episode_0104

“Again, Tto! Tto from Elvengard…!”

As soon as Yulia heard the news, she trembled with frustration.

The news was about a dispute between a high-ranking warrior and Transylvania in Elvengard.

At first glance, it didn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary.

The problem was the proxy who agreed to the duel.

According to the knight, the proxy was a tribe carrying a greatsword adorned with gemstones and accompanied by a young girl.

And he went by the name of Cheon Michael Jackson.

Yulia immediately had a hunch.

It could only be one person, Eugene.

“He suddenly stepped in because he insulted a witch…?”

But the reason he became Transylvania’s proxy was strange.

Rex insulted a witch from Pettenburg, and suddenly he revealed his enmity by stepping in…

Yulia’s mind went blank at this.

For me?

The person who left me in disgust is fighting for me…?

“This, this is not the time! I need to hurry! I need to hurry…! Oh!”

Yulia jumped over the scattered magical tools and stumbled.

But there was no time to check for injuries.

Yulia quickly put on her clothes and headed out of the building.

The fastest way to Elvengard would take two days.

By the time she arrived, the duel would already be over.

But just in case.

Would Eugene still be in Elvengard for half a day after the duel?

Or would he leave traces that could be tracked…?

“Ugh.”

Of course, Yulia knew well that it was unlikely.

Eugene was thorough.

Despite the cruel twist of fate that seemed to be happening.

In reality, it was all according to Eugene’s plan, so that we could never meet.

“He… He won’t meet me…?”

Tears streamed down her face.

Familiar despair engulfed Yulia.

The carriage heading towards Elvengard never felt as slow as it did today.

“Magic works.”

After running day and night, Yulia arrived in Elvengard in just over a day and a half.

Yulia concealed her presence through magic to pass through the gate.

It was a simple spell, but it was effective.

But she couldn’t use it for long due to the limited magic she possessed.

Still, the fact that self-taught magic worked was a significant achievement.

With her hood flipped up.

Yulia entered the bustling inner city to start gathering information.

“Have you heard the result of the duel? They say Rex lost?”

“What? The duel with Transylvania is over already?”

“No! It was a duel with a tribe! Rex lost there!”

The incident that stirred up Elvengard seemed to be the reason for the many voices discussing the duel.

Listening carefully and sorting through the information, it seemed that Rex, the high-ranking warrior, was defeated in the duel with Transylvania’s proxy.

And Rex suffered a serious injury, and for some reason, his hair turned white.

“He burned his lifespan…!”

Rex was the younger brother of the high-ranking warrior who died at the hands of Transylvania.

He was an elf who had sent resentful glances at Yulia until the day she was driven out.

He came out of the duel with Transylvania with his hair turned white?

It was clear that he had used forbidden magic that defied the will of the World Tree.

Although his eyes were consumed with anger, it was still unsettling to think about.

Surely he wouldn’t have done such a thing.

But the worrying thing was not Rex, but…

“T-That! That…!”

“What’s wrong, miss? Speak. Speak.”

“T-That… That…!!!”

“Oh dear. Is she mute? How pitiful.”

“Bu, buh-buh-buh, no! Oh, long time no see! T-talking with p-people… I-I have something I want to say… H-how are they… those people…”

As expected, worries about Eugene took precedence.

In her haste, Yulia, who hadn’t spoken to anyone in months, grabbed a passerby and asked, forgetting that the last time she had a conversation with someone was several months ago.

“Did Chen Michael Jackson look okay?”

“Um. He seemed fine, but there were some scars on his body. It seemed like he had treated them all with herbs or potions.”

“He looks like a thief, but he seems to have considerable skill. Is he a swordmaster hiding his identity from the Northern Kingdom?”

“He did seem like he was from the North, though.”

“Ah…”

Listening to the elves’ conversation, Yulia clutched her chest.

A sigh of relief escaped her.

Eugene was safe.

She had won a duel against an elf prepared to die, without killing him.

It wasn’t just a victory, it was a duel where both parties put their lives on the line, so the meaning was different.

To make the opponent surrender without killing them, one must have overwhelming power compared to the opponent.

“Well… He was the one who came all the way to the dangerous cliffs of Petenbourg just to meet me.”

She was surprised for a moment, but upon reflection, it wasn’t that surprising.

A bittersweet smile appeared on Yulia’s lips as she recalled the events of the previous chapter.

“By the way, whose child are you?”

“Where have I seen you before…”

“Your voice sounds familiar…”

“Oh, oh!”

As the elves approached one by one with suspicion, Yulia pressed her hood tighter and stepped back.

