I Became a Gallery Manager in Another World

Not long after my 15th birthday.

“Ian.”

Seated in front of the fireplace, Lady Audrey called me gently.

“Yes, Lady Audrey.”

“Hmm… I’ve told you to call me ‘mom’ or ‘mother’ at least when it’s just the two of us, haven’t I?”

“How could I dare…”

“Dare? Why not, Ian? I’ve never seen a child as handsome and kind as our Ian. Well… he can be a bit mischievous, though.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Hoho, I didn’t mean to scold you. It’s better for kids to be healthy.”

“Now, Robert. It’s your turn to speak. It’s an important matter, isn’t it?”

“…Dear, me?”

“Of course. Is there another Robert here? It’s about the Marigold family, after all. The head should speak.”

“No, but you forced me into this position… I never wanted to be the head…”

“Aha! So… you won’t do it?”

“Sigh… Fine, I’ll do it. It’s hard to start speaking now.”

“Hoho… Dear, do your best.”

Thump- Thump-

Watching the two hesitate to get to the point made my heart race.

What on earth were they trying to say?

‘…Are they telling me to leave the mansion?’

At 15 years old.

If I had gone to an orphanage, it would have been time to start thinking about independence.

That’s why when they first said they had something important to discuss, I was somewhat prepared mentally.

To be honest, it wouldn’t be a lie to say I wasn’t sad…

Even if they asked me to leave, I would never resent them.

Lord Robert and Lady Audrey have cared for me like true parents.

Thanks to them, despite being an orphan, I grew up in a warm home, loved and without worry for food or clothing.

The kindness they’ve shown is a debt I could never repay in a lifetime.

How could I resent them instead of being thankful?

Just one thing…

The only thing painful about leaving would be not being able to stay by ‘Evelyn’s’ side anymore.

“Ian…”

“Yes, Lord Robert.”

“Almost ten years have passed since you came to this house. When we first brought you in from the snowfield, I could hold you with one arm, but now you’ve grown so much… time flies indeed.”

“…I am always grateful for that day you saved me. I will repay the debt someday.”

“Repay the debt? You don’t seem to understand how much joy you’ve brought us by coming into our home. You owe us nothing.”

“…But.”

“Enough, and even if we did give, it’s only natural for a father to give to his son. It’s not something you should worry about.”

“…Pardon? Fa…ther?”

“Cough… so…”

While I was bewildered by Lord Robert using the word ‘father’, Lady Audrey, who was sitting in her chair, sighed as if frustrated and stood up.

“Oh my… Dear, you’re as big as a mountain but lack courage. What would you do without me?”

“…Then you should always stay by my side.”

“My, you speak well. Hoho… it makes me quite happy.”

“And lack courage? I went alone to save you…”

“Yes, yes. You were really cool then. …If only you hadn’t told that story a hundred times, it would have been even cooler. No, if you had accepted my feelings honestly from the beginning, such a dangerous situation wouldn’t have happened, right?”

“…”

Lord Robert averted his gaze, unable to respond to Lady Audrey’s pointed, cheerful remarks.

“Sigh… It looks like I’ll have to say it. Come here, Ian.”

“Yes…”

Slide-

As I stepped forward, Lady Audrey said with a gentle smile,

“Ian, although we are not connected by blood, I… we, have sincerely considered you as our son. But… now we want to take one step further.”

“…Lady Audrey?”

“Ian. Would you become our adopted son?”

An offer I had never even imagined made my throat tighten and my lips tremble, making it hard to speak.

“…I… I…”

I never thought that the two of them would consider someone like me this much.

Mixed feelings of gratitude, guilt, and hope made it difficult for me to respond immediately.

While I was hesitating with these thoughts, Lord Robert spoke.

“Ian, you don’t have to answer right away. We’ll wait for your decision whenever you’re ready.”

“Yes, yes. Take your time to decide and let us know. Of course… a positive answer would be preferable.”

“…Thank you.”

After bowing to express my gratitude to them, I returned to my room and stared blankly at the ceiling, murmuring to myself.

“Me… an adopted son?”

I had never thought of it even once.

While I considered them as parents, becoming an adopted son of the Marigold family for someone like me, an orphan with nothing exceptional, was something I believed was impossible and something I shouldn’t even hope for.

But…

[Ian Marigold]

Just the thought of it made me chuckle.

‘…Is it okay for me to be this greedy?’

I knew I had already received more than I deserved from the Marigold family.

Was it right for someone like me to desire even more from here?

I was someone who had lost something precious and couldn’t even remember what it was.

Now that I had gained so many precious things, was I not afraid of losing them again?

As I turned my gaze, I saw a photo of Evelyn.

‘Evelyn.’

I loved Evelyn.

More than anyone in the world, I loved Evelyn.

And although we had never expressed our feelings to each other, I felt that Evelyn felt the same way.

“….”

Thump- Thump-

Then, a desire began to grow, strong enough to suppress my fear.

Until now, my status had been a barrier preventing me from properly conveying my feelings to Evelyn.

But if I became an adopted son, ‘Ian Marigold,’ wouldn’t I be able to be officially connected with Evelyn?

Wouldn’t that be a sufficient reason to muster up the courage?

…But the next day, in front of the drawing room, I overheard:

[I hate it! I don’t want to be family with Ian!!]

The sound of my heart tearing apart.

