And Elion...
"Ahh... I... Iii... Ah... A-ah... I..." Elion broke down.
His attention was completely captured by the object in Anabel's hands.
Like a robot, he approached it and took it very gently in his hands.
He couldn't tell if it was real, so he pinched himself, but the illusion didn't disappear.
He felt that the rest of the world had disappeared and that he was alone with them in their own world.
"A d-doll..." Elion finally managed to utter a word. But why was he so impressed by a simple doll? The thing is, it's not just a doll. It's...
"A-annabelle... D-doll.... Belle-d-doll... D-Doll-Annabelle..."
"..."
"..."
"Hehe..."
Apart from the repetitive robot voice, only quiet, girlish laughter could be heard in the room.
Yes, Annabelle had given Elion a doll that looked like her, and the winner was clear.
"Tsk... It's the same thing every year, Donnie. Are you satisfied with constantly fighting only for the top places?" The woman asked, a little disappointed.
"Celestia... There's nothing we can do about it..." The man said, as if he had realized the futility of existence.
They looked at their son for a moment, then turned to each other and laughed cheerfully in unison.
"Hehehe."
"Hehehe."
Calm down. Celestia leaned her shoulder against her husband's, looked at her beloved children, and murmured quietly.
"You know, Donnie, sometimes I think... Do we deserve such happiness?"
Donovan laid his head on hers and said quietly,
"I think about that too..."
They stood quietly and watched their children's strange behavior with warmth.
...
Finally calming down, Elion sat on his sister's lap at the table and played happily with a doll that looked like Annabelle
"Hehe... Hee..." The boy completely lost his head over this doll.
At first glance, it seemed like an ordinary, medium-sized doll, but the devil was in the details. To anyone else, this toy would have been completely ordinary, but it perfectly replicated the appearance of his beloved sister. Therefore, Elion was crazy about both his sister and her doll. The thing was, he was often too shy to do what he wanted with his sister, but with the doll...
"Hehe... Hehe..."
Annabelle hugged her brother, a satisfied expression on her face, clearly proud of herself.
"Okay, Elion. Leave this...thing for a moment. Dessert is finally in the room," His mother said and brought the item into the kitchen, placed it on the table, and sat down by the window.
"Wow! Mom, is that what I'm thinking of?" The boy was finally distracted by the new joy.
"Hehe, yes, it's a cake. I remembered that you liked it very much when we were in the capital. Besides, it's customary to blow out the candles on a cake."
In the dimly lit kitchen, the boy looked at the cake with anticipation in his eyes.
Then, Dad came to the rescue, lighting all ten colorful candles with matches. He then sat down next to his beloved wife.
Finally, Elion, still in his sister's arms, began to examine the cake curiously.
The cake was neither brightly colored nor decorated with cheerful patterns. It wasn't oddly shaped or decorated with special details.
It was a warm beige cake with delicate white cream and flowers around the edges.
It was a cake that seemed to say... No, the inscription on the cake spoke for itself:
"We love you."
Elion silently read the message and didn't rush to blow out the candles.
First, he looked at his parents, who were looking at him with gentle smiles that expressed their love.
Then he looked at his sister, Annabelle, who always...
Always looked at him with love.
Elion was moved.
His parents treated him warmly and loved him simply because he was their son, even though he couldn't give them anything in return.
His sister loved him simply because he was her brother, even though he couldn't give her anything in return.
She loved him every moment of every day and expressed it in everything she did.
Elion was loved simply for being himself, always.
He also loved everyone very much, but he was often shy about saying so.
Then, on a whim, he made up his mind.
He glanced at everyone present and began, hesitating a little.
"I..." The family waited quietly for his words.
He slowly inhaled and exhaled.
Then, with the brightest smile in the world, he joyfully said,
"With all of you, I'm very, very..."
*Crack!*
But before he could finish, there was the sound of breaking glass, and then...
The disgusting sound of flesh tearing.
The smile froze on the boy's face.
Elion looked at his mother, who had a crossbow bolt stuck in her head—entering on one side and exiting on the other.
He silently rubbed his eyes, but the image remained the same.
"Huh?" He blurted out unconsciously.
Then...
*BOOOOM!*
The crossbow bolt exploded, destroying half of their house.