Back to the Day My Family Played Dead

Dad is struck by a sudden illness, causing him to die tragically in his office. At the funeral, my younger brother, Draco Lancaster, and my mom decide to swallow rat poison just to reunite with Dad out of sorrow. Everyone says that Dad didn't dote on Draco for nothing. But on the day after the funeral, Dad's superior comes knocking on the door. Apparently, Dad has misappropriated public property, so I am to be locked up in a stockpen serving as a holding cell in order to pay off the debt on his behalf. Later on, I finally clear the debt. But that's when I see my family, who should have been dead, laughing and chatting with each other in a car. It turns out that they've faked their deaths to flee from the consequences. Unable to accept the reality, I rush over to confront them. My family, who are terrified that the truth will get out, quickly run me over with the car as a result. When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day my family is about to fake their deaths. Chapter 1 "You and your family have truly suffered a horrible death, Fred—an entire family gone just like that, without even leaving a descendant behind!" I stared blankly at the scene as a sudden burst of wailing echoed in my ears. I noticed three coffins lined up neatly before me, holding the bodies of Wendy Lowe, Fred Lancaster, and Draco Lancaster—Mom, Dad, and my younger brother. Those who were mourning so passionately were Shawn Lancaster and Olivia Smith—my uncle and aunt from the countryside. I had been reborn. I had returned to the day my whole family staged their deaths. I watched them lie peacefully in their coffins as if they were merely asleep. A sudden wave of fury rushed through me. I let out a sharp cry and threw myself at Draco, who looked completely at peace. I bellowed, "You're truly a shame to the Lancaster family, Draco! How could you just die along with Mom and Dad? How could you just end the Lancaster family bloodline? I'm going to properly teach you a lesson today on behalf of the Lancaster family!" I used every ounce of my strength to violently slap Draco across the face while wailing. My fingernails dug in and left scratch after scratch. I wanted to see how long they were going to keep up the act. They got to eat well and live comfortably, while I was abandoned in a stockpen used as a holding cell, left for others to bully and abuse. Why did Draco have the right to boss me around since we were young, just because he was born male? In that instant, the sharp sound of slapping echoed throughout the funeral hall, and before long, Draco's face became visibly red and swollen. His eyelids were twitching constantly, but even so, he remained completely motionless inside the coffin. I couldn't help but wonder if Mom and Dad, who were lying next to him and faking their deaths as well, would become so enraged that they would sit up. After all, they were hearing their worthless daughter slap their precious son. In the meantime, the onlookers, who were shocked by my reaction, quickly stepped in to hold me back. I took the opportunity to bury my face in Lucy Hall's, my neighbor's, shoulder. "Why did I have to be the one left alive, Lucy? Mom and Dad are gone, and Draco is dead, too. How did the Lancaster family—?" I got so choked up with emotion that I couldn't even say another word. Upon witnessing my heartbroken state, the onlookers let out collective sighs of sorrow. "You've been through so much, you poor child. You have to keep living, for your parents' sake as well as your own." "You need to stay strong, Hope. Even though they're in the grave, your parents wouldn't want you to be in this much pain." I let out a cold, mocking smirk with my face still buried in Lucy's shoulder, thinking that they clearly wanted me to suffer; after all, they clearly wished they had never given birth to a daughter like me. In my past life, Mom, Dad, and Draco staged their deaths as a family, pulling off the perfect vanishing act. I had barely finished handling their funeral arrangements and was still drowning in grief when I was arrested. In that small, dimly lit room, I endured three whole days of torment without any food or water. Those authorities took turns interrogating me, demanding to know where the gold bars my family received were hidden. They were convinced that since I was the sole survivor of the Lancaster family, I was the only one who knew the location of those gold bars. How could I possibly explain the truth of a matter concerning things I had never seen or heard of before, though? They eventually gave up on interrogating me, but as punishment and to make amends, I was dragged out to be paraded through the streets. The onlookers, who were driven by their hatred for those who bled the country dry, lined up to pelt me with rotten vegetables. I still couldn't understand what I had ever done to deserve all of this, even after I was sent down to a stockpen used as a holding cell in the Great Barren North. I held on and pulled through, thankfully. I spent 20 years paying off those debts, and right when I thought I could get a fresh start in life, I unexpectedly ran into the three people who were supposed to be long dead. Instead, they were happily talking and laughing together. I was overwhelmed by disbelief as I rushed forward to confront them. However, they were afraid that their fake deaths would be exposed, so they drove over me with their