16. Before the end – 08
“… Excuse me, Duke. I heard that you rushed to find me, but…”
In the drawing room of the Duke of Estelle, Sara stepped into the drawing room with a slightly puzzled look on my face at my urgent call. Perhaps because of her mood, it seemed that her face was hiding some melancholy.
“Nice to meet you, Sarah. It was not my intention to make you come and go like this, so please forgive me. As you can see, my body is in such a tattered state right now.”
When I show Sarah a limb wrapped in bandages with a wry smile, Sarah shakes her head in apologetic manner.
“You’re welcome, little Duke. As a vassal, I can’t let the Duke’s steps move carelessly. I’m really fine, so please don’t mind.”
Saying that, Sarah puts a puzzled expression on her face as if she doesn’t understand.
“Then why are you wearing something like a bandage? If you ask Ariel to heal you, those wounds will heal quickly.”
Sarah’s question made me, Iris, and Bianca, who were sitting in the drawing room, look into each other’s eyes for a very short time and then nodded. Since things had turned out like this anyway, Sarah couldn’t be a complete outsider, and it was extremely tiring to keep a close eye on what to say and what not to say.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think we can expect Ariel to heal. Because she has left the Duke of Estelle for the time being.”
“…yes?”
Sara looks at me blankly as if she doesn’t understand what I’m saying. After sighing softly, I stared straight into Sarah’s face as if I was challenging myself.
“Let me be honest. We are in need of your help. But don’t put too much pressure on me. Because the things I will tell you from now on are just our personal circumstances, not something you can carry on your back.”
“…Small Duke.”
“You can think of it as a story in an absurd novel, or you can think of it as a crazy complaint. But for now, I want you to listen to me in silence. And if possible, I hope you will consider my story to be true. This is a story about what happened between me and other women in the past.”
So I opened my mouth and began to think of old memories one by one that I now only think of as the distant past, because they have been so long that I now only think of them as someone else’s business.
About an idiot who, long ago, didn’t know anything because he didn’t have any abilities.
About the fact that after a few years, a never-ending winter came to this continent, and so many people died at the end.
And the story that the main culprit of all the misery was the Witch of Winter, that is, Arya.
And the moment I put the sword in her heart, for unknown reasons, I was sent back to the past 10 years ago, and when I came to my senses, I realized that Arya, who had lost all her memories, was lying on the bed with me.
I explained to Sarah everything I knew, without adding or subtracting an inch.
Biancana, Iris, and Ariel also returned to the past 10 years ago as the price of killing the witch, and Kirie seems to have all the memories of time and space because she is connected to the World Tree. Because I didn’t have the whole truth about regression, so I decided there was no need to make hasty guesses to Sarah.
…In addition, the description of the ending of ‘Cain von Estel’ and ‘Sarah Cernard’ in the past was also omitted. It was a story that had nothing to do with Sara now, and there was no need to hurt Sara’s heart by telling useless stories like that.
“…I know it’s an incredibly unbelievable story. I know very well that it will only sound crazy. So I won’t ask you to believe me. But at least I want you to talk to me assuming that my story is real. Because in the current situation, the only clue left is you-”
“…believe.”
“…What?”
And at that moment, it seemed as if I heard unbelievable words in my ears.
“I believe. I believe everything the Duke told me just now. Because, because-”
Sarah showed a hesitant expression as if she didn’t know what to say at this moment, and then she closed her eyes tightly.
“Actually, I saw it too. About what the past the Duke experienced. About the things that happened in the world where Aria-san did not return to the past with the little duke. Everything.”
And Sarah’s face, looking at me, doesn’t look like that at all, but for some reason, it looks like she’s about to burst into tears at any moment. In my eyes, her appearance is just as dangerous as a balloon about to explode…
“…how. And how…”
“Kyrie-sama taught me. He said that it is a little unfair that I am the only one not aware of a fact shared by all the women around the Duke.”
Seeing Sarah answer that question while driving her nails into her own arm, I finally had to sigh. Today, I can’t count how many times I’ve had to sigh because of Kirie.
“…Kyriega, I mean.”
…Is it her again? It seemed that Kirie had spent quite busy days in a place where my eyes couldn’t reach. He reached out to Sara after Ariel.
“So it’s okay if you don’t try to convince me. Because I also share the same past as the princess and Bianca. and-“
“I know everything about what I have to tell you, including the Duke of So. Perhaps this is the story you want to hear. So I will tell you everything I know.”
Sarah, who was talking to me while looking at me, had an emptiness as if she were someone else somewhere.
“It’s okay if you don’t have to worry about the curse. Because just last night, Ariel-sama did everything even though she was a little overbearing. Maybe, I think he was expecting what would happen today.”
…So, Ariel left a message to go find Sarah.
“The time is about to be the Age of Mythology, a thousand years ago, the golden age when it was said that goddesses living in the heavens came down to earth and ruled over humans. And it all started with a man who refused to admit that the gods ruled over humans.”
