What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 727

You Are Perfect and Ultimate (8)

Is this a dream?

“Oh my goodness, Lord Haines. What happened? Why is our child like this…!”

“Your daughter has awakened her stigmata [a mark of disgrace or a sign resembling the wounds of Christ].”

“Stigmata? What, what is that…?”

The woman’s voice was muffled as if underwater, then loud as if shouting into Gain’s ear, and then distant again, as if speaking from behind several walls.

As her panic reached her skin, her paralyzed senses seemed to awaken.

Gain looked around blankly, her eyes as dazed as a sea after a storm.

It didn’t feel real at all, but someone familiar’s body temperature was busily embracing her.

A small, thin, but warm body. Hot droplets falling on the bridge of her nose.

A hand stroking her cheek, lips touching her forehead.

“Oh, Lord. How much it must have hurt. How hard it must have been, our Pink Tama [likely a term of endearment, perhaps referring to her rosy complexion or a beloved doll]…”

Words of concern. As always.

“Is she badly hurt anywhere? She’s so bruised; is anything broken?”

“I subdued her avoiding vital points, so she should be fine. She’s just exhausted now.”

“Oh. Cristel is too young, teacher. She needs a thorough examination….”

Words that only consider me, unconditionally.

“…Mom…”

‘Mom.’

“Yes, it’s Mom. Cristel, Mom’s here. Look at Mom. Let Mom see our daughter’s face….”

“Mom…”

As Gain murmured in a voice as small as a mosquito, Isabel frantically caressed her daughter’s cheeks.

Only then did black eyes come into view.

Two eyes as dark as the deepest point of the sea, full of the life force of the earth, and as benevolent as a vast meadow.

My mom…

“I’m here. Mom’s here. Oh, I’m sorry Mom couldn’t protect you….”

“Our mom didn’t die…?”

The paladin asked with a foolish expression.

Then Isabel wiped her daughter’s runny nose and smiled softly.

“Huh? Why would Mom die? How could I leave such a pretty daughter behind?”

“No, no….”

‘Sniff.’ Gain made a sniffling sound and looked up at the dawn sky.

Hanging in the space where the color of her eyes had spread like paint, was a beautiful, clear crescent moon.

Seeing it, she suddenly remembered the situation just before she lost consciousness.

The memories were shattered and mixed up, making it impossible to even attempt to piece them together, but she was able to dredge something up from the depths of her mind.

‘-콰콰콰앙! [Sound of a large explosion or collapse]’

‘Uh…?’

The figure being thrown out of the collapsing high tower.

The blood-soaked clothes. Hair scattering lifelessly.

‘Hah, hah, cough! Haaah!’

The heart expanding and pounding as if about to burst.

‘Mommyyyyyyy!’

The world turned upside down, and the world before her shattered like a fallen egg.

Gain shuddered and looked up.

Isabel, who was holding onto her sleeve tightly, looked at her daughter’s face in surprise.

“Why? Does it hurt somewhere, Ollie [short for Olivia, a common nickname]?”

“Then…. Then I was definitely thrown out of the building. The tower was collapsing, and they said there were people inside.”

“Ah….”

“I remember…. I didn’t see it wrong.”

Then Isabel wore a bewildered expression.

Gain clenched her fists, somehow swallowing the hot air blocking her throat. Only then did she feel both hands trembling.

The fear, shock, despair, and sense of falling she had felt at that moment were now pressing down on her limbs again.

She felt as if the person in front of her would break into ashes at any moment if she touched them carelessly.

Isabel seemed to be contemplating for a long time how to explain.

“Well, Mom went into another tower to help you…. While she was releasing the monsters there, a soldier from the lord’s castle came in and set up explosives and magic stones.”

Her voice was gentle as she spoke quietly. Gain nodded, catching her breath.

The world was slowly returning to her.

The world seemed to be trying to be kind to her again.

“I could imagine how dangerous that would be. His Majesty the Emperor strictly prohibits the use of explosives and magic stones together on the battlefield. Once the explosives go off, the magic stones containing the fire turn into lava and pierce through people’s bones and flesh. Moreover, they contain mana, so they don’t stop.”

“….”

“Um, so….”

Isabel glanced over there and gave a bitter smile.

It seemed like she was looking for His Majesty Rumanian. But he was still nowhere to be seen.

A moderately cool breeze gently brushed past the two of them.

