Episode 13. My Heart Is Pounding
“So, at least looking at them isn’t enough?”
“Right.”
Lacrahan stroked his chin, lost in thought, before speaking.
“Have you ever heard of people with the ice attribute?”
The question she had been waiting for came out, but Bercheria pretended not to hear. She still didn’t quite understand his intentions.
“A long time ago, there was a time when Bercheria and the ice-attribute families lived in close relationships. They were close because of mutual need.”
By chance, those with the ice attribute discovered that their mana could restore Bercheria.
They asked the weather goddess to help Bercheria recover.
“Are you perhaps a descendant of the ice attribute?”
Lacrahan nodded curtly to Bercheria’s question.
“Perhaps it was because of that attribute that your powers returned.”
It was a perfectly plausible explanation.
Lacrahan’s expression was a bit odd.
“Bercheria.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know how to achieve that recovery?”
“No.”
Lacrahan turned his head, his gaze aimlessly drifting off into space.
“Contact.”
“...Huh?”
“As far as I know, yes. Mana flows best when our bodies are close together. I’ve heard that in urgent situations, a kiss is the most effective.”
“Is that true?”
“Is there a reason to lie?”
“Then let’s do it.”
Bercheria tugged at Lacrahan’s collar.
Lacrahan, who happened to be looking at the tip of Bercheria’s nose, hardened his gaze.
“Are you suggesting we do it right now?”
Bercheria blinked and moved.
“Yes.”
“Cough.”
Lacrahan suddenly coughed and pushed himself away from Bercheria as much as possible.
“Are you okay?”
He seemed to be coughing too hard, so she tried to move closer to examine him, but he raised a hand to stop her.
“I’m okay. I just had a sudden cough. I’m really okay.”
Lacrahan said, his voice cracking from coughing.
“Then what about the kiss?”
"Ugh."
Lacrahan coughed again.
Just moments ago, he'd been confident he could do anything.
But now that Bercheria was so proactive, he found himself caught off guard.
"Ahem."
Lacrahan cleared his throat.
"Let me get this straight. This is only a possibility. I was born into a family with the ice attribute, but I don't know how to use or draw mana."
Bercheria nodded at Lacrahan's firm voice.
"Even if I fail, it's better than not trying."
"..."
When the nation of Periat was first established in this land, the Emperor's greatest concern was creating portals.
At the time, the Emperor believed that this alone would make Periat the most prestigious empire on the continent.
Creating portals required many materials, but the most crucial task was gathering wizards with each attribute: fire and ice, poison and sacredness, darkness and light.
The Emperor brought these individuals to his continent, bestowing upon them the most glorious titles the empire could bestow, along with five lands.
There was only one land that didn't need that. It was the Adkins family, an ice race that had settled here before the Periat. The irony was what happened afterward. The portal was successfully created, but the Emperor, fearing their power, made up some ridiculous excuse and sealed their power so they could no longer use magic.
“Now, wait a minute!”
Bercheria unconsciously put strength into her fingertips and scratched his palm, causing Lacrahan’s eyes to crinkle slightly.
“I’m helping you right now, Bercheria. What matters now is getting out of this tower. Your heart is pounding...”
Lacrahan lifted his chin slightly and lowered his eyes.
His heart, too, was pounding like it was going to burst.
It had been so long since he’d been in contact with a woman that his reason and instinct felt separate.
“My heart is pounding...”
Lacrahan blurted out anything, worried that Bercheria might find out about his condition.
“It’s because you like me.”
“...Huh?”
He realized the absurd mistake as soon as he spoke, but he could not take back what had already been said.
Bercheria took a deep breath and opened his eyes clearly.
“Me?”
“...”
“Why would I like you...!”
“Is that important right now? Isn’t regaining your strength important?”
It was the right thing to say.
“Okay. Let’s focus.”
Bercheria closed her eyes, her palms pressed against Lacrahan’s.
Lacrahan cursed himself internally.
What nonsense was he talking about at this moment?
At first, he had kept women at arm’s length, but as time had passed, he had forgotten how to treat them.
And Bercheria, who had lived alone in the tower her entire life, seemed to feel the same way.
“Let’s just think about restoring Bercheria’s strength. For the sake of the people.”
