Chapter 4
4
'How old is Vincent now?'
I quickly calculated his age.
'Khadien is 26 this year, so...'
"...10 years old."
I looked back towards the window.
The rain had grown heavier in the meantime. It sounded as if it were lashing down with a whip.
"No way..."
A sense of foreboding washed over me.
When I came to my senses, I had already grabbed my coat and rushed out of the room.
* * *
I hate rainy days.
'Bin, I'll definitely come back for you.'
'Mom, don't go. I was wrong.'
'Wait just ten nights, okay?'
She abandoned Vincent in front of the orphanage, leaving him to stand powerlessly as the rain swallowed her up.
Vincent could only watch as the rain consumed his mother.
Vincent firmly believed his mother's words. That she would definitely come back for him after ten nights...
But after that rainy day, ten nights, twenty nights, a year passed, and his mother never returned.
'You've been abandoned, don't you even know that?'
'No!'
'Everyone here has been abandoned! You too!'
The child who nonchalantly spat out those cruel words had been at the orphanage the longest.
He said that Vincent, like him, would be trapped here forever.
Vincent was so scared by those words that he cried every day. And when it rained, he began to suffer from nightmares.
In his dreams, his mother let go of Vincent's hand and disappeared into the rain. No matter how desperately he chased after her and clung to her, his mother never once looked back.
After having that dream, he always suffered from a raging fever. It was like a curse for Vincent.
That curse did not disappear even after he met his 'adoptive father,' Khadien, and entered Mercedes Manor.
I hate rainy days.
And I hate being alone in a room on a rainy day even more.
Sitting alone in a dark room, listening to the sound of the rain, Vincent was tormented by past nightmares and memories.
So Vincent left the mansion without any particular plan. The Western Hill was a place he had found by chance.
At the top of the Western Hill stood a Giant Tree.
That place, where no one else came, was Vincent's secret hideout.
The Giant Tree that supported his back was the only being that comforted Vincent.
That's why, today as well, as soon as the rain started pouring, Vincent ran towards the Western Hill.
But today, he was in an even more miserable state than usual.
Just a little while ago, he had heard from Winston that another tutor would be added.
'You promised!'
They had promised to only have one tutor.
'In the end, Winston is just like Mom.'
No one keeps their promises.
As the memories of being abandoned resurfaced like a trauma, Vincent tightly shut his eyes.
Each time he pushed off with his feet, the water pooled on the ground splashed, dirtying Vincent's clothes even more.
But Vincent was too distraught to care about his clothes. Vincent covered his ears with both hands, trying to block out the buzzing sound.
'That's him, right? The child that the young Duke Mercedes brought in.'
'He certainly looks like His Grace, but... His Grace is only nineteen this year, so a three-year-old son...'
'They said he's his biological son, but honestly, it doesn't make sense. Even if it were true, it's disgusting.'
'They don't even know who his mother is, right? Who knows what kind of mistress he crawled out from under... It's filthy.'
'Because of that child, His Grace is doomed to never marry. Now that he's even announced him as his heir, who would want to become the Duchess? That child has ruined his chances of marriage.'
The day Vincent obtained the Mercedes name and first came out into the world.
What poured down on the three-year-old Vincent was contempt and hateful gazes.
That day, Vincent felt to the bone that he was someone who could never be legitimate.
'I am your father.'
His first meeting with Khadien was just a single, indifferent sentence.
But Vincent also knew. That the father who had come to pick him up was not his real father.
That he was someone who shouldn't be here.
Even so, he pretended not to notice because he liked having a father figure for the first time in his life, a warm home, delicious food, and people's affection.
But that vague pretense returned as a cruel reality when he entered the Academy.
'Dirty bastard.'
'Who knows where he crawled out from under.'
'Liar!'
'There's no way someone like that can inherit Mercedes.'
'His Grace must be regretting taking him in.'
'He'll be abandoned soon!'
The students who already knew about Vincent pointed fingers and spat out contemptuous words whenever Vincent passed by.
Those words all became daggers that flew and pierced Vincent.
It became increasingly difficult to even breathe, and Vincent ran away from the Academy.
'He'll scold me for acting selfishly, for not being like a Mercedes.'