“I told our daughter not to do that and to stay in a safe place, but Mom didn’t listen.”

“….”

“I know, His Majesty Hanan wasn’t by my side, and Mom is still weak. But strangely, I felt brave. I wasn’t afraid of the monsters or the explosives. And maybe…. I think I was being stubborn.”

“….”

“I have to show our daughter a great side of me. I have to show her a stronger side so she won’t be disappointed. Then she’ll trust Mom. Even though I was out of my mind, I was thinking that.”

‘Isn’t that too immature?’ Her face was clear as she shyly smiled and covered her cheeks.

Gain stared blankly at her.

That’s because Isabel’s words sounded very strange. It was as if….

“The Divine Beasts are here, so I thought it would work out somehow. Gyu was also helping Mom from the outside.”

“….”

It was as if she had simply transferred her inner thoughts as they were. That couldn’t be.

“But unfortunately, the explosives went off right in front of me….”

For a moment, her breath stopped again. The thoughts pouring into her head were covered in bubbles.

“….Rin saved Mom.”

“….Who saved Mom?”

Gain asked back with a completely blank expression.

Then Isabel gave a troubled smile and revealed what she had been wrapping in her arms.

She must have concluded that it would be better to show it directly.

“….Wooing. Rin did it.”

Soon, a baby wrapped in a robe appeared. Indeed, it was Rin Isenia.

Gain opened her mouth as if she would eat all the gnats in the lord’s castle.

The sound of Johan Sam laughing softly could be heard, but she didn’t care.

….Wait, just a minute.

– 벌떡! [Sound effect: Suddenly getting up]

“Why is your back like this?”

“Woo-ah.”

Gain, who had been lying down like melted clay, hurriedly patted Rin’s body.

Her vision spun because she suddenly raised her upper body, but of course, even that wasn’t important right now.

The child gave a look mixed with surprise and shyness and showed her small back.

‘Cristel.’ Isabel tried to calm her daughter, but of course, it didn’t work.

That’s because the child’s body….

-찰박, 찰박찰박 [Sound effect: Splish, splash, splish]

“You, you. Why did your back turn into water again? Huh? Why is it like this?”

To be exact, her small back, less than two spans wide, had turned into clear water, just like when it was a puddle.

She looked closely at the front of her upper body and other places, but thankfully, everything else was fine.

Her heart sank, wondering why the child had become like this while she wasn’t looking. Could it be because of her?

“Because I helped….”

What?

“….You did that to help Isabel? You shielded Isabel?”

“Uung [baby talk for ‘yes’].”

“….”

Her throat was momentarily blocked.

Gain couldn’t say anything and stared at the child with a blank face.

Then the young ash-pink eyes avoided her gaze, not knowing what to do.

Isabel hurriedly mediated between the two.

Now that she looked, her clothes were covered in monster blood, and her hands were full of large and small scratches.

“Cristel, it’s Mom’s fault. I shouldn’t have gone in even if Rin said it was okay…. Even if the Divine Beasts jumped in first, Mom should have played the role of stopping them, but I foolishly got swept away by the children’s opinions. Mom was really not mature.”

“….”

Gain’s eyes rolled toward Isabel this time.

She was somehow making a very frightened expression.

A face trying to make excuses to her somehow.

“I’m sorry. I was too busy thinking about our daughter…. I’m not usually such a reckless person. I was shaken because I was so worried. I should have been calm in times like that….”

“….”

“Still, the Divine Beasts stopped the fall. And the pouring rubble…. Um.”

A face struggling not to be hated somehow.

And only then did the foolish Ham Gain realize.

“….No. I’m sorry.”

“….”

….Mom was scared too. Like me.

“I was, I was so scared…. I’ve been wasting my age and I’m just full of fear, so I couldn’t tell Mom the story until now.”

“….”

Gain continued to speak haltingly in a choked voice, and someone carefully sat next to her and wrapped her hand.

She could tell who it was without having to look back.

The fingers that were tightly intertwined were white and upright like moonlight.

‘I’m here, Gain-ssi [honorific title].’

‘So don’t worry.’

As if encouraging her like that.

“My name is…. My real name is Ham Gain. I’m thirty-one years old. But…. But I’ve aged two more years here, so I’m about thirty-three.”

“….”

“I’m, I’m too old, right? To be a daughter….”

A terribly trembling voice came out.

