Yujin listened to Elysia’s story until the very end.
The happy times she spent with her mother as a child, and the day the assassin came, just like any other day, who ended up getting killed while trying to protect her…
As she continued her tale, Elysia’s expression grew darker, her eyes and body began to tremble, but she managed to convey every detail to Yujin.
After hearing all of it, Yujin responded thusly:
“…It must’ve been tough on you.”
Yujin lost his parents when he was merely 12 years old.
But Elysia lost her mother at an even younger age—when she was only 4.
Yujin couldn’t even remember what it was like when he was 4. It’s natural. As people grow older, those early childhood memories tend to fade away.
Yet, Elysia still hadn’t forgotten that memory even now. It must’ve been such a shocking and painful experience.
Afterward, she struggled with PTSD, and despite being a princess, she picked up a sword in her quest to grow stronger. One could easily imagine the pain she endured.
Elysia also spoke up.
“It wasn’t easy… That would be a lie, right? Actually, it still bothers me when I think about it now. But… as you said, Professor, I can’t keep ignoring it forever…”
“Yes, well said. You’ve done a great job. Thank you for your efforts.”
“…Thank you.”
With Yujin’s words, Elysia tried to calm her trembling body and bowed her head.
Watching her, Yujin asked,
“Your Highness, may I inquire about one more thing?”
“…Yes, of course.”
“…Perhaps you might not remember much since it’s from your childhood, but I’d like to ask what you used to do often with the late Crown Princess, your mother.”
“With my mother…”
At that question, Elysia seemed to ponder for a moment before speaking to Yujin.
“When I was little… I enjoyed having tea time with Mother or going for walks in the garden. At night, I would listen to the stories she told me… Other than that… I apologize, but I don’t quite remember. It was so long ago…”
“That’s enough. Then… Your Highness, is there anyone you privately get along with closely?”
“Someone I privately get along with…?”
“Yes. Preferably someone who knows about your condition. A woman would be preferable.”
Upon Yujin’s question, Elysia thought for a moment before answering.
“…Aside from my family… There’s hardly anyone else that comes to mind. It’s a bit embarrassing, but I have a slight aversion to letting others get too close…”
“Is that because of your childhood memories?”
“…Yes. I later found out that the person who assassinated my mother was one of her personal knights. Since then, I haven’t tried to let others get too close…”
So the assassin was one of the Crown Princess’s personal knights… Certainly, it was a position of honor and prestige, yet he betrayed all that to become an assassin. Execution awaited him, and his entire family would surely be wiped out.
But Yujin shrugged it off. The ways to manipulate people are endless. Explaining how dirty those methods can get would only make his mouth hurt. That knight probably fell victim to similar tactics.
“Therefore… aside from family, I haven’t let others get too close. It’s less about trust and more because it makes me uncomfortable…”
“But if it’s your family members…”
“…The royal family. But why the question about someone I’m close to…”
When Elysia subtly inquired, Yujin replied,
“I wanted that person to temporarily take on the role of the late Crown Princess.”
“…What?”
“I’ll explain.”
Yujin continued.
“It’s nothing grand. By doing the things you used to do with the late Crown Princess with someone close to you, we aim to overlap those memories.”
“To overlap memories…”
“Yes. To put it simply… it’s like the déjà vu effect. As I mentioned earlier, Your Highness needs to get accustomed to continuously facing trauma without breaking down.”
“……”
“By doing the things you used to do with the late Crown Princess with someone else, you’ll evoke those memories and constantly remind yourself of the nostalgia and sadness. This way, you’ll gradually grow accustomed to the grief and pain of losing the late Crown Princess. Of course, since you were so young back then, it might be difficult to recall the faded memories, but we’ll try something anyway.”
This method resembles the treatment for PTSD. In fact, since Elysia herself is suffering from PTSD, this kind of treatment is necessary.
PTSD is ultimately a disease with a clear cause. Its treatment is relatively straightforward.
You confront the situation that triggers PTSD and overcome it completely.
However, though the method may be simple, it’s by no means easy for someone experiencing PTSD. After all, if it were easy to process in one go, they wouldn’t have developed PTSD in the first place.
Thus, as Yujin suggested, a gradual stabilization process is needed. Recovery from various discomforts, flashbacks, physical unease, and negative emotions requires prior stabilization.
Until it becomes possible to face the triggering memories, one must gradually reduce the emotions and thoughts attached to those memories or build up the mental and physical strength to endure the shock.
This is precisely the current situation. For her, the death of the late Crown Princess is the root of her sorrow and pain. Recalling the memories of the times they spent together will help her gradually come to terms with the loss and free herself from the associated emotions and thoughts.
‘If only I could use a treatment like EMDR… But unfortunately, I’m not a specialist.’
‘EMDR’ (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapy where the patient moves their eyes left and right according to the doctor’s instructions while listening to sounds or feeling tactile sensations, making the traumatic memories feel less distressing. In 2004, the American Psychiatric Association recognized it as the most effective treatment for PTSD.
It was inspired by REM sleep, during which the eyes move freely, and it reportedly has the effect of fading or obscuring painful memories.
However, it must be administered by a qualified professional in mental health or clinical psychology to be effective. There have been reports of cases where improper attempts actually worsened the condition.
It’s believed that the mechanism involves reconstructing synaptic connections in the brain related to PTSD memories during sleep-like states or through eye movement. If done improperly, these connections might strengthen, embedding the traumatic memories even deeper.
Though Yujin had undergone this treatment after losing his parents, he knew well that he wasn’t a specialist himself. Thus, using such methods would be worse than not using them at all.
