Chapter 194

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on January 22, 2025

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1.

A forest thick with all kinds of greenery.

Ulan looked around with a puzzled expression, as if he couldn’t fathom what was going on. His mind drifted back to the events that had just occurred.

‘I was definitely just a moment ago…’

Somewhere far from the forest.

A place filled entirely with darkness. The Source of Magic in Zone 4 was exactly where he had been.

But as soon as he realized he had let go of Fertisha’s hand, the scenery changed suddenly. As Ulan rummaged through his memories, he started to come up with a theory.

‘Maybe this is an illusion…’

Something similar had happened in his past life on several occasions.

However, as time passed, he noticed that his guess was way off the mark.

He felt the texture of the bushes brushing against his skin and the warmth of the sunlight filtering through the leaves, so vividly alive.

‘First, I should look around.’

The forest wasn’t very large. So, he decided to take a look around to figure out where he was.

How long had it been?

As he passed by thorny vines, modest wildflowers, and large trees in order, Ulan finally came to a stop.

“This is….”

In his sight was a pond.

The water was shallow, only up to his waist at most, and there was a rock nearby perfect for lounging.

“…”

Ulan stared quietly at it.

Even though this place was his first time visiting, he felt strangely familiar with it. He had a memory of seeing a similar scenery somewhere.

Where was it?

As he sifted through his past experiences, suddenly the bushes across the pond rustled.

His thoughts were disrupted sharply.

Moments later, a small child emerged from the swaying shrubs.

White hair and a pure white dress.

If it weren’t for her rabbit-like bright red eyes, one could easily mistake her for a snowball rolling around—a completely white girl.

“Fertisha?”

Although she looked younger than her present self, this girl was definitely Fertisha. More accurately, she was Fertisha from her childhood.

Unconsciously, he reached out his hand.

But he couldn’t touch her.

An invisible wall blocked the boundary between the pond and the outside world.

The moment he realized the wall’s existence,

Ulan swung his axe without a second thought.

Bang! Crack!

Something shattered, but the wall remained unfazed. He swung the axe a few more times, but the wall still wouldn’t budge.

Yet he didn’t give up.

After a while, while still energetically banging on the wall, the scene before him suddenly flipped. It wasn’t Fertisha who appeared this time.

“Maidens?”

A group of women.

Clad in white garments like Fertisha, the women carried fruits, milk, cheese, and various clothing.

“Um, hello?”

Just then,

the young Fertisha approached and greeted them.

However, not a single one of the women bothered to glance at her. They simply continued their work in silence, like golems.

After a while, the maids turned away, perhaps to leave the forest.

“Thank you. Goodbye.”

Once again, Fertisha bowed to say goodbye, but nobody responded.

She was left alone again.

Then suddenly, time began to move quickly. The green leaves turned red and began to fall, while snow began to fall from the sky.

Gradually, Fertisha also started to grow.

She lost some of her baby fat and grew taller, her once chubby arms and legs gradually stretching out.

And at that moment,

Ulan recognized where this place was.

“I see. This is…”

Fertisha’s memory.

He was absolutely certain of this.

The reason for his conviction was that the current scenery matched exactly with the stories of Fertisha’s childhood that he had heard in his past life.

‘She definitely said something like this.’

From the moment she was born and opened her eyes until she became aware, she had always been alone.

Occasionally, the maids would bring food and clothes, but they wouldn’t respond even if spoken to, and the only presence beside her was the spirits.

Just as she said, in the flow of time, Fertisha was utterly alone. It was during that loneliness and isolation that she was gradually getting accustomed.

A visitor to her world appeared.

“Your Excellency! This area is off-limits.”

“If the Emperor finds out, there will be trouble! So, please return to the castle…”

Voices broke the silence.

Near the entrance of the forest, several attendants were flustered, wondering what to do.

The ten-year-old Fertisha, curious about this unexpected commotion, peeked her head out.

“Ah!”

Then their eyes met.

A man in his mid-twenties with platinum blonde hair. He had a stoic, fierce expression.

“Ah, hello?”

As always, Fertisha initiated the greeting first.

But there was still no response. Unlike the maids, he did not remain completely silent. The platinum-haired man suddenly sighed heavily.

“Tsk, I knew the rumors were true.”

Disbelief, anxiety, disappointment, anger, and a mix of various emotions crossed his face. It was only for a fleeting moment, so it seemed Fertisha didn’t catch on.

But it was only for a moment.

The man slightly bent his knee.

He met Fertisha’s gaze, leaving behind bewildered attendants.

“Nice to meet you.”

“…Huh?”

Her eyes widened, surprised like a rabbit.

Hearing a greeting for the first time made her eyes flicker like a candle in the wind.

“C-Can I greet you back?”

“Of course. But first, let me introduce myself.”

A smile spread across the man’s face.

He then placed his hand on his chest and respectfully announced his name.

“I am Chartang Monique Al Rubens.”

“Chartang?”

“Yes, I think it’s best to say…”

He pondered briefly before finding a suitable title, replying with a big grin.

“I’m your older brother.”

This marked the moment when a person first stepped into Fertisha’s world and when she met the concept of family for the first time.

Meanwhile, Ulan, who was watching from beyond the invisible wall, observed Chartang with curious eyes.

‘So that’s Chartang.’

The Crown Prince of the Rubens Empire, as Noa had mentioned.

Someone he felt he had seen somewhere yet could not place.

At the same time, with Chartang’s arrival, Fertisha’s world expanded immensely.

