Leo began to believe that he would become the world’s greatest hero if he endured well until he left the punishment room.

Yesterday, I fell asleep because I was sick so I slept.

A day passed like that. During the day, Matilda brought a bottle of water for us to drink.

And when night came, Daniel came again.

“Sister! I need to go in right away. Get this right now!”

Daniel shoved the bread through the grates and left the place in a hurry.

As the sun rose, Leo woke up first and began to twist his body in the narrow punishment room.

He was used to a lot of physical activity, so it seemed very difficult for him to be confined here.

“Leo. Let’s eat.”

I tore the bread that Daniel had given me the day before. Originally, the tough bread had dried up so hard that it could only be eaten after soaking it in the remaining water and becoming soft.

“But when is the older brother coming?”

“Ah. Do you want to see Edward?”

“I like the big one better than the smaller one. My older brother secretly gave me candy. The little one is just mean.”

Leo had been talking non-stop, as if he had decided to solve the boring thing through chatter.

“If a mantis and a wasp fight, who wins?”

“What will my sister do when she becomes a stag beetle? When I become a wasp, I’ll sting on my brother’s butt.”

“If I jump off the third floor with a blanket, will I be able to fly like a bird?”

I made a dozen meaningless assumptions about what to say so much, and then whispered in small whispers. I was very restless. Then Leo said,

“Sister. I like my sister very much.”

“Yes…?”

“I like my older sister more than my brothers.”

Then Leo went into my arms to make a fool of himself.

I don’t know how long he’ll be like a little baby, but for this moment, I couldn’t resist Leo.

“Sister. When I grow up, I will protect you from the villains.”

It may be a passing word from his childhood, but the tip of my nose wrinkled because his heart was beautiful.

‘It’s impressive. When did you get so big?’

When he was just born, he was small and red and wrinkled, like a monkey.

“Sister. I love you.”

I kissed his forehead and patted his back.

A long time after eating the bread, Leo’s stomach rumbled.

I’m old enough to starve, but Leo was only eight years old.

But in the meantime, Leo laughed and rubbed his stomach.

“Leo. Are you hungry?”

“Yes.”

I got up to knock on the door, thinking I couldn’t stay like this. Then there was the sound of a lock being opened from outside and the door was wide open.

“Come out.”

“Huh?”

“From today on, you will be responsible for the monster brother.”

“A monster?”

“Yes. Monster!”

I knew right away who she was referring to.

“Daniel is not a monster.”

“Huh. What ten-year-old memorizes administrative laws and listens to the verses? Does that mean that he knows which book is on which page and what line? Oh man, I have never seen such a strange monster in my life.”

“Don’t say that.”

“Anyway, go quickly and check on your brother. I mean, do it well so something like today doesn’t happen again!”

“What happened?”

“If you go, you will know.”

With an anxious mind, I grabbed Leo’s hand and quickly went to the men’s room to find Daniel.

Without having to look into the room, Daniel and two other boys were standing in the hallway with their arms crossed.

“Daniel!”

“Brother!”

“…Sister?”

Daniel, who saw us, widened his eyes. I was also quite surprised.

There was a bruise on Daniel’s face. His nose was mottled with blood, and his clothes were wildly torn and full of blood and dirt.

My god, while I’m gone…

“What’s this?!”

Without realizing it, I became very angry. Daniel averted my gaze and shook his head.

“Did you hit him?”

The two boys averted their gaze and pursed their lips. Unlike Daniel, the guys had a bruise or two on their eyelids, but I couldn’t see any blood on them.

“Why did you hit him?!”

“That guy got into an argument first! I mean, he said we were blind, stupid, idiots who couldn’t even read properly!”

“No! Sister, they… They called me a monster! And they said I was the idiot to talk to Mrs. Miller!”

“These…!”

Without realizing it, I held back my fist that was about to come out. Heat rose from my chest.

However, since I am an intelligent person and I am a 14-year-old girl, I tried my best to put up with my irritation.

“Why is Daniel such a monster?! It’s because he’s a hundred times smarter than you and two hundred times smarter than you, so why a monster!”

“That’s right! My brother is smart!”

Leo added from the side. Then the two guys stared at me and spoke.

“If he’s smarter than us, would he hit someone like that?”

“…”

“Daniel. Hands down They are not wrong.”

