Chapter 158
Chapter 158
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: Family
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“When I was young, I used to spend some time here.”
Before the dinner meeting scheduled for this evening began, Erika and I were gazing at the flower beds in the garden, where cool air flowed.
It wasn’t like we had planned to spend time together.
I had simply stepped out into the garden by chance, and Erika was looking at the flowers in the flower beds, so I stood beside her.
“There wasn’t much else to do. They didn’t properly teach me magic, and they didn’t have any expectations of me either, so I was pretty much left to my own devices.”
“Weren’t you taught magic by your family?”
Given the Bright Family’s renowned reputation in all things magical, I had naturally assumed that the foundation of Erika’s exceptional skills came from her family.
At my question, Erika gave a faint, bitter smile.
“Well, if you count peeking over their shoulders and learning on the sly, then sure, I learned it that way. Hmm, actually, it might be more accurate to say I stole it.”
“……”
“I was raised solely for the purpose of a political marriage from the start. With the eldest son and second son already there, they had no need to pay attention to a girl like me.”
She spoke of her rather bitter past in a matter-of-fact tone. I had experienced my family’s indifference myself, so I understood that sense of desolation.
But Erika smiled confidently, as if she had already overcome everything.
Her way of leaving the past behind, focusing on the present, and living her life to the fullest was a beauty comparable to the flowers in the garden.
“Thank you for coming to me like this.”
“……”
While gazing endlessly at the flowers without looking at me, Erika suddenly let slip her true feelings.
“No one knows how our relationship will end, but for now, I’m happy that you’re by my side.”
The sincerity in her words was clear. But her expression showed none of it.
“But is this really the time you want?”
Slowly turning her gaze from the splendid flower beds, Erika looked at me. I had been staring intently at her from the very beginning.
‘There it is again, that expression.’
I wasn’t sure if Erika herself knew it, but she had grown by overcoming and enduring so much.
In the process, she had developed a habit of making a particular expression.
The look of enduring pain, of overcoming it.
Her brows were slightly furrowed, yet she forced a calm face.
It was exactly that expression now.
Erika was once again overcoming something within herself.
“Is the place you should be really here?”
“……”
What could I say to make her accept it? No matter how much I racked my brain, nothing suitable came to mind.
I didn’t have the confidence to persuade Erika Bright, who had overcome even her own desires and happiness.
“When I was young, I hated looking at these flowers. It was boring. I wasn’t looking because I liked them; I was just looking because there was nothing else to do.”
She added that they were at least something to look at, then Erika spoke firmly.
“But Deus, time spent with you is truly enjoyable. Even just standing here together, looking at the flowers.”
I knew her words carried a note of reproach, despite what she said.
“But you’re not enjoying it.”
“Erika.”
I tried to tell her to stop, but she naturally placed her hand over mine.
“Haha, I guess I really do love you.”
Letting out an incredulous laugh, Erika carefully leaned against my shoulder.
“More than my own feelings, your happiness comes first.”
“……”
“It’ll take quite some time to go from Byolen to Northsweden. You should leave now.”
Byolen was in the south of the kingdom, and Northsweden was in the north. They were polar opposites, so even leaving now would be too late.
Pindenai had probably already crossed the mountains and arrived in the Clock Republic.
“Sigh, Erika. Pindenai made her own decision.”
That’s why I respected her choice and hadn’t gone after her myself.
“That was her choice, and at the very least, I showed her mercy by not killing her.”
Pindenai might not know it, but I had already released her soul.
It was only a short time, but she had served me well enough, so it was my own form of mercy and a gift to her.
It would be absurd to bind the soul of a woman who had left to fight for her freedom.
She would become truly free on her own.
In the Retry game, there was no mention of the Clock Republic’s laborers gaining freedom, but many things had already changed from the game.
The future from here on was unpredictable even for me, and it would be up to Pindenai.
“I don’t chase after someone who’s left.”
“You said you had a plan.”
Even after I said that much, Erika didn’t back down.
“Before leaving the academy, you told me you had a plan in place, even if it wasn’t finalized yet. What was it?”
“It’s nothing much.”
It really wasn’t anything significant.
“I just passed word to His Majesty through the princess. That something unusual seems to be brewing in the Clock Republic, so to keep an eye on it.”
“……”
“I told Aria to take it easy and not do anything unnecessary. She might stir up trouble otherwise.”
“Then… you lied to me?”
I had acted like I had a plan regarding Pindenai to convince Erika.
“Yeah.”
In truth, I had no plan for her at all. If I hadn’t said that, I wouldn’t have been able to convince Erika to stop chasing after Pindenai.
“Deus!”
Her voice rose sharply for a moment.
