DYBAR - Chapter 125 < Jerun, a Healer Who Serves Rowena >

DYBAR - Chapter 125 < Jerun, a Healer Who Serves Rowena >

Do Your Best And Regret

"Are you okay?"

Is it maybe five or six years old now? 

With straw-colored hair and dark green eyes, he looked like Jeniv's child.

"Yes, thank you."

They don't find it difficult for me.

The child, who was hesitating and maintaining a reasonable distance, quickly approached with a friendly word. Then he looked at me with curious eyes and chirped.

"You're pretty. Is sister a noblewoman? They said only noble ladies wear clothes like this."

I was unfamiliar with the sight of a child who didn't even care about my face while asking if I was a nobleman.

When I just smiled without answering, he seemed to have interpreted it the way he wanted, and he smiled brightly and told a story I didn't even ask.

"Can I touch it? In fact, I was scolded for coming to the lake alone, but my grandfather hadn't woken up for a few days and I wanted to bring him flowers. Which flower does sister think is the prettiest?"

The flowers the child held out were fragrant. I answered blankly.

"They're all pretty..."

"Yes? Originally, my grandfather liked red flowers the most. This is the reddest one out there."

The excited child talked about how beautiful the flowers were. Listening to the child's story, I slowly pondered this unbelievable situation.

A spring-like place where flowers and trees bloom beautifully in the gentle air, like a different paradise. The sky was clear, unlike the frozen, white Senua Valley. And to the rippling valley.

Suddenly, I felt that my hands on the soft grass were somehow uncomfortable.

The magic stone of my necklace was sparkling green in the palm of my hand, which I was holding so tightly that it was strange that I had not been aware of it until now.

Luckily I caught my necklace.

My body began to tremble as I realized the reality of my situation.

The dizzying feeling of falling off a cliff with no end in sight gave me goosebumps all over my body. I felt the sharp winds blowing through my body again, and my stomach turned. 

I lay on the floor and retched.

"Are you okay?"

His voice grew distant and closer as the child asked worriedly. Only when my stomach calmed down did I smile weakly and nod my head.

Although my fingertips were still shaking a little, I was relieved that I was alive. At the same time, Edwin's last face came to mind.

The red eyes that looked at me as if they were terrified, and the way he called my name as if he were spitting out blood. 

My heart skipped a beat, and a terrible tingling sensation rang through my chest.

I pursed my lips and asked carefully.

"Where is here?"

Where is this place really?

The only contact point between this place and Senua's Valley was thin white ice on a valley as wide as a lake.

"This place..."

I hoped it would be Senua's Valley or someplace in the Vikander territory.

No, I just thought it would be nice if this otherworldly place was just a part of the empire I knew.

"Here....Where is it?"

As I was answering, the child tilted his head for a moment. In the midst of the tension that made my heart feel like it was going to burst, the innocent child just smiled.

"I don't know. It's just a house! Dad called it a shelter, but I just call it home."

My sorrow was deeply consumed by the child's simple answer as if I didn't want to think about it anymore. But I asked him again, a little more calmly and softly.

"The name or whatever is fine. So, where did you hear when you came here? Who lives there or how they got here."

"This place has no name! So it was hard for me and my dad when we came here."

A place without a name. Although my eyes went dark, I worked hard to pull down my magic gem and my necklace. Many of the remote areas do not have place names. Wherever this is... 

Ah! Dad?

"Then, your father..."

"Didn't sister come here too?"

The child's cheerful voice overtook my voice. I, who was trying to get help from the adult, quietly blinked my eyes.

'I'm being led.'

My heart pounded, although I had no idea what the child meant. A premonition encouraged me. I was wondering if this might be where the smoke came from that Dean was talking about.

Even in this urgent situation, I plan to uncover the secrets of the valley.

My expression hardened slightly as I looked down at the magic stone necklace with a grin on my face. For some reason, the magic stone was blinking hard as if what I said was correct.

Suddenly the child pursed his lips and complained.

"I think it came much easier for you. Me and my dad were really cold. She has so many eyes."

Snow. It was a characteristic of Senua Valley. 

My throat got lumpy at the joy of seeing him. Without stopping, the child described the events of the day he came here.

"If the healer grandfather hadn't shown up at that time, it would have been really, really cold. Originally, my feet were frozen, but ah! It's my grandfather who is a healer!"

Before I could speak, the child jumped up and waved his arms as hard as he could toward my back. An old man with white hair was approaching from afar. He walked slowly while holding a curved cane.

"Oh, I'd be scolded if they found out I came here alone."

As if he had finally realized it, the child hid his body behind me. Could that old man be the person who can explain this place? 

While I was about to stand up in anticipation, an old man's voice was heard. Although he was old, his voice was solid.

"Why did you come out here alone? Who Is she?"

The moment their eyes met, I knew my hunch was correct. The old man's eyes were clearly green, similar to mine.

The old man must have noticed this as well, and his calm conversation suddenly stopped. Soon the color began to disappear from the old man's face. At one point, the old man holding his cane began to shake.

"Grandfather!"

The child quickly ran over and helped the old man. While holding the child's hand, the old man's gaze did not leave me. The old man pressed his lips several times before finally biting them.

"... Is this you, Priest?"

Priests. Noble Priest. A word I heard from Bethanny.

Instead of answering, I looked at the old man. My heart was pounding like it was going to burst. I couldn't believe that the story I wanted to know so much was coming so close to my nose.

Soon the old man lowered his body.

"Rowena's lowly servant, Jerun, has finally, finally... I see you, Priest."

The end of his rough voice trembled as if he was crying. The old wish contained in the voice seemed to touch me and disappear.

