“Well... The name Britannia itself was unified and disappeared after the First War, but the most famous stories still remain. I changed all four of Shakespeare’s major tragedies to happy endings.”
The answer came a long time later.
“You changed Shakespeare’s four major tragedies into happy endings...? Those masterpieces are masterpieces because they are tragedies. How dare you change the endings so arbitrarily.”
“This is a story I imagined on my own. It seems so sad and unfair that all the good protagonists meet tragic fates, so I thought, what if it really happened like this?... I changed it based on that imagination.”
Angie mustered up her courage and tried to appeal more aggressively.
“Wouldn’t you like to hear it once, Master? And tell me your opinion. No matter what you say, nonsense or bad, I won’t get angry.”
“It’s okay to be angry.”
Why should I get angry at something like that?
Elliot pushed the boat hard to the surface. The raft settled better on the water than expected. It looked sturdy, floating upright without losing its balance.
“I’ve packed emergency food and water, so now it’s time to start sailing.”
Elliot started rowing. The boat was sailing smoothly. He planned to return within three hours. It is forbidden to be too greedy from the beginning. If he sailed steadily for three hours, he might see something. Then, if he gradually increased the sailing time and went further, he would discover other islands or land.
“Of course. There must be something. This can’t be the end of the world. It can’t end like this.”
He has lived on the island ever since he was born. There was always plenty of food, the villagers were extremely kind, and everything was peaceful.
"Every day is the same, it's so boring. There must be something across the sea, so why doesn't anyone try to leave the island?"
Whenever Elliot raised a question, his parents would always say:
"Elliot. You don't know. What a precious blessing this boredom you're enjoying right now is. Right after that terrible war, Duke Blackwell found this safe place and gathered the survivors here to live in such abundance. We're the only community left in the world. Maybe someday the world outside the island will be safe enough for us to go far away. But not now."
The answer came a long time later.
“You changed Shakespeare’s four major tragedies into happy endings...? Those masterpieces are masterpieces because they are tragedies. How dare you change the endings so arbitrarily.”
“This is a story I imagined on my own. It seems so sad and unfair that all the good protagonists meet tragic fates, so I thought, what if it really happened like this?... I changed it based on that imagination.”
Angie mustered up her courage and tried to appeal more aggressively.
“Wouldn’t you like to hear it once, Master? And tell me your opinion. No matter what you say, nonsense or bad, I won’t get angry.”
“It’s okay to be angry.”
Why should I get angry at something like that?
Angie's shoulders slumped slightly at the condescending tone. However, her face brightened again at the young Master's subsequent words.
“Tell me. If you really messed up something so ridiculous, you should get out of this room right now.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Angie slowly opened her story, prepared to be kicked out. Fortunately, the boy didn't yell at her to leave the room even after quite some time had passed.
The girl who was purer and happier than anyone else in the world, and the noble and unfortunate boy met each other like that. If only the girl hadn't so easily let out her fictitious words. If only she had been a bit more timid in reality, like her usual introverted and quiet appearance.
If that had been the case, nothing would have happened. If that had been the case, she might have lived her whole life in peace, blinded by false happiness.
After so many years, Angie would sometimes feel a pang of pain in her heart whenever she thought back to that first meeting. What if the clock were to turn back and go back to that moment, knowing full well what would happen in the future and what the outcome would be? Even if it did, nothing would change.
She would still say and do the same things. The influence that the captivating voice had on the girl beyond the curtain was just as overwhelming.
It was meant to be that way. And it had to be that way. It's a terrible thought to live your whole life in false happiness. It would have been much better to break the illusion, awaken, and fight against the miserable reality of death. It would have been too easy to give up without fighting.
That night, a storm raged over the seas surrounding Cullinan Island. Nineteen, just becoming an adult, Elliot was full of youthful energy. He always wanted to know what was out there. It was more than just curiosity.
For the cheerful and warlike hot-blooded young man, this peaceful island was too small. It was suffocatingly stuffy. His parents did not understand his son's ambition and spirit. A few days ago, his father was busy scolding Elliot.
"Elliot. Stop thinking nonsense. This island is where the only survivors live right after the terrible Second Continental War. It's the only safe place! There are terrible things across the sea. Whether they're monsters or strange creatures that were experimented on during the war, the truth is one thing. As long as we don't leave this island, we can all live happily ever after. We can live without wanting anything under the care of the Blackwell family."
