Chapter 310: Glass Flower (1)
The Imperial Palace of the Empire’s garden was so wide that one could easily get lost wandering blindly because it was a magical space so immense that it might take a week to complete even after a week’s walk, and within it, all four seasons—spring, summer, autumn, and winter—coexisted, while in the winter garden, its owner, Sophien, was sparring with a knight.
Boom, boom, boom!
Blades clashed with a roar like mortars, and though the dispersing mana was as dazzling as the sun, threatening to tear her eyes, Ria stared with her eyes wide open, persistently following the sparring match, wasting not a single moment of this precious scene.
Boom—!
Of course not. The two people engaged in this ferocious swordplay right now are Empress Sophien and Keiron. A duel between the world’s strongest—you couldn’t buy a ticket to see this, Ria thought.
Zzzzzzzzzaaaaaap—!
The Empress’s blade and the knight’s blade met and dragged against each other, mana erupted like a thunderbolt, and the ground shook as if an earthquake had struck.
“… Your Majesty, you grow stronger at a steep pace,” Keiron said, looking at the Empress beyond his sword.
Sophien gave a chuckle and then, with great force, pushed Keiron’s blade.
Claaaaang—!
The reverberation of metal shattering echoed, and steel scattered like fragments.
Pufffffff…
The fragments of what had been a striking blade scattered to the ground, and Keiron looked at the blade in his hand, which now consisted only of its hilt.
“Growing stronger at a steep pace, you say… I believe I have already transcended,” Sophien replied, sheathing her sword.
Ria sprinted and handed Sophien a towel, while Ahan offered a cool water bottle, as if competing.
“Well,” Sophien added, holding a towel and water in both hands and looking at Keiron. “Has Deculein gone to Rohakan now?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“And Yulie, has she been cured?”
At that moment, Ahan’s and Ria’s shoulders trembled slightly.
“Yes, Your Majesty, Knight Yulie has been cured,” Keiron replied, hesitating for a moment before nodding.
Yulie, now liberated from all painful memories, curses, and wounds, was effectively freed from restrictions, much like Sophien. Sophien was rather curious to see how rapidly Yulie would develop.
“Indeed.”
“However, fortunately, Knight Yulie does not remember her past,” Keiron said in a reassuring tone.
However, Sophien’s reaction was unexpected.
“Why is that fortunate?”
Keiron held his tongue for the moment, as it was unknown whether her words were merely the Empress’s whim, a mischievous jest, or her genuine sentiment.
“That Professor, though he may not speak of it to me, will surely be distressed. If Yulie were to fall in love with some undeserving individual… even I would find such a sight unacceptable.”
Keiron lowered his head in silence, but within, he smiled, for the precious gift of empathy was now being shown to the Empress.
“However, all is well. Ultimately, I shall set things right,” Sophien concluded, a smile on her lips as she waved her hand dismissively. “Now, all of you, leave. I wish to rest comfortably alone. Only you, Ria, may remain.”
“… Yes, Your Majesty.”
Keiron and Ahan, seemingly out of jealousy, stared at Ria with slightly narrowed eyes as Sophien singled her out before leaving the garden.
“Ria,” Sophien called, taking her seat at the tea table.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Ria replied.
“I have seen, and I have heard.”
“What, Your Majesty… do you mean?”
“That, with his own hands, Deculein burned Yulie’s diary to flames.”
The memory, once faint in her consciousness—initially appearing as a distant hallucination or phantom sound—rewound with increasing clarity as time passed and now settled in Sophien’s mind as a concrete truth.
Ria’s eyes, without a word, rounded in surprise.
“Deculein, it seemed, was of my kind,” Sophien continued, a smile spreading across her lips. “Because Deculein loves Yulie, he desires naught but her happiness, to the furthest reach of his spirit.”
Sophien, her face lost in thought, lowered her head and stared at the teacup on the tea table.
“Ria, all your advice was wholly accurate. It’s a strange thing—how could you know Deculein so well when no one knows his true thoughts?” Sophien added.
Ria watched Sophien in silence, her eyes directed upward.
“Therefore, I am holding a certain thought,” Sophien continued, meeting Ria’s eyes.
Then, Sophien whispered in a faint voice.
“Yuara.”
Ria’s heart skipped a beat for a moment, and Sophien, finding her endearing, placed a hand on her small head.
“That was you,” Sophien concluded.
***
I walked through Rohakan’s Vineyard, holding a pocket watch and committed to keeping her promise.
Whooosh…
From the other side, a clear breeze pushed in, and amid the fragrant, swaying scents of grapes, the person I sought soon appeared.
“Hey, you’re here~?”
I saw a child looking up at me, waving their arms in greeting.
