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I guided the Eruls into the farm building.
I took them to the living room where we could talk.
Three visitors sat side by side, and I sat on the opposite side.
Andras stood in the back as if protecting me even though there was an empty seat.
And there was another person who sat down.
Kaneff sat throwing a flurry of uncomfortable signs.
“Boss, are you going to stay here?”
“Why? This is where I live. I can sit wherever I want.”
“That’s true, but…”
I was afraid because he’ll cause trouble as he did before, but I decided to let it go.
“My name is Lim Sihyeon and I work on this farm. And this is –”
Andras, Kaneff gave a brief introduction.
The other side also introduced naturally.
“Let me introduce myself again. I’m Anis of the Erul tribe. This is my uncle, Daur, and this is Namira, who is helping us.”
Anis introduced the man who had a war of nerves with Kaneff as Daur, and the woman next to him as Namira.
Due to the rough start, the introduction of each other was very dull.
After a brief introduction of each other, a heavy silence came for a while.
The visitors from the Erul tribe seemed to want to speak, and there seemed to be no one to start a conversation except me.
I opened my mouth with difficulty while organizing numerous thoughts that came to mind.
“You said you were looking for a Erul child, right?”
“Yes, I’m looking for my sister’s child.”
Anis calmly answered the question.
“So where are the parents of the child…?”
“They’re all dead.”
“Ah…”
The expression of Anis, who was speaking, also didn’t look good.
“I got the sad news late because of various circumstances. Only then did I get to know that I had a niece.”
“How did you get here?”
“My sister and her husband ran away in this direction. I knew that, so I kept looking for my niece’s traces in this area. Then a merchant said he saw an Erul girl in a Beast-people village around here.”
She explained how she came here without a hitch.
I couldn’t feel anything strange.
“Then Spera… How did the Erul child end up alone?”
“I can’t explain all the complicated circumstances of my tribe, all I can say is there are people who are after my niece for some reason. My older sister and her husband tried to protect her from them, but in that process, they lost their lives…”
As the story continued, the door opened quietly, and Lia came in with a warm tea.
Following her, Alfred and Speranza appeared as well.
The Erul people didn’t hide their surprised expression as soon as they saw Speranza.
“She looks just like my sister when she was a kid.”
“Yes, she looks just like your sister.”
“The little girl was like that even when she was born…”
Unlike them, who became emotional, Speranza hid behind Alfred’s legs and was wary of strangers.
“Speranza, come here!”
When I called, the little fox girl came running to me and clung to me.
Perhaps the eyes of the Erul people were burdensome, so she completely buried her face in my arms.
The eyes of the three people looking at me and Speranza have become subtle.
Lia treated the guests politely as a maid, regardless of the slightly awkward atmosphere.
Before the fragrant tea scent filled the surroundings, Anis asked the question first.
“You said Lim Sihyeon, right? Can you tell me how you met that Erul child?”
“So the first time I met her…”
I recalled the day I first met Speranza while looking back on my past memories.
At that time, I met Speranza thanks to Tanduk.
The baby fox was hiding in a small crack in the rock.
When I remembered the appearance that was a little blurred now, a faint smile bloomed on my face.
I slowly told the Erul people about what happened when I first met her and what we had been doing together on the farm.
Not only the Erul people, but also the farm members, and Speranza raised their heads and listened.
The story was not so long or short, and when it was over, once again silence filled the room.
The Erul people exchanged glances.
It seemed like they were organizing their thoughts.
Speranza glanced at the Erul people with curious eyes.
Then, when their eyes met, she was surprised and buried her face in my arms.
“Lim Sihyeon. I’ve heard your story. First of all, I’d like to say thank you. I think that the child saved by Lim Sihyeon is Miwoo, the girl we were looking for.”
“Miwoo?”
Fox-woman stepped up and explained.
“This is the name the little girl got from her parents. When they named her, I was next to them.”
Miwoo…
Miwoo…
The name Speranza’s biological parents gave her.
I had a very complicated feeling as I recalled the name ‘Miwoo’ in my mind.
“For saving my niece Miwoo…..”
“It’s Speranza.”
Kaneff, who has been quiet so far, said a word with an uncomfortable look.
“What?”
“That child’s name is Speranza, not Miwoo.”
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became cold.
Anis was speechless at Kaneff’s firm answer.
Instead, it was Daur who answered instead.
“Didn’t you hear what she just said? It’s the name the child’s biological parents gave her”
“How do we know whether it’s the name given by her biological parents or you guys are making up?”
“Are you implying that we’re lying?”
“Do you expect us to believe everything you say just because you have a tail and fox ears like the child?”
Once again the conversation got heated up.
“Uh, Papa…”
Speranza hugged me while shaking.
“Boss!”
“Uncle!”
I and Anis gave each of them a stinging gaze telling them to be moderate.
“Hmm… Hmm.”
“Phew!”
The two softened their spirits by looking at Speranza, who was scared.
Even though I stopped Kaneff, what he said made some sense.
“My boss said it a little rudely, but what he said was true. I’m not sure if you’re really Speranza’s family. Just being from the Erul tribe doesn’t mean you’re a relative to this child.”
Anis nodded.
“Yes, that’s right. Please wait a moment… …Namira, help me.”
“Yes, Ms. Anis.”
Anis put her hand on Namira’s forehead, and a white energy came out, and soon something got sucked from Namira’s head.