As the days of suffering from the drought came to mind, his mind instantly calmed.
Lacrahan, too, closed his eyes and began to focus on contact.
Skin touching skin, breathing close together, even voices near his ear.
It was still strange.
It was as if she were receiving small shocks repeatedly without being prepared.
“How is it? Do you feel your strength returning?”
“No. I feel nothing.”
“Hmm.”
“I don’t think this is the way.”
Bercheria pulled her hand away, and a cold wind hit the spot.
Lacrahan idly put his hands under his armpits and turned his head, pretending to be cold.
Bercheria, too, muttered as if searching for Muha, and looked down the tower.
In contrast to the awkward, bustling scenery of the tower, the midnight forest was remarkably quiet.
Even the movements of small insects could be seen.
After staring down for a long time, Bercheria's eyes stopped at one spot.
"...?"
She saw something that appeared to be the shape of love lying carelessly on the ground.
The limbs were unnatural, and the skin was dry and wrinkled.
The face was obscured by hair, making it difficult to see clearly, but Bercheria knew who it was.
She couldn't help but know.
"What on earth is that..."
Every day, once a day, she climbed the tower and tossed her dry bread.
"Mother...?"
Bercheria stood from the railing and leaned out, and Lacrahan also stood and looked in the same direction.
"What's going on?"
"Oh, Mother."
Bercheria stepped back, as if shocked.
Her face was pale and her hands were shaking.
Lacrahan also pulled away and looked down at the bottom of the tower, but he saw nothing.
“Bercheria.”
Even when he called her name, she continued to back away as if she didn’t understand what he was saying.
Her eyes had already lost focus.
“Hey!”
She walked to the other end of the tower. She didn’t even feel her waist hitting the opposite railing.
“Ahh.”
As she stumbled backward, Lacrahan reached out and hugged Bercheria’s waist. Her bent body clung to him, and their confused gazes met.
His eyes darted back and forth across Bercheria’s pale face.
“What on earth is going on? Why are you doing this?”
Only after hearing his cry did Bercheria finally look at him.
“Mother.”
“Yes, tell me.”
“Mother is dead down there.”
“What?”
Bercheria shook her head vigorously, as if denying her own thoughts.
Her face shook with fear.
“No. Mother, that is.”
She bit her parched lips.
“That corpse has the appearance of my mother, but it’s not my mother.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. It definitely has my mother’s face, but I feel like it’s not my mother. That.”
Bercheria pushed Lacrahan away slightly and stood on her own.
“I don’t know why I feel this way, but that’s not my mother.”
Lacrahan stroked his sharp chin.
“It has your mother’s face, but it’s not your mother...”
He muttered again what Bercheria had said.
Someone living a perfect imitation of another person?
And what if it was only a facade?
He raised his head, uncertain.
“Only a parallel butterfly can do that.”
A parallel butterfly.
Bercheria’s lips parted thinly as she recalled a memory lingering deep within her mind.
The parallel butterfly remained in Bercheria’s oldest memory.
When humans first discovered the butterfly, the mysterious creature rested on a flower, its wings joined together.
As people were captivated by its beauty, the butterfly spread its wings in both directions.
The perfectly symmetrical pattern was enough to captivate those who saw it, and a few years later, when a divine creature capable of cloning humans appeared, people unhesitatingly named it the Parallel Butterfly. It was one of the rarest of the divine creatures known to exist.
“But it’s a divine creature that hasn’t been discovered for a very long time. It’s impossible for it to suddenly appear here...”
Bercheria interrupted Lacrahan with a frightened expression.
“That’s because you don’t know my mother. She can do anything she wants.”
She, who had never been afraid before Lacrahan, was now visibly shaking.
He turned his head toward the tower from which Bercheria had just gazed.
Then, in a slowed voice, he asked,
“What was the reason?”
“The reason?”
“The entire reason this tower exists.”
“So, at least looking at them isn’t enough?”
“Right.”
Lacrahan stroked his chin, lost in thought, before speaking.
“Have you ever heard of people with the ice attribute?”
The question she had been waiting for came out, but Bercheria pretended not to hear. She still didn’t quite understand his intentions.
