Ch.5959. Beautiful Night

Elenoa hated herself.

She couldn’t even meet her mother’s expectations. She was such a disappointing daughter that her mother closed her eyes without looking at her until the day she passed away.

Why hadn’t she remembered?

How she had obsessively driven herself to maintain the appearance of royalty.

How she had suddenly felt unburdened from all of that one day.

Why had she let it pass so naturally?

Though she was asking herself, the answer was actually quite obvious. The intelligent Elenoa already knew the answer.

Because it was easier that way.

Because she didn’t want to focus on royal duties again. So young Elenoa naturally ignored it.

And now she acknowledged that it had been an ugly, terrible, and naive struggle.

She had passed her burden on to another version of herself.

The small Elenoa who had shouldered that burden now stood before her.

She was with an unfamiliar man, but strangely, as she gazed at the small Elenoa, memories were calmly flowing into her mind.

The conversations they had here were being imprinted in her mind like knowledge.

That man was Deus Verdi.

No, he was Deus’s true identity.

But that hardly mattered. What Elenoa needed now was time alone and the desire to disappear.

“Hey.”

The small Elenoa approached cautiously. But she responded with hostility.

“Don’t come near me! Why did you come! The weak me disappeared! Only the strong you remained! You know the duty we have to bear!”

“……”

The small Elenoa couldn’t answer.

They were ultimately the same person. She also knew it was right for the self filled with royal beliefs and pride to take control of the body.

Logically that was true, but emotionally it wasn’t.

The small Elenoa wanted to say she was needed, but given her nature, it was impossible to utter such weak words.

Because royalty doesn’t speak with weakness.

That’s why Deus Verdi stepped forward.

It was Shinwoo Kim.

“What should I say to you?”

A tone and voice different from the original Deus. But a remarkably similar aggressive manner.

“Should I comfort you? Tell you it’s okay? Or should I tell you that you’re needed?”

As he took a step forward, Elenoa stepped back. Her eyes trembled, revealing fear.

“Let me tell you clearly. You have no qualification as a princess, no responsibility toward rights and duties.”

It was absurd.

In fact, this entire exchange was unnecessary, and the situation itself was ridiculous.

Elenoa was saying she couldn’t do it. But wasn’t that perfectly natural?

“Hey! Hey!”

The small Elenoa behind him rushed toward Shinwoo urgently. She grabbed his pant leg and pulled, shouting what he was saying, but.

Shinwoo pulled the small Elenoa forward.

And pointing at the small Elenoa, he declared with absolute certainty.

“Look at this little girl. She didn’t run from her duties, didn’t shake them off, but faced them head-on and fought, even sacrificing herself for the kingdom with nobility.”

“Huh? Huh?”

The small Elenoa was perplexed, wondering why he was suddenly praising her.

The more confused she became, the darker the original Elenoa’s expression grew as she pressed her lips together.

So he asked.

“Which one of you is the real Elenoa?”

Both simultaneously responded with “Huh?” But they couldn’t readily answer.

As if they didn’t understand what he was asking.

“Obviously……”

“……both of us.”

They answered hesitantly. It was the correct answer. He wanted to applaud them.

Though he had never properly trained disciples as a professor, he thought this must be what it feels like to guide students to reach their own conclusions.

“Yes, you’re not different people. You’re ultimately just one personality.”

“Ah.”

Finally understanding what he meant, the two Elenoas looked at each other with open mouths.

Yes.

The Elenoa with rich emotions, always cheerful, who loved character stories and chatting in flower gardens.

The Elenoa embodying royal pride, dignity, honor, and conviction as the ideal monarch.

They were ultimately just one person.

“I know it’s been difficult. That you’ve struggled hard and persevered even when you felt like falling apart? I can understand that perfectly.”

Even with holes in her body, falling down, collapsing, she got back up and finally made it here.

“Now, look at each other.”

He was telling her that she didn’t need to blame herself for not living up to her ideal self.

Because.

“After all those hardships, you’ve already grown wonderfully enough to bear the name of royalty.”

Though they walked different paths, they grew together nonetheless.

The small Elenoa slowly reached out her hand. That outstretched hand, offered with a smile, carried the meaning of putting an end to long wandering.

Cautiously, their hands touched.

There was no need for a brilliant display of light. The dramatic surging of mana would have been excessive.

It was just a girl.

Finally facing herself properly and recognizing her identity.

Elenoa had always been one person in this place.

Ironically, she had only been admiring herself all along.

“Really, how foolish.”

