Episode 107. The Reason I Got Caught
“Without Bercheria, I no longer have any meaning to live even one more day.”
Lacrahan spoke sincerely.
The moment he realized that every moment he had lived had been for Bercheria, he felt his long-empty heart fill with warmth.
This wasn’t just a metaphor.
He truly felt the gaping hole within him fill tightly.
Bercheria was now the very meaning of life to him.
“Grand Duke!”
At one point, it seemed as if Wyatt had called him.
But since then, Lacrahan’s memories had vanished, as if cut with scissors.
When Lacrahan awoke again, the strong smell of sulfur wafted into his nostrils.
“Haa.”
He clutched his deceased mother’s coffin, motionless.
Three years.
The war, which had ended when he was 17, had taken everything Lacrahan had, only to finally bring victory to Periat.
It was a war that took everything, even the very last bit, leaving nothing but scars.
“Mother.”
He returned to his hometown.
Even his mother, who should have been waiting for him, was now a cold corpse.
“Lacrahan.”
A voice called from behind, but Lacrahan remained motionless, as if he had been turned to stone.
Small feet approached him, trembling.
“Without Bercheria, I no longer have any meaning to live even one more day.”
Lacrahan spoke sincerely.
The moment he realized that every moment he had lived had been for Bercheria, he felt his long-empty heart fill with warmth.
This wasn’t just a metaphor.
He truly felt the gaping hole within him fill tightly.
Bercheria was now the very meaning of life to him.
“Grand Duke!”
At one point, it seemed as if Wyatt had called him.
But since then, Lacrahan’s memories had vanished, as if cut with scissors.
***
When Lacrahan awoke again, the strong smell of sulfur wafted into his nostrils.
“Haa.”
He clutched his deceased mother’s coffin, motionless.
Three years.
The war, which had ended when he was 17, had taken everything Lacrahan had, only to finally bring victory to Periat.
It was a war that took everything, even the very last bit, leaving nothing but scars.
“Mother.”
He returned to his hometown.
Even his mother, who should have been waiting for him, was now a cold corpse.
“Lacrahan.”
A voice called from behind, but Lacrahan remained motionless, as if he had been turned to stone.
Small feet approached him, trembling.
“Lacrahan. Lift your head. It is time to know the truth.”
His shoulders trembled at the all-too-familiar voice.
Lacrahan raised his deepened dark eyes and looked up at the woman calling him.
“The truth?”
He had never tried to uncover his mother’s death until now.
He knew that no matter what he did, the fact that she was dead would remain.
He knew death.
He had just buried his beloved father and brother on the battlefield.
He had seen their throats slit and their lives snuffed out before his eyes.
Death is irreversible, and the world belongs to the living.
He could not sacrifice the living to uncover the truth.
“Lacrahan. Wake up and listen to me.”
His mother, dried like a mummy, lay in the coffin, looking down at him, just as she had in life.
The hand stroking his shoulder was warm.
“...”
Lacrahan straightened his stiff body.
His legs swayed for a moment, unable to move properly due to the weight of the coffin.
Even so, his mother waited for him with a kind smile.
“Lacrahan. I have waited for you for a very long time. To tell you the reason for my death.”
Lacrahan crushed his parched lips with his white teeth.
The mother he had missed so desperately was looking at him with the same vividness as when she was alive.
Her kind eyes, her always low, soothing voice, her clear skin, and the warmth of her arms and swords that had embraced him were all the same.
“It was Emperor Gerard who killed me. Lacrahan, I suffered an unjust death.”
Lacrahan closed his bloodshot eyes deeply and then opened them.
“I missed you, Mother.”
She smiled kindly.
“Yes, I know. You don’t know how much I missed you, Lacrahan. Now, it’s time for revenge. Can you kill Emperor Gerard and avenge this mother’s injustice?”
Lacrahan reached out and took his mother’s delicate hand, which seemed to have endured no hardship.
He slowly pulled her into his arms.
The son, who had been about the same height as her the last time they held him, had grown considerably.
“Lacrahan. Will you grant my request? Tell me quickly.”
Lacrahan tightened his arms and sniffed at his mother’s scent.
How much he had been haunted by the fact that he hadn’t been able to hug her as she left for war.
“Yes, I will, Mother.”
He kept begging.
If only he could hug his mother, still alive, just one more time.
If only he could, he would have done everything he could.
“Revenge.”
Lacrahan slowly pushed his mother away from him.
He looked at her with calm eyes.
His mother was looking up at him with eyes full of anticipation.
“Yes. Revenge?”
“No.”
"...what?"
He ruffled his flowing black hair and raised his sharp eyes.
In a split second, Lacrahan's expression completely changed.
"Is that all you can think about? That I will start a war with Emperor Gerard and destroy myself?"
