14. End of lingering – 11
Sarah’s visit to Cain’s office was nothing more than a trivial coincidence.
In the past, Sara Cernard was nothing more than a woman who was raised as the only ‘product’ of Count Cernard’s family, treated like cattle.
Aside from that, she was also the body that had been passed down the knowledge of various ‘secrets’ handed down in Count Cernard’s family.
The reason why Countess Sernard passed on various knowledge to her, who was nothing more than a tool to be used, was very simple.
The secrets of the count’s family are of a very secret and secret kind, so it was a kind of knowledge that was quite difficult to divulge to others, but at the same time, it was quite a contradictory situation that as many people as possible had to have ‘faith’ towards something with faith. because it was in
For that reason, the count family forcibly passed on knowledge to Sarah, who could be said to be a direct descendant of the count family, and made her a ‘believer’, but at the same time, they couldn’t trust her to be sold elsewhere, so they forcibly cursed her. I ended up closing my mouth.
The curse surrounding Sarah’s body was of a terrible kind, and it was impossible to cure it with magic. Even Arya, who can be called the most powerful wizard in this world, couldn’t come up with any other countermeasures.
…But if Ariel did it herself, the story would have been different.
A curse is a negative evil power that fundamentally harms and binds people. The sacred power, which can be said to be the crystallization of the sacred power bestowed by the goddess who resides in the heavens because she loves children on earth, boasts excellent efficacy that can be said to be in opposition to curses.
Even the divine power used by ordinary priests is capable of cursing a fair amount of curses, much less when it comes to Ariel, who can be said to be the most powerful priest on earth.
However, since it was a tough and poisonous kind of curse, there was a possibility of damaging her body during the healing process, so rather than removing the curse at once, she was gradually undergoing treatment several times.
That day, as usual, was one of those days when Sarah decided to seek treatment from Ariel.
However, Ariel did not show up at the clinic even though the treatment time was imminent.
“…..”
Sara waited patiently for Ariel in the doctor’s office, wondering if something was urgent.
Even after about 10 minutes had passed since the appointed time, Ariel hadn’t shown any signs of appearing in the doctor’s office.
To be honest, it was a very unexpected fact.
Even though Sara had only recently learned about Ariel, that short amount of time was more than enough to get a sense of her character.
Ariel Thiers was a woman who, if nothing else, was morbidly punctual. Sarah had heard that Ariel had grown up in a monastery, so she must have had the habit of living a regular life and following time commitments from a very young age.
Since such Ariel did not come to see her even though he had gone past the appointed time, rather than feeling unpleasant, a feeling of curiosity took hold of Sara’s heart.
What on earth was she doing that she completely forgot about her promise to her? As far as Sarah knew, the only people Ariel had that could be called acquaintances in Estelle’s family were Cain and her sister, Elena. In other words, it would be safe to assume that the reason why she didn’t show up far past the appointed time must have something to do with one of the two.
And at this moment, her intuition as a woman was telling Sarah the answer. Ariel is not with Elena right now. It is clear that she completely forgot about her promise to her while meeting Cain.
‘…no way.’
I’m starting to feel uneasy for some reason. Suddenly, you start to get a strange feeling that time is passing at an excruciatingly slow pace. In the end, she couldn’t stand it, jumped up from her seat and started moving towards Cain’s office.
Yes, the actions he is taking right now must have been based on extremely rational judgment. He is just looking for Ariel to get treatment. If Ariel is in Cain’s office, it’s good that you can find her whereabouts, and if she’s not in Cain’s office, you can put your mind at ease, so it’s clear that you can feel relieved-
…I would never use Ariel as an excuse to spy on him. never.
Sarah, who had successfully completed her self-justification, walked lightly toward Cain’s office. And not long after, she was able to arrive in front of the office.
At that time, the door to the office was slightly but surely open.
And through the cracks in the open door, the voices of Cain and Ariel leaked out.
As expected, Ariel had completely forgotten about her treatment while meeting Cain as she had guessed—
‘…Mmm.’
Sara unknowingly gulped and swallowed.
It goes without saying, but it is obviously rude to secretly eavesdrop on conversations that others are having. If it was her normal life, it would have been clear that she would have covered her ears without hesitation.
…but now I just couldn’t resist the temptation. He wasn’t curious about the content of the conversation between Cain and Ariel. I was just curious as to what kind of relationship those two were, and whether the two of them were having a conversation in the office. I hadn’t heard of the details, but it was a well-known fact that Ariel also harbors unusual feelings for Cain.
“…..”
The thought was long, but the judgment was only fleeting. Having made up her mind, she leaned as far as she could to avoid being found out, and pricked her ears toward the crack in the open door.
What you are doing right now is by no means a bad thing. He just wants to know for sure what kind of relationship Cain and Ariel are in. Yeah, that’s all.
…So, it was just a coincidence that Sarah overheard their conversation.
– It’s nothing. It was just because the way he treated me felt like a stranger. Like before, can you use short language towards me?
– …speak, do you mean?
– yes. Just like you said comfortably to me before returning.
It was probably around this time that Sara, who quietly overheard their conversation, frowned.
