RTTFW CH 2.5

Ent prayed that dinner time wouldn’t come, but when had the world ever turned according to his wishes? Time passed, and evening arrived in no time. Ent groaned all the way to the dining hall with Izel, who had come to his room to fetch him.

“Haah…”
“Another sigh.”
“Ugh… Can’t help it.”

His pace slowed with each step. Before evening, Ent had devised countless plans in his room. They were what he called anticipated questions.

‘… But I have absolutely no idea what they might say.’

What conversations had he shared with his family when he was young? Had he ever truly shared a conversation at all? His father was always busy, and seeing his face was a rare occurrence. His older brother was perpetually absorbed in his studies and training, paying him no mind whatsoever.

What would they ask him? And how should he respond? He could now speak and act quite like the noble Ent Harbilta, but he wasn’t sure if that would work in front of his family.

‘Do they even care about me in the first place?’

They might act as if he didn’t exist, ignoring him completely and finishing their meal. Ent smiled bitterly. And in that moment, he had to bring up the request to borrow a carriage to visit the temple in the capital.

“Lord Ent, we’re here.”
“Ah, right.”
“The two of them are already waiting.”
“What?”

Ent’s shoulders jerked at Izel’s words. No, he was sure they hadn’t agreed to start the meal until later. Why were they already here, waiting? It felt like Ent had made them wait.

‘… They won’t kill me just for making them wait, right?’

The thought that they wouldn’t go that far clashed with the realization that, if it were his family, it was entirely possible.

Regardless of Ent’s pale face, Izel opened the dining room door.

The lavishly decorated interior and the long dining table. Servants with unfamiliar faces bowed to him, and beyond the table, faces he thought he’d forgotten sat, looking slightly stranger now.

Guided by the servants, Ent walked blankly to a place setting with cutlery laid out and sat down, yet was enveloped by a strange sense of floating. His heart pounded so fiercely he feared someone might notice.

‘… Right. That’s how they looked.’

It was strange. He was certain it had been far too long since he’d last seen those faces, so he’d expected to feel nothing upon seeing them again. Living Jaeyoon’s life, his family had become Jaeyoon’s parents and brother, so hadn’t he erased the ‘real’ family from his mind dozens of times over?

“… You’re late.”

It was strange. Really strange. The deep, weighty voice didn’t reach Ent’s ears clearly. It sounded muffled, as if submerged in water, and the figures of the two people before him seemed to shimmer.

Ent’s father, Count Evant, looked much older than when he had last seen his own father. In this world’s time, it had only been about six or seven years, yet could he really have aged this much in that time?

His hair, now white, was a shade paler than the family’s silver hue, and deep wrinkles etched his brow. Yet, his charisma remained undimmed, and Ent knew his father had stayed true to himself even in his absence.

“… Ent?”

Ent’s elder brother, Bernil, had grown his hair long. The last face he remembered from childhood had clearly retained the features of a young boy, but now that was gone. Sitting there was a brother who perfectly resembled their father in his youth. Silver hair tied back tightly, silver eyes fixed on Ent.

Seeing Ent’s lack of response, the slight frown between his brows was identical to the wrinkled part on Count Evant’s forehead.

“Ah…”

It was strange. So strange it defied description. It was strange that so much time had passed while he was gone, that his brother and father looked like this, and that he could sit at the same table with them. But most of all, it was strange that these two people truly existed right before his eyes.

Plop.

A tear, welled up beyond his wavering vision, fell. He had said he didn’t want to see them, yet here he was, trembling like this. What on earth must they think?

Even so, Ent couldn’t bring himself to lower his head.

‘It’s a face I never even saw in my dreams.’

No matter how much they hated him, how intense could that hatred have been? No matter how scary they were, how genuinely could they have disliked him? Amidst those family members who looked at him with disgust, how much had he longed for his real family?

“Eh, Ent!”

Bernil jumped to his feet at the sight of Ent suddenly starting to cry. The servants, looking flustered, hurried off to fetch something to wipe his face, while Evant stiffened at the sight of his son weeping.

