Ch.57Smiled at the Clear Sky After the Rain (Part 2 Episode Complete)

I watched as he gathered his charred body, observing him as he sank into darkness.

Rahilt. A person born carrying an unblessed bloodline, forced to live a life manipulated by malice.

I wished for his happiness. With that hope, I took the place beside him. Without even asking the opinion of the person concerned.

Would he be unhappy?

I, who am not Rashera, am not the best for you but the second best. Or perhaps even lower than that.

If you had formed a relationship with someone else, this outcome wouldn’t have happened. Instead of the tempting position of imperial princess, if you had been the daughter of an ordinary lower noble, your life might have been more peaceful.

When I sink into such thoughts, my heart aches. Because it feels like my selfishness is causing Rahilt unnecessary pain.

“Haah…”

Rahilt exhaled with a wheezing breath. Though that appearance was extremely unfamiliar, it wasn’t unreasonable.

Even with his immense power, Rahilt is human. A special human with the Dragon’s Authority. That’s all.

This man wielded a massive disaster and engaged in fierce battle. As his father said in the past shown by the black dragon, Rahilt is far from the concept of invincibility.

He too is ultimately a human who collapses when exhausted. It’s just that his limits are so incredibly high that one can only look up in awe.

Swoosh.

Black clouds rose up.

Just as I had seen several times during battle, they shaped themselves into a sword perfectly suited for Rahilt.

Just as I was tensing up again.

Crack!

The black clouds scattered in all directions.

“Ah…!”

It wasn’t a feint.

He must be at his limit.

Like someone falling from a pull-up bar due to insufficient grip strength, it was clear that his power had reached its limit. And Rahilt’s bewildered finger movements further confirmed my certainty.

I don’t miss that opportunity.

“Haaaap!”

I throw a punch as best I can. My legs are stiff, perhaps from being struck by lightning. They won’t rise properly right now.

As Rahilt tries to counter with martial arts.

Stop!

His elbow freezes firmly just before reaching me. Saved by this inexplicable phenomenon, I deliver a straight punch.

Kwang!

‘Ha…!’

Watching Rahilt surrounded by a dust cloud against the opposite wall, I rubbed my face dry.

‘I… held back.’

I simply couldn’t deliver a heavy blow against him in his weakened state. After pursuing and tempting him so persistently, it felt too shameless to subdue him with force so easily.

I know it’s excessive sentimentality.

I’m aware that if Rahilt regains his strength, it would only burden him with more sins.

I’ve never felt such a stark difference between reason and emotion. I felt like I was going mad.

Still, I had to act. If someone had to do it, it had to be me. At this point, it was a responsibility that only I could bear.

Boom!

With trembling legs, I stomp the ground. Cold wind brushes my cheeks. I launch myself toward Rahilt, who is just emerging from the dust cloud.

“Ugh…!”

I forcibly lift my leg. To finish this properly, I needed to use my feet. High-level techniques like spinning kicks were impossible, but a simple roundhouse kick would have enough power.

Rahilt calmly prepared his response.

Rahilt lowered his stance like a beast stalking its prey. Then he charged straight at me.

He was agile.

His speed was astonishingly fast, almost impossible to react to. It seemed absurd that he still had this much energy left.

“Ah…”

Just as Rahilt was about to strike.

Stop!

Once again, Rahilt’s movements froze as if turned to ice. And the result was allowing a kick that mercilessly sent his body flying.

Thud-thud-thud…!

“Rian!?”

I reached out instinctively. I couldn’t help it after Rahilt’s incomprehensible behavior.

“Why…”

I was too perplexed to even think of pursuing him. I couldn’t understand why Rahilt had stopped his attack.

Did he lack survival instinct? That couldn’t be.

It was almost as if Rahilt’s true nature was showing through.

When that thought occurred to me, I arrived at one hypothesis.

‘… Could it be.’

I reviewed the battles fought since reuniting with Rahilt. Things had been so urgent and threatening that I hadn’t noticed anything strange at the time, but looking back, there was something off.

Despite taking numerous hits, Rahilt had never moved directly. He had only launched attacks using his power, never once striking directly himself. Even though attacking personally would have been much more threatening.

‘Is it… instinct?’

Perhaps even as he was consumed by madness and buried in the darkness of the past, he was desperately resisting from within.

I clenched my fist.

Even if it was just speculation, it didn’t matter. When everyone was betting their fate, I had no reason not to bet mine as well.

So I ran.

I moved with all my strength toward Rahilt, who was trying to get up again.

“Riaaaan!!!”

And so I threw myself at Rahilt.

“Haa… haa… haa…”

I breathed heavily. I must have used up a lifetime’s worth of courage.

