Chapter 252
“…No. That’s not it. Rather, what it did was stop her time from progressing from that point on.”
Izar could no longer hold himself back and sprang to his feet. The pressure in his chest felt like it would burst. He couldn’t take it. He would open that glass coffin and take her away. To the duchy, the two of them—no, the three of them.
If they buried the pain of the past properly, they could live together as three.
“Then how is that any different from saying she’s fine now—”
“It only stops… while she remains under this magical sleep.”
But Riegel crushed Izar’s hope with a heavy expression.
“This is a side effect. Something in the process of replacing divine power with mana must have reacted in a fortunate way.”
“Then… the reason for relocating her here…”
“It’s because only by draining all the mana of the Sanctuary could that ‘side effect’ manifest.”
Riegel continued, reaching perhaps the most cruel part of all for Izar.
“In truth, Freesia didn’t want to sleep at all. With less than thirty days of life remaining, she wanted to spend it awake.”
“Why…”
“Though her body had healed through mana, her heart was in pieces.”
“……”
“But I told her to think of Nova.”
Freesia had been utterly exhausted, from escaping the duchy, the traumatic childbirth, and everything that had come before.
To such a woman, Riegel had gently coaxed her with Nova, swaddled in lace.
〈Don’t you want to at least see this child grow, even just a little?〉
〈……〉
〈And perhaps try to hold on until Nova is old enough to remember her mother.〉
At that, Freesia had been too drained to answer. She only slowly blinked her eyes.
The rest didn’t need explanation. Izar could already imagine it. After wiping his face again and again with dry hands, he finally managed to speak.
“How could you go through something like that and not think to give me even the slightest word of it?”
“She asked me never to tell you, Duke. Neither about her death nor about the child.”
“Do you think that’s something a person in their right mind would say?”
Izar gritted out his rage again through clenched teeth. The only reason he didn’t raise his voice was the fear that Nova might wake up and look at him, terrified.
He still couldn’t forgive Riegel—not even close.
“I told you I would find Freesia and the child…! You knew I was digging through the very depths—how could you deceive me for three years!”
“You’re right. I stayed silent, even knowing how much you were suffering.”
Riegel replied calmly. He did feel pity for Izar, but those green eyes were unyielding.
“Because that child… She returned to your side after being treated her whole life as the madwoman’s illegitimate daughter, subjected to treatment less than that of a beast by House Antares due to her grandfather’s grudge, and even denied the dignity of a marriage vow. She’s someone I couldn’t bear to betray again.”
“……”
“Between your pain and that child’s suffering, I chose to side with my cousin.”
Izar, who had been grinding his teeth in rage and anguish, slowly collapsed back into the chair. His chest felt unbearably heavy. How do other people express themselves when they feel like this?
He didn’t know. So he simply pressed his brow in silence for a long while, until finally, he whispered a crucial question in a dry voice.
“If Freesia were to leave this place… what would happen?”
“She likely wouldn’t last long. Once the magic halting her time is cut off, her lifespan would resume.”
“……”
Izar didn’t reply. He only fell silently into a pit of despair. Watching him, Riegel couldn’t bring himself to say the one thing he was holding back.
Originally, while she slept, her mana should have replenished and her consciousness should have returned…
But ever since moving her to this Sanctuary, Freesia had yet to awaken.
That could only mean that the absorption of the Sanctuary’s mana was slower than before. And if that were true, the ‘side effect’ that had stopped time for her might have worn off. It might no longer work.
But to confess all that now to Izar would be unbearably cruel.
“First, why not spend some time getting to know Nova while Freesia sleeps?”
“……Ah.”
Only then did Izar raise his head from that silent despair and look over toward his sleeping daughter.
But when he properly looked at Nova, he felt the sudden urge to slap himself.
Damn it.
He’d known ahead of time she was three years old.
He’d been so desperate just to meet her, but never even thought to bring something a child her age would like.
〈That’s Nova’s Mama! Let her go!〉
The child who had screamed so loudly at the knights now only hiccupped in fear when looking at him.
So much for a first meeting with the daughter he’d finally found. The future felt just as uncertain as Freesia’s lifespan.
Riegel, seeing Izar’s expression grow darker, offered a small note of warning.
“Just remember, she’s sweet and clever, but incredibly stubborn…”
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