Chapter 5

But in the end, I had overestimated myself.

After finishing the makeup, I could clearly see the disgust in their eyes.

Alice asked without thinking, "Why did you do your makeup like that?"

"Alice, I don't even know how to put on regular makeup. Don't make things harder for me."

The moment I finished speaking, Charlotte blurted out,

"It looks terrible!"

I had never worn makeup before.

I was a man. I had no interest in makeup and never needed it.

Arthur, Sophia, Alice, and Charlotte had always praised my looks.

"Maverick is so handsome. He looks great even without makeup!"

The memory made my chest ache. Filled with resentment, I went to the comic convention anyway.

When I came back from the comic convention, I pushed open the door at home wearily.

Immediately, the strong smell of alcohol made me frown.

Everyone was sitting around the dining table drinking.

After getting completely drunk, the masks they always wore finally fell away.

Alice, who had cared for me since childhood, now glared at me with open disgust.

She called me useless.

She called me a failure.

Charlotte, who used to swear she would always protect me, couldn't hold herself back anymore.

She suddenly shoved me to the floor. The look in her eyes was vicious.

Just as she was about to jump on me and grab my throat, Vivian stopped her.

She pushed Charlotte away and tightly grabbed my hand.

Her eyes were red, and her voice trembled with tears.

"Maverick, I've fallen in love with Frost. Please. I'm begging you. Can you leave and bring him back?"

Looking at her now, I remembered how excited she had been when I accepted her confession years ago.

She had thrown her arms around me and cried from happiness. Her tears had soaked the corner of my shirt.

"I'll love you forever."

Back when that mysterious force first stole control of my body, I still had a little awareness left.

I saw them searching everywhere for experts. They desperately wanted to bring the old me back.

I saw them cry after exhausting every possible option.

Back then, they truly loved me.

But everything had changed during those short five years.

After a long silence, Vivian realized I wasn't responding.

She shoved me away and collapsed onto the floor. Tilting her head back, she drained the rest of the alcohol in her glass.

Sophia suddenly lunged at me like a madwoman and started hitting me over and over.

"Bring Frost back..."

I felt lost and helpless. Then she shoved me to the floor again.

Looking at these family members who now felt like strangers, I suddenly felt that maybe I should never have fought so hard to come back.

I couldn't stop myself from crying again. Silently, I called out to the System that had sent me back.

The System, which had been dormant for a long time, finally woke up in confusion.

"Host, how may I help you?"

I let out a bitter laugh.

"Send Frost back. Since they're determined to rush toward their own destruction, I won't stop them."

As I quietly watched them cry in despair, a desire for revenge slowly formed in my heart.

I wondered whether they would regret everything once they discovered that the conqueror's true goal had always been to destroy their family and drive them into ruin.