Two minutes later, the white energy that had been sucked by Anis took the form of a small bead.
Anis picked up the bead carefully.
“I’ll show you in person. Miwoo’s biological parents!”
When she whispered something to the beads, the beads dispersed into the air, divided into small fragments.
Small fragments began to paint something in the air.
“Wow…”
Speranza’s eyes shone on the dreamy and mysterious phenomenon.
A man with red hair, fox ears and tail, and a Erul woman were vividly depicted.
And there was a little baby between the two.
The scene continued as the two continued to happily take care of the baby.
At a glance, I realized that the small baby was Speranza.
Next to me, Speranza focused on the scenes in the air.
It is not known whether she knew that the baby in the scene was herself, but Speranza didn’t take her eyes off each scene that got projected.
Other farm families seemed to have noticed what the scenes in the air meant.
Kaneff murmured still discontentedly.
“That’s not enough…”
“No, it’s enough. The people in that scene are really Speranza’s biological parents.”
“….”
The day Speranza first called me Papa, I saw a part of Speranza’s memory.
The Fox-woman, from whom the bead was taken was also with her parents in the memory I saw.
The people in front of me really seemed to be Speranza’s family.
“Can you trust us now?”
“…”
I nodded in silence.
“Thank you so much for taking care of Miwoo so far. I won’t forget this grace in the name of the Erul.”
“……..”
I felt suffocated.
Anis’s next words made me stop breathing for a second.
“I’m sure you’ve cherished my niece, but from now on we’ll take care of Miwoo. I’m sure my late sister also wished for that.”
I bit my lips tightly.
Even though I had thought about it countless times, my mind turned white as soon as I heard her say it.
I couldn’t think of anything to answer.
An unbearable sadness enveloped me.
I didn’t want to send Speranza.
I wanted to get angry at them.
On the other hand, questions continued to pop in my head.
What should I do?
What’s better for Speranza?
Wouldn’t it be better for Speranza to be with her relatives?
I felt like my existence was getting smaller in front of Speranza’s real family.
I’m not a Demon…..
I’m from another world……
What if Speranza feels unhappy because of my greed… ?
“HEY…FOOL”
I came back to my senses at Kaneff’s call.
He glared at me with an expressionless face.
“What are you thinking about?”
“I mean… to the real family… for Speranza to be happy…”
I stuttered and my words became gibberish.
“Usually, you pretend to be smart and brave while solving other people’s problems, but when it comes to your problem, why are you so stupid?”
“……?”
“Why are you looking and thinking about stuff you can’t see? Look at the most important thing!”
I moved my eyes in the direction Kaneff moved his hands.
At the end of my sight, I saw a little fox girl shivering in my hands.
Similar to the time when she was shivering under the crack of rock… …
Similar to the time when she was trembling with fear on a stormy night in the messy corner of the warehouse…
Speranza was shaking in my arms.
Ah… you idiot… you idiot!
I vowed I would make her happy.
I vowed I would protect her smile!
Why did I forget it?
I felt a heartbreaking pain at the sight of Speranza, who had gone back to her past self.
Maybe she is afraid.
How did I think Speranza might be happier with her real family… …?
I realized how stupid it was.
I won’t let her be lonely again.
And I will always make you smile happily and will always protect that smile.
The complicated thoughts in my head disappeared in an instant.
I acted with the emotion that got deeply embedded in my heart.
“Anis, and other Erul people, I’m sorry.”
“What?”
“I realized. The fact that you’re a real family doesn’t matter. In the first place, what’s real and fake about family?”
I hugged the trembling Speranza tightly in my arms.
The tremors did not ease easily.
“I’m sorry, Speranza darling. I almost did something stupid. I’m sorry.”
Speranza looked up from my arms and looked at me.
Tears were welling up in her big eyes.
“I really promise you this time. I’ll never let you be lonely. So can you trust me one more time?”
Speranza grabbed my clothes with her small hands and nodded slowly.
Feeling overwhelmed by her appearance, I held her tightly in my arms again.
Tears welled in my eyes for a moment.
I never wanted to let go of this happy feeling.
“No way! What are you saying? Miwoo is my niece. Of course, we should take her!”
“Of course, the Eruls should raise a Erul child! What right do you have to keep her?!”
Erul tribe members started shouting with angry expressions.
“Right…. rights? Of course, I have rights too.”
When I was spending a happy time with Speranza, I always felt a little guilty in my mind.
I always thought, won’t her real parents and family suffer from losing Speranza at this moment?
I felt like I’m taking away their happiness?
So I couldn’t say it with confidence.
Speranza called me Papa, but I always said I was her guardian.
To relieve the slightest sense of guilt, and to think it was a courtesy for the real family…
But it was only a cowardly self-justification.
I just ran away because I was afraid of the breakup that I might experience later.
Now I didn’t want to.
No, it shouldn’t be.
I really promised Speranza.
It reminded me of Speranza’s biological parents.
I’m sorry, but I won’t avoid it anymore.
To the Erul people… …and Speranza’s biological parents who were watching from heaven, I proudly declared.
“Speranza is my DAUGHTER, and I’m….. Speranza’s FATHER.”
Hearing my words Kaneff smiled.
Other farm members also looked at me and Speranza with warm eyes.
And the little fox girl’s tremor disappeared in no time.