John stayed where he was, watching her leave. His expression shifted endlessly—regret, fear, sorrow—all tangled together. Almost like a storm was raging in his heart, and he knew there was no running from it.
With a deep sigh, he finally sat down, his eyes empty.
At that moment, he seemed to understand that explanations were useless. All he could do now was hope—hope that his wife and children would someday find it in their hearts to forgive him.
John slowly walked over to Elina and gently tried to take her hands. She didn't know how to react anymore. Her beautiful eyes filled with tears, and even I could tell that meant trouble for him.
She stood there for a moment, completely dazed, then loosened her grip on the rope holding the basket on the dining table. After murmuring a brief excuse, she slowly walked toward the inner room.
John remained where he was, staring at her retreating back. I could see countless emotions flash across his face. There was already a storm raging inside him, and he knew he couldn't escape the one he had just created beside him.
After letting out a deep sigh, he sat down quietly, his eyes empty and lifeless. At that point, I knew he understood that explaining himself was useless. Apart from begging, all he could do now was pray that Elina—and his children—might someday forgive him.
As for my sisters and me, we were overwhelmed.
Most of all, I was flabbergasted.
The sudden revelation about another son left me with mixed emotions. Ada and Oge didn't know whether to feel excited or sad. I could almost tell the kind of questions racing through their minds, even though they didn't say anything out loud. Their imaginations ran wild.
What was it like to have an older brother?
Would he be tall and strong like the princes in shining armor from stories?
Or would he be cruel?
Would he love them the way siblings should—or dislike them?
Hate them, even?
Those questions seemed to form one strange theory after another in their heads.
I was more apprehensive than either of them. Deep down, I doubted that anything good would come from suddenly having a brother we didn't even know—someone connected to us only through Father's mistake.
I worried about his attitude, about how different he might be from us. There was a real chance he wouldn't like us at all. A stepbrother was the very last thing I wanted in this new life.
I wasn't even sure he would care about me the way my sisters did.
That fear hit close to home. This wasn't my first time having an older brother—even if this one was only a half-brother. In my previous life, my relationship with my older brother had been terrible. We never got along. So why would this be any different?
Having one in this world could turn out to be either a blessing or a curse. Whether I would hate him or accept him would depend entirely on his attitude toward me.
If we got along, that would be for the best. But if he turned out to be a complete problem… then I would have no choice but to take precautions.
The revelation cast a gloomy shadow over the entire house. Everything became quiet. For once, I even forgot about completing my daily tasks.
My thoughts were stuck on one thing—why Father had cheated on Mother. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't understand it.
While the house was heavy with tension, Elina must have felt as if those words had struck her like a bolt of thunder.
As unbelievable and ridiculous as it sounded to her, she knew it was true. Her husband had been unfaithful. That single truth implied so many other things—lies, deception, and the possibility that he had been with other women while claiming to love her.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Even completing my milk-drinking daily task became difficult. Mother seemed to be venting her anger on both Father and me without realizing it.
The moment I got the chance, I latched on and drank as if my life depended on it. She was so lost in her anger toward Father that she hadn't noticed how hungry I had been.
It was the way I drank that snapped her back to reality.
She froze, then gently caressed me, her face filled with remorse. Even though she was angry, she knew it was wrong to involve her children in her marital pain.
After making sure I had my fill, she carried me back to my cradle. She placed me down carefully, kissed my cheek softly, and left the room.
She didn't notice that the moment she was gone, my eyes slowly opened in the darkness—four dark red pupils flickering like tiny lanterns in the night.
I scanned my surroundings, then focused on the notification message that appeared after completing my daily task.
[Daily Quest: Drink milk completed]
[Host has received 5 EXP]
Just like the system showed … I thought. Completing the milk task no longer gives me attribute points. It doesn't even show the usual notification format anymore.
I stared at the system panel in silence, lost in thought.