Iris was already depressed since Damian’s untimely death, but I feared what was going to happen in the future if she continued spiraling downward in such a way, and I also dreaded the pain I would have to experience, endure, and overcome to pass this test.
I was already struggling mightily yet she wasn’t even three years old.
“I don’t know… my beloved daughter…” Venrice mouthed her dry reply after a few seconds of silence.
Iris gritted her teeth upon seeing her mother’s sad state.
…
“Rest in peace… I love you so much…” The little girl cried as she stood slouched over her mother’s grave.
It took less than a year and a half of this way of life to kill the kind but weak woman. One slightly more than what was considered reasonable aggression had done her in. She died at the hands of a random merchant who choked her too hard.
Grief.
So much grief.
It was horrible when Damian died, but now… The young child had lost her final pillar of support – the woman who’d been there for her since day one of her birth.
I couldn’t take it anymore and cried my soul out alongside Iris. Her mental pain was just too much for me to bear without being engulfed by it.
I always thought myself to be a strong person when it came to emotions, but now I plainly understood that that was because I never experienced what real devastating loss felt like. The only thing I could do to cope with the overwhelming sorrow hitting me like a tidal wave was to think of my lovers, my four parents, and the happiest moments we had spent in each other’s company.
The young child had no such memories, though. All whom she cared for were cold corpses who lay beneath the earth. She had no future prospects to look forward to, no family who she knew would welcome her once this ordeal was finally over.
Iris’s entire existence was lost, so incredibly lost.
And through our shared connection I could feel all that she felt.
“I… I’m so sorry. I truly am. I will be better. I will do better. I will give you a happy childhood.” Gilbert whispered as he stood next to his daughter. He cried tears of regret, but I couldn’t help but wish to spit in his face and beat him to death.
As soon as Iris heard the voice of the man she once called her father, her tears stopped flowing. Her little hands clenched into fists and she spun on her heels and walked back towards their mansion.
“Young lady. Please accept our sincere condolences.”
“Young lady. We will protect you with our lives.”
“Young lady. Your father loves you very much.”
“Young lady. Your mother is in a better place now. The Goddess will take care of her.”
Every military personnel she passed by saluted at her with respect and said a few words of encouragement. By now Gilbert had amassed a truly respectable force for a lowly, impoverished baron. So much so that he had not enough tasks for them, thus he began sending them to conduct illicit activities in the territories of the barons he didn’t like.
As night fell the nearly four-year-old Iris managed to sneak into the kitchen unnoticed, grabbed a knife, and headed for her father’s room.
Her heart could no longer shed tears. She had steeled her resolve; this man didn’t deserve to live. He was responsible for all the pain they’d endured, and it was time to finally pay up his dues.
As she crept closer and closer to the master bedroom’s entrance, she could see two guards standing at attention. With so many personnel at his disposal, it was only natural to protect himself day and night. Stay updated via freewebnovel
Iris nodded to herself resolutely and decided to go ahead with her plan. She hid the knife in her nightrobe and rushed up to them. “Knights! There’s an intruder in my room! Please, help me!”
“Huh? Young lady? What do you mean?”
“A strange man was in my room! I kicked him in his crotch and rushed here.”
Their features contorted as they ate up the lie she served straight from her palm. “Go down this hall, there will be more guards there. We’ll take care of this.”
With that, they rushed off.
She knew she had to act swiftly. Iris opened the door with as much care as she could. If Gilbert was awoken, she would not only fail be be in incredible trouble.
Iris tiptoed as she sneaked closer and closer to the bed until she stood right next to his sleeping form. Though it was dark, candlelight was burning as a form of night light, which was more than enough for the young girl to see her father’s form. He was accompanied by a woman who was whimpering in her sleep, and her face was bruised as well.
She carefully climbed on top of the bed and positioned her knife right at his throat, exactly where she saw the assassin cut her maid back when Damian took her place and sacrificed his future for hers.
The young child paused for only a moment which was more than enough time to once again steel her resolve. This was the right thing to do. No, this was what she had to do.
Iris plunged the knife down with all her strength.
*Vrrrm* A sudden transparent mana veil materialized into existence, enveloping his entire body. freewēbnoveℓ.com
Fuck… A protective artifact.
“Ah!” Iris cried out in surprise. She had no clue what this phenomenon was, but she knew that she failed, so she aimed her blade once again and stabbed, but the artifact’s effect held firmly.
Gilbert’s eyes suddenly snapped wide open and he turned to see his daughter’s kneeling form desperately trying to slice his throat apart.
The man closed his eyes for a brief second as a single teardrop traveled down from his right socket, but once he parted his eyelids, his sadness was nowhere to be seen, replaced by fury toward the girl who betrayed him.
“So this is how you feel, my daughter… I see everything clearly now.”
With those ominous words, he kicked the blanket off of himself and lunged at his child.