Episode 23. A Dangerous Gift
“Grandma.”
“Ugh. Miss. Please give me my luggage...”
When Grandma held out a large bag to Kelita, she smiled as if asking why she was giving it to her and pointed toward the castle with her eyes.
“See that road over there? It’s faster and easier if you take that road instead of this one.”
“...”
Grandma took the bag back with trembling hands and sighed deeply.
“Miss. Since I’m grateful, I’ll give you a gift.”
Kelita smiled and nodded.
“Yes, please.”
Grandma rummaged through the bag for a while, then pulled out a small, thumb-sized bottle from deep within.
A sparkling, clear liquid sloshed inside.
“What is this?”
“Tears of determination.”
“Determination... Excuse me, what did you say? I can’t hear you well because all your teeth are gone.”
The old woman frowned.
“Tears. Tears of determination.”
As she suppressed her irritation and spat out each word, Kelita finally nodded, seeming to understand.
The old woman, seeing Kelita smiling brightly at her, waved her hand in front of her face, seeming extremely annoyed.
“Take this and feed it to the person you want to kill.”
“Huh?”
“...Even if they just hate it, that’s okay. It’ll be as refreshing as a tooth falling out. Above all, the effect is certain, so don’t doubt it.”
“Ah.”
“But remember. There’s only one drop in here. If you fail once, that’s the end. You must remember that.”
The old woman pressed the bottle into Kelita’s hand and whispered.
“You must succeed on the first try.”
“Ugh.”
She waited for Kelita to examine the bottle, then gripped the dress’s arm tightly with her iron-like hands.
“And one more thing!”
Kelita groaned involuntarily at the old woman’s overwhelming strength.
“If this were just for feeding, I wouldn’t have called it a gift.”
“W-what do you mean?”
“There’s absolutely no way to find out who fed it to you.”
“...Huh?”
“Trust me. This potion holds so many powers.”
This foolish Princess would probably never know the true value of the Tears of Determination, the precious and sacred substance they were.
But that didn’t matter.
She didn’t care whether she knew or not.
What mattered was that the Princess fed Bercheria the potion without guilt.
Just once. She didn’t miss that chance.
“...The person you want to get rid of.”
“Yes. Then everything will be fine.”
The old woman let go of Kelita’s arm and began walking, stumbling again.
Kelita didn’t notice that she was retracing her steps into the forest instead of heading towards Lacrahan’s castle.
No. She didn’t have the presence of mind to care.
“You can feed it to the person you want to get rid of?”
The face that came to her mind the moment she heard those words was so clear.
“You can never find out who fed it to you.”
And there was no reason to suspect anything.
Kelita clutched the bottle tightly in her hand and muttered.
“Then I won’t have to get in trouble with His Majesty the Emperor. As long as she’s gone, I can marry Lacrahan.”
Late in the evening.
As soon as the bustling surroundings quieted down, Lacrahan headed straight for the library.
He strode briskly across the deserted corridors and the unblocked entrance.
The family library seemed open to everyone at first glance, but in reality, no one staying in the castle was permitted to enter or exit without permission.
Even when cleaning, no one except those designated by Lacrahan was allowed to step over the curb, making this place Lacrahan’s personal space.
“When did you get here?”
Lacrahan took off his cloak, draped it over a chair, and sat down next to Bercheria.
She looked up from her few open books.
“Not long ago.”
“Are you seeing any results?”
The desk in the middle of the library was designed to accommodate Lacrahan’s convenience, stacking, and reading of several books.
It was spacious enough to accommodate dozens of people.
He pulled up a chair next to Bercheria and sat down.
It was the first time she had seen her face since Kelita caught them kissing that afternoon.
"I haven't found anything of note yet."
Bercheria pushed the book she'd been reading toward Lacrahan.
"Could this be related?"
"Let me see."
As Lacrahan leaned in to read a page, Bercheria's arm touched his.