***

"Then I'd like to go see Grandpa!"

The child, Tiba, probably noticed what he was seeing and ran into the distance. Only when the figure behind him disappeared down the hill did the old man, who had been mute for a while, begin to speak intermittently.

"In all my life, I never thought I would see the priest again. I just vaguely hoped."

His eyes became red as if he was filled with regret. 

In response to the old man's words assuming me to be a priest, I murmured a question.

"Am I a priest?"

"Those bright green eyes are definitely a sign that Rowena gave to the priest."

Between the words of affirmation, a word I had never heard before appeared again. Rowena. Is it a name related to Lowell? 

But before I could ask, the old man spoke again in a voice full of excitement and trembling.

"How did you get here? Did you really come here because you felt it?"

"I fell here by chance. The necklace fell off the cliff."

I carefully spread my hands. Seeing my sparkling magic stone, the old man was just as astonished as when he first saw me.

"That...!"

"Do you know about this necklace?"

"... It's been over fifty years since I last saw this, but I remember it clearly. This is the key used during ancestral rites."

More than fifty years ago, key, Rowena, priest.

Unconnected words raced through my mind.

"Well, I have a lot of questions. Grandfather..."

The old man was startled by the words, not knowing what to call him, and threw up his hand.

"This is Jerun. Humble your words, priest. I am just a healer who serves Rowena and follows the priest."

The sight of him not knowing what to do with his body looked somewhat familiar, and it was similar to Bethanny's. A look of despair filled the eyes. I quietly looked at Jerun and nodded my head.

"But before you start wondering. I have a group of people who came with me. I want to let them know that I am safe."

"Are they also a descendant of Lowell?"

If they are a descendant of Lowell... Deanne, Bethany, and... Edwin too.

I nodded my head. Jerun grinned. As time goes by, fan wrinkles naturally create smiles.

"Then you would have felt it. The priest is safe"

I can't believe I felt it. Earlier, Jerun said something unintelligible. Is there some kind of signal shared among Lowell's descendants?

"But you still have to go back. I will take you to the vicinity where your companions are. Please visit here again."

Jerun, who had made a request to God, raised his arm with a sigh.

"You didn't bring anything to cover yourself because you were in a hurry. Can you please wait a moment?"

I don't know what he was talking about, but I nodded my head. Jerun, who was diligently walking ahead of me, paused for a moment and looked back at me.

"Priest, is it okay if I don't cover up?"

I, who didn't understand the meaning of what seemed like a hint of concern, asked back.

"What?"

"Well, isn't it still dangerous out there?"

At his hesitant words, I immediately noticed how little Jerune had gone outside. What should I say first? 

I wonder if there are still many people like this. It was a time when she realized the dark reality. Feeling my palms getting hot, I held up my magic stone necklace again. A particularly sparkling light felt like the light that brightened the room last night. I looked where the sparkle of light was heading.

It matched where the child ran to.

"Uh, by any chance. What's over there?"

"I have a house that I look after. It is a place where Lowell's descendants wander with no place to go stay for a while. If it's okay, would you like to take a look now?"

The magic stone necklace sparkled hotly on my palm. A pounding energy spread through my palms as if it wanted to resonate with something. I couldn't tell what was over there, but the magic stone necklace was clearly hoping that I would go over there.

I nodded my head.

***

"It's not possible, Your Highness!"

Brock shouted as he coughed up blood. It was almost like God's help that Brock did not lose sight of the Grand Dyke despite his violent movements like a rampaging animal. I was able to catch the Grand Dule who normally would have dismissed him right away. However, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, Brock took a step back when he saw the Grand Duke's face.

A face so pale that it takes your breath away just to look at it.

The face torn with fear, the red eyes slowly sinking as if buried, had never been seen in any war.

The Grand Duke was dying, bit by bit, bit by bit. As if he had just lost everything. Even the concentration of the air was heavily precipitating.

Edwin looked down at the cliff with blank eyes. Olivia's name, as he called it, echoed down the cliff, which was so rugged that the end seemed endless as if it were from a cave.

His cold breath had blocked his airway to the point where he couldn't even breathe properly. Edwin's mind was filled with only the face of Olivia, who had finally fallen.

She was smiling even with her terrified face. When something in Edwin's mind suddenly snapped, he tried to jump off the cliff without hesitation.

"Magic power! I felt magic, Your Highness!"

Bethanny's yell was a little faster than Edwin's, he tried to jump once again. Bethanny nodded her head quickly, meeting the Grand Duke's eyes as he looked at her.

The moment Olivia fell, Bethany naturally came under a spell. But the stronger magical powers thwarted Bethanny's magic. That's definitely...

"Dear Lady, it was a friendly force for you!"

Dean, who was gritting his teeth, also clenched and unclenched his fists and joined in with a trembling voice.

"I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Where is the place where you can feel the magic?"

Bethanny closed her eyes for a moment and took a breath, feeling a clear fear that was seeping from her suppressed emotions.

At Bethany's words, the fear that had been encroaching on Edwin disappeared as much as before his bright eyes. At the same time, he felt his senses returning, Edwin also clenched his fists. It was then. He also suddenly felt a strange energy.

Pure and gentle feeling....

And when he looked where the energy flowed.

"Over there, over there!"

"Over there, it's the same."

Almost simultaneously, Bethany and Dean pointed to a place. Brock's eyes widened at the sight of the three people, including Edwin, looking at a commonplace.

"Am I the only one who can't feel anything right now?"

Leaving behind Brock's muttering voice, Edwin hurriedly ran there.

No one told him exactly, but he could feel the clear destination and ran until his breath caught up to his chin.

There had to be Olivia at the end.

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