Chapter 98

Chapter 98

Tears dripped down. Anat trembled pitifully as she stared at Nera, who had disappeared from her sight in the meantime. Was she going to hate Dean? Was she going to strike Dean? So many things swirled inside Anat’s mind.

At that time, she felt a presence from behind her. Anat hastily wiped the tears from her eyes. Who was there?

Looking back, she saw Dean standing in the shadows.

“Dean.”

“…I came to find you because you were not by my side.”

“Ah, I couldn’t sleep, so I came out to get some fresh air. Dean, go and get some more sleep.”

“…Were you crying?”

Dean saw the tears left on Anat’s face and asked in a cool voice. He came closer and looked at Anat. Anat’s body shrank at the sharp stare for some reason. She didn’t feel it when she had the body of a god, but after becoming human, she was surprised every time Dean, who is twice as big as her, moved.

“Oh, I miss my mother…”

Anat lied reflexively. At that time, Dean came closer and grabbed Anat’s body. He even looked closely at her. He seems to be trying to find out whether she lied or not, so Anat unconsciously pushed away Dean’s hand.

“It’s okay. No big deal.”

“…Why are you crying?”

“I told you. I missed my mother…”

Continuing to avoid Dean’s touch, Anat turned her head and looked towards the balcony. Strangely, it was difficult for her to meet Dean’s gaze. Could it be because of what Nera said? She felt like her insides were filled with something unknown. When Anat looked away, Dean opened his mouth in a cold tone.

“You’re regretting not abandoning me.”

Anat’s eyebrows narrowed at Dean’s words.

“Dean, what are you talking about?”

“Isn’t that right? Lady Anat is a child of the primordial god and a former god. Now that you’re uncomfortable with the human body, don’t you want to go back to the time when you were a god?”

“What? It’s not like that. I decided to remain human because I love you, Dean, and I love all humans. How can you talk like that about my choices?”

Angry at the man who misunderstood her without knowing how she felt right now, Anat now kept her lips shut as she looked back at Dean. Dean was still looking down at her with a stiff face.

“You can be honest with me. I am well aware of the difficulties you are going through, Lady Anat. Be honest with me.”

“I am honest. Are you really questioning me right now? I just missed my mother. I haven’t seen her since she got so angry. My mother and I have a more intimate and complex connection than any human family. It’s obvious for me to miss my mother.”

“That arrogant and selfish primordial god abandoned you.”

“Dean!”

Anat shouted quietly at Dean. She looked at Dean with a shocked face.

“Have you gone mad? Arrogant and selfish?! She is the creator of this world who gave birth to me and made you! Cursing her is the same as cursing me. Why are you saying such foolish things! I can’t believe you’re spitting words out of your own mouth that you’ll eventually regret!”

Dean reached out and grabbed Anat by the shoulder as she rambled. Then, to contradict her, she began to get angry.

“Didn’t the primordial god abandon me, you, and everything you love?!”

“Dean, stop it.”

“The primordial god is an irresponsible being. She created this world and created the lives of this world as well, but it was close to neglect. She didn’t care about us. Humans like me shivered from the cold and starved from hunger. Even though she was able to give a fair life to all life in this world, the primordial god neglected to do so.”

Anat’s vision started spinning as she listened to Dean’s words, which he spoke as if he was suppressing it. She was very afraid that her mother might be looking here. Anat hurriedly shouted as if to stop him.

“Fate is not the same for everyone! Everyone’s destiny is born with them! It’s true that you managed to change and escape your destiny, but it’s the first time that someone like you has continued living in this world! Why don’t you understand what that means!”

“Meaning? What does that mean? To live such a terrible dog-eat-dog world? Why are we born with a destiny and have to change that destiny? Wasn’t it wrong to create a world where everyone could be happy from the start? Why does the primordial god cause pain to so many beings?”

Oh Dean pointed it out already.

“Dean, you are heavily mistaken. You must not distort the primordial god’s will. It’s the same as denying yourself. Do you think the primordial god doesn’t know what you’re thinking? The thoughts of each and every life living in this world eventually flow to the primordial god’s will. The primordial god knows all.”

Anat replied in a protest on behalf of the primordial god. Then Dean shook his head resolutely.

“No, she does not know. The primordial god is just an arrogant and selfish being. Previously, I offered the primordial god a fair bet, and the primordial god accepted it. Probably because she thought I couldn’t do it. But that was a really arrogant judgment. Because you, her daughter, helped me to solve the task. The primordial god did not know—that a human would defeat her.”

“So Dean, what are you… trying to say?”

Anat, whose face had turned pale before she knew it, asked in a trembling voice. Her fingertips trembled as Dean was thinking such an arrogant thought. The primordial god could have been angry right away and wiped out Dean from this world. This is certainly not allowed. She couldn’t make Dean disappear. Anat cried inwardly and looked at Dean fearfully.

