Chapter 536: Jealousy is My Power (36)
Chapter 536: Jealousy is My Power (36)
That night, everything came to a standstill.
The air currents, the breath of the world—it felt as if even time itself had frozen at a single point. Only an unseasonable heat haze shimmered endlessly into the air.
Seria stared blankly at the woman before her, forgetting even to breathe. She was a woman Seria had not forgotten for a single moment of her life.
How could she?
The wound that would never heal, the scar of her life, remained in the form of that woman’s departing back.
Even as Seria hesitated, the woman said nothing more. She simply looked at Seria with a sorrowful smile.
Seria had already whispered the word once, but she couldn't bring herself to believe it. A trembling voice spilled from her lips.
"M-Mother...?"
"Yes, Seria."
Her voice was gentle and dignified.
Her mother had always been like that. Though her origins were unknown, she possessed a grace rarely seen even in the most prestigious noble families.
Stories she had been told as a child flashed through Seria's mind.
The 'Heavenly Sword Mountain,' where those who vowed to dedicate their lives solely to the sword gathered. Deep within that place, she had said, existed a secret society called the 'Sword Circle.'
She had also heard of the Forbidden Zones located across the continent.
The 'Vampire,' the 'Brass Angel,' the 'King of Beasts,' and the 'Sky Island.'
The sanctuaries guarded by these terrifying monsters, whose names alone inspired dread, were known as the graveyards of adventurers. Listening to these mysterious tales from across the continent, Seria’s heart would pound with dreams.
One day, I will wander the world just like Mother.
It was a dream she had forgotten long ago.
Tracing those memories, Seria’s voice began to grow thick with emotion.
"M-Mother... is it really you?"
Still, there was no verbal answer from the woman.
Instead, she took one step, then another.
She slowly closed the distance toward Seria. Seria initially recoiled, but there was a limit to how far she could retreat.
Soon, the distance between them was mere inches.
The woman silently opened her arms.
However, Seria faltered, unable to move for a long time. Fear flickered in her blue eyes. It was the natural anxiety of someone standing before the very person they had yearned for their entire life.
What if it wasn't her?
She was the person Seria had missed every single day. That was why she was afraid and hesitant to reach out.
She was terrified of being disappointed.
She felt that if she were wounded again, it would take far too long for the heart to heal.
But her hesitation did not last long.
The silent woman finally spoke.
"......My daughter."
What was the density of emotion contained in those two words?
Laughter and tears. Regret and pain. At the sound of that voice, which reeked of all those things, Seria finally burst into a fit of sobbing.
"M-Moth... hic... Mother...!"
"Yes, yes. My daughter, Seria."
As Seria hesitantly stepped forward, the woman pulled her into an embrace, a pained smile on her face.
"You've grown so much. Truly, so much... You're almost as tall as I am now."
Seria couldn't even sob properly anymore. She just let the tears stream down her face in silence.
The voice she managed to squeeze out was a short, broken question.
"Mother... hic... how...?"
"Shh."
But even that was brief.
The woman hugged Seria tightly, as if she wanted to savor this moment for as long as possible.
In truth, Seria felt the same.
The absence of a mother was not a wound a young child could easily endure. It had festered and rotted until she told herself she had forgotten it, only after the damage was so great that not even a scar remained.
There was no way she wouldn't be overjoyed to have her mother back.
As her daughter continued to weep, the mother spoke, her voice heavy with suppressed tears.
"My daughter, my sweet daughter... I'm sorry. I left you alone for far too long... Was it hard for you?"
"No... hic... it wasn't... sniff!"
Seria found it difficult to squeeze out an answer through her overflowing tears.
The woman did not force a response. As if she already understood Seria’s heart, she simply offered a handkerchief with a sorrowful expression.
Even after Seria blew her nose with a loud honk, the woman continued in a low voice.
"I truly didn't want to leave you alone. No, it wasn't just you... Is your father doing well?"
At that quiet question, Seria’s crying stopped abruptly.
Her wide blue eyes searched her mother’s face. The woman’s expression was filled with unfiltered longing.
He abandoned her.
How could she long for a man like that? Was the depth of love something inherited between mother and daughter?
Even after these questions passed through her mind, Seria hesitated, unable to open her mouth.
How was the Marquis of Yurdina doing?
