Chapter 256
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 256
[System] Only one remains.
The System’s tone changed in an instant, but I wasn't surprised anymore.
I finally understood that I was experiencing the past I couldn't remember, one piece at a time.
The essence of the System was a mixture of ancient magic fueled by the souls of the Hania tribe and the spirit of the Divine Tree Becrux.
‘That’s why the Hania tribe’s ego pops out sometimes, and Becrux’s ego pops out at others.’
The ones who respected and protected me as the successor were the Hania tribe.
The one who perceived me as a companion… or rather, an equal, and treated me bluntly was the ego of the Divine Tree Becrux.
Based on my observations of the System’s conduct so far, it seemed to be a blend where the Hania tribe’s respectful tone served as the base, but Becrux’s temperament would frequently flare up.
And now, the Hania tribe and the Divine Tree must have felt the need to show me the past. It was likely the best they could do for me while under attack by the heretics.
I fully accepted the scene shifting before my eyes once again.
“Ugh…”
The first thing I felt upon opening my eyes was a crushing pain in my chest. It hurt. My entire body ached as if I were being pricked by thousands of needles.
“Tulia? Are you awake?”
A voice called out in a frantic rush. Enduring the surging pain, I lifted my head.
‘It’s these two this time.’
Since it said this was the last one, did that mean Ferdinand didn't have a past to show?
That wonder lasted only a moment.
“Brother Lisian. Brother… Leon.”
The reason I added "Brother" at the end was because of the System’s final words.
[System] Three of the male leads will die at random.
This, too, must be a result of the heretics' attack.
My heart grew heavy.
‘Honestly, the Divine Tree is the worst. How can you not block a single attack from the heretics?’
[System] ……
‘What.’
[System] ……
‘Hmph.’
I turned my head away petulantly, but I could feel it. My eyes were gradually growing wet with tears.
‘Did Klaus… die?’
Maybe he wasn't dead yet. Right before I was pulled into this Benefit, Klaus had been breathing faintly.
That thin thread of breath that could snap at any moment…
He won't die.
Besides, aren't we bound by that "Great Wolf King’s magical companion" thing or whatever?
Since I don't feel anything wrong yet, he must still be alive.
Furthermore, my A-Rank is right before my eyes.
A Benefit will be granted to me, and if I can use it as a ‘Wish’ like the other male leads did…
Even if Klaus is dead by the time I return, I can just bring him back to life.
‘I’ve saved Klaus once before when his breath had stopped, using a Special Benefit.’
If the other male leads die, couldn't I just save them with a Benefit too?
Yes. That’s how it will be.
Mom said I would definitely win.
And I am now the female protagonist of this survival story.
The protagonist is supposed to achieve everything they want…!
If I didn't inject myself with this kind of bravado, I felt like I would burst into tears right there against Lisian’s back.
That was right.
I was currently being carried on Lisian’s back.
‘Everyone is young this time, too.’
Compared to the first past I saw—the time we snuck onto Mom’s carriage—they looked a bit older.
The twins looked to be at least seven or eight years old.
Matching them, I seemed to be around four or five.
I ground my teeth inwardly after checking the twins' faces. They were covered in scars that were clearly the work of that woman, Corico!
“Brothers.”
“Yeah?”
“What is it?”
Lisian and Leon answered simultaneously.
It seemed they could hear my voice.
Pat.
I reached out and found that I could physically touch the twins' faces as well.
“Both of your faces are a mess.”
“…Ah. I just got hurt a little.”
Unlike Lisian, who brushed it off vaguely, Leon Frezier puffed out his chest and spoke proudly.
“That’s because! We fought our way here.”
“You fought? Who did you fight?”
“Who else? You were unconscious, so you didn't know, right? Traitors appeared from Mother’s tribe.”
The bright and radiant expression on Leon Frezier’s face sank bit by bit.
“And Mother, while she was protecting us…”
He couldn't finish his sentence. Though he would later grow into a handsome man who was cool and unstoppable, the current Leon Frezier was just a young boy.
He rubbed his eyes roughly with the back of his hand.
“Forget it. Let’s talk about this later.”
I felt like I understood his heart, so I nodded, pretending to be ignorant and innocent.
“Then where are we… Huh?”
I had intended to change the subject naturally, but I ended up genuinely shocked.
“We’re under the Divine Tree?”
It was true.
A massive tree that was slowly withering. A mysterious mist draped around it like a veil.
It was the Altar beneath the Divine Tree Beta Crucis.
Why were the three of us huddling up here? It looked like the three of us were sitting on this Altar very much of our own volition.
“Was this place under the Divine Tree?”
“No wonder the tree was so huge.”
“…?”
I frowned at the twins' reactions.
