Ch.3311. To Me, You Were Like the Sun (3)

Ermina opened her eyes on a green meadow.

An endless prairie that seemed to touch the pure white sky.

A cool breeze settled gently.

Like a hand stroking a wolf’s mane, it swept across the meadow in all directions.

There.

She witnessed a being of light slowly walking toward her, holding a child in its hands.

‘This is…’

Déjà vu.

A scene she had seen before…

It was a dream.

As she became aware it was a dream, she realized when this scene had occurred.

‘Kariel?’

A prophetic dream.

The figure of light walking slowly extended the hand holding the child toward her.

“……”

Back then, she had received it without thinking.

The child’s appearance wasn’t visible.

At that time, she only vaguely remembered that it was just a child.

But now it was different.

That child was clearly Kariel as a young boy.

The child in white clothes was smiling brightly.

Looking up at her.

The wind blew.

A fierce gale so strong that she could barely see ahead, forcing her eyelids to close.

The white sky darkened.

Even the once-vibrant green meadow.

Everything turned ashen gray.

Beyond a chill, an ominous feeling, in the midst of anxiety that froze her spine.

Ermina, who had just opened her eyes, instinctively searched for the child she had been holding.

He wasn’t there.

Not in her hands, not around her.

“Mother.”

“?!”

Far away.

The white clothes were somehow stained with blood.

Red traces spreading from the nape to the chest over the white garment.

No, it was actively spreading and staining—

Traces of blood flowing down from above.

As she raised her gaze.

She swallowed her breath.

From the empty eye sockets.

Red liquid was streaming down.

Her heartbeat gradually quickened.

Her heart seemed to have stopped, yet what she felt was the opposite.

Blood rushed to her head, and perhaps because she couldn’t grasp the situation,

Her mind turned blank, yet somehow she felt dazed and dizzy.

What is this? What’s happening?

Why… why is that child…

“Why… did you…”

Abandon me?

Abandon me?

“…?!”

Abandon? That’s impossible!

Why! Why would I abandon you!

I love you so, so much…!

“But I…”

What was once a meadow.

Was now stained crimson red.

The red prairie eventually turned even redder.

Even the sky was stained.

The whole world spread with bright red.

Yet amidst it all.

Ermina remained strangely normal.

As if isolated from this world.

The child, soaked and stained with blood.

Eventually.

Coughing up blood from his mouth.

He put his hands together in prayer.

“Oh God.”

Then.

Kneeling down.

Blood gushed out onto the red earth, as if to fill the entire world.

It flowed down.

“You were wrong.”

*Gasp!*

Ermina, who had just opened her eyes.

Breathed heavily again due to the heavy fatigue and weakness that settled over her.

Though powerlessness weighed down her entire body.

She unconsciously waved her hand and muttered.

“Ka, Kariel?”

“Lady Ermina? What’s wrong?”

A female priestess in white robes asked, holding her hand with both of hers.

“Ka, Kariel… where is he?”

“You mean your son? Lord Lueld went to your residence to get him, so they should be coming together soon.”

“Together…?”

She seemed to have seen Lueld briefly earlier.

There was some commotion, but she was too disoriented to understand.

All she vaguely remembered was a child wrapped in swaddling clothes…

‘Child.’

Why…

Did you abandon me?

Her chest tightened.

In her confused state, she couldn’t understand the reason.

Nevertheless, she knew one thing.

No one told her, no one whispered it in her ear.

Ermina.

She instinctively knew she wouldn’t be reunited with Kariel right away.

She closed her eyes tightly with that certainty.

Though her heart ached and felt like it was being torn apart.

Though inexplicable longing emotions burst forth like a flood.

For now, she…

…could do nothing.

====

“Take it.”

Elhermina removed her robe.

“In exchange, give me that.”

“Will this be enough?”

“It’s sufficient.”

Awkward, perhaps.

Kariel wore her robe with a bewildered expression.

As if by magic, the robe’s color turned black.

“Was it a magical item?”

“It will help with concealment. It also has convenient functions, so it will be useful for a long time.”

“……”

She put on her black robe again over her black attire.

