Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Another Path
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Lilian Karain opened her eyes. The sharp alcohol smell of disinfectant stung her nose, and her vision filled with an intricately layered wooden ceiling.
‘My head…….’
Her head was still throbbing. The magical impact had been nullified, but the shock from the rebound hadn’t faded.
‘Back then, why did I…….’
A lazy yawn and the sound of someone stirring reached her ears right then.
“You’re finally awake? If you’d slept five more minutes, I would’ve just left.”
Her body instantly went on alert, magic surging through her core like boiling water. Lilian’s eyes narrowed.
“Who are you?”
In the darkness, black hair shimmered like silk. Through the strands, red eyes symbolizing her bloodline glowed faintly.
Ludwig. Rain Ludwig.
The one who had left her in this wrecked state was stretching and rising from the bed opposite hers. He looked like he’d just woken up.
“You seem fine from the looks of it. Still as fierce and spirited as ever.”
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“Just came to check on you as a favor for someone. False alarm, I guess. Chill out. I’m leaving.”
Watching his irresponsibly innocent voice and that fist-clenchingly languid posture, hot rage boiled up inside her.
“If you came to mock me, don’t hold back—laugh all you want!”
That was why, the moment Rain placed his hand on the infirmary door, she exploded in astonishment. Rain’s hand froze in place.
“Isn’t it fun? Hilarious, right? Look at me. Ever since you said those words back then, I’ve been completely ruined. That’s why you came, isn’t it?”
“?”
“I lived solely to get revenge on that bastard Datan…… and now I don’t even know what to do anymore…….”
As she poured out the deep-seated grudge she’d buried in her heart, tears she hadn’t shed since she was five came flowing out too.
Rain had asked if she respected her father. If not, why was she following the same path he had taken?
It was an irrefutable point. The moment she heard it, her mind had gone blank white.
‘Did I hate Father so much, yet I was actually turning into him?’
So what fruit could she reap at the end of that path? Wouldn’t she just become a second Datan?
“I just…….”
Rain let out a troubled sigh as he watched Lilian wipe away her endless tears.
‘I’m no good at this stuff.’
Rista or Fride would’ve approached first, offering comfort and encouragement to boost her confidence. But that wasn’t his style.
He didn’t know how to comfort like that.
He couldn’t offer that kind of encouragement.
But if there was something he could give, maybe it was the experience from living one life more than these underclassmen.
“Humans can’t choose their past, so that’s inevitable. How you’re born, what family you get…… it’s all so-called fate.”
“But—!”
“But the future? That’s different.”
Future…… At that hollow buzzword, something unbearably heavy surged up in Lilian’s chest, squeezing her breath.
“Cut the comforting crap! The future? You want me to dream of the future I want? You, born into a happy family—do you even understand my situation?”
“…….”
“I wanted to live like that too…… I wanted to live simply, dreaming of an ordinary future! You think I wanted to live like this?”
Her hand clutched at her heart, trembling uncontrollably. The echoes of sorrow built up over a decade rang clear.
“But the blood I was born with…… this cursed fate of mine won’t let me go…… It says I can never escape until I tie up the loose ends…… You wouldn’t get it…….”
Why? This was the first time she’d ever complained about her fate to anyone. Why had she said it?
Her life wasn’t one to seek pity from others. It was like a sacrifice predestined for lifelong atonement and revenge.
And yet, why had she said it? What response did she expect, what situation…… Then an unexpected voice replied.
“I know. I was a lot like you.”
*Born into a wealthy family, the eldest son of one of the empire’s top noble houses—what could you possibly know?* She raised her head to retort, glaring defiantly.
But then.
The moment their eyes met in the air, she was struck speechless, like she’d been slapped.
“Maybe even more pathetic.”
Why?
How?
In the eyes of the boy smirking bitterly at her, a sadness swirled that she couldn’t even fathom?
“If your past is all pain, so what? That just means there’s more room to fill it with a happy future.”
She doubted her own eyes. Aside from her mother, no one had ever looked at her that way.
It was a gaze that said he understood. A voice that said he knew all her pain. A warmth only a fellow human could show.
That was why she didn’t want to accept it. That gaze, that voice……
“When it gets too hard and painful, don’t just look ahead—glance to the side or behind too. That’s the end of senior-to-junior advice.”
She couldn’t ask the meaning of that smile, or what he meant by “junior.” Right then, the door burst open with a bang, and five or six people poured in.
“Lilian!”
“Sis Lilian!”
Robes of pure white embroidered with a dragon in red thread…… They were her fellow students from Rivendel Academy. All young, budding mages.
“We were late getting permission from the Dean.”
“That stiff-necked guy didn’t even want to allow visitors to the infirmary……!”