Chartang, who visited irregularly, always brought something with him whenever he came to the forest, which became an opportunity for her world to broaden.

However, the joyful moments were brief.

He never stayed long in the forest.

No, more accurately, he couldn’t stay.

Every time Chartang appeared in the forest, a fierce gale swept through.

“What’s going on, guys?!”

Fertisha shouted, seeming flustered.

Judging by her reaction, the spirits likely caused this uproar deliberately to separate her and Chartang.

“No! My brother is a good person!”

While talking to the spirits, Fertisha shook her head adamantly in denial. But when their opinions didn’t converge, she took a firm stand.

“If you keep bothering my brother, I won’t talk to you anymore!”

Her threatening words hit home.

Since Fertisha made that threat, the winds pushing Chartang away calmed down.

Of course, whenever Chartang tried to sit even a bit closer or hold her hand, fierce headwinds returned to lash out.

Over time, the seasons changed quickly.

Several times, the seasons shifted, and Fertisha began showing growth different from before.

Her chest rounded out and her waist became much slimmer, and her overall figure took on a more feminine form.

Around this time, Chartang’s visits to the forest noticeably increased.

Yet nothing changed.

Fertisha’s world consisted entirely of the forest surrounding the pond, and there were never any situations or occasions for her to step outside.

‘It’s like…’

A bird trapped in a cage.

Ulan’s mutter coincided precisely with the memory of Fertisha unfolding before him.

Having grown up solely in the forest for more than a decade, she cast longing glances at the blue sky, just like when she was with Chartang.

After a long while,

Fertisha mustered the courage to speak.

“…Brother.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“How far does that sky stretch?”

She indirectly asked what lay outside of the forest.

And what kind of world stretched beyond the sky.

But the moment her question ended,

Chartang’s expression hardened coldly.

“Why are you curious about that?”

“Huh? Well, because…”

In that moment, Fertisha became flustered.

It was natural. Chartang’s face held an expression she had never seen before.

Did he not expect this reaction? Fertisha seemed noticeably bewildered. Just then, Chartang continued.

“The outside world is dirty and dangerous.”

“B-But it’s so pretty!”

“It’s filled with all sorts of filthy things, and there’s nothing to learn from it. You don’t need to be curious about the world beyond the sky at all.”

Chartang retorted firmly.

His eyes glinted with a strong will that seemed like he couldn’t accept the very idea of Fertisha stepping into the outside world.

“So you should stay here.”

No need to go anywhere else.

Chartang’s gaze seemed to say that. Fertisha, not wanting to provoke his mood further, silently nodded along.

Meanwhile, Ulan gazed intently at Chartang’s eyes in Fertisha’s memories.

‘Those eyes…’

Were filled with all sorts of desires and obsessions.

Only, Fertisha seemed oblivious to it. She was too busy observing Chartang’s sudden change to notice anything else.

Ulan then recalled what he had heard from Noa about Chartang.

“To put it bluntly, he’s a madman.”

At that time, he had not understood the intention behind those words, but after seeing Chartang’s eyes, he began to get an inkling.

Because right now, his burgundy gaze was filled with so much greed that it was hard to believe it belonged to a brother looking at his sister.

‘Now I understand why Noa said that.’

His gaze darkened ominously.

A surge of strong disgust began to well up.

No barbarian would lust after their own flesh and blood.

In other words, the self-proclaimed civilized Chartang was worse than a barbarian.

Naturally, feeling this disgust was unavoidable.

And from that day onward,

Chartang did not visit the forest for a while, but came back when the seasons changed.

However, he had changed his mind and brought up the topic of the outside world first.

Of course, it was not about letting her out, but rather just providing information about what was outside the forest.

“Wow, really? That’s amazing!”

Still, Fertisha was satisfied.

Simply listening to the stories about the outside world allowed her world to widen little by little.

About half a year later,

a story familiar to Ulan came up.

“Recently, they say two barbarians have enrolled in Arsen Academy.”

It was directly related to Ulan and Noa.

Chartang went into great detail about the atrocities Ulan committed during the entrance ceremony and how he was designated as a target by the Empire’s military department.

As the stories repeated, Fertisha became more and more absorbed in Ulan’s tales.

“How was today?”

“Really? You weren’t hurt much, were you?”

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

Every day, spirits were sent to Arsen Academy to hear Ulan’s stories, serving as evidence.

‘So that’s how she knew ahead of time.’

Sometimes she spoke as if she had directly seen and experienced things Ulan had done before.

Initially, he questioned how it could be possible, but now he realized there was a background to it.

Ulan chuckled with a sigh.

Meanwhile, at that time, Fertisha’s memories were approaching their end.

When he met Ulan in the capital city,

the memories of cherishing the wooden statue he received from him and later enrolling in Arsen Academy resurfaced.

A little while later,

the world darkened once again.

‘Is it time to return to Zone 4?’

After reviewing all of Fertisha’s memories, he deduced that it was inevitable. However, as the darkness cleared, what appeared before him was a familiar scenery.

“…Huh?”

The same scenery as before.

What’s going on? Is my memory repeating?

Ulan moved quietly.

Passing through the thorny vines, wildflowers, and large trees once again, the same pond welcomed him.

“What the heck is this…”

As he murmured with a confused tone,

The sound of rustling bushes echoed, and this time, the young Fertisha appeared again.

But there was a difference this time.

“Huh?”

Unlike when she had shown no awareness of Ulan’s existence before, this time the young Fertisha widened her eyes as she looked at him.

“Who are you, mister?”