“A long time ago, there was a time when Bercheria and the ice-attribute families lived in close relationships. They were close because of mutual need.”
By chance, those with the ice attribute discovered that their mana could restore Bercheria.
They asked the weather goddess to help Bercheria recover.
“Are you perhaps a descendant of the ice attribute?”
Lacrahan nodded curtly to Bercheria’s question.
“Perhaps it was because of that attribute that your powers returned.”
It was a perfectly plausible explanation.
Lacrahan’s expression was a bit odd.
“Bercheria.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know how to achieve that recovery?”
“No.”
Lacrahan turned his head, his gaze aimlessly drifting off into space.
“Contact.”
“...Huh?”
“As far as I know, yes. Mana flows best when our bodies are close together. I’ve heard that in urgent situations, a kiss is the most effective.”
“Is that true?”
“Is there a reason to lie?”
“Then let’s do it.”
Bercheria tugged at Lacrahan’s collar.
Lacrahan, who happened to be looking at the tip of Bercheria’s nose, hardened his gaze.
“Are you suggesting we do it right now?”
Bercheria blinked and moved.
“Yes.”
“Cough.”
Lacrahan suddenly coughed and pushed himself away from Bercheria as much as possible.
“Are you okay?”
He seemed to be coughing too hard, so she tried to move closer to examine him, but he raised a hand to stop her.
“I’m okay. I just had a sudden cough. I’m really okay.”
Lacrahan said, his voice cracking from coughing.
“Then what about the kiss?”
"Ugh."
Lacrahan coughed again.
Just moments ago, he'd been confident he could do anything.
But now that Bercheria was so proactive, he found himself caught off guard.
"Ahem."
Lacrahan cleared his throat.
"Let me get this straight. This is only a possibility. I was born into a family with the ice attribute, but I don't know how to use or draw mana."
Bercheria nodded at Lacrahan's firm voice.
"Even if I fail, it's better than not trying."
"..."
When the nation of Periat was first established in this land, the Emperor's greatest concern was creating portals.
At the time, the Emperor believed that this alone would make Periat the most prestigious empire on the continent.
Creating portals required many materials, but the most crucial task was gathering wizards with each attribute: fire and ice, poison and sacredness, darkness and light.
The Emperor brought these individuals to his continent, bestowing upon them the most glorious titles the empire could bestow, along with five lands.
There was only one land that didn't need that. It was the Adkins family, an ice race that had settled here before the Periat. The irony was what happened afterward. The portal was successfully created, but the Emperor, fearing their power, made up some ridiculous excuse and sealed their power so they could no longer use magic.
Even now, centuries later, the Emperors continue to capture wizards and witches and imprison them in dungeons.
"What should we do? Do we try, or not?"
Bercheria nodded, seemingly determined, at Lacrahan's question.
"I will."
"Huh."
He grabbed her arm with a determined expression. As Bercheria leaned closer, Lakrahan quickly spread his palm in front of her face. He then lifted her hand and clapped it firmly against his own. To Bercheria's bewildered expression, Lacrahan spoke firmly.
"Hands first. This is also a secret contact."
“I...”
Before she could fully grasp the meaning of his words, their palms clung together.
“I...”
Before she could fully grasp the meaning of his words, their palms clung together.
“Now, wait a minute!”
Bercheria unconsciously put strength into her fingertips and scratched his palm, causing Lacrahan’s eyes to crinkle slightly.
“I’m helping you right now, Bercheria. What matters now is getting out of this tower. Your heart is pounding...”
Lacrahan lifted his chin slightly and lowered his eyes.
His heart, too, was pounding like it was going to burst.
It had been so long since he’d been in contact with a woman that his reason and instinct felt separate.
“My heart is pounding...”
Lacrahan blurted out anything, worried that Bercheria might find out about his condition.
“It’s because you like me.”
“...Huh?”
He realized the absurd mistake as soon as he spoke, but he could not take back what had already been said.
Bercheria took a deep breath and opened his eyes clearly.
“Me?”
“...”
“Why would I like you...!”
“Is that important right now? Isn’t regaining your strength important?”
It was the right thing to say.
“Okay. Let’s focus.”
Bercheria closed her eyes, her palms pressed against Lacrahan’s.
