Reborn As a Character That Never Existed

The estate was so large that it had a small lake, but we just laid a mat under the tree in the central garden.

We had to pass through the central garden to enter the mansion.

I said I was hungry, but even though I hadn’t eaten much bread, I didn’t feel hungry at all.

Still, it was fun to watch Yan stuff sandwiches and fruit into her mouth until her cheeks bulged, rather than the fun of eating.

“Is it tasty?”

“Yeah!”

“I see. It’s good.”

‘She eats like she’s been starving for a day or two. But it doesn’t seem like she’s been starving.’

“But Mom, why did she come to our house? Doesn’t she usually stay in the palace?”

“Well, she was attacked on the way. We decided to leave her at our house in case something bad happens at the palace.”

I couldn’t help but sigh at her words.

It was obvious who the attackers were, and if we ended up taking care of Yan, we would also be responsible for any potential accidents.

“… Did Dad agree to this?”

“Well, he took off his shoes and helped out.”

I didn’t understand her words. Julian usually joked around and played around with Emperor Phileas, but he was not a careless person as a high-ranking official.

Why did he agree to something that would only cause losses?

‘Yan was supposed to stay in the palace until the prophecy of the Prophetess.’

“If you keep your eyes wide open like that, you’ll look bad.”

“I’m the Demon King, so I can afford to look a little bad.”

“Demon King, you have subordinates now, so what’s so serious?”

“It’s nothing.”

Yan was slowly looking around, noticing my discomfort. But his hand was still funny as he grabbed another sandwich.

‘Well, there’s nothing I can do in this situation.’

“Does Yan stay in the guest house too?”

“Wouldn’t it be nice to stay in the guest house?”

“No.”

“The prince will stay in the main building. There are too many people in the main building, and there’s also the baby, so the attendants of the princes were given a separate cottage.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“What’s fortunate?”

“It’s just that going to the separate cottage would be a hassle. Hey, stop eating.”

As Yan reached for his fifth sandwich, I snatched it from his hand.

“We should eat dinner together when our dad comes.”

“…Is that okay?”

“This is just a snack. It’s not dinner. If we eat too much now, we won’t be able to eat dinner later.”

I repeated the lecture from the nanny. Yan was somewhat full, so he surrendered his sandwich when he heard the mention of dinner.

“We’ll eat breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner together from now on. Got it?”

“Okay.”

I wiped the sauce on Yan’s mouth with my sleeve. When his face was clean, I withdrew my hand with a satisfied expression.

“Tilly, wiping with your sleeve will dirty your clothes. Use a handkerchief.”

“I’ll have to wash the handkerchief and the clothes anyway. It’s better to wash one piece of clothing than two.”

Loksa just looked at me with an incredulous expression before chuckling.

I didn’t really need to worry about the laundry, but it was admirable.

“Okay, okay. You take care of your friend well. Oh, Dad’s coming.”

As soon as we arrived at the mansion, Julian came towards us in his white suit. The sunset reflected off his shining silver hair, making it look almost surreal.

“Dad.”

As soon as I called out to him, Julian’s calm expression broke into a foolish smile.

When the incredibly handsome Julian laughed like a fool, he looked a little bit like our dad.

“Oh no, it’s overlapping again. This can’t happen.”

He stretched out his arms and as a gesture of gratitude for showing him a good sight, I ran towards him and hugged him. Julian started kissing my cheeks.

“Our goddess, who do you resemble to be so pretty?”

“Stop kissing me.”

“If Tilly gives Dad a kiss, I’ll stop.”

I gave him a short kiss on the cheek, as if there was no other way and looked at him with annoyed eyes. Then I got out of his arms and climbed back onto the mat. Yan was staring at me absent-mindedly.

“Why? Do you want me to do it too?”

“…No.”

I was about to bite those soft, fluffy cheeks, but decided to save it for another day. I moved aside a bit to make room for Julian, who was trying to sit next to me.

“Did you go on a picnic?”

“Yeah.”

“Since the weather is nice, don’t go too far. There’s a lake near the annex.”

“It’s noisy over there right now. I don’t like it because there are too many people. And I was waiting for Dad to come.”

“Really? Did our Tilly Daddy wait for us? Oh, how pretty.”

Julian laughed and petted my hair. I also messed up Julian’s hair with my fingers.

Roxana watched us and called Yan.

“Prince.”

“…Yes?”

“You’ll be staying with our family for a while. If there’s anything you need, let us know through Tilly.”

“…What’s going on?”

“Well, just tell Tilly everything even if nothing happens. We’ll protect the prince while he’s here.”

Yan had a look of not understanding English, but he smiled bashfully as Rossana stroked his head. Seeing Yan smile for the first time, I remembered a passage I wrote in this novel.