"Yes, Elliot. Please, do as your father says and be quiet. Starting next month, you are scheduled to work at the brewery in the Duke's domain. If you study hard and work hard, you can even become the brewery manager..."
"I don't care about managing a small brewery! If you two are so happy to stay here, then do so! I'll do as I please, so don't worry about it!"
Elliot was very handy. He completed a wooden boat with the books he had read in the grain storage room during his work on the farm. It was a huge project that took more than half a year. Several fishing boats were fishing within a reasonable distance. It would have been nice to sneak one, but they were all chained tightly to the dock, so it was not possible to do so.
He decided to try to make the move on a night when the waves were calm. That night, Elliot waited until after midnight and pulled the boat out to the dark southern shore. The island, bathed in pale moonlight, was quiet and peaceful.
As expected, the fog surrounding the island was thick, but he didn't stop. Originally, sea fog was only dangerous because of collisions with reefs or other ships, but there was no problem going out from the inside. Outside the sea area, the fog would block the view and make it impossible to see the island, but the opposite was not a problem.
If by any chance he hit a reef and the boat had a hole in it, he planned to quickly jump into the water. He was a very good swimmer. The fog created a narrow boundary, so it was not difficult to swim to the shore within it.
“Tch...!”
“Tell me. If you really messed up something so ridiculous, you should get out of this room right now.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Angie slowly opened her story, prepared to be kicked out. Fortunately, the boy didn't yell at her to leave the room even after quite some time had passed.
The girl who was purer and happier than anyone else in the world, and the noble and unfortunate boy met each other like that. If only the girl hadn't so easily let out her fictitious words. If only she had been a bit more timid in reality, like her usual introverted and quiet appearance.
If that had been the case, nothing would have happened. If that had been the case, she might have lived her whole life in peace, blinded by false happiness.
After so many years, Angie would sometimes feel a pang of pain in her heart whenever she thought back to that first meeting. What if the clock were to turn back and go back to that moment, knowing full well what would happen in the future and what the outcome would be? Even if it did, nothing would change.
She would still say and do the same things. The influence that the captivating voice had on the girl beyond the curtain was just as overwhelming.
It was meant to be that way. And it had to be that way. It's a terrible thought to live your whole life in false happiness. It would have been much better to break the illusion, awaken, and fight against the miserable reality of death. It would have been too easy to give up without fighting.
***
That night, a storm raged over the seas surrounding Cullinan Island. Nineteen, just becoming an adult, Elliot was full of youthful energy. He always wanted to know what was out there. It was more than just curiosity.
For the cheerful and warlike hot-blooded young man, this peaceful island was too small. It was suffocatingly stuffy. His parents did not understand his son's ambition and spirit. A few days ago, his father was busy scolding Elliot.
"Elliot. Stop thinking nonsense. This island is where the only survivors live right after the terrible Second Continental War. It's the only safe place! There are terrible things across the sea. Whether they're monsters or strange creatures that were experimented on during the war, the truth is one thing. As long as we don't leave this island, we can all live happily ever after. We can live without wanting anything under the care of the Blackwell family."
"Yes, Elliot. Please, do as your father says and be quiet. Starting next month, you are scheduled to work at the brewery in the Duke's domain. If you study hard and work hard, you can even become the brewery manager..."
"I don't care about managing a small brewery! If you two are so happy to stay here, then do so! I'll do as I please, so don't worry about it!"
Elliot was very handy. He completed a wooden boat with the books he had read in the grain storage room during his work on the farm. It was a huge project that took more than half a year. Several fishing boats were fishing within a reasonable distance. It would have been nice to sneak one, but they were all chained tightly to the dock, so it was not possible to do so.
He decided to try to make the move on a night when the waves were calm. That night, Elliot waited until after midnight and pulled the boat out to the dark southern shore. The island, bathed in pale moonlight, was quiet and peaceful.
As expected, the fog surrounding the island was thick, but he didn't stop. Originally, sea fog was only dangerous because of collisions with reefs or other ships, but there was no problem going out from the inside. Outside the sea area, the fog would block the view and make it impossible to see the island, but the opposite was not a problem.
If by any chance he hit a reef and the boat had a hole in it, he planned to quickly jump into the water. He was a very good swimmer. The fog created a narrow boundary, so it was not difficult to swim to the shore within it.
“Tch...!”
Elliot pushed the boat hard to the surface. The raft settled better on the water than expected. It looked sturdy, floating upright without losing its balance.