The result of that courage was, as you can see, successful. Rahilt and I ended up in an ungainly heap on the floor, our bodies overlapping.

I grab both his hands. I sit on his waist, putting my weight on him.

Rahilt didn’t resist.

More precisely, he seemed to be desperately controlling himself from resisting.

Judging by his meaningless twitching, there was no doubt.

“Rian… Rian… Rian…!”

I don’t know what to say. Having finally reached you at the end of this self-inflicted karma, I have no idea what more I should do.

Now that I’m face to face with Rahilt’s blue eyes, immersed in sadness and hatred, all the words I wanted to say have been completely erased from my mind.

I fall into deep contemplation.

What story should I tell, and how should I tell it so that it will reach your ears? Not knowing makes me feel self-loathing.

After considering various possibilities, what comes out is self-deprecation.

“I can’t… do anything, can I, Rian?”

Am I an idiot? Why am I saying this? I’m not even being sarcastic.

“Of course you can’t. With our bodies pressed together like this, whether you shoot lightning or stab me with a weapon, you’d be hurt too…”

This isn’t right.

I should say something that would reach deeper into his heart.

“… I’m sorry.”

And so I ended up apologizing.

“To only be able to show my true feelings when we’re alone like this, with your mind in disarray. I guess I’m pretty pathetic.”

Yes, let’s begin.

The confession of our story.

“This might be really hard to believe… but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t laugh.”

After biting my lip, I finally spoke.

“I first got to know you a very long time ago. In a world where I used the name Serin, the name you always call me, rather than Seriniel… that’s where I first saw you.”

The fragments of the past that I had gathered formed a complete picture. Though it’s time to forget, memories of those relatively happy times kept circling around me.

“‘Taming the Child of the Deposed Emperor.’ It was a novel with a really blatant title. Honestly, it was terribly boring. The female lead was that bitch Rashera, the male lead was none other than you, and I was the villainous noble lady. What kind of crappy, stupid novel was that…”

“…”

“But I kept reading it. Even though it was suspicious, I couldn’t help it because my favorite character was you, who had been just a few-line extra in the previous work. When I heard that you would appear as the male lead in the sequel, how could I not read it?”

“…”

“But it was really pitiful. The you I was watching deserved to be loved more than anyone, but you kept following unworthy women and becoming miserable. What was that, really? Are you a pushover? Why, why, why did you do that? Couldn’t you have been a little more suspicious… No, wait. If you had been suspicious, would it have only hastened the end of the world? At the very least, I wish you could have escaped on your own and lived well…”

“…”

“So I always wished for your happiness whenever I read it. That day too. For someone like me, whose only joy in life was seeing you once a day, I got a notification. Telling me to hurry and see you. So I put on some calm music and tried to enjoy a bit of happiness, but then the world turned upside down. That was my last moment.”

The memory is still vivid. The truck loaded with cargo, the pedestrian shouting to get out of the way. Even the drunk driver I glimpsed as I was flying through the air.

I felt so wronged that tears streamed down my face.

I had successfully retaken the entrance exam and was just about to enjoy campus life… joining clubs like everyone else, enjoying romance, and living life to the fullest…

… To lose all of that in an instant.

“But when I realized that the life I gained afterward was in your world, it felt like fate. I even got excited, wondering if I had been reincarnated to make my favorite character happy. By the way, that excitement is still ongoing.”

I had no idea that excitement would only bear fruit 19 years later. I could stamp my feet on the ground in frustration at the wasted years.

“But looking back, I wonder if it was pointless excitement. If that bitch Rashera had just been quietly buried and you had lived your own life, none of this would have happened. It’s all because of my greed… my shabby greed…”

Plop.

Drip-drop.

Droplets fell.

Not cold raindrops, but warm tears. Tears knotted with self-blame and self-loathing rolled down my cheeks and fell onto Rahilt’s mask.

Should I tell him? Am I allowed to speak? I hope Rahilt won’t resent me when he knows everything. Because I fear his hatred as much as I fear his sadness.

This is my first time conveying such a precious, heart-wrenching feeling. I could only stammer, afraid of the rejection he might offer.

Even so, my overflowing feelings inevitably leaked out, breaking through my fear.

“I like you. I, I like you a lot, Rian. I liked you before you even met me. More than you could imagine.”

Now I find it difficult to imagine a life without Rahilt by my side. From the moment I met you after drinking the poison developed by Rashera’s family and being kidnapped. Yes, from that moment, I clearly had to draw you into my world.