“The man said he was displeased with the fact that goddesses ruled over humans. The man argued that there was no salvation in the world and that humans would not be able to develop themselves in the end, because extremely fair and benevolent goddesses ruled over the earth.”
“If you pray to God, everything will be solved. If you ask God, all your wishes will come true. If you ask God for salvation, all despair disappears-”
“As long as man himself held such an idea, he argued that man was no more than a cattle raised by the gods. Even if the end is ruin, the man said, man must rise up and seize the right to shape his own destiny.”
“The man’s name is Devhard. I heard that that was the name of the man who was the first to deny God and eventually insisted on an era of only humans.”
“…Devhart?”
At that familiar name, Bianca and I turned our heads to look at Iris. Wasn’t Devhardt the surname of none other than Iris and the royal family? If so, Sarah’s words-
“The first emperor of the empire is the true identity of the man you are talking about.”
Sara nodded quietly at Iris’s words.
“That’s right. Devhardt was able to gather people who agreed to his will based on his unique charisma, but he quickly ran into limitations. Most people must have been too accustomed to a life ruled by goddesses, but the biggest problem was-”
“…It must have been a vast gap between gods and humans.”
Bianca’s nonchalant reply follows.
…as Bianca said. Didn’t I and we already have experiences? The fact that a gigantic power far beyond human territories, in itself, brings endless despair to humans.
“That’s right. Realistically speaking, Devhardt’s claim was nothing but nonsense. It is impossible to stand against God with the insignificant power of human beings. Perhaps, had it not been for the being who lent him his strength, his claim would have ended more than just a fleeting moment.”
“The one who lent your power? Who is that?”
“The goddess of spring, Arbel.”
At Sarah’s words, the eyes of everyone gathered here widen. So, does that mean that the goddesses stepped in and helped drive out the goddesses? why? What did the goddess feel sorry for, so she helped a human?
“I don’t know what kind of conversations were exchanged between Devhard and Arbel. I don’t even know why the goddess cooperated with humans. The only thing that is certain is that the two of them were in a cooperative relationship, and Arbel lent his strength to Devhard and even created a swordsmanship for him.”
“…The goddess herself, even made the swordsmanship for him?”
“Yes. According to tradition, it was said that it was truly a magical swordsmanship that controlled all the powers in a certain area at will. It was a thousand years ago, so it is unclear whether swordsmanship will still remain in the imperial family…”
“…..”
At Sarah’s words, Iris and I stared at each other in silence.
“Anyway, with the help of Arbel, Devhardt succeeded in gaining enough strength to overthrow the god. At that time, Clarisse, the goddess of summer, had her own body in the west, the goddess of autumn, Sepia, in the south, and the goddess of winter, Aria, in the north. According to the records, they were able to successfully seal their bodies after a fierce battle.”
…seal? not killing?
“Why did he not kill the goddesses and stop with sealing them when he said he would remove the interference of the gods?”
“To be precise, it is said that it could not be killed. Because the goddesses symbolize the seasons in this world and are in charge of the cycle of life, it is said that they could not predict what would happen to the world if they were really killed.”
“However, since the place where the goddesses are sealed cannot be left unattended, it is said that Devhardt has entrusted the four dukes he trusts the most to the north, south, east, and west, respectively. In particular, to prepare for the unseal of Arya, the most violent and most powerful winter goddess, we even made Castana, a mighty mage, to reside in the north.”
I didn’t miss the slight shaking of Bianca’s eyes at the sudden name ‘Castana’.
“…And, as a cost of betrayal, Arbel, the goddess of spring, was not targeted by Devhard, but he did not allow Arbel to remain on the surface. In this way, all the goddesses of the heavens disappeared from the earth, and only the divine power, which is evidence that she once existed in this world, remained. This is the whole story I know of what happened a thousand years ago.”
“…..”
Now that Sarah’s story was all over, there was only a strange silence somewhere in this place. But at the same time, there was a story that had to be pointed out.
“…A very interesting and interesting story, Sarah Cernard. That’s the truth you’ve been hiding because of the ‘curse’. That’s good, but there’s one thing I can’t help but ask you.”
“How on earth do you know all this story? Even in the imperial family, such a story was not handed down, and the Duke of Estelle, including Cain, did not know anything about such a fact. But I wonder how you know all this.”
At Iris’ valid point, Sarah quietly closed her eyelids and opened her mouth with a determined expression.
“A thousand years ago, many people jumped on the bandwagon of the first emperor and followed him, but not everyone agreed with him. In particular, the priests and their clans, who worshiped the goddess closely, fought against Devhart to the end and were soon killed.”
“…no way.”
Realizing what Sara was talking about, Iris’ expression changed very slightly.
“Yes. The identities of Count Sernad and the group behind it are the descendants of the priestly clan who had no choice but to be annihilated at the hands of Devhardt after serving Aria, the goddess of winter, to the end a thousand years ago.”