“But…”

“Oh my god. They were the ones who quarreled and hit you first, so why are you being punished with me? No wonder! Wait, I’ll have to tell Mrs. Miller and come back!”

I was leaving Leo and going to see Mrs. Miller again, but Daniel came rushing in and grabbed my hand.

“Sister. Don’t. You will be locked up again. I’m fine.”

Lie. Daniel was the most delicate and fragile of our four siblings.

As a result, he grew up like a flower among the plants in the greenhouse. Although he sometimes quarreled with Edward, he quarreled and quarreled with Leo, but he did not get hurt so badly because of the quarrel between the brothers.

It was unacceptable for a guy who was thinner and smaller than his peers to be beaten like this.

It’s those guys who called Daniel a monster who need to stop this from happening, not Daniel.

I was so angry that I was suffocating.

Pls read only at pink muffin tl.

“I’m not okay.”

“Sister…”

“If it just goes like this, I can’t be angry. I’m sure we’ll figure out what’s wrong, and whether Mrs. Miller locks me in or beats me up, that’s for later.”

I said so, but I didn’t shake Daniel’s hand first. Then I thought I would be ignoring Daniel’s will and acting my own way.

I stared at Daniel, hoping for permission. Then, after hesitating for a while, Daniel let go of my hand. I ruffled the boy’s hair and smiled.

“Leo please.”

“Yes. Don’t worry.”

After leaving Daniel’s answer behind, I headed straight to Mrs. Miller’s room.

Tuk. Tuk.

I knocked on the door. Then I heard footsteps inside and the door opened.

“What happened as soon as you came out?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know?”

“What?”

I swear I didn’t know I could be so cocky and arrogant. Now that my parents aren’t around, the only thing I trust under the sky seems to be making me aggressive.

‘I’m the only one who can protect them. So Elizabeth Herrington, you must be stronger than anyone else.’

Let’s not be afraid, let’s not shrink. After telling myself that, I recklessly pushed my body into her room.

“Why does Daniel have to face punishment together? He is the victim.”

“He caused trouble.”

“What is the matter?! It was the kids who teased him first.”

“Anyway, the guy who was teased has a problem, right?”

You crazy old woman!

“To say that the victim also has problems, where the hell did that logic come from? With that in mind, even if I hit Mrs. Miller right now, I have a problem, so should I reflect on it together?”

“What, what? You cheeky…!”

“Apologize to Daniel right now. And don’t ever think of him that way again. He’s the nicest and smartest guy ever!”

“I don’t want to hear it, so stop. Stop!”

“It’s neglect and unfair corporal punishment for bullying!”

“Why are you talking like an adult? I am in charge here! If you say that one more time, you will be thrown into the punishment room again!”

“Fine! Put me there! Then I will accuse you!”

“The girl who doesn’t even know grace!”

As my voice rose, automatically Mrs. Miller’s voice rose as well. She raised her hand high.

For a moment my heart pounded hard, but not wanting to show my frightened look, I looked straight at her.

Seeing this, Mrs. Miller stopped her hand in her mid-air, and she glared at me vigorously. Then she smiled meanly.

“Okay. Fine.”

“…”

Are you apologizing? Did I win? Did Mrs. Miller accept my request? Is the accusation scary?

All sorts of thoughts ran through my mind. Suddenly I was confused by the change in her attitude I saw.

While I hesitated to answer her in embarrassment, Mrs. Miller pulled something from her desk drawer and handed it to me.

“I’m going to apologize to Daniel separately, so you can run an errand.”

“Errand… huh?”

What errand all of a sudden?

“The other kids can’t go because they’re young, but I think it’s worth letting you go.”

My face wrinkled, wondering what she was talking about. She didn’t even care about my expression and went on to say what she had to say.

“It is an ambiguous place to send mail, so you have to send the letter yourself. This is Grandma Lafiera, who lives at 18 Moera Row next to Draghi Square.”

“Come on, wait a minute. I don’t even know where that is.”

“It’s 2pm now, so if you hurry, you can come back tonight.”

Then, Mrs. Miller said, holding the loaf on her desk in her hand.

In the meantime, I have been starving terribly, and the smell of bread was so strong that I began to eat bread in a frenzy. My pride was gone.

Mrs. Miller handed me the water from her kettle. I felt like I was going to live, literally, as sheI roughly filled my tummy.

“Once you’ve finished eating, go.”

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like