“… You’ve grown younger, Rohakan,” I replied.
I silently looked down at Rohakan, the old man who had become a small boy.
“Haha,” Rohakan murmured, his laughter filling the space.
Then Rohakan plucked two bunches of grapes—one for me and the other for himself—and tucked them into his robe.
“I was granting another protégé’s request, you see,” Rohakan continued, walking through the vineyard.
Shaking my head, I replied, “There was no necessity for you to have gone to such lengths. It was merely a single meal—”
“Merely, you say? That moment must have brought comfort to that child. Even if she did not make the request, I would have commanded it so.”
Meanwhile, we reached Rohakan’s cabin.
“Sit,” Rohakan added, pointing toward the main wooden floorboards of the cabin.
“Epherene asked me to deliver it to you,” I said, taking my seat and pulling out Epherene’s pocket watch.
“Hmm. Just keep it with you,” Rohakan replied, shaking his head as he looked at the pocket watch. “You won’t be able to meet me anymore, anyway.”
Rohakan’s words were a definite declaration, and one could tell as much by looking at his current appearance.
“Time has indeed flown, it would appear,” I said.
“For me, it is merely a brief moment. I take my leave, but duties still await you, do they not?”
“Yes.”
I had my challenge of coming to a conclusion with Quay remaining.
“What comes next for you?” Rohakan asked.
What would become of me afterward, I knew not, and I was already aware that this body had little time remaining.
Therefore, if I were given the opportunity to return to Kim Woo-Jin’s world…
“I am weighing options.”
“Of course, that would be so,” Rohakan replied, a bright smile forming on his lips. “However, that fellow Quay is a most unfortunate ancestor.”
“Is that so?”
“He who served God could not acknowledge God’s death, and therefore remained alone for too long.”
Quay, the final boss, is the most faithful yet the most unfortunate follower. What decision will he make in his final hour? I thought.
“Deculein,” Rohakan continued, turning to look at me, his face bearing its unusual gravity. “Little time remains.”
“… Yes, I am aware.”
The finale of this world’s main quest was now not far away.
Then, a mischievous smile once more graced Rohakan’s lips.
“Before that, will you not meet Yulie anymore?”
“No.”
“Lies. You wish to meet her, do you not?”
“I will take my leave.”
Even knowing Rohakan was about to die, I stood up from my place because I had only a few words left to share.
“Take a few grapes and give them to Yulie as a gift, for they are white grapes, beneficial for rehabilitation,” Rohakan said from behind.
I paused for a moment and looked back at Rohakan.
“Farewell. I will die well,” continued young Rohakan as he smiled brightly and waved his arm.
“… Yes, thank you for everything,” I replied, nodding.
Scratching the back of his neck awkwardly and waving his hand, Rohakan said, “Thank you, you say. They don’t suit you. Off with you, Deculein, and…”
Rohakan stopped speaking for a moment, then raised an eyebrow with a mischievous look, as if expecting me to say it myself.
I granted his desire.
“Kim Woo-Jin,” I said.
Since some unknown point, perhaps a while ago.
“… Yes, Kim Woo-Jin.”
Rohakan must have sensed the existence of another soul within my body.
“A good name, it is,” Rohakan concluded.
***
Meanwhile, Idnik, Allen, and Yulie returned from the Ages to the Empire, their destination for now being Freyden.
“You are blessed with extraordinary talent,” Yulie said, her eyes alight with appreciation for Allen.
With but a single Stride, they reached the mountainside of Freyden, and Allen merely offered a silent smile.
“How is your physical state?” Idnik asked.
“I am well.”
“I see.”
Idnik and Yulie held a conversation while climbing the mountain trail, which was steep and frozen.
“My words, I presume, remain incomprehensible, do they not?”
“No,” young Yulie replied, her spirit confident in all matters. “Was I really under a curse?”
Of course, Yulie knew the rough outline—suffering for over a decade from a curse, with the only cure being time rewind—that much, and no more.
“Yes, that is so.”
From somewhere, a chilling voice seeped in, causing Idnik, Yulie, and Allen to flinch and look in that direction, while shadows clumped together under the cold tree shade, forming the shape of a person.
“Hello, Yulie.”
It was Yulie’s older sister, Josephine, and Yulie stared at her with a somewhat reluctant expression.
“Sister…”
“Thank you,” Josephine said, stepping forward and taking Yulie’s arms, then looking alternately at Idnik and Allen. “For saving Yulie.”
“… We are not the ones to be thanked,” Idnik replied.
“Epherene, are you speaking of that child?” Josephine said, a bright smile gracing her lips.
Idnik found Josephine’s smile to be oddly eerie.
“… Yes, that’s correct, but now I can’t see where she went.”
