Chapter 137
Chapter 137
Regret
“……Should I say that I’m even tired of trying to nitpick something now.”
“…….”
At Noel’s muttered words, Morrigan expressed her agreement through silence.
Anyone could come up with the insane idea of crossing what was essentially an ocean on a single raft and heading straight through the middle, but the number of people who would actually think of putting it into practice would certainly be extremely small.
In fact, even the students traveling on the rafts looked unsure, as if wondering whether this was really the right thing to do, but in the end they followed along because there was no other alternative.
When people don’t even know exactly what is going on or how things are unfolding and therefore lack the basic grounds to make a judgment, seeing someone who always speaks with that much certainty about what needs to be done naturally makes people follow along in the end.
Of course, for someone who was practically royalty—and especially in a situation where there were already central figures—it might have been a bit insufficient if that was the only thing.
‘……He’s also worn himself down that much trying to save people.’
Thinking about it, that man had always been the one to charge in first and start the fight whenever there was danger, all under that very premise.
People didn’t just look at his ability. He had done things like that again and again, so they trusted and followed him. At the very least, there was a belief that this man could do anything for the sake of the public good.
But from Noel’s perspective—
“…….”
She quietly clenched her fist.
‘……This is strange.’
There was a conviction she had inherited from Theresa.
To help the weak, to protect human values, and to uphold chivalry until the very end.
And if there was a man right in front of her who protected those very values, and if he was someone close to her, then simply confirming how well they matched with each other should have been something to call a blessing.
But.
Even so.
“…….”
Why did one side of her chest feel tightly constricted?
Why did it not make her particularly happy?
No matter how dull Noel might be when it came to the direction of her own emotions, she was at least aware of where that feeling was coming from.
“……I hope Sir Aiden doesn’t get hurt.”
Noel said this while looking at Aiden, who stood at the very front of the group of drifting rafts.
Sure enough, even in this area where something clearly lurked beneath the sea surface, he was once again exposing himself to the greatest danger first without hesitation.
I hope he doesn’t get hurt.
I hoped he would return safely, with his body intact, to the embrace of the family he cherished so dearly.
And not just for the sake of his family, but also for my sake—because separating him from my life had already become an extremely difficult thing.
Wasn’t that why I had followed him all the way here?
Just like that.
The ability to be the first to thrust one’s head toward a disaster that others would not even dare think of confronting does not come simply from courage.
Perhaps it should be called conviction.
Or perhaps—
“……Why he goes that far, I honestly don’t know myself.”
……From what Noel had seen and heard so far, it was something closer to stubbornness and obsession.
Kenneth, Aiden’s father, had brought up something similar before.
“Isn’t it because he doesn’t want to repeat it a second time?”
Even the words that slipped out from Morrigan carried almost the same implication.
She spoke while looking at Aiden with a faint, wistful gaze that was almost on par with Noel’s.
“……If you consider what that man has gone through, I think that level of reaction is only natural.”
“……?”
Noel turned to her with a blank expression.
“Morrigan.”
Soon, Noel narrowed her eyes as she looked at her.
“Do you perhaps know something about Sir Aiden?”
Even if Kenneth knew, why was this woman speaking as if she knew about Aiden’s past?
Information that even the Empire’s Central Intelligence Department had failed to properly uncover.
“…….”
Hearing that, Morrigan flinched and shut her mouth.
She moved her lips as if trying to say something, then quickly turned her gaze away from Noel and spoke.
“……I cannot tell you without Sir Aiden’s permission.”
“…….”
……That was, technically, the right thing to say.
Noel also believed there was no need to elaborate on how vulgar it was to casually dig up someone else’s past.
Still.
“…….”
Hm.
Noel rubbed her chin with a dissatisfied look and stared at Morrigan.
The remark itself had clearly been a slip of the tongue she didn’t even need to make, and now she looked flustered as if asking for it to be forgotten. Compared to Katiya—who brazenly pushed forward saying that Aiden was closest to her so Noel should step aside—this was far better.
So Noel didn’t particularly feel like pressing the matter further.
‘……Ah, seriously.’
It irritated her in the first place.
The fact that someone who was usually so meticulous suddenly became emotional whenever something related to Aiden was involved only made it feel even more obvious that the man was receiving special treatment from her.
It almost felt like she knew she should restrain herself because Noel, his fiancée, was right in front of her—but she found it difficult to do so, and it slipped out unconsciously bit by bit……
“…….”
“…….”
Morrigan and Noel, who had been awkwardly meeting each other’s eyes, soon slowly looked away.
“……I hope nothing happens.”
Morrigan cleared her throat and spoke as if trying to change the subject somehow.
“Something about the atmosphere up ahead doesn’t seem very peaceful.”
Morrigan said this with certainty while looking at Aiden, who was riding on the same raft as the Pontiff.
……After that, only a dreadful silence settled between the two of them.
▣
And Morrigan’s premonition was proving to be completely accurate.
Regardless of the atmosphere, unlike the raft carrying Noel and Morrigan—where they were at least exchanging a few words—on the raft Aiden was riding, silence had stretched on from beginning to end.
The main cause, of course, originated from the Pontiff, who had kept his mouth firmly shut without saying a single word.
“…….”
“…….”
