Ch.181The Path (1)

The execution order for Venati was carried out overnight.

A pillar that had stood alongside the continent and its history finally collapsed under the dawn.

If I were to borrow a cliché, perhaps nothing is truly unchangeable.

I found myself thinking this in the particularly gloomy snowfield.

My mouth tasted bitter for no reason.

‘It’s cold.’

Our side took charge of handling the aftermath of Venati.

Normally, since it was related to a coup, it would have been right to hand it over to the imperial family…

But that would have left a stale aftertaste.

With some difficulty, I obtained permission from the Emperor.

He granted it more readily than I had worried about.

‘Should I… call that fortunate?’

In a season where only the chilly wind remained.

Amelia’s eyes looked complicated as she surveyed the empty mansion.

Perhaps she was coming to terms with the fact that her family’s time had come to an end.

Her blank, frozen expression simply wandered from place to place.

I couldn’t even offer any words of comfort.

‘…It must have been precious to her.’

I knew.

How proud Amelia was of her bloodline.

And how much she admired the stories of her noble ancestors.

For the villainess, “Venati” was more than just a surname—it was a milestone representing her life.

The sense of loss must be painful.

‘Because she’s a sensitive person.’

No matter how much she pretends to be strong.

No matter how mature she acts, the sunken wounds remain unchanged.

The girl was simply enduring phantom pain from what had been cut away.

Unable to show any weakness.

-I’m fine.

-Since I wanted to carry on the Venati name, I should become someone worthy of it.

-It’s just that right now… I’m tired from everything that’s happened.

-So I’d prefer if you didn’t worry about me.

Her voice was clearly trembling.

I couldn’t help feeling sorry for her.

But I had no intention of disrupting her stumbling steps forward.

No matter how precarious the path might seem.

After all.

-This is my pride.

-I will be different from you.

Since this was the path she had chosen.

If she wanted to walk it, I would simply remain by her side.

Pushing aside various idle thoughts, I run my fingers along the bookshelf.

The smell of old books settles on the bridge of my nose.

Thunk-

“Ah.”

A sensation catches at my fingertips.

I carefully peer beyond it.

Perhaps my efforts of searching through the workshop were worthwhile.

After examining each bookshelf one by one, I finally discovered something.

Hidden behind the bookshelf was a device locked with mana.

I murmur.

“Found it.”

Bingo.

I channel mana into my index finger to unlock the device.

The barrier dissolves smoothly with a brief touch.

Then, a small hole appears behind the bookshelf.

No… rather than a hole, it was more like a drawer.

I carefully grasp its handle.

‘As expected, it’s here.’

It matched the original work.

In the game too, after the Deron conquest, you could find this gimmick by examining the workshop.

You could obtain a special item from this “secret drawer.”

An easter egg, you might say.

“Hmm.”

Rustle-

It wasn’t particularly powerful or valuable.

From a player’s perspective, it was just a scrap of paper.

But at this moment, it was more important than any other item.

It would also be necessary for someone suffering from a sense of loss.

I slowly open the drawer.

Creak-

A paper envelope is revealed inside the drawer.

It had maintained quite a neat appearance.

I carefully pick it up, worried about leaving fingerprints.

Then I check the contents to confirm it’s what I was looking for.

“…Fortunately.”

A brief sigh of relief.

My memory about this part was hazy.

Thankfully, the item I needed was safely preserved.

I carefully pocket the letter.

There was someone I needed to give it to.

[Driven Venati’s Will]

The previous duke’s will.

Or letter.

I put it in my pocket and moved on.

Toward the girl who would be suffering from a sense of loss.

***

Amelia Venati.

The girl had been suffering from depression ever since that day.

Perhaps it was because of the ancestors’ footsteps she had carelessly shattered.

The vain girl couldn’t shake off her unsettled feelings.

One commitment echoed in her ears.

-I will gladly bear that name.

-Because this is my pride.

The path.

The one she had chosen to take.

The girl felt nauseated.

Had she really made the right choice?

The absence of a home… a place to stay was enough to pressure her.