“Then I will certainly reward her later.”
“I heard Freyden’s condition is not good. Yet, can a reward still be offered?”
“Pardon?!” Yulie yelled, her eyes wide with disbelief. “Freyden’s condition is not good, you say?”
“… Shh. That story is for later,” Josephine said, placing a hand to her lips and drawing Yulie along. “Then, I will take Yulie with me now.”
“… As you wish,” Idnik replied, nodding.
***
Yulie, having finally returned to her hometown—the winter castle of Freyden—found herself speechless at the sight of the brutally cold climate and landscape.
“… An Ice Age, you say?” Yulie asked.
Freyden was gripped by the arrival of an Ice Age, with the permafrost transforming into glaciers, and in addition to the frozen farmlands, even wild animals froze to death from the cold.
“Yes, Freyden’s condition is quite unfavorable. First, take a seat,” Josephine replied, seating herself at the dining table and pointing to the spot across from her.
Yulie hesitantly sat down in that spot.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“… Yes,” Yulie replied, with a touch of honesty.
“Dinner will be served soon. More importantly, you must have many questions, don’t you?” Josephine said, a smile gracing her lips.
“Of course. But what of the brother and father…”
“Father has passed away, and we also held the funeral, all of us together.”
“Father… has passed away?” Yulie replied, her eyes widening as they instantly grew moist.
“Don’t cry, Yulie,” Josephine said, wiping Yulie’s eyes with a handkerchief. “Zeit is now our head of the family, and he has journeyed to resolve this Ice Age.”
Yulie was in a daze, for the gap of a decade in time was not easily bridged because her father, hale just last night, was now dead, and the peaceful Freyden had become an Ice Age.
“… And I, then? What should I do?”
“First, leave Freyden. Remaining here will do you no good.”
“Pardon me? Then where am I to go?” Yulie asked.
“You are still a university student, are you not?”
At Josephine’s words, Yulie nodded without thinking, for in her memory she was indeed a university student, or to be precise, a knight cadet of the Imperial University’s affiliated Knights’ Order.
“Therefore, you must attend university. Remain at the university, and while you do…” Josephine continued, taking out a thick document—Freyden’s house meeting minutes. “These are records from the past ten years. By reading these, you must accept the passage of time yourself. Will you be alright with that?”
“Yes. But is it really true that Father has passed away and that I was under a curse?” Yulie replied, slapping her swollen cheeks.
“… Yes. You will be able to find it all in the minutes, but it’s true,” Josephine said, her expression becoming rather sorrowful as she handed another briefcase to Yulie. “Take this. Inside are a train ticket to the Empire, your identification card, spending money, and a student identification card.”
Yulie remained silent.
“Don’t worry too much. I will be watching over you, Yulie.”
“It is different from my name,” Yulie replied, holding up her identification card, her head tilting in confusion as she read the text.
“… Yes. Even if you tell people you are yourself from ten years ago, they won’t believe you, and, if you say that, you will draw the attention of the Purger.”
“The Purger…” Yulie muttered under her breath.
Yulie had heard of them before—the Purger of the Floating Island.
“Yulie, you were brought back to life by the impossible spell called the time rewind. Therefore, what do you think the Purger’s reaction will be if they see you?”
Yulie was convinced, and she set her briefcase down beside her chair.
At that moment, the meal was served, consisting of boar meat, though its state was clearly not favorable.
“Only frostbitten wild beasts come up to the castle. You know Zeit’s personality—it’s the same diet as the inhabitants,” Josephine continued, a bitter smile gracing her lips.
“Yes, I prefer it this way,” Yulie replied, nodding and tearing off a wild boar’s hind leg.
Yulie hesitated for a moment after her first bite—the taste was so unpleasant—but she painstakingly chewed the meat.
“Also… Yulie.”
“Yes.”
Munch, munch.
“Be careful of Deculein,” Josephine continued, speaking to Yulie, who was tearing at the meat like a hungry adventurer.
“… Pardon me? Deculein, you mean the one from the Mage Tower?” Yulie asked.
“Yes, he is now the Chairman of the Mage Tower.”
Yulie’s eyes opened wide, for the information was utterly more shocking than anything she could have imagined.
Of course, he is famous as a mage with notable achievements and a handsome appearance—no, though he was famous, I never thought he’d become the Chairman… Yulie thought.
“But why would he be dangerous?” Yulie asked.
“… You will know if you read those minutes.”
Whoooosh—
At that moment, a cold wind, mixed with hail, knocked at the window.
“Because he is your former fiancé, whose engagement was broken off because of your curse,” Josephine concluded, resting her chin in her hand.
Gulp—
Yulie’s throat clenched as she swallowed convulsively, the sound audible.
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