“...Mi-mister?”
"Why are you here doing this?”
Cabelenus clicked his tongue and tilted his head.
Even in the darkness, Michael spotted the flash of golden eyes and quickly reached out his hand.
At that moment, the sensation of the stiff fabric in his hand was as pleasing as could be.
"I-I… M-Mum… find… nngh…"
"Calm down and speak slowly. I can’t understand a word you’re saying."
Cabelenus grabbed Michael’s face.
Michael finally swallowed hard at the gaze that met his eyes directly.
“Stop crying, and take a deep breath.”
“B-but—”
“I can’t know what’s going on if you just cry. Calm down and speak properly.”
Michael’s pupils trembled.
The blunt man, unlike his mother, didn’t comfort him with a gentle hug when he cried.
But strangely, that made him feel a sense of relief.
Even through his blurred vision, the gaze he saw was so clear and unwavering that it seemed unyielding to anything.
Michael looked up at Cabelenus and, just as he was told, took a slow, deep breath.
"There was a strange sound."
After taking several deep breaths, Michael spoke. His voice was still wet with tears, but unlike before, he was able to convey his thoughts properly.
Only then did Cabelenus release Michael’s face.
“A strange sound? What kind of sound?"
Cabelenus turned his head and checked his surroundings.
But the corridor was eerily quiet.
The sound Michael mentioned couldn’t be heard at all.
“You didn’t hear it, Mister?”
His eyes, brimming with tears, turned toward Cabelelnus.
Cabelenus furrowed his brow.
Having just comforted a woman who had been crying with similar eyes, the redness around the child’s eyes caught his attention even more.
"Maybe you mistook the sound of the wind?"
“B-but it was a really strange sound! I can still hear it… Huh?”
Michael’s eyes widened.
At some point, the bizarre sound had stopped.
"What?"
"…I don’t hear it anymore."
Michael kept glancing sideways, as if he couldn’t believe the sound had really stopped.
"You don’t hear it?"
Cabelenus tilted his head.
Michael wrinkled the bridge of his nose.
“I-I’m not lying. I really did hear it.”
"Who’s saying otherwise?"
“...”
“You don’t have to look at me like that. I believe you. You had no reason to lie in the first place.”
Michael narrowed his eyes and shot a sharp sidelong glance at Cabelenus.
The expressionless man seemed untrustworthy in every way.
“…Really… you believe me?”
"If you don’t want to, then don’t believe me."
“No! I believe you — I really did hear something strange!”
Michael flailed his arms frantically in all directions.
“What kind of strange sound was it?”
“I-it was really a strange sound…”
Michael wrinkled the bridge of his nose again.
When he actually tried to explain the sound, he felt at a loss.
“It’s hard to explain, but if I try to roughly imitate it… kiiiiiiig?”
“...”
“Keek-keek?”
“...”
“Krrrrrr?”
“...”
The more he tried to explain, the further Michael’s shoulders drooped, until they hit their limit.
Michael pouted with a completely dejected expression.
He wished there was at least some reaction, but Cabelenus’s expression remained completely calm as he looked down at him.
“Is that all?”
“I just can’t explain it. It really was strange when I heard it, but I can’t put it into words.”
“Looks like you don’t have much talent for expressing yourself.”
“That’s not true!”
The child’s face, flushed from anger, had regained some colour and looked clearly better than before.
While checking on Michael, Cabelenus quietly stared down the long corridor stretching out behind the child.
Michael had no reason to say anything unnecessary.
If it wasn’t a misconception, there was a real possibility that something had been heard.
‘Perhaps…’
Cabelenus’s gaze grew sharp.
Although he hadn’t heard the sound Michael spoke of, he nevertheless had a sense of what it might be.
“Mister, what are you looking at? Is something there?”
Michael tugged at Cabelenus’s collar.
Worry was etched across the child’s face again.
“No, it’s nothing.”
Cabelenus casually shook his head.
Alicia said Michael no longer had any power left, but one could never be sure.
It was the very power that had tormented him for so long.
