15. Snow Moon Flower – 10
It was a spring day, sunny and warm as usual.
Cain von Estel, the minor duke of the Estel family, was sitting on the back garden at the back of the duke’s house as usual, looking up at the blue sky and spending a leisurely and boring time.
“…haam.”
He was yawning with his mouth wide open as if he was really bored, clearly showing others that the word free is not an empty word.
Of course, the reason he can act like this now is because he finished all the work he had to deal with as a minor duke in the morning.
Even so, the fact that he is idle is also a fact that never changes. Because it would mean that the amount of work he has to deal with is so small that he can handle all the work in the morning.
From a different point of view, the fact that the workload was small meant that he had little influence over the Duke of Estelle, but unfortunately, Cain didn’t show much interest in such power.
Anyway, the only heirs to the Estelle duchy are herself and her younger sister, Elena. Since it was certain that he would become the next duke to succeed his father, he made up his mind to take action at a leisurely pace even at this moment.
His way of thinking has always been that way, and his life has always been that way.
But what is it like to live a little more leisurely? Anyway, the Duchy of Estelle, which he was going to inherit in the future, was only one of the poorest estates in the empire, far from being wealthy, and since it was just a village located at the northern end of the continent, the possibility of a major incident or accident occurring was extremely slim.
The most serious problem in his present life was the fact that his relationship with his fiancée, with whom he was recently engaged, had become quite distant.
There will be no problems in Cain von Estel’s life, and his life will go on as smoothly and peacefully as it has so far. Presumably, this will continue to be the case even after he inherited the duchy.
“…ah. Ka, in-”
…Yes, that day was sunny and warm as usual.
“…it was real. Seriously, he’s alive.”
Towards a man who is just blankly looking up at the blue sky.
If it had not been for the arrival of a purple-haired woman he had never seen before, his life must have gone that way.
“…okay. He’s still alive at this time-“
It was a sight as if time had stopped.
The moment his eyes met with the woman, Cain had the illusion that a warm wind had blown over the land. A moment became an eternity, and endlessly fresh eyes captured his image.
The purple-haired woman was very beautiful. The pure white habit, which seemed to symbolize her essence, fluttered in the wind. The cross necklace hanging around her neck matched her so well that I had the illusion that it was made to fit her.
Overall, the purple-haired woman must have been a priest of the Empire.
If Cain’s memory is unmistakable, it must be clear that he and the woman in front of him are meeting for the first time in his life today. If I had met a woman like that even once, there would be no reason not to remember it.
But, how come?
“…Ahhh-“
Is that woman looking at herself so sadly?
Is it that he has such a contradictory face that he looks like he’s about to shed tears at any moment, but he’s genuinely happy at the same time?
Is she smiling that brightly, as if she were giving thanks to someone invisible?
“…ka, in-”
How did he know his name when he was meeting him for the first time in his life? And why is he calling his name so desperately?
Alternately, how? why. For what reason?
“…..”
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My heart is pounding. The hearts facing those women are beating louder than ever before. My instincts were shouting out loud that I knew the woman, whom my reason replied that I did not know.
…For some reason, my head hurts. Even myself is so confused. What is the identity of that woman? Why is a woman who has no one-on-one relationship with me, so familiar to me?
I don’t remember, but at the same time I was certain of something instinctively. That face, that voice, that eyes, that attitude. That woman, who retains the image of ‘then’ without a single change in any of them, is now looking into my eyes at this place.
That it is a fact that is incomparable to anything in the world and comes from a pure miracle.
“…I was looking for you, you. That day, you who left in front of me. You who sacrificed yourself in my place. You who can no longer smile at me.”
With the sound of her clothes brushing, the strange woman takes a step forward toward me.
“I thought I couldn’t see you anymore. I thought it was all too late now. But, it’s fine now. Because now, everything we went through has turned into a nightmare that never happened.”
Pity begins to overflow. The way she looked at me was so pitiful, so dazzling, that I lost sight of her very slightly without even realizing it.
“All along, I wanted to say. There was something I wanted to tell you. No matter what, no matter what the cost-“
“I really wanted to tell you this much.”
“I’m sorry, Cain. Really, I’m sorry-“
Saying that, the purple-haired woman came tightly into his arms. It was a strange situation when a woman he had never seen before suddenly came into his arms.
“…..”
Cain just, without saying anything, carefully hugged the purple-haired woman in his arms. It was a familiar feeling, as if it should have been that way from the beginning.
It wasn’t a memory, but something engraved in his soul reminded him of her existence.
“I really wanted to apologize in front of you. thank you for being alive Really, thank you…”
As if she was doing penance, she held Cain’s arms and constantly brainstormed something, and soon met his eyes with her eyes clinging to something.
“…Cain, actually I have something to tell you.”
Now, as if she couldn’t let go of her hand again, she hugged him tighter and tighter, and the woman opened her mouth to him with a sad tone somewhere.