Thud-! Thud-!

“You!… You!… Bastard!… Really! Because of that!! You left? Your heart was torn? Fuck!! It’s ridiculous, isn’t it? Hey! Ha! You, you! If you hadn’t stolen that back then… No!! If you had just listened to the end!!! You coward!!”

“Ugh!… W-wait… I… my stomach… you hit it…!”

“Shut up!! You deserve more beating!!! You fucking idiot!!”

Evelyn, tears streaming down her face, threw punches at Ian’s chest.

Hearing the truth of that day was too shocking.

Feelings of injustice and resentment overflowed.

If she had been the reason for Ian leaving, it might have been less shocking than this.

“Gah..!! This isn’t fair!! Elise!! Ugh!!! Why!! Why is Elise doing this only to me!!! What did I do wrong!! If Ian had just listened for 10 more seconds… no!! 5 seconds would have been enough for us to end with childhood love!! But whyyyy!!!!”

[No! I don’t want to be family with Ian!!]

Yes, five years ago, she did say those words.

But, of course, it wasn’t for the trashy reasons Ian was thinking.

“Evelyn, we’re going to become family with Ian.”

“Huh? Dad, what do you mean? Ian is already family, isn’t he?”

There was no need to explain further.

Ian had been their family for a long time already.

“Hoho… Yes, Evelyn. Ian has been family so far, but… from now on, he’ll be ‘real’ family.”

“…Mom, what does that mean?”

“We’ve decided to adopt Ian. Actually, it should have been done much earlier… but it’s too late now.”

“Ian… adopted?”

“Yes, you’ll become siblings with Ian.”

[Ian Marigold]

Just thinking of him being called that made her smirk.

‘Good for him.’

Especially with girls starting to chase after Ian lately, becoming siblings would shift their ambiguous ‘childhood friends’ relationship to one where she could keep watch as ‘family.’

But…

‘…Wait a minute?’

Upon reconsideration, that wasn’t right at all.

“No way!!”

“That’s right, we thought you’d naturally agree… What? Evelyn, what did you just say?”

“I don’t want to be family with Ian!!”

Wasn’t it obvious?

If Ian and her became family in this way, it would throw off the future she had planned.

‘Becoming siblings with Ian? Absolutely not!!’

Ian was meant to be her husband, not her brother.

Even if the word ‘siblings’ now felt like a solid fence, it would become an insurmountable wall with time.

And someday, because of that barrier, she’d have to watch Ian become another woman’s husband?

-Crack!

“Never!! Ian must never become family!!”

She swore, she’d go insane

Her parents, surprised, asked back.

“Evelyn, we thought you had feelings for Ian…”

“Yes, isn’t it that you like Ian?”

“Yes! I like Ian! No! I love him. I love Ian more than anyone in the world!”

“…More than your father?”

“Of course! Much more than dad!!”

“….”

“Haha… Evelyn hurt her dad’s feelings. But why don’t you want Ian to become family?”

“Th… That’s…”

Her face flushed and she felt my heart pounding.

But the fear of potentially becoming ‘siblings’ with Ian if she didn’t speak up now drove Evelyn to act.

“Now… if Ian and I become family… we… we can’t… get married… I… don’t want Ian to be my brother… I want him as my husband.”

Hearing this, her mother covered her mouth with her hand and laughed.

“Ho… Hohohohoho! Oh, what were you thinking… Oh, even though you’re my daughter, you’re so cute. Evelyn. Don’t worry. Did you think we hadn’t thought of that? Of course, siblings can’t marry, but… we can remove Ian from the family registry temporarily before marriage.”

“…Huh?”

“Hoho… Rather, adopting Ian into the registry now is like saying to other nobles, ‘Ian is our son-in-law, keep off.’ How about it? Is that okay?”

“…Really?… Then… I… like that… I want to become family with Ian…”

Not knowing this, she had yelled at her parents and confessed her love for Ian, which now felt so embarrassing and shameful that she wanted to die.

“Hoho… Then comfort your dad a little before you go. He’s completely sulking, isn’t he?”

“Later!! First, I need to see Ian!!”

Thump-! Thump-! Thump-!

She wanted to tell Ian this happy news as soon as possible.

That they were going to become ‘real’ family!!

Tap! Tap!

When she finished talking with my parents and ran to Ian’s room, what she saw was…

Ian packing his belongings.

“Ian!!… What… what are you doing?”

“Yeah, Evelyn. I was packing.”

“Packing? Why? Oh! Moving rooms? Then, to the room next to mine…”

“No… I’m leaving this house.”

“…What? Why?… Why suddenly? What for? Why, why now!! It was fine until now!! Did… did I bully you?”

“No, I’m 15 now. I’ve received so much that I feel like I can’t repay it by staying here any longer.”

The look of pain on Ian’s face at that moment was still vivid before her eyes.

‘But fuck!! It was just a misunderstanding?’

It was unfair.

How was she supposed to know he would overhear that conversation?

Even if he did, how could she know he would hear only the worst part?

“Ha… Ha!! Ugh!!! Fuck!! You bastard! Your heart was torn? Don’t bullshit me!! You have no right to feel that way! You coward!! I didn’t tear your heart, you tore your own heart!! And by doing so, you tore mine too!!”

Thud-!

She threw a punch at Ian, filled with five years’ worth of anger and resentment.

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