“That I was his lover. That we were in love...”
“..."
“...Please don’t say anything.”
...already, already know?
Ryan was dumbfounded.
No, that aside...
Vania's reaction was disconcerting, as it was something Ryan had never expected.
When Vania realized that Nike had regressed, she immediately...
He thought she would run excitedly, saying, 'Then let's tell him what our relationship was like and get back together!'
But why...
“Why, why? Why don’t you tell me?”
"Yes?"
Vania tilted her head as if asking why.
“Because there’s nothing good to say?”
“Aren’t we going to meet again?”
"Hmm..."
Vania stared blankly into space, her eyes blank as if she had lost her soul.
“I hope it goes well, but if it doesn’t, there’s nothing I can do.”
"What?!"
“Imagine one day a woman you don’t know comes to see you. Her name is Clara.”
Clara, all of a sudden?
"Clara said. Ryan, you may not remember, but we were lovers before the regression. We even had a beautiful daughter. So, let's meet again, fall in love, have a child, and live happily ever after! ...If I say so, will you do it?"
"Um..."
"I guess I was a little selfish. Of course, I wanted to fall in love with him again, but I didn't even consider the opinions of that person, who didn't even remember."
“...”
"We loved each other so much. So much, so much, to the point of death. Maybe that's why I took it for granted. We had to meet again. We could meet again."
“Hey, hey...”
“Of course... Of course I won’t give up on him...”
Vania opened her eyes wide. Only then did tears well up in her eyes, which had been pretending to be calm.
Ryan was shocked when he saw that.
"So much has changed. He has no memories, and we have to start over. But I still show myself as a child, not yet fully grown."
“...”
“What if that person doesn’t love me this time... or starts liking someone else...”
“...”
“I can’t tell him not to do that... I can’t beg him to like me again... That would be a really selfish thing to do, only thinking about myself...”
The tears that had been piling up fell one by one.
Ryan stood frozen with his mouth wide open, not knowing what to do.
“Who I was, how much we loved each other... Talking about those things won’t change anything... So don’t tell him if he asks, and don’t be the one to tell him first.”
“...”
“Then, if he finds out, it’ll only make things difficult for that person...”
In the end, with a completely distorted face, wiping away the flowing tears...
Vania said.
“...So, I’ll ask you something.”
***
Yesterday, yesterday, something definitely happened.
It was dawn, and he was so tired from dealing with the corpse of the demon that he killed instantly that he fell asleep without even waking up.
There must have been some kind of conversation between Vania and Nike.
If not, how could Vania, who had been trying to approach Nike whenever she had the chance, suddenly react like that overnight?
“Hey, Ryan! Long time no see!”
“Oh! Nice to meet you!”
Farnese, the cursed land.
The barracks of the A0 area of the punitive force camp.
Ryan quickly started looking for Nike.
‘I told you to be patient until she grows up...’
He didn't tell him to just cut the kid off, so what on earth did Nike say?
Seeing Vania get hurt and cry makes him feel like it's his fault, and he also feels resentful towards Nike for not knowing moderation...
Anyway, Ryan's mind was in turmoil.
“Your Highness!”
The entrance to the cloth barracks was blown open.
Nike was seen.
He was sitting in front of a makeshift table...
“Your Highness?”
“...You’re here.”
Ryan was surprised.
Nike's face turned pale.
Hair soaked with sweat. Breathing irregularly. Vision blurred.
He pretends to be calm, but you can't help but notice that he's in pain.
“Where does it hurt?”
"No."
What is it?
Ryan, forgetting what he had planned to say to Nike, approached him with concern.
“If you’re not feeling well, please tell me! Seriously, there’s a monster coming out tomorrow or the day after. What the,,,?”
And why are you sitting there all hunched over?
The moment he tried to force Nike to sit up.
His eyes inadvertently fell on the table.
There is paper and a pen.
A combination of words, some of which he didn't know whether he was writing something just before, were scribbled out in a disorderly manner on the paper...
Summer. Handkerchief. Butterfly. Brooch.
First sight. Ring. Marigold...
And the most written name.
Vania.
Vania Wassenberg.
Bam!
Nike's hand quickly turned the paper over.
Ryan's gaze was fixed on Nike.
A face so grim it hurts. The eyes are half-rolled back.
A clenched fist, foolishly enduring the pain of life. Veins bulged above it.
He barely catches his breath and moves his lips with difficulty.
"Ha ha ha..."
Ryan burst out laughing when he saw that.
'This is a big problem.'
He couldn't help but recognize it right away.
Nike's condition.
“Ha, what should I do? Your brain looks like it’s going to burst.”
Nike barely managed to brace himself on the table and looked up at Ryan.
“It’s probably more than just a headache.”
"...What?"
“The pain piled up and piled up, and there are already three ancestors who fell into madness and passed away.”
Ryan added, swallowing hard.
“All three were holders of <Poem of Retrograde>.”
“...”
"This power is a terrifying power that even our family hasn't yet fully grasped. Among them, <Poem of Retrograde> is a blessing that causes tremendous mental exhaustion."
The fact that 'mental wear and tear' occurs as the accumulated time of regression increases has been formalized by repeated precedents.
But that's it.
This ability is still an unknown power with a short history, and there may be risks that have not yet been identified.
One thing is certain...
<The Poem of Retrograde> is a force that eats away at the 'spirit' of its owner in some way.
"Listen carefully. All holders of the <Poem of Retrograde> have hypermemory. They remember every moment from the moment their powers manifested, as if it were yesterday."
“...”
"Usually, people forget old memories as time passes. Except for the intense, unforgettable ones..."
But that's not the case for those who own "Poem of Retrograde." Memories from ten or twenty years ago, which often fade with time, are as vivid as if they happened yesterday.
"I can't say for sure about the Prince's condition, but I believe there must be a reason why memories are erased after a regression of more than 30 minutes. I also suspect it might be an instinctive response of the body to 'survive.'"
Nike, who is not a natural-born power user.
His body is that of an ordinary person who cannot handle this ability.
“But looking at this, it seems like my prediction was right.”
Ryan added, holding up the paper that Nike had flipped over.
"Your Highness, your body keeps sending you warnings, but you're ignoring it? It's so painful, you feel like you're going to collapse, but are you actually deliberately digging up your memories?"
Nike stared at Ryan silently.
It was positive.
“This is driving me crazy, really...”
Even if a person is foolish, how can he be this foolish?
He thought he knew what conversation Vania had had with him yesterday, and why Nike was enduring such pain and doing such things.
“Are you sorry and sad that only Vania remembers?”
Ryan said firmly, putting his hand on Nike's shoulder.
“But you can’t. Don’t do it. You’ll end up in trouble if you keep doing this.”
Previous Next
Comments
Post a Comment