Ch.4141. Brilliant and Beautiful

“…..”

My eyelids were heavy, only able to open halfway, but I could still tell that this was a hospital.

As my vision began to clear, the faint scent of disinfectant and medicine characteristic of hospitals started to linger in my nose.

Gradually, sensation returned to my fingers, and I could feel the ambiguous texture of the hospital bed—neither soft nor firm.

“Huh.”

Feeling my senses returning one by one, like batteries being inserted, I raised my upper body.

The IV in the back of my hand had already emptied, so I roughly pulled it out. As I got up, the door to the hospital room opened.

“No, I’m serious! There was someone who was Illuania’s lover.”

“Stop lying! From what I heard from my family, Deus Verdi wasn’t a bad person.”

“Well, your family must have been lying….”

Findenai and Erika entered the room. With my hand on my forehead, I cautioned the two of them.

“This is a hospital room. Keep it down.”

“I-I’ll go get the doctor.”

Erika, making eye contact with me, hurriedly turned and fled from the room, while Findenai approached with a grin.

“Will you tell me what happened this time?”

“…I merely saw someone off.”

“Saw someone off? Who? I swear, I can never understand what Spiritmasters are talking about.”

Findenai giggled, mentioning that I was the only Spiritmaster she had ever met.

Listening to her laughter, I began preparing to leave the hospital.

* * *

It wasn’t as if I had been confined to the hospital room for a long time—in fact, for me, it had been just a fleeting moment—but stepping outside, the fresh air felt welcoming.

The night air instantly cleared my stuffy chest, making me feel refreshed and lightening my steps.

“You’re going straight back, right? I’ve been using the master’s room, where should I stay now?”

Findenai stretched as she walked past me. At her words, I asked without hiding my displeasure.

“You used my room?”

“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep outside.”

“I’ll tell the dean to arrange a separate room for you.”

“I liked the higher floors.”

Watching Findenai grumble, Erika behind her made a strange expression.

She seemed unable to imagine that Findenai would be so casual even with me, her master.

“Then, Findenai. Go clean my room. If I find even a single strand of your hair, I’ll call you back.”

“…Are you serious?”

Findenai frowned with an incredulous expression, but I didn’t take back my words.

“I’ll be back in about an hour, go.”

“Ah! If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have unpacked my things!”

Though she grumbled, Findenai began running toward the academy at a transcendent speed.

The aftershock of her dash was powerful enough to make Erika and me, who were standing behind her, stagger.

Watching Findenai disappear over the rooftops, Erika muttered blankly.

“At least she listens.”

Left alone with her, I turned my head slightly and suggested.

“Would you like to have some coffee?”

“Huh? Me, me?”

Erika pointed at herself in surprise, and I nodded lightly. After hesitating, she agreed.

I had no intention of sitting in a coffee shop, and wanting to feel the outside air a bit more, we took our coffees and sat on a bench in a nearby park.

Perhaps because it was night, there were many people taking walks around us.

In the center of the park was a blue star-shaped sculpture, which seemed to be powered by magical energy, emitting a soft blue light that illuminated the entire park.

A small child tugged at my trouser leg as I sat on the bench sipping coffee.

I gently patted the child’s head, then took another sip.

“…What’s there?”

“Nothing.”

Erika stared intently at where the child was, but seeing nothing, she cleared her throat and leaned back.

A moment of silence.

The natural noise of the city swirled between us, but it wasn’t particularly bothersome.

Rather, it seemed to fill the gap between us, making it easier to be at ease.

I took another sip of coffee before speaking.

“Not all the evil spirit incidents at the academy have been resolved. But there are no more spirits with enough power to cause trouble, or dangerous ones.”

“…I see.”

Erika seemed a bit disappointed, as if she hadn’t expected this kind of conversation.

Our gazes remained fixed on the blue star sculpture, but the conversation continued.

“So the evil spirit that tried to kill you is gone too?”

“Yes, it has departed as well.”

“…I see.”

Silence again.

Erika scratched her forehead, exhaling as if frustrated.

“So what I did was completely useless.”

I didn’t bother to respond.

I had no intention of comforting her about that. It was her choice, after all.