Erika gripped my hand tightly, her tone carrying a hint of fear.
“You, lying over something like this……”
Erika bit her lip hard. With her head bowed and her body trembling, she looked like she might collapse at any moment.
“You’re in worse shape than I thought.”
“Sigh, Erika.”
She forced the words out as if swallowing something bitter, but I sighed and called her name.
“I’m the same as always.”
At my words, Erika snapped her head up. The teardrops glistening faintly in her eyes held so much emotion.
“Mind if I interrupt?”
Just then, Deia—who had been watching us—and Edwon Bright, the second son of the Bright Family, approached.
I thought it was an odd pairing, but the moment she saw them, Erika let go of my hand and ran straight over.
“Huh? What’s this?”
Deia looked startled by Erika’s sudden reaction, while Edwon immediately scowled.
“I apologize, Lord Deus. My sister lacks manners by a mile. Foolish girl. I’ll educate her.”
“Don’t speak ill of my fiancée.”
Without thinking, I scolded him, and Edwon immediately bowed his head in apology.
“I-I’m sorry.”
“Hmm, Edwon? My sibling and I need to talk, so could you give us some space?”
“Yes? But you just told me to follow you……”
“Get lost.”
Deia waved him off irritably, and Edwon could only retreat with a bewildered expression.
“That’s unexpected.”
When I subtly asked if I hadn’t expected Edwon to come along, Deia replied irritably.
“I was originally planning to say we’d gotten engaged after he fell for me at first sight or whatever, just to gauge your reaction……”
She glanced at me cautiously, checking my response. Seeing me listen silently, Deia let out a deep sigh.
“Ugh, what was I expecting. He must’ve set his sights on me since things don’t seem to be working out with you and the engagement.”
She glanced at me again, then furrowed her brow.
“What happened? What did that wench say to you?”
“Sigh, Erika is my fiancée. Watch your words.”
“Pfft. It’s not like you’re actually getting married.”
“……”
I stayed silent without responding, and Deia, looking anxious, glanced at me and asked again.
“You’re not, right?”
“……Yeah.”
Only after my answer did Deia seem to relax a bit, exhaling deeply and stretching.
“Well, anyway, since that woman’s favorable toward you, things should go smoothly this time…… But exactly why did you bring in the Brights and the Zeronia Family together?”
“Among the noble houses loyal to the kingdom, I needed families that I could handle organically on my side.”
Deia shook her head, saying she knew that already but found it boring.
“Yeah, I get that. But I’m curious why you need families you can control.”
“……”
As expected of Deia.
Darius would have just nodded and moved on, but she always zeroed in on the hidden reason.
Just the fact that she had investigated the Bright Family’s scandals before the formal meeting showed she had read my intentions.
Well, with Deia, it might be better to just tell her outright—it’d be easier to prepare countermeasures too.
“There’s a black mage organization called Dante.”
“Dante?”
Deia looked puzzled, as if hearing the name for the first time.
“They’ve been tangling with me off and on for a while, and you could say the war in the Marias Great Forest this time was their doing too.”
“Hmm.”
Sensing the gravity of the matter, Deia crossed her arms and pondered as she listened.
“I could roughly predict their movements before, but now it’s hard to grasp. Since I can’t anticipate how they’ll come at me, I’m just gathering forces that can respond on all fronts.”
“Since you’re the only black mage officially recognized in the kingdom, they must have their eyes on you.”
Deia got it immediately. Even picking up on parts I hadn’t explicitly said, she asked with a subtle expression.
“Then why not get help from the royal family? Last time I saw, you seemed pretty close with His Majesty and the princess.”
“If I did that, it’d look like the kingdom is moving at my request.”
“……Ah.”
“The kingdom’s people still harbor resentment toward black mages, so they wouldn’t view the royals acting on my word favorably.”
“True.”
I could get indirect support, but not direct aid.
The reason I was accepted at all was because, on the surface, the power dynamic between the royals and me was clear— them above, me below.
The bishops would probably mobilize citizen groups and launch a smear campaign, claiming the necromancer had wormed his way into the royal court.
“That’s why you chose the fallen Zeronia Family and the powerful-but-remote Bright Family?”
They had enough power but had stepped back from the main stage.
Having heard everything, Deia smiled with a subtle sense of satisfaction.
“Mmm, it’s so much nicer when you explain it like this.”
Maybe because we were within the fence of family. It felt easy talking to Deia.
She was deliberately avoiding asking about Pindenai, probably out of trust mixed with worry.
“Family, huh.”
Without thinking, I muttered the word. At that, Deia’s eyes trembled slightly, and an awkward smile formed on her face.
“Family, right.”