CHAPTER 96……………………………………………….
“Follow the path I took. You won’t run into the soldiers there, so it should be relatively safe.”
“Why are you helping us?”
He met my gaze in response to my question.
A smile appeared on his deeply wrinkled face. I stared at him intently, and in his eyes, clouded with age yet sharp, it felt as if he were speaking directly to me.
“I simply felt it was something I should do.”
I couldn’t understand his words.
Urenas had a reputation as a wise and benevolent priest.
But he was a man of the kingdom. He had no reason to help us—Giovanni, the imperial prince, and me, a fugitive from the kingdom.
And he even helped us evade the kingdom soldiers who were acting under royal orders.
“I still remember your young, praying face vividly.”
He said this, looking at me gently.
“It pains me that I couldn’t hand you even a snack when you hurriedly stood up, pressed for time. I truly regret that.”
I probably looked full of questions.
His kindness toward me felt unfamiliar.
There was no bond between us. If anything, we had a tenuous connection at best.
I had even stolen his aquamarine—he probably didn’t know, though.
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
Urenas’s smile deepened.
“Would it help if I said I learned the truth a little before you did?”
“…….”
“Ancient magic, no matter how powerful, cannot remain flawless for a thousand years. Ten years ago, old memories came to me.”
No one else could have understood that—but I did.
I unconsciously held my breath.
Tyrein had told me that I was the reincarnation of Hilda, the spirit who had lived among ancient humans.
He had said I was the only one. But what Urenas just said was something only someone who knew the tragedy from a thousand years ago could say.
“But I, being merely a fragment, could do nothing. Even though the memories were tragic, I felt no anger.”
“No anger?”
I asked without thinking. It was the opposite of Tyrein, who had burned with hatred for humans.
“I had already come to love the humans of this land.”
Urenas spoke plainly. He loved humans, and so even when memories arose, he could not hate them.
“I could not let everyone die because of karmic debts I could not remember. That very thought proves I am human, not a spirit. No matter how much time passes, beings from ancient memories cannot be forgotten.”
“…….”
“It’s been only a few months since I recognized your existence—after the imperial delegation arrived in the kingdom.”
Instinctively, I realized.
It must have been when I first absorbed the priest’s power.
Giovanni’s presence had disturbed the kingdom’s magic, allowing me to perceive the resulting cracks in the magical balance.
If his presence and the priest’s power had not aligned, I would have died without ever finding ‘myself,’ just as in my past life.
“That’s when I decided to help.”
Tyrein was contained within Urenas’s aquamarine.
Could he have not known that Urenas held a fragment of the spirit?
No. If he had known, he would not have withheld the information from me.
Unlike me, Urenas simply could not see Tyrein.
Or perhaps he hid the truth from himself as well.
“When a young priest, stripped of power, confessed to me in tears…”
My heart skipped a beat.
“I calmed him, saying it was temporary, and sent him away. The young priest’s despair pained me, but had your existence been revealed, the same tragedy would have occurred as before.”
“…….”
“My duty, awakened with my old memories, was to help you leave this land safely.”
The confused gazes of my companions pierced me, unable to understand Urenas’s words.
Yet I could say nothing.
My eyes were fixed only on Urenas.
No matter how much Tyrein had explained, I could never truly feel that I was Hilda the spirit.
But the kindness Urenas showed, even without ever truly speaking with me, gave a sense of kinship I had never experienced.
It felt strange.
“This land will become difficult to live in, but I intend to devote the rest of my life to doing my best.”
“Wouldn’t it have been better to just stop me from going?”
I barely managed to speak.
If he knew all the truth, he would understand.
How important I was to the kingdom after absorbing so much of the priest’s power.
Now, he had chosen me over the kingdom.
“My kin are important to me as well.”
“…….”
“I suppose we won’t meet again.”
Urenas sighed, as if regretting it, then smiled gently as the sentiment faded.
“You will do well on any harsh land. Your very existence is a blessing.”
“…….”
“The old man spoke too much out of sentimentality. Go quickly. Many soldiers have entered the village. The longer you delay, the more dangerous it becomes.”
He gestured toward an empty alley.
Giovanni grabbed my arm, pulling me along.
“Let’s go.”
As I passed by him, I hesitated and took the aquamarine from my pocket.
It had contained Tyrein, but now, after my power had grown, I no longer needed it.
My body could take the gem’s place.
“Well, actually, I…”
I struggled to speak.
