If The Villain Catches Me Alive

Once the colored glasses came off, he saw a completely different person. He wondered why he hadn’t realized it before… until this point.

 

Dante’s behavior and words were so different from before that Theodore was almost in a state of cognitive dissonance, wondering if he was even the same person.

 

So, Theodore decided to assume that the insignificant man who had once been his master was now dead and a completely new person had appeared. He even gave the man in front of him a new name.  ‘Dante’, not ‘Master’, but ‘Dante’.

 

With that thought, he felt lighter. He was a different person, and it was only natural that he should behave differently, and just like that, he had become a part of Theodore’s inner thoughts.

 

Theodore spent days and days observing him as if he were seeing a new person, and in the process, it was easy to recognize. That he was… as much as he hated to admit it, a pretty sincere and upstanding person.

 

“Yeah. I’ll take care of it. Oh, and if you’re new here, would you like to have…this? I’ve only read this booklet once, it’s a collection of commonly asked questions.”

 

“Oh… Thank you.”

 

Theodore blinked for a moment at the unfamiliar sight as he descended upon the R&D Department*. A seemingly apprentice-looking kid is standing in front of Dante’s desk, and he’s being friendly and… humane.

 

‘……I never thought he was capable of smiling like that.’

 

Another line of information about Dante’s identity is written in Theodore’s mind. In Theodore’s mind, ‘Dante’ and ‘Master’ were still sharing the same information half the time, which made the other person seem a little… foreign.

 

The low point in his memory was… At first, he was just greedy and clueless, just like those idiots who would get their foot kicked out of under them… And at one point, all he could remember was seeing him cry……

 

It was the first time he realized that Dante could laugh.

 

Dante’s eyes followed the apprentice mage as he trotted out with the booklet. Noticing the affection, the interest… something in his eyes, Theodore felt his insides being twisted. ……Strangely.

 

Dante’s pupils dilated in surprise as he spotted him.

 

“Theodore! What’s the matter?”

 

As if he hadn’t expected to see him here, he beamed. In all the time that Dante had been working in the R&D Department, Theodore had never visited him once.

 

Of course, he wouldn’t. Why would anyone go to the trouble of seeing someone they didn’t even want to see…?

 

Theodore paused for a moment before explaining his planned excuse.

 

“I was thinking about getting lunch… with Jeffrey…”

 

“Oh, already? Is it already past one o’clock?! I’m sorry, are you waiting for him? You can both go without telling me! Go on!”

 

This foolish man… he couldn’t understand what Theodore meant just by his words again, and he was rambling on like this. ……If he doesn’t understand, then forget it. Theodore wasn’t kind enough to repeat himself. Nor was he in a position to, therefore,

 

“……Yes.”

 

And with that, he walked away.

 

***

 

It was surprisingly easy for Theodore to get along with Jeffrey.

 

After that incident, he was forced to reconcile with him at Dante’s urging…. but only because he realized that Jeffrey was quite similar to him.

 

“What about Master? Isn’t he going to eat?”

 

“……Err.”

 

Never did Dante say it this way, but there were certain answers that Theodore had come up with. ……I don’t know. I’ll be fine. I didn’t notice.

 

Meanwhile, Jeffrey asked something out of the blue.

 

“Does he usually skip meals?”

 

“……?”

 

Theodore gave him a questioning look and then answered the question with another question.

 

“……No?”

 

“Really? Hmm. He seems to skip it a lot.”

 

Jeffrey added, silently moving his utensils around.

 

“……with me.”

 

We have breakfast together… every day.

 

Theodore spoke in a hushed voice. In the morning, they work out together, go to their respective rooms, wash up, and then meet in the quiet cafeteria where there’s no one else around.

 

‘I mean, there’s no way he’s not eating….’

 

At that moment, he remembered, that he… When had he ever seen him eat a meal other than breakfast? He couldn’t, no matter how hard he tried to wrap his head around it. Though he did see him snacking occasionally in his office……

 

That idea made it difficult to keep eating. At that point, he put down the utensils he’d been using.

 

After that, Theodore observed Dante more closely.

 

Dante didn’t seem to dislike the act of eating. Whenever he was in his office after his morning duties in the R&D Department, he was always munching on something. Whether it was dried fruit, cookies, or some other kind of snack. The only problem, of course, was that it was all he would ever eat…..

 

‘Is that possible?’

 

Can a person… live like that? There has to be a minimum amount of calories a person needs to survive.

 

Perhaps, what if, those wads of sweets he often picks up are also something he forces himself to eat in order to survive.

 

‘Those sweets are useless…’

 

He was like someone that he missed, someone he had been thinking about ever since he started seeing him as ‘Dante’ instead of ‘Master’. It was too much for Theodore to take, and he hadn’t had the time to reminisce, so for the first time in a very long time, he called the name out loud.

 

“Mother…”

 

That’s what she always told him……

 

***

 

To spend time reminiscing about what he had already lost, Theodore felt he had already moved on.

 

He felt that such things could only comfort him in the moment, not solve anything beyond that. Some might look at that thought with incredulity, but that’s just the way it is…., it’s just the reality of it.

 

But everyone lives with some kind of pain.

 

The word “mother” was not one that Theodore could take lightly.

 

‘I love you. Theodore.’

 

‘You are Mommy and Daddy’s sunshine, our happiness.’

 

‘Thank you for being born.’

 

……Those who whispered love like water to a parched tree without asking for it should not be taken lightly.

 

And always and forever shall remain.

 

He thought their infinite love for him would last forever, but in a single moment they were gone.

 

‘…… A carriage accident…’

 

‘The carriage was crushed beyond recognition…’

 

‘……How about… Oh no, so he’s going to……’

 

The day he sent them off was beautiful.

 

The sky was clear and the wind was gentle, ruffling through his hair. It was a beautiful autumn day, with a gentle chill in the air, just a little chilly.

 

‘……No. That’s not my mom and dad.’

 

Theodore looked back and forth very slowly between the two coffins in front of him and the portrait in someone’s hand. That… That can’t be my mom and dad. That’s just some random piece of wood. Those are just portraits…

 

There was no sense of reality. What was happening was just… It just felt like some kind of family event. It’s like when you’re about to die of boredom, and your mom and dad get you dressed up somehow, and then you’re dragged out… and it’s like…

 

‘I can’t believe this is the last time, it’s not possible…’

 

What a pathetic way to put it.

 

From that day on, the word ‘happiness’ was no longer a part of Theodore’s life. So… Sometimes he wondered if ‘family’ and ‘happiness’ were actually synonymous… It was a ridiculous thought.

 

Theodore looked up and saw the man in front of him. He was strangely reminded of those days, in a way he didn’t like and found strangely disturbing.

 

Dante was so focused on his work that he didn’t even realize he was looking at him, furiously scribbling away, though he kept glancing at the clock on his wrist. …Maybe he has an appointment. Just as he was thinking that,

 

“Should we call it a day?”

 

He stood up from his desk, half an hour earlier than his usual clock-out time, and looked at us both and said something like that. It was clear that he felt bad for making us work through lunch. What a joke. Who actually even did that…

 

It was comical to hear him say that and then sit down again.

 

Jeffrey closed the book he was looking at at Dante’s words and stood up. Theodore felt Jeffrey’s eyes ask, “Aren’t you going?” but he shook his head and pursed his lips.

 

‘Go ahead.’

 

Doing his own thing, Theodore continued to watch Dante’s behavior. It was then. There was a small sound, like someone chewing on something.

 

The next thing he knew, he was standing in front of Dante’s desk, snatching the bag of treats he’d been chewing on.

 

……Got him.

It's been a while ;;