89 – 38. Memories of Childhood (2)
Father always used to say things like that.
“There’s no such thing as success without a price. Remember those words.”
In the pursuit of elevating one’s reputation, sacrifices are inevitable.
Just as effort is required to enhance one’s skills, and risks must be taken to capture monsters, it was the same for gaining prowess. In reality, even her father paid a price.
“He hunted the Red Dragon and earned the title of Dragon Slayer, but… Father left you with scars that cannot be washed away. Every time I saw you groaning in pain, it felt like my heart was tearing apart.”
Success had come, yet he cried out for failure to return. Whether one became a Dragon Slayer or rose to become a Mana Master, what did it matter?
Even if you gained overflowing fame, you were still a flawed human as a father.
With confidence that he would exchange all the accumulated fame and his daughter’s health without a second thought, if it meant undoing the curse left by the Red Dragon’s lingering resentment.
“It hurt a lot. My body felt like it was burning at night, and even a slight increase in temperature made outdoor activities impossible.”
Special devices, crafted in the magic tower to lower the room temperature, filled the room instead of beloved dolls. While other kids played with friends, she had to engage in conversations with wizards dispatched to break the curse.
Naturally, there were no childhood memories.
“Yet, as the curse showed no signs of improvement, Father eventually considered the last resort.”
From Noble mtl dot com
Lowering the room temperature had its limits, and the curse showed no sign of lifting. Eventually, Bastelon Wigron, Celia’s father, had to make a decision.
“Sending you to where Father’s friend resides… It was the Volkanov Territory.”
He thought that the harsh climate in the ruthless northern region might somewhat suppress her curse. Moreover, expanding social connections with peers of her late age group could be beneficial.
Parting with her ailing daughter was a sad affair. However, leaving the daughter, who cried out in agony, unattended was even more unbearable. Despite the worries, Celia headed north. Fortunately, the place wasn’t as bad as the rumors suggested.
The memories in Volkanov were good. The northern climate sometimes lifted the curse. And there was Ian.
For the first time, she felt the emotion called happiness.
The fear of the impending scorching heat, uncertain when it would strike, dulled. Above all, meeting a friend who empathized with the pain was comforting.
Ian, the eldest son of Volkanov, and Celia had the commonality of being outsiders, the only relationship where they could understand each other’s pain.
“We stuck together. Sometimes lying in the hyacinth flower field. Sometimes wandering through the forest together.”
Even amid unfortunate events, those were precious memories for Celia.
Memories that couldn’t be changed, even if offered a fortune.
Ian’s presence meant a lot to Celia, and despite her young age, she even thought about a future with him.
“With Ian… I thought I could endure the pain as if burning my body.”
It was the moment a new emotion was born in the emptiness she had felt.
From that day on, Celia tried to get closer to Ian. They spent time practicing swordplay and spear techniques together.
She hoped this time would never end, praying to God for the happiness she felt. How much time had passed since then?
New changes were starting to emerge for her.
“And a few days after that… when I was looking for Ian in the mansion, I met Ariel.”
Knocking on the door yielded no response, so wandering through the mansion… Celia recalled that time and smiled wistfully.
In fact, until then, she didn’t know that Ian had a younger sibling.
There had been rumors, but she had lived only looking at Ian and paid no attention to others.
It seemed more fitting to say she had no leisure.
The sudden onset of scorching heat shook her head, and there was no room to accept someone else.
Even if she had met Ariel, she wouldn’t have shown much interest.
Flowing by, she had tried to pass unnoticed, like any other person.
“But Ariel was different. She was lively and tried to be friends with me,” Selia said, smiling, holding Ariel’s arm as she passed by.
“Could you be Selia, the one from Vignoran? Wow! I’m Ariel! Ariel Volkanov!”
She grinned and, out of the blue, offered to show her around the mansion, dragging her here and there.
Selia hesitated to decline, intending to find Ian cautiously. However, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
“To know where Ian is, I need to know the mansion’s layout… I haven’t been here with Ian, so I don’t know.”
Wherever she went, it was either Ian’s room or the dining hall. She didn’t even know the mansion’s structure as she was led by the maids to the bath.
With Ariel’s help, she thought she could learn the mansion’s layout and find Ian.
But that wasn’t the only reason.
“For some reason… when Ariel held my hand, the curse on my body seemed to disappear.”
The curse inherited as a consequence of killing the Red Dragon – the ‘Resentment of Fire.’
It wasn’t just being engulfed in a burning sensation. The burning sensation happened sporadically, like seizures. It even tormented her with scorching heat in the middle of the desert-like high fever.
