CH 114

‘What kind of situation is this?’

It looked like it was floating in the air, like dust.

Maybe because of that she was dizzy.

How long has she been in this state?

Tuk, tuuk. 

She heard the sound of something falling over her consciousness.

At first, a sound that seemed so far away slowly got closer, waking up her mind.

At the same time, the sight was secured.

‘Here—’

It was the place she hated the most as a child, and it was the same orphanage that she always had to return to when abandoned.

She felt embarrassed since the place she was pulled to was not ‘Serdel’s’ past but her own.

Not knowing what to do, she saw a child squatting in the corner with only her head bowed.

The hair was sticking out here and there because it was loosely tied up.

She has a small body that hasn’t grown properly to the point where even the kinky socks she wears are too big.

It was her as a child.

She felt strange. 

Seeing what she didn’t want to see made her angry and upset.

Around this time, she was adopted and abused several times, especially since it was a time when she couldn’t open her mouth after going through a dissolution of adoption.

Emotions were bound to be complicated.

At every turn, self-esteem was crushed, and the lack worsened. 

The more she wanted attention, the more people turned away from her.

When she returned to the orphanage like that, she always hid in a corner.

With her face covered like now.

‘….’

It suffocated her for a moment.

Serdel turned around.

Rain was pouring down through the narrow window.

There was even thunder and lightning.

She didn’t want to go outside, no matter how miserable she was in her situation.

In the end, she quietly squatted next to it. 

‘—What the hell is this.’

All she needs to know is about Serdel’s lost memory and the Countess.

Why is it that she is faced with her younger self?

Shaking her head before her mood subsided, she recalled the Lord of the Wizard Tower that had come to the underground space.

What kind of appearance was her Oppa reflected in the eyes of Raunel he saw?

Why did he ask her again and again?

‘And what about Blenn?’

She couldn’t understand why this situation happened the moment she looked into Raunel’s eyes.

‘It felt like we were drawn into the past together.’

If so, where is he?

Wouldn’t it be better to go looking for him now? The situation is very different from saving Redan. Will the power of sorcery really work?

She had a lot of questions, but just as she was about to focus on trying for a moment—.

The outside became noisy.

It wasn’t because of rain and lightning; it was human noise. 

Soon, the door opened, and someone came inside.

– Hello. 

The bright, familiar voice pulled her head out from between her knees, where she had been hiding it.

A slender body, and short dark brown hair. The boy with a soft impression was her Oppa. 

– Hello? 

She must have heard it, but her younger self didn’t move.

She took a moment to look at her Oppa and her younger self in a daze. 

And beyond the door, she still watches the pouring rain. 

‘Did it rain like this when I first met Oppa?’ 

She thought the weather was nice at that time—.

There must be something wrong in her memory. 

‘Well, it’s because Oppa died that way and I couldn’t hold onto my heart for a while.’

It’s just the weather, so she might not remember. 

– Nice to meet you.

Her Oppa looked down at her younger self, who still wasn’t moving, and said something.

When he didn’t get a response, he got down on one knee.

Oppa, who stretched out his hand and forcibly lifted her face smiled brightly.

The smile was as beautiful as the sun.

In his clear, deep eyes, only her younger self was reflected. 

‘….’

She was thankful for that, but she was a little disappointed.

She was sad that her Oppa could no longer see her.

Her Oppa kissed her forehead and cheek as a child.

– You don’t know how long I’ve been looking for you. I was really worried that I might not be able to find you now that I don’t have much time left.

Then he gave her a big hug for the last time.

Was it because she missed the warmth that came from being in his arms? There were tears in her eyes.

– You must have a hard time, right? It’s not your fault. Sorry. I’m really sorry. It’s all my fault If I— if I wasn’t going to be sacrificed—.

Her eyes blinked as she listened next to her Oppa’s mumbling. 

‘A sacrifice? You just said a sacrifice, right?’

What does that mean?

– I’ll pick you up again soon. Wait until then. Don’t forget me and wait.

Adoption required procedures.

– I’ll be sure to pick you up. Don’t forget me.

That’s how her first meeting with her Oppa ended.

‘I was confident that I remember everything about Oppa.’

Unexpectedly, she realized she couldn’t remember the details of the conversation.

At the same time, she was pushed out of consciousness and pulled into another memory from the past.

It seems to be after adoption.

Her younger self and Oppa played in the living room during the day.

‘Oh, I remember that time.’

Her slow-talking Oppa often read her a fairytale book. 

Then, when they were excited, they would draw a picture and create a story to tell.

It was the same today.

Oppa, who picked up a colored pencil under a large sketchbook, began to draw this and that.

– Once upon a time, there lived a stubborn and greedy Emperor. 

The repertoire was almost the same.

The Emperor in Oppa’s fairy tale always had the exact figure.

He drew an emperor with a dead queen, and Empress that he doesn’t really care.

An empress who was struggling to gain the love and power of such an emperor.

Then the exhausted empress gives up her love and begins to cling to power and her son. 

The Empress was at odds with the Emperor and the other wives.

Even the princes were fighting endlessly for the throne.

Her younger self yawned every time she turned her head, as if she was a little bored, but she couldn’t stand behind it.

Living as Serdel, every story her Oppa told me was unusual.

In particular, the corners of her eyes hardened when he talked about a picture with green waves, whether it was a forest or not.

– Listen well. You must remember this. Here in the counties there is a huge forest where only monsters live. Money minerals and great power reside in this place, you know?

– Ung. 

Her younger self gave a rough nod. 

– It’s the power that I buried for you after a hard deal. Only you can use that power entirely. So you have to get it. I’m going to mark a hundred stars. Remember, it should never be taken away by someone.

– What happens if it gets taken away? The one who stole it will die?

– No. It will be transformed and absorbed according to the tendency. They won’t die, but they can’t use the power of this essence. To put it this way, would it be called lick the outside of watermelon? (T/n : To do something superficially without fully understanding it.) 

When she heard that, the power of Elbash Forest and Radun came to mind at once.

At the same time, she now know for sure why Falden’s power and the power she gained were different.

– Don’t ever meet someone who doesn’t have a good feeling after you get that power. Because they might have a bad feeling for you.

At some point, stories about fairy tales turned into advice for her younger self.

– Okay. 

– And watch out for the imperial family. Especially—.

When Oppa tried to talk, blood and a cough came out of his mouth.

– Oppa! 

Her younger self jumped out of fear. 

– D, does it hurt a lot? 

When Oppa suddenly started to bleed, she was shocked and worried that he had a serious illness.

But not now.

– Due to restrictions— I’m sorry I can’t tell you more. But you have to remember it well.

‘What do you mean restriction?’

She felt like her eyes met Oppa’s eyes, who raised his eyes for a moment.

– Be careful of the imperial family. 

Startled, she took a step back before she knew it.

– Don’t ever forget—Forest, power, or royal family. Don’t let them take what is yours. 

His eyes were so intense that it was as if he was looking at her. 

There’s no way he can see her. 

If this were the present, someone with a good sense like Belters would have found out right away. 

But it was in the past.

It was ridiculous that her already dead brother saw her.

‘….’

Oppa’s lips turned toward her younger self.

It seemed to whisper something.

Her younger self nodded. 

– Ung, I won’t forget. Never.

– Promise.

Her young self, who puts her finger on her brother’s, looked a little dark.

What did she hear?

‘I can’t think of anything.’

Why can’t she think of that whisper she just heard?

What the hell is the true identity of her brother? 

Confusion aggravated confusion.

Just before it exploded, it once again pushed her out of the scene.