It was hard to believe it had simply disappeared.
But he didn’t plan to let his thoughts show.
At this point, it didn’t matter if the child had the power or not.
“You came out because your mum’s not around, right?”
“Ah, that’s right! Mum! Mister, do you know where my mum is?”
At the mention of the word ‘mum,’ Michael’s eyes sparkled as if that alone was enough.
“I know.”
“Really?”
"I’ll take you to your mum. Come here."
Cabelenus slightly lowered his body to meet the child’s gaze.
Honestly, he never dreamed that he would be in a position to protect the child.
After all, a monster’s child was a monster.
He had always thought that if one was going to live an unhappy life anyway, it was better to just get rid of it.
But the child he had seen until now didn’t look like a monster.
“But then, what exactly was that sound?”
“Probably a ghost.”
“D-don’t joke around!”
Michael yelled in a huff.
Cabelenus lightly nodded as he watched the child move a little closer to him.
“It wouldn’t be strange if an old castle had a ghost or two.”
“…Really, is there a ghost here?”
“They say that every night, a white floating figure appears—”
“Stop it!”
Michael pressed his body close to Cabelenus, almost as if hugging him.
“Why? Are you scared of ghosts?”
“I’m not scared!”
“Then?”
“I-it’s because you might be scared, Mister!”
Even as he raised his voice, as if determined not to yield, his trembling body gave him away.
Cabelenus chuckled softly and reached out to lift the child into his arms.
Caught off guard, Michael found himself scooped up and could only blink in surprise.
“I’m not scared.”
“Liar. How can you not be scared of ghosts?”
“I’ll win.”
“…Really? Can you really beat a ghost?”
Michael’s eyes grew half-lidded.
“What’s so scary about ghosts?”
“No matter how strong you are, Mister, you can’t beat a ghost. Ghosts are that strong.”
“There’s nothing I can’t beat.”
There was no hesitation in his answer, which was confident to the point of being excessive.
Michael hesitated, watching Cabelenus’s reaction, then cautiously spoke.
“…Then if a monster that makes strange noises appears, will you chase it away, Mister?”
“Of course.”
“It might be a really scary monster.”
Michael murmured to himself and buried his face in Cabelenus’s neck.
He didn’t want to whimper, thinking Cabelenus would tease him.
But just for today, he decided to be forgiving.
Though he pretended to be fine, the child’s heart was still racing.
“It doesn ’t matter.”
“Why doesn’t it matter? Mister, aren’t you scared of anything?”
“Because I’ve decided to protect you, no matter what happens.”
“Who are you to protect me, Mister?”
At Michael’s question, Cabelenus pressed his lips tightly shut.
At this point, he couldn’t use the obvious excuse that it was because he was his father.
The man still wasn’t confident he could be a father.
“Mister, you only like Mum. So you’re just trying to get on my good side because of her, right?”
“...”
“See? You can’t say it’s not true.”
Michael wiggled his fingers.
Cabelenus stared at Michael without saying a word.
He could see Alicia even in the child’s smallest habits.
However, that wasn’t the reason why he held Michael.
It was because he saw the child stubbornly holding on, even though his legs were weak and he could barely stand.
“I know exactly what you’re thinking, but just because you say something like that doesn’t mean I’ll accept you as my dad.”
“...”
“You may have a lot, but for me, there’s only Mum.”
“...”
“Don’t take this lightly. I won’t accept you as my dad until I’m truly convinced that you’re a good person.”
“More than anything, you came way too late.”
Even as Michael said that, he buried his face in Cabelenus’s shoulder.
His muscular body was firm, but so big and comfortable that just being close to it was reassuring.
For the moment he was in his arms, it felt like no one could hurt him.
“Mister, didn’t you miss Mum? I feel like I can't stand not seeing her face for even a day — didn’t you feel the same?”
“…I missed her… so much.”
The man kept silent for a long time, then spoke slowly, his voice hoarse and thick.
Michael cautiously lifted his buried head.
“Then you could have come a little earlier, couldn’t you?”
