Chapter 297: And the Place Where All Miracles Begin (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 297: And the Place Where All Miracles Begin (2)
“Anemone’s sacrifice was the only way for you to build your harem, Lord Ian.”
“...What the hell are you talking about? Stop playing word games and explain yourself clearly so I can understand.”
My rage was on the verge of swallowing my reason, but I couldn’t let myself be swept away by emotion right now.
I had to hear the reason behind the suffering Hayang had endured.
“Lord Ian... you must have felt something familiar from the females you’ve met so far. That is because... Anemone was a ‘special female’ who possessed the charms of every woman you’ve met, and every woman you were destined to meet in the future.”
As Alice spoke, familiar faces flashed through my mind.
Evelyn’s confidence, Laplace’s instability, Yuris’s devotion, Estelle’s solitude, Elfriede’s innocence...
I remembered the moments when fragments of all those charms could be felt within Hayang.
Ssh―
As Alice drew a line in the air, the space shimmered, and a vision of my younger self standing with Hayang appeared.
[“Yeah. I’ll protect you for the rest of my life. And... I’ll make sure you’re happy.”]
“...Lord Ian, do you remember this day?”
“I remember. And I will never forget it again.”
It was the moment I held Hayang’s hand and told her we should leave together.
“Yes... that’s right. But in the future I glimpsed, Anemone rejects your proposal on this day.”
“...What?”
“It may be hard to believe, but it’s the truth. Of course, even in that future, Anemone loved you... but she couldn’t bring herself to disobey her mother’s last words never to leave the forest. In the end, you and Anemone never united, and you left the forest with your family.”
Tick― Tock― Whirrr―
With the sound of clock hands spinning, the vision of the future before my eyes began to fast-forward.
I saw images of myself after leaving the forest, wandering through various cities and meeting countless people.
“More than a decade passed after that. You still longed for Anemone in a corner of your heart, never finding satisfaction no matter who you met. It was only natural. Anemone was a special female, after all. Nevertheless, you repeatedly met and parted with numerous females to fill the unquenchable hole in your heart. And one day... at the point where you had accumulated enough ‘Fate Energy,’ you arrived at my side.”
A gentle breeze blew around Alice, her dress fluttering like flower petals.
Step—
Simultaneously, the version of me in the vision arrived before Alice.
“And finally, by uniting with me, you attained true satisfaction.”
Alice’s eyes, fixed on me, were filled with deep conviction.
“Because I am a being more special and beautiful than even a dragon. You, who lived your whole life in deficiency, were saved by meeting me, and I, too, was completed through you. And so, you and I lived happily ever after... no, forever. This was the only ‘Happy Ending’ I observed among 33,550,336 possible futures.”
“A happy ending, huh... Right, you said you never lied to me?”
“Yes, I swear it. There are things I haven’t told you, but I have never once spoken a lie.”
“Then, answer me. In that happy ending you speak of, what happens to Hayang?”
“....”
“I told you to answer.”
Finally, Alice managed to force the words out through her tightly bitten lips.
“...The last remaining dragon guards the forest alone, longing for you... until she takes her own life.”
“I see... And yet, knowing that... you tell me that world is a happy ending?”
Grip!
“Then what on earth was I supposed to do!!!”
Alice’s eyes shook violently.
“Do you think I wanted to choose a path that would hurt you!? I didn’t!! You probably don’t know!! What kind of existence you are to me!! But I couldn’t see any other way!! Because this was the only happy ending I could find!!”
As if startled by her own shouting, Alice hurriedly covered her mouth and stepped back.
“Ugh... I’m... I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to blame you. You’re right... it’s all because I lacked the ability. If only I were more perfect... if I had the power to simply erase something like the ‘Fragments of the End’... then perhaps a conclusion where everyone is happy could have existed. But... I struggled desperately within the limits of my power!! I didn’t give up even when I wanted to!! ...I-I am the Goddess who manages this world. I thought that if I could save the world with a small sacrifice... then of course I had to do it.”
Ssh―
Alice looked at me and slowly continued.
“But the plan went wrong from the very beginning. Anemone, who had fallen so deeply in love with you... said she would follow you even if it meant disobeying her mother’s last words.”
Zzzzt―!
