I Became The Stepmother Of An Irrevocable Dark Family

Translator and Editor: Maru and Tea

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Chapter 78

I could see his pupils quivering for a moment. Listening to my heartfelt confession, he became silent for a moment.

“Someday….If Rere gets better and I have a choice, I’ll hold your hand and tell you properly.”

I love you.

I will say that.

Since I came to this world, he was the one I wanted next to me, aside from Rere.

With a trembling hand, I held his hand tightly.

“So would you wait for a little while?”

I was afraid my feelings for him would end our blooming relationship, but I wanted to confess regardless.

This is how I feel.

“If you say it like that, then I guess I have no other choice.”

He sounded like he was grumbling, and I could only smile.

“…I don’t know how I should face you, Leona.”

“How do you face me?”

“There’s something I wish for whenever I look at you like this, Leona. I wish I’m the only one in those eyes.”

“Luca.”

“I’m jealous of the young lady. She can have you the entire time. I know that I can’t have you, but I keep getting greedy.”

What should I say?

“I keep having these thoughts. I should’ve let you go that day. I shouldn’t hold you down here just because I want to see you more.”

How should I look at you?

“I’ve been here for many years and erased people’s memories whenever I deemed it necessary. But there’s no way I can erase your memory.”

My heart is breaking.

His voice began to tremble.

“I’m someone who can disappear at any time. I always believed that it’d be better to erase people’s memories of me. That’s what I always believed, yet my steps, my eyes, my whole mind are always directed at you.”

Have I ever received this kind of affection before?

Both in my past life and present life. All the affection I received in Korea and here.

While I lived as Leona, I received the warm love of family, which I never had, through Rere. And I experienced romantic feelings between a man and woman through Luca.

I never imagined that someone actually cared about me or how my life would lighten because of them.

“I’m glad that Luca is here. The reason why I want to stay is because of Luca.”

“But, if things go south later…I will eventually disappear.”

“Luca.”

I stopped and turned to face him. I caressed the hand holding mine and smiled gently.

“I won’t forget. I still don’t know what kind of being Luca is, but it doesn’t matter. Even if I only have one minute to love, I will remember you and love you only.”

“…..”

“And there will only be you in my future. So don’t worry about anything. Now, you must do your best while living in the present. I will do my best, too. So that Luca can be my future.”

Only then did Luca laugh.

“If you say it like that, then I guess I have no other choice.”

“You don’t have to do anything, Luca. Because Luca can’t tell me anything, right? About your identity….”

“Yes.”

I nodded as soon as I heard his firm answer.

“Does your future depend on me?”

I stroked the cheeks of a man who nodded sadly.

“Then I will encourage you more.”

I suddenly realized that I couldn’t even confess properly. I tried to understand him, a man who always said that he liked me every single time.

“Don’t worry. I have a hunch that everything will work out just fine.”

His eyes looked darker than usual.

“I don’t want to part ways with you even for a moment. I don’t want you to be sad.”

I smiled and rose onto my tiptoes.

“Lower your head.”

“Sorry?”

Even when I lifted my tiptoes, I couldn’t reach his head. So I waved my hand, and only then did he bow his head as if he understood my gesture.

So I stroked his head. His hair was as soft as a puppy’s fur.

“Leona….?”

“Stop making that sad face. It’s not that we’re breaking up right away or we don’t have a future.”

Only then did a smile spread on his face.

“I see.”

He slowly raised his head and put his hand on my head this time.

“Leona, you’re doing great, too.”

“Then, shall we go now?”

I was a little embarrassed when I stroked his head, but when he did it to me, I felt extremely flustered. As someone who had never been praised by anyone in life, it was the first time I received such a sincere compliment.

“Alright. Young Miss will be waiting.”

Only then did Luca hold my hand again.

“Do we still have a long way to go to Rere’s room?”

“Well…”

He scratched his head and grinned. Then he grabbed my shoulders to turn me around. Instantly, my surroundings completely changed.

“Huh…”

“Madam? How did you suddenly appear?”

I was right in front of Rere’s room.

“I guess I came in too fast…you guys didn’t seem to be aware…”

Leaving the dazed maids behind, I awkwardly entered the room.

In other words, we had already arrived earlier, but Luca hid us.

“Luca….”

“Yes?”

