257. Shadows of the Future
257. Shadows of the Future
- 1 -
The red evening glow stained the garden of Narcissus Palace.
The garden, where daffodils and lilies swayed, seemed to dance joyfully, as if it understood its mistress's heart.
And with good reason, for today was a special day.
It had been a week since Hysen was divided into three.
On the first weekend of March, I decided to catch my breath for the first time in a long while.
I had gathered only my five most precious aides for a small gathering of fate(緣).
To hear the stories I had put off.
"It has been a very long time. To have just us gathered together like this."
Evangeline lifted a glass of ruby-red wine and spoke.
"Indeed. The last time we gathered like this, there were only four of you."
I gave a gentle smile.
Around me, dressed in comfortable attire rather than formal ceremonial robes, were five extraordinary women.
Evangeline, who carried a cold allure, like the deep sea.
Her sea-green eyes were as indifferent as ever, but today, a rare warmth of affection(情) flickered within them.
Yuran, clinging to my arm with a coquettish smile.
Her five jet-black tails swayed gently, as if she were in a good mood.
Shue, tilting her wine glass with languid eyes.
But deep within those eyes coiled a frenzy no one dared to disturb.
Saya, carefully polishing the sword on her lap.
Her soft pink(緣粉) eyes looked peaceful, but the movement of her fingertips was that of a swordswoman who had trained for a thousand years.
Finally, Esther, who radiated a holy dignity.
Her white eyes held the benevolence befitting a saintess.
They were all my aides.
Aides from a very long time—talents who had come back from the future.
"My husband."
As the gathering of six progressed, Ran set down her glass and spoke.
"I believe it's time we began our story."
I turned my gaze to her, then looked around at everyone.
They were the women who had promised, once all five were gathered, they would reveal the truth of my future—and openly appeal their feelings, hiding nothing of their hearts.
The women who had abandoned all the glory and assets of the future to return to the past for my sake.
Their eyes held firm resolve.
"Very well. Let me hear it."
At my answer, Eve slowly lifted her head.
"What we will tell you from now is about why we came to be here, and..."
Her voice wavered for a moment. With pain.
"It is about how you, Master, met your end."
The moment those words fell, the air turned cold.
The pain in their eyes was the price they had paid to travel back through time.
- 2 -
"In the first life, your actions were inevitably slower than they are now, Master."
Eve was the first to speak.
Her eyes, wandering through old memories, had no focus.
"So back then, you stopped at brainwashing the first prince—the one who later became King of Hysen and recently died. Because even if you had gained evidence, unlike now, you had no way to use it."
"That makes sense. Yurena would have been fully turned into the royal family's weapon, and above all, you weren't there."
At my words, Ran offered a faint smile and continued.
Her voice, as she hid her mouth behind a fan, was filled with regret.
"It was also because the surrounding nations noticed your talent too quickly, my husband. The Norn Empire and Dantalion moved first. At the time, you didn't have the leeway to conceal yourself, so..."
"Right. As soon as that bastard made the first move, the other demon realm archdukes started keeping me in check, one by one..."
Anger crept into Shue's drawling voice.
As her voice quickened, a red frenzy flashed in both her eyes.
"I remember that the Gluttony Duke also moved."
Saya spoke in a gentle voice.
After sheathing her sword and placing it on her lap, she looked straight into my eyes and spoke.
"It was a scheme to take your essence for himself and become the next Demon King. From what Viscount Myur Relix in the dungeon says, he's not doing that now, but..."
Esther—Ash—concluded.
"The archdukes of the demon realm, the archdukes of the surface, and the countless adventurers and nations upon the surface. Everyone noticed your talent... and in the end, just before the final moment, we met our limit."
I fell into thought for a moment as I listened to their words.
If I were exposed too quickly, I could have met the same end even now.
But.
"It is different from now."
Eve added to my words.
"You have divided Hysen into three, Master, and they do not even know exactly where your dungeon is. Moreover..."
"We are far stronger now than we were then."
Yuran's golden eyes flashed with confidence.
"And above all..."
Shue offered a languid smile.
"...there are no traitors this time..."
Saya nodded along.
"Some of those who were with you until the end, Master, could not come here. It was because of them."
Her voice was heavy, and her eyes held mourning and a sense of reverence.
"Lady Sonia and one other had already died by then, and another person remained in the future to protect your legacy. The regression magic was not perfect, after all."
I closed my eyes and thought.
About the loyalty of those who gave their lives for me.
Just knowing Sonia died for me made a corner of my heart ache this much; to think there was another who did the same...
And then there was the one who sent all their comrades to the past, remaining in the future alone to guard my traces in solitude.
"And there were traitors."
Ash's voice turned unusually cold.
"There were five of them."
Ran nodded.
Her seductive air vanished, replaced by a seeping chill.
"We have already dealt with two of them."
Eve continued in a low voice.
Her voice was nearly a growl, laced with a terribly deep grudge.
"One was a dungeon lord who lurked near your dungeon. She will no longer pose a danger to your future, Master."
"And the Arachne King is also gone now..."
Shue laughed languidly. A flash of murderous intent still lingered in the corner of her expression.