He was currently imprisoned in the family's Underground Dungeon, barely clinging to life. Seria would have preferred it if her mother resented her father.
That would have at least felt more satisfying.
Yet, on the other hand, she understood her mother’s heart.
Seria would likely have been the same.
Even if she were abandoned by Ian, Seria would long for him endlessly. Thus, she found it even harder to speak. She could imagine how her mother would feel upon hearing of her father's current state.
The woman tilted her head, seemingly unable to understand the reaction. But that lasted only a moment before her expression turned sorrowful once again.
"I'm sorry, Seria... I don't have much time left."
"......What?"
What kind of bolt from the blue was this?
Startled, Seria swallowed her tears instantly. They had only just reunited, and now she had to prepare for another farewell?
Before she could cry out in desperation—
The woman’s index finger pressed against Seria’s philtrum. It was a sign that there wasn't even enough time left for conversation.
Facing her daughter, the mother lowered her voice solemnly.
"There are a few things I must tell you before I go. You must keep them in mind."
Hurriedly moistening her lips with saliva, the woman began to utter cryptic words.
"First, you must never trust anyone. No matter who they are... And also, the man you love will move soon. The next stage of the plan is not far off."
"What does that mean...?"
"You must follow him then. Finally, remember the 'scent of blood.'"
Having finished her unsolicited advice, the woman exhaled a long sigh and stepped back a few paces.
Seria remained standing there, looking dazed. The woman quietly captured the moon in the sky within her retinas.
"......It seems my time is up."
Before Seria could ask what she meant—
A sensation rippled down her spine, making her eyes snap wide. A faint fear began to seep from her blue eyes as she looked behind her.
Something was coming.
The presence was unmistakable. It was an advance of such terrifying speed that it felt as if the thing were tearing through space itself.
The woman felt it too, and she finally let out a sigh accompanied by a sad smile.
"I will give you one last gift. From now on, instinct will guide you."
And just as Seria’s gaze turned back toward the woman—
Snap!
A sudden, sharp pain struck Seria’s mind.
It was her wrist. Her mother had brought her lips to it.
No, were they lips?
The moment she realized something sharp was gleaming between them—
"Guh, ugh... Aaaaaaaagh!"
Along with a sudden burst of blood, a searing white pain bleached Seria’s consciousness.
It was a pain she had never experienced in her life. It felt as if every single cell in her body had turned into a needle, piercing her from the inside out.
The last thing she heard before losing consciousness was the voice of the man she loved, thick with frustration.
"Seria! Seria!"
Senior Ian.
Before she could even call his name, Seria fainted.
However, was it just an illusion?
Through her fading vision, she thought she saw a mass of black mud.
"Hehe, hehehe... Hihihik! 'Jealousy,' 'Jealousy' shall come...!"
A strange entity was trembling with ecstasy.
*
My mood was a total wreck by the time I returned to the dormitory.
In the end, I had missed them again.
The monster that attacked Seria was definitely a Vampire Kin. Since the victim herself had fainted, I couldn't find out how she had been ambushed.
At least it was a relief that the Sword Duke had come along.
Upon hearing that the situation was urgent, the Sword Duke had immediately hoisted me onto his shoulder and started sprinting. He was so fast it was hard to keep my senses.
The scene we witnessed when we finally found Seria’s whereabouts was exactly that.
I should have killed it the moment I saw it.
The fact that a mere lackey of the Dark Cult dared to touch Seria was particularly unpleasant. I eventually clicked my tongue and threw off my uniform coat.
Then, snap, something caught my coat—it was blood-red threads.
"Nice, treasure acquired! Now, let's see...!"
Along with a cheerful voice, I heard the sound of someone burying their face in my coat and sniffing loudly.
I had no choice but to let out an annoyed sigh.
"Can't you be quiet? I'm already annoyed enough as it is."
"Hehe, don't be so shy... But isn't this great? It makes us feel like newlyweds... Ah, stop! Stop! Seriously, you're so impatient...!"
Only when my hand moved without hesitation to grip the handle of my axe did 'Greed' grumble and stop her nonsense.
How did I end up in this mess?
I was sighing deeply while unbuttoning my shirt when she spoke again.
"Then next, I'll give you some truly important information."
My hands stopped.
Before I could even voice a question, the girl said with a smirk:
"The cause of this whole mess... the location of the 'Vampire'."
The story was reaching its climax.