What a gloomy space.

If I knew any better, I wouldn’t have even bothered taking over that guy’s mind. But then again, this was my plan to begin with. I was planning on making it a lot easier for him by making him slowly pass out and forcing a punishment game due to forfeit, but he had to push through. I’ll give him credit; he’s a lot more resilient than I thought he would…

He even figured out my ability and how to counter it.

Honestly, even with my mind-reading prowess, I’ll be a useless psychiatrist if I can’t even view repressed thoughts and memories.

But that doesn’t matter.

What matters is that I, Regina Valero, have successfully entered this man’s mind. Now, I can truly see what this man’s true purpose is in infiltrating our family. Father and big sister are too naïve and charitable to see that some people are just not as nice and helpless as they seem. No one outside of this mansion is.

That’s why I’ll force open any repressed thought inside, even if it destroys him. If it turns out that I’m wrong, well, no. I’m not wrong here; I’m doing the right thing.

This is for my family!

I traversed through the rough terrain of his mind, trying to find any repressed thoughts. I may not be able to read them, but if I’m inside their mind, I can at least unlock it forcibly. But somehow, there’s nothing here but a scorched earth.

Seriously who the hell is this guy?

All I know is that he was saved by my big sister.

But what's with this... hellish landscape?

It’s almost as if he’s always in pain. Oh no, the flames in here are so strong that they're actually interfering with my own breathing. Is that even possible? Even if it is, if I don't leave, this place will completely take over my life. What kind of brain is this?

Has he been living with all of this all this time?

"Will I be okay?"

Huh? Where’s that voice coming from? I looked around the flames to see a spot where it was shining brightly. I gasped for air as I tried to walk over to that spot, which is where the voice is also originating from.

"You’re the smartest guy I know! I know you’ll be okay!"

What is this?

It sounds like... him and his mother?

"Smarter than Father?"

"Way smarter!"

"How about my big sister?"

"Let’s not get too far ahead. You’ll do okay, don’t you worry. Good night."

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

I finally reached the spot, and there I witnessed it. It was the one spot in his mind that wasn’t completely covered in hellfire and brimstone. A memory that he shared with his mother... As I was about to touch the memory to see more, I witnessed what happened next—the day of the accursed.

His mother died in that fire.

No, not only that.

He’s the only survivor.

That’s awful…

No wonder; this place is constantly on fire. He’s hurting in more ways than one can imagine. I can’t believe I’ve been torturing a boy who’s suffering through a lot. What kind of monster am I? I got so lost in thinking that I’m saving my family from him, that I forgot that he’s a person as well. I basically called him not human as well, I’m the one who’s not a human here.

Damn it, the flames are getting hotter and the air is getting thicker here... I don’t think I can make it.

"Thank the heavens, there’s still one left breathing."

Wait, was that big sister’s voice?

“Don’t die on me, okay? We’re going to get you to safety and save your life, you got it?”

You really did save him.

It wasn’t just a made-up story by the butlers.

I was really wrong about him, huh?

Damn it.

I couldn’t help but laugh at this situation. I’m trapped inside his hellscape of a mind, realizing that there’s actually nothing devious about him at all. He was seriously just an unfortunate victim in all of this and I made him suffer for nothing.

I’m such a fool.

It's no surprise that big sister's mood and aura have shifted ever since she heard that this boy made a full recovery. She was so excited to see him again and I felt a bit jealous about that. Having someone else have my big sister’s attention, I never thought I’d do something so heinous because of it.

As penance for my stupidity, I shall let the flames of his mind rupture my own.

It’s only fair, right?

Of course not; this will just pile up and add more weight to his already fragile conscience. I have to get out of here, but I can't move. The flames are just too strong for me to handle. I seriously bit off more than I can chew, underestimating his mindscape as nothing more but a barren wasteland.

"Get up already, you dumbass!"

I opened my eyes and to my shock, "Rolo?"

"Who else would it be?" he said.

"How are you here? Wait, did you already break free of my control? How are you finding all these holes in my abilities?" I asked him before realizing that the fire around us had subsided.

Wait, it's not him... well, it's not quite him.

Is this his subconscious trying to save me?

He extends his hands and says, "Wake up already; it’s time for us to end this nonsense."

"But…" I mumbled.

"There’s a punishment game waiting for you. That will be your penance, okay?" he says, with a genuine smile on his face.

I couldn’t say anything more to him.

He’s unbelievable.

"Your subconscious is quite formidable, huh?" I mutter.

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all. I doubt you’ll remember any of this when we wake up, so..." I held his hands tightly and gave his subconscious a kiss on the cheek and said, "Welcome to the family, Rolo. Big brother Rolo."

"Ack! What did you just do!?" He jumped in embarrassment.

How cute! He’s even blushing. I didn’t know the subconscious self could even do that. That’s an interesting thing to look into. But either way, I guess it’s time to wake up.

"See you later," I said, before ending this nonsense.