[I-Ian... really... you can’t tell anyone... Anemone. That’s... my name...]
At that moment, the vision shook violently with static, changing into the story of the time I remembered.
“Yes, this moment. To be honest, I was in despair back then. If Anemone left the forest to be with you... your garden would be filled only with Anemone, and this world would fall to ruin. ...I had to fix it, no matter what terrible methods I had to use.”
Clench—
My fists tightened involuntarily.
Along with the pain of my nails digging into my palms, the agony Hayang must have felt came vividly to mind.
“Then... really... you really brought the demonic beasts to our village... and with your own hands... you placed the Curse of Worldly Hatred on Hayang?”
“...I-I’m sorry... Lord Ian, I am truly... sorry. It will sound like an excuse, but... at the time, I was half-mad with the fact that the ‘Happy Ending’ I had barely found was being ruined... I repeated my foresight over and over to try and find another way... but in the end, unless it was an incident of this magnitude... Anemone would not leave you, and even if she did, you would find her again.”
Alice continued in a trembling voice.
“But... it was the wrong choice. Because you, who should have felt emptiness while constantly longing for Anemone until you met me, lost your memories.”
“Then...!! Why did you try to separate me and Hayang in the first place? If Hayang was as special as you say...!! You didn’t need to make her suffer, you could have just let me gain Fate Energy from her!!”
“...Yes, it is true that Anemone possesses immense Fate Energy, being the special female she is. But... that is the case for your other females as well.”
Flash―!
Above Alice’s head, familiar names and unfamiliar epithets floated like constellations.
[The Golden Witch - Evelyn]
Evelyn, walking a path without a destination in a world where everything has turned to gold.
[The Lunatic Sovereign - Laplace]
Laplace, bursting into mad laughter under the moonlight while slaughtering the citizens of the Empire.
[The Black Demon King - Estelle]
Estelle, ascending to a new throne of demons and sowing suffering across the world.
[The Thorn Lord - Elfriede]
Elfriede, waging a war of conquest while wearing a crown of thorns.
[The Blood Demon - Yuris]
Yuris, tearing people apart at random and drinking their blood.
[The Merchant of Death - Helen]
Helen, spreading plagues just to sell the cure.
[The White-Faced Blue-Furred Eight-Tailed Fox - Chloe]
Chloe, swallowing a heart that is still beating.
...
..
.
Every single one of them was a horrific sight that made me doubt my own eyes.
“...What is this? Are you expecting me to believe this?”
“I never lie to you. I told you a moment ago, didn’t I... that you are an existence that can make any female bloom? However... there are also flowers in this world that harbor deadly poison. In some futures I observed, every single female who monopolized you showed the potential to burn the world down. ...Because these females possess such strong Fate Energy, Anemone alone was far from enough to replace them.”
Ssh―
Alice spread her hands, and a vision of Evelyn as the Golden Witch appeared before her.
“This child was a particular problem. Evelyn. According to my original plan, Evelyn... should have been eliminated when the fire broke out at the Marigold estate.”
Grit!
At the words that Evelyn should have died, my already fraying thread of reason snapped, and I nearly threw a punch at Alice.
“If it makes you feel better... you can hit me as much as you like... I am truly... sorry.”
“Enough with the apologies... I don’t want to hear them, so just shut up for a moment.”
After a short while, I managed to suppress my boiling emotions by letting out a deep sigh.
“Whew... There must be a reason you brought up something I didn’t even ask about first. Keep going. Why did Evelyn have to die?”
“...Because in the futures I observed after your memory loss, only golden flowers filled your garden. Yes... that’s right. Only the type of flower had changed; it was the exact same situation as with Anemone. However, there was one difference... in my plan, Evelyn was a flower that could be replaced.”
It was a pity that you wouldn’t obtain the Fate Energy Evelyn possessed, but I thought it was a much better choice than letting a single female monopolize you.
However...
“You twisted fate once again. You saved Evelyn from the fire, and you almost died yourself. ...I realized that day. That I must not interfere with you recklessly. Because you are the only existence that escapes my foresight. So, I changed the plan. Rather than eliminating Evelyn...”
Alice slowly closed and opened her eyes.
Countless futures were reflected within her black pupils.
“I made it so that other flowers, who had no connection to you yet, would come to find you.”