After my showdown with Dr. Ross was over, and only after they had completely disappeared back into the lab to continue their other research, was I finally able to close the office door and leave.
I stood there for a moment with my eyes shut and let out a long, pent-up sigh.
"Haa... I really thought I was going to suffocate to death."
The tension that had been running down my spine all this time slowly, very slowly, loosened.
And once it did, the fatigue that had been piling up came crashing down on me all at once.
The corridor back to my office felt much longer than it had on the way there.
Earlier, I’d been too tense to notice, but the click of my shoe heels against the concrete floor was more irritating than I expected.
Once I passed through the iron door and into the mansion wing, the sound of my heels died away again.
The moment the carpet’s texture touched the soles of my feet, it felt like I could breathe a little easier.
I opened the office door, went inside, and sank into my chair, then propped my elbows on the desk and pressed a hand to my forehead.
I thought, 'Fine. At least I made it through today.'
But I still couldn’t relax completely.
I still had no idea what Dr. Ross had come to confirm today.
That left two problems.
One was submitting the raw data, and that wasn’t especially difficult.
The other one was the real issue...
'Starting this afternoon, I’m planning to have them stay isolated in their rooms and rest. I’ll even have their meals brought to them separately.'
That was right. I had said I would personally take care of the children. Having their meals delivered to their rooms was just a bonus.
It was the excuse I’d come up with because if the children were wandering around as usual while Dr. Ross might come back to check at any time, they’d be exposed immediately.
"But how am I supposed to explain this to the kids?"
Wasn’t there a saying about this? If someone who was usually cruel suddenly started treating you kindly, you only got more frightened.
There was a high chance that the foundation of trust I’d finally managed to build would collapse right from the start.
Then I’d have to dress it up in another explanation and persuade them, which would just make it another lie.
"I thought it was a decent idea when I was planning it, and now I’m already hitting a wall..."
Poorly made lies wouldn’t work. Those genius children would see through them in an instant.
After several minutes of racking my brains, I still came to only one answer. I’d have to go see them myself.
I lowered the hand that had been pressed to my forehead and stood up.
This wasn’t the kind of problem I could solve by sitting here and thinking about it.
First, I needed to go and see their faces.
When I stepped into the hallway, the mansion was quiet.
At this hour, the researchers were all gathered in the lab wing, so the mansion side was always this still. Only the occasional servant passed by.
Alfred and Alexia’s rooms were side by side at the end of the inner corridor.
Before I reached their rooms, I was already putting together excuses in my head to persuade them.
'Don’t call it isolation. Just say they’re resting in their rooms for a few days. Since I’d been unwell, maybe they caught something too, so I want them to be careful.'
It was a plausible lie on the spot, but whether the children would believe it was another matter entirely.
The end of the corridor came into view.
I stopped in front of the two doors standing side by side.
'Which one should I knock on first?'
After a moment’s thought, I decided it was best to start with Alfred.
If I went to sharp-eyed Alexia first and stumbled over my words, it could throw me off when I tried to persuade Alfred later, too.
After a brief silence, a small voice came from behind the door.
I stood in front of Alfred’s room and knocked quietly.
There was a clatter inside, then after a moment of silence, a small voice answered.
"...Come in."
When I opened the door, Alfred was sitting by the window with a book spread open in front of him.
But there were no signs that he had turned a page, so it didn’t look like he had actually been reading.
A greasy smell drifted through the room, and the source seemed to be coming from under Alfred’s bed.
Looking more closely, I saw a row of small lead toy soldiers neatly lined up on the floor.
The figures arranged across the floor showed clear signs of careful placement, and some of them were still only half-painted.
It looked like he had been meticulously painting the details on their uniforms.
When he saw me, the child hurriedly got to his feet.
"F-Father."
"You can stay seated."
I gestured for Alfred to sit back down, then pulled over the chair opposite him and sat.
I thought, 'So he had a hobby like this.'
Come to think of it, I remembered that even in the game, Alfred’s military-nerd side had been described in quite some detail.
Alfred clearly wasn’t used to me coming to his room like this, and he kept sneaking glances at me while trying hard to act natural.
Seeing how he had hastily shoved the soldiers under the bed, I guessed that... the people around him probably didn’t think much of him playing with things like this.
It was hard not to wonder how such a timid child would later grow up into a psychopath who killed his own father and served Umbrella.
"U-um... what brings you here?"
I pretended not to notice what he was doing and spoke slowly.
"You know I wasn’t feeling well last week, don’t you?"
Alfred nodded.
"You came to see me then. I was worried you might have caught it from me."
Alfred’s eyes wavered slightly.
"You were worried because of us?"
"Yes. So I thought it would be best if you rested in your rooms for a few days. I’ll have your meals brought up separately as well."
Alfred was silent for a moment.
His gaze looked as if he were weighing something.
Fear, relief, or perhaps a mix of both...
"...For how long?"
"About a week."
"Understood."
He answered too readily. That only made me uneasy.
I started to stand, then stopped.
And before I knew it, I was still sitting there longer than expected.
"Alfred."
"Yes?"
"If you dislike it, you can say so."
Alfred blinked.
"...Huh?"
