Chapter 464
Chapter 464
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 464
Chapter Title: Nostalgia (5)
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Just as the acrid smoke of damp, smoldering firewood conjures the image of a cozy cabin's hearth.
Just as the earthy scent mingled with fresh grass evokes a springtime picnic.
The sense of smell is the one most intimately tied to memory.
The final letter left behind by her master.
That last will was no mere paper scrawled with ink.
It was magic that materialized the link between the perfume sprinkled on the stationery and her memories, manifesting them with crystal clarity.
Amelia wiped her blurring vision again and again.
"Amelia."
She dabbed away the tears that had welled up from the edges of her sight with her sleeve, and there sat her master—the one she had longed for so desperately.
A simple witch's robe, unadorned save for a hat decorated with modest flowers, and a cloak that had now become a relic.
Kind eyes brimming with grace, and soft golden hair.
On that very sofa where, in her childhood, her master had greeted her with a gentle smile after a full day of play.
Exactly as she had been in life.
Amelia bit her trembling lip.
Her master's gaze drifted through empty space, fixed ahead but not truly seeing Amelia.
An illusion that neither rushed forward to embrace her nor whispered words of love.
This was no miracle turning back time.
Merely a deception of magic, granting a fleeting happy dream.
Yet the sight of her master—whom she had thought she'd never see again—felt like a small miracle to Amelia.
"Master..."
The master before her eyes looked far younger than in Amelia's memories.
Nor was she the flawless image of a benevolent Madonna filled only with tenderness.
A hint of mischief peeked from the tip of her tongue behind a soft smile, and her wandering eyes lacked a touch of composure.
Then again, so much time had passed since then.
Amelia had now lived more years than her master had.
"I have no idea when you'll read this letter.
You've always had a tendency to run from things you dislike. How many springs have come and gone? How many winters have you endured?"
Having finally composed herself, her master spoke only after calling Amelia's name for a long while.
"I already have so many questions.
Are you eating properly? Do you sleep well without me? You're not drinking too much cocoa, are you? Are you getting along with Sophia? Are you studying magic diligently...
Oh, right—you're no longer an apprentice witch, but a full-fledged one now. That was needless worry.
Still, try to understand. They say parents always see their children as little ones, no matter how grown... I suppose this is a mother's heart."
This wasn't merely reading lines pre-written in sequence.
As if to keep Amelia from learning the truth of succession, her master recalled and unpacked words she had suppressed, stroking her own hair awkwardly as if unaccustomed to speaking to herself.
"You must be so angry with me. Leaving without properly explaining anything. You probably think I was too selfish. And honestly, you might not be wrong... I'm sorry. You must have resented me so much, hated me."
She had hated her.
Resented her more than anyone in the world.
Why did you leave me alone?
She had wanted to wail, scream, demand answers, rage.
Even if they met again someday, she had vowed to confront her on that point.
"I don't hate you... I don't resent you..."
This was merely a video letter stamped into the past; her master hadn't truly returned.
Yet Amelia stepped toward her, one foot at a time.
Knowing it was futile, she embraced her master.
In that instant.
Two arms wrapped around Amelia's back as if real, enveloping her in warmth.
Amelia's eyes widened in shock, and her master replied with a gentle smile.
"Yes, I thought you might be hugging me by now. I put some effort into this. Pretty impressive magic, right?"
From this illusion that should have been intangible came a vivid scent, warmth, even the faint rustle of fabric.
The touch she remembered from drifting to sleep in her master's arms stroked her back with a whisper of "Good girl. Good girl."
"Master, I... missed you so much..."
Amelia, who had been swallowing her sobs, could hold back no longer and buried her face in her master's neck.
"If you're blaming yourself, please don't, I want to say.
Amelia, do you know what a joyful gift you were to me?
You brought me baskets of pretty strawberries, scratched up from the brambles.
Just seeing your angelic face asleep in my arms melted away all my fatigue that day—it was miraculous... I stroked your hair so long I stayed up all night sometimes.
When I'd force you to do homework, you'd puff out your cheeks like a chipmunk in a sulk, only to beam at a single cookie—who gave you permission to be that adorable...
The times you insisted on sleeping together when it rained, the time you set the oven ablaze trying to bake a birthday cake, the moment I scolded you after you tossed your homework into the fireplace and played innocent—they were all blissfully happy, like a dream."
Her master's hand stroked her hair.
"Amelia. You were a precious miracle to me. So...
It might sound brazen, but I won't ask you to forgive me for leaving without a word.