The persistent heat that always plagued her, the curse that even experts couldn’t find a solution to, the curse that made them shake their heads in despair – all of it vanished when Ariel held her hand.
Wouldn’t that be something Selia couldn’t easily accept?
“It’s strange, yet… it felt so new.”
Life without the curse felt like this. Something that had been pressing down on her all day vanished, and the world looked incredibly beautiful.
To the point where she thought taking a breath in admiration was such a happy thing.
But there is no success without a price.
Selia had to remember the words her father had repeated tirelessly.
After that day… Arielle was thought to be the one who lifted the curse, and Ian began to spend even more time with her than before, excluding the time for sleep or bathing.
This time, he spent time with Ariel, unlike before when he stuck with Ian except for the time to sleep or bathe.
He didn’t move his feet anymore from the place filled with memories with Ian, and he started building memories with Arielle.
In a room full of cute decorations and dolls, laughter blossomed, and eventually, he stopped looking for Ian.
And then, how much time had passed? After confirming that the curse had improved, he returned to Wignoran.
“Ian’s memories were happy, but… Ariel was a benefactor to me. She was the one who lifted the curse.”
Before he knew it, Ian’s presence had faded from her heart, and Arielle began to take his place.
Even after returning to Wignoran, he always sent letters to Ariel. Whenever he had free time, he went to see Bolkanof while bothering his father.
“And… when Arielle awakened as a warrior… I decided to defeat the demon together later.”
Yes. That had to happen.
Arielle was a benefactor to him, and she had to be his companion, the one he promised to walk the future with.
If they defeated the demon and a happy future came… they promised to brighten that place together.
Since Arielle lifted the curse. It was only right to repay her in kind.
However, the memories Celia was witnessing… began to ruthlessly shatter that illusion.
“To take away the curse… What does that even mean, Ian…”
Ian spoke, looking blankly into the air. Watching him speak like that, Celia checked the calendar in the room.
The current date was the 14th of April in the Imperial year 220. This day was unforgettable for Celia.
“The day I first met Arielle? No… it can’t be true… it’s a lie.”
It was the day when the resentment that had tormented her lifelong, as if washed away, disappeared.
There is no success without a price, wasn’t that what they said?
Celia keenly felt the meaning of those words.
“Ah…aaah!”
The curse was lifted, but it was the moment Ian was lost as the price for it.
***
Even as Celia screamed, memories continued to flow.
After speaking, Ian, who had waited for a moment, let out a bitter laugh and once again gazed into the empty air.
“Don’t stare at me like that. I’m fine. And at least she shared my loneliness and pain… It wouldn’t be right not to pay the corresponding price, right?”
“No… Ian, don’t… please….”
Looking at his face, smiling as if everything was fine, felt like tearing her heart apart.
It was a misunderstanding.
It was Ian who had lifted the curse. The fact that she had thought it was Ariel’s merit without knowing that was terrifying.
That’s why Celia covered her eyes and ears and screamed, but sadly, the Ian from the past couldn’t hear her voice.
“Transfer the curse tormenting her… to me.”
“No! I won’t allow it! Ian!”
While Celia cried out, trying to reach Ian and extending her hand.
Slish!
“Aah…”
Involving herself in the past was an impossible task for her.
“Kkuhhuk! Kkuueeuuugh!”
“No… no!”
Her outstretched hand passed through Ian’s body. The memories began to flow just as they were.
Ian, cursed, clutched his chest, swallowing a scream. Soon, he bit down on it, cold sweat streaming down.
That was the end of the memories.
The field of vision began to narrow again. Gradually, in the dim space, Celia lay motionless.
“Ian… I’m sorry… I didn’t even know. I’m sorry….”
She shed tears endlessly. It felt like there had been days in her life when she cried more than this.
The misunderstanding had grown so large that she couldn’t even use her hands. It was terrifying.
She wanted to believe it wasn’t too late even now. But every time, memories of Ian with someone else came to mind.
Starting with holding Eri’s hand in Hailey Millers’s class.
“I-Ian?”
The moment when Ria Hurst was in crisis. Running to choke Dias’s throat.
“Platoon leader?”
‘Ah….’
Finally, the moment Ian embraced Eri from behind.
Their meaning was simple.
‘Am I nothing to Ian anymore?’
Just as Celia replaced Ian with Ariel, in his current state, there was no place for her.
‘Then, am I…’
The shattered relationship had become irreparable.
It was a time when the reality of that fact struck her with heartbreaking sadness.
– It’s okay…. I’m fine, so don’t look at me like that, Ian….
