Dad is Back From a Deserted Island - Chapter 2

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Father has returned from the Deserted Island
Chapter 2

Fortunately, the strong wind blowing outside at that very moment had concealed my eavesdropping. Yet this stroke of luck did nothing to calm Vivian’s racing heart.
‘Me? Marry Peter? I don’t even love Peter! Marriage is supposed to be with someone you love!’
Of course, their true scheme lay beneath the surface—once Vivian came of age, they could no longer pose as her guardians, so they intended to marry her off to Peter and swallow the Lambert family whole. But Vivian was still too young to comprehend such machinations.
The mere possibility of marrying Peter was utterly horrifying.
‘Ugh.’
Vivian found herself backing away involuntarily. A scream threatened to burst from her lips at any moment.
If I were caught eavesdropping like some common mouse, I’d surely be locked away in the Attic Room.
Back in my room, I gasped for breath, my chest heaving.
I couldn’t even remember how I’d made it back here. Suddenly, I felt the urge to retch.
“Ugh, blegh.”
In the fairy tales Father used to read to me, the princess always kissed the prince when they married.
“Ack. Gasp, gag.”
The moment I imagined kissing Peter, my stomach turned.
That unpleasant smile of his from earlier today flashed through my mind.
Did Peter already know about this arrangement?
‘Does he… not hate the idea of marrying me?’
He was always chasing after me like he couldn’t wait to catch me, so he must despise me just as much.
In truth, Peter did not hate Vivian. Rather, he had harbored affection for her since they were very young, but his twisted way of expressing it went unrecognized by her—and there was no reason it should have been.
If you truly cared for someone, you should treat them kindly.
In any case, Vivian’s eyes glistened with tears as she buried her face in a pillow stuffed with straw that rustled softly beneath her.
‘I absolutely refuse to marry Peter!’
But Vivian’s refusal would never prompt Ron and Mary to say, “I see. We should have raised our son better. We sincerely apologize. Let us cancel the engagement.” Such a response was utterly impossible.
‘What should I do? Who can I ask for help?’
Yet there was no one in this Village who would help Vivian.
Another village? Vivian had never left this Village in her entire life.
Between villages lay vast stretches of Forest, and those Forests were home to wolves and bears that devoured anyone foolish enough to lose their way.
“Sob, sniff. Wail.”
No matter how hard I racked my brain, there was no escape.
Exhausted from crying, Vivian fell asleep and dreamed of Peter pursuing her relentlessly, his lips pursed forward.