His mother's lips, previously wearing a gentle smile, slowly twisted.
When Lacrahan raised his head again, her hair was completely dyed gray.
She shook her head in disbelief, and even her eyes took on the gray of the Supreme Being.
"Supreme Being,"
Lacrahan said in a flat voice.
"Did you really think I would fall for such a trick, even if I were human?"
"Haha. You're truly amazing, Adkins. Even after all this time, your soul remains as sharp and sensitive as a god's."
Lacrahan looked around with cold eyes, as if trying to relive his mother's final moments, even if it was an illusion.
"As expected, you're too precious to live as a mere human."
The Supreme Being trudged over to his mother's coffin, plopping himself down on it.
Then, seemingly benevolent, he said,
"Fine. I'll make you a god again."
"..."
"Just break up with Bercheria. Well, it's okay if you love each other after you're both gods. But only after I erase all my memories of being human."
Lacrahan stared at the Absolute God with an indifferent expression.
"Is this a funny joke?"
"No."
Their eyes locked fiercely.
Lacrahan didn't flinch an inch before the Absolute God.
He continued to stare at him with a cold gaze.
"You're such a boring human."
The Supreme Being frowned, annoyed.
Lacrahan had always been like that.
He was stubborn and never wavered when he believed he was right.
"Is this why you made me drink?"
The Supreme Being smirked, pulling his lips together in a smile.
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"I'm asking why you used Wyatt to make me drink."
The Supreme Being gazed at Lacrahan for a moment, then furrowed his brow.
“Ha.”
Just in case Lacrahan noticed, he doubled and tripled what could have been done once.
He made sure Bercheria felt the need for Dipper and Beloveye first, whispering in Lyone’s ear throughout the party.
“Isn’t it frustrating? Hurry up and take that wig off. I can’t stand it for even a moment, can I?”
He used Dipper and Beloveye, who had come to the palace, to get Lacrahan drunk, not Bercheria.
After all, Bercheria wasn’t the one the Supreme Being wanted to meet.
But he didn’t want anyone to know.
Not even Lacrahan, not even those who could move as if they were sensible.
“What are you talking about? Why would I deliberately get you drunk? What’s the point? It was something Laurent or Beloveye came up with when they were trying to help me.”
“Is that so?”
Lacrahan turned to the Supreme Being.
Long legs and jet-black hair moved, and deep-set eyes gazed silently at the Supreme Being.
He lowered his gaze as if he knew everything the Supreme Being was thinking.
“Do you want me to go to war with Emperor Gerard? And so, do you want Periat to be filled with the blood of death once again?”
Lacrahan’s attitude was completely inconceivable, as if he were looking at the Supreme Being.
The being who created humans and ruled the world they inhabited.
Lacrahan was looking down on the great Supreme Being with contempt.
“Supreme Being. As an old friend, may I ask you something?”
The Supreme Being's face changed at the sudden change in tone.
“What is it? Ask.”
“Probably no one has known you longer than I have.”
Lacrahan’s gaze, gazing at the Supreme Being, was a mixture of contempt, hatred, pity, and even loathing.
“Because I was by your side even before you created humans and began calling yourself the Supreme Being.”
The Supreme Being exhaled slowly.
“Yes... There was a time like that.”
Her gray eyelashes trembled slightly.
"There was a time in this universe when it was just you and me."
He closed his eyes, as if trying to recall that distant moment, then slowly opened them again and spoke.
"But what is that? Is that some great reason? Right now, I'm a deity, revered by all the people in the world, and you're just one of those people who should just die and rot away."
Lacrahan smiled faintly and walked over to the Supreme Being, sitting next to him.
The coffin rattled and shook, and the Supreme Being made a strange noise.
“Isn’t this your mother’s body?”
“Should I attach any significance to the corpse you created in the guise of a fantasy?”
“...The more I look at it, the more I find myself falling in love with it.”
Lacrahan smiled slightly more than before.
“When I first decided to become human, honestly, I was looking forward to it.”
“Looking forward to it?”
“Yes. You won’t let me be reborn. You won’t bury me here forever. Then I won’t have to feel this excruciating pain anymore.”
The Supreme Being approached Lacrahan with a beaming face.
“You! You didn’t want to meet Bercheria, right?”
“On the contrary. I thought it would be too painful not to be able to.”
The Supreme Being narrowed his eyes nervously.
Lacrahan stared at the Supreme Being quietly and continued speaking.
“But contrary to my expectations, you continued to rebirth me. And only here in Periat, where Bercheria resides.”
Time passed agonizingly.
Born with a fundamental deficiency, a happy life was impossible for Lacrahan.
He was constantly losing something, and, not knowing what he longed for, his empty heart was lost.
“After regaining my memories, I pondered every moment. Why did the Supreme Being continue to rebirth me into this world? Why did he awaken me, knowing I should never meet Bercheria?”