Immediately, she jumped, startled, and dodged away.
Lacrahan briefly raised his head, then absentmindedly buried his face in his book again, pretending not to notice her.
As he turned the next page, bringing the distance between them closer, Bercheria again distanced herself from him, just as she had before.
Once, he might have assumed, but twice, wasn't her intention clear?
Lacrahan frowned and looked up.
"What are you doing?"
Bercheria, who had been sitting uncomfortably, halfway across the edge of the chair, pretended nothing had happened. She moved further away from him, as if Lacrahan had contracted some kind of deadly, contagious disease and was absolutely forbidden from touching him.
"Do I smell something strange?"
When Lacrahan reached out, she was so startled that she fell over onto the other side of the chair.
“Ugh!”
Lacrahan wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her up as she nearly collapsed.
Bercheria, who had been leaning to one side, lurched back to the center of the chair.
Seeing how shocked she was, Lacrahan immediately removed his hand, holding it in the air.
“Don’t worry. I just held on for a moment.”
“...Thank you.”
Bercheria looked around for a moment, then turned her back to him and sat down.
“Ha.”
Lacrahan narrowed his eyes as he watched Bercheria’s back turned to him.
If someone else had done this, he would have just let it slide, but her actions felt strangely irritating.
This was undoubtedly due to the disconnect from yesterday.
She had dragged him around so recklessly, putting him through so much trouble, and now, why was she acting like this?
“What am I supposed to interpret this as?”
“...There’s no such thing.”
Even he was the one who had carried her from the forest to the castle for half a day.
“You kissed me without warning earlier.”
Her voluminous blond hair swayed before his eyes.
He tore his gaze from the hair covering her small body and lowered it.
“Are we going to be together again?”
Bercheria, who seemed to be gathering her thoughts, fell silent for a moment before speaking calmly.
“I’m just being careful; there’s no need for meaningless contact.”
“Was there any meaningless contact? Were you perhaps harboring any ulterior motives in the kiss in the room earlier?”
“No! That was absolutely not the case...!”
Bercheria instinctively turned toward Lacrahan.
When Lacrahan, who had been lost in thought right behind him, raised his head, their faces were so close that they almost touched.
The distance between them was so small that a slight push would have caused their lips to collide again.
Bercheria jerked her head away again, startled.
Lacrahan, sensing the long blonde hair about to whip at him, raised his hand in a panic, but before he could, her hair slapped his cheek and vanished.
“Ha...”
It was a harsh slap, no matter how often.
“It wasn’t selfish. I was just mimicking the moment the tower disappeared.”
Bercheria thought for a moment before adding,
“If you had told me you were getting married soon, I wouldn’t have done it. I would have been more careful.”
Perhaps if she had known about the world for a week longer, she wouldn’t have been so irresponsible and brought her lips back.
Bercheria had too much to learn to live a lifetime locked up, living off the fragmented memories of previous Awakened people.
She knew she had to be especially careful with Lacrahan, who had brought her back when she was on the run.
But looking back, she felt she had acted most recklessly.
Bercheria tilted her head to hide her expression.
Even though she said it like that, her selfish desire to retrieve the sacred water likely prevented her from considering him.
This afternoon, even though she was still young, Tatiana heard from the child about what marriage was like and how much it had hurt Princess Kelita.
The shock she felt at that moment was profound.
It was the Prince of the Der'Ansis Empire and his lizard that helped her calm down.
If he hadn't asked her to take care of Owl, Bercheria's mood would still be much lower today.
Thinking of adorable Owl, she felt her spirits lift again.
"Would you like to take me for a walk tomorrow morning? It's a new place, so everything feels unfamiliar. Oh, and Owl too, of course."
The thought of taking Owl for a walk tomorrow morning filled her with excitement.
He was a stranger, but Owl was safe.
If he were her mother, who used the Parallel Butterfly, the animal wouldn't have suddenly followed her.
