Chapter 15
15
Vincent's own hideout. I thought Vincent might be there.
But whether it was because the day was clear, or because I knew the place, Vincent wasn't there.
'Where on earth is he?'
I tried to recall the original story to see if there was any other place Vincent frequented besides Western Hill, but nothing else came to mind.
'He couldn't have gone outside the manor.'
The security at Mercedes Manor was very tight, and the walls were thoroughly managed, so there was no way for Vincent to get out.
Above all, Vincent, who has severe social anxiety, cannot go outside the manor.
'In the end...'
I turned my head and looked at the manor, which looked like a small toy house.
A hollow laugh escaped my lips.
"It means I have to search the whole place."
In the end, a sigh I couldn't quite suppress burst out.
The time for despair was short.
I immediately started searching the places Vincent was likely to go.
After searching the main building, I went through all the outbuildings. Mercedes Manor was so vast that it was difficult to search everything, but it wasn't difficult to search only the deserted places.
But even after searching all the buildings, not a single strand of Vincent's silver hair was found.
In the meantime, as the sun set and the moon and stars rose, I began to doubt my choice.
'Should I have just told Winston?'
If I had let people loose to find Vincent, he might have been found by now.
But if I had done that, Vincent's trust in me would have completely disappeared.
Until now, all the tutors had tried to solve problems with Vincent through Winston.
Besides, if this fact is conveyed to Winston, surely,
'Khadien will find out too.'
I didn't want to give him the impression that I was incompetent.
'Where else would Vincent go besides Western Hill?'
I tried to recall the original story, but nothing came to mind.
In the first place, Vincent didn't have much screen time in the original story.
Shaking my head, I changed my mind.
'Let's not rely too much on the original story.'
If I had faced this situation without knowing the original story.
What would I have done then?
'Vincent is still young.'
When children face difficult situations, they tend to rely on adults.
'But there are no adults in this house that Vincent can rely on.'
Khadien is indifferent to Vincent, and Winston is acting as a guardian, but he doesn't really look into Vincent's heart.
'Western Hill has already been discovered by me.'
Then where would young Vincent, who has no one to rely on, hide?
'Come to think of it...'
I recalled my past life.
The orphanage was a good place.
It was poor, but there was no abuse or starvation like in the media, and the director and orphanage teachers were kind.
But they were guardians, not family.
Children who knew they had been abandoned by their parents were afraid of being abandoned again, so they were cautious and didn't talk about their difficulties.
And the one who played the role of those children's parents was...
'It was my job as the eldest.'
At fourteen. Until the disease broke out, I was the children's mental guardian.
I not only gave them life guidance, but also scolded them when they did wrong, and stayed by their side when they were emotionally distressed.
'Yes, that's right.'
Thinking of the children, a smile naturally appeared on my face.
Although I couldn't see them anymore because I got sick.
Among the children, there was a child similar to Vincent.
He was abandoned in the orphanage after being abused at home, and he had a particularly hard time adapting to orphanage life.
I was worried about him, so I asked the director to let me share a room with him.
One day.
I woke up thirsty in the middle of the night, but he wasn't in bed.
Startled, I was about to go out to find him when I suddenly noticed a presence in the room.
The place where the sound came from was...
"Yes, that's right."
A child cornered cannot run far away.
The current Vincent must be literally cornered, so...
"No way."
I turned my head sharply.
It was towards Vincent's room.
"Sniff, sob..."
Enveloped in darkness, Vincent shed tears.
'I'm an idiot.'
Anna's words that Livia would hate his foolish self pushed Vincent into extreme fear.
Vincent didn't know why.
There have been countless tutors who have disappointed Vincent and left.
Some of them even poured out harsh words before leaving.
But even then, he wasn't this scared.
Rather, he even felt relieved that they were leaving.
Being disappointed was just a process to drive them away.
Livia is just one of them.
'Why am I so scared?'
Just imagining Livia looking down at him with cold eyes and saying 'I'm disappointed' made his heart feel torn to shreds.
'I shouldn't have hidden, though.'