Lacrahan slowly gazed at the Supreme Being.
“No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand it. Even now, it still doesn’t make sense.”
If Lacrahan hadn’t been born, then this wouldn’t have been difficult.
No matter how powerful a bond connected Bercheria and Lacrahan, if they didn’t exist in this world, it would have been meaningless.
Nevertheless, the Supreme Being continued to force the two into a cycle of reincarnation.
“These repetitive times must be tiring for you, too. Why bother with such effort?”
Lacrahan stretched out his legs and looked up at the ornately patterned ceiling.
“Why me?”
A brilliant negotiator, Lacrahan often resorted to this tactic.
When the conclusion wasn’t clear, and he couldn’t read the other person’s mind, he said, “Well, then I figured it out.”
He knew that in such cases, the most effective way was to be direct and probe the other person’s mind.
“I wonder if the Supreme Being was in love with me.”
If he blurted it out like this, at least depending on his facial expression, he could tell the distance from the correct answer...
Crunch.
The Supreme Being jumped up from his seat, covering his mouth with his hand and shouting,
“What the hell are you talking about!”
His shoulders trembled at the all-too-familiar voice.
Lacrahan raised his deepened dark eyes and looked up at the woman calling him.
“The truth?”
He had never tried to uncover his mother’s death until now.
He knew that no matter what he did, the fact that she was dead would remain.
He knew death.
He had just buried his beloved father and brother on the battlefield.
He had seen their throats slit and their lives snuffed out before his eyes.
Death is irreversible, and the world belongs to the living.
He could not sacrifice the living to uncover the truth.
“Lacrahan. Wake up and listen to me.”
His mother, dried like a mummy, lay in the coffin, looking down at him, just as she had in life.
The hand stroking his shoulder was warm.
“...”
Lacrahan straightened his stiff body.
His legs swayed for a moment, unable to move properly due to the weight of the coffin.
Even so, his mother waited for him with a kind smile.
“Lacrahan. I have waited for you for a very long time. To tell you the reason for my death.”
Lacrahan crushed his parched lips with his white teeth.
The mother he had missed so desperately was looking at him with the same vividness as when she was alive.
Her kind eyes, her always low, soothing voice, her clear skin, and the warmth of her arms and swords that had embraced him were all the same.
“It was Emperor Gerard who killed me. Lacrahan, I suffered an unjust death.”
Lacrahan closed his bloodshot eyes deeply and then opened them.
“I missed you, Mother.”
She smiled kindly.
“Yes, I know. You don’t know how much I missed you, Lacrahan. Now, it’s time for revenge. Can you kill Emperor Gerard and avenge this mother’s injustice?”
Lacrahan reached out and took his mother’s delicate hand, which seemed to have endured no hardship.
He slowly pulled her into his arms.
The son, who had been about the same height as her the last time they held him, had grown considerably.
“Lacrahan. Will you grant my request? Tell me quickly.”
Lacrahan tightened his arms and sniffed at his mother’s scent.
How much he had been haunted by the fact that he hadn’t been able to hug her as she left for war.
“Yes, I will, Mother.”
He kept begging.
If only he could hug his mother, still alive, just one more time.
If only he could, he would have done everything he could.
“Revenge.”
Lacrahan slowly pushed his mother away from him.
He looked at her with calm eyes.
His mother was looking up at him with eyes full of anticipation.
“Yes. Revenge?”
“No.”
"...what?"
He ruffled his flowing black hair and raised his sharp eyes.
In a split second, Lacrahan's expression completely changed.
"Is that all you can think about? That I will start a war with Emperor Gerard and destroy myself?"
His mother's lips, previously wearing a gentle smile, slowly twisted.
When Lacrahan raised his head again, her hair was completely dyed gray.
She shook her head in disbelief, and even her eyes took on the gray of the Supreme Being.
"Supreme Being,"
Lacrahan said in a flat voice.
"Did you really think I would fall for such a trick, even if I were human?"
"Haha. You're truly amazing, Adkins. Even after all this time, your soul remains as sharp and sensitive as a god's."
Lacrahan looked around with cold eyes, as if trying to relive his mother's final moments, even if it was an illusion.
"As expected, you're too precious to live as a mere human."
The Supreme Being trudged over to his mother's coffin, plopping himself down on it.
Then, seemingly benevolent, he said,
"Fine. I'll make you a god again."
"..."
"Just break up with Bercheria. Well, it's okay if you love each other after you're both gods. But only after I erase all my memories of being human."
Lacrahan stared at the Absolute God with an indifferent expression.
"Is this a funny joke?"
"No."
Their eyes locked fiercely.
Lacrahan didn't flinch an inch before the Absolute God.
He continued to stare at him with a cold gaze.
"You're such a boring human."
