Epilogue Episode 25. What happened on a midsummer night (2)
Erica, whom I had not seen in a long time, was full of energy.
If she seemed calm and refined from the outside, perhaps it was because she had no other way of seeing at the moment, but she felt like a puppy let off its leash.
It seemed that the occupants of the mansion did not care what she saw.
She talked so much throughout the meal that I even thought she wasn’t hungry at first.
However, as she ate one or two plates and kept asking for more food, it seemed like she had not had a proper meal in the lab.
Under the guidance of Ludwig the Great Knight…
When I thought about it that way, I understood why there were so many words.
If it were Ludwig, he would have banned all unnecessary chatter in the lab.
Erica must have been pouring out all the words she had been holding back for the past two weeks at once.
“What? You want to take 50 credits next semester? Is that possible?”
“It would be possible if I just lived a little busier. I don’t need to eat or sleep.”
“No, that’s not it. Is it systematically allowed to take 50 credits?”
“Hmm… Won’t it work out somehow?”
She didn’t think much about it.
Who am I?
I am not the owner of omnipotent power.
I just vaguely thought that it would work out somehow.
“Puhup. You really have nothing to worry about?”
“Nothing. Nothing… Not a single thing…”
It was just as Erica said.
These days, all worries have completely disappeared.
My heart sank for a day or two when I heard here and there that tensions between countries were continuing or that a local war had broken out, but these days I felt nothing.
They just say that if we fight, we’ll fight again.
Then I became a little scared.
I feel like I am becoming less human.
I felt like I was already recognizing myself as something far away from humans, and that was scary.
I thought that later on, I would become completely insensitive to human affairs.
Whether they fight among themselves and perish or not, I will definitely watch it, giggling like the arrogant gods from the Olympus myth.
Just imagining it gave me chills.
“Schlus.”
“······.”
The moment I suddenly felt Erica’s breath next to me, I flinched and trembled awkwardly.
It wasn’t until I felt a warm hand wrapping around the back of my hand and saw Erica’s worried eyes that I realized it.
The fact that cold sweat is forming on my forehead.
“There will be a lot of things to worry about in the future. Sometimes Schlus tends to think too positively, but your relationship with your fiancé is not that good. There will be a lot of headaches in the future until you get married. And after you get married again, What if you have a child? Then you’ll have endless things to worry about, right?”
“That’s right… That’s right…”
“Look into my eyes, Schlus.”
“I’m watching.”
“You screwed me over. Six people, including me. Then I have to take responsibility. I won’t just let you go. I will keep bothering you. I will never make you think I’m bored, so sometimes I will bother you in turns, and sometimes at the same time. I’m prepared. You have to do it, Schlus.”
“Yes…”
I think too positively.
It was the first time I had heard this in my entire life.
That made me laugh even more.
When he gently turned her wrist and clasped it to prevent her from escaping, Erica let out an embarrassed sound and her cheeks turned red.
Do you have the courage to come this close, make eye contact with her, and whisper something masculine, but are you still embarrassed to fold your hands?
“The lake is pretty. It looks like it contains the night sky…”
“Yes. I’m glad I came in sunny weather.”
“Why is the weather so clear today?”
“Ah. No way… Isn’t it?”
Watching Erica’s pupils shake, she almost couldn’t hold back her laughter.
Of course, it is true that I have the power to change the weather, but I do not use it for personal purposes.
I plan to use it only occasionally for public purposes when I really need to use it.
For example, on my wedding day.
“But it’s really pretty.”
The view of the lake seen from the bench in the back garden took my breath away, not even allowing me to express my admiration.
The night sky full of stars was reflected on the wide surface of the lake, and it felt as if the world had been turned upside down.
I can’t believe I can see something like this inside my home.
I thought rich people were rich.
“hehehe. Do you remember? You were losing your mind inside the cave over there.”
“I don’t remember. If I had been just a little bit late, I would have been ruined.”
“Hmm. Now that I think about it, I guess it’s a little late, right? I think that’s probably why your personality has become strange.”
“What do you say?”
What happened here came back to me again and again and unfolded as vividly as if it had just happened.
Even if I didn’t want to, I couldn’t help it.
Myne’s superhuman memory has put me under an unforgettable curse.
Thanks to that, I remembered the image of Erica in her underwear, soaked in water, with her insides completely visible.
Now that I think about it, she was the one who ran away after showing me the underwear a little while ago…
Her memory quickly rewound, and then the sunlight illuminated a wooden boat slowly moving through the water.
Soon, a small girl came into view, sitting somewhat in front of me, leaning against my chest as her back and humming her song.
I couldn’t help but smile.
“Are you thinking about another woman right now?”
“Yes. Thinking of your younger brother.”
“Ah…”
Erica’s grip strength has become slightly stronger.
Then, slowly, her head tilted and touched my shoulder.
Slowly, a pained moan escaped Erica’s mouth as she rubbed her cheek against my shoulder.
“It’s a bit like that now. Shall we talk about it later?”
“No. I like it now. Tell me now…”
“Huh… hahahaha… Where should I start?”
A heavy sigh came out.
I thought I should tell everyone at some point.
Who am I and where do I come from?
First of all, there were two people qualified to hear it.
This is Erica and Iris.
Iris met Schlus when she wasn’t me, and Erica lost her sister to me.