“You can think of it as a crazy woman’s bullshit, or you can think of it as an imaginative woman’s complaint. So, so-”
“Could you spare me some time, even for a moment?”
****
Before long, the two talked a lot. No, to be precise, the purple-haired woman only spoke one-sidedly to Cain, and Cain was close to just silently listening to the woman’s story.
What will happen 10 years from now.
How did you and he come face to face with each other?
What kind of relationship was there between you and him?
When you and he first met, what kind of heart did you have toward him?
During the time of 1 years, what happened during the time he and himself were together.
…And at the last moment, what kind of end he faced.
Without adding or subtracting an inch, she laid out the truth to Cain as it was.
“…..”
Her story lasted over two hours. The tip of Ariel’s neck was also slightly split from the fact that she had spat out so many words at once.
And Cain did not open his mouth until the end of her words.
…my heart beats. I have no idea whether he will trust my words, or whether he will regard it as the nonsense of a crazy woman. I know. The fact that the story he is currently telling is a strange thing that is hard for a normal person to accept.
…but dreamed of a miracle that he might trust his story nonetheless.
It was too ugly to hope for some miracle to happen right here and now, and that’s why it was so human.
“…therefore.”
Those were the first words Cain uttered after hearing all of Ariel’s story.
“So Ariel, for what purpose did you come to see me?”
“yes? That’s right, I want to apologize to Cain…”
Staring at Ariel, who was taken aback, Cain slowly shook his head from side to side.
“To confirm that I am alive, I would have had to observe from a distance without my noticing. If you wanted to make a polite ‘apology’ to me, there would have been a way to write a letter. Above all, in order to prevent my death in the future, there would be no need to tell me the story of ‘return’ like you just did. If what you just said is true, changing the future will be an easy task.”
The black eyes captured Ariel’s confused expression.
“For what purpose do you tell me what will happen in the future?”
At Cain’s words, Ariel involuntarily stopped breathing.
He is right. Why on earth did he rush to this place as soon as he returned? And as soon as he met his face, did he tell the whole story as if he were repenting for his sins?
to apologize to him? To prevent his inevitable death?
not. Not all. Her own behavior was so unreasonable that it felt strange even to think about it.
If you really want to prevent his death, you can use your hands to prevent him from joining the expedition right before the expedition is organized after the ‘Witch of Winter’ appears. It was because I couldn’t use my hands because I didn’t know the fact in advance, it’s not that I couldn’t take action because I didn’t have enough strength.
Even if he ends up joining the expedition, there are many ways. His death was based on the indiscriminate attack of the ‘winter witch’ at the final moment of the battle, so you only need to properly defend against that attack. I wouldn’t know if I didn’t know, because I know exactly how the enemy will come out, but I’m not stupid enough to allow an attack.
But why? Why did he rush to the Duke of Estelle, located at the far north, and tell Cain everything? Why is he behaving like this?
“I… I…”
I realized it only when I was stabbed in the head by him. Why are you here right now? How is your mind right now? all.
It was at this moment that Ariel realized the desire she had been holding deep in her heart.
The answer had already been decided from the beginning.
From the time he stopped the ‘witch of winter’ attack instead of himself and sacrificed himself, from the moment he blankly followed his back.
…No, maybe it was around the time I heard the shy confession that Bianca del Castana had secretly harbored.
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Maybe it was all decided.
“…..”
There was a hell where everyone died. There was a confidence that complained of pain to the point of rolling ugly on the floor. And within that, there was one promise that he firmly resolved not to repeat this hell.
That’s why she became a saint. I wanted to end the tribulation that would hit the world with my own hands and become a light that wanted to save many people from pain. He wished that he could end the sadness he had to go through with his own hands.
Talk to your heart and ask questions.
He betrayed everything he believed in and everything he believed in.
Hello, can you choose a life for only one person?
“…Me, you and-”
To the question of whether he could betray himself and sacrifice his life, which would die countless times in the future, Ariel answered—
“…I want to run away. I want to run away with you, just the two of us.”
Turning away from what had been supporting her so far, she chose happiness with a man rather than the salvation of the world itself.
“Even right before the end of the world is fine, I want to run away to a place where no one knows us. give me happiness give me love i love you, i really love you Cain…”
Letting out a mournful groan that seemed like it would collapse at any moment, Ariel eagerly clung to him. Even though she knows full well that it is only a far-fetched farce, Ariel clings to him like a man with a broken head. No, maybe at the time he died in front of him, his head was already broken.
“Ariel.”
Ariel, who was clinging to him, was caught in Cain’s eyes for a very short time. His eyes were tightly closed. and-
“…okay. Let’s run away.”
“…yes?”
Unbelievable words came out of his mouth.
“Go. let’s leave To a place where no one in the world knows us.”
“Run away, together.”