Chapter 418: Proof of Existence (6)
Chapter 418: Proof of Existence (6)
To my beloved Ian Percus,
Summer is fading, and autumn is arriving. Cold rain has begun to fall at night, and the waning heat of the sun is now almost a welcome sight. How is it where you are, Ian? I wonder if the sound of this rain, soaking the moon, reaches your ears as well.
Night, rain, and wine.
It is a perfect day to reminisce about the past. Some might reproach a priestess for drinking, but as that day approaches once more, it is difficult to wash away the bitterness in my heart. You, of all people, would understand my feelings, wouldn't you?
It was a sunny day, unlike today. The day we left for the Holy Kingdom together.
I remember my heart swelling as if we were going on a picnic. It was the first time I was visiting my hometown with you. To anyone, their birthplace holds a special meaning, and love makes one want to share all of it. I thought that with you by my side, I could proudly face even my childhood, which I had buried long ago.
It was no different from a 'confession.' Perhaps I wanted to offer penance to that little girl—the one I had tried so hard to look away from, the one who carried so many tears and grudges.
But who could have known? That my true sin lay elsewhere.
The Lord once said that we hate ourselves as much as we hate others. This is because as the hatred grows stronger, our own hearts become pained and distressed.
I believe the emotion of 'suspicion' is much the same.
The more I delved into the suspicious aspects of the orphanage, the deeper my doubts grew, and the more I came to distrust myself. It was a time when all the truths I had believed in were crumbling. On the day I was betrayed by the hand of one I hadn't even thought to suspect, I profanely began to doubt the very existence of God.
Because I had been betrayed by none other than a comrade.
All the paths I had loved were leading toward the cross. On the day I stood in the tribunal, death was before my eyes, and the God I had spent my life searching for was nowhere to be seen.
It is late, but I want to ask.
How could you believe in me?
That is a separate issue from being framed. The verdict was as good as decided, and even I lacked the confidence to save myself. To be more precise, I had given up. Conviction, loyalty, faith… everything that made up my life had been denied.
And yet, why did you?
Even as your skin was torn, your bones crushed, and your blood dripped onto the ground.
Why did you try to save me? Why did you try to show hope to someone like me, who had abandoned everything?
Actually, I already know your answer. You have always said it.
'Obedience.' Truly, the will of the Lord is unpredictable.
But now I know. I learned that day that even if we are broken and fall before wounds and trials, there are times when we must rise and move forward again. And I learned that this is the way the Lord proves Himself.
The glass of wine I raise today will also become a memory one day.
In memory of a poor soul's passing, and for our unfathomable future.
I drink one glass and fill another. I shall drink this glass for you.
My love, my foundation, my eternal companion.
On this rainy night, I swear my love for you before the Lord.
P.S. 1: I think I will visit the Capital in the middle of next month. You will come to meet me, of course? However, if I may offer a piece of advice, please get rid of that pet dog. I am getting a headache from the cheeky letters that fly in once a week.
P.S. 2: Recently, rumors have been circulating that an illegitimate child might be born into the Yurdina family. Take it easy, seriously. Before I haul you both before a religious inquisition for the sin of adultery.
From your Lucia.
Imperial Calendar Year 571, the twelfth day of the Month of the Disc.
*
After reading the letter, I remained silent.
Detailed circumstances were still missing. This was a characteristic shared by all the letters, including the first one. At this point, it was more accurate to assume some kind of coercive force was at play rather than mere coincidence.
My 'future self' had said something similar.
That directly conveying information carried too high a 'cost.' I didn't know what was being 'consumed,' but there seemed to be a total limit to how much the future could intervene in the past. The reason the future personality couldn't intervene during the last incident was likely related to that.
In the end, I had to navigate a treacherous future with these vague clues.
It was better than facing events with nothing at all. Nevertheless, I couldn't shake a strange sense of lingering regret.
There was only one reason for it.
The short sentence scribbled on the back of the letter caught my eye again.
'Beware of family.'
Along with the mention of a 'traitor' in the letter, it was a statement sufficient to plant a seed of doubt in my heart.
And if it was 'family,' there was only one suspect.
My younger sister, Ria Percus.
"No, surely not..."
I shook my head, swallowing a hollow laugh.
There was no way Ria would betray me. Unless she was being controlled by the Dark Cult, but even that possibility had become slim long ago after the core of the Corpse Giant was destroyed.
Yet, I couldn't entirely dispel a sliver of anxiety.
Betrayal, by nature, is something suffered at the hands of those one trusts.
The letter didn't explicitly state it, did it? It only said she was betrayed by a 'comrade.'
I bit my lip for a while, swallowing my agony. I didn't want to doubt Ria, but it was true that I felt anxious.
After tapping my index finger on the table for a few minutes.
I realized that agonizing alone wouldn't yield a conclusion. In times like this, I needed to gather additional clues first.
To do that, I had two options.
First, investigate the tracks of my 'future self.'
And second, consult a comrade who was smarter than me.
It was common sense that the more information one had, the more specific the reasoning could be. Therefore, as usual, I decided to start with the first step.
Tracking 'my' actions within the Academy wasn't difficult.
Because I was such a celebrity, all my movements were exposed. The person I visited next was the Princess.
"Sir Ian, you've come again!"
The Princess welcomed me brightly, as she always did. In the secluded back garden of the Versia Palace, a place granted only to the Royals, only two silhouettes were visible.
Yes, two people.
Surprisingly, a familiar face was seated beside the Princess. It was a female knight with blue hair that flowed like a waterfall, neatly arranged.
Irene Lupemion.
She, who had said she would stay at the Percus estate for a while to focus on guarding, had returned.
I showed a welcoming smile at the return of my comrade-in-arms.
"Sir Irene! You've returned?"
"Yes, Master. Thanks to you, everything was fine."
Sir Irene accepted my greeting with a bitter smile.
The title 'Master' was still incredibly awkward. Come to think of it, the Princess and Sir Irene were among those who didn't know about the existence of my 'future self.'
I would have to reveal it someday.
But then I felt like Sir Irene, who called me 'Master,' would become embarrassed, so I decided to reveal the truth later. After all, the one Sir Irene served as a master was the 'me' from the future.
Instead, I offered a standard greeting.
"How is the Percus family? I heard you were searching alongside the Imperial Intelligence Agency. Did any lackeys of the Dark Cult approach?"
"If they had, I would have contacted you immediately, Master. However..."
Ahem, Sir Irene cleared her throat and looked slightly embarrassed while trying to reassure me.
She looked like a child who had done something wrong, checking her parent's reaction.
As I gave her a questioning look, Sir Irene sighed and began her confession.
"That... 'masked assailant' has completely vanished. We couldn't even identify a suspect..."
In other words, he might still be loitering around the Percus family.
As I let out a low hum of contemplation, the Princess looked back and forth between Irene and me. She seemed unable to follow the conversation.
Was it because she lacked context?
While I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should provide a supplementary explanation, the Princess tilted her head.
"You asked about him two days ago as well, didn't you? About that 'masked assailant.'"
At that, it was Sir Irene who was more surprised.
She lowered her head with an even more guilt-ridden expression. The cold sweat trickling down her face spoke for her feelings.
"I-I am sorry, Master... I only arrived yesterday, so I didn't know. If I had known you were that concerned, I should have stayed a bit longer to watch... S-should I go back?"
"It's fine. More importantly, what did I ask?"
After flatly rejecting Sir Irene's suggestion, I asked the Princess.
If he had asked about the 'masked assailant' at this point, there must have been a good reason. He didn't do anything unnecessary.
Especially since he had been indifferent toward the 'masked assailant' until recently.
Although the assailant had been spotted in the Yurdina territory as well, it was unnatural for him to suddenly show interest.
The Princess, unaware of the circumstances, only looked dazed.
"You asked about the assailant seen at the Yurdina estate. What his appearance was like, and so on..."
"And how did you answer?"
"I was so surprised at the time that I don't really remember..."
With that, the Princess gave a silly, "ehe" smile.
It was an answer that only elicited a sigh, but facing that innocent expression made it difficult to get angry. At least the Princess recalled one useful piece of information for me.
"Oh, right! Come to think of it, you also talked about Sir Irene."
"Sir Irene?"
"Yes. You said you needed to hear Sir Irene's testimony in detail."
The Princess's and my gazes naturally turned toward Sir Irene.
Despite this, Sir Irene still couldn't meet our eyes, looking anxious. She just squeezed her eyes shut as if trying her best to recall, only to show an awkward expression.