Gain tried her best not to avoid Isabel’s eyes, but she couldn’t help but look down in the end.

Her partner held her hand tightly. Thanks to that, she had the strength to endure.

“There’s a small island called Yeouido [a financial district in Seoul], and I worked at a financial company there. Then, then I quit and came out. The team leader was such a jerk….”

“….”

She was afraid of looking pathetic. But she wouldn’t run away now.

She shouldn’t.

“It’s just, it was all too hard. I worked there for years, but life didn’t get any easier…. I came out without thinking. Life is hard. It’s foolish, right.”

“….”

“And, and when I was young…. I hated my parents the most in the world.”

Her lips trembled unnecessarily. Gain squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them.

“Always, always shouting. Fighting. Throwing plates. Breaking furniture….”

“….”

“Dad hit Mom the most, and after my sister got a little older, he hit her too. I wondered why he didn’t hit me, did Dad still like me? I even thought that when I was six or seven years old…. I think I realized it later when I got a little older.”

“….”

“Mom and my sister, they got hit instead of me. So Dad was tired and didn’t hit me. Because people have a limit to their physical strength.”

“….”

“….I’m not ashamed of living like that? Because it’s not my fault. It’s not my sister’s fault at all, so it’s not something to be ashamed of. The person who should be ashamed is my dad, who died as a criminal, and my mom, who took all our money and disappeared.”

“Yeah.”

Isabel answered.

Gain felt a great sense of relief, but she was still weighed down by something.

Someone came and stood behind her.

-뚜벅 [Sound effect: Footsteps]

“….”

She didn’t look back, but she knew who it was. ‘Hoo.’ A long sigh escaped.

Gain relied on the man’s warmth for the first time.

“….But, I couldn’t tell Isabel honestly. The words were really stuck on the tip of my tongue and wouldn’t come out. I tried several times, but it just wouldn’t work.”

“….”

“That’s, Isabel might secretly hate it.”

“Cristel.”

“No, the original daughter was a kind child without any flaws. She was a very pretty daughter who grew up only receiving love. I’m a little…. I’m very lacking. I’m afraid she’ll compare me in her heart, and that could happen. Isabel is a person too. It could be burdensome.”

“….”

“I suddenly get angry. I suddenly sulk. Then she might think, ‘Who did she take after?’, ‘Did she live getting that kind of education?’, she might think like that….”

Her vision was too blurry the whole time.

Gain wiped away the moisture several times, but salty water kept coming into her mouth.

She didn’t want to hiccup no matter what, but her stomach was already convulsing.

“That was too scary. I was afraid I would disappoint her….”

“….”

“It’s different with friends. Ha, once I tell Isabel, it’s irreversible. What if Isabel….”

“….”

“Hic! What if she regrets, regrets finding out the truth….”

She was so angry that tears always came out before words when she was too angry or sad. It was really frustrating and unfair that water was pouring out like this when she wanted to talk logically.

This wasn’t even a trait that weakened with age.

Gain, with a face as red as if it were filled with watermelon juice, struggled to suppress her sobs.

She still couldn’t make eye contact with Isabel.

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“But really, if…. If there’s a ‘what if’. What if she doesn’t like a child with shadows….”

“….Because Gain isn’t perfect.”

Twitch. It was the first time Isabel had called her name.

Gain was startled and looked up.

Their eyes met immediately.

“Even if Gain is someone who is lacking somewhere, she’s still someone who lives fiercely today and fills it…. That’s why she saved us.”

“….”

For a moment, she couldn’t think of anything to say. Isabel quietly continued her sentences.

“I was just stuck in Sarnese Territory, so I lived without knowing anything. I read a lot of books and saw a lot of good paintings, but I really didn’t know anything about the world. Just in my world the size of my fingernail….”

“….”

“I lived with my young daughter who didn’t know anything. Like a well-decorated doll. I believed that was the ultimate happiness.”

“….”

“But after meeting Gain…. I realized that our time had stopped.”

Isabel smiled brightly at Gain. Her cheeks were already soaked as well.

“Thank you for taking us imperfect people out of there. And thank you for walking with us. The word ‘Mom’ might not have been entirely comfortable, but….”

“….”

The hug was all warm. Her eyes closed softly.

Gain buried her sobbing voice in Isabel’s shoulder and let it flow.

Rin’s short arms hugged her tightly.

“Still, thank you for being Mom’s daughter.”