* * *

Vivian greeted the morning with bloodshot eyes. She looked so gaunt that Mary startled upon seeing her.
Yet that didn’t stop Mary from putting her to work without rest.
As always, she washed dishes, dusted, scrubbed the floor, and earned a single loaf of bread.
“Sigh.”
Thanks to yesterday’s laundry—done with such fervor that her hands had nearly frozen—she had no tasks until dinner time today.
Originally, Mary had intended to make Vivian prepare meals as well. But Vivian possessed a truly abysmal talent for cooking. So Mary had temporarily abandoned that idea in favor of eating edible food.
Whether to call it a blessing or not, she had been granted free time.
Vivian climbed the stairs toward her room—the only place where she could truly rest without worry.
Or so she tried.
“Hey!”
Until Peter appeared.
“Where are you going? Trying to lock yourself in your room again?”
“…”
“Want me to play with you? Keeping a poor girl company is a virtuous deed, isn’t it?”
“I don’t need it.”
To think I’m supposed to marry this fool.
Vivian suppressed the sigh that threatened to escape, but she couldn’t help casting him a look of utter contempt.
And that irritated Peter.
“After I’m offering to play with you!”
“I-I don’t need it, okay? Who wants to play with you?”
Peter approached with a menacing expression. Without thinking, Vivian scrambled up several steps, fleeing.
“What did you just say?”
“D-Don’t come near me!”
For every two steps Vivian climbed, Peter climbed two in pursuit. She felt like prey being hunted by a predator.
“This isn’t right. You’re going to marry me anyway, so you need to listen to me. Viv.”
Vivian trembled at Peter’s words—he had simply accepted what Ron and Mary had said at face value.
“W-Who said I’d marry you? I told you to back off!”
“You think you can refuse? Just accept my kindness—”
“I won’t!”
Thud.
Unable to endure Peter’s continued advances and threats despite her repeated refusals, Vivian shoved the boy.
Normally, it would have been a pathetic attack.
Vivian was poorly fed, far smaller and frailer than her peers.
Peter was two years her senior, well-nourished, and had grown into a sturdy frame.
But there was one problem: Peter was in the middle of climbing the stairs, one foot suspended in mid-air, and Vivian had pushed him at precisely the moment his center of gravity became unstable.
Crash, bang, tumble!
As a result, Peter tumbled down the stairs with a tremendous racket.
“P-Peter!”
“Ow, owwwww!! Mom!! Mom!!”
Mary, who had been resting in the Living Room, startled at the commotion and rushed out at the sound of her son’s wails.
“Peter! Good heavens! What on earth is happening… Vivian?”
“Waaah, Mother. I was just trying to play with Vivian because I thought she might be bored. Hiccup. Vivian pushed me. She pushed me!”
“My poor boy! Darling, darling! Ron! Come here at once!”
“What is it? Good grief, what’s wrong with Peter now?”
At Mary’s call, Ron emerged from the Study where he had been dozing. My legs trembled so violently that I could barely stand.
“Vivian pushed him down the stairs! Take him to the Doctor’s Office right away! I’m going to give her a proper scolding for this.”
“Down the stairs? Oh no.”
When Ron’s gaze turned toward me, I quickly cast my eyes downward.
“Waaah, it hurts. It hurts so much—”
“Oh dear, Peter! Boys don’t cry. Father will take you to the Doctor’s Office, so stop it now, stop!”
Ron hoisted the wailing Peter onto his back and disappeared. Mary, who had been watching her son’s retreating figure with concern, suddenly whirled around to face me with a cold expression.
“Vivian! How could you do such a thing? Where else would you find a child as caring as Peter!”
It was an absurd accusation, but terrified, I could not utter a single word in response.
“A wicked child like you needs discipline. I’m taking back that bread I gave you earlier! You’ll go hungry for a day so you understand what you’ve done wrong!”
“I… I’ll go hungry.”
“What?”
My eyes, once as clear as the azure sky, grew clouded, and soon tears began to fall like drops of rain.
My lips, sealed by fear and sorrow, opened of their own accord. Once the tears began to flow, all the anguish I had bottled up throughout the day came pouring out.
“I’ll go hungry… I’ll listen well, work hard around the house. Sob. I… I don’t want to marry Peter. I won’t.”
“Marry? How did you even—”
“Waaaah, I don’t want to get married— I won’t, I won’t, I won’t—”
“Where did you hear such a thing. Goodness.”
One might have expected Mary’s heart to soften at the sight of such a small child crying.
Instead, Mary hardened her resolve all the more.
For now, she was merely a child who could only weep, but what would happen when she grew older and her mind developed?
She might demand her rights and chase the three of us from this house. It was best to instill proper discipline now.
“What’s wrong with marrying Peter! You must marry our son if you’re to live here peacefully for the rest of your life!”
“Waaaaaaah—”
Mary’s strong grip seized my arm. I stumbled several times trying to keep pace with the adult’s long, purposeful strides.
“This won’t do. You need time alone in the Attic Room to reflect until you come to your senses and mend your ways.”
“No, please! The Attic Room… there are rats, there are rats!”
“If you don’t want to be locked in, then reflect properly!”
As Mary opened the Attic Room door, dust that had settled long ago swirled into the air. She shoved me inside as though discarding me, then stared with cold eyes and spoke.
“If Peter’s leg is even broken, you’ll stay locked in there for a week.”
“No! I’m sorry! I was wrong! I won’t do it again!”
I pleaded, but Mary closed the door without mercy.
Thud, thud. I clung to the door and cried out for it to be opened again and again, but it remained shut.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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