Lilian Karin opened her eyes. The ceiling, elaborately layered with wood, filled the view with the stinging smell of disinfectant alcohol.
‘Head… … .’
My head is still ringing. The shock caused by magic was nullified, but it seemed that the shock from the bounced back did not go away.
‘Then, why did I… … .’
It was at that time that I felt the presence along with a drowsy yawn.
“Are you awake now? Even if it was only 5 minutes late, I would have left.”
In an instant, the body entered a state of alert, and the magic power was activated as if boiling. Lillian’s eyes narrowed.
“What are you?”
In the dark, you can see her black hair that sways like silk. Through that gap, the red eyes that symbolize the clan radiate a faint light.
Ludwig, Lane Ludwig.
The person responsible for making Lillian’s condition a mess was standing up, stretching from the opposite hospital bed. It was like waking up.
“Looking at it, it looks fine. Still fierce and courageous, but what?”
“What are you going to do now?”
“I just came to see the condition at someone’s request, but it seems like it was a waste of time. don’t mind I go.”
Watching that irresponsibly innocent voice and languid gestures that made my fists tremble, a hot resentment welled up inside me.
“If you’re here to laugh, don’t notice and laugh at your heart’s content!”
That’s why the moment Lane put his hand on the door of the health room, that’s why the flagship exploded. Lane’s hand froze.
“Are you happy? isn’t it fun look at my form Ever since I heard that from you, I’ve been completely broken. Aren’t you here to see this?”
“?”
“I’ve been living with the determination to get revenge on that son of a b*tch… … Now that I don’t know what to do… … .”
From noble mtl dot com
When I poured out the remnants stored deep in my heart, perhaps because of that, tears that I hadn’t shed even once since I was five years old also flowed out.
Lane asked. Do you respect your father? Otherwise, why are you following the path your father has lived?
It was an irrefutable remark. So, the moment I heard those words, I felt like my brain went blank.
‘Even though I hated my father so much, was I actually becoming more like him?’
Then what kind of fruit can it bear at the end of the road? Wouldn’t it just be the second stage?
“I want… … .”
Looking at Lillian, who was wiping away tears that did not dry, Lane sighed in embarrassment.
‘I’m not good at things like this.’
Lista or Friede would have definitely approached me first and comforted and encouraged me, boosting my confidence, but the problem is that I’m not that kind of personality.
I do not know such consolation.
I can’t give you that kind of encouragement.
However, if there is anything I can give, it would be the experience gained from living one more life than these juniors.
“Human beings cannot choose the past, so it is natural that it cannot be helped. How I was born, what kind of family I will choose… … Everything is according to the so-called fate.”
“By the way—!”
“By the way, it’s not the future.”
future… … At that semblance of rhetoric, something unbearably heavy rose from within Lillian’s chest and squeezed her breath.
“Stop the comfortable sound! future? Draw the future you want? Do you, who were born into a harmonious family, know something like my situation?”
“… … .”
“I also wanted to live like that… … He said he wanted to live an ordinary and simple life, drawing on the future! Do you think I would have wanted to live like this?”
Unknowingly, the hand holding the heart trembles. I could clearly feel the echo of sadness that had accumulated over the past ten years.
“But the blood I was born with… … The fate of this cursed head will never let me go… … You can never escape until you tie the knot… … You may not know… … .”
Why? This was the first time he had complained about his fate to anyone. why did you say
Her life was a life in which she should not expect sympathy from anyone. Her life was like a sacrifice that had to be pre-determined for atonement and revenge for the rest of her life.
But, but why did he say this? What answer do you want, what situation do you want… … Then an unexpected voice was heard.
“I know. I was just like you.”
From an affluent family, the eldest son of one of the leading families in the empire raised his head to refute what he knew. I raised my gaze to protest.
By the way, it was.
The moment our eyes met in midair, I couldn’t say anything, as if I had been hit by something.
“Maybe it could have been more miserable.”
Why?
how the hell
Because in the eyes of the boy who smiles wryly as he looks at her, sadness that can’t be guessed at all is floating in his heart?
“What if it’s just a painful past? Then there are many parts that can be filled with a pleasant future, right?”
I doubted my eyes. Except for her mother, no one had ever looked at her like this.
It was a look that understood you. It was a voice that knew all about your pain. It was a warmth that only a human with a heart could show.
That’s why I didn’t want to accept it. Those eyes, that sound… … .
“When it is too difficult and painful, don’t just look ahead, look to the side or back. The advice for juniors ends here.”
I couldn’t ask the meaning of that smile or the meaning of the word junior. At that moment the door slammed open and a crowd of five or six people poured in.
“Lillian!”
“Sister Lillian!”
A robe embroidered in the shape of a dragon with red thread on a pure white background… … They were classmates of the Rivendell School. They were all young and young wizards.
“I was late because I had to get permission from the dean.”
“That tight-fisted guy didn’t even want to let me visit the health room… … !”