"Evangeline and I handled him together... now that bastard can't commit his filthy acts against his family anymore."
"As for the remaining three..."
Ran rolled a sip of wine in her mouth, then grasped her glass.
"There was one among the nobles of the surface demon realm who had surrendered to you. At the final moment, they were the first to turn their blades backward. We'll be able to handle them when the time comes. But the last one..."
Her voice twisted with irritation.
"The one remaining is a count under His Grace the Gluttony Duke, so we cannot touch him now."
"That's unfortunate. But it likely won't be long for him either."
I nodded along.
When the time comes, I can deal with him too. For now, I have to focus on more important matters.
"All of us cannot forget that day."
Of course, I myself don't hold a deep grudge against them, but the grudges my women carry are more than reason enough for them to die.
Esther's white eyes wavered.
As she spoke, carrying deep sadness, I took her hand. She turned it over and quietly kissed the back of my wrist.
"You led us until the very end, Master."
Contrary to her calm demeanor, Saya already had tears forming in her soft pink eyes.
She took out a handkerchief and wiped them away.
"Even as their attacks continued and we were driven into a corner. My husband, you smiled upon us until the very end."
Yuran's black tails had lost their vitality, lying stretched out on the floor. They were still beautiful, but no longer shining.
"So we made up our minds... to go back and change everything. To lay everything before you, Master."
Grief also flickered across Shue's expressionless face.
Her fist was clenched so tightly it would have drawn blood if not for the gloves she always wore.
I slowly uncurled her fingers.
"We swore. That we would never lose you this time."
Evangeline concluded with those final words, looking directly into my eyes.
Silence settled over us.
Feeling their sorrow, which struck deep into the heart, I set down my wine glass.
"Thank you. All of you. For coming back for me like this."
At my words, the gazes of the five women gathered.
Their eyes were full of sorrow, resolve, and affection.
Feeling that fill my heart completely, I raised my glass.
"For a future we will share together forever, let us raise our glasses."
""Yes.""
After that, we quietly shared drinks and dinner for a while.
Then, around the time when energy returned to the room, Ran spoke.
"My husband."
Her eyes held both sorrow and aegyo at once.
"By now, you know the circumstances that brought Ash and Saya to you, my husband."
"That I do."
I nodded.
Saya had belonged to a marquis-level demon noble family of the Western Continent, but it was annihilated when the current archduke-level nobles moved to eliminate a rival.
Esther was a saintess, a woman who nearly became a victim of the Holy Kingdom's corruption.
Every one of them had a tragic tale that I could only call a cruel fate(緣).
I turned my gaze to the other three.
"We too..."
Shue nodded, and Evangeline continued in a low voice.
"...wish to tell you, Master, the story that was the starting point for the three of us. That is to say... each separately."
Evangeline, Yuran, Shue. Affection and bashfulness coexisted on the faces of the three.
Looking at Saya and Esther, they were smiling at me.
As if to say it was now the three's turn.
"Very well. I'd just been wanting to hear your stories myself."
Joy blossomed on the faces of the three women.
- 3 -
Yuran's underground dungeon in Mozarkar.
The sky visible from the garden's ceiling was so clear it was hard to believe it was underground.
The full moon, risen brightly, shone as if it were real.
I strolled with her through the garden of this nocturnal space, and looked carefully around.
"It has become more beautiful."
"It is a relief that it has caught my husband's eye."
The massive structure resembling a Korean-style temple was silent, as if time had stopped.
The red roof tiles, the wave-like patterns of the dancheong, and the stone lanterns glittering in the moonlight all harmonized to create a dream-like scene.
Dragons and phoenixes were carved on the pillars of the main hall, and those patterns seemed alive and moving as they caught the moonlight.
The golden statues inside the Main Buddha Hall were not Buddhas, but Asura, Rakshasa, and Nine-tailed Foxes.
"My husband..."
Coming out of the Main Buddha Hall and walking through the garden, Ran curved her mouth into a smile as she linked arms with me.
Her eyes sparkled golden.
"I remember the day I first saw you here."
"The first time..."
I nodded.
The temple that day wasn't bathed in moonlight like now, but its very appearance—an underground temple—created an atmosphere where mystery and gloom coexisted.
However, I briefly wondered if Yuran was imagining the same scenery as I was.
"Are you speaking of 'this time'? Or 'the last time'?"
After all, our 'first meeting' would have occurred twice in her memories.
Hearing my question, Yuran smiled softly.
"'The first meeting' of the 'last time' was, for me, salvation met at the end of an abyss, and the 'first meeting' of 'this time' was, for me, a fated reunion. One is not more important than the other. However..."
Longing filled Yuran's voice.
After a moment of silence, she slowly opened her mouth.
"...the story this time is about what came before even that."
Stopping, Ran looked up at the moon. Her five tails were still swaying, but somehow, it felt as if they had less energy than before.
"What I wish to tell you, my husband, is the story of a young Monstrous Celestial Fox. It is the story of a golden fox, born as an illegitimate child of a certain nine-tailed fox clan."
In her gaze upon me, a grudge formed like dewdrops on a leaf of longing.
"Will you listen?"
As I nodded, she began to speak, her eyes holding both bitterness and happiness.