The Villain's Sister - Chapter 34

Heinrich couldn’t speak any further.

He instinctively understood. The energy the girl had emitted wasn’t harmful.

It was a germinating seed, a sprout full of possibilities, a blazing sun, and the warmth of a spring day.

That energy pooled in Heinrich’s eyes.

Like a frying pan heating up, his eyes grew hot.

Then, at some point, even though his eyes were supposed to be blind, he felt brightness.

A faint light came through.

“How is this even…”

“Shh.”

Before he could exclaim in astonishment, the girl covered his mouth.

“I don’t know where else, but your injury wasn’t just to your eyes.”

The energy that started from her fingertips traveled from his eyes down to his legs.

His nerves should have been too damaged to feel anything, yet his legs began to feel warm.

A familiar yet unfamiliar sensation crept in, and his toes tingled.

“Ugh.”

A groan escaped Heinrich.

He flinched his leg without realizing it.

The sheet covering his foot shifted with a rustling sound.

He was so shocked that he didn’t even notice he had held his breath.

“Judging by how much energy was used, it’ll take a few hours before you’re fully recovered.”

“You…”

Still trembling from surprise, Heinrich composed his voice and asked as calmly as he could.

“Who are you? Why are you being so kind to me?”

“Just because I felt sorry for you.”

“So it’s out of pity?”

“Not exactly.”

Heinrich thought the girl’s voice sounded sorrowful.

It wasn’t the kind of depth you’d expect from someone her age.

“I want to heal my own body like this, too, but it seems it’s harder to do it on myself than on others. It doesn’t work so well. But I think in a few years, I’ll be able to use it without issue.”

“If there’s something you want, tell me. Money or anything else, I’ll give it to you.”

“Hmm.”

The girl hesitated for a moment, then replied in a calm tone, “I hope the bad people disappear. So that people can be a little less unhappy.”

“I see.”

“But that’s like Cinderella’s pumpkin carriage, isn’t it? Don’t you think?”

“The pumpkin carriage might not exist, but the ball does. If you want, I could throw a party for you every day.”

“No. What I meant was… that might be a dreamlike event for me, but for you, every day from now on will be like a ball. Your dream came true.”

“Do you really not want anything? Then why did you heal me?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I just wanted to be your fairy godmother.”

Just like my brother became my godmother.

It didn’t suit the miraculous situation or the swelling emotions, but Heinrich let out a quiet chuckle.

The person he didn’t even know the name or face of also let out a small laugh.

“By tomorrow morning, your eyes and legs will be fully healed, but it’ll just be a simple ‘miracle.’ The kind you read about in history books or get certified by the papacy.”

It meant she didn’t want anyone to know about her power.

For the first time since he was born, Heinrich embraced the world positively.

***

An esper ability was as rare as magic.

Among them, healing abilities were even rarer, and to possess power this strong was a miracle in itself.

So there was no choice but to quietly keep it buried.

Even so, Heinrich cautiously asked, “Even a small gesture, or… at least a word of thanks. I’d like to do that, so―”

“The fairy godmother says just watching her godchild go to the ball is enough to make her full.”

With a teasing remark, the girl cut him off and withdrew her hand.

He wanted to see her, but even opening his eyes slightly made it so bright he couldn’t endure it.

Since he was once again able to perceive light, his senses were more sensitive than ever.

Eventually, Heinrich spoke to her back as she grabbed the doorknob.

“I hope a fairy godmother appears in your life, too.”

Click.

The girl quietly opened the door and left.

Heinrich trembled from the miracle that had found him.

He couldn’t stop the chills. It was mercy without price.

A miracle given with no conditions, no demands, just pure kindness spread a deep warmth in his chest.

A positive outlook toward the world, awe… and faith.

A sliver of faith in a life that had never known respect, a will to believe, a hope to live his second chance differently than before.

‘I can’t believe it.’

He slowly and cautiously opened his eyes. Frowning, he gradually adjusted to the brightness.

Then, what had been invisible just a few minutes earlier came into clear view.

His heart thumped wildly and his hands began to tremble.

He drew in a breath, overwhelmed.

At that moment, a loud alarm rang throughout the hospital.

― Hostage situation in progress

― Hostage situation in progress

Faint gunshots followed.

“Kyaaaaah!”

“Aaaah!”

Screams echoed through the hospital.

He tried to move his legs, but they wouldn’t cooperate.

Though sensation had returned, he wasn’t yet in a state to walk.

Crash, clatter―!

Bang!

The sounds of explosions and sirens overlapped.

A sense of helplessness and his worry and anxiety for the girl intertwined.

Several hours later, the hospital room door opened, and his grand-aunt returned.

“What happened at the hospital?”

“A villain who came for treatment before being incarcerated stabbed a guard and took a hostage while escaping.”

“A villain?”

“They say he was a serial killer. One girl died. Poor thing… she was only fourteen… Her eyesight wasn’t good, so they say she went the wrong way—toward where the villain was hiding.”

No… Please, no. Not that child.

Heinrich prayed anxiously.

‘Please don’t take my faith away from me.’

But once again, God was not on his side.

“Maya Cox. An only child hospitalized due to eye injuries from domestic abuse.”

“She must have had siblings.”

“She didn’t. Maybe she considered a cousin or the boy next door like a brother.”

The only patient at the hospital that day with eye injuries from abuse was Maya Cox.

At least among the confirmed patients.

He was crushed, unable to make a sound, and discharged with even the momentary faith he’d held completely shattered.

Despite the sad news, his grand-aunt was overjoyed by the miracle that had happened to him.

But she only offered prayers of gratitude to God and never spread word of it to others.

Perhaps guessing something from Heinrich’s silence, she helped him live the quiet life he desired.

She instilled the image in people’s minds that the Duke of Valkenstein had withdrawn from society after becoming disabled.

“I want to establish a foundation to support children suffering from domestic violence.”

“Then when I die, I’ll leave my inheritance to it as well.”

“That would be wonderful.”

The sunlight he could now see again was more dazzling and brilliant than any chandelier.

The legs that could dance again weren’t so weak that they’d make him lose his shoes.

“I hope the bad people disappear. So that people can be a little less unhappy.”

The one who had shown him kindness was killed by a villain.

A hopeless case—a serial killer.

Though he was executed right after his capture, if he had died sooner, that girl wouldn’t have had to die.

He was filled with cynicism toward the world. A villain had been given a chance, and an innocent child died.

“But that’s like Cinderella’s pumpkin carriage, isn’t it? Don’t you think?”

The pumpkin carriage that disappears at a certain hour. A girl who knew its secret…

Resignation isn’t something a fourteen-year-old girl should have.

She should have embraced hope and started a new life.

She should have discovered a paradise in the place she fled to, lived a normal life laughing and crying, and only died many years later.

Though today was like a ball for him, the one who gave him this miracle did not exist anymore.

“Maybe I just wanted to be your fairy godmother.”

Fine. If you’re the fairy godmother, then I’ll gladly be Cinderella.

But there are too many villains in this fairy tale.

So I’ll remove the villains who killed my godmother and hope for a world where children can grow up with hope and safety.

That will be the happy ending of this fairy tale.

The new life he was given must be for that mission.

Thus, he became Cinderella.

Wearing a suit and a masquerade mask, he roamed in search of a new party each day.

Though faint streetlights replaced chandeliers, and cold asphalt replaced marble floors, it didn’t matter.

The moment he opened his eyes and regained his legs, the ball for Cinderella had begun.

And so, Heinrich von Valkenstein died, and Red Shadow was born.