Chapter 259
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 259
“……?”
For a moment, I couldn’t understand what the system window was saying.
Covet?
Why would they covet Lisian?
‘What does the side effect of a soul offering have to do with a desire for Lisian?’
And to think Corico was coveting him too…….
‘Something’s wrong. This is weird.’
Was it because Lisian shared Mom’s bloodline?
‘But still.’
If that were the reason, Leon is right there too. Why don’t they want him? Is it because his personality is trash?
“……?”
Just as my eyes filled with doubt, a small light flickered out of Lisian’s body.
“……!”
It was a light that practically screamed, ‘I am a fragment of a soul,’ as it drifted away.
That tiny light was absorbed into the withered Divine Tree, Becrux. Simultaneously, a portion of the mist surrounding the tree flowed rapidly into Lisian.
He was already a boy as beautiful as an elf. Now, a faint, delicate light flowed along his lovely features.
It was the moment when a beauty as serene as a lake where swans play was permanently bestowed upon him.
‘……So that’s why.’
Just now.
In exchange for Lisian offering a part of his soul to the Divine Tree, the tree had granted him a portion of its power.
The reason the Divine Tree was being so generous to Lisian was likely because he carried Mom’s blood.
Thanks to that, I realized something as well. I understood why the priests looked at Lisian with the same fervent eyes they reserved for Ferdinand.
If Ferdinand could be described as a massive reservoir of divine power, Lisian must have been granted a significant portion of the Divine Tree’s strength.
‘And perhaps…….’
That was also why Corico entered the Frezier household as Lisian’s prospective bride in The Milk Bread.
[System] The priests and ‘Corico’ will now covet Lisian Frezier.
Because they coveted him, she started her journey by becoming his fiancé.
My expression soured slightly. It was because even the trivial things I’d overlooked were actually part of a massive, intricately woven web…….
Just how dangerous could a pure, handsome man be?
‘And I’m the existence that needs to be eliminated.’
There is only one way for a clone to take the place of the original.
The original has to disappear.
‘So these bastards were planning to suck Lisian dry of his power. Wait, if they admired Lisian as much as Ferdinand…….’
Don’t tell me they’re trying to drain Ferdinand’s divine power too?
I shook my head and then frowned. I suddenly realized I was lost in thought far too leisurely.
‘Wait. Where did Corico go?’
Where did the girl who was just trying to kill me with bloodshot eyes go?
Even the twins were gone, and naturally, the priests were nowhere to be seen. No, to begin with, this wasn’t even beneath the Divine Tree anymore.
When I came to my senses, I found myself in a space that was entirely white, floating as if I were drifting through it.
I didn’t know how long I had been scattering like dust in this void, but—
“Anyway, I guess the past sequence is finally over.”
It was long. Way too long.
I let out a deep sigh. This entirely white place where I was floating was likely the space between spaces, the time between times—a gap that was hard to define.
I blinked slowly. The opening screen of The Milk Bread suddenly flashed through my mind.
『Why Did That Lady Give the Handsome Man Milk Bread?』
The Milk Bread, that vivid game with the incredibly long name, always began with the same narration.
Brillant, the one and only empire on the continent.
Under the majesty of the Imperial Family, hundreds and thousands of households willingly bow their heads. However, there is one family.
The Grand Ducal House of Frezier alone possesses extraordinary influence.
The House of Frezier, the Empire’s only Grand Ducal family. It was on a bright spring morning when the flowers were in full bloom that a letter arrived from their ‘arch-nemesis.’
—I intend to send a young lady.
The Grand Temple, which had been at odds with Frezier for generations, proposed a political marriage to the eldest grandson of the Grand Duke under the guise of reconciliation.
And so, ‘you’ head to the Grand Duke’s residence as the prospective daughter-in-law of the Frezier family.
[System] What is ‘your’ name?
I had played The Milk Bread for years. It’s a common trait among gamers to want to find hidden easter eggs.
The easter egg hidden in the intro was the female protagonist’s original name. If you pressed the ‘Confirm’ button without entering any text in the ‘Name’ field, it wouldn’t work.
[System] Please provide a name.
[System] Please provide a name.
[System] Please provide a name.
The window would just pop up repeatedly.
However, if you ignored the system window and clicked frantically, the screen would eventually advance, and a new name would be randomly assigned to the empty slot.
That name was…….
[System] Corico
Many The Milk Bread players played using this original name, Corico. This was because it triggered other easter eggs.
