I Became a Gallery Manager in Another World

“Ah~ I miss Ian~.”

Evelyn was reaching her limit.

To put it bluntly, she missed Ian.

She was already on the verge of losing her mind from missing him, and when the thief took ‘that’, she surpassed her breaking point.

Even though she could see him daily at the academy, she managed to cope, but…

Once the holidays started and she couldn’t even see him, she felt she was suffering from a severe ‘Ian addiction’ that required treatment.

Squeeze─

“…I fucking miss you, you bastard.”

Evelyn whispered while hugging a bear doll that suspiciously looked like Ian.

Rationally, she knew.

There would be some procedures at the palace, so even if Ian could arrive quickly, a few more days were needed.

But…

“Damn it! The more I think, the angrier I get!”

Evelyn suddenly stood up and started punching the bear doll.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“Ian, you son of a bitch! Bastard! Is the palace that great? That great, huh!! What the hell are you doing that you can’t even contact me!! I’d accept it if you were banging some princesses! But you wouldn’t be doing that with princesses at the palace, right, you bastard!!! Then! Hey! When your cute childhood friend says she misses you! Fuck!! Did I ask you to do something!! Just be by my side!! Is that so hard!!”

After venting by beating the bear doll for a while, Evelyn took a deep breath and pulled the blanket over her head.

“…Ian, you bad bastard…”

When did it start?

When did she begin to love Ian so much?

…It wasn’t, of course, from birth.

Then, was it love at first sight?

She could confidently say that was definitely not the case.

Hard to believe, but Ian’s first impression was almost the worst.

“Ha…”

The first time she met Ian was on a snowy winter day.

Instead of the violin that was supposed to be her gift, there was a child in her father’s arms.

That child was Ian.

‘…What’s this?’

Naturally, she didn’t like Ian.

Anyone would feel the same if a smelly, scruffy boy showed up instead of the expected gift.

Moreover, her father, who always gave her piggyback rides when he returned from long trips, left hurriedly with Ian, so she couldn’t even get her usual ride.

Well, Ian was only scruffy that one time, and when she saw him a few days later after he was cleaned up, he looked somewhat presentable.

“…”

Correction.

He wasn’t just presentable; from that point on, Ian was strikingly handsome.

It’s just that as a child, she didn’t realize how good-looking Ian was.

…It couldn’t be helped.

While now she’s as healthy as can be, back then, she was quite frail, never having left the house or seen peers, so she thought Ian was just ‘decent looking’.

-“Evelyn. From today, Ian will be living here with us. Be good to each other.”

-“…I don’t like him.“

-“Evelyn?”

-“I hate him! He’s ugly!!”

Ignoring her parents’ advice to be friendly, Evelyn tried various methods to drive Ian out of the house.

Hiding his shoes, secretly eating his snacks, blaming him for vases she broke…

She used every method a child could think of to torment him daily.

Why did she torment him, you ask?

Simply because she didn’t like his existence.

She was upset about not getting the violin, about having to share her parents’ attention, and most of all, about his empty eyes that seemed to carry all the world’s misfortune despite his healthier body.

‘Or maybe it wasn’t just that…’

At the time, she thought she was tormenting him out of hatred, but looking back, perhaps she was also upset because he wasn’t paying attention to her.

Despite being treated like a princess by everyone in the mansion, Ian alone showed no emotion when looking at her.

Anyway, despite her daily torments, Ian had no reaction.

He walked barefoot when his shoes were hidden, didn’t eat when snacks were taken, and didn’t even defend himself when blamed for breaking things he didn’t.

…As if life held no meaning for him.

‘That’s something he shares with Estelle.’

No, Estelle was better off than Ian.

Estelle might be described as doll-like, but back then, Ian was so emotionless and silent, one would believe he was truly a doll.

A year had passed since Ian came to live with them.

Or in other words, a year since she started tormenting him.

That day was like any other.

She spent her time from morning till night tormenting Ian, and he accepted it with an indifferent face.

However, one thing was special…

Was it that a fire broke out in the mansion?

The fire that started in the middle of the night quickly engulfed the mansion, and by the time she realized something was wrong, her room was already ablaze.

‘…I was scared.’

What could a young child do when faced with encroaching flames?

She just cried in the corner of the room, begging to be saved, pleading for help.

“…Mom!! Dad!! Ugh…! Sa…save me!”

But her voice was too weak to penetrate the flames or reach anyone.

Whoosh-!

Just as she sensed death approaching from the ever-closer flames…

“Evelyn!”

Ian appeared.

To be honest, Ian then didn’t look like a prince from a fairy tale.