“I’ll be honest, I’m sorry. In my own way… I was trying to save you.”

“I know.”

I answered calmly and took another sip of coffee. Despite having drunk it several times, for some reason, this sip tasted more bitter.

“But I won’t ask you to get engaged again. I did hurt you, after all.”

Erika’s hand tightened, slightly crumpling the paper cup. Yet her expression remained unchanged.

“It’s better for you too, right? I heard you had someone else you loved deeply besides me. The engagement arranged by our families must have been annoying.”

“…”

“Breaking an engagement is only a stain for a woman, not much of an issue for a man. And…”

“That’s enough.”

My gaze was now fixed on her face.

Though my voice and expression remained steady, a tear was already streaming down Erika’s cheek.

“How did you become so broken, Erika Bright.”

“…What?”

Erika met my eyes as if asking what I meant, but quickly averted her gaze elsewhere.

“I’ll be honest. I feel emotions more shallowly than others. It’s a trait I acquired later in life.”

“…”

Erika pressed her lips together and waited for me to continue, acknowledging that was how I seemed.

“Because of that, I don’t understand things like love. I thought I would never grasp such a vague and difficult-to-define emotion.”

But.

“However, by chance, I was able to feel that emotion. Though it wasn’t my own, I shared the feelings of a man who truly loved a woman.”

Recalling Deus Verdi, who had truly loved Illuania, I continued.

“So now I can tell you.”

“…”

Erika’s eyes trembled. She wore an expression hoping my words wouldn’t come, but…

I spoke without hesitation.

“I never loved you, Erika Bright.”

“Ah…”

Crunch.

Erika’s cup crumpled further. Had it been full of coffee, it would have already spilled over, soaking her hand and the ground.

“Not for a single moment. I never felt love for you.”

“I… see. That’s to be expected.”

The time I spent at the academy before being expelled was three months.

The time I spent with Erika Bright was about two months.

For the remaining month, she was hostile toward me, so we couldn’t be together.

But for those two months, we were quite diligently together. She made the effort, and I didn’t avoid her.

Memories of that time flashed by, but unfortunately, there was no emotional fluctuation.

“I… know.”

Plop.

Erika lowered her head. Tears had already formed and were now dripping onto the back of her hand, soaking it.

But I continued without concern.

“However, you were a woman worthy of love. Deserving to be loved.”

Thud.

Erika’s body stiffened.

Slowly, very slowly, she turned her head to look at me.

But I sipped my coffee and fixed my gaze back on the star sculpture.

“That’s why I spent time with you, and hoped to see you smile. And I wanted to love you.”

“Ah…”

“But Erika, look at yourself now.”

Personally, I found her quite pitiful.

“You are different from the Erika Bright I first met.”

She was staring at me blankly, so I continued with what was not quite comfort.

“Blinded by the emotion of love, unable to make proper judgments. You thought your choices were right, but in the end, they produced no results.”

“…”

“And now, you’ve given up and let go of everything.”

Slowly, I met Erika’s eyes again. This time, she didn’t avoid my gaze and faced me with tears streaming down her face.

I pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper from inside my coat. I had received it from a servant of the Bright family whom I met on my way to Robern.

“This is the engagement dissolution document. I haven’t signed it yet.”

“…!”

“Our engagement hasn’t been officially dissolved, so no one can demand marriage from you when you have someone you love.”

I had already heard about Gideon from Findenai.

The only consideration I could offer Erika.

“Stand up again, Erika Bright. Don’t be buried by failure, remember yourself. Don’t let go of everything because you’re swayed by the emotion of love.”

Slowly rising from my seat, I smiled gently at Erika, who was holding the dissolution document.

It was a blessing for her future.

“Have confidence in yourself. When we first met, you were an incredibly beautiful woman.”

“Ah.”

“That dissolution document, when you find confidence in yourself again. When you’re no longer swayed by anyone.”

Tap.

I placed my hand on her head.

“Once more. When you become the brilliantly beautiful Erika Bright again.”

Erika closed her eyes tightly, feeling my touch.

“Bring it to me then, and we’ll tie up our farewell.”