The Supreme Being frowned, annoyed.
Lacrahan had always been like that.
He was stubborn and never wavered when he believed he was right.
"Is this why you made me drink?"
The Supreme Being smirked, pulling his lips together in a smile.
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"I'm asking why you used Wyatt to make me drink."
The Supreme Being gazed at Lacrahan for a moment, then furrowed his brow.
“Ha.”
Just in case Lacrahan noticed, he doubled and tripled what could have been done once.
He made sure Bercheria felt the need for Dipper and Beloveye first, whispering in Lyone’s ear throughout the party.
“Isn’t it frustrating? Hurry up and take that wig off. I can’t stand it for even a moment, can I?”
He used Dipper and Beloveye, who had come to the palace, to get Lacrahan drunk, not Bercheria.
After all, Bercheria wasn’t the one the Supreme Being wanted to meet.
But he didn’t want anyone to know.
Not even Lacrahan, not even those who could move as if they were sensible.
“What are you talking about? Why would I deliberately get you drunk? What’s the point? It was something Laurent or Beloveye came up with when they were trying to help me.”
“Is that so?”
Lacrahan turned to the Supreme Being.
Long legs and jet-black hair moved, and deep-set eyes gazed silently at the Supreme Being.
He lowered his gaze as if he knew everything the Supreme Being was thinking.
“Do you want me to go to war with Emperor Gerard? And so, do you want Periat to be filled with the blood of death once again?”
Lacrahan’s attitude was completely inconceivable, as if he were looking at the Supreme Being.
The being who created humans and ruled the world they inhabited.
Lacrahan was looking down on the great Supreme Being with contempt.
“Supreme Being. As an old friend, may I ask you something?”
The Supreme Being's face changed at the sudden change in tone.
“What is it? Ask.”
“Probably no one has known you longer than I have.”
Lacrahan’s gaze, gazing at the Supreme Being, was a mixture of contempt, hatred, pity, and even loathing.
“Because I was by your side even before you created humans and began calling yourself the Supreme Being.”
The Supreme Being exhaled slowly.
“Yes... There was a time like that.”
Her gray eyelashes trembled slightly.
"There was a time in this universe when it was just you and me."
He closed his eyes, as if trying to recall that distant moment, then slowly opened them again and spoke.
"But what is that? Is that some great reason? Right now, I'm a deity, revered by all the people in the world, and you're just one of those people who should just die and rot away."
Lacrahan smiled faintly and walked over to the Supreme Being, sitting next to him.
The coffin rattled and shook, and the Supreme Being made a strange noise.
“Isn’t this your mother’s body?”
“Should I attach any significance to the corpse you created in the guise of a fantasy?”
“...The more I look at it, the more I find myself falling in love with it.”
Lacrahan smiled slightly more than before.
“When I first decided to become human, honestly, I was looking forward to it.”
“Looking forward to it?”
“Yes. You won’t let me be reborn. You won’t bury me here forever. Then I won’t have to feel this excruciating pain anymore.”
The Supreme Being approached Lacrahan with a beaming face.
“You! You didn’t want to meet Bercheria, right?”
“On the contrary. I thought it would be too painful not to be able to.”
The Supreme Being narrowed his eyes nervously.
Lacrahan stared at the Supreme Being quietly and continued speaking.
“But contrary to my expectations, you continued to rebirth me. And only here in Periat, where Bercheria resides.”
Time passed agonizingly.
Born with a fundamental deficiency, a happy life was impossible for Lacrahan.
He was constantly losing something, and, not knowing what he longed for, his empty heart was lost.
“After regaining my memories, I pondered every moment. Why did the Supreme Being continue to rebirth me into this world? Why did he awaken me, knowing I should never meet Bercheria?”
Lacrahan slowly gazed at the Supreme Being.
“No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand it. Even now, it still doesn’t make sense.”
If Lacrahan hadn’t been born, then this wouldn’t have been difficult.
No matter how powerful a bond connected Bercheria and Lacrahan, if they didn’t exist in this world, it would have been meaningless.
Nevertheless, the Supreme Being continued to force the two into a cycle of reincarnation.
“These repetitive times must be tiring for you, too. Why bother with such effort?”
Lacrahan stretched out his legs and looked up at the ornately patterned ceiling.
“Why me?”
A brilliant negotiator, Lacrahan often resorted to this tactic.
When the conclusion wasn’t clear, and he couldn’t read the other person’s mind, he said, “Well, then I figured it out.”
He knew that in such cases, the most effective way was to be direct and probe the other person’s mind.
“I wonder if the Supreme Being was in love with me.”
If he blurted it out like this, at least depending on his facial expression, he could tell the distance from the correct answer...
Crunch.
The Supreme Being jumped up from his seat, covering his mouth with his hand and shouting,
“What the hell are you talking about!”
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