“I already knew.”
“Eh?”
“Your nature is complicated. I suspected it would be in your hands.”
I didn’t fully understand, but Kichev clattered his weapons, urging me on, so I didn’t ask.
I handed the aquamarine to him without further thought.
“I’ll return it to you.”
“There’s no need, but thank you. It was, frankly, very precious to me.”
My heart ached. It had been a long time since I felt guilt for stealing.
This is why you don’t touch good people’s things.
But in this case, it could not be helped.
As Urenas, wearing the aquamarine around his neck, was about to leave, he suddenly held my hand.
Startled, I looked at him, and he whispered softly:
“Wherever you go, do not forget.”
“…….”
“You are the true Marta.”
When I opened my eyes wide, he had released my hand lightly and stepped back.
“Go safely.”
“…….”
“Send my regards to Tyrein.”
My hair stood on end.
Could it be…
Could Urenas see Tyrein? And had he pretended not to?
Before I could ask more, Giovanni grabbed my waist, lifting me into his arms.
“Wait!”
“There’s no time.”
As fast as a horse, he moved, and I watched Urenas recede.
He stayed standing, watching me, until he disappeared from sight.
Thanks to Urenas’s help, we were able to leave the outcast village safely.
We did encounter kingdom soldiers, but Giovanni and Kichev handled them immediately, so no major incident occurred.
Jenny, seeing people die before her eyes, looked as if she might vomit, but she managed to hold it back.
Even with her youthful face, she had her own resolve.
“The desert is near.”
Kichev shouted as he ran, carrying Jenny.
Even without his words, the hot, dry air made it clear the desert was close.
The air was harsh, unlike the fresh, pleasant air of the kingdom.
The exile order was terrible.
Life in the desert was far from easy. Shortages of water and food made it even harder.
Will I ever return here?
I pictured a vast, green land in my mind.
Grass reaching my knees swaying in the wind, white clouds drifting in a bright blue sky, and green wolves running freely.
It was the land I envisioned when I first recited the Woen script.
Now I knew it was the ancient land of Liorsa.
From Giovanni’s arms, running as if on four-legged beasts, I watched Liorsa fade behind me.
I thought I had no attachment to the kingdom, but leaving this land filled me with bittersweet emotion.
It had been that beautiful.
Someday, if there’s a chance…
Sand began to scatter. It was time to leave the kingdom.
We were just about to enter the desert.
“Don’t go.”
“What?”
I spoke without thinking. Giovanni glanced at me, questioning. He probably thought I was speaking to him.
“Nothing… it’s nothing.”
I shook my head and faced forward.
Had I misheard? Why was I hearing voices lately?
“I said, don’t go!”
My face stiffened.
It’s not a hallucination.
This was the voice of a spirit. Faint, yet clearer than any previous hallucination.
Where is it coming from?
“Is something wrong?”
Giovanni glanced back as I looked around.
“No, nothing serious….”
Just as he was about to respond, blue lights suddenly rose into the distant sky, near the capital’s direction.
I had seen these lights before. At the time, I didn’t know, but they were spirit entities that had inhabited dead priests.
Has a priest died?
Then, closer, new lights appeared.
Two.
…No, three?
I counted them absentmindedly, eyes widening. More lights were rising into the sky.
Giovanni grabbed my jaw to stop me from speaking.
“What are you looking at?”
I couldn’t answer.
The lights, shooting up as if to pierce the sky, aimed directly at me. Blue tails left afterimages like arrows.
Feeling a strange chill, I gripped Giovanni’s shoulder.
Perceiving it as a signal, he hugged me tightly and increased his pace.
The blue lights followed.
“Don’t go.”
The lead light seemed to whisper.
Others followed closely behind.
“Don’t leave us.”
The voice I had thought a hallucination was truly the spirits’ voices.
How is this possible?
Had all the priests died at once?
No way…
I looked at my hand resting on Giovanni’s shoulder. It glowed blue, as if connected to those lights.
When your power reaches a certain level, you can summon spirits without even touching them, I recalled Tyrein’s words.
But I never planned to summon them…
“Don’t gooooo!”
As Giovanni sped up, one of the lights screamed, chasing me desperately.
Even formless light, it felt as if a face of anguish was drawn in it.
Then, the last light at the rear began to fade.
Is it disappearing?
It was a spirit sealed by magic. Even drawn to my power, it couldn’t survive long without its body.
No.
I instinctively reached toward the lights.