Though Elenoa was calling herself pathetic, her expression showed relief and refreshment.

She was still the same light-hearted, energetic self, but.

The girl’s eyes now contained deep conviction along with belief and determination toward herself.

BOOM!

Suddenly, the entire building began to shake. The two were so startled they had no time to share their feelings.

The dream was collapsing.

“This is crazy.”

“M-Mother?”

The two shouted simultaneously as they looked down from the railing.

The Hairan they had thrown earlier had grown enormous and was now devouring the building itself as it climbed toward them.

An overwhelming sight reminiscent of a manga featuring giants. It was alarming, but they couldn’t completely destroy it.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Shinwoo put his hand around Elenoa’s waist, then poured out mana again to fly into the sky.

Since mental strength was the standard for mana, he essentially had semi-infinite mana here.

“R-Rough!”

However, since he couldn’t control it precisely, they inevitably swayed as if caught in a storm.

* * *

He didn’t know how long they had been flying.

They just flew endlessly, until the ground below became so faint it was barely visible.

There was no destination.

Elenoa, cradled in his arms, recalled the most impressive story he had ever told her.

It was the story of magical girls.

About an ordinary academy student who meets an animal with strange powers, gains unique mana, and fights for justice.

Listening to that story, Elenoa thought it was truly mysterious.

She was even amazed at how he could imagine such a vibrant story.

The part she liked most was this:

That the girls who fought to protect the world also lived ordinary lives, laughed and chatted normally, and experienced ordinary love.

Hearing that gave her some comfort.

Even the little girls with the vast purpose of protecting the world weren’t always in their transformed state.

‘I too……’

She was royalty, a princess.

A being that needed to be special.

But she didn’t need to be special all the time.

If she showed her princess side only when necessary, that would make her truly wise.

Grateful for realizing this, even if belatedly, Elenoa looked at Shinwoo Kim.

Speaking more about magical girls.

They also fall in love, but their partners aren’t heavily emphasized. Most of them are already in love when the story begins.

She thought that part was quite disappointing. A sudden first love? Love at first sight?

She thought it was extremely artificial and convenient, but.

Now Elenoa had to admit.

‘Indeed, it’s a realistic story.’

Using the excuse that she might fall, she embraced his waist more tightly.

Though she should have been nauseous in this situation, she felt no motion sickness.

Because it was a dream.

The final difference from reality that her other self hadn’t noticed.

The absence of dizziness.

But now, Elenoa truly disliked that.

‘Of all times.’

Even in this violently shaking situation, she felt neither nausea nor dizziness.

So this man’s face was being imprinted more clearly in her mind.

“I wish I were so dizzy I couldn’t think straight.”

Then she could have pretended this intense, heart-pounding emotion was just dizziness.

Even as she regretted this.

She wished this dream would last a little longer.

That was Elenoa’s desire.

* * *

“Mmm.”

As I carefully opened my eyes, dizziness hit me hard. What I hadn’t felt in the dream was finally catching up.

Like anesthesia wearing off, I took a deep breath to steady myself.

“Ugh!”

But Elenoa had it worse than me.

Unable to maintain her balance, she almost fell over the balcony railing, but I managed to save her by pulling her roughly.

CRASH!

The problem was that the force caused her body to lurch toward me, making us fall in a tangled heap.

Anyway, Elenoa was now on top of me, clutching her throbbing head.

I thought we had spent quite a long time in there, but the party below the balcony was still in full swing.

When I glanced at the Dark Spiritmaster beside me, she explained with a subtle expression.

[About 10 minutes have passed. I was wondering what you two were doing just standing there.]

’10 minutes.’

Though one could say our souls were swept into the dream by Lemegeton’s intense power.

‘Doing this again would be risky.’

I had to admit it was a dangerous method. Lemegeton’s power was stronger than imagined, tearing through the boundary between dreams and souls.

Well, I suppose the end result was worth it.

As I lowered my gaze slightly, Elenoa, now recovered, was looking up at me while still in my arms.

Seeing her flushed face, I was about to tell her to get off, but.

After a moment’s hesitation, I looked past her to the night sky and spoke.

“There was a novelist named Natsume Soseki. He became famous for expressing a love confession by saying the moon is beautiful.”

Hearing my words, Elenoa blinked her large eyes, then laughed heartily and said.

“What are you talking about?”

In a refreshingly clear voice, without a trace of regret or lingering attachment.

“This is reality, of course!”

At that answer, I found myself unconsciously forming a crescent moon-like smile.

It truly was a night with a beautiful moon.