It had been over 50 years since she had fled from the sanctuary, but for the elves, 50 years was not that long.

If they saw her face clearly, they would definitely recognize her.

But as the elves surrounded Yulia, with no place to retreat, she was about to reveal her face.

“Are you a spy? Why are you hiding your face?”

“Ugh…”

“Everyone, please don’t be so rude to my guest. She’s uncomfortable with showing her face.”

“Lady Priest!”

A stern voice came from behind.

The elves stiffened.

Mia, the priestess, raised an umbrella made of world tree leaves and smiled at Yulia.

Thanks to her, they escaped the danger.

But Yulia couldn’t smile.

Even a fake smile was hard to show Mia.

Soon, Yulia was led by Mia to her dwelling.

Here, there were no eyes or ears to see or hear.

“What… what’s your motive?”

“What?”

“What’s your motive. You… don’t like me.”

Thump.

Yulia’s hand clenched into a fist.

Mia, still wide-eyed in confusion.

As their eyes met, Yulia’s sense of inferiority exploded.

“You’re looking down on me!”

He had been an annoying brat from the start.

When they first met, he was just a cute little new priestess.

But as soon as a new priestess arrived, the elders’ attitude towards Yulia changed completely, and they began to attack her in earnest.

Since there was someone to replace the priestess of the world tree.

It started around then.

The little child who quickly learned everything and began to excel in the priestess’s duties made Yulia resentful.

“It’s not like that. I respect you so much, Yulia.”

“…”

As Yulia trembled, Mia approached and hugged her tightly.

Of course, Yulia knew that Mia was not at fault.

There was no malicious intent.

Even on the day Yulia was driven out, Mia had pleaded with the elders.

Still, if she didn’t hate this child, Yuria couldn’t bear it at all.

But Mia didn’t respond with hate to hate.

Instead, she embraced Yuria with acceptance.

“I don’t hate you.”

“Fine, whatever…”

Yuria pushed Mia away and avoided her gaze.

This isn’t just pretending to be good.

Mia was clearly a good child.

Even though I was expelled from Elvengard and came back like this without a word to the Elder Council.

But Yuria couldn’t truly get close to Mia.

Probably never.

Yuria wanted to overturn Elvengard once again.

And Mia wanted to protect Elvengard.

Mia’s warm gaze was simply out of respect for the former priestess.

Mia had no intention of helping Yuria.

She didn’t want to understand Yuria, nor did she want to understand her.

Their differing opinions.

That subtle gap would never disappear.

“So why did you come to Elvengard this time?”

“I, I don’t know…”

Yuria asked in disbelief.

I heard that Mia was in charge of the judgment of the duel.

Then she should know why I’m here.

She pretends not to know even though she knows.

Again, again…

‘As expected, she’s just being polite.’

The Mia who used to call Yuria ‘sister’ and follow her was no more.

The way Mia treated Yuria now was clearly the way she treated Elvengard’s enemies as a priestess.

With a respectful demeanor and never breaking etiquette, Yuria realized that she and Mia could never go back to how they used to be.

“I, I’ll warn you. If you, if you don’t speak the truth, I’ll, I’ll really do something-”

“Yuria, please don’t get angry and let’s talk comfortably, okay?”

“Huh?!”

“Sit here. And tell me. Eugene? Where did he go?”

“Um. I don’t know?”

“I’ll ask the question again. Where did Eugene go?”

“…”

Despite the threatening tone, Mia didn’t bat an eye and just smiled brightly.

She did the same thing last time.

It was clear that Eugene had come and gone, and Mia knew something, but she remained silent.

To protect Elvengard’s interests as a priestess.

From Mia’s perspective, she was just doing her job.

But for Yuria, it was annoying, like being given medicine.

“I, I’ll tell you. Tell me what you want to know. What, what.”

“Who is he. How do you think of him, Yuria? I’m curious.”

“…”

Yuria’s cheeks puffed up at the audacious tone.

Clearly, Mia had no intention of teaching Yuria anything about Eugene.

She had declared that she would only collect information unilaterally.

“Yujin is…”

Nevertheless, Yuria couldn’t help but speak.

It was too hard to hold back.

Now she wanted to vent this frustration to someone.

Instead of keeping Eugene in her heart.

She wanted to confide in someone about this frustration.

If she were to confide, Mia, who was not good at keeping secrets, was a suitable candidate.

“He’s the only one. The only one for me, irreplaceable, the only one.”

Yuria’s meeting with Eugene was short-lived.

A meeting that was not at a young age, but a meeting after going through all sorts of trials and tribulations, forming and wearing away one’s self.