“It must seem strange. Honestly, how long have we really known each other? We’ve only spent a few months together, yet I feel this strongly. You’re too kind to ask such questions, but you might be wondering about this inside. I know that too, which makes me feel embarrassed…”

Somehow I felt drained. A sense of exhaustion dominated my body, making me lie in Rahilt’s arms.

“Ha… I’m glad you’re not in your right mind. We both would never have said these things if we were fully conscious. I’m so tired after saying just this much…”

Now I don’t care about anything. My body won’t move. The best I can do is overlap my body with his to prevent Rahilt from resisting.

But even that small role was short-lived. The time when our body heat was shared soon came to an end.

Whoooosh!

A storm blew. The clouds that had been overturning the sky were sucked into an unidentified space and disappeared. It was clear that Sister Narin had stopped the disaster Rahilt had unleashed.

“Kuk…!?”

The world turned upside down. The crimson clouds supporting the main building had disappeared. What would happen next was obvious.

Through the inverted window of the main building, Rahilt was thrown out. If my intuition was correct, his consciousness had flown away. It must be related to the complete disappearance of the clouds he had been controlling.

At that moment, dark energy flowed abundantly from Rahilt’s entire body.

It was Black Magic.

The cloud that Rahilt had been controlling took the form of a dragon and drove out the Black Magic. My mother-in-law had expelled the Black Magic from Rahilt’s weakened interior.

It was over.

Now if we could just properly save Rahilt, it would be a happy ending. Even if memories of a future that might have happened remained, we could overcome them. Because he is my one and only male protagonist.

Without hesitation, I abandoned the main building and fell into the sky. And I accelerated by lying my body in the direction where Rahilt was falling. I felt tremendous air resistance as the cold air created friction.

I must reach him. Reach Rahilt.

I stretch out my hand. And somehow grab him.

… I need to grab him.

My consciousness blurs. The journey that had pushed me beyond my limits several times obscures my vision, tearing at my mind.

‘… Ah. This… shouldn’t happen…’

As the sun shone brilliantly from the center of the world, my body passed through the clouds and fell helplessly.

I can clearly see the ground with my eyes.

Everything from the partially destroyed palace to the people waking from their long sleep and milling about in confusion was clearly visible.

Without being able to keep them in my sight until the end, I gently closed my eyes.

“Oppaaaaaaaaaa!!!”

I heard that child’s voice.

The voice of my happiness, whom I had longed for even in my dreams, cried out pitifully.

The voice of the little girl holding me back from a past I could no longer return to clearly awakened my sunken consciousness.

I can feel it. The wind, the cold air, the sensation of falling, and the precious warmth floating around my body.

I roll my eyes. I move my gaze up, down, left, and right, searching for the owner of that warmth. And in the midst of two colliding memories, I found her vividly positioned.

“Seriniel…”

No, that’s not it. That’s her name, but not her name. She had another name. The name she first taught me was clearly what made her who she was.

She was an enemy. But she’s not an enemy. I’m still confused, but there’s no room for doubt. She was part of the happiness that came to me without hesitation. Therefore, I called out her name forcefully as she fell with her consciousness fading.

“…… Serin!!!”

The ground is rapidly approaching. I must grab her hand.

I will never let go again. Losing happiness like fine sand slipping through my fingers is an experience that is excessive even once. I have constantly sworn that if happiness takes shape before my eyes, I will never let it go.

And now is the time to keep that oath.

I reach out my hand. Physically, the distance of one arm’s length won’t close. My mind is distorted. As the possibility of losing Serin so futilely becomes clearer, my heart is cruelly twisted.

Please, please, let me reach her.

Please allow me to protect this connection that I must never lose again.

“Someone… please…!”

As if responding to that wish, a familiar voice calmly resonated.

[It’s a farewell. From me, and from the past as well.]

A favorable wind blew. A strong wind pushed my back, helping to close the distance with Serin. Saved by that inexplicable favorable wind, I corrected the scattered connection.

Grab!

Finally, our hands clasped. And the distance to the ground had truly reached its limit.

I tried to use Pou to absorb the impact, but it was in vain. The black clouds that had gathered with difficulty maintained their form only briefly before disintegrating.

No. This can’t be. We can’t end everything like this.

[My, what a high-maintenance child.]

Someone spoke as if chiding me. And at that moment, the scattered Pou manifested in the form of a dragon and coiled into a long spiral.

Serin and I fell directly onto the coiled dragon form, and just before hitting the ground, we sank gently onto the surface as if lying down on a bed.

Feeling the lost sensation of floating, I breathed heavily.

“Haa… haa…”

I picked up Serin, whom I had protected by a hair’s breadth. She looked beautiful even in my confused state of memory. I wasn’t sure about many things, but one thing was clear. What I needed to do now was to check if Serin was safe.

