Translator: 549690339
âHey, you, the one without a name. Why are you gloomy all the time? Smile a bit, like this. Here, smile.â
âTo improve your life, I had to kill the old hen at home. Arenât you happy even after getting something good to eat?â
âYou really are hard to please. You are lucky to have met me. If it were someone else, they would have discarded you into the mountains by now due to your stubbornness.â
âThe white orchids in the mountains have bloomed. They are remarkably beautiful. I picked two for you, do you like them?â
âArenât you happy even after seeing such beautiful things?â
âBe like me and laugh out loud. See, doesnât that feel better?â
âShopie, I donât know what youâve been through. But, I can sense your sorrow. I donât know how to help you. Itâs become challenging for me to argue with you seeing you like this all day.â
âShopie, life must go on.â
âThere will always be someone you cherish. For them, you must take good care of yourself. If not, then at least do it for your own sake. This is your life; no one else has the right to make you give up on yourself.â
âShopie, one cannot spend their entire life harboring hatred. Aside from hate, there are many wonderful things in life. What do you think about me, for example? Ha ha ha â
âShopie, will you return?â
âThen please bring me some good food from outside when you return. Iâd love to taste the delicious food there that makes you despise my cooking.â
âYou naughty girl! You havenât shown up for over a year. I thought youâd forgotten about me and grandma! What on earth have you been doing this past year? It seems like Iâve saved an ungrateful wretch!â
âShopie, what have you done in the past year? Youâve gotten so thin and your hair has become so short. When I saw you on the mountain, I mistook you for a man. I was scared and ready to go home for my kitchen knife for self-defense.â
âShopie, please grow out your hair. I prefer you with long hair, it suits you.â
âShopie, Iâve made up my mind. I want to become a celebrity, the Best Actress, and win numerous awards. I will convince grandma and leave this place, so wait for me.â
âMy great screenwriter, you are amazing. Once grandma agrees to leave with us, you must write a script for me to act in.â
âWhen that time comes, you better not give me any preferential treatment. I want to start from scratch. I want to experience everything from auditioning as a newcomer to acting as a small actor. I want to progress step by step on my own, as thatâs where Iâll find the sense of accomplishment. Donât you agree?â
âI will definitely make the name Daisy Zane appear in the Best Actress lineup, ha ha ha â
Looking at the pitch-dark night, the real Daisy Zane and her words echoed in Arthurâs ears, one after another.
Suddenly, she held Kevin Clarkâs hand, laid her head on the back of his hand, and whispered, âKevin Clark I committed a violent act in this house.â
Kevin used his other hand to stroke her hair, listening as she continued speaking.
âOver two years ago, when I returned I found the door of this room wide open. First, I heard Luciaâs crying, then a manâs laughter.â
Kevin held her a bit tighter, kissing the top of her head.
âWhen I entered, I found grandma lying beside Luciaâs bed. She had been stabbed three times in the chest and was losing a lot of blood.â In a chilly whisper laced with dull emotion, Daisy continued, âLucia was being pinned down by a man two meters away from her, while three other men were off to the side, laughing.â
Kevin caressed her head, attempting to comfort her. He could feel the moist tears on his hand beneath her head.
The little girl was crying.
Last year, at the Spotlight Gala in the hotel, that girl had been drugged with 319 and had been bullied. The little girl had almost strangled that man to death then.
As before, she was ruthless, and then she suddenly began crying without a warning.
Kevin watched her sympathetically.
âWhen I got there, Lucia had already stopped breathing. She had cut open her own carotid artery, but those four men still didnât spare her.â
âLittle girl â
Her eyelashes fluttered as she continued to stare at the rain outside, speaking in a cool tone, âThe four men were carried out from here, in a horrific state. Only one survived. He regained consciousness last year but has since lost his mind.â
When she arrived, she found Lucia lying on the ground, covered in blood, her clothes torn off.
The wound on her neck was deep, and even though she had stopped breathing, her eyes were still fixed on the door.
When she pulled the men away from Lucia, her body still held warmth, her blood was still warm, but she had died.
If she had returned even a little earlier, she could have prevented it.
Even as she tried to cover the cut on Luciaâs neck, the blood wouldnât stop flowing, the wound wouldnât heal, and the breath wouldnât return.
âKevin Clark.â
âIâm here.â Kevin replied softly.
It seemed as if she was checking if Kevin was still there. After calling his name, Daisy didnât utter anything for a while, waiting for some time before speaking, âOne day later, I went to a place with a signal and called Diego Giovanni. He brought a forensic doctor for the autopsy.â
Kevin gently massaged her ear as he listened.
âIt was only a month later that I left this place, after seeing the autopsy report.â Daisy said quietly. âThere were three fatal stab wounds on grandmaâs chest. Lucia had multiple bruises and contusions on her body, the result of a beating. The cut on her neck seemed self-inflicted. Signs of violations could be seen on her body that occurred both before and after her death.â
She paused, drawing a breath, then said, âBoth had been injected with a drug, 319.â
Kevinâs gaze shifted a little.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
This must be why she was investigating 319, although it was unexpected that the investigation ultimately led to Edward Kirsten.
So the little girl believed that Luciaâs death was her fault.
First Jack Amos, then Daisy
Kevin drew a deep breath, feeling as though each breath was drawing in sharp thorns that hurt him everywhere.
How could he let his little girl suffer so much?
After remaining silent for a while, Daisy turned to bury her head in Kevinâs shoulder. She whispered, âKevin Clark, I am a little cold. Can you hold me tighter?â
Kevin immediately tighten his arms around her, leaned in to kiss her ear softly, and assured her, âOk, I am here.â
âKevin Clark, why would such an optimistic and positive person like her lose hope? She always encouraged me, yet she lost hope herself. Why did she have to end her life for othersâ mistakes?â Daisyâs words came out slow, like a quiet murmur. It felt as if she was asking not only Kevin, but also Lucia who had left them.
âMany people are good at preaching to others than practicing themselves,â Kevin softly comforted her, â319 can also cause hallucinations.â
It could not rule out the influence of the drug.
âI kinda miss her,â Daisy murmured softly.
From her calm tone, Kevin could sense her vulnerability, the vulnerability hidden behind the hardened exterior.
âAs long as she is in your heart, she will always be with you,â Kevin gently consoled her while holding her in his arms, âShe is just accompanying you in a different form.â