Chapter 90: The secret [2]
Klein smiled faintly and wrapped his arms around both of them, pulling them firmly against his chest.
Cynthia rested her cheek against his shoulder, letting out a content little sigh, while Arwen quietly closed her eyes as she leaned into him.
For a while, none of them said anything.
They simply stayed like that.
The silence wasn’t awkward.
It was comforting.
Klein gently stroked Cynthia’s back with one hand while his other hand slowly combed through Arwen’s hair, his fingers moving absentmindedly as he gathered his thoughts.
"...Since we’re all being honest today," he murmured, "I guess... I should tell you more about my past life."
Both women lifted their heads almost simultaneously.
"I’ve only told you that I recovered my memories after awakening."
"My name wasn’t Klein. It was... Irakiel."
Cynthia and Arwen remained silent, allowing him to continue without interrupting.
"I lived in a completely different world. It wasn’t developed like this one, with modern cities, technology, and academies."
"Instead, vast empires ruled over the land, sects and kingdoms rose and fell through endless wars."
A nostalgic smile crossed his face.
"Just like this world, there were Towers, Gates and Dungeons."
"Humanity fought them constantly because if they weren’t cleared, entire regions would disappear beneath monster tides."
He looked down at his hands for a brief moment before continuing.
"That world revolved around strength. Your status, your influence, even your right to live were often determined by how powerful you were."
Cynthia listened intently, trying to picture the world he was describing.
"It sounds... harsh."
"It was," Klein muttered with a faint nod.
"Much harsher than this world. Every day was a fight to survive, and wars never truly ended. You either became strong enough to protect yourself... or someone stronger decided your fate."
He fell silent for a moment before a small smile appeared on his lips.
"That was also where I met one of the Gods in the Tower."
"The Goddess of Curses."
A nostalgic smile lingered on his face as he began telling about what [Curses] are and how he became her acolyte.
"She was unbelievably selfish... prideful... and completely unreasonable."
A small chuckle escaped his lips.
"But despite all that... she cared for me in her own strange way. And I loved her very much too."
His expression gradually softened "She saved my life more times than I can count."
"And there was... someone else."
Both Cynthia and Arwen immediately noticed the change in his voice.
"Her name was Aeloria."
A warm smile slowly appeared on his face.
"She was probably the kindest person I’d ever met. She was with me since childhood days... And she was always with me in everything."
Klein’s eyes became distant "She loved me."
"I knew how she felt long before she ever confessed. She wasn’t subtle about it, and honestly... she never tried to be."
"She’d follow me into battle despite my objections, argue with me whenever I tried to leave her behind, and somehow always find an excuse to stay close to me."
A quiet laugh escaped his lips "She was incredibly stubborn."
His smile slowly faded "But I never returned her feelings."
Arwen looked at him quietly.
"At the time, I believed it was the right thing to do. My life revolved around fighting and I was obsessed with Zrryha."
"I couldn’t promise anyone a future, so I convinced myself that refusing her was kinder than allowing her to love someone destined to die."
"I was wrong."
"At the final war... I died. She couldn’t bear my death and killed herself too... that idiot. Even though she was a God and had everything."
Arwen’s eyes trembled ’She... gave up everything... because she don’t want to live since he died?’
A chill ran through her body.
That devotion bordered on something terrifying.
Beside her, Cynthia sat in stunned silence ’What kind of love...’
She couldn’t even begin to imagine the depth of emotion that could drive someone to do that without hesitation.
"She loved me very much."
"And... believing she was gone forever, I can’t even describe how relieved I was when I met her again in the Spirit Realm."
His smile became warmer, carrying none of the sorrow from before.
"She reincarnated into this world as Elfaria. The moment she saw me, she cried and hugged me tightly."
He shook his head with a quiet laugh.
"But all I could think was... she’s alive."
He looked at Cynthia and Arwen with a gentle expression.
"After believing someone precious had disappeared forever... seeing them alive again is a happiness that’s difficult to put into words."
Arwen remained quiet after Klein finished speaking.
She imagined that the woman from his past life would simply be an old love, like a bittersweet memory.
She couldn’t have been more wrong.
As she replayed every word Klein had spoken, her chest gradually tightened until it almost became difficult to breathe.
’How much did she love him...?’
She loved Klein since they were children.
She watched over him in the orphanage, protected him whenever other children picked on him, celebrated every tiny success he achieved, and quietly fell in love with the cheerful, kind-hearted boy who always smiled despite having so little.
She knew, without hesitation, that she would die to protect him if the day ever came.
But hearing Aeloria’s story...
A small part of her couldn’t help feeling overwhelmed.
’How could I possibly compete with someone like that?’
She was jealous.
The moment Klein admitted that Aeloria has reincarnated into this world and that he still has feelings for her, fear had immediately taken hold of her heart.
Fear that she would lose him and that someone from his past would take him away.
That fear drove her to ask selfish questions.
’Am I your first?’
’Do you still love her?’
At the time, those questions seemed so important.
Now...
Her eyes slowly drifted toward Klein.
There was still warmth in his expression whenever he spoke about Aeloria, but behind that warmth...
She could see grief.
And instead of comforting him... she interrogated him.
Arwen slowly closed her eyes ’...I’m such an idiot.’
Her chest tightened further ’After hearing all of this...’
’How can I possibly be selfish enough to try separating them?’
The thought alone filled her with guilt.
How could she look that woman in the eyes and tell her she wasn’t allowed to love the man she had died for?
She couldn’t.
She simply couldn’t.
A quiet sigh escaped her lips ’I still don’t like it...’
The idea of sharing Klein still made her heart sting.
She wanted to selfishly keep him to herself.
Every instinct inside her screamed to cling to him and never let anyone else near him.
But...
Love wasn’t only about taking.
Sometimes... It was about understanding.
About accepting someone else’s happiness, even when it hurt.
Her fingers gently intertwined with Klein’s ’...If being with her makes you happy...’
A faint, bittersweet smile appeared on her lips.
’Then... I’ll welcome her too.’
The thought still hurt.
It probably always would.
But this time... the pain wasn’t born from jealousy.
It came from understanding just how much that woman and Klein himself had already suffered before fate allowed them to meet again.
"Can I... meet Aeloria?"