It was the voice of a sorrowful woman that started to flow.
“What’s wrong?”
Why is this voice suddenly coming through? What is she saying is okay?
I didn’t understand. Jumadeng wasn’t kind enough to tell Celia everything.
Of course, whether she was flustered or not, the voice continued to flow without stopping.
– Listen…. If I really…. manage to get it back.
The sorrowful voice gradually turned into a voice mixed with tears.
– Will you… accept me as your…? That’s all I need….
With that, Jumadeng completely ended the conversation.
When Celia closed her eyes and opened them again, she couldn’t see the pitch-dark space.
“Ah…. I’m here.”
The moment she realized it was her own room, tears streamed down her cheeks.
***
“Sob…. Sniff…”
Having returned after seeing Jumadeng, she poured out tears for a long time.
She could cry because she had fortunately survived a near-death crisis, but Celia didn’t care about that.
To be honest…. She even thought it would have been better if she had died.
“After doing that, how can I have any shame….”
Not only did she pass on the curse, but she also practically abandoned the sacrificed Ian.
If there’s at least a conscience, the thought of wanting to live didn’t cross their minds.
Celia felt the same way.
“What should I do now…?”
Sorry. She wanted to approach and apologize immediately.
Of course, for the mistakes committed in her childhood. Even after growing up, she wanted forgiveness for the terrible things she had done without coming to her senses.
The biggest mistake among them would be abandoning him during difficult times.
But it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Apologizing is one thing… but do I even have the right to go to him?”
In her heart, she wanted to go find him and kneel down right away. But she wondered if she had the qualification to meet Ian.
It had been a long time since she abandoned her pride. Ironically, Ian, who should receive the apology, would probably feel uncomfortable with her.
Even if she went to see him without a valid reason, it would only make things more difficult for him.
“If there’s no valid reason… even if I go see him, there’s nothing I can do…”
What could be done? What method could be used to face Ian without causing him more distress?
It was in that moment of contemplation.
Knock. Knock.
“Miss? Have you woken up?”
“Uh… Ellen?”
The worrisome voice came from outside the door. As Celia responded, the door opened, and a familiar woman named Ellen, who seemed to be around the same age, entered, bustling with concern, and enveloped her in a familiar manner.
“Oh, you’re awake! Is there any discomfort? I was so worried….”
“I’m fine….”
“Do you know how surprised I was to hear the news? They said you were engulfed in the imps’ self-destruction. Covered in blood, they said.”
Elin, a maid of the Vigneron family, had spent her childhood with Celia, being of a similar age.
If not by Ariel’s side, she spent most of her time with Elin, almost to the point of exaggeration.
Indeed, she had more conversations with Elin than with her own older siblings.
Because they were that close…. Naturally, the worry had to be intense.
“The master was also very concerned… Until a few hours ago, he was by your side, sighing and then left when you didn’t wake up.”
“I’m sorry… for making you worry.”
“Still, I’m relieved that you woke up. I was worried that I had prepared everything in vain. You weren’t waking up, and I was afraid we would have to pass the time like that.”
“Huh? What time are you talking about?”
When Celia seemed puzzled by Elin’s words, she too spoke with a sheepish smile.
“What are you talking about? You were so restless before this mission. You couldn’t wait to prepare Ian Volkano’s birthday present before going. You even said you had prepared everything. But even on his birthday, you didn’t wake up….”
“Birthday…. Ah!”
Upon Elin’s words, Celia abruptly sat up.
‘Right. Ian had a birthday.’
She hadn’t expected the dispatch mission to last this long, but if this matter ended, she planned to apologize and give the prepared gift. The moment she recalled that fact.
‘Since it’s his birthday…. Then….’
It was an intuition that this would be the only chance to meet Ian after their relationship had fallen apart.
Certainly, Celia couldn’t miss this opportunity.
“Elin! Where is the gift right now?”
“Huh? It’s in my room… Shall I bring it to you?”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll take it myself! I’m going to Volcanov Territory right now. Prepare the carriage for me.”
“Oh. Miss?”
It was Elin, looking at her with a worried expression as she hurriedly got up.
Celia, seemingly indifferent, put on her clothes and left the room.
it’s amazing Ian act like a saint but not died on childhood
correct me of im wrong since its been a while, but didnt that “Ian” a regressor? That probably helps him
He only regressed when the previous Ian’s mind broke. Despite all his efforts and pain the Hero’s Party would not continue unless Ian was in charge. The fact that Princess Brat’s despicable behavior meant they could not trust her to help in the battle properly without being a glory hog.