“I’ve packed emergency food and water, so now it’s time to start sailing.”
Elliot started rowing. The boat was sailing smoothly. He planned to return within three hours. It is forbidden to be too greedy from the beginning. If he sailed steadily for three hours, he might see something. Then, if he gradually increased the sailing time and went further, he would discover other islands or land.
“Of course. There must be something. This can’t be the end of the world. It can’t end like this.”
He has lived on the island ever since he was born. There was always plenty of food, the villagers were extremely kind, and everything was peaceful.
"Every day is the same, it's so boring. There must be something across the sea, so why doesn't anyone try to leave the island?"
Whenever Elliot raised a question, his parents would always say:
"Elliot. You don't know. What a precious blessing this boredom you're enjoying right now is. Right after that terrible war, Duke Blackwell found this safe place and gathered the survivors here to live in such abundance. We're the only community left in the world. Maybe someday the world outside the island will be safe enough for us to go far away. But not now."
"Yes, Elliot. You know that, right? The Blackwell family is using all their technology and equipment to protect this island from the outside world. And that's all? They're developing things like Wind to monitor the outside world to see if it's safe! Once they're sure it's safe, Edward will foolishly tell us to go outside."
Elliot shook his parents’ admonitions from his mind. On a night filled with only moonlight, the outline of Wind’s great pillars emerged in the dim darkness. Wind, built like a large pillar symbolizing isolation from the outside world, towered over the water. On top of the long, large pillars, the slowly rotating pinwheel-shaped fans were placed at 50-meter intervals above the foggy water-like buoys.
Nothing, including the fishing boat, could go outside the Wind. It was like a border. No one could be sure what dangers might lurk once they got out. Elliot slowed down his rowing a little.
It was a bit scary as he passed by Wind. At the same time, he felt a thrill and excitement. It was a distorted joy that came from revealing secrets and breaking taboos. It was also the exhilaration of breaking through and destroying the shackles of the biggest and most secret rules that a community had firmly maintained.
“Haha... Something so simple. Something so easy. Why couldn’t I do it before? You’re all cowards, you cowards.”
Elliot muttered with a soft laugh. The stern of the skiff was just about to brush against the side of Wind's mast. It was the moment when the courageous voyage was about to begin. It was an adventure that could only be afforded to those with such bold courage.
“What’s out there! Look at that, it’s just the vast ocean...Ugh! Aww!”
Something jumped onto the ship and swung something wildly. His excited voice soon turned into a scream. The scream soon turned into a cry for help. Blood splattered before his eyes, which were wide open. It was Elliot’s own blood. Blood splashed like a spray onto the moon that was leisurely looking down at the sea.
The full moon, covered in red blood, soon became the red moon itself. The wind and rain began to blow fiercely. Even the waves, which had been so calm, began to sway in the wind.
Elliot shook his parents’ admonitions from his mind. On a night filled with only moonlight, the outline of Wind’s great pillars emerged in the dim darkness. Wind, built like a large pillar symbolizing isolation from the outside world, towered over the water. On top of the long, large pillars, the slowly rotating pinwheel-shaped fans were placed at 50-meter intervals above the foggy water-like buoys.
Nothing, including the fishing boat, could go outside the Wind. It was like a border. No one could be sure what dangers might lurk once they got out. Elliot slowed down his rowing a little.
It was a bit scary as he passed by Wind. At the same time, he felt a thrill and excitement. It was a distorted joy that came from revealing secrets and breaking taboos. It was also the exhilaration of breaking through and destroying the shackles of the biggest and most secret rules that a community had firmly maintained.
“Haha... Something so simple. Something so easy. Why couldn’t I do it before? You’re all cowards, you cowards.”
Elliot muttered with a soft laugh. The stern of the skiff was just about to brush against the side of Wind's mast. It was the moment when the courageous voyage was about to begin. It was an adventure that could only be afforded to those with such bold courage.
“What’s out there! Look at that, it’s just the vast ocean...Ugh! Aww!”
Something jumped onto the ship and swung something wildly. His excited voice soon turned into a scream. The scream soon turned into a cry for help. Blood splattered before his eyes, which were wide open. It was Elliot’s own blood. Blood splashed like a spray onto the moon that was leisurely looking down at the sea.
The full moon, covered in red blood, soon became the red moon itself. The wind and rain began to blow fiercely. Even the waves, which had been so calm, began to sway in the wind.
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment