Warmth
But the condition of my right arm was also true. The sensation of my right arm, which had only been briefly wrapped by the witch's fire, had long since cut off.
The embers clinging to my skin didn't go out and still burned my shoulder. I had already sensed that it was too late by myself.
If Lucia hadn't come running from far away at that moment, I might have had to cut off my own arm.
“Gray! Are you okay?! The surroundings are in chaos!”
“… I'm fine, Priestess. More importantly…”
“The alarm has rung at the Academy! It's the alarm calling the imperial army! What on earth is going on…”
When Lucia's gaze reached my arm, her expression hardened.
“… I roughly understand. I'll do emergency treatment first. Gray, go chase after Miss Cadeliz.”
Lucia didn't waste words and cast the temple's healing magic.
“Thank you.”
“It's embarrassing to say it myself, but the Astasia Church's healing magic isn't exactly something to be proud of.”
“As long as it doesn't leave you crippled, it's enough.”
“… It's not enough. You know best, but this alone isn't sufficient. You must receive proper treatment later. Definitely. This is a promise. Even if I can't confirm it, you must go see a doctor.”
“… Yes.”
Lucia said it repeatedly as if she had guessed that we might not meet for a while.
The Astasia Church is the Church of Wisdom and the Night Sky.
As one becomes a high priest, they get closer to the goddess's will, and unconsciously understand the goddess's intentions.
“… After this matter is over, I won't be able to see you for a while, Gray.”
Lucia might have felt that this covenant was nearing its end and that Gray would head to a place where no one's hand could reach for a long time.
“Farewell for now. Leave this to me. I'll handle the aftermath. … He will also hear the news and follow behind, so first…”
“I understand. I'll do my best to handle Elysia.”
After the short answer, Lucia gave me a faint smile and ruffled my hair.
“May you be healthy until the day we meet again in the name of Astasia.”
***
The news that the witch had gone out of control spread across the empire in an instant.
The Academy, which had been monitoring Elysia, immediately requested support from the empire, and the empire quickly dispatched troops.
The disaster that the witch's red eyes could cause had been passed down through long history as terrifyingly beautiful.
Since the empire also knew what situation would arise if not dealt with in time, they would surely handle it quickly when the opportunity arose.
The only ones I could trust right now were Boris and Lucia.
Since they bought time, I had to focus on my own task.
“… This way?”
The uncontrolled witch's spark was smoldering and emitting smoke.
The bushes burned by the flames had already turned to ash and scattered in the wind.
Following the familiar path of gray ash and bloody flames, I traced my memories.
“Burned it grandly and couldn't even run far.”
I already knew that Elysia didn't have many places she could go.
She had no friends to rely on, let alone family.
The only place she could escape to was the small nest attached to the academy.
One building slowly burning like a winter fireplace was all she had.
In the flames that were neither warm nor cold, I saw the corner that had burned white.
I went there, extinguishing the sparks one by one, which were chillingly cold.
Under the blanket or blanket, in the half-burned old cloth.
A small lonely girl was curled up.
***
When was the last time I slept with peace of mind.
Perhaps Elysia thought there might not be such memories at all, pondering them.
She had always lived with a sharp blade at her neck.
Afraid of being cut by that blade, she lived her days hiding.
The young lady of the prestigious Cadeliz family.
The proud and beautiful witch young lady.
Can't make mistakes.
Can't run.
Always be careful.
Always be proper.
But can't let anyone in.
You already know, right?
It's not just me who gets hurt.
The hollow status had long been revealed due to the family's old curse.
Evil woman or witch, she had already lost the courage to be hated by everyone.
Left with the sharp blade hanging at her neck.
Only the self-pointing dangerous blade that had been aiming at herself for a long time.
The blade finally started to tighten her neck, but strangely, it was so relieving that it felt good.
“… Haa…”
I exhaled a breath filled with warmth along with a sigh.
Everything around was burning.
The wall that blocked people's gazes had its bones exposed.
The ceiling that blocked the rain and snow had turned to ash, and the broken windows where stones and mischievous toys freely passed through had long since lost their places.
The blanket she had been hiding in was the only place she had felt at ease at the academy.
It must have been pulled over her shoulders, but the hateful witch's flames had scorched even this small fluffy cloth.
But Elysia didn't forcibly extinguish the flames.
She didn't feel the need to.
She had no strength, no will, no mind, and no thought to move even a finger.
More than anything, there was no longer any need to restrain.
She knew she had already become too late to control something.
The academy had probably already gone into chaos.
The witch's flames had created a barrier that no one could approach, so the only solace was a flimsy sense of relief that no one could come near for a while.
“… I can be alone until the last flame goes out.”
Every moment, every minute, every second.
Hiding breath, sound, thought, self, throwing the moments lived so far into the burning fire.
Watching them fade with ash.
In the mansion or at the academy, 'witch's red eyes' was just a target of fear.
In a very distant past, the cruel witch's flame that almost destroyed the empire.
In the bloodline of the brave knight who pierced the evil witch's heart and ended her.
The witch's curse had rooted itself in the knight's bloodline and irregularly settled in the eyes of the family women, jumping generations.
For the empire, it was the name of the valiant knight who became a hero, and for distant children, a target of resentment. It was said to be Cadeliz.
For the women of the Cadeliz family, 'red eyes' was immediately the symbol of 'witch's red eyes'.
Those born with red eyes were no different from potential witch seeds.
After hundreds of years, what kind of prank was it that the red eyes that had hidden themselves attached to herself like a lie?
His words that he was alive thanks to his father were not wrong.
Even his aunt had been executed internally long before Elysia was born.
The witch's red eyes, not even a girl with ordinary aptitude for mana, just born with slightly red eyes.
The witch's flame, not even able to touch a hot pot, was something the drunk father muttered one day.
The red eyes of Cadeliz were always the same in his words.
Just the order and the given time were slightly different.
“Now it's over…”
The headache pounded with the pulse.
The weak tinnitus slowly increased in intensity, mixed with popping sounds like a warm voice gently tickling the ear.
I knew about tinnitus or hallucination but didn't ponder it.
It was the warm voice of a mother that I couldn't hear again.
“Elysia, you'll choke on it. Come on, don't, always smile. Look at mom. Sulking alone doesn't solve anything.”
The mother, a princess from a neighboring kingdom, was a person who never lost her smile in her life.
Her sharp yet diligent appearance as a duke's wife was still vivid in my memory.
It was said that the kingdom where the mother was born and raised was just a small fortress in a mountain basin that had been isolated for a long time. The reason her personality was so clear and pure was probably because of that.
The girl who was just a princess of an unnamed mountain kingdom.
A white girl who, when she had time, went to play in the rye field sunbathing.
The fairy tale that a country girl grew into a fresh young lady and then became the wife of the empire's prestigious duke's family overnight by nothing but her beautiful beauty is a famous anecdote that countless storytellers have told and retold.
Her beauty, enough to be passed over several mountain passes, never lost its light even while giving birth to eight children.
Beautiful silver hair that looked like piled snow.
Especially the wall eyes that sparkled like a blue sea gave the beholder a refreshing feeling like smoothing mint leaves.
'If there's a fairy drawn in a fairy tale, she must look similar to mom.'
Young Elysia said that, drying her mouth. She wanted to become an adult like her mom.
“Hey, can I become pretty like mom?”
“Mom. Our Elysia is already prettier than mom? How much prettier do you think she'll get with that talk?”
“But my eyes are super red unlike mom's! Such eyes aren't pretty at all! The brothers always tease saying it looks like blood!”
“Brothers are bad. Ria's eyes are so pretty! Should I punish and bring back? Big brother hates bugs, so secretly put on pillow, he'll jump! Mom will catch one fresh one for you.”
“Ugh... I hate bugs too...”
Actually, even at that time, Elysia knew very well what the witch's red eyes was.
Even without going out to adventure, just listening to the servants gossiping in the mansion was enough.
She knew too well that she was a being hated, and that the only person who loved her was her mother.
From the moment she became not a person of this world, Elysia had been broken for a long time.
How her mother had died, what fault she had done that day, while forcing reality away, pretending to step one step at a time, she deceived herself.
She continued the illusion of living while keeping her mother's words not to be discouraged.
Finally, she realized her own face, her own flaw today.
The promise not to let anyone get hurt with these cursed eyes.
How pathetic that flimsy resolve was, she could only understand now at the limit of her mental state ironically.
The deeply rooted curse. And the broken memory like a mirror. The burned wallpaper. Why had she avoided it until now? Had she already forgotten? This murderer. She couldn't forget it. It was, the terrifying and cruel murderer who killed her own parents.
Would she say "mistake", "I never thought of that"? Don't laugh. Did she think it would end with mother? She should have hung herself and died. What did she expect by holding onto her life till now?
Her whole body was stiff, and no thoughts came to mind.
Perhaps she had had a similar feeling for a long time.
The piled ash tickled the inside of her mouth stuffily.
The burned remnants increased one by one, and the flames weakened a little.
After the last warmth went out, the pressed bullets and cold weapons would pierce her neck and head.
There would be no excuse for the witch who caused the chaos at the academy.
“……”
Suddenly, she picked up the old diary that had fallen on the floor.
Was it a coincidence that it didn't burn or because of the thick leather.
An old gift received long ago. Who gave it... She had been pondering this trivial question for a long time. Surely, I could tell from the first page scribbled first diary...
But when Elysia's hand touched it, it crumbled to ash.
No...
Clearly not touched yet...
Someone had picked up the diary before Elysia's finger.
“Even if your dream is to become a famous arsonist who will be remembered in history, there's no need to burn your own things, right? You know the saying don't play with fire at night?”
A familiar voice reached her ear.
………… Hallucination?
Thinking it couldn't be, she slowly followed the gaze.
... Clearly.
Just now... just now... before...
“It's not been even a day since I told you to dump all annoying bothersome things, didn't think you'd cause this much trouble. I'll give you credit for running and stabbing skills.”
The boy's right arm was in a mess with a large burn.
Not just the arm. The whole body was scorched, no healthy spot.
Had he crossed Elysia's fire pillar bare?
He shouldn't be here.
Can't be near him.
So he ran away but...
"…………..."
When she came to her senses, it was blurry in front of her eyes.
Not from the smoky smoke.
She had never shown tears to anyone until now.
Quickly peeked, but it was insufficient to capture all the things she had held back until now.
He looked at Elysia without changing his expression as always.
Extending his other hand,
Without any special emotion,
And too bluntly, a familiar one word came out.
“Come out. There's no point in sulking alone.”