Like before the regression, I want you to use short words? Also, he wasn’t wrong. Those two must have been extremely close to each other in the past, using short words with each other.
…But what about regression? What is a regression? What the hell does that word mean? If there was some kind of relationship between the two in the past, wouldn’t it be okay to just use the word ‘past’? But why use the strange word regression?
Even while Sarah, who is confused, is trying to pack her head as much as possible to fit the conversation, the conversation between the two continues regardless of her.
– Cain, do you remember? No, of course you remember. Before returning, about the times we had together.
– …Ariel.
– But just as I respect you, shouldn’t you also respect me? Whether you admit it or not, I am already your family and your wife.
The conversation Cain and Ariel exchanged with each other made Sarah even more confused. A woman named Ariel Thiers is not just at the level of having feelings for Cain, but is already his family and even his wife?
‘gibberish.’
At Ariel’s words, Sara bit her own lips. It couldn’t be. Unlike Kyrie, who couldn’t grasp her past because she always stayed by the World Tree, Ariel’s actions that were revealed on the outside were very clear.
She first met Cain at a banquet hall in the old system, and after the engagement ceremony between Cain and the daughter of the Marquis of Castana, which once stirred up the northern part of the continent, she entrusted herself to the Duke of Estelle. In other words, there is no contact in the past between a man named Cain von Estel and a woman named Ariel Thiers.
But what does family mean, and what does wife mean? Could it be that Ariel Thier, a priest who is praised throughout the continent as the incarnation of a goddess, was a woman crazy enough to regard the man she met for the first time a few months ago as her ‘family’?
By the way-
-…..
To Ariel’s crazy words, Cain did not refute anything. As if Ariel was admitting that the nonsense she was spouting was true.
Why? For what reason was Cain acknowledging Ariel’s words? why?
“…..”
In an instant, the words the princess had spoken toward her quickly flashed through Sarah’s mind.
She must have said these words right in front of her eyes.
– I also don’t like women who don’t hesitate to entrust their bodies to other men. Especially if that woman is related to you. don’t you know That woman has already waggled her tail at the Duke of Tournigen…
– Lowering.
It was a well-known fact that the princess did not like him very much. But why, out of countless men, why did the princess entangle herself with the Duke of Tournigen? The point of contact between you and the Duke of Tournigen is only that you are staying together at the Duke of Estel, isn’t it?
return. family. wife. Duke of Tournigen. Ariel. princess. Strange words and actions that don’t quite match. and-
Fragmented information runs through Sarah’s head and begins to form a structure.
There are three strong possibilities that can be inferred from the words of Cain, Ariel, and the princess.
one first. The possibility that Ariel’s head is spinning and that Cain isn’t offering any rebuttal just to calm Ariel.
another one. A keyword such as ‘regression’ is likely to be a kind of code for calmly continuing a conversation even in front of an ‘outsider’ like yourself.
…and the last one. The possibility that the return they are talking about, the absurd statement of returning to the past from the future, is indeed true.
‘…Nonsense.’
In an instant, Sarah remembered the word ‘impossible’ for the possibility she had drawn in her head.
According to the current era of magic, humans cannot interfere in space and time no matter what means they use. Exceptionally, wizards who have reached the level of great wizards are said to be able to manipulate space and time, even to a very small extent, but even that is said to be nothing more than controlling a very local area.
…But, didn’t she already have the experience of witnessing it?
The sight of Arya, a white-haired girl who claims to be Cain’s exclusive handmaid, performing miracles that manipulate space freely.
If it was possible for a girl named Arya to manipulate space, in fact, wouldn’t it be possible to actually rewind time entirely?
Although the present Sarah is unaware of it, in fact, the world’s time has been completely rewinded once.
Could it be that the women around him, including Cain, retain their memories due to ‘some kind of cause’?
Even if you hear it yourself, it sounds absurd and crazy, but with this hypothesis, everything so far is understandable.
In the future that has not come, if Cain and Ariel actually got married and became a couple, and for some reason returned to the past after going through a regression, their conversation is understandable.
In the future that did not come, ‘Sarah Cernard’ abandoned Cain and shared something with the Duke of Tournigen, so the princess might hate herself so much.
…Of course, Sarah herself knows better than anyone else that what she is thinking is logic and reason and nonsensical nonsense.
However.
Her instincts as a woman were constantly whispering in her ear that that nonsense must be the only ‘right answer’ to penetrate the situation.
No way, really-
– If Cain ever utters a word or phrase you don’t understand, come to me. Maybe I can be of your help.
In the past, Kirie had said this to Sara.
If Cain spits out words or phrases you don’t understand, come find him.
Could it be that the elf had foreseen in advance the situation Sarah would find herself in in the near future?
Perhaps, Kirie has the answers to all these situations in her hands.
“…..”
The image of Kyrie, who beamed at him with an alluring smile, came to mind clearly. It might not be very reluctant to visit the elf, who, to human eyes, looked like an angel, but to Sara, who seemed so ominous to her, and begged to know the truth surrounding the current situation. there won’t be
Burr.
Sara held her trembling upper body tightly with both hands.
If I had known this was going to happen, I regretted that I should not have listened to their conversation from the beginning.