Chapter 44
Chapter 44
“A cure…?”
At a glance, Ariel’s condition looked dangerous.
Not for her.
“Oh, crap.”
For me—because I was exposed to the aftermath of her ability.
Every piece of furniture in her room was floating in the air.
And as if responding to her thoughts, they moved. Just a moment ago, when she tilted her head, a massive wardrobe came flying straight at me.
“…Hoo.”
Meanwhile, Ariel herself, the one causing all this, wasn’t even properly aware of what was happening around her.
I had to approach her as if I were walking through the eye of a tornado.
“I’ll tell you in advance. This medicine can cure Lady Ariel’s illness—but it comes with side effects.”
At first, I considered hiding that fact.
If I told her there were no side effects, that she wouldn’t die, things would’ve been much easier.
But deceiving her would be meaningless.
Even if I saved her that way, all I’d get in return would be resentment.
That would make it worse than doing nothing at all.
Working hard only to get cursed at—that’s about as unfair as it gets.
“If you take this, your growth will stop. Ah, not physical growth. Think of it as hitting a ceiling on your talent.”
“……”
Instead of answering, Ariel quietly shook her head and turned her gaze away.
“Well, I didn’t expect you to accept it anyway.”
I stepped closer to where she sat collapsed on the floor.
That alone made the surrounding furniture twitch and surge more violently.
Her unconscious rejection was spilling out through her ability.
“To be honest, you already know this. You’re more useful to Lobelia than any single spell you could create.”
Even if she became a great mage and established a new spell system, it wouldn’t surpass the power she could wield herself.
That made sense—magic was essentially about letting others use abilities like hers.
And adapting that for someone like Lobelia, who relied on instinct rather than structured magic, would mean sacrificing power.
Besides, I already knew what spell Ariel would create.
“Even so, I thought you’d choose to create that spell even if it killed you. Do you know why?”
Ariel’s spell—Freedom’s Leap.
It simply allowed the user to move freely in midair.
A basic buff spell.
But depending on the user, it could become a massive variable.
And for Lobelia, who could already move like lightning, it would be the perfect fit.
A spell made just for her.
It was certainly impressive.
But still, it couldn’t surpass Ariel herself.
“Because you’re focusing on dying, not on surviving and being useful.”
Crash!
A massive piece of furniture slammed into the wall, shattering it.
Her agitation was surfacing.
How terrifying. If she actually got angry, someone would be crushed.
And that someone would probably be me.
What made it worse was that she still wasn’t aware of it.
Her ability could kill me regardless of her intentions.
“Lady Ariel, you’ve lived in a blessed environment.”
“…Me?”
“Yes. You have good people around you. Including Her Highness Lobelia.”
Her past might’ve been difficult.
But after coming to the Cradle, she made many friends.
Kind people who respected her.
“But that could’ve been poison too. Even those kind people must have flinched at the fact that you’re a beastkin.”
Ariel always wore a large witch’s hat.
It hid her rabbit ears—the mark of a beastkin.
Why?
Was she hated? Was she exposed to blind hatred?
No.
She was shown consideration.
“That consideration must have made it feel even more miserable.”
“…Ha.”
Even those kind people would flinch when they saw her unexpectedly.
Their eyes would linger on her ears.
That wasn’t about kindness.
It was something deeply ingrained.
Fear of beastkin.
For a year—no, even before she was born—“The Spear of Folklore” had committed atrocities.
They were cruel, violent, inhuman.
“Weren’t you tired, Lady Ariel? Didn’t you grow doubtful of your own existence? Didn’t you grow cynical about reality?”
Yes.
She was tired.
No matter how hard you try, some things can’t be changed.
And the more people treated her kindly, the more clearly she must’ve felt that.
She left her cage and experienced the world.
And realized it wasn’t beautiful.
Especially not for her.
“…You know a lot. You’re right. I’m a little tired. But I really do want to help.”
“I know.”
If she just wanted to give up, she’d had plenty of chances.
She endured because she wanted her life to mean something.
That’s why persuading her without removing that justification was nearly impossible.
“Then… can’t you just leave me alone?”
“If you still don’t get it after everything I’ve said, then you should realize—I didn’t start this conversation just to list things you already know.”