“Serin, are you alright? Wake up. Serin…!”

“…”

“Please. Open your eyes…!”

“Ugh…”

As if responding to my call, Serin made a groaning sound.

Eventually, she blinked her half-open wolf-like eyes, as if to prove her usual toughness.

“Wow… is this a dream? Rian and I are standing on the ground.”

“… It’s not a dream.”

“Then does that mean Rian has returned to his senses?”

“I don’t understand what you mean… but I am in my right mind.”

“Ah… you don’t remember.”

Somehow Serin’s face seems to have become slightly grim. But the look in her eyes, mixed with both grimness and relief, created a disharmony.

“It’s really disappointing if you don’t remember… I feel like I should at least get a corresponding reward to be satisfied. Really…”

“Reward, you say?”

“Ah, forget it. Anyway, it’s the same again and again. Whenever I try to open my mouth, Rian can’t wait and preemptively says no. It’s really mean. But don’t misunderstand… I’m not trying to gaslight you, it’s just that after all this trouble, it’s sad, regrettable, and unfortunate that I can’t get even a tiny reward…”

Serin, who had been rattling on, suddenly had round eyes. Then her lips trembled, her hands came up to her lips, and she let out a low exclamation.

Thud.

I dropped the mask that had served its purpose onto the lawn. As I did so, my eyes gently closed and opened, savoring the outside air that felt refreshing after so long. Meanwhile, Serin didn’t take her eyes off me for a moment. As if watching a well-crafted play.

“Is today… some kind of national holiday I don’t know about? I feel like I’m about to achieve enlightenment.”

That was the first impression she expressed after maintaining a long silence. For some reason, I felt embarrassed and drooped my face toward the grass.

There was a scent of wild grass. I couldn’t easily distinguish whether it was the scent of well-trimmed grass or Serin’s scent.

What mattered was that Serin, permeated with the scent of wild grass, was flashing eyes that seemed to have become a wolf to the bone, making it difficult to deal with her.

“… Wow, I’m really regretting this. Maybe it would have been better if no one knew. Just walking down the street gets me entangled in a love drama, and now I’m getting entangled in it too.”

“I don’t… understand the meaning.”

“You don’t need to. No, just never know for your entire life. Better yet, don’t even think about knowing.”

“…”

“How is even keeping your mouth shut so picturesque? Hmph…”

This is troublesome. I’m worried about how to get the broken Serin back to normal.

No, wait. Was Serin originally this kind of person? I might just be confused because the Serin I know and the Seriniel I knew don’t easily overlap.

“Sigh… Rian.”

“Yes, Serin.”

“Please put me down now.”

“Will you be alright?”

“I want to ask the opposite, is Rian alright? I think there’s someone you want to see more than me…”

“Serin…?”

That’s when it happened.

Just as Serin had boldly claimed, a piece of happiness I had been desperately missing came running.

That piece was a little girl who shamelessly had tears and snot all over her face.

She, my one and only little sister who had pierced her own stomach and torn her insides with her own hands, was moving her short legs energetically.

“Oppaaaa! Hueeeeeng…”

“Eshtiel…?”

“Oppa, oppa… where did you go… I was really scared… hic… everyone collapsed… everything was creepy… and Rahilt oppa disappeared…”

“… I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Eshtiel…”

“Hic. Hueeeeeng!”

“Eshtiel, I did wrong.”

Yes, I had done many wrongs to Eshtiel. Whether in the memories of the vanished world or in the memories of the world I’m living in now…

“Are you sorry?”

“Yes.”

“Are you reflecting?”

“I’ll reflect.”

“Then grant my wish.”

“Tell me anything.”

I was prepared to comply without hesitation even if she asked me to lick her shoes. Faced with such determination, Eshtiel imposed a trial as formidable as the final wall descended upon the human world.

“Then from today, I want to eat ten candies a day.”

“…”

“Rahilt oppa?”

“…”

“… Okay… nine candies.”

“…”

“I get it… I’ll eat eight…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Hueeeeeeeng! I hate you, oppa! I like daddy better! Hic… hueeeeeng!”

“E-Eshtiel…!?”

“Pft, pfuhehe, ahahaha!”

“D-don’t laugh, Serin…!!!”

“No, really, ha… how can a person not change at all… ha… kuk, khup…”

Seriously… how are the people around me so accustomed to putting me in difficult situations?

I looked up at the blue sky with a dejected heart.

Warm sunlight poured down from the clear sky after the rain had stopped.

That sky, from which the colors of tragedy had been erased, somehow felt unfamiliar yet welcome.

Without realizing it, I smiled.