Chapter 142: Words in the Letter (1) (2/2)
“Oh, okay.”
She was confused, but there must be something there. Drent glanced at Epherene and immediately followed the attendant.
“…What is this?”
Epherene left alone, first made a chair. However, the snow was gradually growing thicker. It was rapidly becoming more annoying than pretty.
“Ah, ptooey.”
A large snowflake entered her mouth, and the frost blocked her vision.
“I can’t anymore.”
Epherene made a small earthen house. It was crude, but she liked it.
“Hmmmm.”
A little over three square feet of space, with a small door. At that moment-
- Ah, ah. Ah, Ah.
A voice echoed through the chilled air of Lake Island. Epherene knew who it was as soon as she heard them.
—Are you a little confused? My name is Yeriel from Yukline.
Yeriel, Deculein’s younger sister and the acting lord of Yukline.
—This is the first program of our training.
It was a nice tone to listen to. It was a bit of a cliché expression, but it was smooth, like the sound of a jade marble rolling. Epherene, who became very close with Yeriel, put her hand to her chin and listened.
—As you know, several famous mentors are waiting for you. Bercht’s Elder Lukhkara, Imperial Palace Wizard Ihelm, Professor Louina, Etheric Gindalf, Etheric Rose Rio, Head Professor Deculein… there is one of them in each of the eight classes.
Hearing it like this, the team assembled felt even fancier and more outlandish. Each stood out in their fields.
—But the island itself in this lake will help you too. This island has everything to help wizards. Everything from the blades of grass, the fish, the dew, and the mysterious snow is now falling.
“Oh~, we are supposed to use nature.”
Epherene smiled a little.
—So, first of all, stay in nature for a day or so. Nature is the source of magic, after all.
“Yes, ~.”
—Yukline always supports the path of magic. May you all be blessed with mana more eternal than the sea and brighter than the sun.
That message from Yeriel announced the start of training.
“Then~.”
Jumping up, Epherene opened the door of her earthen house and walked out.
Whoooooooooooooooosh!
“Ugh!”
A wild gust of wind whipped past Epherene’s hair. It kicked up snow into her face.
“Peh!”
Epherene immediately closed the door.
“W-What is that?”
She wiped the snow off her face.
“All of a sudden, there is a blizzard… no, isn’t it an avalanche?”
An avalanche was falling from the sky.
* * *
Sylvia opened her eyes. The warmth of the burning fireplace drove off the chill, and the ground below her felt soft. It felt like she was lying in bed, but she was surprised to realize she was lying in bed. A gentle and soft atmosphere inside a cozy space. In it, Sylvia slowly looked around.
“…”
Someone was sitting in a chair by the bed and reading a book titled Blue Eyes. Sylvia stared distantly at the book cover.
“Are you awake?”
The voice. The voice. The voice.
That terse voice was enough. Sylvia suddenly raised her torso, glaring at him. Deculein. She instantly warmed up the mana within her body. No, she was about to.
“Ugh.”
As the circuit was cut off, her pain intensified, and her skin began glowing a faint purple.
“It’s mana exhaustion. It must be because you forced yourself to come here from an island that is too far away.”
“…”
How did he know? Was this person watching her too? To that question, Deculein answered.
“It was in this book.”
He pointed to the title.
“Your book is interfering with reality, Sylvia. What kind of wish did you make while writing this?”
Sylvia didn’t say anything. Was it hope, was it a wish, or was it a grudge? Regardless, it had been a blazing fire. She spoke softly.
“I know everything.”
“What.”
“You killed my mother.”
“…”
Receiving no answer, Sylvia turned to him. Deculein nodded belatedly.
“Yes.”
He felt the memories of that day. From the moment of killing Sierra, the torrent of emotions that rushed into Deculein’s heart was as clear as his own. This transference of the mind continued more clearly as he talked with Sylvia.
“It was because of that demon’s letter.”
She had already heard most of the truth from Idnik, and she did her research with the magic of Wind, so it didn’t matter if Deculein kept his mouth shut. She had a lot to say herself.
“As the letter swept across the continent, Yukline and Carla came out.”
“…”
“One of the victims-“
Deculein interrupted.
“Was my fiancée.”
Those words touched his heart; the emotions engraved in his body trembled and fluctuated. The woman named Yuli, the only thing in common between Deculein and Kim Woojin.
“Someone delivered the demon’s letter to my woman, and she died.”
“…”
Sylvia showed no emotion, just clenched and stretched out her hands repeatedly.
“Don’t worry. It wasn’t your mother.”
Sylvia shook her head.
“I’m not worried about that.”
“…”
She looked into Deculein’s eyes. His indifferent expression and cold gaze were the same as before. That hurt a lot, and it was also very weird.
‘I hate him, but why?’
Why did it hurt without knowing why? Sylvia hid that question at the bottom of her mind.
“I know what happened that day.”
“…”
“The one who did it. Who wrote the letter to your fiancée.”
Deculein looked at Sylvia, meeting her gaze. She pondered for a moment. This truth could hurt him.
“I see.”
…No, she wanted to hurt him. She had to hurt him. Why think so hard about it?
“You already know, don’t you?”
Sylvia asked. As always, with no fluctuation in her tone or pacing, with a voice so monotone it might be mistaken as self-talk.
“…”
Deculein nodded. She guessed that meant it was fine. Sylvia closed her eyes slowly, then opened them again.
“Decalane and Kagan Luna.”