"As... as I told you, all I remember is a 'flash' before my eyes..."
The Princess's and my faces hardened.
It was utterly useless information. Wouldn't anyone feel a flash before their eyes right before collapsing?
In the end, Sir Irene followed the Princess's lead and gave a silly "ehe" smile. It seemed she had considered it a way out.
"Sir Irene, is this funny? Sir Ian is personally asking you right now."
"I-I am sorry, Your Highness..."
"Does being sorry end your life as an escort knight?"
Of course, that attempt ended in failure.
With one hand on her hip, the Princess began to scold her in a strangely delinquent tone.
Ultimately, Sir Irene had to bow her head in distress again.
Regardless, my worries were deepening.
There was no proper information. According to my investigation, the last place my tracks led was this conversation with the Princess. I must have done something after that, but it was difficult to investigate right now.
Still, I wished there was at least one more meaningful clue.
As I was agonizing like that, the Princess, who had been chewing out Sir Irene, asked me cautiously.
"Sir Ian, is something troubling you?"
My eyes flickered toward the Princess.
Come to think of it, the Princess was talented enough to be the top student of the first-year Magic Department. Perhaps if I consulted her, some new information would emerge?
But I soon let out a short laugh.
The Princess?
The Princess in my head was like a younger sister who needed protection. She was certainly not someone I could rely on or lean on.
And yet, why was it?
Looking at those light gray eyes burning with determination, I was seized by a strange premonition. Looking back, the Princess had already tried to scheme to have me buried at the Academy.
I remember having a quite difficult time back then.
With the mindset that I had nothing to lose, I decided to share my concern with the Princess.
"So, what would you think if you heard the phrase 'Beware of family'?"
"Oh, isn't that too obvious?"
Ah, right.
I realized the Princess's background anew. She was speaking with a bright smile, but no other family would react so boldly to the words 'beware of family.'
Only a Royal could do that.
For them, it was likely something they had heard since the moment they learned to speak.
However, the Princess seemed to know well that I hadn't asked with that intention, as she soon tilted her head and asked.
"But it's strange. Why didn't they specify who to be careful of?"
"Well, the truth is... due to various circumstances, direct information cannot be conveyed. Only the most vague information must be passed on..."
"Still, it's strange."
The Princess asked back in a calm voice, as if she were truly puzzled.
"In the end, it means specific information shouldn't be delivered to you, Sir Ian, right? But as far as I know, you don't have many family members, and they are at a level where they can be easily identified."
It was a valid point.
It was a remark that pierced exactly through the point I was agonizing over, so I was momentarily speechless. According to those words, the only person left for me to suspect was Ria.
In other words, it was no different from telling me to suspect Ria.
If so, this was no longer indirect information. While I remained silent for a moment, the Princess said with a mysterious smile.
"The important thing isn't the content telling you to suspect 'family.' There is a question that must be resolved before that."
And then came a declaration full of conviction.
"Whose family is it?"
As she added that, the Princess's light gray eyes held a rare, sinister light.
It was the eye of a schemer who had discovered an interesting riddle.
After hearing the Princess's advice, I began to consider a wider range of candidates.
I wasn't the only one in the world with a family. While I couldn't conclude that Ria wasn't the 'traitor,' the Saintess's 'family' was also located at the orphanage.
Then, could someone at the orphanage be the traitor?
Why were there so many traitors in the orphanages managed by the Holy Kingdom?
After various contemplations, I had already passed through the Warp Gate and entered the Holy Kingdom.
It was then that I encountered an unexpected person.
"Oh, Senior Elsie?"
At my low call, the girl wearing a pointed hat jumped in surprise and looked back. Soon, a welcoming light blossomed in those blue eyes.
But not long after, it was replaced by a sense of dismay.
Before I could even wonder why.
"It has been a while."
I had to slightly raise my gaze at the shadow looming over me. I was quite tall myself, but the other person was even taller.
He was a man who truly deserved the title of a giant.
And his eyes were blue, just like Senior Elsie's.
"Nephew-in-law."
I had to show a dazed expression as I reflexively shook the hand he offered.
The only other Archmage in the Lainella family besides Elsie, and the man who had fought alongside me in the Percus territory.
It was a reunion with Reynold Lainella.