Chapter 313 - Intermission Part 4

Back in the Capital City of the Reschbeauch Kingdom, a beautiful maiden with long wavy blond hair, crimson pupils and pale white skin was sitting quietly while watching a little boy run around a garden. Following closely behind the boy was a pretty middle-aged woman who despite her age looked quite cute. 

The little boy who was around two years old spotted the maiden with crimson pupils and darted towards her. Seeing the little one approaching, the maiden smiled. 

"Sis!" The little one spoke with gusto gesturing to the maiden to pick him up. The maiden happily picked up the child. The middle-aged woman who saw the scene before her smiled gently. 

"Thank you Silika for always helping take care of Kurt." The middle-aged woman was the mother of Ren and Kurt, Milly. After she woke up from her long sleep, she felt extremely depressed. The news of her husband's death and the disappearance of her firstborn son caused her great grief. 

Milly wanted to kill herself multiple times, but Silika and the others were able to stop her. They reminded her that Ren wasn't someone that would simply disappear, he would return once he was done with whatever he is doing. Also, she still has her second son, she needed to be there for him. The child still needed a mother. She almost gave up on her life if not for her second child Kurt. 

...

Silika saw that Milly was looking a bit better now and smiled. "It's alright, I do like playing with little Kurt." 

"Even so, I still want to thank you and everyone for everything. If not for you, I might not have seen my adorable Kurt grow up so well... When when I look at Kurt, sometimes I forget that Matias is no longer with us..." 

When Silika heard Matias's name she knew what was about to happen next and quickly stood up and helped Milly sit down. 

"I can still hear him talking to me, telling me how proud he is of Ren, how adorable Kurt is, and how much he loves me. I can even see him there looking at me, smiling ever so sweetly as if he's beckoning me to come to him..." Silika started to look like she was in pain as tears fell from her face. 

Seeing his mother crying little Kurt who was in the arms of Silika patted his mother's head. Milly who had her head down slowly lifted it up and saw her son looking at her with worry. Her two-year-old son was actually showing such a face. 

"What kind of mother am I?!" Milly took Kurt from Silika and cried even more as she hugged her son. Silika hugged Milly as well and spoke to her with a gentle voice. 

"You're a kind mother Milly. You have just been through a lot. You don't need to feel bad, it's normal to feel sad. I'm sure both Ren and Matias would feel heartbroken if they saw you like this. Cry all the tears out now, so that when Ren returns you can show him a brilliant smile."

When Milly heard what Silika said she started crying even more as she hugged Kurt even tighter. The little boy spoke to his mother.

"No Mommy... No cry." The words that came out of Kurt's mouth weren't all that audible but it did sound like he said no mommy no cry. 

It took Silika a few minutes for her to be able to calm down Milly. After Milly was done crying, both she and Kurt fell asleep. Silika then carefully carried the two to their beds. 

...

Once Silika was done placing the mother and son on their beds, she left their room. As she stepped out of the room Hilda was there to greet her. 

"Are they alright?" Hilda asked with a face full of worry. When she saw Milly looking to be in so much pain, Hilda also felt hurt. Watching Milly reminded Hilda of her own mother. 

"A bit better than before. It might take some time, but I'm sure she'll be fine." 

"If only that b*stard Ren was here!... If he knew how much his mother is hurting, he would have flown back here without delay..." Hilda gnashed her teeth as she remembered Ren again. "Shouldn't we go and search for him?!" 

"... I know what you're feeling, but now is not the time for us to be lured in by our emotions." 

"How can you continue to say that, when you look at Milly don't you feel anything?! Don't you want to go out and save Ren?! I know you're a spirit, but don't you feel anything at all?!" Hilda could no longer hold it in, as she has been patient for a few months now. She like all the others believed that Ren would return, and it's impossible for him to lose or die somewhere unknown. Yet as more time passes by Hilda grew more anxious. 

Silika just stood there without saying a word, the expression on her face turned ice cold. She then responded to Hilda. 

"If we leave now, who do you think will protect Milly and Kurt from the demons? If we do as you wish, and the demons attack without us here, who will tell Ren that we left his mother and brother to die?" Silika spoke in a tone full of indifference. When Hilda heard Silika's response she gritted her teeth and stormed off. 

When Hilda's silhouette could no longer be found, Silika clenched her fist tightly and walked away as well. 

...

Silika headed to the training grounds, there she spotted the princess Ashley training her swordplay. Ashley was so engrossed in her practice that she didn't notice Silika was there. After a few more swings, Ashley finally noticed Silika. 

"This is unusual I don't normally see you here, Silika." 

"I came here to clear my head. Can we spar for a bit." Ashley was rather surprised that Silika wanted to spar. This made the princess look at Silika for a few seconds, before she smiled and responded. 

"Sure, let's spar." Hearing Ashley's response Silika nodded her head and took a dull blade from the nearby weapon rack. The two then faced each other and bowed. After bowing the spar began and Silika went on the offensive which surprised Ashley. Usually, Silika was on the defensive and would tire her opponent out. 

Ashley hastily blocked Silika's attack, which was followed by another then another. Silika made consecutive attacks in quick succession. The flow of her movements made it hard for Ashley to counter. This was the first time Ashley saw Silika be so aggressive. 

...

A few minutes later, Ashley was laying on the ground panting and sweating heavily. Silika was still standing but she too was panting. 

"That was a good spar, thank you, Ashley." After thanking Ashley Silika turned around and was about to leave, but before she left Ashley spoke to her. 

"Hey Silika, I know it's hard. We're all hurting now, me included... But I know even though you don't show it you're the one hurting the most. So it's alright to show it, it's not a weakness. I'm sure even spirits can cry." 

Ashley spoke while facing Silika's back. Silika was silent for a few seconds and didn't move from her spot. After a short while, Silika finally responded. 

"... Thank you..." After saying those words Silika left. 

...

After leaving the training grounds Silika headed to her room in haste. The moment she entered the room and closed the door, tears started falling down Silika's face. 

"How could any of you understand what I'm feeling?! All you guys know is Ren, but I know more than that... I've waited for him for an eon, from way back then and even now I'm still waiting. How would any of you know?! my soul is linked to his, so when I could no longer feel it how much pain and anxiety I felt, how could any of you know?!" Silika covered her face with her hand as she continued ranting to the air. 

"I know he's still out there, I know he's still alive. How could the strongest mortal soul just die like that?! I want to save him, I want to go to him, but I cannot! I promised him that I would protect them all, while he's not here. How can I face him if I forsake my promise to him?"

Silika then knelt on the floor and tried wiping away the tears, but they just keep on flowing. She had turned into a spirit, she had lived for an eon, but she still felt like the girl in that dark cave. 

"You damn liar, you keep on promising things but you never fulfill most of them... You're such a liar no matter the incarnation...." Silika continued sobbing in front of the door. The pain, sorrow, and anger she felt. She couldn't show it to the others. She needed to be the person they can rely on during this time. She needed to be the leader, as she waited for his return. 

"How long are you going to keep me waiting this time?" Silika mumbled to herself.