

BRADDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!

I was in the middle of remembering something fondly, and you’re standing there staring at….

Get out of here! You pervert!

I’ll freaking banish you from my kingdom from this tiny little cradle of mine!!