Even if chances came around again, I'd make the same choice. I never regret this decision."
I forgive you.
I truly don't hate you anymore.
I just wanted to be held like this.
The words rising to her throat dissolved into tears.
"The only regrets I have are... not showing you a wider world, just nagging you about magic studies... Not spending more time together..."
Amelia shook her head vigorously.
She understood the circumstances that had made it unavoidable.
Just as Amelia loved her master, her master had loved her too—deeply.
Though she had been left alone to face a colorless, pitch-black world, the days with her master weren't imprisonment in a narrow cage.
Each small, trivial moment had been a cherished memory that let her endure the suffering.
"Our parting will be brief. I probably won't leave many words. I'm not good with them anyway... And honestly, when the time comes, just holding back tears will be hard enough."
Her master steadied her trembling voice.
Her hands never stopped, soothing Amelia's back, caressing away years of sorrow and tear stains.
"So I'll leave them here like this. Will you listen?"
Amelia nodded slowly to her master's belated message.
As if waiting for that, a voice fluttered at her ear.
"Don't be too sad. Even frozen tundra sprouts beneath winter snow, and beautiful flowers will bloom over your sorrow too. I want you to know at least half the happiness you gave me.
The cabin was too small, wasn't it? The world is vast. Wander everywhere—Bolder Town, Ars Magna Town, even nameless backroads. The world you haven't seen will bring you new experiences. I never went, but venture into the present world too. It's so beautiful—don't waste it just researching magic; that'd be no fun.
Make lots of good friends. Sophia can be mischievous, but she's deeply considerate. Don't hate her too much; play with her sometimes. Cherish friendships, and they'll repay you someday.
Sleep plenty. Even witches don't need it, but it clears your mind. When problems stump you, lay your head on a soft pillow and close your eyes. Sometimes, looking away is the key.
Don't neglect your appearance. People say it's what's inside that counts, but they peek at the outside first. Comb your hair neatly, doll up and strut for important occasions. And..."
The hesitation until then vanished.
To hide the truth of succession, words she couldn't say in time poured out without pause.
Amelia nodded to each phrase, clinging tightly to her master.
"Is this... enough? Wasn't it too long and boring? I thought it'd be short... So many words left unsaid."
With her master's wry smile came another firm embrace.
"Don't strain to become some great person. You're already wonderful and precious, Amelia.
Still, don't squander it all frivolously, or you'll tarnish our ancestral witches' name. Live as a witch should, and as nobility should. And..."
With her master's final words in memory, her hands cupped Amelia's cheeks.
Though invisible in truth, their foreheads touched as if conveying something vital.
"Fall in love."
Her tear-streaked smiling eyes met Amelia's squarely, as if saying, 'I'm watching, right?'
"Love that makes your heart burst with joy, where closing your eyes brings a silly smile at the thought of them, where their embrace warms like a crackling fire.
It might be a witch, or a fine man.
My only regret is leaving without seeing who'll claim our dear Amelia.
But if you chose them, they'll surely be wonderful and kind."
Tears finally spilled, dripping onto Amelia's hands.
"Not every moment will be sweet. Clumsy passion might wound you or them sometimes. It might end unfulfilled and empty. Or you might have to part despite wanting more time.
So even more, when you meet someone who makes your heart race, hug them with all your might.
When you're angry at their mistakes, don't hesitate—slap their cheek hard, then kiss them.
Leave no regrets, no 'I should have loved more.'
Even if scared, even if afraid. Stand tall and step forward."
Her master, forehead to forehead, sighed in relief after a long pause, utterly content.
No trace of lingering regret on her face.
"I love you so much. Amelia, my proud daughter, my breath, my miracle."
After one final tight embrace, she released her arms.
With a bittersweet smile, as if urging a fledgling to fly free.
"I hope you're happier than anyone in the world. From your loving mother, Malika."
She ended the letter without her witch name, as always in self-introductions.
For Amelia had inherited the name Merigold.
The letter ended.
The cabin's vivid, lived-in scene reverted, like flipping through an album of memory-laden photos.
The only remnant in the now starkly barren cabin was the charred logs in the hearth.
Yet even so.
In the chill room where breath misted, Amelia felt burning warmth.
Because her master's loving support—such tender love—lingered in her heart.
"I love you too, Master."
The words she couldn't say when her master left.
The words she had to say, uttered late but surely.
Amelia kicked open the cabin door.
No need to look back.
Feeling the push from her master's hand.
Running now to the one person she wanted to see more than anyone.