“You didn't come here knowing that?”
“No, Tulia.”
Even though he was younger and didn't stutter, Lisian was still Lisian.
His white hair was matted with blood and dust, yet he remained as noble as a frost flower blooming at dawn.
“We followed the light of the pendant to get here.”
The way he spoke to me was as gentle as ever.
“The pendant?”
“Yes. Mother’s keepsa—”
Lisian, who had almost said "keepsake," closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Even at that young age, I could clearly feel his consideration, not wanting to frighten his younger sister.
“Mother gave it to us a long time ago. Light started pouring out of it, and we thought it might be a guiding Sacred Relic, so we followed it.”
As he spoke, Lisian showed me the pendant hanging from his neck.
“…!”
My eyes widened.
‘What? That light!’
It was a color I knew all too well. A light exactly like a red laser pointer, reminiscent of a targeting sight!
The very same light that had once struck Klaus’s eyes, and another time Lisian’s forehead! And finally, the light that had struck that very keepsake Mom left behind, the pendant, shattering it to pieces!
To think that light was coming from the pendant itself.
‘A guide. Right. I suppose you could call it a guide.’
When the light first hit Klaus’s eyes, I had covered them with my hands.
Then, we were bound by some strange magic of the Oath of Companionship, involving the Great Wolf King or whatever.
The second time…
‘Because the keepsake was destroyed, I succeeded in the event that hurt Lisian.’
To think all of that was an attack by the heretics. I gnashed my small baby teeth.
“But why here of all places?”
This Altar.
It was the place where that guy—the High Priest or whatever—had placed me in the first past I saw.
It was a place that left a very bad taste in my mouth…
Suddenly, a certain hypothesis crossed my mind.
I started struggling.
“Tulia? What’s wrong?”
“Brother Lisian. Put me down.”
“You hurt your leg, so you have to be careful…”
Lisian frowned but carefully set me down.
‘Ugh! It hurts!’
The moment I tried to stand up on my own, an unimaginable pain surged through me. But I couldn't stop.
If anything, Leon jumped in surprise.
“Hey! Tulia! What are you doing?!”
“Brother Leon. Lower your head. Quickly.”
“Why my head? Brother, did she hit her head or something?”
Despite his grumbling, Leon Frezier obediently lowered his head. He practically knelt so that I, who was much shorter than him, could reach.
I rummaged through Leon Frezier’s pitch-black hair.
“……”
Then, with a face frozen cold, I also lifted, rummaged through, and searched Lisian’s silver hair.
Then I took two steps back and collapsed.
“Tulia!”
“Did your legs give out? I told you it hurts, so why are you suddenly acting weird?”
The twins rushed over to support me. Even as I was pulled along like a doll, I felt like I was about to burst into tears.
“Brother Lisian, Brother Leon…”
I asked slowly, taking the utmost care to keep my voice from trembling and to prevent a sob from breaking out.
“Both of you, over there… try pressing your bodies right up against the Divine Tree.”
“…Huh? Why all of a sudden?”
I spoke, barely suppressing my tearful voice.
“The pendant’s light is pointing at the Divine Tree anyway, right? So just try it.”
“Ah. Is it?”
Leon scratched his head.
“I thought it was just pointing that we should come this way. Did we have to touch it too? Brother, come here. Let’s try.”
Lisian was half-dragged by Leon, staring intently at me. I gave him a beaming smile. I barely managed to smile for him.
“Brothers.”
I asked the two boys who were pressed tightly against the Divine Tree while I hugged my aching legs.
“Can you see the mist on the Divine Tree?”
“Yeah.”
“Of course. I have eyes.”
“Then can you see the mist moving right now?”
“Is it moving? Looks the same to me.”
“It looks the same to me, too.”
“I see…”
I wanted to bury my face in my tucked knees.
It seemed they couldn't see it. The way the mist gathered above their heads only to scatter instantly.
The sacred mist of the Divine Tree swirled around the twins' heads several times, but then vanished without a trace.
A hollow laugh escaped my lips. I spoke while struggling to hold back my tears.
“Come back and sit here now. I guess it was useless.”
“…?”
The two looked at each other and then came back to sit beside me. I clenched my hands together, fighting the urge to cry.
‘Mom’s pendant must have pointed to the Divine Tree on purpose…’
Hoping for a potential purification effect.
Hoping that a fratricidal war caused by the heretics wouldn't happen.
But Mom’s expectations scattered as fruitlessly as the mist.
Everything was meaningless.
My sorrow piled up bit by bit in the empty air.
Because I had seen it. On Leon’s black hair, and on Lisian’s silver hair.
Right in the center of their hair, shining in their respective colors, I had seen the clearly engraved Star Marks.