Chapter 292 : Vortex (7)
Chapter 292: Vortex (7)
The fact that Berenistella learned about Lian’s origins could only be described as a coincidence layered upon another coincidence.
At some point in the past, she happened to realize that the blood of Lian she had once encountered and the Brand engraved upon herself were resonating with each other.
Because of that, Berenistella began investigating Lian, and before long she discovered that he was not a pure human.
Furthermore, the half of the blood flowing through his body was not that of a commonly known race such as an elf, dwarf, or even an orc.
Even the dragon she had briefly suspected turned out not to be the answer, which only stirred her curiosity even more.
As time passed, she eventually discovered that Lian was a descendant of a lineage that had once been believed to have been completely annihilated in the past. And without hesitation, she had taken him—half forcibly—as her disciple.
…And what she had initially thought of as mere amusement had, before she knew it, become the center of her life. It had driven her to abandon countless things and even return by reversing time like this.
Was all of this fate?
Or merely coincidence?
Berenistella, who possessed the power to see the future, simply considered that the two were two sides of the same coin.
After all, it was a question that had no clear answer. She had realized long ago that the only thing that mattered was whether she herself could accept it.
But when she looked at the scene unfolding before her now…
Thinking of the path she had walked to arrive here—
Perhaps everything had truly been both fate and destiny.
Berenistella faintly thought so.
“If you came here to harm my child, then I’m sorry.”
The woman murmured those words while gently stroking Lian’s head.
Upon closer inspection, her face resembled Lian’s, yet at the same time did not.
If someone said they were siblings, perhaps it would make sense. But it was difficult to see them as parent and child.
It was also because she appeared to be about the same age as Lian.
‘They said she died young.’
As that thought crossed Berenistella’s mind, the woman who resembled Lian spoke.
“I cannot do as you intend.”
“Eyes.”
“Eyes?”
“Yes. Eyes.”
Berenistella nodded.
“…Now that I look closely, the eyes resemble each other. So the two of you truly are parent and child.”
The woman merely smiled without saying anything.
Watching her, Berenistella tilted her head slightly.
“There is no need to be so wary. I have no intention of speaking with you for long. And I have even less intention of harming that child.”
“Before we continue, may I ask who you are?”
“Who I am is none of your concern.”
“…How strange.”
“What do you mean?”
The woman spoke while gently patting Lian’s back as he slept with his head buried against her knees.
“I do not feel any hostility toward this child at all. But I can feel hostility directed at me.”
“….”
“May I ask again who you are?”
“At the very least, I am not that child’s enemy.”
Berenistella replied in a disinterested voice.
“I have no intention of revealing my identity or name to someone who tampered with the child’s mind and even planted thoughts within it.”
“So you were my child’s companion.”
“….”
She gave Berenistella a warm smile.
Her attitude was as if she had been waiting for this meeting—as if she had known everything all along. Seeing that, Berenistella finally let out a small sigh as if she had just realized something.
“So you are the same as well.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The Saintess was the same, and you as well. Do all who see the future behave so suspiciously?”
“….”
The woman remained silent.
Berenistella shook her head with a look of disbelief.
“I should have noticed something strange when that child handled the power of prophecy so well. I dismissed it lightly, thinking it was simply because the blood of your lineage flows through him and he has unusually sharp instincts. That was my mistake.”
The power of the Brand was not something that could be mastered overnight.
Even she herself had needed well over a hundred years before she could properly use the Brand of prophecy.
Although several people around Lian possessed Brands, none of them could properly draw out or use its power.
That was precisely why.
To properly use a Brand required years of training and effort, as well as talent.
Lian was simply exceptional.
That was why she had thought this time was the same.
Now Berenistella realized how careless she had been.
“To think that seers are overflowing like this… it truly is absurd.”
“….”
“Then… how far have you seen?”
The woman once again smiled silently.
Instead of answering Berenistella’s question, she slowly stroked Lian’s head and spoke.
“When he was young, I saw this child as a little boy.”
“….”
“There was no omen, no premonition. Just… one day I saw a future where I would give birth to this child, my child. At the time, I had only just come of age.”
She looked down at Lian with eyes that were impossible to describe.
“I had to make a choice. Should I abandon the rest of my life for a future child whose father’s face I did not even know? Or should I treat it as nothing more than a midsummer night’s dream and live my own life?”
“You chose the former.”
“Yes. But… you see.”
She smiled.
“He is my child.”
“….”
“…In the end, I could never awaken from that dream I saw back then. The time given to me was short, and after that day I could no longer see any future at all—neither this child’s nor anyone else’s.”
Yes.
Except for one thing.
She—Lian’s mother—whispered.
