Chapter 119
“The rose stole the knight’s sword and gained forbidden power. So it was the Knight of the Sword, the Knight of the Sword who protected the Sun.”
Muttering to herself, she hastily took out the swaddling cloth she had kept deep in her closet and unwrapped the fabric.
The sword revealed itself.
The Kadenhart family heirloom that she had kept since bringing it from the auction, unable to find the right timing to return it to Blake.
“Artoas.”
A magic sword said to contain lightning magic.
The sword she had just seen in the memory was this very sword.
Having directly witnessed its lightning power as well, there was no doubt.
Angelina rushed to her desk and took out a book she had kept with her diary. An old book that looked like it might fall apart at any moment.
But she had no time to worry about that. She quickly opened the page where she had placed a bookmark.
[‘Zeplictus.’]
[‘It is the dragon’s wing.’]
Seeing that, the mournful melody naturally played in her head.
“It stole the silver priest’s heart and grew wings.”
| [Soar high, O wings,
Silver wings stained red, Before the Sun notices. Cut deep, O sword, Sword with blue edge, Before the Sun knows. Do not regret, O rose, For this is the rose’s choice, The Sun shall surely fall.] |
Everything started to connect.
But there was still one hole remaining.
“The rose.”
The rose was nowhere to be found.
The priest who followed the Sun, and Zeplictus, his heart and wings. The knight who protected the Sun and his sword, Artoas.
She had seen them all.
But there was no rose.
It clearly referred to the man who ran toward her holding a blue rose in one hand in the field, but she hadn’t seen his face or heard his name.
But Angelina soon realized something else important.
“Blue rose…!”
Isn’t there a sacred object that bears the name of the blue rose?
Angelina turned her head abruptly.
“Aesi!”
But as she turned, her heart sank. All the thoughts and speculations she had been making suddenly disappeared.
“…Aesi.”
“What is this…?”
He was holding her diary.
Excited about putting the puzzle pieces together, she had forgotten that she had put her diary in the same drawer where she kept the relic book.
“Aesi, I don’t know what you saw, but I can explain.”
“Explain…?”
His face had turned pale. His breathing seemed irregular, with intermittent inhales and exhales.
“That you’ll die right after your twentieth birthday… is that something that can be explained?”
The hand holding the diary trembled.
“…So that’s it.”
He staggered as if realizing something.
“That’s why.”
He had never been able to understand. Why his sister had suddenly changed like this. Why she suddenly started targeting the Order.
He had wondered who had told her such things, whispering useless words in her ear, but that wasn’t it—she had known all along.
She knew everything but had lived as if nothing was wrong for her brother’s sake, and after realizing she had a limited time, she started taking action because she couldn’t leave things as they were.
Limited time.
That was the answer.
Realizing this, countless things began to make sense.
“In 2 years, come see me on my birthday.”
“That was the most important thing.”
That’s why she asked him to come see her on her twentieth birthday. Because it was going to be her last birthday.
“If it’s for that person’s future, I can gladly sacrifice my fate, and if it’s for Aesi’s wish, I can give all my remaining time.”
That’s what she meant by her ‘remaining time.”
“There are many beautiful things in the world besides me, brother.”
“Don’t suffer alone.”
That’s why she kept saying such things.
“But I can’t wait too long. I’m a bit short on time.”
That’s why she didn’t have time.
‘I’m fine. So you must be fine too, okay?”
Since when had she been preparing?
Since when had she been preparing for her death…
“How could you be fine?”
There were so many words flashing through his mind.
“Love other things like you love me. And while being loved, live like that.”
“That’s impossible…!”
Angelina reached out to him as he spoke, out of breath.
“First, calm down.”
“Do I look like I can calm down? You’re telling me I’ll lose you in a year!”
Boom!
Unable to contain his anger, her room was hit by a magical explosion. Pudding jumped onto Angelina’s shoulder in surprise.
Knowing that Ante was the cause of the explosion, he didn’t take a defensive stance.
He only strengthened his protective barrier a little more, clearly intending to block any aftermath that might reach Angelina.
Of course, even without that, there was no damage to Angelina.
The explosion caused a commotion outside. But no one could approach because of Aesi’s powerful magic.
“You’re about to die, and I’ve been stupidly chasing after the Order?”
He found all his past actions disgusting.
Black aura surged around him. It was a haze that made one think this is what hatred and despair would look like if they took form.
The energy created from pessimistic emotions was an intense power that could consume just by touch.
“…I won’t let you die.”
A chilling voice filled with magical power flowed through his teeth. His eyes flashed dangerously.
“Brother.”
In her urgency, Angelina blurted out the title that ignored his current appearance.
But…
Boom-!
“Ugh!”
“Grr-!”
Once again, a huge explosion erupted, and this time the aftermath engulfed her.
Pudding instantly grew in size and wrapped around her, so she was fine, but when the dust settled, Aesi was no longer there.
“…This is a big problem.”
This is why she tried not to be discovered.
The truth she had hoped would remain buried was now revealed to him. Probably the last person who should know.
「Ante Flaubert lost his light that day.」
‘…What should I do now?’
It seemed she had opened Pandora’s box.
***
After that day, Angelina tried several times to meet her brother. But she was rejected every time.
Her brother, who would come running from anywhere at just a word that she wanted to see him—this kind of response was unfamiliar.
‘I could summon him, but…’
She could call him using the magic he had left on her forehead. But it was clear he would leave immediately, and it would only make things worse.
“Haah…”
She had been so focused on Zeplictus and Artoas that she completely forgot about the existence of her diary. How could she have done that? Thinking about it now, it was absurd, but…
“He really won’t go to the theater?”
As a result, her brother was completely refusing to see her. He even canceled their theater visit, a promise made months ago.
“No…”
Haley nodded with a face as gloomy as Angelina’s.
“But, he did permit you to go out that day.”
“Yes, he only allowed me to go to the theater that day. But now I’m stuck here and can’t do anything.”
A ban on going out had even been imposed.
There wasn’t really anywhere else to go, but there was definitely a difference between not going and not being able to go.
“But, miss.”
Haley hesitated, then cautiously brought up another topic.
“Is it… true?”
“What is?”
“That, on your twentieth birthday, you’ll…”
The gloomy atmosphere in the Marquis’s household wasn’t just because Ante and Angelina had fought.
At least close aides like Haley and Laura had heard what the two had fought about.
That the young lady would pass away next year.
Wouldn’t it be strange not to be shocked after hearing that?
“Both of you, cheer up. It’s frustrating enough that my brother is so angry, but if you two are like this too, I’ll suffocate.”
“But…”
Haley sniffled.
Laura, who was nearby, wasn’t showing it, but she was no less shocked.
She was also blaming herself for not noticing until now.
When Ante had asked her to find out who was behind Angelina, wouldn’t Laura have thought to check the diary?
But not wanting to cross a line, she had been trying to find out in her own way.
If she had known it was like this, she would have risked being rude and peeked at the diary—she regretted it now.
Angelina’s request to take care of her brother and her statement about spending her remaining time on dangerous activities like destroying the Order now made sense, weighing heavily on Laura’s heart.
Knowing that showing her distress would only give the young lady a headache, she tried hard not to show it.
But it wasn’t as if her efforts completely hid it, which made Angelina feel dejected.
“Haah…”
“Kyu…?”
As she sighed for what must have been the umpteenth time and received comfort from Pudding, someone knocked on the door.
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