“This too.”

Moving a few steps, she handed him a gray horse tied to one side.

“Were you planning to give this to me from the start?”

“No.”

She shook her head.

“This is Seras’s insight.”

“Seras?”

“I bet that I would bring you back.”

He didn’t ask who won the bet.

“Take this as well.”

“……”

The Arming Sword.

“Your sword is ruined, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is.”

The blade was damaged and even bent.

A common iron sword versus a renowned sword used by an imperial princess…

The performance difference was undeniable.

“Are you not accustomed to wielding with one hand?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

I handle the sword, but I’m not governed by it.

The sword is merely a tool.

“…I’m still uneasy. Whether it’s right to let you go like this.”

She sighed.

“I feel that my attempt to frustrate you only gave you an excuse. It pains me. Such a bitter mistake.”

“…I was lucky.”

Honestly, Kariel still couldn’t believe what he had done.

At this point, he had no choice but to ask the Demon King himself.

“I’ll explain to the others.”

“It’s fine.”

I’ve left a letter.

If I were to write it now, the content would be different.

“Just make up whatever excuse you want.”

“I’ll handle it to my liking.”

So.

“Truly, do I need not intervene at all?”

“That’s right.”

If I seek revenge, it’s entirely my responsibility.

The threads and chains that bind me.

Untangling them, breaking them.

Now it’s completely up to me.

“You openly express your grudge against the Empire, yet you don’t reproach me?”

“I consider it self-inflicted.”

The malice in the name of the public.

The injustice in the name of public opinion.

The hostility in the name of the crowd.

All of them.

Were especially cruel and cold to him.

“I believe you will maintain proper boundaries, and I trust that you will appropriately moderate even that.”

“……”

You leave me speechless.

“If you return for the Grand Mage Tournament, it would be within 60 days at the earliest, or 80 days at the latest.”

“If plans don’t go awry.”

To retrieve Grandeus’s magic armor.

And to correct his unbalanced body in the process.

…It would be a very tight schedule.

“Remember. You won’t be as lucky as this time. Keep that firmly in mind.”

“Both of us know that well, don’t we?”

We live in the same world.

One step from death.

Two steps from life.

Essentially standing at the crossroads of life and death.

Once you take a step, going back to the past is impossible.

This is a wound, a scar.

Not the kind etched on the flesh.

But on the heart, the mind.

…Traces engraved on the soul.

That’s why we can determine the direction of our souls by our will.

That’s why we must always face the storms head-on.

We know this well.

“If by chance.”

At that point.

Kariel, who was about to mount his horse, stopped and turned his head at her words.

“If you find someone more charming than me out there, bring them back. As many as you like, I permit it. If it helps you. If it comforts you.”

And finally.

“Just return to me. Even if your body isn’t whole, just promise me that.”

“…It’s not like I’m going to war. Besides… do you know how strange you are?”

She doesn’t seem to lack possessiveness, so why…

“I don’t want you to feel burdened because of me.”

I want to give you freedom.

“I don’t wish to constrain you for my satisfaction. Though my heart prefers that, if it cannot bring you happiness, I’m willing to set it aside.”

Therefore.

“Keep in mind what I said earlier.”

“…What did you say?”

“About Seras.”

“……”

“She doesn’t let small gains blind her when she seizes an opportunity. Nor does she have reason to neglect promises made in advance.”

Then, Elhermina glanced at the black horse she would ride.

“Go. There will be reactions soon as the commotion has started.”

“…Isn’t that too slow for such a situation?”

“Foolish. Who do you think I am?”

That one statement was answer enough.

Through the trees, through the shadows where darkness fell thick.

Everything gradually faded away except for the sound of hoofbeats.

How long had she been standing there?

Elhermina approached her mount, untying it and asked:

“So, what did you think of observing, Seras Esdina?”

-…

As the horse’s eyes turned blue, a voice impossible for a horse’s oral structure emerged.

-I find it more fascinating that neither of you had any impact on your surroundings during all that.

“…Is that so?”

-You I can understand, but Kariel is… different, isn’t he?

Seras had some knowledge about Elhermina’s abilities.