“That I would have to tamper with this child’s memories for his sake. That was the only thing I could know.”
“…So you placed a suggestion?”
“Yes. Though it may be rude to say… it ended up meaning that I used you.”
“Used me?”
“Because the fact that you came to see me proves that the choice I made was not wrong.”
She smiled again.
“And as a bonus, I was able to see how wonderfully this child has grown… something I myself could never see. It’s a little regrettable that we cannot speak, but wishing for more would be greedy.”
“…That child.”
Berenistella said,
“Lian said there was something he wished to ask you.”
“Yes. What did I say to him… before I died. That must be it, right?”
“This is exactly why seers are troublesome.”
Berenistella clicked her tongue.
The woman burst into laughter.
“…Since this is my final duty, of course I should tell you.”
With a slightly regretful expression, she stroked Lian again and spoke.
“What I said to this child was…”
At some point, Lian suddenly opened his eyes.
Had he fallen asleep without even realizing it?
He found the thought absurd.
“Where… is this?”
An unfamiliar ceiling.
A dirty ceiling, old and gnawed by insects and rats.
Only after opening his eyes did he realize he was lying on a crude bed stuffed with straw.
“This is the inn of the village we saw earlier.”
Berenistella, sitting beside him, answered.
“You are awake now?”
“…How long was I asleep?”
“About two hours. You did not sleep long, so there is no need to worry.”
“….”
“What is it?”
“…Nothing.”
Lian shook his head.
“It just feels like I had a nostalgic dream.”
“….”
“Ah, more importantly, Master. The thing I asked you to confirm…”
“Yes, I confirmed it.”
Berenistella nodded.
Then she repeated exactly what Lian’s mother had said as her final words.
“If you hesitate, then stop. That is what she said.”
“If I hesitate, then stop…”
Lian tilted his head.
“What does that mean?”
“Is it not exactly what it sounds like? If you are going to hesitate, then you should not begin in the first place.”
Lian murmured, sounding slightly deflated.
“…That doesn’t quite fit our situation right now.”
“Indeed.”
Berenistella muttered.
“There is no hesitation on our path. In the end, it will either be that we kill the enemy or that we ourselves perish. If we were the kind to hesitate, we would never have come this far.”
“…Master.”
Lian asked cautiously.
“Are you perhaps angry?”
“….”
Berenistella said nothing.
Lian became certain his guess was correct.
‘…Did she find out?’
While he was thinking that, Berenistella quietly spoke.
“I am simply troubled for various reasons. Pay it no mind.”
After saying that, she let out a small sigh.
Only then did Lian properly notice what she had been doing.
She was sitting on the filthy wooden floor without the slightest concern, and intricate magic circles had been drawn all around her.
“May I ask what you are doing?”
“I am preparing for what may happen tomorrow.”
She answered.
“Even if he has not yet found even a fragment of my original body… he was once my equal. It does not hurt to prepare.”
“…Is there perhaps anything I can help with?”
“….”
Nothing.
Berenistella had been about to say that, but she changed her mind.
“It would be wise for you to make every possible preparation as well.”
“In that case…”
“Why not go pray at the Cathedral?”
Berenistella said.
“As a follower of the Holy Sun Church, there is no better way to restore your strength than offering prayers and devotion at the Cathedral.”
“…Then I will go.”
“Good.”
She nodded.
“And when you return, try to relax that face of yours as well.”
“…You noticed?”
“You fool.”
Looking at Lian, who gave an awkward embarrassed smile, Berenistella said,
“With a face like that, how could I not notice?”
“….”
“…I must concentrate now, so go already. Return before it gets too late.”
With her clear dismissal, Lian was practically pushed out of the inn.
“….”
So she already knew.
Thinking that, Lian lightly touched his face.
He had thought he had hidden it well, yet even his fingertips could feel how strangely twisted his expression had been.
“Mother.”
Lian whispered quietly.
He could not remember clearly.
But even if the memory was vague… he was certain he had met his mother, and he could still remember the warmth of the hand that had stroked his head.
“….”
After standing there for a moment, Lian headed toward the Cathedral as Berenistella had suggested.
Even though it was a small village, the Cathedral stood at its center.
That was possible because the Gwendil Count family had entered the Holy Sun Church.
“Excuse me.”
There was no one inside the Cathedral.
Lian quietly entered and sat down.
“….”
Prayer, prayer.
What kind of prayer should he offer?
Come to think of it, although he had become a follower of the Holy Sun Church in name, he had never properly prayed even once.
“…Merciful Ilionel.”
Lian slowly opened his mouth.
He decided to pray for his mother’s soul—
For the mother who had abandoned everything for his sake.