Perhaps things could have turned out well. No matter how useless he was to the Harbilta family, had his family ever truly abandoned him? If he had lived more as Ent Harbilta, proving his worth, things might not have gone so wrong.

“… Ent.”

Irresistible memories of the past swarmed like a flock of crows, tearing at Ent’s mind. Memories of family experiences he’d never had vanished without even becoming memories. Facing his ‘real’ family after so long, only to find so much time had passed, Ent couldn’t help but cry.

The servants were thoroughly flustered, floundering about unlike their usual selves. Izel froze stiffly, staring at the sight of the young master he served weeping. Amidst the commotion, Evant abruptly rose from his seat with a rigid expression. He moved to Ent’s side and knelt on one knee before his son. Bernil, startled by his father’s action, also froze.

“Why are you crying?”

Evant pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and gently wiped Ent’s tears. Contrary to his cold, blunt words, the touch of his hand dabbing at his face was incredibly soft, and Ent couldn’t stop the wave of sorrow from surging up.

He couldn’t answer truthfully. All this time, due to Omb’s scheme, he had been in another world, living as someone else, having abandoned the life of Ent Harbilta. Now, after over ten years, seeing his family again, his emotions were overwhelming. How could he possibly say that? Ent forced a faint smile, his expression strained as if holding something back. Had he ever smiled like this in front of his family before?

“… It’s just… seeing your faces after so long.”

That much was enough. Ever since returning to this world, Ent had been in constant despair, but now, somehow, it felt okay. After all, he had seen his family again.

“Um, I’m, I’m sorry. Tears just came out suddenly…”

As his mind cleared a bit, Ent felt a sudden embarrassment at having come to see his family only to burst into tears. He pulled his hand away from Count Evant’s grasp.

‘What kind of sudden spectacle is this?’

First, this guy who’d been holed up in his room out of nowhere decides to join the meal. Then he has the nerve to keep people waiting, shows up late, and the moment he sits down, he starts bawling his eyes out. What on earth would those two think?

‘They must think I’m pathetic, right?’

Ent glanced up at his father and older brother. Of course, the warmth of his father’s hand wiping his face felt too tender to be treating him like a pathetic fool.

“…Hm?”

Ent paused and turned to look at them. Their faces looked… extremely flustered.

“Well, that…”
“There were… circumstances.”
“Huh?”
“Hmm, it’s not that we weren’t worried.”
“Huh…?”

Seeing the two of them looking flustered, almost as if making excuses, Ent felt even more flustered himself. Worried? What on earth was that about? As Ent stared blankly at them, his father gave Bernil a look, and Bernil cleared his throat.

“… There seems to have been a misunderstanding. Of course we were worried about you.”
“Me? Why would you worry about me…?”

At those words, the creases between Bernil’s eyebrows deepened. Seeing that handsome face scowl so fiercely, Ent felt a strange sense of regret. If he kept frowning like that, he’d surely end up looking exactly like his father when he got old.

“What father wouldn’t worry when his child drank poison?”
“Ah.”

Only then did Ent realize the unexpected truth. Come to think of it, that was exactly it. He had drunk the poison himself and only managed to get up a week later. After that, under the pretext of recovering, he had holed up in his room for days, refusing to come out.

‘… Right?’

Come to think of it, that was strange too. If he was worried, why hadn’t he come to see him even once? He’d been thinking along the lines of ‘My family probably wouldn’t care if I lived or died anyway,’ but the current atmosphere felt completely different.

Ent looked at the two of them with a puzzled expression, trying to read their cues. Evant hummed, hesitating for a moment before speaking. He didn’t particularly want to say this to his son, but wasn’t it better than letting him misunderstand on his own?

Bernil nodded at his father, who was giving him a look. He didn’t know why he’d suddenly come during dinner time, but it was his brother’s face he hadn’t seen in months. He didn’t want to leave him with emotional scars because of some pointless misunderstanding.

“Listen without misunderstanding.”
“…?”

What could be so important that he was building up to it like this?

Ent, who had been listening to Bernil with a puzzled expression, gradually grew flustered.