11. A bird that flew over the nest – 07
It’s a bit sudden, but it’s one of the biggest misunderstandings that most people make to think that the race of elves is half-fairy and clearly different from humans.
Basically, it is not an exaggeration to say that the elf race is a superior species to humans, with a lifespan that is different from that of humans, extremely beautiful appearances, and extreme affinity with spirits. That’s why humans who actually face them face the elves without realizing it, and they have this thought.
Elves are a race on a different level from humans. They must be a superior race, located in a place that humans can never surpass.
In conclusion, it was just a simple illusion. It wasn’t that people’s thoughts were completely wrong. If we were to compare elves and humans simply, there were gaps and gaps between the two races that could not be bridged. From their simple appearance to their lifespan, humans couldn’t find any better side than elves.
However, in Kyrie’s opinion, the race of elves had one major drawback. Even with such excellent physical performance, humans had no choice but to lose the hegemony of the continent.
Elves live long. That, too, is too long. There are differences among individuals, but no matter how short it is, a thousand years, long-lived people do not care about thousands of years, and they enjoy life over a long period of time.
For those elves, years were just a few days for humans. When they came to their senses, the passing of decades was no more than an ordinary thing for them. It’s lifespan anyway, because it was a characteristic of elves to have an excess.
Compared to the texture of life they feel, the world changes too rapidly, and what they learn with great effort quickly turns into old antiques. That’s how the elves lost their passion. I couldn’t find anyone who felt the will to live. It’s just that it’s filled with people who live each day with a bored feeling.
In the end, the elves decided to give up living scattered all over the continent and concentrate on protecting the world tree by gathering together in the Great Forest. Rather, I think that if people with the same sense of time live together, the boredom that weighs them down will be alleviated a little.
As a result, the idea was half right, but at the same time half wrong. By living together as a group, it was possible to shake off the terrible boredom that oppressed the elves, but at the same time, only those who shared the same sense of time lived, and various emotions including ‘spirit for improvement’ were castrated from them. Yes, except for Kyrie, whose mind has become immortal due to the blessing of the World Tree and has maintained her spirit unchanged even compared to a thousand years ago.
In Kirie’s opinion, the Elf race was a perfect race from a species point of view, but at the point of thinking that even reproduction was a ‘duty’ for the maintenance of the race, they were already on the verge of extinction. was They were also a race no different from machines that did the same thing over and over, not even knowing why they lived.
Perhaps that is why she is trying to gain a rare texture of life by looking at human life where the time axis is hopelessly out of sync. Decades ago from now, since taking a human as her companion, she has seen so many things, felt so many things, and so many things have changed.
I forgot to think that it could not be anything other than magic. I could never have imagined that he, who had lived through countless years, would have changed so much through an encounter that hadn’t even passed a hundredth of his life. I thought that until the end of my life I would live as a doll faithful to the purpose of protecting the World Tree itself, but just like other ordinary women, I would fall in love with someone, be jealous, and want to monopolize him.
Come to think of it, it really couldn’t have been helped. Even in her eyes, whose emotions were worn out after living so long that she forgot to even count her age, there were a few things that she thought were really beautiful.
Cain was like that at one time, and Ariel at this moment was like that too.
The woman Kyrie knew, called Ariel Thier, was basically just a coward. On the subject of running away from everything after being unable to bear the burdens and duties weighing down on her, she was a truly pathetic woman with the contradiction of living with a sense of guilt as she could not run away from her own sins.
…But at the same time, Ariel was also a woman who more than anything else fit the nickname of a saint. At the decisive moment, she chooses her own salvation, not her own desire. That’s right, just like Kirie’s answer to the temptation that Ariel had whispered to Ariel earlier, without a moment’s hesitation.
– I will refuse. I can’t be a proud mother to my children. Sacrificing others for my own greed is never the right thing to do.
“lie.”
Kirie giggled as she remembered Ariel at that time. Actually, I know very well that I hesitated a lot. However, to think that while lying down in agony from the pain, at the last moment, he chose to stick to the beliefs he had built up throughout his life. It was truly contradictory and it couldn’t be anything but ugly.
…but that’s why it’s beautiful. What we have believed in so far and what we believe in in the future, the image of a human being who walks forward without hesitation is only terribly beautiful.
So Ariel left. And Kirie sent her back from here without saying anything. Anyway, it’s all your own choice. She was merely presenting Ariel with an option.
It’s okay if Ariel continues to stick with her own mind, and it’s not a bad thing if she changes her mind and accepts her offer. No matter which side you choose, if watching the ending of this story is a pleasure, it must be a stigma.
“…Cain.”
Suddenly, I raised my head and looked up at the sky. The sky was just as high, vast, and blue as it was then. Yes, like when I made a promise to him.
– I’ll be your meaning. I will be your trigger. So, don’t think that your life is worthless.
It’s already been in the past for decades, but I still remember it vividly. At that time, you became a milestone in my life, which said that my mind was made of fire, but I was so exhausted that it meant nothing to me.
At that time, you no longer exist in the world. In the repetition of time, the Cain I knew had already died. Because you are the same person as the you I know, but not the same person at the same time.
But despite this, I am here, still holding on to the promise I made with you at that time, still leaving only regrets. I am still here as I long for you, holding all of your face, eyes, and voice from that time in my heart.
The time I spent with you wouldn’t even be a thousandth of my life, but that short time changed me so much.
