“Ahhh, Mom!”

I slapped him in the face, bewildered by the sudden situation.

“Let her go now!”

slap!

It must have been very painful because I slapped him with all my might to protect my child.

“You b*tch!”

With his self-esteem broken, he contorted his face and let Leah go.

He didn’t listen to me. He deserved a slap.

“Wait until I get my hands on you—”

“Yeah, I’ll kill you.”

Someone with a familiar voice grabbed Goth’s arm he was about to swing.

I looked at him and was relieved.

“Rupert!”

He responded with a frown. “If I had known this guy was going to stick to you, I should have just stayed next to you.”

“Let go of me!”

Goth’s arm trembled.

“Marquis Ainel, I am your brother-in-law. What a rude thing you are doing now!”

“Oh, my.”

crack!

Rupert broke Goth’s wrist lightly.

“You are still young, but your bones are weak, brother-in-law.”

“Ugh, ahhh.. .. !”

I quickly hid Leah behind me.

“Thanks to my wife and daughter. If it wasn’t for the two of them, it wouldn’t have ended like this. But if I see you hanging around one more time.. .. .”

Rupert looked at us for a moment, grabbed Goth by the collar, and whispered in his ear.

“I’ll make you unable to hang around again for the rest of your life.”

Goth’s face turned white.

He was a man who only boasted of his strength all his life, so he would not be familiar with the situation in which he was being pushed back.

“If you understand, f*ck off.”

Rupert swung him away. He quickly ran away, supporting his broken hand.

“.. .. .”

I was relieved to see that pathetic view.

“Thank you for your help.” I let out a light sigh.

“No, I should have come sooner.”

At that moment, Leah who hid behind me began to cry.

“Ahhh, father ahhh.. .”

She looked relieved when she saw Rupert’s face.

He picked up Leah, who was in tears, and asked seriously. “..Leah’s heart is beating much faster than usual. It’s like a little drum. Are you okay?”

“You look very shocked. I think we’d better go home now.”

“We should.”

Leah looked at me, embraced by Rupert.

“..sob, mom, was that scary man my uncle?”

“No, you don’t have to call him that.”

I smiled bitterly, stroking my daughter’s wet cheek.

“I’m sorry for making you have a terrifying experience, sweetheart. I will make sure that nothing like this happens again in the future.”

Leah shook her head slightly.

“I’m fine, but Mom was scared too. Is Mom okay now?”

I was a little surprised to learn that Leah knew I was scared.

‘Because I got hit a lot by Goth when I was young, so I unintentionally get nervous.’

Just because I remember my past life doesn’t mean I don’t have any memories of this life.

The horrors of my childhood were distinct and had a profound effect on me.

I don’t want to reveal it to anyone.

“I’m fine. Thank you for your concern, Leah.”

‘It’s a thing of the past.’

I smiled at my child, trying to shake off my childhood memories.

***

I wanted to forget my childhood trauma, but it was not easy to do.

‘I expected it.’

I couldn’t sleep that night easily because of the bad memories that suddenly came to mind.

I solved this situation in an extremely adult, but not wise way.

“I need alcohol.”

To be honest, I wanted to eat somaek[1], but sadly, there is no soju here.

[1] a beer cocktail made with soju and beer.

As quickly as possible, I opened a vodka and sat down on a chair on the terrace.

There was a full moon just in time, so the view wasn’t bad.

‘Drinking under the full moon.. .’

Am I too emotional?

While I was sipping, I suddenly heard a voice from behind

“Too much drinking is not good for health.”

I turned around to see Rupert leaning against the door.

‘He came without a sound.’

I never thought I’d hear him nag about my health.

“I know,” I replied sulkily and emptied my glass.

Rupert came quietly and sat down on the chair opposite me.

“Would you like to drink with me?”

“No, I am the watchman[2].”

[2] ?? means an adult who just supervises and looks after the kids having fun.

“Why would an adult drinking alone need a watchman?”