No matter how mature she tried to act, she was still too young to have even had her coming-of-age ceremony.

Amelia was being eaten away by a gloomy sense of loss.

As she was sinking into those thoughts.

“…You have something to give me?”

The boy sought out the girl.

The snake approached with his usual meaningless smile.

After hovering nearby, he soon held out something.

It was a neatly folded letter.

“A letter…?”

“I happened to find it.”

“What sudden wind blew for you to bring something like this…”

Amelia examined the envelope from various angles.

Before long, her blue eyes stopped at a certain point.

It was because of a short sentence written in the recipient field.

For a moment, her breath stopped.

[To my beloved children.]

The sender wasn’t written.

However, the girl immediately recognized who it was from.

Unlike the high-quality paper, the handwriting looked like ants crawling across the page.

Ink pressed down firmly with effort, not at all noble-like.

Amelia unconsciously murmured the letter’s owner.

“…Father?”

Driven Venati.

The previous duke and the father of the twins.

The familiar crooked handwriting proved it.

After injuring his arm on the battlefield, his writing had always looked like poor penmanship.

The vain girl touched the letter without even remembering to react.

Then she turned her eyes toward the boy who had handed it to her.

“You seem surprised.”

The snake was smiling.

However, unlike usual, it didn’t feel like he was enjoying himself.

It was just a smile containing a bit of bitterness and sadness.

For some reason, the villainess felt her eyes burning.

“I found it while organizing the workshop… specifically the bookshelf. I took a brief look, but thought it would be more appropriate for you to read it.”

The boy explained quietly.

Before he even finished speaking, Amelia had already unfolded the letter.

Familiar poor handwriting greeted the girl beyond it.

The smell of paper subtly coloring the tip of her nose.

An image formed in her aqua pupils.

《To Amelia and Rusca.》

That was the first sentence.

Her hand trembled naturally.

The girl takes a deep breath and slowly reads the letter.

《I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve written a letter like this.》

《As you know, I have terrible handwriting.》

《But… I have something I must tell you, so I’ve picked up the pen.》

《Because I don’t have much time left.》

Amelia couldn’t take her eyes off the letter.

The tone suggested he knew about his approaching death.

A strange confusion swirled before her eyes.

《This letter will probably become my will.》

《But I’m grateful.》

《To have received a good opportunity to say goodbye to you.》

《I should thank Gaston Gallimar. That nasty gentleman.》

《Without him, I couldn’t have chosen this end.》

《He’s a good old man, all things considered.》

Words she couldn’t understand kept coming.

Her mind was in chaos.

But even such content was moving to the girl.

The father she had longed for and admired so much.

The letter he left for her, his unique poor handwriting, casual tone, and clumsily smeared ink.

The strong scent of the past made Amelia’s eyes sting.

She swallowed hard against the tightness in her throat.

《I’ve rambled too long.》

《I’m not good with words. I can’t think of anything impressive to say.》

《I just… wanted to say that I’m worried about you being left alone.》

《Surely from now on, you’ll face a series of trials.》

《I had hoped you would never suffer in your lives.》

Swish-

Light begins to leak from the letter.

Then, the surroundings become misty like fog.

After rubbing her eyes briefly, two familiar faces stood in her vision.

None other than the previous duke and duchess. They were faces the girl had missed.

The illusion shimmered before her eyes as if it were real.

The voice reached Amelia’s ears clearly.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.”

“Father…?”

“I wanted to watch over you as you grew from small children into adults, to be by your side through all those days… I’m only sorry that I left my place too early. I pray that you will become righteous adults.”

“……”

The scene was infinitely vivid.

As if her deceased parents had returned.

Her chest tightened at the affectionate resonance.

“Don’t doubt the path you want to take.”

If you believe a path is right, don’t hesitate in your steps.

As this father did, and as our ancestors did, don’t lose your innate pride.

Conversely, if you think a path is not right, pause for a moment.

Look around, reorient yourself, and then find a new path.

You are the proud children of the snow, so the blessing of snow will accompany your every step.