car. Heaven had fortunately granted me mercy, though. I, Hope Lancaster, managed to crawl my way back from hell and became a true vengeful spirit out for blood. Chapter 2 "You don't have to cry anymore, Hope. Your uncle and I will become your parents now. We'll take good care of you on behalf of your father and mother," Aunt Olivia said as she pulled me away from Lucy's shoulder. She looked incredibly honest and plain, especially with her deeply tanned skin from working the land year-round. Those who came to the funeral all sighed in admiration. They mentioned how profoundly affectionate and loyal Aunt Olivia and Uncle Shawn were. I was the only one who knew that they had been after nothing but the Lancaster family's fortune. In my past life, they only helped out because there was something to gain. They ran around managing the funeral affairs, but the moment they found out my family's home had been raided, they fled, hastily cutting ties with me without delay. "I always knew both of you were the ones who cared for me most. You should come live in the city with me once the funeral affairs are over. I'll take good care of both of you." Hearing this, Uncle Shawn, who was still sobbing heavily against Dad's coffin, caught his breath for a second. He began to wail even louder than before immediately after. Aunt Olivia, on the other hand, could barely contain the grin on her face. I then said, "Mom, Dad, and Draco passed away so suddenly, so I'd like to wipe down their bodies and fix them up again to give them a more decent send-off." I covered my face and went into the kitchen under the sympathetic yet approving looks of the crowd. I looked at the water boiling rapidly in the pot and smiled, wondering how they would handle this since they were so good at playing dead. I carefully grabbed the scalding towel with two of my fingers and flicked it across Dad's face. I saw the man lying stiffly in the coffin twitch twice. His hand reflexively clenched around the fabric of his trousers. I could barely suppress a laugh as I witnessed such a clumsy performance. I then used the same rough scrubbing motion I usually used for washing clothes and scrubbed his refined, fair face hard. They always used to beat me under the excuse that I did a poor job washing clothes. So, today, I was going to show them exactly how strong I was. It wasn't long before Dad's good-looking face flushed deep red, and upon closer inspection, the skin looked as if it had been rubbed raw. I then asked, "Is it possible that Dad isn't dead, Aunt Olivia? I mean, look at how flushed and healthy he looks!" Aunt Olivia cast a glance at him and said perfunctorily, "You're being so silly right now, Hope. Your father looks like that because you did such a good job cleaning him up. You should quickly attend to your brother and mother as well so that they can have a proper send-off as well, Hope." I could barely keep myself from laughing out loud after hearing that. I kept my head lowered as I sniffled and whispered, "I'll go swap this out and bring back another basin of clean, warm water." I repeated the same action and quickly scrubbed Draco's face. His face, which was already red and swollen from the slapping incident earlier, became completely unsightly. Thanks to the strong firewood in the kitchen, the water was even hotter this time. It caused small blisters to noticeably rise on his skin. I sneered in disdain as I watched his body shake uncontrollably. I quickly brought over a third basin of water and stood next to Mom's coffin with a grief-stricken expression. "How could you be so cruel as to leave this world with Dad, Mom? You favored Draco since he was young, while offering me nothing but blows and scoldings—and even though you mailed your jewelry and our household funds to Aunt Tracy before your death—in my heart, you shall always remain my mother—" "W-What did you just say?" Aunt Olivia lunged forward and seized my arm, asking the question in sheer disbelief. She yanked me so hard that I "accidentally" spilled boiling water onto Mom's face. Mom let out a cry of pain, but since Aunt Olivia had been speaking too loudly, no one noticed that the person who was supposed to be dead had actually made a sound. Mom wasn't doing too well either, judging by her appearance. Her delicate face—which was usually so pampered—became incredibly red and swollen after an entire basin of boiling water had splashed over her. She was covered in enormous blisters that were utterly terrifying to behold. Chapter 3 "W-What did you just say, Hope? What do you mean your family's money and valuables have been given away?" Aunt Olivia demanded. She dropped her caring act and glared at me viciously. I shook my head desperately as tears streamed down my face. "I have no idea. I don't know anything at all, Aunt Olivia." Upon seeing me shaking with fear, Lucy stepped in and placed herself between us. "Why are you taking this out on a child? Your brother, his wife, and their child are all dead. Rather than trying to lay them to rest in peace, you're actually bullying their sole remaining daughter." Having said that, Lucy fiercely spat a mouthful of saliva directly into Aunt Olivia's face. Aunt Olivia's arrogance instantly vanished at the sight of the impeccably dressed woman—someone who clearly wasn't to be trifled with. After all, she was merely a woman from the countryside with no experience of the world. She still stubbornly pushed