Chapter 271
Translator: yun
“Abel, I mean, the 3rd Prince will be transporting you.”
“Abel…?”
“Yes. He is the Templar of the Winds, the last templar of the god, Zephyrus, the west wind.”
I glanced at Abel. He was the last Templar of the West Wind and could transport all of us at once using his divinity. Abel didn’t look very happy with that decision but he didn’t object. Perhaps he was just apprehensive to using his divinity.
“I’m just telling you this before we set off but I can only move two people at once. And you. Which one are you again? The 5th? 6th?”
“I’m the 7th Prince.”
Dane responded nonchalantly.
“Ah, I see. I apologise. Anyway, I will be moving you as well as that knight. Ashley, you’ll be using this.”
I surprisingly managed to catch the item he threw towards me. What Abel had handed me was a small pendant. The square embellishment seemed to have been carved from pure white stone with small jewels embedded within. There were a total of six jewels embedded within, amongst which half had orbs of light hovering around it while the other half were darkened as if their light had turned off.
“This is an Artefact of the West Wind. You see the glowing jewels? Each glowing one signifies how many uses it has left. Usually, only the Head Templar is allowed to use this.”
“Am I allowed to use it just like this?”
Abel widened his eyes before grinning.
”That’s right.”
He said before pressing on my head once.
“I can’t explain any further since we’re in a hurry. The Head Templar of Snow there is glaring daggers at me.”
“Enough with your drivel.”
“Ah. Yes, yes. … In any case, I am a fugitive.”
Abel scratched his forehead. In the meantime, Dane approached before whispering to me.
“Ashley, when you arrive, head straight to the 4th Prince’s palace. I’ll take care of the attendants, scope the situation and head there afterwards.
“Dane.”
Dane flashed a wistful smile. Whenever I was with him, every breath from his felt bitter.
“I know you have a lot to say.”
“…..”
“When we return, I’ll tell you everything.”
With his fingers on my lips, I couldn’t speak another word.
“This is what our brother wanted as well.”
His determined red eyes forced me to nod. There was no point arguing with him and pressing him any further here. My brothers were both painfully stubborn.
“Alright. But you have to make sure you’re safe. I can do nothing if I make it out of this alive alone. Promise me. That you won’t get hurt and that you won’t die.”
I nodded at Ray as well. I was gesturing at him to protect Dane and he furrowed his eyebrows. Though I wasn’t sure he understood what I was trying to say, he nodded.
“Right.”
Dane gave a faint smile before kissing my cheek and parting from me. Then, Abel took his spot. He clapped his hands in an attempt to lift my spirits.
“Ah. Dear god.”
Abel murmured as he watched the orbs of light rising above him.
“It has been 10 years since your debauchee has last called on your name.”
He drew some geometric shapes on the ground that looked like a sigil which responded to his powers as they glowed in green. The cluster of green lights reminded me of the ones that appeared along with wind every time I used the stele. Though this place was outside the Empire, it was supported by the divinity and powers of the Templars of Chaos. As these templars stood in a circle around us, with colourful halos donning each one of them, the green-coloured wind generated from each grew before gathering in the centre. The sight of a green wave building height was extraordinary.
“When you return, could you say hi to my sister for me? She should probably be in her duchy.”
In our final moments, Abel approached me before patting my head. It felt strangely friendly. I didn’t like how his hand was smoothing my hair but he didn’t seem to mind.
“I knew your father. He was a sweet man.”
“Really?”
“Mhm. That’s why I objected to placing any burden on you.”
I stared at him as he removed his hand from me.
“You can run away. Like I did.”
Bashfully, I raised my head to look him in the eye despite his immense height. I then asked shyly.
“Did you just say your sister?”
“Yeah.”
I then gave a slight smile.
“Come see her yourself.”
His eyes widened before some bitterness flashed past his gaze. Because he knew what I was suggesting. Instead of staring back at him, I reached out to Rusbella.
“Shall we go?”
Rusbella, who had been staring blankly at the winds, smiled before taking my hand.
“Ashley, I’m guessing that this brings you to any place you’d like.”
“Is there someplace you want to go?”
“Yes. For a long time…”
Rusbella chuckled. Just then, my vision was blinded by the light beaming from the artefact. I didn’t manage to catch the end of Rusbella’s answer but when I opened my eyes again, I found myself in a still forest.
“… The stele?”
It was the Forbidden Forest.
‘Why was I sent to the Forbidden Forest?’
Abel mentioned that the artefact would bring me where I wanted to be be. I was sure I was imagining my palace, the Terena palace…
This must be what the Pontus and the other templars were talking about. Amor’s palace was protected by his divinity. They did mention that the coordinates could get twisted as a result. Looking around, I convinced myself that I was situated not too far from my palace. The roof poking out of the foliage looked familiar. I quickly glanced towards the stele.
“In any case, it went well.”
I was planning on using the stele right away. Wearing the pendant Abel had handed me, I took Rusbella’s hand and placed my free hand on the stele.
“Don’t get too surprised.”
Rusbella nodded her head yet still unable to hide her fear in her eyes.
“I’m already so surprised I don’t think I can get any more surprised than this.”
