16. Before the end – 09
“…I see. A descendant of a priest.”
As expected, Iris agreed. Certainly, if Count Sernard’s family were descendants of those who were killed by the first emperor in the past, it would not be unreasonable to know such a story. This is because perpetrators often quickly forget what they did, while victims often pass on what they’ve been through to their descendants with resentment.
“Yes, and that is probably the reason why you became betrothed as if you were being sold to the 4th largest duchy of the empire. Isn’t it?”
“…That’s right. Since we were a family that served Arya, the goddess of winter, we first approached the Duke of Estelle. could be reconfirmed. therefore…”
“It means that he broke off his engagement with Cain and was sold to the Duke of Tournigen this time. However, in this life, the Duke of Tournigen was staying in the Estel family and was unable to approach him, so he headed for the Decaraznan duchy.”
“yes. Perhaps if Cain hadn’t saved me from the Duke of Decaraznan, I would have been betrothed to the Duke of Decaraznan and then searched for the traces left by the goddess, just like I did with the Duke of Estelle. Furthermore, unlike the Duke of Estelle, the Duke of Dekaraznan is a family with enormous wealth, so the Count’s family must have managed my marriage somehow. Externally, the title of Duchess of Decaraznan is quite useful.”
Sara’s voice, which treats herself as an object, was surprisingly calm. Is it because he conformed to his fate that he had no choice but to live like that? Or is it because he made a resolution that he hadn’t had before?
“But I hated the family forcing me into that role. I didn’t want to accept my fate. After wandering for a thousand years, a mind-boggling time, now I feel sick of the family expressing blind hatred without knowing where it is heading. I wanted to live my life as a person without caring about resentment or revenge. However.”
However, Sara’s wish never came true. before the regression and after the regression.
Perhaps, if I hadn’t saved her, she would have been deprived of her free will and would have been nothing more than a tool of the family right now. No, before regression. The days when I had no idea what kind of situation she was in. She could not resist her fate and ended up marrying the Duke of Tournigen. In the end, her rebellion ended in failure. That must have been the unchangeable future that awaited her.
“I believe that you cannot choose where you will be born, but at least you can choose how you will live. From the moment I was born, I wanted to choose a path to resist even a little against my absurd fate, where everything was predetermined.”
“…So, I explained my ‘curse’ to the Duke and gave him a ring. It’s a very weak possibility, but with the expectation that perhaps, if it were the Duke, he would free me from my cursed fate.”
“…..”
However, ‘Cain von Estel’ before the regression did not know anything. He didn’t know what kind of pain the woman called ‘Sarah Cernard’ had, and he was just staring at her back without trying to find out.
Actually, she was sick too. As much as I was in pain, no, I was rolling over in anguish that was incomparable to my own pain-
…In the end, Cain von Estel turned away from her pain. 10 years later, until the moment the world is destroyed by the Winter Witch.
“So, then what is the identity of the ring you gave Cain? If a woman like you would hand it over to him, talking about expectations, it seems certain that it is not an ordinary item.”
In response to Bianca’s question, Sarah nodded quietly to herself as if to express an affirmation.
“The ring I gave to the Duke is one of the items that the Goddess of Winter bestowed upon humans a thousand years ago as an oath to prove herself. It doesn’t have as much eye-catching ability as other musical instruments, but it is also an object with a legend that a goddess took off a part of herself and processed it into a ring.”
“…Have you removed a part of yourself?”
Sarah’s words left me with a puzzled expression on my face. Are you saying that if you become a goddess, it is possible to turn your own body into a ring? To be honest, aside from the fact that the ring’s history is greater than I thought, I don’t understand what that means.
“…okay. That’s why Kyrie was able to subdue Arya. Somehow, the gap in power between each other was so huge that it was impossible to understand, but I couldn’t understand how he managed to beat her, but in reality, it was a trick like that.”
On the other hand, Bianca, who was sitting next to me and looked like she was contemplating something, soon put on an expression as if she had understood something.
“Can’t you just explain a little to me instead of just trying to convince yourself?”
At my grumbling, Bianca openly clicked her tongue and opened her mouth with a really annoying expression.
“To be pathetic. This is a question that can be answered with just a bit of thinking. Cain, you must have heard the word reincarnation at least once, right?”
“…transmigration?”
It’s definitely a word you’ve heard a few times somewhere. Perhaps, as one of the doctrines taught by the church, wasn’t it a word that meant that when a living being, including a human, dies, it is reborn as another living being? But what does that have to do with this situation?
“Yes, reincarnation basically means that the soul acquires a different body from the previous life through a previous life. However, in reincarnation, the soul inevitably undergoes repeated deterioration. Because there is no such thing as immortality in this world. In other words, no matter how small a fragment is, a child cannot defeat its parent.”
“…?”
Bianca’s explanation was so difficult and convoluted that I couldn’t easily understand what it meant. If someone puts out a bunch of incomprehensible explanations in case someone isn’t a wizard, what should an ordinary person like me do?
“Ah really! If you put the story together so far, you should have a sense of what Arya’s identity is, right?”
At Bianca’s words, I answer with a sigh.
“…okay. Arya’s true identity is probably a goddess. Aria, the goddess of winter who was sealed by human hands a thousand years ago.”