She knew that this level of bonding, whether animal or human, took quite a while to form.
"What are you thinking?"
Lacrahan's voice snapped Bercheria out of her thoughts.
"It's nothing. Anyway, since you have a fiancée by your side, I think it's best to keep some distance."
"Don't lie."
"What do you mean?"
"Whether I have a fiancée or not, you would have gone to the tower anyway, and you would have used me."
Lacrahan lifted his chin slightly.
"It's okay, so tell me. Who told you what?"
Bercheria's eyelids, which had briefly dilated, immediately returned to their original positions.
It was a fleeting change, but it was enough to convince Lacrahan that what she had said was true.
"That's right. Now that my strength had returned, I couldn't have just sat there helplessly, waiting to go wild."
"You would have taken me to the tower somehow?"
"...Yes. That's true."
“Grandma.”
“Ugh. Miss. Please give me my luggage...”
When Grandma held out a large bag to Kelita, she smiled as if asking why she was giving it to her and pointed toward the castle with her eyes.
“See that road over there? It’s faster and easier if you take that road instead of this one.”
“...”
Grandma took the bag back with trembling hands and sighed deeply.
“Miss. Since I’m grateful, I’ll give you a gift.”
Kelita smiled and nodded.
“Yes, please.”
Grandma rummaged through the bag for a while, then pulled out a small, thumb-sized bottle from deep within.
A sparkling, clear liquid sloshed inside.
“What is this?”
“Tears of determination.”
“Determination... Excuse me, what did you say? I can’t hear you well because all your teeth are gone.”
The old woman frowned.
“Tears. Tears of determination.”
As she suppressed her irritation and spat out each word, Kelita finally nodded, seeming to understand.
The old woman, seeing Kelita smiling brightly at her, waved her hand in front of her face, seeming extremely annoyed.
“Take this and feed it to the person you want to kill.”
“Huh?”
“...Even if they just hate it, that’s okay. It’ll be as refreshing as a tooth falling out. Above all, the effect is certain, so don’t doubt it.”
“Ah.”
“But remember. There’s only one drop in here. If you fail once, that’s the end. You must remember that.”
The old woman pressed the bottle into Kelita’s hand and whispered.
“You must succeed on the first try.”
“Ugh.”
She waited for Kelita to examine the bottle, then gripped the dress’s arm tightly with her iron-like hands.
“And one more thing!”
Kelita groaned involuntarily at the old woman’s overwhelming strength.
“If this were just for feeding, I wouldn’t have called it a gift.”
“W-what do you mean?”
“There’s absolutely no way to find out who fed it to you.”
“...Huh?”
“Trust me. This potion holds so many powers.”
This foolish Princess would probably never know the true value of the Tears of Determination, the precious and sacred substance they were.
But that didn’t matter.
She didn’t care whether she knew or not.
What mattered was that the Princess fed Bercheria the potion without guilt.
Just once. She didn’t miss that chance.
“...The person you want to get rid of.”
“Yes. Then everything will be fine.”
The old woman let go of Kelita’s arm and began walking, stumbling again.
Kelita didn’t notice that she was retracing her steps into the forest instead of heading towards Lacrahan’s castle.
No. She didn’t have the presence of mind to care.
“You can feed it to the person you want to get rid of?”
The face that came to her mind the moment she heard those words was so clear.
“You can never find out who fed it to you.”
And there was no reason to suspect anything.
Kelita clutched the bottle tightly in her hand and muttered.
“Then I won’t have to get in trouble with His Majesty the Emperor. As long as she’s gone, I can marry Lacrahan.”
***
Late in the evening.
As soon as the bustling surroundings quieted down, Lacrahan headed straight for the library.
He strode briskly across the deserted corridors and the unblocked entrance.
The family library seemed open to everyone at first glance, but in reality, no one staying in the castle was permitted to enter or exit without permission.