Vincent worried, fearing Khadien's anger when he returned.
But...
'...'
Khadien didn't have even a shred of interest in Vincent.
He merely glanced at him with cold eyes before passing by.
That indifference plunged Vincent into despair once again.
'He's lost interest in me. That's why he doesn't even want to see the likes of me.'
Just like the Academy students had said, he might be regretting taking him in.
Worrying about when he would be cast aside, Vincent suffered every day from anxiety and self-loathing towards his imperfect self.
Winston, unaware of Vincent's state, was simply busy bringing in tutors, and
'How can you not even do this? This is a basic skill that any aristocrat should have! You're worse than a five-year-old, tsk.'
'It'll be difficult for him to adapt, considering what he's grown up with. I didn't expect anything anyway.'
'Is there any point in explaining it again? He won't understand anyway.'
'Again, again, again-!'
The tutors, who had grown up in prestigious families that valued lineage, openly looked down on Vincent, giving him humiliation and shame disguised as lessons.
Unable to endure their criticism, Vincent eventually skipped the lessons, and the tutors stopped teaching, calling Vincent a troublemaker.
Vincent was certain that he would be scolded by Khadien this time.
He thought he would at least be told not to tarnish the family's reputation.
But Khadien, once again, merely glanced at him indifferently, without saying a word.
No nagging, no criticism, no words at all.
'He must be regretting taking me in.'
Each time new tutors came, Vincent received wound upon wound and ran away again.
Even watching Khadien's every move became dull over time.
'After all, the Duke doesn't think of me as his son.'
Even if he acted up, even if he skipped lessons and ran away, Khadien didn't show even a shred of interest.
"Haa, haa..."
Soaked to the bone in the rain, Vincent, who had climbed the hill in a daze, caught his breath as he looked at the Giant Tree that was waiting for him today.
Vincent's own sanctuary.
A place that had been abandoned and forgotten by everyone.
'Just like me.'
The Giant Tree, standing alone forlornly, was just like him, so Vincent leaned against it and found comfort.
He intended to do the same this time.
To hide until the rain stopped, and then, when the rain stopped, to return as if he were being dragged out against his will.
That is,
"Ah... Hello?"
Until he discovered a strange intruder who had snuck into his secret hideout.
* * *
Finding the Western Hill was not difficult.
Not only had I read the description of the location in the original work, but I also simply headed west based on the main building.
The problem was.
'I forgot to bring an umbrella!'
Because I was in such a hurry, I forgot to bring an umbrella.
Thanks to that, I was now a wreck, trudging through the pouring rain with only a coat on.
For a brief moment, I considered going back to get an umbrella, but I was already soaked, so I decided to just keep going.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier, making it difficult to see even a few meters ahead.
In addition, the path leading to the Western Hill was not properly maintained, so I had to essentially push my way through the bushes, which was incredibly exhausting.
After walking for quite a while,
Suddenly, the jungle-like bushes ended, and a hill overgrown with weeds and wildflowers appeared before me.
I tilted my head back and looked up at the top of the hill.
There, a huge Giant Tree stood alone.
I could tell right away.
'That's it!'
Finding my destination seemed to replenish my exhausted energy.
I put strength in my legs and climbed the hill vigorously.
"Haa, haa, I'm going to die."
Barely reaching the top, I slid down, leaning against the Giant Tree.
And I blankly stared at the scenery before me.
'You can really see the Mercedes Manor at a glance.'
Although I couldn't see far because of the thick rain, it was still a spectacle.
'I can see why Vincent comes here whenever he's in pain.'
Because even the great Mercedes Manor felt insignificant when viewed from above.
'But Vincent isn't here.'
I let out a hollow laugh.
Oh well, it's a good thing if he's not here.
"Let's rest for a bit since I came all the way here. I'm already soaked."
I roughly wiped the sweat, or maybe it was rainwater, from my forehead with my sleeve and tilted my head back.
Fortunately, thanks to the lush and massive tree blocking the rain, I didn't have to get rained on even during my break.
And I thought about Vincent Mercedes.
The terrible ending wasn't just set in stone for Khadien.
Destruction was also destined for Vincent.
In the future, Vincent would kill his adoptive father, Khadien, with his own hands.