One was the difference in illustrations.
If you started the game as Corico, white poppies would be drawn alongside the female protagonist whenever her illustration appeared.
And the other was a difference in specific ending dialogue.
That ending was…….
‘It was a total SSS-rank. The Saintess Ending.’
After seeing the ending where Corico becomes the Saintess, the origin of the original name is revealed.
[High Priest] Saintess Corico. Your name was taken from the name of a pure white flower, ‘Coquelicot.’
[High Priest] It is said that on the ruined continent, poppies are called ‘Coquelicot.’ It is a word from the ancient language, so to speak.
[High Priest] Now, Coquelicot has become the most honorable flower and the light that will be most widely known.
[High Priest] This is all thanks to your contributions, Saintess Corico.
I remember feeling quite accomplished after seeing that ending. A sense of pride, perhaps? Or maybe I was moved.
‘But when you see more of the truth, the emotions you once felt take on a new color.’
Now, that ending felt incredibly hypocritical and even a bit terrifying.
[High Priest] Now, Coquelicot has become the most honorable flower and the light that will be most widely known.
That line felt strangely significant now.
The ‘most honorable flower’ seemed to imply replacing the Divine Tree Becrux, and the ‘light that will be most widely known’ suggested that their god, Animus, had begun to rule the world.
It felt like a piece of foreshadowing.
‘Once I return to being Tulia, I’m going to start by giving everyone a taste of my Kingdom-Toppling Beauty.’
The white light surrounding me began to fade. I couldn’t see anything anyway, but I still found myself looking back.
And then…….
Unexpected rainbow-colored text blocked my vision.
[System] Receiving some unconfirmed messages!
“Huh?”
At the same time.
The text I had seen earlier appeared once more.
[System] Variable situation occurred!
[System] ‘Lisian Frezier’ and ‘Leon Frezier’ desire the same wish!
[System] The Special Wish is amplified and then subdivided!
[System] One additional wish from ‘Leon Frezier’ will be granted!
.
.
.
[System] Leon Frezier’s Wish
[System] To have only mean words poured upon him.
“…….”
[System] Special Reward 2: The wishes of ‘Lisian Frezier’ and ‘Leon Frezier’ are being executed!
“…….”
Ah…….
I pressed my palms against my forehead.
“Mom…… Dad…….”
You two gave birth to an idiot……. A truly massive idiot…….
“You’ve failed spectacularly at raising your children! Why are Lisian and I the only successful ones?!”
I knew it was weird when only one wish popped up earlier.
That little brat cried his eyes out just because I said something nice to him, and then he makes that his wish? Ha.
I was honestly about to go crazy.
He used that precious Special Wish Ticket on something like that?
He could have at least asked to make me the strongest person in the world, or made it so that I’d win against anyone who picked a fight with me!
Or granted me the status of a mindless Goddess of Victory!
Couldn’t he think of a productive wish like that?
“Are you a fool? Are you an actual fool?!”
He definitely must have paid his way into and out of that prestigious Academy!
“How am I supposed to protect that idiot? Seriously! Argh!”
After clutching my head and screaming, I eventually let my shoulders slump.
“Fine…….”
This is just my lot in life.
“I have to protect him, what else can I do……. He’s still my flesh and blood……. I have to endure it…….”
The sorrow of a youngest daughter filled my heart.
“Leon, you bastard. You’re dead meat when I see you.”
The moment I clenched my fists, my vision went pitch black.
* * *
‘I’m back…….’
That was my first thought when I opened my eyes.
It was a ceiling that was strikingly familiar yet strikingly foreign. The reason these two contradictory descriptions could coexist was simple.
This was the luxurious drawing room I had been ordering the knights to tear apart before I went back to the past.
Since they hadn’t managed to tear down the ceiling yet, the magnificent ceiling painting remained, but one thing had changed.
It was covered in blood.
“…….”
As a penalty for jumping through time and space multiple times, my vision wasn’t fully restored yet. I spent a few seconds quietly steadying my breath and blinking.
As I tried to turn my head, my breath caught in my throat.
Countless creature corpses were piled throughout the drawing room. And sitting in front of me, his back turned as if protecting me, was a man…….
“……Ferdinand?”
The moment I forced the words out of my constricted throat, the sword he had been gripping tightly collapsed onto the floor.
In the blink of an eye.
“Tulia.”
I was pulled tightly into Ferdinand’s arms.