Until then, Yulia thought that there would be no one else who could change her life anymore.

Exhausted from relationships with people, Yulia broke off and cut off all relationships.

As a successful engineer and noble, Yulia had no one to look up to.

The only gaze she allowed was one that admired and respected her.

Strictly one-way.

She believed that there was no one who could break this structure.

Until Eugene appeared.

“Th-thank you for teaching me about the world. Not everyone is filled with malice. Not everyone hates me.”

The person who had such a great influence on Yulia was none other than Eugene.

Eugene faced Yulia without any hesitation or reserve.

To Eugene, she was neither a goddess of the world tree nor a witch of Petenbourg.

She was simply a friend with whom she could share a love for alcohol and enjoy conversations.

Contrary to her public image, Eugene never questioned or delved into Yulia’s stuttering and insecure true self.

She did not question her essence.

Eugene accepted Yulia without prejudice, as she appeared in her eyes.

“Y-You were the only one. The one who saw me as a person…”

Eugene was the only one who saw her in that way.

And she would continue to be the only one.

That’s why Eugene was more precious than anyone else.

A precious person deserves to be treated accordingly.

As precious as she was, she should have been treated that way.

“B-But I messed up… I was afraid Eugene would leave me… I messed up out of impatience…”

Afraid Eugene would disappear.

Afraid Eugene would leave me, I made a mistake.

That one moment of mistake led to a war and everything fell apart.

“I-I regret it so much… I want to apologize… but now I can’t… you pushed me away and won’t meet me…”

I want to see you again.

I want to see Eugene’s face again.

There were many things I wanted to say when we met again.

First, I would apologize.

Selfishly apologize.

And then I would whisper to her.

Let’s stop the regression and live together.

If I can’t stop, I’ll help you stop.

“I-I want to spend time with Eugene. I want to grow old with Eugene. Even though our lifespans are different.”

The resentment towards Eugene had not disappeared.

The moment the world stopped.

The words Eugene had said to me when she turned cold were still stuck in my heart like a dagger.

But I could forgive her.

When I thought about how many times Eugene had repeated the same life, I could understand to some extent.

In the end, the one who loved more had to compromise.

No matter what conditions were imposed, as long as I could be with Eugene, I could accept everything.

“If Eugene were to die tomorrow, I would be fine even if my life ended today…”

Tears streamed down Yulia’s cheeks.

She thought she would feel relieved if she let it all out.

But the pain in her heart only grew stronger.

“I see…”

Yulia couldn’t hold back her sobs.

Mia looked at Yulia with pity and then turned her gaze towards the back door.

…

Yulia’s voice was faintly heard.

I close my eyes tightly.

It feels like my heart is burning.

It was Mia’s suggestion.

To coax out Yulia’s inner thoughts, she asked me to listen once.

At first, I refused.

I stayed until Yulia arrived because being caught before she arrived would be the worst.

“Will you not regret it?”

However, swayed by Mia’s words, I ultimately decided to wait and see.

Erasing all traces of myself.

Even going as far as to send off the carriage that carried Cheon Michael Jackson to create an alibi.

I hid myself in the barrier Mia created at the back door of her residence.

This is a one-way barrier where I can see and hear the other side, but they cannot perceive me at all.

“If Yujin dies tomorrow, even if my life ends today, it’s fine…”

It may be difficult to see Yulia revealing all her true feelings in front of Mia.

But excluding me, it is clear that Mia is the most comfortable with her.

Considering the words spoken in front of Mia, most of them should be taken as sincere.

“She didn’t hate me after all.”

Naturally, I thought she would hate me terribly.

Since I took advantage of Yulia’s kindness and betrayed her heart in the last moments before returning.

But Yulia still wants to envision the future with me.

“Let’s go now. There doesn’t seem to be anything else to see.”

“…Yeah.”

This time, confirming Yulia’s true feelings.

I resolve myself even more.

Even if I leave, I must leave with a proper conclusion.

I can’t just irresponsibly run away and leave abruptly.

In the final moments, I must face Yulia properly.

I must tell her about my fate.

And bid a proper farewell.

And then, I will leave.

That is the minimum courtesy and responsibility.

It is a way to somewhat settle the debts accumulated as a regressor.

“It’s despicable.”

In the end, I find myself in a position where I can never truly convey my sincerity to the women I have loved.

I have been making false confessions to conquer them all this time.

But in the very end.

I have become unable to express genuine affection.

I can’t say “I love you” again.

If I do, it will be the end, and the last chapter will come to a close just like that.

This is truly…

Despicable.