“…Sir Johan, your way of speaking is always harsh. You’ll only end up pushing people away.”
“I know. But unlike you, I don’t care about that.”
“….”
Bang!
Something flying struck my head.
Damn it… I should’ve brought a weapon. I can’t deal with this.
Still, I managed to protect the medicine vial.
“You’re tired and want to give up? I get it. I’ve felt that way many times. I’ve given up plenty too.”
“Sir Johan.”
Her voice turned cold.
Right then, I knew things were going according to plan.
“You don’t know anything. How could you possibly understand?”
Crash!
Her emotions surged.
A heavy drawer slammed into me.
I expected it, so I endured—but it hurt like hell.
“That kind of talk disgusts me.”
Of course it would.
That was the point.
The furniture crashing around us—those were her true feelings.
How could someone who isn’t beastkin understand her suffering?
Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times.
Then the one experience she lived must be far worse than anything I’d seen a hundred times.
“You—what do you even know…? You don’t know how inferior I feel, how painful it is…!”
Crash!
This time, a mirror vanity flew into me.
I hadn’t expected the shattered glass.
Fragments tore through my clothes and skin.
The price of dragging out her inner weakness was steep.
Now, even speaking to her might cost me my life.
Still, I tucked the medicine safely into my chest.
Saving someone really is this hard…
“Lady Ariel, did you know? I’m a coward.”
“…What?”
“I avoid relationships. I’m afraid of loss.”
I exposed my ugliness.
“Doesn’t that sound pathetic?”
Over ten years ago—
I watched my fiancée burn to death in front of me.
And I did nothing.
After that, I became worse.
“The day she died, I tried to forget her. Because remembering hurt.”
I forgot her face.
Even her name.
Now I can’t recall her at all.
“I became twisted after that.”
In my past life, I wasn’t much better.
I lost my mother young.
Then my father.
Standing alone at his funeral, I realized—
my pain meant nothing to others.
I grew cold.
At seventeen.
“Because I was afraid of losing things, I stopped reaching out.”
I regained my past memories at sixteen.
But it didn’t confuse me.
Because that person… was just like me.
“Laugh if you want.”
“……”
“Someone like me can’t understand your pain.”
I don’t know her suffering.
I only spoke from knowledge.
So how could I claim to understand her?
“I can’t understand you. So it’s natural for you to be angry.”
She was incredible.
She took Lobelia’s hand and tried to escape her world.
She saved countless people.
Endured prejudice without complaint.
But I—
was a coward.
So I wouldn’t persuade her.
I couldn’t.
“We’re not the same.”
Crash!
Something hit my head again.
Blood streamed down.
“I’m weak.”
“….”
“So I’ll be honest. I just want comfort. That day… when my fiancée died… I want proof that I’ve done something now.”
Blue flames flickered before my eyes.
Like that day.
“So I’m asking you—someone stronger than me.”
That day, I did nothing.
But now—
“Won’t you live… for me?”
I should’ve begged her not to leave.
“I need you.”
This was all I could do.
—
In front of her—
within reach—
was a vial filled with pale pink liquid.
Ariel looked up at the man who set it down.
He called himself a coward.
He looked fragile.
“…Sir Johan…”
He didn’t try to persuade her.
He didn’t preach.
“I… I…”
Not long after entering the Cradle, she began wearing that large hat.
To hide her ears.
To spare others fear.
They knew she was trying.
So they pretended to be okay.
But she knew.
“…Do you really need me?”
That her existence made people uncomfortable.
She wanted to help.
To support Lobelia.
But Lobelia didn’t need her.
That made her shrink.
“—Yes, Lady Ariel.”
But someone needed her.
Someone who walked through the storm for her.
Who protected the medicine even as his body was torn apart.
“I need you.”
Someone needed her just for being alive.
“….”
She couldn’t ignore that.
Ariel finally took the medicine.
She didn’t need to become a great mage.
“If me being alive can save you… then I’ll live.”
Because simply living could save someone.
She drank it.
Her floating body steadied.
Sensation returned.
Her vision cleared.
“…Ah.”
The man’s relieved smile—
the pink medicine—
“Good choice.”
It was unbelievably sweet.