Vincent was about to regret it and go out, but the moment he saw Livia's expression of disappointment looking at the empty room, his body froze like a stone statue and he couldn't move.
After that, Livia left the room, and Vincent remained trapped here, overwhelmed by self-loathing, guilt, and fear.
'She's definitely going to hate me.'
Just like all the tutors have done so far, Livia will surely be disappointed in him for refusing the lesson and leave.
'Then I...'
"Sniff, sob..."
Unable to hold back the rising sobs, he covered his lips with both hands and hiccuped when suddenly, the tightly closed door opened and the moonlight of the night poured in.
Startled, Vincent widened his eyes and raised his head,
"Found you."
Livia's smiling face came into clear view.
I gasped for breath, looking at Vincent, who was huddled in the corner of the closet, terrified.
'I knew it...!'
Children are pure and so simple that they regard this closet as a fortress and hide their bodies.
Without knowing how flimsy and defenseless this closet is.
"Hoo."
Taking a deep breath and calming myself, I calmly looked at Vincent.
And slowly parted my lips.
"...Vincent."
Twitch.
Vincent, trembling, moved only his eyes to look up at me.
The clear emotion engraved in his eyes was fear.
I trembled and opened my lips towards Vincent.
"You..."
"I'm, I'm sorry..."
"Do you know how worried I was?"
"...?"
Vincent looked up at me with surprised eyes at my words.
Only then did I realize that I had found Vincent, and I sighed deeply and slumped down on the spot.
My legs gave way.
"...I...!"
Startled, Vincent crawled out of the corner to the front.
Not missing that moment, I hugged Vincent tightly.
"...!"
I could feel Vincent's body stiffening like a tree.
I just patted Vincent's back and whispered.
"I was so surprised you disappeared. I was worried something might have happened."
"..."
Then Vincent, who had been silent, carefully opened his mouth.
"Dis... Did you..."
"Huh?"
"Aren't you disappointed...?"
He struggled to make eye contact with me while being held in my arms.
His trembling red eyes held complex emotions.
Then, Vincent finally avoided my gaze.
"Because I ran away..."
"Ah."
I was wondering what he meant for a moment, but soon nodded.
Then, I answered in a sincere voice.
"Of course, I was flustered at first, but I think it's understandable."
"What does that..."
"You're young and immature, and we don't know each other well yet. It's okay to be afraid of the unfamiliar, and it's okay to run away from what's scary. I just..."
"..."
Vincent slowly made eye contact with me again.
I smiled brightly and said.
"Just don't run away completely. It's okay to run away just as far as I can catch you, just as far as this closet."
"..."
"It's okay, Vincent."
Vincent's lips trembled.
Before I knew it, thick tears were falling from his eyes.
And then...
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, sob."
Vincent burrowed into my arms.
I hugged Vincent silently.
After Vincent stopped crying, we went outside to get some fresh air.
Since it was night, we couldn't go far, so we held hands tightly and took a walk in the garden, then sat side by side on a bench in front of the fountain.
For a while, no conversation passed between us.
Vincent was just sniffling and looking at me.
Only the sound of insects chirping tried to ignore the silence.
How long had it been?
When Vincent's sniffling stopped, I quietly called Vincent's name.
"Vincent."
Twitch.
Vincent, who trembled slightly at the sound of his name, answered with difficulty.
"...Yes."
I can see Vincent hesitating and fiddling with his hands.
I quietly looked at Vincent and said calmly.
"What were you scared of?"
As if surprised by my question, Vincent looked at me with wide eyes.
Looking into those eyes, I said again.
"You must have been scared of something, so you hid in the closet to avoid me."
"..."
"I'm not angry. However, I can only know if you tell me your feelings."
I seemed to know what Vincent was afraid of, but understanding it and hearing it directly were clearly different.
'Also, Vincent will be able to organize his feelings through words.'
Above all, I wanted to tell him.
It's okay to run away, just let me know what you were feeling.
"That's..."
Vincent, who had been hesitating, finally squeezed out his courage and spoke.
I couldn't hide my embarrassment at the answer that came back.