Even when cleaning, no one except those designated by Lacrahan was allowed to step over the curb, making this place Lacrahan’s personal space.
“When did you get here?”
Lacrahan took off his cloak, draped it over a chair, and sat down next to Bercheria.
She looked up from her few open books.
“Not long ago.”
“Are you seeing any results?”
The desk in the middle of the library was designed to accommodate Lacrahan’s convenience, stacking, and reading of several books.
It was spacious enough to accommodate dozens of people.
He pulled up a chair next to Bercheria and sat down.
It was the first time she had seen her face since Kelita caught them kissing that afternoon.
"I haven't found anything of note yet."
Bercheria pushed the book she'd been reading toward Lacrahan.
"Could this be related?"
"Let me see."
As Lacrahan leaned in to read a page, Bercheria's arm touched his.
Immediately, she jumped, startled, and dodged away.
Lacrahan briefly raised his head, then absentmindedly buried his face in his book again, pretending not to notice her.
As he turned the next page, bringing the distance between them closer, Bercheria again distanced herself from him, just as she had before.
Once, he might have assumed, but twice, wasn't her intention clear?
Lacrahan frowned and looked up.
"What are you doing?"
Bercheria, who had been sitting uncomfortably, halfway across the edge of the chair, pretended nothing had happened. She moved further away from him, as if Lacrahan had contracted some kind of deadly, contagious disease and was absolutely forbidden from touching him.
"Do I smell something strange?"
When Lacrahan reached out, she was so startled that she fell over onto the other side of the chair.
“Ugh!”
Lacrahan wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her up as she nearly collapsed.
Bercheria, who had been leaning to one side, lurched back to the center of the chair.
Seeing how shocked she was, Lacrahan immediately removed his hand, holding it in the air.
“Don’t worry. I just held on for a moment.”
“...Thank you.”
Bercheria looked around for a moment, then turned her back to him and sat down.
“Ha.”
Lacrahan narrowed his eyes as he watched Bercheria’s back turned to him.
If someone else had done this, he would have just let it slide, but her actions felt strangely irritating.
This was undoubtedly due to the disconnect from yesterday.
She had dragged him around so recklessly, putting him through so much trouble, and now, why was she acting like this?
“What am I supposed to interpret this as?”
“...There’s no such thing.”
Even he was the one who had carried her from the forest to the castle for half a day.
“You kissed me without warning earlier.”
Her voluminous blond hair swayed before his eyes.
He tore his gaze from the hair covering her small body and lowered it.
“Are we going to be together again?”
Bercheria, who seemed to be gathering her thoughts, fell silent for a moment before speaking calmly.
“I’m just being careful; there’s no need for meaningless contact.”
“Was there any meaningless contact? Were you perhaps harboring any ulterior motives in the kiss in the room earlier?”
“No! That was absolutely not the case...!”
Bercheria instinctively turned toward Lacrahan.
When Lacrahan, who had been lost in thought right behind him, raised his head, their faces were so close that they almost touched.
The distance between them was so small that a slight push would have caused their lips to collide again.
Bercheria jerked her head away again, startled.
Lacrahan, sensing the long blonde hair about to whip at him, raised his hand in a panic, but before he could, her hair slapped his cheek and vanished.
“Ha...”
It was a harsh slap, no matter how often.
“It wasn’t selfish. I was just mimicking the moment the tower disappeared.”
Bercheria thought for a moment before adding,
“If you had told me you were getting married soon, I wouldn’t have done it. I would have been more careful.”
Perhaps if she had known about the world for a week longer, she wouldn’t have been so irresponsible and brought her lips back.
Bercheria had too much to learn to live a lifetime locked up, living off the fragmented memories of previous Awakened people.
She knew she had to be especially careful with Lacrahan, who had brought her back when she was on the run.
But looking back, she felt she had acted most recklessly.
Bercheria tilted her head to hide her expression.
