By Zephyria 
As soon as Rubel returned, he picked up a switch in Titi’s bedroom.
We had never once laid a hand on the child until now. I had heard stories of how Ruben was disciplined during his own childhood, and how those memories had remained horrific for him.
Flustered, I gripped Ruben’s shoulder to stop him, but he sharply brushed my hand away.
“Justitia Heart Sierren. Hold out your hand.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Daddy, I just…”
“Hand. You will receive ten strikes. Think carefully about why you are being punished and answer me.”
Titi, who had never been scolded like this before, looked at me in fear. But what could I do? There was nothing I could do except squeeze my eyes shut.
Justitia had clearly done something wrong, and she must never do the same thing again. Considering that thousands of territorial citizens were nearly slaughtered last night for reasons they didn’t even know, what did a few strikes of a switch matter?
Even knowing that, my heart ached. I was the one who should have been scolded first.
Would my heart feel lighter if I took a strike instead? Still, seeing him discipline the child first, even if he was my husband, made me feel terribly sorry for her.
The sound of the switch cutting through the air was loud.
Since neither of her fathers took her side, Titi couldn’t even cry properly.
I forced my eyes open to check on the child. Her small, bright red hands were a chilling sight. With her lips trembling, Titi’s cheeks were a mess, completely drenched in tears. Her tightly shut lips gasped for air, unable to even pout.
However, Rubel’s expression remained sharp and cold.
“Do you know what you did wrong?”
“Hic, ugh, huu, yes, yes sir.”
“What did you do wrong?”
“Daddy, leaving the house in secret…”
“Speak properly.”
“Leaving the house, hic, without Daddy knowing.”
“Again.”
“Even when Daddy came to get me, hic, I didn’t follow and made a wish at the portal… I was wrong.”
“Again.”
“And, and also…”
Titi hesitated, as if she didn’t know what came next.
Staring into her trembling, frightened eyes, Ruben spoke in a firm tone, each word clear and deliberate, as if carving them into the child’s mind.
“Forgetting the power and status you possess. If you recklessly do dangerous things, thousands of people in that place die. Do you know what dying is? It means you can never see them again. Daddy Mikael, Aunt Marianne, Uncle Benjamin, and even I could have died right there. Are you okay with never seeing your daddies again?”
“No, no I’m not. I can’t. I’m sorry… hic, ugh. I, I won’t do it again.”
“You are my only successor. Tens of millions of lives depend on your every choice. And yet, you act like this—”
Ruben stopped mid-sentence.
Standing before the terrified Titi, the corners of Ruben’s eyes began to grow red and moist.
Realizing that Ruben was spitting out the exact words he had once heard, I could no longer stay still.
I quickly took over from Ruben and scolded her.
“Will you do such a thing again?”
“No, I won’t. I won’t do it anymore. I’ll listen to Daddy.”
“Do you understand why your daddies are scolding you like this?”
“…Because… many lives depend on… my choices?”
“That is correct. But Daddy is also very angry because I love you very much.”
“…”
Titi listened to my words breathlessly. Ruben was also silent for a moment.
“If you get hurt, if you are in pain, if you go to a dangerous place, Daddy gets very upset. Because I love you. This incident was more dangerous than swallowing the statues in the hallway or crawling on the ceiling. You were scolded a lot back then too, weren’t you?”
“…Hic, yes.”
“Do you remember what Daddy said while scolding you then?”
“Don’t… make me surprised…”
“And?”
“That if Titi, if Titi gets hurt, Daddy hurts more than if he were the one injured…”
Ruben abruptly left the room.
Titi was startled, as if having a fit. As Titi jumped up, trying to follow Ruben out, I blocked her with my body.
Looking down into those pitch-black eyes shaking with anxiety, I used my hands to wipe the cheeks of the child drenched in sorrow. I also grasped and enveloped her two small hands, which were still red and swollen.
Her tiny hands fit perfectly within mine. Her fingertips were freezing cold. Just as Ruben’s hands always were.
Now, the child’s eyes were entirely on me. My heart ached again at her frightened, docile appearance.
“You won’t do it again, right?”
“Yes! Yes, I won’t do it again. But, Daddy…”
“Good. As a sign of your promise, let’s not leave the room today. You’ll reflect on your actions just like you did in the annex, but since it’s night, you’ll do it lying down. It’s okay if you fall asleep. Tomorrow morning, let’s tell Daddy Ruben once more that you’re sorry. Daddy was really, really surprised.”
“Because I was almost in danger? Because he loves me?”
“Yes.”
“Daddy Ruben too?”
“Of course.”
“…Since I’m a bad child, what if Daddy Ruben doesn’t love me anymore?”
“If that were the case, he wouldn’t have been this angry.”
“…”
“So from now on, please tell your daddies in advance what you want to do. If it’s something dangerous, we’ll tell you it’s dangerous, and if it’s something you’re allowed to do, we’ll help you. Until you become an adult who can make the right decisions on your own, your daddies will keep helping you.”