The students of Rivendell looked at Lane with a curious look, but soon they showed their respect with a light bow and then looked back at Lillian.
“Why do you guys… … ?”
Lillian asked, dumbfounded. She always kept a cold expression, but maybe because of the conversation with Rain, she couldn’t suppress her emotions.
“Because, it’s only natural that you came here because you were worried, you disgusting son of a b*tch.”
“Did you deliberately reap your wish so as not to embarrass the Warden family? I know everything! Even if unnie used all her strength, a golem like that would be just one shot!”
Since childhood, Lillian has lived without relationships by minimizing interactions with others.
But it wasn’t just ignoring it, it was simply answering questions about magic from classmates of the same age.
That’s why she didn’t pretend to be with anyone, but she also thought that she wasn’t close to anyone… … Just like Rin did in the distant past.
“No, I don’t understand. I don’t know why you came to see me, and why you’re making such a fuss.”
Then, the pupils blinked their eyes and exchanged glances, but the cheerful little boy shouted as if he was more dumbfounded.
“Your sister is our idol, right? So why is this reaction natural?”
“why me.”
“Cool, cool, competent! It’s the pride of our school! When dealing with guys from other schools, just mentioning my sister’s name makes them shudder.”
Then, the young man, who seemed to be the eldest, hit the boy on the head as if he couldn’t stop it, and the students burst into laughter.
“You should use your abilities when you show off your strength, why are you selling Lillian, man?”
And the young man turned to Lillian with a wry smile. And the squeak said
“I can’t speak out because I’m worried about the dean and the elders, but there are a lot of people who follow you in the school, Lillian.”
“?”
“Most of you know how you grew up… … It might have been sympathy at first, but now it’s mostly respect.”
Is this a deception? Is this a trap that bastard made to test me?
No, to say that… … .
Now these guys aren’t that good at acting, and from every expression they show… … .
“So don’t be too impatient. Most of the Order is waiting for you to return.”
Lane, who sneaked away and listened to the conversation while leaning outside the door, felt a chill that shook her brain at that moment.
– We will all be waiting for the day you come back, Rin… … .
It was because the voice of the ambassador who made the mage tower a sea of tears on the day of the journey came to mind. With a stabbing pain in the lungs.
‘Look, you’re just like me… … .’
If I had known the guys from the School would come like that in the first place, I wouldn’t have made such an embarrassing speech, but I did something useless because of Logan.
“that’s right! As long as you don’t get impatient, it’s nothing to get a senior position for your sister!”
You didn’t have to tell me directly.
Don’t just look ahead, take a good look around you… … He’s a competent guy, so I’m sure he understands right away. It’s hard if you realize it too late like me.
As if hiding a grievous smile, Lane moved quietly into the darkness of the hallway.
Socrafres.
– You can inherit the ‘unique magic’ research progress in the surrounding environment.
– Progress 48.1% -＞ 49.2%.
In these footsteps, one step closer to the truth without knowing it.
* * *
“… … What about your mother?”
Lillian, who was in the middle of the students’ fuss, raised her voice cautiously. The elder youth answered.
“You are getting better. Without you, the dean didn’t particularly bother. Should I say I’m not interested?”
To Dadan, the girl’s mother was just a tool for childbirth and education. That’s why I always treated it like a tool, not a person.
“okay? thank god… … .”
I let out a sigh of relief, but I couldn’t help but feel relieved. Having taken the chief seat twice, I don’t know what else the lunatic is up to.
“Oh, and there’s something my wife told me to tell you without the dean’s knowledge.”
“mother?”
“Don’t worry about you, he said he hoped you would make lots of good friends and have a happy school life.”
In a trembling doubt, I chewed on the mother’s message from the young man.
‘friend? happiness? in my life?’
As they were perplexed by the list of words they hadn’t even dreamed of, the young man smiled and patted Lillian lightly on the shoulder.
“We don’t know what to hear if it’s too late, so we’ll go. See you tomorrow, Lillian.”
After everyone left the infirmary, Lillian sat alone for a long time.
Outside the window, the four moons shot out dazzling beams of light as if singing together, dyeing the world silver.
How long had it been, a handful of empty laughter formed on the girl’s lips for the first time in ten years.
‘It’s ridiculous… … .’
If someone else had told me the same thing, I would have ignored it. I wouldn’t even listen to it, let alone ignore it.
‘But why… … .’
Lane’s story was a story that lacked rationality because it did not fit the framework of logic.
nonetheless, nonetheless.
The story Lane told me was like plucking a string hidden deep in my heart, with an inexplicable persuasive power.
– Don’t just look ahead, look to the side or back.
– There are a lot of people following you.
– What if it was only a painful past? You just have to fill it up with a fun future.
Somewhere in the depths of my soul, a handful of lumps seemed to melt away. It seemed that the fog that had engulfed my brain had lifted and my son-in-law became clear.
‘I thought I had to subdue everyone by force… … Was there another way?’