"I mean, if you hate being stuck in your room, you can say that. I’m not forcing you."
Of course, in practical terms, it was no different from forcing him.
But at the very least, I needed him to know that he was allowed to express his own wishes.
Alfred stared at me for a while.
Then, in a very small voice, he said, "...It’s all right. If Father is worried about us."
I listened to that for a moment, then gave a quiet nod.
"Good. If anything is uncomfortable, tell me."
The moment I closed the door behind me on my way out, I heard the sound of pages turning again from behind me.
This time, it really did sound like he was reading.
'...I didn’t make him more anxious for nothing, did I?'
Anyway, I had managed to persuade one of them in my own way... but the real problem started now.
I stood in front of Alexia’s room next door and took a moment to steady my breathing.
When I stopped in front of Alexia’s door, my hand moved a little more slowly than before.
I knocked twice, but there was no answer.
"...May I come in?"
A brief silence.
"Yes."
I opened the door.
Alexia’s room had a different atmosphere from Alfred’s.
Unlike Alfred’s room, this one was free of clutter. The desk, the shelves, even the bed were all arranged with almost unnerving neatness.
Alexia was seated at the desk, holding tweezers and concentrating on something.
When I stepped closer, I saw a cork board on the desk with an insect neatly pinned to it.
It was a butterfly spread open and fixed in place with pins, and the specimen work seemed to be almost finished.
On a shelf in the corner of the room, completed specimens were already lined up in frames.
It was exactly the kind of hobby you’d expect from Alexia, who even in the game had shown a strong interest in insects.
The only problem was that this hobby would later lead to virus production using insect DNA, and even her own father being used as a test subject...
Alexia didn’t put down the tweezers even after seeing me come in.
She was making minute adjustments to the tip of the butterfly’s wing.
"Just a moment."
I waited in silence.
A moment later, Alexia set down the tweezers and looked at me.
The butterfly on the cork board had both wings perfectly symmetrical.
I pulled over the chair opposite her and sat down.
"Last week, when I wasn’t feeling well, you both came to see me. I was worried you might have caught something from me."
Alexia looked at me.
"Does that have anything to do with the research team coming this morning?"
I didn’t change my expression.
"Yes."
I didn’t bother denying it. A half-baked lie wouldn’t work on this child.
"I thought it would be best if you stayed in your rooms for a few days. I’ll have your meals brought up as well."
Alexia looked at me for a moment, then slowly spoke.
"Is that for our sake, or for yours?"
It was a sharp question, but not an unexpected one.
I thought for a moment, then answered honestly.
"Both."
Alexia’s eyes moved ever so slightly.
"I see."
Surprisingly, Alexia answered as readily as Alfred had.
But the nuance was different. Alfred’s answer had been colored by timidity, while Alexia’s was closer to a judgment.
I didn’t know what this child was thinking with that little head of hers, but after hearing me out, she had apparently calculated something and decided to accept it for now.
I stood up.
"If anything is uncomfortable, tell me."
Instead of answering, Alexia picked up the tweezers again.
The moment I reached for the door, a quiet voice came from behind me.
"Father."
At Alexia’s call, I froze for an instant.
"...Are you feeling all right?"
It was completely unexpected. Alexia was worried about me?
I weighed the meaning of her words for a moment, then gave a short answer.
"Yes. Thanks to you."
The moment I stepped out into the hallway, Alexia spoke again.
"I see. Then I’m glad. You seemed very different today, Father."
At those words, my body stopped of its own accord.
'Did she notice?'
I slowly turned around. Alexia had set down the tweezers and was looking at me.
Her sapphire-bright, sharp eyes were waiting for an answer.
I couldn’t panic.
It would be nice if I could tell the truth, but now was not the time.
I had only just met them, not even a full day ago. I couldn’t spill everything now.
I glanced out the window for a moment, then spoke slowly.
"Different, you say. How do I seem different?"
I asked as naturally as I could.
Alexia lowered her gaze for a moment as if thinking, then looked back at me.
"I don’t know. You just... seemed different."
She couldn’t pinpoint it exactly. But she could sense it vaguely.
No matter how much of a genius she was, it would be hard for her to conclude that her father’s soul had been completely replaced.
"If I seem different, then I must have changed."
Alexia gave me a suspicious look.
"Is that your answer?"
"Well."
I shrugged lightly.
"Does a person always need a reason to change?"
"Was what you said to us last week about trying to change like this?"
That was definitely what I had said when I first met them, when I had reached out my hand as if to strangle these children by the neck.
So she still remembered that...
I looked at Alexia slowly, then after a moment’s thought, spoke quietly.
"Yes. If I told you to try changing, shouldn’t this father be the first one to change?"
A brief silence passed.
Alexia looked at me for a long time after hearing that.
Her expression seemed neither convinced nor dismissive.
She would definitely remember those words.
Just as she remembered the words I had spoken when I first saw her.
I stood up.
"Then I’ll be going now. If anything is uncomfortable, tell me."
Instead of answering, Alexia picked up the tweezers again.
The moment I closed the door, a quiet voice drifted from behind me, too soft for me to catch properly.
"I’ll... try too."
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