Side Story – Encounter [2]
[13]
Since starting life in the Imperial Capital…
As each day passed, Bella grew increasingly desolate.
Despite the luxurious food and opulent bedroom, the shadow in Bella’s eyes only deepened.
In Lea’s memories of living with Bella, Bella often cried silently.
Bella tried not to show her crying to Lea, but her gloomy expression was something she couldn’t completely hide no matter how much she wanted to.
On the days when Lea whined about wanting to see her older brother, Bella would especially sob frequently.
As this pattern repeated, Lea vaguely began to sense that something was wrong.
The vague unease that Lea started to feel gradually took a clearer form as time went on.
Unless Lea brought it up first, no one would mention anything about her older brother.
Every time they talked about finding her older brother, the atmosphere would darken, and he still hadn’t shown his face to Lea.
Even though Lea was still very young… she could faintly sense that she might never meet her older brother again.
But at that time, the concept of death was still far removed from Lea’s understanding.
Lea tried to believe that her older brother had simply gone far away.
Then, some time later…
Karen and Alesya, who had given birth safely, learned about everything that had happened so far.
Upon learning of Ray’s death, Karen fainted repeatedly, regaining consciousness only briefly before fainting again countless times.
Alesya, while more resilient than Karen, was also deeply shocked and unable to regain her composure for a long time.
The weeping continued for a very long time.
Eventually, Karen managed to get up and not long after, Lea heard that Karen was in the Imperial Capital and went to see her with excitement.
“Karen sister! Karen sister!” Lea sang as she went to meet Karen.
To Lea, Karen was the person she trusted and liked the most after her family.
However, upon seeing Lea, Karen screamed.
During the moment Lea froze in shock from hearing Karen’s scream, Karen, unable to suppress her surging emotions, clutched her chest and sobbed uncontrollably.
“Why…! Why…!”
Ray had died protecting Lea.
He had sacrificed his life for Lea and discarded everything he had built up until now because he couldn’t let go of her.
How could he do such a thing? How could he make such a choice?
Wasn’t there a child soon to be born? Not just the child, but weren’t there many people who loved and respected Ray right by his side?
Yet why did he turn his back on all of them, leaving alone to protect Lea… It was incomprehensible, and Karen didn’t want to understand.
“Ray…!”
For the first time, Karen harbored strong resentment towards Ray.
Lea, too, was deeply resented for causing Ray to make such a decision.
Still, Karen couldn’t pour out her resentment onto Lea, who was merely a child.
Nevertheless… the boiling emotions that seeped through Karen’s sobs were terrifying to Lea.
That day, Lea ran away from Karen.
Lea was simply scared. Perhaps, she had instinctively realized that she might bear a responsibility she could never live up to.
After that incident, Lea mustered her courage and asked Jimy where her older brother had gone.
Only then did Jimy tell Lea that her older brother had gone to heaven.
Upon hearing Jimy’s answer, Lea cried all day. She cried the next day too, and probably the day after that as well.
Time passed again, and Lea began to receive various kinds of education.
Sometimes Luna taught her, sometimes an unfamiliar noble uncle became her teacher.
Lea began to learn academics, etiquette, culture, swordsmanship, and even the virtues a nation’s leader should possess.
Although Lea was still young, her sharp mind allowed her to learn quickly.
Through her studies, Lea vaguely began to understand the weight carried by the ‘dragon blood’ flowing within her.
She dimly understood why her older brother occasionally looked at her with a mixture of love and resentment in the past.
She realized that her birth was the starting point of all these tragedies, and that her existence had led to her older brother’s death.
Lea was still too young to fully comprehend her situation.
Nonetheless, she knew one thing clearly: her older brother was a beloved figure.
Many people loved him, cherished him, and were proud of him.
Her mother, father, Karen, Johanna, and Alesya—all of them deeply loved her older brother.
Everyone Lea knew loved her older brother, and that frightened her.
In fact, even Karen, despite crying the next day when Lea returned, warmly embraced her.
But was that really genuine? Was Karen merely pretending, suppressing hatred and resentment toward her for causing Ray’s death?
Because Lea was overly intelligent, she couldn’t ignore such fears and ended up harboring them in her heart.
Ever since embracing those fears, Lea could no longer cry freely or easily seek comfort in someone’s arms.
Though everyone respected Lea, she couldn’t find peace in her heart.