I won’t tell you not to cry.

No, rather, cry your heart out.

Collapse, despair, cry and blame the world.

But when morning comes, get up and shake it off as if nothing happened.

Ignite your life with pride as if you never lost it.

That is the path we guardians have walked.

“Please, don’t lose your pride.”

Whoosh-

The letters glow brilliantly.

Then, the letter becomes a snowflake and rises.

Leaving Amelia’s hand, the message flutters in the air.

Her blue-soaked eyes simply looked up.

“It’s already the end.”

“……”

“I’m sorry it seems like I just nagged on and on. But… know that this much is your father’s true heart.”

The snowflake also looked down at the girl.

A glance passing in an instant.

Amelia’s eyes were full of heavy dew.

The emotions she had tried not to shed were pushed to the limit and welling up.

Finally.

《I love you. More than anything in the world.》

When she read that sentence.

Or when she heard the fading voice.

The vain girl could no longer hold back her tears.

Hot lines streaked down her pale cheeks.

Her heart churned.

“Ah…”

She had been afraid.

After her parents died, everything was a mess.

She was betrayed by people she trusted.

She and her sister had to live just to survive.

Nevertheless, she fought fiercely, and nearly went astray several times.

In the end, she killed her uncle and destroyed the long legacy of her ancestors with her own hands.

She cut off a part of what made up her identity.

But.

‘I shouldn’t cry.’

She tried not to cry.

She tried not to waver.

Because she was an adult now.

Because she was the last bloodline to lead Venati.

Realizing the responsibility placed on her, she had decided to build walls around her heart.

Overflowing emotions spilled out.

“…Ugh.”

She broke down at this scene.

A dazzlingly spreading beauty.

Amelia carefully cups the fluttering snowflake in her hands.

By now, the afterimage of her parents had scattered in the wind.

Only then did she realize.

‘Illusion magic.’

It was an illusion.

Someone had shown her an illusion matching the letter’s content.

So that the farewell could be well conveyed beyond the thin letters.

Amelia savors the deep scent of the snowfield.

If someone could do this…

“My lady.”

Of course.

It could only be you.

Amelia looks up at the golden snake while wiping her eyes.

The white reflected beyond his narrowed eyes was, as always, a warm gaze.

A voice that gently melted her frozen heart.

The girl couldn’t hold back her childish impulse.

Her staggering body falls.

Wham-!

“Oops.”

Arms that gently catch her.

Amelia tightly embraced the boy’s body.

“Such an affectionate display makes even me embarrassed…”

A frivolous joke thrown her way.

Normally she would have shuddered, but right now even this mischievousness was welcome.

A faint heartbeat colors her heart as if it were heating up.

The girl buried her face as if melting into that warmth.

His unique cool scent brushes past.

“Don’t cry.”

“Ugh, hic…”

“Everything will be fine now.”

Amelia tries hard to swallow her tears.

A hint of sobbing flows out.

A brief monologue.

‘Why do you…’

Always teasing me.

Embarrassing me.

Tormenting me.

Yet sometimes holding me like this.

Comforting me warmly.

Believing in me as if it’s natural.

So I don’t waver, so I walk the right path.

You who stay by my side, why do you…

-You can do it.

-Because you’re my lady.

Giving me a new life.

Saving me and Rusca who were bound by our family.

When I’m about to collapse, smiling as if you’d collapse with me.

Genuinely rejoicing when I reach the right destination.

Being such a kind person, how could I not have feelings?

Amelia feels her tear-soaked heartbeat.

She tightens her arms around him even more.

“You…”

If.

If I were to name this feeling.

“…Thank you. For everything.”

It would surely be love.

Her lips part.

Her voice, half-soaked in tears, scatters in the swaying snowfield wind.

Amelia conveys it while trying to steady her breathing.

Affectionate gratitude toward the savior of her life.

It was the first love of an awkward girl.

“Don’t mention it.”

The snake smiles softly.

He whispers one calm promise in her ear.

While embracing the warmth in his arms.

“I will always be on your side.”

They stood like that.