It might have been one thing if he had simply remained silent, but the real problem was that he had planted himself right beside Aiden and kept staring at him with a blazing gaze that felt like it would burn a hole through his cheek.
“……What exactly are you trying to do?”
Eventually, unable to endure it any longer, Aiden ran a hand through his hair and spoke first.
It was a clear indication that if the man had something to say, he should just say it already, and the Pontiff, as if he had been waiting for that, opened his mouth.
“Why are you sticking your nose into it?”
“Pardon?”
“Why are you the one arranging for me and Katiya to reconcile?”
“……Didn’t that help you?”
It had definitely felt like the atmosphere between him and Katiya had improved, even if it was a little awkward, so Aiden had simply thought that was a good thing.
So why was the man suddenly getting irritated at him about it now……?
“As long as the fundamental cause exists, if we face each other like that, the relationship can’t possibly end well. I’m grateful, but in the future I’d prefer if you refrained from—”
“—You know, I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard it directly.”
Cutting into the Pontiff’s sentence mid-way, Aiden spoke irritably.
“Hm?”
“Why exactly do you two not get along in the first place?”
The more he listened to them, the more it felt obvious.
Rather than simply having a bad relationship, this mother and daughter seemed tangled up in a mess of love and resentment.
And the kind of relationship like that gave off the strong impression that things would never move forward unless the reason—the incident that had made their relationship turn sour in the first place—was actually known by both sides.
“That’s something I should handle my—”
“You look like you won’t be able to handle it, which is why I’m helping you.”
Aiden calmly cut him off again.
“Katiya is still someone I care about.”
“……Ah, yeah, yeah. I know that already, kid. That’s why I’ll try to reconcile with her as soon as possible—”
“You’re someone I care about too.”
“…….”
The Pontiff, who had been scratching his head while continuing to speak, suddenly froze.
“In my experience, it’s hard to find a bad person among those who wear down their own body just to keep their family from worrying. I think you’re a good person.”
“…….”
“So I want to do my best to help as well. That’s why I’d like you to tell me. Why the two of you fundamentally clash like that.”
After hearing Aiden’s words, the Pontiff remained silent for quite a long time.
What returned before an answer was a window that dropped before Aiden’s eyes.
-System Message
▶ The favorability of the target ‘Abigail III’ increases.
▶ You can copy 1 additional skill.
▶ The branching point of the ‘Main Story’ is determined. It will have a massive impact on future progress!
▶ Progress accelerates. The quest enters its final phase!
“……?”
Aiden narrowed his eyes at the window that appeared before him.
No, sure.
It was one thing for the favorability to increase, but why would what he just said determine the branching point of the Main Story and suddenly accelerate the progress?
Before he even had time to question it, a voice that had clearly emerged after deep deliberation came quietly from the Pontiff.
“……Do you remember what that kid said to me before?”
“Pardon?”
“When I first tried to bring you to the Holy Empire. Do you remember what she said back then?”
“…….”
Was it that he should stop trying to take this away too?
That everything she had until now had already been taken from her.
She had also called them a failed mother–daughter relationship.
“Well, even if she was a kid made as my spare body…… I still tried to do whatever I could to make her inherit the position of Pontiff.”
The Pontiff scratched his head as he spoke.
“My position, my power, my ‘status’…… I thought she could receive all of it. It’s an honorable position responsible for the nation. I never even imagined she would refuse.”
Among the royal family who could handle divine power, those who were especially outstanding would receive the baptism of fire once more at the First Altar within the Grand Sanctuary, awakening a new attribute of divine power. Just as Aiden had once done before.
And the Pontiff had said that he had devoted even greater effort to that ritual for Katiya.
To create the greatest, strongest royal.
To make her into the ideal successor he envisioned.
To deliver what he believed was the greatest gift to Katiya.
“……I didn’t care about that kid’s will at all. At the very least, I should have asked if she even wanted something like that.”
Since he had grown up believing that ascending to the position of Pontiff was a natural duty and honor, he had been certain that his daughter would think the same.
And during that ‘special’ ritual, carried out with such conviction—
Katiya gained the strongest divine power among the royal family, and acquired life force close to immortality.
—In exchange, she lost all of her senses.
“The numbness she has now is entirely a side effect that occurred when I tried to ‘pass on’ what I had to her.”
As a mother.
Believing that giving everything she possessed to her daughter was the right thing to do.
Because of that act—
Her daughter lost everything.
And so, it was a failed mother–daughter relationship.
The Pontiff spoke calmly.
……His tone was calm.
But even Aiden, who was listening, could clearly feel the deep scars and bitter regret that remained underneath those words.
“Everything that kid could have enjoyed, everything she should have enjoyed…… I’m the one who ‘took’ it from her. Is that enough?”
“…….”
……If that was the case.
Then it was completely understandable why, despite seeming to get along at times, they were fundamentally uncomfortable with each other.
It wasn’t that they hated each other, but Katiya believed that the fundamental reason she was suffering such a terrible misfortune was the Pontiff.
And the reason the Pontiff always took the more yielding stance whenever the two were involved was probably because he was aware that he himself had caused that fundamental tragedy.
“…….”
This problem was deeper than he expected.
Thinking that, Aiden held his head in his hands.