Having spent her entire life being loved in Phillip’s County, Lea now faced loneliness in the Imperial Capital despite her elegant crown.
And still, Lea missed her older brother.
By chance, she overheard a conversation between Alesya and Karen about her older brother being enshrined in the space once used as the royal throne.
After asking around diligently, Lea confirmed that her older brother was indeed enshrined there.
Lea was happy to know she could see her older brother.
However, no one allowed her to approach the royal throne.
They said it wasn’t time yet, hiding the throne from her.
Eventually, Lea reluctantly asked Johanna today.
“Let me… go see my older brother?”
“…”
“Can you take me there?”
“…”
Johanna suppressed the sigh rising in her chest.
Trying to steady her heart, she replied in a slightly stiff voice.
“What good will it do to see him…?”
“I just… want to see my older brother.”
His face was becoming harder to remember now.
Despite her intelligence, Lea’s memory had its limits, and the face of her older brother had grown blurry.
Knowing that everyone else remembered him vividly while she couldn’t made Lea feel even lonelier.
Lea missed her older brother. She felt that meeting him, even vaguely, might bring her some solace.
“Can I go with you?”
Seeing the faint hope in Lea’s face, Johanna’s voice rose momentarily.
“Ray…!!”
Shouting that much, Johanna clenched her jaw and slowly shook her head.
Reminding herself several times that this wasn’t the time to get excited, Johanna turned back to Lea.
“Not now… You can’t go now…”
The appearance of Ray seated on the throne was unchanged from the past.
The traces of battle—twisted, crushed, and severed—remained etched into his body.
Showing this to Lea would only amount to reproaching her, saying, “This is the terrible end Ray met for your sake.”
It would be wrong to subject young Lea to such a sight, and Johanna consoled herself accordingly.
“Later… Just wait a little longer…”
Taking a step forward, Johanna slowly embraced Lea.
Holding Lea, who had grown so much since their last meeting, Johanna whispered softly.
“It’ll be okay… Just wait a little longer… Please be patient.”
What exactly was going to be okay? Lea didn’t understand.
The realization that Johanna’s pain stemmed from Ray’s death, which in turn originated from herself, weighed heavily on Lea’s heart as she entered adolescence.
Tears welled up in Lea’s eyes, and she buried her face in Johanna’s embrace.
*
After comforting and sending Lea off…
Johanna slumped down in front of the throne.
Leaning against a pillar, Johanna quietly gazed at Ray for a while.
Indeed, it seemed like the right decision not to bring Lea here.
Ray’s mangled body, missing an arm and with a gaping hole in his chest, would have provided no solace to Lea.
“Hey, Ray…”
Johanna recounted her experiences on the battlefield.
The stories of constant slashing and bloodshed weren’t particularly colorful.
The most interesting tale she could muster was about catching and punishing a spy who tried to stab her from behind.
As she continued her monologue, Johanna paused and glanced at Ray again.
“…Ray, everything feels so unhappy without you.”
Johanna resented Lea for leading Ray to make such a choice.
At the same time, she pitied Lea.
“Until just a few years ago, she was such an innocent child, running around receiving nothing but love…”
Now, Lea always wore a shadowed expression, preoccupied with reading others’ faces, far beyond what a child should endure.
Wearing an elegant crown and living the most luxurious life in the world, Lea didn’t appear happy at all.
Johanna murmured bitterly.
“…You need to be here, Ray.”
Ray saved no one.
Not even Bella or Lea.
Did Bella become happy because of Ray’s sacrifice? Could Lea, whose life was spared by Ray’s sacrifice, truly be called happy?
Ray had only brought unhappiness to everyone.
Therefore, he needed to return. The salvation Ray desired could only come if Ray returned.
Johanna stared at Ray with weary eyes before turning her head.
Luna was approaching. Johanna stayed seated and asked,
“What’s the matter?”
“…I need to visit the Royal Magic Tower.”
“…You?”
“Yes.”
“Hm… Alright.”
It meant guarding the Imperial Capital while Luna was away.
Given that Johanna was summoned as well, it seemed Luna would be gone for a few days.
Johanna nodded and asked for confirmation.
“Why are you going to the Royal Magic Tower?”
“I need to meet someone.”
“Who?”
“A spirit.”
A spirit from six hundred years ago.
And one of the starting points of destruction.
That was the entity Luna intended to meet.