His clothes and body were burnt and torn from breaking through the fire, making him look scruffy as the day she first met him.

But…

To her, he looked more magnificent than anyone else in the world.

‘I must have fallen for him then.’

Ian grabbed her hand, which was staring blankly at him, and said,

“Follow me. The stairs over there are still safe.”

“..U,uh..ugh…! Th…thank you…Ian..”

Whoosh-!

However, the fire had spread, and the stairs Ian said were safe were now engulfed in flames, impossible to descend.

Then Ian, trying to reassure her, looked straight into her eyes and said,

“It’s okay. We can go through that window.”

An unfounded assurance.

However, at that moment, Ian’s words somehow felt trustworthy.

Thud-!

“H, hic!…No…!..I…I…can’t!…I can’t jump!”

“Don’t worry.”

With that, Ian, who had already crossed into the adjacent room through the window, extended his hand to me.

“I will definitely catch you no matter what.”

Ian kept his promise.

He really did catch her hand.

But…

She just couldn’t maintain her balance properly.

“…Ah?”

Thud-!

It wasn’t as scary as she thought.

The moment she realized her feet were flailing in mid-air, Ian, without hesitation, leaped towards her and embraced her .

…Despite being shorter than her, he hugged her tightly as if to protect her.

Thud—!

And then, she heard a sound she never wanted to hear again.

“…Ah?…Ah…!A..Ian…?Ah…!Ah…!Uah…!No. Ian..! Don’t…don’t die…! Ian..!!!”

“….Thank…you.”

The last words Ian left her, like a final testament, before losing consciousness.

To this day, she still doesn’t understand why Ian said thank you.

Even when she asked him, he just said he didn’t remember and changed the subject.

…Well, maybe it was not a lie that he didn’t remember.

Perhaps it was because of her determination to save Ian at all costs?

-“Ian..!…Hic…He saved me!! With…!..He…he…!!”

She didn’t remember clearly, but instead of crying while holding onto Ian, she ran, bloodying her feet, to the adults who were trying to put out the fire.

That Ian didn’t die that day was nothing short of a miracle.

She learned later that his internal organs were severely damaged and a broken rib had pierced his lung; had the high-ranking church official arrived just a little later, Ian would have died.

‘…He’s really a fool.’

Why would he risk his life to save a girl who tormented him every day?

If he had just gone down alone without looking for her, he could have escaped safely…

No matter how much she thought about it, it made no sense.

Yes, it made no sense, but…

She came to understand what kind of man Ian was.

-“…Hello. Ian.“

-“Hi, Evelyn.”

After receiving treatment at the church, Ian gradually changed.

How should she put it…

His eyes started to show a spark of life?

The once empty doll-like Ian began to smile like a human and even started playing pranks.

Of course, her attitude towards Ian changed a little as well.

“Here, eat.”

“…What is this?”

“Hmph! Haven’t you ever eaten this? It’s a potato! A potato! They say spring potatoes are delicious.”

“…I know that… but why to me… Oh, did it fall on the ground?”

“Pfft!! What are you talking about!! Then don’t eat it!!”

…Of course, it took a lot more time for her to be honest with herself.

But it was okay, she thought.

They were family.

Even if it took time for this feeling to be reciprocated, Ian would always be by her side.

-“Squaaawk!!! What are you doing, you crazy bastard!!!”

-“Surprise…?”

-“Su, surprise my ass!! Fuck!! You’re really dead!!”

-“Whoa, calm down Evelyn… It’s just a ‘prank’, no need to get so upset!”

-“You bastard!! Who cuts a girl’s hair as a prank!!!”

-“Gi…rl…? Evelyn?”

And she thought that one day, even that dense guy would understand her feelings…

That’s what she believed.

-“Take care. Evelyn.”

…Until Ian left this house five years ago.

Squeeze─

Even now, after they had confirmed thor feelings for each other, she sometimes had nightmares of Ian leaving.

‘…Why did Ian leave?’

Though they never spoke of it, back then, she thought they loved each other.

But it was a misunderstanding.

For the first time, Ian, who always gave in when she insisted, rejected her.

-“…I’m sorry.“

No matter how many times she cried and tried to hold him back, Ian eventually left home.

…That’s why she was still scared.

“…Ian.”

“Yeah, Evelyn.”

“…Do you love me?”

“Of course, I love you.”

Even when she immaturely confirmed his feelings over and over, she was afraid he might leave her like he did then.

“Yes. I really love you too. …Huh?”

Splash-!

Startled by Ian’s voice, Evelyn, who had regained consciousness, threw off the blanket and shouted.

“What, what, what are you doing!!! Why are you here!!”

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