The Rivendel students glanced at Rain curiously but soon greeted him lightly with a nod before turning back to Lilian.
“Why are you all……?”
Lilian asked, utterly bewildered. She’d always maintained a cold expression, but after her talk with Rain, she couldn’t suppress her emotions.
“Why? We were worried, you little punk.”
“You held back on purpose so as not to embarrass the Warden family, right? We all know! If Sis had gone all out, a golem like that would’ve been one-shotted!”
Lilian had minimized interactions with others since childhood, avoiding relationships.
But she hadn’t completely ignored them—she’d simply answered when her peers from the academy asked about magic.
So she’d thought she hadn’t made enemies with anyone, but wasn’t close to anyone either…… just like Lin from long ago.
“No, I don’t get it. I don’t understand why you came for me, or why you’re making such a fuss.”
The students blinked and exchanged glances, then a cheerful-looking kid shouted even more incredulously.
“Sis is our idol! Of course we’d react like this.”
“Why me?”
“She’s straightforward, cool, and super talented! She’s our academy’s pride! Just mentioning Sis’s name makes kids from other academies shake in their boots.”
The oldest-looking young man smacked the boy’s head as if he couldn’t be helped, and the students burst into laughter.
“When you’re showing off strength, use your own skills—don’t sell Lilian out, punk.”
The young man gave a wry smile and turned to Lilian. He spoke softly.
“We can’t speak up because we’re watching the Dean and elders, but tons of people in the academy look up to you, Lilian.”
“?”
“Most know how you’ve grown up…… It might’ve started as pity, but now it’s mostly respect.”
Was this a deception? A trap set by that bastard Datan to test her?
No, that couldn’t be……
These weren’t actors skilled enough for that, and every expression on their faces……
“So don’t rush it. Most of the academy is waiting for you to come back.”
Slipping away quietly, Rain—who’d been leaning outside the door eavesdropping—felt a chill shake his mind at those words.
*- We’re all waiting for you to come back, Lin……*
It reminded him of the deputy tower master’s voice on the day they departed, turning the magic tower into a sea of tears. Piercing pain stabbed his chest.
‘See? She really is like me…….’
If he’d known the academy kids would come like this, he wouldn’t have given that embarrassing speech. All because of Logan, he’d done something pointless.
“Yeah! If Sis doesn’t rush, the top spot’s nothing!”
No need to tell her directly.
Look around, not just ahead…… She’s sharp, so she’ll get it right away. If she realizes it as late as I did, it’ll be tough.
Hiding his bitter smile, Rain quietly stepped into the corridor’s shadows.
Socrafres.
- You can inherit the progress status of ‘Unique Magic’ research from the surrounding environment.
- Progress: 48.1% -> 49.2%.
In these footsteps, he drew one step closer to the truth, unbeknownst to himself.
* * *
“……How’s Mother?”
Lilian spoke cautiously amid the students’ commotion. The older young man answered.
“She’s getting better. Without you around, the Dean hasn’t touched her. It’s like he’s lost interest entirely?”
To Datan, the girl’s mother was nothing but a tool for birthing and education. That was why he always treated her like an object, not a person.
“Really? That’s a relief…….”
She sighed in relief, but couldn’t fully relax. He’d lost the top spot twice now—who knew what that madman might do next.
“Oh, and Madam asked me to pass a message to you behind the Dean’s back.”
“From Mother?”
“‘Don’t worry about me. I just want you to make lots of good friends and have a happy school life.’”
Lilian mulled over her mother’s words, conveyed by the young man, amid trembling bewilderment.
‘Friends? Happiness? In my life?’
Dumbfounded by the string of words she’d never even dreamed of, the young man grinned and patted her shoulder lightly.
“We might get in trouble if we stay too long, so we’ll head out. See you tomorrow, Lilian.”
After everyone left the infirmary, Lilian sat alone for a long time.
Outside the window, four moons shot out dazzling beams like a chorus, dyeing the world silver.
How long had she sat there? After nearly a decade, a hollow chuckle formed at the girl’s lips.
‘It’s ridiculous…….’
If someone else had told her the same thing, she would’ve ignored it. No, she wouldn’t have even listened.
‘But why…….’
Rain’s story lacked logical structure, deficient in rationality.
And yet, and yet.
Rain’s words plucked at a string hidden deep in her heart, carrying an inexplicable persuasiveness.
*- Don’t just look ahead—glance to the side or behind too.
- Tons of people look up to you.
- So what if your past is all pain? Just fill the future with joy.*
Deep in her soul, a lump seemed to melt away. The fog clouding her mind lifted, clearing her vision.
‘I thought I had to subdue everyone with power…… Was there another way?’