It was a beautiful and brilliant time that seemed to burn away the retina. Admit it, Cain von Estel. You were a great man who would not be lacking even if you were loved by Kyrie El Denaris for a thousand years.
“Today, I really miss you.”
In fact, she looked away lonely, saying that maybe it was I, not Ariel, who wanted to see someone again, even if it was time in the past.
To prepare for the long winter that will soon come upon this world again.
****
Island Lumentium.
In fact, the thousand-year-old capital of the empire that dominates the continent, the place where the imperial palace is located, where the lineage of Devheart, the owner of the empire, resides.
In the emperor’s office located in the middle of the palace, a woman was bowing down on her knees in front of the emperor, who could be called the ruler of the present continent.
“…It’s a pretty quiet arrival. Iris. Obviously, when you left the imperial palace, you would have left here under the pretext of congratulating the engagement ceremony of Duke Estelle and Lady Castana. But now, a long time after their engagement ceremony ended, they returned to Jedo Island again. Besides, the escort knight assigned to you went so far as to act alone while returning to the system. No matter how you look at it, you can’t just ignore it.”
To those words of the emperor, Iris just closed her eyes as if she would not make excuses.
“It is all because of my faults, so if you want to hold me accountable, I beg you to ask only me. your majesty.”
Looking at Iris, who kept her mouth shut again after saying only those words, the emperor unknowingly clicked his tongue.
She was an obstinate and inflexible daughter who could not believe that she was of her own blood. She was not strict with herself to the extent that she had never strayed or got into trouble, but the only reason for a deviation that could only happen once in her life was because of a black boy!
What’s even more exciting is the fact that Iris has only encountered that wolf-like creature at most once in her life. To the emperor, who did not know the truth and had no way to know it in the future, it was truly absurd.
There is nothing to say about work because he is straightforward, and even to his father, he could not help but be a daughter like a wooden stone. To the point of moving to the far north without hesitation.
‘Franz, that guy was like an idiot who was embarrassed in front of women.’
A bastard who must have inherited his father’s blood, a dog-like bastard who has spread rumors throughout the empire that he has a fiancée and another woman with whom he has an affair, dares to lay a dirty spell on his daughter!
That’s why he didn’t even get mad at Iris because he knew very well that she was afraid that the damn thing would be harmed by her willingness to be punished. It just upset my stomach to see my daughter, who wouldn’t hurt even if I put it in her eyes, confronting her father because of at least one man. And in proportion to that, his anger toward the son of a bitch named Cain von Estel continued to cross the upper limit.
“…it happened. I was also planning to go on a tour of the North within this year anyway, so let’s assume you went there beforehand. If not, it is meaningful that a member of the imperial family directly stepped into the Estel family and the Castana marquis family, which are usually not easily seen by the imperial family.”
…But in the end, the emperor couldn’t utter any words to Iris. It hadn’t been revealed so far, but Iris seemed to have no interests or hobbies in anything other than swordsmanship and empire management, so it was a moment when I was a bit worried.
Although I really didn’t like the fact that the subject was a boy, there was nothing more reassuring if he started to take an interest in something other than state affairs and swordsmanship and eventually started to look like a normal woman.
No matter how much she was chosen as the next emperor of the empire, no, since she was supposed to be the next emperor of the empire, if it wasn’t for this moment, she wouldn’t be able to fully enjoy the same emotions as an ordinary woman.
“So, did you achieve your goal of heading north even though you were so stubborn?”
Even though he knew full well that Cain von Estel and Bianca del Castana’s engagement had broken off through a report from the Ministry of Intelligence, and that Bianca del Castana had become a permanent resident of the Estel duchy after that, through unknown circumstances, the emperor was Iris. posed such a question to
If the two men and women in their prime started living together in reality, and Duke Estelle is also condoning him, there is only one answer left. It meant that the two of them had already made progress in their marriage.
Iris is the only heir to the throne in the empire, and the only woman with the status of a princess who is promised to become the next emperor. She, with such a noble position and status, should not covet the seat next to a man who was already in a deep relationship with another woman.
“…Yes. It was a journey that was worth enough for me to take the steps myself. your majesty.”
It was a worthwhile journey just to witness the moment when his unbreakable conviction transcended all others.
“your majesty. There is one thing I would like to ask of Your Majesty.”
Looking at Iris, who said that with her eyes shining differently than usual, the emperor felt an ominous feeling somewhere unknown.
“What was it?”
“Now that I am old enough to be married, please allow me to adopt the person I want as my sire.”
“…the one you want?”
At Iris’ bold words, the emperor stopped laughing. Although she did not reveal who the target was, the target she was pointing to was so clear that it was impossible to say.
“In terms of status, few guys are better than him, but isn’t he already in possession? From what Jim has heard, there are already more than one woman by his side?”
Of course, having at least one or two concubines is definitely not a flaw when it comes to the position of a duke, but even so, it wasn’t very nice to see a guy who was said to be the only consort of the empress of the empire openly carrying other women.
“If that’s the case, I think it’s okay to let go of your worries. your majesty.”
“Hoo? Why was that?”
In response to the emperor’s question, which was somehow intriguing, Iris simply gave an answer with a cold smile.
“Now it is because I, too, have decided not to choose any means. and.”
A ‘flow’ of strange power swirled around Iris, and soon it turned into a bleak wind and began to blow gently around the area.
“The teacher is going to earnestly make a ‘request’ to his one and only disciple, and as a disciple, it’s human nature to accept that request, isn’t it?”