“In the midst of the fading ceremony, Rian smiled as he recalled the only year he was happy in his life. When he first pretended not to know Aegis, he was wary, but when he was young, he really liked Aegis. He wanted to apologize for forgetting their promise to be friends forever and not recognizing him anymore. As in the original, I hoped that he would be happy during his stay here at least.”

*****

“Long, long ago, there lived a lonely wizard in a tall tower.

In a low voice and with short platinum hair, I listened to the story that Roxana was telling while holding hands with Yan and lying down.

Yan seemed exhausted from the day and fell asleep before even reaching halfway through the story. Roxana finished telling the tale of the wizard and the fairy and hugged Yan who was sleeping soundly.

“Are you going to sleep with him?”

“The prince must sleep in his own bedroom.”

“Why?”

“Because of protocol. He might get in trouble otherwise.”

I looked at Yan, who was being carried away by the servant, with a rough face. When Roxana tried to turn off the candle in my room, I grabbed her sleeve.

“Where are you going? We should read one more story since it’s been a while.”

Roxana sat back down, seeming to have no choice. It seemed like she didn’t want to bother bringing a new fairytale book and would rather tell a story that she remembered.

“Long, long ago, there were two twin gods: Vita, the god of light and life, and Nex, the god of darkness and death. They were born from the chaos and created the world together. Vita gave light and breath to all living things while Nex gave darkness and peace. All living things worshipped and praised the two gods.”

‘Why is this story suddenly being told?’

“Vita loved the world and all its creatures. Vita wanted the world to last forever. But one day, Vita fell in love with a human on Earth. Vita came down to Earth and pretended to be human to be with the one she loved.

However, Vita’s love didn’t last long. Nex gave the human the gift of eternal rest. Vita was heartbroken and angry at Nex for not at least telling her. Nex didn’t understand Vita’s pain and told her that everything has an end, including the human she loved and the world. So, don’t cling to the moment. The soul of the one you loved remains. Just wait for the next life.”

“….”

After hearing Nex’s story, Vita quietly withdrew. Nex continued to bring a fair end to many lives. One day, Nex suddenly fell asleep and woke up trapped in a human body on the surface. Vita spoke to Nex:

“Even if what you say is true, I can’t do that. Nex, I hope you will come to know love. If you realize love among the most passionate humans, you will be able to come back.”

“If Nex becomes like that, won’t people stop dying?”

“Nex’s power was embedded in her sleeping body, so the balance of the world was maintained. And with the hope that Nex would not forget to realize love, Vita put her memories of sharing love with humans in the stars and the moon above her time. However, Nex still doesn’t know love and is repeating human life.”

“….Vita was bad.”

“Do you think so?”

“Yes, she was. Wait, what did Nex do wrong? Nex just worked hard on what she was supposed to do. Vita just couldn’t tell the difference between justice and injustice and vented her anger.”

“Do you know what justice and injustice are?”

“Yes, of course. Justice is what mom and dad do in the palace, and injustice is when mom and dad come home and play with me.”

“You’re smart, Tilly.”

“If Vita wanted Nex to know love, she should have used a different approach. And Nex…”

“She had a reason for not wanting to know love.”

Nex had to resonate with all living creatures to bring an end to them. If she knew love, she couldn’t bring death to what she loved.

“Vita was too selfish.”

“Mom thinks so too. Should we stop here?”

Roxana blew out the candle.

“Mom.”

“Yes?”

“Where did you hear that story?”

“I read it in a fairy tale book when I was young.”

“…I see.”

The story of Vita and Nex was a world of another novel that I had created by mixing various myths.

“Surely, if the story ends here, we won’t switch to another novel, right?”

In the current situation, I couldn’t bring myself to say that it was impossible.

“Oh, then we’re screwed.”

I was rolling my eyes with various worries when Roxana covered my eyes with her hand.

“Shall I sing you a lullaby?”

“Yes.”

“My little star, my baby. One day you came to me. You shone bright in the night sky and came to me. My little star, my baby. One day you told me you wanted to shine bright in the night sky. Your eyes are actually shining stars. But hide them tightly at night because you’re afraid you’ll have to leave again. My little star, my baby. My little star, my baby.”

As I listened to the lullaby being sung in a low voice, I slowly blinked my eyes. Listening to the repeated phrase, “My little star, my baby,” my heart became more and more peaceful. It wasn’t the lullaby my mom sang to me in my past life, but for some reason, it brought back memories from back then.

“…Ma.”

“…Hmm?”

“I miss you.”

“You’ll be able to see her tomorrow morning.”

“…No, now.”

“When you wake up tomorrow morning, mom will be there by your side.”

“Our mom…”

Not you. I swallowed my last words and fell into a deep sleep.