Whatever else could be said about Judge, as a father, he was an utter failure.
Reiju felt no familial affection for him, only fear.
She feared not only the way he behaved, but also the fact that she could not defy his orders.
Most of her fear came from the latter.
And after her younger brothers were born and turned into emotionless people because of this man, she began to resent him.
But she could not resist.
Yet the source of all the darkness in her life had died right before her eyes not long ago.
It stirred a storm of emotions within her.
Uncertainty, fear, and joy.
Mostly joy.
But when the man who had killed Judge looked her way, fear became the strongest of all.
No, I have to take Ichiji and get out of here!
Reiju gritted her teeth.
She hurriedly turned around, only for her whole body to freeze.
The man who had just killed Judge had appeared there at some point and was looking at her expressionlessly.
Reiju had to admit that this older boy was actually very handsome.
The sort whose face alone could make someone eat three extra bowls of rice.
But looking at that face now, she felt nothing but fear.
Reiju dropped to the ground, trembling so hard she could barely breathe.
"Relax. Under normal circumstances, I don't hurt children."
Randall looked at Reiju and spoke softly.
At the same time, he wondered, Do I really look that scary?
Why did this little girl get so frightened the moment she saw me?
"B-but, you... you killed..."
Reiju's teeth kept chattering in fright, her tongue trembling so badly that she could barely get her words out.
"You mean Judge, right? I killed him because he wanted to kill me.
Those who kill