Arc 3 Side Story 4 : Love

[??? POV]

I was born an orphan, without a father.

For the first six years of my life, I lived with my mother, who worked as nothing more than a baker in a shop owned by someone she knew.

My memories of her are very faint, perhaps because I was still so young back then.

She died from an illness I knew nothing about.

After my mother's death, I was completely alone. I had no one to depend on, and eventually, I ended up in a garbage dump, searching through the refuse for whatever scraps of food I could find.

But I was still far too young to survive on my own in a place like that.

Within only a few days, I had grown terribly weak. I could barely endure the hunger, and my body had become little more than skin and bones because I could hardly find anything edible.

Then, someone approached me.

"You'll have to work for me if you want to live."

I nodded without knowing where my life would lead after following that man.

The person who had saved me gave me food, even though it was barely fit to eat.

At least I could continue living.

But once again, fate was not on my side.

The man brought me to his home and made me work as a servant, washing dishes, mopping floors, and doing other chores around his house in exchange for two pieces of bread a day.

But that wasn't all.

The man was frequently drunk, and whenever he was, he often became violent toward me.

Sometimes, the bruises left by his fists would remain for several days.

My life was no better than before.

I cried often. I couldn't bear living like this.

Yet I didn't have the courage to take my own life.

I was only a child...

One day, the man who had taken me in ordered me to buy him some alcohol.

As I walked through the city's central square, I suddenly stopped.

I saw a little child playing with his mother and father.

The child looked so happy, smiling and laughing with the people who loved him.

Nothing like me, who lived alone with nothing but the person who tormented me every day.

I wanted to be loved...

I wanted someone to care about me...

I didn't want to be alone...

Those were the only thoughts running through my mind as I watched that happy family.

Days passed.

Then, one day, the man who had taken me in suddenly fell ill.

Foam poured from his mouth, and the skin on his face turned blue.

Not long afterward, he died.

The place where I lived soon began to fill with the stench of his rotting body.

I couldn't move the corpse.

I was far too small to drag a man that large.

But not long after his death, I suddenly developed a high fever.

I could do nothing but lie there weakly, with only the man's corpse beside me.

At the time, I wondered if I would die just like him.

But once again, fate had something else in store for me.

A man passing by noticed the terrible stench coming from the house and broke down the door.

He found me still alive, rescued me, and carried me to the place where he and his companions lived.

Once again, I had been saved...

The man who rescued me lived in a forest.

He was a member of a circus troupe called The Mushroom.

During my first five days there, I watched them perform incredible movements, spectacular magic, and even things like reading people's minds.

They were amazing people.

And it wasn't just that.

Everyone there was kind to me.

They gave me delicious food and a comfortable bed.

It was completely different from the life I had lived with that drunkard.

Whenever they saw me, they would immediately come over to greet me and talk about anything and everything.

They were always smiling at me.

They spoke gently.

They never shouted at me.

Even when I accidentally broke many things because of my clumsiness, they never scolded me.

Instead, they would comfort me whenever I cried.

As time passed, I turned eight years old, and the affection and love everyone here showed me only grew stronger.

I never imagined that such a day would come for me.

A day when I could smile whenever I wanted.

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A day when my stomach no longer ached from hunger.

A day when my body no longer shivered from sleeping in a terrible bed.

For the first time in my life, I finally understood what happiness felt like.

But then...

Something happened that took that happiness away from me.

There was a woman named Nana.

She was extremely close to me.

Even after finishing her work, she would immediately come looking for me so we could spend time together.

She was incredibly kind to me.

She often bought me presents and took me into the city.

I felt comfortable around her.

She smiled easily and was very friendly.

Sometimes, it even seemed as though she cared about me more than she cared about her own younger siblings.

But Nana wasn't the only person who had become close to me.

There was also a man around the same age as Nana who would often spend time with me whenever Nana was busy entertaining people during the circus performances.

His name was Vemir—the animal keeper.

He was a kind and friendly man, although he wasn't nearly as cheerful as Nana.

Still, spending time with him was always enjoyable.

He was like the older brother I had never had.

One night, I saw Nana walking together with Vemir.

I followed them.

And that was when I witnessed the event that marked the beginning of the end of the happiness I had known.

"Only I am allowed to be Gavin's closest friend."

After saying those words, Nana suddenly stabbed Vemir in the neck several times.

The man I had come to regard as my own older brother died right before my eyes.

I was completely shocked.

I couldn't move.

I couldn't speak.

The two of them were the closest people I had ever had in my life.

All I could do was walk back to the circus with an empty mind.

Why had this happened?

But as time went on, the people who had once been so kind to me at the circus began arguing with one another more and more.

And I was the reason.

Everyone here loved me.

Everyone wanted to spend time with me.

But some of them became jealous whenever another person spent more time with me than they did.

Eventually, they built a cage for me.

That way, none of them could take me somewhere else and spend time with me alone.

After spending several days inside that cage, I began to realize something.

Even though they seemed to love and care about me, I could no longer feel the warmth I had experienced when I first arrived here.

Their affection and love felt fake.

Their words about me no longer seemed to come from their hearts.

Now, I simply lived each day as usual, sitting absentmindedly inside the cage while reading a book.

I was only allowed to leave when I needed to use the bathroom or take a bath.

"What book are you reading this time, Gavin?"

I heard a man's voice from beside me.

I turned toward the sound.

There stood a black-haired man with a funny-looking mustache.

His name was Jeor—the cleaner who worked here.

He had replaced Marilin after she married someone from the city.

"A story about the love between Princess Verena and the Great Knight Ramsey," I answered.