Therefore, even when she spewed flames as if to burn everything around her.

She didn’t think much of it.

Still, what a vicious woman.

What an absurd woman, she thought.

And if she had shown that much, perhaps Kariel would either give up willingly, or if not, be thoroughly beaten and forcibly brought back by that arrogant princess.

She hadn’t been without such expectations.

When Seras accepted Elhermina’s proposal with the feeling of swallowing poison.

The two, ridiculously, became bound by fate.

…Of course, for that proposal to be extended, Kariel would have to return.

-How does it feel to be rejected by your fiancé?

“What a foolish question.”

Elhermina snorted.

“I never gave up, yet you can arrogantly mock me as if I’ve been rejected. That’s quite curious.”

-You really are…

Who’s calling whom arrogant?

Still a woman she didn’t like.

It had been that way since childhood.

The one who received the raised branch was Elhermina.

Back then, Seras had asked for one too, but there wasn’t anything suitable.

What did Kariel say back then?

-He clearly said he would become my knight.

“Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to remember. So give up.”

-Sigh.

Truly.

A woman who couldn’t be liked… a damned woman.

“Anyway, because of Eras… you’ll have to go through an even harsher process than me.”

-…

“Every time I see you, that child comes to mind.”

The first person in Kariel’s life.

The first to execute a merciless betrayal.

“…You should not forget that I’ve wanted to slaughter that child since long ago.”

We all know it.

“This fact will become a noose for your family. Count Esdina clearly crossed the line. If Kariel had been in my hands… I could have easily made you all my puppets.”

Elhermina loves him.

Adores him, reveres him.

To her, he is the sun.

The one and only.

A unique existence.

It has been that way since childhood. That’s how she has viewed him.

However, her affection and admiration aren’t enough to exclude the perfectly packaged political benefits.

It can’t be helped. That’s how she was raised.

If she were truly willing to throw away all responsibility and dedicate everything to him, entrusting everything to him.

She would have joined this journey long ago.

But.

Just as Kariel’s wounds couldn’t be healed normally.

The wounds she had carried and obtained couldn’t be easily healed or resolved either.

I have sacrificed much.

Therefore, I will be greedy as if it’s natural.

I will obtain everything.

For what I desire.

For the dream he desires.

The Empire must become even stronger than it is now.

====

“Why is this bastard so slow? Is he taking a nap or something?”

“Hmm.”

As Bariel picked his large ear and grumbled, the Emperor calmly shook his head.

“Should I go check?”

“……”

“Huh? They say even dragons come when you talk about them.”

Seeing Lueld who had just entered the Grand Cathedral entrance, Bariel said:

“Hey! I told you to bring the child, why are you coming alone?”

…

“What’s wrong with that guy?”

His walking form was clearly not normal.

He walked as if his soul had left his body, so weakly that he seemed about to collapse at any moment.

“L-Lady Ermina! You shouldn’t do this!”

“……”

On the other side, a woman with a pale complexion and cold sweat, looking quite unwell, spotted Lueld and began staggering toward him.

“W-Wait! Ermina? What’s wrong?”

Just as she was about to fall, the Empress caught her in time.

“……”

She didn’t know why.

Yet because of this inexplicable ominous feeling, she struggled to get up despite her weakened body.

They said she just needed to wait, but she couldn’t bear to wait even that brief moment.

“Luel…d?”

“……”

Even after spotting Ermina, Lueld showed a sluggish response.

“Where is… Kariel?”

“……”

His lips moved several times as if trying to say something, but no words came out.

Just clutching the paper in his hand.

Lueld silently embraced Ermina, who was staring blankly at him.

“Lueld? What’s wrong? You said you’d come with Kariel? Where is our child?”

“…I’m sorry.”

He didn’t know what to say.

Even an apology, even an expression of regret.

Lueld felt that even that was inappropriate right now.

He couldn’t… fully utter even that one phrase.

Outside, celebratory cheers still occasionally rang out, with periodic joyful commotion continuing.

But inside one part of the Grand Cathedral, an unbearably heavy atmosphere had settled with silence.