Gusts of wind blew around us once again. In a few moments’ time, Rusbella and I found ourselves in front of another stele.
“This way.”
I hurried out of the forest. And when we arrived in the garden behind Amor’s palace, I couldn’t suppress my shock.
“Why…”
The doors to his palace were all tightly bound by plants. Usually, whenever I came to visit, the vines would not budge an inch towards me no matter what I did. I grabbed onto the vines and tried to pull it apart. I was in a hurry. Did I have to force my way in?
“I listen through my plants. They are my ally, my mother and my friend.”
Why were his words popping up in my mind again now of all times? I stared blankly at the door I couldn’t open. A hand stretched out from beside me to tear some of the vines out. Rusbella tore off other stalks and flowers before managing to even break a fairly thick stalk with much effort before staring at me.
“Ashley, are these treasured? You did mention you were in a hurry.”
“Ah…”
It was hard to see in the dark but she seemed to be wary of my reaction. I blinked before whipping my head around. This was my problem. I always waste too much time thinking. Was it because she was the female lead? Rusbella always acted before thinking.
There was something that mattered more to me at the moment. Even now, Amor was dying by the second and there was nothing more important than that mere fact. But I winced the moment I caught sight of Rusbella’s hands that were now covered in wounds.
“… I guess this is the difference between a female lead and someone who’s not.”
“Hm?”
“Oh. Nothing.”
With the two of us ripping off the vines and breaking into the door, we were able to enter the palace faster than I had anticipated. The palace was not even dimly lit. The hallways were too quiet. Not only was there not a single person, but, without a single lamp lit, the building also looked abandoned. The plants must not have let a single person into the palace.
What happened to him? Following my gut instinct, I strode up the stairs. I could navigate my way here even without light since I always visited him at night. But what flashed past my mind at the same time as Fleon was a question.
If Amor and Rusbella were to meet as per the original novel, what would happen? Of course, this encounter was not going to be the same as what had been written. It would have originally taken some more time for Rusbella to get here.
But what if when they meet didn’t matter?
For a moment, I imagined Amor loving someone else. Amor smiling at an imaginary woman and cherishing her. Calling her sweetly, desperately. Amor would beg her to call him by his name and eventually show her a unique flower that didn’t exist elsewhere in the world.
I squeezed my eyes shut. It was alright. I thought it would be alright. No, I only told myself it would be alright. He was never mine from the beginning, was he? Some things in this world were fixed.
But then, so was my pain. My misfortune. It was strange. If an original novel truly existed and was set in this world, why was the world being so harsh on me instead of the female lead? My suspicions that sparked something in me only grew as I climbed the stairs. And my speculations only deepened because Rusbella was remaining quiet.
The diary that carried the fate of this world. Why did such an item come into my hands? Wasn’t this diary that carried the fate of humanity too much for someone meant to be an extra? Usually, when an extra was given an item that they did not deserve, it was bound to be taken for evil or justice by the main characters or someone else.
“We’re here.”
When we finally arrived at the door, the entrance looked so cold. No, perhaps this was the temperature of fate. I couldn’t bring myself to grab the doorknob. I didn’t know with what gaze Amor would look upon Rusbella with. The doubt that Amor would no longer be the man I knew generated a frosty draft that stole sensation from the tips of my fingers. I knew this feeling.
This was fear. I was afraid he would have changed. I had been ignoring the fact that he loved me this whole time and now I couldn’t bring myself to open this door because I was afraid he would have changed.
‘Rusbella. The woman of charms.’
How should I look when facing the truth? I couldn’t lift my hand even as Rusbella was looking at me curiously. As if he had noticed me, the door opened gently before a low voice reverberated from within.
“What are you doing?”
A breeze tickled my forehead. I could smell fresh forest.
“You came all the way here but you won’t come in.”
That lovely voice of his, would it still be directed towards me when I enter?
I gulped nervously. It took a long time before I could cross the boundary marking his room. Finally, I strode in as apprehensive steps followed behind me. Unable to bring myself to look at Rusbella, I stared straight ahead. Staring at the white curtains floating through the open window, I stopped in front of the familiar pillar.
A white blanket filled my field of vision. Like the rise of a tall mountain, I suddenly recalled what happened in the academy recently. It didn’t take place too long ago. I was reminded of Prince Cjezarn who had been standing by my side while I attended the academy for only a short while. As the 2nd Prince of the Kingdom of Walter, he was surprisingly well-versed in general knowledge and had told me interesting stories about the buildings located within the academy.
After finding Rusbella, I no longer needed his information but he had thought I was very interested in buildings and I didn’t think to address the misunderstanding. But I couldn’t bring myself to ask him to stop since he looked so happy whenever he talked about it.
Then, one afternoon, I asked him.
“How did you feel when you first saw Rusbella?”
According to the original story, Prince Cjezarn was one of the men who loved Rusbella. He was in love with an ideal. He believed in and longed for love.
ραпdα---nᴏνa| сom Of course, he never showed an irrational obsession for her. He had been a knight, a naive young man, the silver knight who watched her from afar and tried to protect her from the shadows with his sword during the war for the woman he loved. That was why I was curious and couldn’t help but to ask.
“Well… honestly?”
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