Even though she said it like that, her selfish desire to retrieve the sacred water likely prevented her from considering him.
This afternoon, even though she was still young, Tatiana heard from the child about what marriage was like and how much it had hurt Princess Kelita.
The shock she felt at that moment was profound.
It was the Prince of the Der'Ansis Empire and his lizard that helped her calm down.
If he hadn't asked her to take care of Owl, Bercheria's mood would still be much lower today.
Thinking of adorable Owl, she felt her spirits lift again.
"Would you like to take me for a walk tomorrow morning? It's a new place, so everything feels unfamiliar. Oh, and Owl too, of course."
The thought of taking Owl for a walk tomorrow morning filled her with excitement.
He was a stranger, but Owl was safe.
If he were her mother, who used the Parallel Butterfly, the animal wouldn't have suddenly followed her.
She knew that this level of bonding, whether animal or human, took quite a while to form.
"What are you thinking?"
Lacrahan's voice snapped Bercheria out of her thoughts.
"It's nothing. Anyway, since you have a fiancée by your side, I think it's best to keep some distance."
"Don't lie."
"What do you mean?"
"Whether I have a fiancée or not, you would have gone to the tower anyway, and you would have used me."
Lacrahan lifted his chin slightly.
"It's okay, so tell me. Who told you what?"
Bercheria's eyelids, which had briefly dilated, immediately returned to their original positions.
It was a fleeting change, but it was enough to convince Lacrahan that what she had said was true.
"That's right. Now that my strength had returned, I couldn't have just sat there helplessly, waiting to go wild."
"You would have taken me to the tower somehow?"
"...Yes. That's true."
"Then you should have said so from the beginning."
A smile spread across Lacrahan's lips.
"Instead of acting so strangely, so uncharacteristic of you."
Lacrahan swiveled Bercheria's chair toward him, facing her.
"You're the goddess who protects Periat, so it's only right for you to use me."
"Right?"
"Of course. Because you know what's important."
Lacrahan could understand why she was acting this way.
"You might be thinking useless thoughts because of what happened earlier, but there's no need to. Do you remember what I suggested at the beginning?"
"Yes."
“I just want you to think about ending this chaos we’ve been experiencing since the disappearance of the Weather Goddess. I don’t want my people to suffer anymore.”
“But if we stick together like we planned, it would be rude to the person you're going to marry.”
“That’s not what I mean. I need to find a way. So, either I can just sit here like this, or I can step back a little and...!”
Bercheria was cut off from finishing her sentence by Lacrahan, who suddenly stood up in front of her.
He placed a hand on the back of the desk and chair, blocking Bercheria’s way so she couldn’t stand up.
“I won’t marry her.”
Bercheria held her breath without realizing it.
When her eyes met with this man for a moment like this, she couldn’t look away for a while.
A smile spread across Lacrahan's lips.
"Instead of acting so strangely, so uncharacteristic of you."
Lacrahan swiveled Bercheria's chair toward him, facing her.
"You're the goddess who protects Periat, so it's only right for you to use me."
"Right?"
"Of course. Because you know what's important."
Lacrahan could understand why she was acting this way.
"You might be thinking useless thoughts because of what happened earlier, but there's no need to. Do you remember what I suggested at the beginning?"
"Yes."
“I just want you to think about ending this chaos we’ve been experiencing since the disappearance of the Weather Goddess. I don’t want my people to suffer anymore.”
“But if we stick together like we planned, it would be rude to the person you're going to marry.”
“So you're saying you won't worry about the backlash or the power surge anymore?”
Bercheria was cut off from finishing her sentence by Lacrahan, who suddenly stood up in front of her.
He placed a hand on the back of the desk and chair, blocking Bercheria’s way so she couldn’t stand up.
“I won’t marry her.”
Bercheria held her breath without realizing it.
When her eyes met with this man for a moment like this, she couldn’t look away for a while.
Comments
Post a Comment