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I felt caught.

This whole thing was supposed to be an act of rebellion, but in truth, I’d stopped fighting long ago. It had become just another duty; the hero’s cape draped over my shoulders by my family. Well, at first, I was the one who sought out these houses to find myself, but now they controlled every move. As always, they were calculating how each step benefited me, treating their “precious creature” like a piece on a board. And I had let them. I hadn’t yet dared to breach the labyrinth they built. I remained obedient, like a machine deceiving itself into thinking it was human.

And this child seemed to see right through me. Never before had anyone told me I was useless, called out my mistakes, or held me accountable for my wrongdoings.

To her, I was not perfect.

It was a raw, grotesque feeling that made me feel real. Contrary to the gentle care I offered the children, I was plummeting into destruction at that moment. I belonged to there, to those very ruins. I bolted to my feet, my voice snapping with urgency.

“I’ll stay!”

Mina shifted toward me. Her indifferent gaze paralyzed me. Fearing I would be deprived of it, I could do nothing but repeat my words.

“I’ll stay. I can be useful to you. I can stay with you forever. As I said, I’ll do whatever you want. I’ll be your guardian robot.”

She didn’t respond, her judgmental eyes fixed on me. “How can I trust you?”

I paused for a moment. Another question I’d never heard before. Up until now, I’d never made an effort to earn anyone’s trust. Thanks to my family’s obsession with absolute power, everything had always been handed to me on a silver platter. Yet here was this child, forcing me to fight for something so completely foreign that my mind went blank.

All that kept me together was discipline.

I tugged up my shirt and began peeling back the skin from my mechanical left arm.

“What are you doing?” She gasped, reaching out in shock, but I swiftly backed away.

I pried the chip from my arm, its surface a tangled mess of wires. I held it with careful hands. A piece of hardware I used to view with revulsion, now guarded as if my life depended on it.

“Take it. If this breaks, I’ll be gone too.” It was just the mechanical system in my body; if it broke, my flesh would collapse or melt away. At least, that was what my mother said.

I handed it to Mina without hesitation, holding onto the look in her bright eyes.

“I’m giving it to you, so you can trust me.”

“But… this is dangerous…”

“Exactly. That’s why you’ll have to protect it well. If you want me to stay with you forever.”

I could finally feel myself going mad. Why was I going so far for a child I just met? Why did pushing my limits feel so wonderful?

There was a brief moment of silence. I waited, my hand still outstretched toward the red-haired girl, anticipation tightening my fingers. Mina cupped her chin, pretending to think. A moment later, she closed the distance between us and took my shaky fingers into her palm.

“Hmm… Remi!” she shouted. “Your name will be Remi! Ray is too short; I wanted something with four letters like my name. Do you like it?”

“Yes, it’s okay.”

She radiated at my response, then glimpsed at the chip in my hand.

“Remi will stay with me forever, right?”

“Right.”

“Then I’ll also stay with you forever. You don’t need to give this to me. I’ll trust you.”

Trust? “Yes, you can trust me.”

Being addicted to something… Mina Olind must’ve been addicted to not being abandoned. Now, pleasing her and playing that guardian role had become my new mission. No matter what it cost me, I would complete it.

For my own selfish reasons.