“Because there’s a thing called loss of life in the world. I don’t want my wife to get drunk and fall off the terrace.”

Then he checked the bottle and shook his head.

“Vodka without snacks? Even the knights don’t drink like this.”

“If you just want to nag me, then go away. I’m a strong drinker.”

My liver is quite strong.

“Just drink with me. Don’t refuse.”

I looked at his face with a frown.

“Are you going to watch me drunk alone?”

“I told you, I am the watchman. There’s no point if both of us are drunk.”

Sheesh, aren’t you here to comfort me? If so, you should drink with me.

In the end, I gave up trying to convince him to be my drinking buddy.

After watching me drink for a moment, he said abruptly, “I didn’t know you had such a bad relationship with Goth Opion.”

“Don’t even talk about that bastard.”

“Did something scary happen?”

“No, don’t do anything.”

He frowned, as if he had guessed roughly from my reaction.

“I let it slide because he’s your brother, but I shouldn’t have.”

Did you hold back because he is my brother? Unfortunately, it was a useless consideration.

“Don’t let it slide next time.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Drunkenness came up slowly. As my mood fluctuated, I suddenly became curious.

“Why are you asking such a thing all of a sudden?”

“Come to think of it, I never heard your story.”

“I warn you in advance, it is forbidden to ask questions about my parents.”

He got serious.

“.. what happened?”

I was dumbfounded.

“I just told you not to ask.”

Rupert today is so persistent, unlike usual.

He grumbled, “Since we decided to become a family, I just wanted to get to know each other properly.”

I remember very well saying those exact words to him a while ago.

“You didn’t answer me that night. So it’s fair.”

“Ask me now if you have any questions.”

I laughed bitterly. “Nevermind, I know you’re not going to tell me properly.”

I’ll forget it anyway.

“Besides, I will drink until I lose my memory. Even if I heard your story, I won’t remember it.”

Since he is sober, he will be able to remember everything. It’s so unfair.

“You are not in a position to complain that I didn’t tell you my story. I was just an ordinary noble girl. Nothing special.”

My parents were snobbish people who treated their daughter as a tool, and my older brother was a person with anger control disorder only for the weak.

These kinds of humans were common in the world. So, there was no big deal in defining my environment as ‘normal.’

“It doesn’t matter if it’s special or not. I simply want to hear your story.”

“Why?”

“.. .. .”

He fell silent again.

No, if you really like me, quickly say it and level me up.

‘I didn’t expect anything from you though.’

Yeah, I’m only at the level of holding hands.

“Okay, I won’t answer heavy questions, so let’s stop,” I said while tilting my glass.

Even if I didn’t go deep, I had a question.

“Rupert, what’s your ideal type?”

“My ideal type?” he asked back, as if surprised to hear a completely unexpected question.

“You told me to ask you if I have any questions. I think you can answer me this time.”

What is your ideal type, why are you building an iron wall around you like this?

‘Maybe, black hair and gold eyes?’

Like Aren?

As I was thinking about it, Rupert answered, “A woman with blonde hair and green eyes.”

.. .. I almost spit out the alcohol I was drinking.

Am I fluttering right now?

“Well, that, are you trying to cheer me up?”

He didn’t even laugh.

“I mean it, so I married you.”

He said it so seriously that it sounded like the truth.

To be honest, Rupert’s iron wall is too strong for me to believe this.

“Noel, what about you?”

When my husband asks me like this, I should answer.. a man with silver hair and red eyes, right?

But I am pretty drunk now.

“A kind, friendly, family man. A gentle man who smiles well and speaks softly with puppy-like eyes.”

“.. .. it’s pretty specific for an ideal type. Did you say it with someone in mind?”

I want to tease him a little.

“Hahaha, did you notice? That’s right!”

“.. .. .”

“Hey.. don’t take it too seriously. No one in this world is married to their ideal type.”

“I did.”

“Don’t lie.. I don’t think you’ve ever forgotten what we used to be like.”