"Oh? That's unusual. You're reading a love story," Jeor said. "Don't you usually read adventure stories?"

Because I often read books about adventures, Jeor would frequently come here and tell me stories of his own about various adventures.

Somehow, Jeor seemed to know an incredible amount about the world whenever he told me one of his stories.

To be honest, I preferred listening to his stories far more than reading these books.

"I don't know, Jeor. I think I'm just craving affection and love from someone else," I admitted.

"Aren't the people here always kind to you?" Jeor asked. "Aren't you happy to receive their affection?"

I sighed at his words before answering.

"Jeor, look at me. Do you see a child who is happy or one who is suffering?"

Jeor examined me from my feet, then my chest, and finally my neck.

But he didn't continue upward toward my eyes.

He was always like that whenever we talked.

For some reason, he never looked directly into my eyes.

"What I see is a lonely little boy," Jeor answered.

"Even though everyone here has always loved and cared about me, I can no longer feel any warmth from their affection," I said.

"What exactly is affection, Jeor?"

Hearing my question, Jeor sat down on the edge of my cage.

"Affection isn't always about being kind to someone. Love isn't expressed solely through smiles and spending time with the person you care about."

Wasn't that how affection and love were supposed to be shown?

At least, that was what I had seen most of the time.

"You know, there are many fathers out there who frequently beat their children," Jeor said. "Do you think those fathers don't love their children?"

His words forced me to remember the painful memories of the first man who had ever saved me.

He always beat me whenever he got drunk.

I slowly shook my head in response to Jeor's question.

"Gavin, there are many fathers out there who beat their children. Do you know why?" Jeor continued. "There are also many mothers who scold their children whenever they make mistakes. Do you know why?"

Again, I shook my head.

I had been born an orphan, and my mother had died when I was still too young to understand anything about the world.

Because of that, I knew nothing about the love and affection a parent could give.

"A father beats his child so that the child can survive out there when the father is no longer able to protect him," Jeor explained, his voice turning serious.

"And a mother constantly scolds her child when he makes mistakes so that he can learn to think about the consequences of his actions and understand how those actions will affect him."

I thought carefully about the words Jeor had just spoken.

Everything I knew about affection and love had come from the people here.

But after I began to feel that the warmth in their love and affection was disappearing, I started to question whether what I had experienced from them was truly love at all.

"Affection and love can take many different forms," Jeor said.

"I'm sure you'll find them someday—the love and affection you've always wanted to receive."

I hoped Jeor was right.

But I didn't think I would ever find it here.

"Hey, you! We told you not to talk to Gavin!"

Suddenly, several people came over.

They grabbed Jeor and kicked him until he collapsed onto the ground.

"Didn't we warn you just yesterday? Was yesterday's punishment not enough, huh?!"

The men began kicking Jeor's body.

He groaned in pain, desperately trying to protect his head with both arms.

"Stop, Omor, Cleo, Braham, everyone! Stop kicking Jeor!" I shouted at them.

"Don't worry, Gavin! I'll make sure he won't bother you again this time!" Braham said before kicking Jeor hard in the head.

"No! You're wrong! Please, stop!"

I screamed louder as I gripped the iron bars of the cage trapping me.

But they didn't listen.

They simply continued beating Jeor.

His screams felt like knives slowly carving into my heart.

This wasn't the first time.

Everyone who had once been kind to me was blinded by jealousy whenever someone else spent time with me.

They were always fighting and arguing simply because they wanted my attention.

"Stop... Please, stop!"

If this continued, Jeor would die.

Tears began streaming down my cheeks.

There was nothing I could do except remain trapped inside this cage, listening to Jeor's screams.

I didn't want this...

I couldn't take it anymore...

It would be better if I never had any of this in the first place...

If loving me meant that you would kill other people, then I would rather not be loved or cared for by any of you!

I'd rather live alone, without a single person caring about what happened to me!

"Go away! Throw away all that affection and love you have for me! I'm sick of all of you!"

The moment I said those words, the people who had been beating Jeor suddenly collapsed to the ground.

They were completely unconscious.

"Huh? What just happened?"

I stared at them in confusion.

Jeor struggled to his feet.

His entire face was covered in injuries from the kicks he had received.

Then he slowly approached the cage where I was trapped.

"Dismantle..."

The iron bars imprisoning me suddenly shattered the moment Jeor uttered that word.

"You can use magic, Jeor?" I asked.

He didn't answer.

Instead, he stared directly into my eyes with a serious expression.

It was the first time he had ever done so.

For nearly ten days, that black-haired man with the funny mustache had never once looked directly into my eyes.

"Listen to me, Gavin," the man said as he placed both hands on my shoulders.

"You are a Cursed Child."

A Cursed Child?

What did he mean by that?

"You possess an ability called Eternal Charm, which causes other people to become fond of you whenever they look into your eyes," Jeor explained.

"What you just did to those people was Dispel. It removed the Eternal Charm affecting them..."

"...along with their lives."

If what Jeor said was true, then I had killed those people...

I had become a monster...

"Is that why you never looked into my eyes when we talked?" I asked.

"Exactly," Jeor answered.

"However, after using Dispel, your magic automatically becomes unusable for several hours."

"But how do you know all of this? Who are you really, Jeor?" I asked again.

"If you come with me, I'll teach you how to control this power of yours," Jeor said as he stepped backward, distancing himself from me.

"You're not the only one who possesses the power of a Cursed Child. There are several children at our place who have cases similar to yours."

Once again, I had been saved by a man.

I didn't know whether my life would become better from this point onward.

But if I refused to face the problem I was dealing with now, I would never obtain what I had been searching for all this time.

"All right. I'll go with you, Jeor."