“Lady Anat, you are the one who took care of us humans and even shared your strength. It was you, not the primordial god, who told me why living is special. You said you want to keep helping humans. I will make both you and I become gods.”

“What is that…”

“You will become a god again. As a singular god who is not swayed by the primordial god. Then you won’t have to lead a life so full of fear.”

Dean’s eyes were a little strange. Anat wanted to back up, but she couldn’t escape because Dean was holding her tight. Not this. I don’t want this. Anat sucked in a sharp breath and shook her head at Dean.

“Don’t do that, Dean. That’s not right. It’s defying the primordial god. I don’t want to deny Mother. Although I chose to disobey her and she got angry, this is different. You won’t be forgiven. Your existence may disappear.”

“You don’t want to be a god?”

“I would rather die as a human being than become a god in that way. I don’t want that. I don’t want to deny Mother’s existence. And for you to say that you’ll be a god, why do you think so profanely? What in the world is wrong with you, Dean!”

Dean’s gaze was fixed on Andra’s cry. He opened his mouth slowly with eyes of an abyss whose depth was unknown.

“All of this is for you.”

Anat gasped.

Huuk, huk. Andra was startled by the feeling of being strangled in the throat, so she woke up. Her whole body was stuffy. It felt like she couldn’t breathe properly, as if there was a large stone in her chest. She clenched her fist and thumped her chest down. At that time, there was a hand hurriedly examining Andra by her side.

“Andra, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Andra turned her head to look at Dustin, who was looking at her with a worried look. At the same time, she thought of Dean, who was staring at Anat breathlessly. Andra immediately slapped Dustin’s hand away from her. Dustin looked back and forth between his hand and Andra in surprise.

“Here, this is…”

It took a while for her mind to come back to normal. Andra’s thumping heart had calmed down somewhat, and she realized that she was leaving the academy and in the carriage heading towards the Morgennis border. She was with Dustin, too.

She fell asleep for a while because she was leaving early in the morning.

Anat’s memory has appeared from time to time before, but she never thought it would come out like this this time. As Dean’s image resurfaced, Andra could not control her trembling body.

“Andra.”

“Don’t touch me!”

Andra shook Dustin’s hand once more. His appearance was still overlapping with Dean. Andra shuddered and looked away from Dustin. The moment Dustin was about to open his mouth.

The carriage slowly slowed down and he soon stopped somewhere. This was the path to join the Princess and the Prince in the middle. Soon the attendant knocked on the door, and the door opened.

“Andra.”

“…I’ll talk to you later.”

Dustin tried to stop Andra, but Andra got out of the carriage with the help of an attendant as soon as the door was opened. Right now, she didn’t have the courage to face Dustin in a closed space. Looking at him, Dean’s eerie face in Anat’s memory kept popping up, and she couldn’t control her trembling body.

She felt apologetic towards Dustin, but Andra decided to stay away from him until she calmed down.

Several carriages were already lined up at the corner of the road. All were carriages going to the Morgennis border area. Among them, the two carriages with the imperial family’s patterns clearly stood out. And in front, there were a lot of attendants who would take care of the imperial family.

Jonathan, who was getting out of his carriage, spotted Andra and waved his hand at her with a big smile. Andra waved her hand and walked over to him.

“How have you been?”

“Yes, thank you for your consideration.”

“Come on. Let’s greet my sister.”

Jonathan casually extended his arm to Andra. Andra looked at it for a moment, then she forced herself to grab it. Of course, she managed to resist the natural tendency of her head turning towards Dustin in the middle.

She put her hand on Jonathan’s arm and felt him scouring her fingers. It seemed that he was looking for the ring he had given her as a gift the other day.

“Anna, what about the ring?”

Andra’s prediction was correct. Jonathan asked with a slightly sullen face. Andra smiled brightly and responded calmly.

“It’s so precious that I put it in my jewelry box.”

“Um, is that so?”

“You know. If I like something, I treasure it.”

“I know, Anna always leaves the sweet potato mousse to eat until the end.”

Jonathan smiled and replied to Andra’s words. Fortunately, he seemed to understand why the ring was not here, though he looked a bit upset. Jonathan asked, gently leading Andra to the carriage where the Princess was.

“How long has it been since you last met Sister?”

“It will be half a year. I think we last saw each other at the New Year’s ball. Maybe that’s why I’m a little nervous.”

Since the Princess looked so much like Her Majesty the Emperor, Andra was a little nervous even meeting her. Recently, the Princess’s atmosphere was so different that many people said that she seemed to resemble the Emperor in her younger days. Andra was nervous and took a deep breath, and Jonathan smiled at her.

“Don’t worry. Sister seems to have a lot of interest in you these days, Anna.”

“Is it because… I’m an Awakened?”

“Well, there are factors like that… Because you’re Avellin’s only daughter. Anyway, you’ll find out when you see her.”

Saying that, Jonathan knocked on the door of the carriage the Princess rode in.

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