“It was because of my stubbornness.”
“Stubbornness? What’s that?”
Sometimes Cabelenus used difficult words.
Michael jutted out his lips like a bird’s beak and tugged at Cabelenus’s clothes.
He hoped Cabelenus would explain, but instead, he only stared at him.
“…You look like your mother.”
“But you said before that I didn’t look like her.”
“No. You do.”
‘Even so, you’re not exactly the same person.’
Cabelenus swallowed the rest of his words and adjusted his hold on Michael.
He had thought Alicia was light, but the child was far lighter — so light he could lift him easily with one arm.
“…I don’t dislike you.”
“...”
Their eyes, completely different in colour, met in midair.
Though they didn’t seem alike, the clear, elongated shape of their eyes strangely resembled each other.
“If I had to put it into words, I’d say it’s closer to liking than hating.”
“W-what are you saying all of a sudden? That’s not like you. By any chance, did you eat something bad?”
"Well, maybe I did."
“Mister.”
Ignoring the grumbling, Cabelenus turned his head.
It had already been several decades since he last examined his face in the mirror.
Even though the face reflected in the window was his own, it felt unfamiliar.
But when he finally took a proper look at his own face, carefully examining it, Michael came to mind.
The child resembled Alicia, and at the same time, resembled him.
・・・・・
“Mum, I—.”
“Shh.”
"…Mum, are you asleep?"
"She must have been tired."
Cabelenus lightly nodded and set Michael down on the floor.
Michael, as if he had been waiting, crouched next to Alicia.
“Move over.”
“Why?”
“She looks uncomfortable. I should let her sleep on the bed.”
Alicia, perhaps having fallen asleep while waiting for Michael, was curled up on the sofa.
Cabelenus carefully picked up Alicia and laid her on the bed.
Even after all this time, the woman’s habit of curling up while sleeping remained, and it made him feel unnecessarily worried.
“Is it okay to sleep here? Shouldn’t we get permission from the owner of this room?”
"I’m the owner of this room."
“Mister?”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to sleep with Mum.”
No sooner had Cabelenus finished speaking than Michael quickly climbed onto the bed.
Cabelenus tilted his head askew as he looked at Michael, who had taken the spot next to Alicia.
"Suit yourself."
“...”
“What?”
“I thought you were going to kick me out.”
“If I had intended to kick you out, I wouldn’t have come looking for you.”
“Ah, I see… huh? So, Mister, you came out because of me?”
Michael’s eyes widened like a rabbit’s.
“Then why else would I have been there at that time?”
“Hmm…”
“Enough talking, go to sleep. It’s bedtime for kids.”
“I’m not a kid.”
With a sulky expression, Michael complained.
“If you don’t want to be called a kid, you’ll have to grow at least a handspan taller first.”
Cabelenus spoke flatly as he picked up the documents.
Michael blinked as he looked at Cabelenus’s broad back.
“Mister, aren’t you going to sleep?”
“It’s fine if I don’t sleep for a day.”
Cabelenus shook his head firmly.
“Mum said we have to sleep on time.”
“Then I’ll sleep on the sofa in a little while, so you should go to bed too.”
Cabelenus waved his hand dismissively.
“Didn’t you say sleeping on the sofa is uncomfortable?”
“I could sleep in another room—”
“No way. What if a monster appears while you’re not here?”
Michael pouted, lips jutting out.
Cabelenus put aside the documents he’d been looking at and propped his chin on his hand.
“So what am I supposed to do about that?”
“Let’s sleep together.”
“...”
“You’re really big, but the bed is just as wide. So it's fine if we sleep together, right?”
Michael shivered with excitement, as if he’d just thought of a brilliant idea.
Cabelenus knit his brows at Michael, who was tapping the bed as if urging him to hurry over.
"Didn't I say I didn’t want to?"
“You said you don’t dislike me, right? Honestly, I don’t really dislike you that much either.”
Michael fiddled with his earlobe and grinned sheepishly.
At the end of the child’s gaze, there was a pendant dangling from his neck.
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