“…”
“Do you understand?”
“…Yes.”
“Good. Then Daddy will go to Daddy Ruben now. Sleep well.”
“…Please blow on them just once.”
I blew soft breaths onto her small hands. The child smiled faintly, satisfied by that alone.
I led her to the bed, tucked her in well, and patted her a few times. Then, I turned off the light and left.
Walking toward the presence of Ruben, which I could feel not far away, I spent a long time pondering what to say.
Ruben was standing alone in a corner of the garden.
The dim lighting could not drive away all the pitch-black darkness. On a night where even the starlight held its breath, the moon, which had been half-hidden by clouds, hid itself completely behind them.
Occasionally, the sound of the wind howled through the empty space. Shadows crouched between the well-trimmed hedges, adding darkness to the darkness.
My lover was hidden within that darkness.
His broad shoulders were slumped, dampened by sorrow. Since he seemed determined not to look back at Ikyun, I hesitated for a moment before embracing him from behind.
Ruben struggled a couple of times to break free from my embrace, but soon lost strength and leaned against me. His breath and voice were damp.
“…I hate myself.”
“It was my fault. I acted rashly even though I knew Ruben trusted me and left the spot.”
“…I should have taught her more properly. From an earlier age, so she couldn’t do useless things… I was too complacent, and so you, and Titi…”
“Why is that Ruben’s fault? I should have scolded her firmly beforehand.”
“…I shouldn’t have hit her.”
“Titi is a very clever child, just like Ruben. She will understand why Ruben got this angry.”
“I, I… couldn’t even tell her that I was worried about her.”
“…”
“I was so, so angry… like a madman… that little child…”
“You were very surprised. It was a truly dangerous situation. She needed to be scolded sternly.”
“…Still, I shouldn’t have… I thought I wouldn’t be like that. …I couldn’t even say… that I love her. It wouldn’t come out, it wouldn’t. I couldn’t. I was in such a rush, I felt like I was going crazy…”
“Then, let’s apologize.”
“…”
“Tell her you were so worried, that you were truly scared, but that you’re sorry for hitting her. Just apologize properly, be forgiven, and make up. No matter how young the other person is, it’s person to person; if you speak sincerely, it will reach her.”
“…”
“Ruben knows well, don’t you? How much Titi likes you. Ruben is already a very good father. There’s no need to be afraid now.”
“…”
Then, Ruben, who had been breathing heavily, quietly pushed my hands away.
Anxious because he wouldn’t look back at me once, I reached out again, but I stopped when Ruben quietly shook his head. He stood there very quietly and silently for a moment, then spoke in a very small voice.
“Let’s sleep separately today.”
“…Pardon?”
“Right now, your words are a bit… overwhelming and difficult for me. I don’t think I can give a proper answer. I don’t want to laugh it off with a fake response, nor do I want to be violent toward you. I need to organize my feelings for a bit… and then it would be better to talk.”
“…Ah.”
“Sorry.”
“No, not at all. It is my fault. Then… where do you intend to sleep?”
“There’s a guest bedroom left empty, so I’ll go there.”
A guest bedroom.
The guest villa of Duke Ernhardt’s estate was a building located 5km south of the main house.
The guest villa, prepared in advance for when Titi’s paternal or maternal relatives might visit, was nestled within a luxurious garden.
In one corner of the garden, where various statues Ruben liked were placed, there were many birds because feed was scattered there year-round. Naturally, the chirping was so noisy that even I, from the distant main house, could not fully hear the sounds inside.
To the point where it would be difficult to tell if Ruben was crying or laughing.
He had clearly said this with that in mind. I froze, unable to answer for a moment.
No matter how difficult things got, Ruben was someone who rested in my arms and acted spoiled in my embrace whenever he felt sorrow. To think I cannot be by the side of Ruben, whose heart is wounded by a great ordeal—what kind of lightning strike is this?
However, Ruben was a man who kept his word once spoken.
In the end, without looking back at me once, he walked away, hiding his tear-stained face. Not to a spare bedroom in the main house, but to the guest villa, to cry his heart out alone or suppress his anger alone.
Leaving me behind in this black garden.
I stood there alone, momentarily lost in thought.
Even if I were told to defeat the Ninth God a hundred times, I would not be this anxious.
Just as I was chewing the inside of my cheek, plagued by a distant sense of crisis.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, my teacher’s advice came to mind.
‘If you have done something wrong to your wife, drink this after a shower and beg for forgiveness on your knees.’
…
There was a lunchbox that Wilton Roberts had given me on my wedding day. I didn’t know what the contents were, but since it was advice from a senior in life, it was clearly intended for a day and moment like this.
I hurriedly walked toward the warehouse where I kept my treasures.
My pace was fast due to my urgency. Where did I put that medicine?