I decided to talk to the two people first and slowly reveal it to everyone.
And I chose Erica as the first person to tell this story.
If I didn’t tell Erica everything about her, if I didn’t reveal her whole story, I felt like I would never be able to face her face to face.
She didn’t think she could dare touch her insides.
So I decided to tell everything today.
I didn’t care if this decision would distort our relationship.
Because it was something I had to say someday.
“Erika. Yulia looks very similar to someone I used to know. No, rather than being very similar, she looks exactly the same. Except for being a little younger. But that’s not a coincidence. In fact, Yulia….”
In the end, everything was said.
Everything, nothing left out.
In the meantime, I couldn’t bear to look into Erica’s eyes.
I couldn’t confirm what kind of face Erica was making.
Sweat formed between her hands.
Occasionally Erica would squeeze my hand, and she would wiggle her fingers as if she was frustrated.
Nevertheless, I never let go of my hand until the end.
I just stood there quietly, breathing softly and listening in silence.
“······That’s why I decided to stay here. I made a promise to myself. You guys are there too. I thought I couldn’t just leave. This is the end of my story.”
“Okay, is that the end? That’s it? Is there nothing more? Is that right?”
“Yes. I’m sorry. It was so sudden.”
Erica’s hands were shaking.
It was definitely a story that was difficult to accept right away.
I could understand any reaction here.
No, I had to understand.
I had an obligation to do so.
‘Did I get the timing wrong?’
A bitter smile appeared.
Maybe it was too greedy to sleep at the Lichtenburg mansion today.
Maybe we should give Erica some time to think.
I felt like the night wind was slowly getting colder, so I was about to stand up and say let’s go inside.
“Schlus······.”
Erica’s hand pulled me tightly.
I had no choice but to sit down and face Erica.
Erika lowered her head and trembled as if she might collapse at any moment.
“This…Is I the only one who said this?”
“There was one more person.”
“Who is it?”
“Your brother.”
“Then, then… You’ve been left to rot all this time, alone, without anyone recognizing you…?”
“That’s right.”
“How can you do that? How. How can you bear this all by yourself…”
Suddenly. Pop.
Water drops fell on the bench.
As soon as I thought the tears were like raindrops, I heard a crackling sound coming from all over the place.
The rain slowly began to wet the bench, one spot at a time, and soon became thick enough to be visible.
“Erica. Since it’s raining-“
“Don’t go. Stay with me.”
I was caught by Erica again.
This time, instead of pulling weakly with her hands, she sat across from me on my thighs and pushed me back against the bench.
When we met again after 30 minutes, Erica’s eyes were stained with something that could not be rainwater or tears.
“Up until now… I’ve always felt. That Schlus could suddenly disappear at any time. That you could suddenly cease to be yourself. I don’t know why, but I keep having that thought. Until now, I just say it’s because of how I feel. I thought it wasn’t, I was scared, you bastard.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry about? I’m sorry I didn’t notice until now.”
“How do you know that? I don’t say anything.”
“Still… I should have known if you liked it…”
What kind of fortune teller are you?
Get to know the person who is talking nonsense to himself.
I ended up laughing.
Then, I patted the back of Erica, who was sobbing while burying her face in my arms.
I stroked that pretty back that was slowly getting wet from the rain.
“I will take you down.”
“Huh?”
“So that you don’t feel special… So that you don’t feel like a god, I will bring you down to the level of an ordinary human being. To me, you are a little handsome, considerate, cool, but a little kind. I’m just an ordinary person. So don’t think nonsense. If you think of me as a character in a novel you wrote, I’ll cry…”
“Are you going to cry?”
“Yes. It’s very sad. It breaks your heart. And it breaks my heart too.”
“No. Don’t worry. It will never happen. I will never think about that again…”
“Really…?”
“Okay then.”
“Foolish bastard. Stupid bastard. I love you. I love you, I love you…”
Erica was held in my arms and she cried for a while longer.
I’m not sure in what context I felt so sad, but I just took it all in as I brushed Erica’s wet hair.
Before she knew it, the rain had become so thick that it was pouring down so hard that her ears were stinging.
When Erica’s crying had calmed down, I held her hand and hurriedly ran inside her mansion.
I noticed this while standing in front of the fireplace and warming myself.
If she had used a barrier or fire magic, she wouldn’t have gotten so wet…
“Phew. Phuhuhuh······.”
“Why are you smiling?”
“You look like a completely wet mouse. hehehe.”
“You’re soaked in water… Um…”
I took a look at Erica’s whole body as she smiled innocently.
Her thin dressing gown was clinging to her body so that everything inside was visible.
I was so caught up in that sight that I couldn’t think of the right words.
“Ah.”
“······.”
Erica, who belatedly noticed what I was like, suddenly blushed and wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me.
I laughed as I thought that it might have been the best way to block my view.
Didn’t you see it? I stroked Erica’s cheek as she desperately looked up at me as if asking.
She looked into those eyes and tried to say something, but strangely, she just opened her mouth and no words came out.
It seemed like the same thing happened to Erica as she just stared into my eyes without saying a word and gave me a look that seemed to be pleading for something.
Did you say that Emilia taught Erica some information?
Neither Erica nor I were fools.
I felt like I knew what each other was thinking.