Home/The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief of Exile/ch 18

Chapter 18

"What?"

Verity jumped up in surprise, then quickly looked back at where Ian and Flora were sleeping.

Fortunately, both were fast asleep.

I was more surprised than he was.

"Is this even surprising to a demon?"

"Among demons, we bite our young! In our world, child abuse is an automatic death sentence. Isn't that common sense?"

"Wow, I was right—next life I'm coming back as a rich demon's pet dog."

My reincarnation plan was on track, after all.

Anyway, after that day, my family fell apart.

Verity quickly denied that.

"From what I see, it was already falling apart. Those so-called parents just dumped the blame on an innocent child."

"I know."

Of course, it took me some time to realize that.

Until then, even I had always walked around cowering.

"Then I saw a broadcast."

"A broadcast?"

"A current affairs program. At the time, there was a big case where an elementary school student died from domestic violence, and the whole country was in an uproar."

The parents who committed the violence blamed everything on the dead child.

They claimed they only administered appropriate discipline, and the child's death was a simple accident.

Yet the dead child's body was covered in bruises and fracture marks as evidence.

Mine had been the same.

"At that moment, it suddenly occurred to me: maybe my situation was also a serious problem."

"...Maybe it was a problem? It was clearly a problem."

"So I looked up that broadcast."

After watching it.

For the first time in my life, I felt exhilarated.

Ah, this is something I can take revenge for.

It's okay to fight back.

The vicious temper of Chae Habin, which I'd always hidden, was unleashed.

"I immediately looked up the statute of limitations for reporting domestic violence and how to gather evidence."

"Didn't you ask for help from people around you?"

"Then I wouldn't have been able to get revenge."

"...What kind of revenge did you take?"

"I hit my father on the head with a chair."

To Verity, whose eyes went wide with shock, I smiled and said.

"You know, people tend to get walked on more when they look like easy targets."

When my father cursed at me, I swung a chair and fought back.

When my mother hit me, I grabbed her by the hair.

When my brother pulled my hair, I kicked him in the groin.

And instead of hitting my younger brother, I poured water all over his expensive computer. That hit him harder.

"When that kept happening, eventually the chairs disappeared from our house. It was hilarious seeing them standing at the table to eat."

Later, seeing them flinch when they made eye contact with me as I came out of my room—I almost burst out laughing.

That's when I realized.

Ah, those monsters who tormented me were actually far more insignificant than I thought.

"Wow."

Verity exclaimed in pure admiration.

"A Clavis is a Clavis after all."

"That's an insult, right?"

"This time, it's a compliment."

Verity asked if he could laugh, and I readily gave permission.

No sooner had I granted it than Verity burst into uncontrollable laughter.

It was so infectious that I started laughing too.

After laughing for a long time, Verity finally caught his breath and asked.

"But were you okay? From what I heard, those people don't seem like the type to back down so easily."

"You're right. But I was fine."

My family always put on a 'good person' act outside.

My father was an executive at a large corporation, and my mother was a church deacon. They were quite famous in the community as a model couple.

And my brother and younger brother were promising students at their respective schools.

My brother was even the student council president at his university.

So I used that against them.

"I threatened to spread the evidence of abuse I'd gathered to their coworkers, church people, and school friends."

"Ooh...!"

"When they got angry and asked if I had proof, I showed them everything I'd collected over a year. It's a shame you couldn't see how perfectly I presented it."

Of course, I made sure to store the data in multiple places.

After that, my life became peaceful.

I started receiving an allowance for the first time, and for the first time I could lie on the living room sofa and hog the TV all day. I stole my younger brother's snacks and borrowed my brother's laptop.

From then on, they tiptoed around me.

"In high school, I went to a boarding school, so I left home. I threatened them that if anything happened to me, my friend would send the evidence to the internet and various broadcasters. Of course, that was a lie."

"Wow, that's meticulous."

"It's just childish tricks."

After graduation, I moved out immediately.

Of course, I got my tuition and living expenses covered.

I extorted it using the evidence, but considering it was compensation for all the violence I'd endured, it was far from enough.

"I still wonder."

Even now, I can laugh and talk about the past.

"Why did they hate me so much?"

Back then, I was truly desperate.

Was it okay to do this to my own family?

Was it really because I was a bad kid, as they said? I nearly gave in to that hesitation many times.

"That I'm not sure about either."

Verity said honestly.

His refusal to offer empty comfort felt cold, but I was actually grateful.

"But this much is certain: the cause and responsibility for all the unfair things you went through lie entirely with those people. No matter what their circumstances might have been."

"Now that I'm gone, are my family relieved?"

"They'd be more than relieved. Your funeral would have been a celebration for them."

"Haha, I figured."

A hollow laugh escaped me. My struggle to survive felt futile. In the end, death is the end.

But Verity's words didn't stop there.

"But they will crumble."

The demon's words sounded like a prophecy.

An inevitable prophecy.

"My Lady, I've lived a very long time. I've seen countless types of humans. People like your family don't feel guilt."

Do you know why?

At Verity's question, I couldn't answer.

"Twisted people throw away the chance to feel guilt. They don't realize how precious it is."

"......"

"Blaming others and denying their own faults dulls their sense of reality. Over time, they become more and more distorted."

I didn't do anything wrong.

It's all that kid's fault.

"Can someone consumed by such paranoia ever live properly?"

"......"

"At least, I've never seen it happen."

Not even once.

Verity's voice, as he shrugged and grinned, was as firm as if he were stating the truth that the sun rises in the east.

"Haha."

A laugh lighter than a feather escaped me.

"So it turns out."

I just had bad luck.

---

When I was in college.

A friend suggested we go on a cross-country trek.

I declined, using my part-time job as an excuse.

Inside, I was thinking, 'Wow, volunteering for hardship. They must not have had many ups and downs in life.'

'I'm pretty pathetic too.'

That memory suddenly came back to me because I found it amazing that I was walking through the primeval forest for two straight days.

'So this is why people do cross-country treks.'

Even with breaks, walking between the dense, towering trees was hard work.

But I didn't hate the hardship.

'I can feel that I'm alive.'

I liked the pain in my feet, and the slightly labored breathing.

"Maybe I have a taste for suffering."

"Please develop healthy tastes befitting a seven-year-old."

This oppa is getting worried.

At Ian's serious response, I burst out laughing.

"Flora, aren't you tired?"

"No."

Flora, walking beside me, nodded. Her more confident voice was a pleasure to hear.

"We're almost there."

Verity was right.

I looked up and saw bright light piercing through the darkness in the distance.

It was Exilium, the exile camp hidden within the primeval forest.

"Flora, this is the village where we live."

I explained what kind of place it was.

"A wonderful base where kind, framed heinous criminals gather to plot a rebellion to take down that bastard Emperor."

"Our Lady, you've grown into a woman of tenacity who never forgets revenge even in harsh conditions...!"

Verity praised me, dabbing his dry eyes with a handkerchief.

Ian, on the other hand, desperately pretended not to hear. As a former imperial knight, words like 'revolution' and 'rebellion' seemed to make him uncomfortable.

"You'll never be apart from your mom again. You'll live together from now on."

"Yeah...!"

"When you see your mom, be sure to hug her and tell her you missed her."

"Okay!"

"If you tell her you love her, she'll be even happier."

"I love my mom!"

"I know."

Click—.

"Aunt Daliss loves you very much too, Flora."

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