Naturally, the only thing he could do was the most basic and simple stabilization treatment: continually recalling memories related to the late Crown Princess to grow accustomed to her absence.
And if possible, it would be good for her to confide her troubles to someone.
The primary support for someone who has experienced a shocking event should be emotional support and encouragement to talk about the incident. Teaching relaxation techniques and other coping strategies to help them overcome the situation is also a good treatment method.
Yujin, having gone through such treatments himself, knew all about them. He hoped that Elysia would find someone to provide her with emotional stability and gradually become familiar with memories of the late Crown Princess…
“Hmm… Asking the royal family would probably be difficult, right?”
“…Father, the Emperor, and my brother, the Crown Prince, are both currently occupied. They’re dealing with the Holy Order while handling the matter of me being parasitized by the Seed of the Demon. My sister is helping her husband, the Duke, after returning to society for my sake.”
Thinking of them, guilt briefly crossed Elysia’s face, but she forced herself to speak steadily.
Yujin asked,
“And Her Majesty the Empress…”
“…Technically, she’s my mother, but if you’re asking if we’re close… We’re not. In fact, it’s rather… no, quite awkward… our relationship.”
“That’s understandable.”
The relationship between a daughter born to the principal wife and a concubine is extremely rare to be good. Rather, as Elysia mentioned, it’s likely quite awkward.
Unless the principal wife and the concubine get along, the current Empress was brought in after the late Crown Princess passed away. She apparently had no particular connection to the late Crown Princess.
Moreover, from the current Empress’s perspective, since the Emperor never forgot the late Crown Princess and kept her as Empress instead of Queen, it’s only natural that she feels awkward around Elysia, the late Crown Princess’s daughter.
“…Hmm, is there really no one else?”
“Other people… There’s the master who taught me the sword, but…”
So there was someone after all. Yujin asked,
“Then, can you ask that person?”
“…That person went to the Demon Realm, and we lost contact.”
“…”
The Demon Realm.
Yujin had heard of it before. Just a fleeting mention in the context of Maze Academy… It was described as follows.
“Long ago, demons and their descendants gathered in a place filled with monsters… Literally called the Demon Realm (Pandemonium).”
It was depicted as a hellish abyss created by demons. Similar to the creatures in the maze, or beings conceived or created by demons, they fought each other endlessly. Most of the creatures living there have a strong instinct for slaughter, lack intelligence, and repeatedly kill each other. However, occasionally, their numbers swell excessively, causing some to spill over into the outside world, requiring periodic cleanup by forces like the Holy Order.
Additionally, among the few demons directly conceived by demons through mortals, some possess high intelligence and formidable power due to their lineage from transcendent beings, occasionally invading the human world.
Of course, this is an extremely rare occurrence historically. At least in the past thousand years, there have been no recorded instances of demons invading the human world. After all, the Demon Realm is a place where even demons consider each other enemies, making survival a constant struggle.
Simultaneously, due to the nature of the Demon Realm being akin to a hellish abyss, they rarely unite. How can demons and demonkin, who view each other as enemies, form alliances? Unless an overwhelmingly powerful ruler emerges, the Demon Realm will never invade the human world.
“Ah, but they’re probably fine. She’s the ‘Sword Saint,’ after all… Besides, as you know, Professor, this time most of the saints and saints under command, including His Holiness the Pope, have embarked on a large-scale Demon Realm purge. So, she’s probably safe. Communication via mana crystal balls doesn’t work in the Demon Realm filled with magic energy anyway.”
“…Is that so?”
That was news to Yujin. After all, he was still new to Maze Academy. Didn’t Yujin only recently learn about the princess being parasitized by a demon?
The princess’s teacher is the Sword Saint, and most of the saints and saints have embarked on a large-scale purge of the Demon Realm… This was all new information to him.
“The people suffering in the Demon Realm have my apologies, but… because of the large-scale purge, most of the saints and saints aren’t present in the Holy Order, which might be fortunate. Given that my issue hasn’t been resolved, if they were all present in the Holy Order, it wouldn’t remain this quiet. The radical saints or saints might have already announced my condition to the public and tried to kill me.”
Indeed, the current silence of the Holy Order is largely due to the absence of the Pope and most of the saints. If not for the fact that one of the remaining saints, the Purifying Saint, is part of the moderate faction, Elysia might already be in immediate danger.
Yujin had wondered why the Holy Order remained so quiet about Elysia’s problem… but he didn’t know the reason was this.
“…Anyway, there’s no one who can help immediately, right?”
“……”
It became a bit of a predicament. Time wasn’t on Elysia’s side.
‘Perhaps using the First Princess, even if it means stretching things a bit, would be appropriate.’
After all, the First Princess returned to society and is helping her husband, the Duke, to solve her younger sister’s problem.
Wouldn’t assisting Elysia directly be more reliable than running around in society or helping the Duke?
Besides, Elysia didn’t need to stay at the academy anymore. Yujin could easily transcend space, so sending Elysia to the First Princess Riana and visiting her during his free time after class to handle the treatment would suffice.
‘It won’t work immediately because the First Princess has her own affairs to handle, so perhaps in three days…’
While Yujin was roughly planning in his head,
“…Professor.”
“…Hmm?”
“…If Professor could… accompany me…”
Suddenly, Elysia blurted out those words.
When Yujin looked up to meet Elysia’s gaze…
“…Would that be alright…?”
Her face was bright red, her head bowed, and she was glancing up at Yujin shyly.
『……』
“…”
Yujin felt Tiamat’s icy gaze and shivered.