forward a sheet of paper, telling me to put it in writing that they would take care of me from now on and inherit all of my family's wealth despite all of that. Upon seeing that Aunt Olivia wouldn't back down until she got what she wanted, I endured the injustice just so my parents could have a peaceful burial. I took the pen and paper with a trembling hand and drew up a property transfer agreement, stating that everything owned by the Lancaster family was to be turned over to them. Under everyone's sympathetic gazes, the matter was finally settled. It was then that a sharp slap rang out across the room. "You foolish woman! Get out of here this instant! I'm never going to let you off if you mess up my brother and his family's funeral!" Uncle Shawn rushed up and slapped Aunt Olivia hard across the face, now that everything was signed and sealed. He then turned to me with a sycophantic smile and said, "I've already dealt with your Aunt Olivia, Hope. You see, we shouldn't waste our breath on a shortsighted woman like her, as what matters right now is laying your father, mother, and brother to rest." If I hadn't been reborn, I really would have trusted Uncle Shawn, who stood before me looking so down-to-earth with his wrinkled face. In truth, the grand design to seize the assets of the Lancaster family belonged solely to him; Aunt Olivia had merely been put forward to play the villain. I had more pressing matters to attend to at the moment, so with that thought, I nodded with an expression of forced submission. "Alright, Uncle Shawn." "Let's close the coffins and proceed with laying your parents and brother to rest." If they were buried now, it would be a total luxury for them; after all, they had already made arrangements for people to exhume them the moment the funeral ended. I was going to see to it that they were burned to ashes and utterly destroyed in this life. I cast a sidelong glance at the cleric conducting his ceremony in the courtyard with that in mind. He had shown up on our doorstep, volunteering to hold these rites the moment Mom, Dad, and Draco passed away, before the neighbors even knew about it. In this day and age, nobody dared to involve themselves in heretical practices like this. I wasn't so foolish as to fail to understand what was going on at this moment. It was just that the cleric produced a letter written in Mom and Dad's own handwriting, where their final wishes clearly stated that this cleric had to send them off after their death. Thus, I risked the chance of being arrested and publicly denounced just to keep the cleric around. "I think there's something suspicious about how Dad and the others died, Uncle Shawn. I mean, think about it—Dad was young and healthy, not to mention Mom and Draco. Is it possible that there was some foul presence at work, or perhaps a contagious plague? "I think we should forgo a traditional burial. I heard people from the big cities say that if it's a disease, burning the bodies cleanses everything," I said as I looked innocently toward Uncle Shawn, making sure my voice rang out across the entire funeral hall. Upon hearing this, the crowd immediately backed away, shoving and jostling each other as they packed into the courtyard with terror written all over their faces. They were absolutely terrified, as a contagious disease was no laughing matter in those days. Thus, without a moment's hesitation, Uncle Shawn nodded frantically. "Go cremate them at once! Get them out of here and burn them all right away!" He covered his nose and mouth as he spoke, as if the air itself were tainted with something filthy. Just then, the cleric jumped up and spoke with a pious look on his face, saying, "You absolutely can't do this, as our ancestors always believed that the dead must be laid to rest in the ground; otherwise, the lingering malice will be so profound that I'm afraid even I won't be able to keep it down." "I am my parents' daughter, so I am willing to take responsibility for the karmic consequences. If their burial brings harm to the people of this town, then my family would be the ultimate sinners. I believe my parents wouldn't want that to happen, so let me be the one to take the sin upon myself." I covered my face and lowered my head as I said so. My shoulders were trembling. In the meantime, my display of righteous selflessness moved everyone present. Several well-meaning onlookers stepped forward and said, "Your courtyard is large enough, so let's just cremate them here, Hope. There's barely any wind right now, so the ashes won't blow away." I looked up at the good-natured man before me as I suppressed my laughter with effort and nodded solemnly. "I'll go get the fire ready then. I'd really appreciate it if you guys could help carry my family out into the courtyard." It wasn't long before all preparations were complete. I looked toward the three people in the coffins as I held up a torch that blazed with a roaring fire. My face was masked with deep grief. "I've failed you for making you suffer like this, but don't worry. I'll gather all of your ashes without leaving anything behind." Those roaring flames made the air feel suffocating. I watched a hint of reluctance cross the cleric's face through the shifting light of the flames. The three of them—their faces already completely disfigured—looked twisted as the jumping firelight cast shadows over them. I finally lifted the torch in my hand and walked toward them.