Arya did not learn magic, but was able to learn it at a terrifying speed, as if she was reviving something she had forgotten, because she was a god, not a human. It must be clear that it was a power that could be used because it did.
“okay. A few years later, the reason why the Winter Witch suddenly appeared in the Duchy of Estel was probably because this was the place where she was sealed. However, I want to ask you one thing. Can the winter goddess Aria from a thousand years ago and the Arya we know today be the same person?”
To that question, I answered without thinking.
“Yes, of course I think they are the same person.”
“why?”
“…Yeah, Sara explained it earlier. Because he couldn’t bear to kill the goddesses, the first emperor chose to seal the goddesses. If so, wouldn’t Arya, who was released from the seal, also maintain the same appearance as she did a thousand years ago?”
In response to my answer, not Bianca, but Iris, who was sitting quietly next to me, opened her mouth abruptly.
“No, that wouldn’t be it. This is my personal opinion, but I don’t think the current Arya is a god. To be more precise, she wanted to say that she was a god a thousand years ago, but now she is just a woman with the same power as a god. Bianca?”
“As expected, you are smart enough to compare with Cain.”
As I looked back at the two women with a bewildered expression, Iris sighed softly and gave me a second explanation.
“As Bianca said, this is a problem that can be realized if you roll your head a little. Think carefully. Cain, what is the greatest characteristic of the existence we commonly call God?”
“…Perhaps it is omniscience. Knowing anything, being able to do anything, and never changing is the hallmark of a being called God-”
…ah.
And after talking that far, I finally realized it. What the hell was Bianca trying to tell me?
“Yes. God is a perfect being in itself. But the Arya that appeared in front of you two years ago wasn’t perfect. Because if Arya were really perfect, there would be no need to lose her memory and ‘learn’. No, not only Arya, but also the ‘winter witch’ we will face in the future had power comparable to that of a god, but in the end, it was only an existence that could be defeated by human power anyway.”
“…But at the same time, it’s clear that Arya’s true identity is a goddess. So, there is only one thing that can be inferred here. The reason is unknown, but the current Arya has lost her divine status for whatever reason. In other words, the Arya of a thousand years ago and the present may be the same person, but the present she is infinitely closer to a human rather than a god.”
“But in this world, there are still objects made from fragments of Arya’s time as a goddess, right? From the point of view of the level of spirit, the human Arya can hardly reach the fragments of the goddess Arya. Who is stronger and who is weak is only a secondary issue. A replica that has repeatedly deteriorated can never defeat its original form.”
“And Kyrie easily subdued Arya by using those characteristics of the ring, I mean.”
I muttered that while touching the ring in my hand.
“Then what is Kyrie’s purpose? Why did Kyrie subdue Arya and take her to the World Tree?”
At my self-talk, Bianca stared at me blankly, not removing her expression of contemplation.
“I don’t know anything else, but if there’s one thing that’s certain, it’s clear that she intends to turn Arya back into the goddess she was a thousand years ago.”
“…why?”
“I checked the ring just before, and I could see traces of something filling it up and then coming out. I didn’t know what it was until now, but considering the story so far, it must have been the divine power of the goddess Aria a thousand years ago. And since Kyrie used that ring to subdue Arya, that divine power must have returned to Arya, who can be said to be its original owner.”
The power of the goddess returned to Arya, who possessed infinitely god-like power. The meaning of that word is-
“okay. It means that the goddess of winter will be fully resurrected. And I don’t want to imagine what will happen after that. For we know all too well what will happen to the continent when the Goddess of Winter is freed from the seals that imprisoned her.”
“…..”
A phenomenon that happens when the goddess of winter, no, the witch of winter comes into the world.
There was no way I didn’t know what it was.
…winter might come once more, which might destroy the world.
It was a terrible meaning that a great tribulation, beyond human strength, would come.
The cause of the disaster is none other than the Winter Witch, Aria.
If so, what I need to do at this moment is nothing else…
“…Hey, Little Duke. There’s just one thing I’d like to ask the Little Duke.”
And that was when Until now, Sarah, who had been silently listening to what we were saying during our discussion, opened her mouth to me and asked a question.
“Was the information I’ve been telling you so far useful to you? Is there anything else you need or would like to hear?”
At those words, I shake my head from side to side. That was enough. Knowing the true identity of Arya, the identity of the ring, and what will happen in the future was a great harvest.
“…That’s fortunate. At the last moment, I think it’s really fortunate that I can be of some help to the Duke.”
Saying that, Sarah pulled out a small twig from her bosom and aimed it at her heart as if it were a dagger. The sequence was so natural that I didn’t even react until she pointed a branch just above my heart.
“…Sarah? What the hell are you doing-“
And the moment I saw the tree branch in Sarah’s hand, I had an intuition without even realizing it. That tree branch is dangerous. So, just in case, don’t put your hands on Sarah’s body hastily. If that branch touches Sarah, she will.
“With this, I can die in peace. Little Duke, would you please look at me to the end?”
Sarah’s face, smiling brightly at me, was a face I had never seen before.
“This is the only answer I’ve come up with to atone for the wrongs I’ve committed to the Little Duke.”