Lacrahan cursed himself internally.
What nonsense was he talking about at this moment?
At first, he had kept women at arm’s length, but as time had passed, he had forgotten how to treat them.
And Bercheria, who had lived alone in the tower her entire life, seemed to feel the same way.
“Let’s just think about restoring Bercheria’s strength. For the sake of the people.”
As the days of suffering from the drought came to mind, his mind instantly calmed.
Lacrahan, too, closed his eyes and began to focus on contact.
Skin touching skin, breathing close together, even voices near his ear.
It was still strange.
It was as if she were receiving small shocks repeatedly without being prepared.
“How is it? Do you feel your strength returning?”
“No. I feel nothing.”
“Hmm.”
“I don’t think this is the way.”
Bercheria pulled her hand away, and a cold wind hit the spot.
Lacrahan idly put his hands under his armpits and turned his head, pretending to be cold.
Bercheria, too, muttered as if searching for Muha, and looked down the tower.
In contrast to the awkward, bustling scenery of the tower, the midnight forest was remarkably quiet.
Even the movements of small insects could be seen.
After staring down for a long time, Bercheria's eyes stopped at one spot.
"...?"
She saw something that appeared to be the shape of love lying carelessly on the ground.
The limbs were unnatural, and the skin was dry and wrinkled.
The face was obscured by hair, making it difficult to see clearly, but Bercheria knew who it was.
She couldn't help but know.
"What on earth is that..."
Every day, once a day, she climbed the tower and tossed her dry bread.
"Mother...?"
Bercheria stood from the railing and leaned out, and Lacrahan also stood and looked in the same direction.
"What's going on?"
"Oh, Mother."
Bercheria stepped back, as if shocked.
Her face was pale and her hands were shaking.
Lacrahan also pulled away and looked down at the bottom of the tower, but he saw nothing.
“Bercheria.”
Even when he called her name, she continued to back away as if she didn’t understand what he was saying.
Her eyes had already lost focus.
“Hey!”
She walked to the other end of the tower. She didn’t even feel her waist hitting the opposite railing.
“Ahh.”
As she stumbled backward, Lacrahan reached out and hugged Bercheria’s waist. Her bent body clung to him, and their confused gazes met.
His eyes darted back and forth across Bercheria’s pale face.
“What on earth is going on? Why are you doing this?”
Only after hearing his cry did Bercheria finally look at him.
“Mother.”
“Yes, tell me.”
“Mother is dead down there.”
“What?”
Bercheria shook her head vigorously, as if denying her own thoughts.
Her face shook with fear.
“No. Mother, that is.”
She bit her parched lips.
“That corpse has the appearance of my mother, but it’s not my mother.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. It definitely has my mother’s face, but I feel like it’s not my mother. That.”
Bercheria pushed Lacrahan away slightly and stood on her own.
“I don’t know why I feel this way, but that’s not my mother.”
Lacrahan stroked his sharp chin.
“It has your mother’s face, but it’s not your mother...”
He muttered again what Bercheria had said.
Someone living a perfect imitation of another person?
And what if it was only a facade?
He raised his head, uncertain.
“Only a parallel butterfly can do that.”
A parallel butterfly.
Bercheria’s lips parted thinly as she recalled a memory lingering deep within her mind.
The parallel butterfly remained in Bercheria’s oldest memory.
When humans first discovered the butterfly, the mysterious creature rested on a flower, its wings joined together.
As people were captivated by its beauty, the butterfly spread its wings in both directions.
The perfectly symmetrical pattern was enough to captivate those who saw it, and a few years later, when a divine creature capable of cloning humans appeared, people unhesitatingly named it the Parallel Butterfly. It was one of the rarest of the divine creatures known to exist.
“But it’s a divine creature that hasn’t been discovered for a very long time. It’s impossible for it to suddenly appear here...”
Bercheria interrupted Lacrahan with a frightened expression.
“That’s because you don’t know my mother. She can do anything she wants.”
She, who had never been afraid before Lacrahan, was now visibly shaking.
He turned his head toward the tower from which Bercheria had just gazed.
Then, in a slowed voice, he asked,
“What was the reason?”
“The reason?”
“The entire reason this tower exists.”
Comments
Post a Comment