He was following behind me and smiled as if nothing had happened. Looking at his brazen attitude, I smiled and walked toward Rere immediately.

“Big Bunny!”

As soon as I entered the room, Rere pouted. The child had become a little thinner due to the sickness.

“Are you up?”

“Yes! Do you know how surprised I was when I woke up and Big Bunny wasn’t around?”

“I’m sorry. I was going to tell Rere first, but….”

“You have to wake me up next time! Do you know how shocked I am when Big Bunny isn’t on my side when I wake up?”

So I hugged the child sitting in her bed crossing her arms.

“I won’t do that again.”

“Yeah! Don’t forget your promise! Luca promised to pick up Big Bunny, so I trusted him and waited here.”

“Huh?”

Rere lifted the flower crown next to her and placed it on her head.

“That’s…”

“I heard this was made by Big Bunny!”

“Huh?”

“Madam did it when the Young Miss was sleeping.”

It was the nanny. Just this morning she had said that she didn’t know who put the flower crown in Rere’s room.

“I like it!”

“That’s…”

“I saw Madam make it this morning.”

Luca was the one who made that flower crown, but he patted my shoulder with ease.

It was Luca. He had altered the nanny’s memory…

“Madam personally went out at dawn to make it. I saw it.”

“Really? Big Bunny, why are you going that far for me? Aren’t you going to get sick? My Big Bunny is too kind!”

Rere quickly got up from her seat at Luca’s lie and touched my head.

“I think you’re getting a little feverish.”

“No. Rere. Mom is completely healthy.”

I hugged Rere at once.

“I think Rere has gotten much thinner now.”

“Yeah. I couldn’t sleep because Mom wasn’t here. So let me sleep now. I want to sleep more.”

I looked around and then approached the rocking chair that was placed on one side of the room. Rere always sat there when I worked.

“Then I’ll pat you there.”

“Uuung! I’m so happy!”

With Rere in my arms, I moved my body up and down for a long time. Sitting in the rocking chair, we slowly fell asleep like babies in a cradle. Rere buried her face in my chest and fell asleep with a gentle breath.

So we slept for a long time. It was midday when I woke up again. I didn’t know if she was up first, but Rere wriggled on my chest.

“Uuuum…”

Then, when she heard the sound of me waking up, Rere stopped moving and closed her eyes.

When I pretended to sleep while opening my eyes slightly, the child wriggled again.

“Rere, what are you doing?”

“….Bunny, aren’t you sleeping? R-Rere didn’t do anything!”

But Rere, who said she didn’t do anything, quickly hid what was in her hands.

“What are you doing?”

“Well….that’s….”

When I opened my eyes slowly, my hair was already braided beautifully. That wasn’t all, flowers were entangled between the twists and around my crown.

“Huh….”

“Last time I saw you dropped the flower crown…so I planted a flower on Big Bunny’s head this time because I was afraid you’d drop it again!”

“Huh? Did you?”

“Uung! Because Big Bunny is a flower bunny. Pretty flower bunny! So pretty! Flowers will bloom from Big Bunny’s head!”

Rere, who grinned, stood up happily and looked down at me.

“Rere is also a flower bunny.”

“Rere is a small bunny flower! Mom is a big Bunny flower! We’re family!”

“That’s right. We’re family.”

Perhaps she was in a good mood at the word family, Rere smiled so brightly that I couldn’t see her eyes, and then she buried herself back into my chest.

“But why don’t you sleep more?”

“Yeah, strangely, I didn’t sleep much because of Big Bunny, but it doesn’t hurt much now. I feel like I’m getting healthier.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! I don’t even have a fever!”

Then I suddenly remembered what the doctor said.

“Rere.”

Rere, who had buried her head in my chest, slightly raised her head.

“Do you remember when you were sick?”

“Yes! I was really angry because of my daddy!”

“Was there anything weird at the time? Did you have a sudden headache or anything?”

“Um…my whole body got hot. Very very hot.”

Children’s disease symptoms are usually vague. Even if anywhere else is hurt, they’ll say that their stomach hurts. I asked just in case the same happened with Rere.

“I see.”

“Why?”

“No. I’m just curious if it’s because of mental illness or stress, or is there another reason?”

“Bunny.”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t worry! I won’t hurt as long as I’m with Bunny! I have a good feeling about that!”

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