NB Chapter 2

What wrong had Rosemary Clark done?

Someone might blame Magnolia like that. Most people probably would.

Then, what about me?

What wrong did I do?

What wrong did I do to have to send away my mother, my only family, like that?

What wrong did I do to have to watch Zycklint's breath stop before my eyes?

Dead people can never be met again.

I can no longer hear the affectionate voice that called my name with love, I can no longer feel the touch that caressed me like handling the most precious thing in the world, I can no longer be held in that embrace that was always peaceful and warm!

So you too! Yes, that person should also be like me!

Zycklint died. Before Magnolia's eyes.

She was the person Magnolia loved most, and the person who loved Magnolia more than anyone else.

She was her only family, the strongest fence in this world, a brilliant sun, and her one and only world.

There was no value in hesitating.

"Mag, we have to go now."

"...Yeah, I know."

Magnolia supported herself on the desk and caught her breath for a moment. Then she noticed Rosemary's letter. When she unfolded the letter, a pale-colored petal fluttered and settled on the blood.

The letter was filled with affection about wanting to meet and kindness wishing for good health until then.

She could tell at a glance. That this was a letter Rosemary Clark was sending to her only family. The last sentence particularly caught her eye.

Your beloved Rosemary Clark.

"Hahaha..."

Magnolia didn't hold back the empty laughter that spilled out and let it flow weakly.

'Mother, I just killed Rosemary Clark. That bastard's daughter. Are you satisfied with this?'

"...Is this the end?"

Is it really over? She couldn't accept it at all.

For this to be the end, the sadness and anger stirring and scraping inside her chest were too strong.

Something was still stickily clinging somewhere in her throat. That viscous thing wouldn't go down no matter how much she swallowed or took deep breaths.

Rather, the more she did so, the more it gradually swelled. Someday it would finally make Magnolia suffocate.

She already felt like she was suffocating. Magnolia roughly grabbed her collar and pulled it while breathing through her mouth.

Gale silently watched Magnolia like this for a while. Then he glanced at the clock and rubbed the back of his neck. They couldn't delay any longer. It was almost time for the dormitory guards to patrol this building.

Gale passed by Magnolia and tried to grab the sword embedded in Rosemary's chest.

"Gale, wait a moment."

Magnolia stopped him by grabbing Gale's wrist. One of Gale's eyebrows shot up.

"I'm going to leave Zycklint's sword here."

"What?"

She had thought something would change if she killed Rosemary Clark.

She had thought that after killing Rosemary, the sadness, resentment, and anger that came whenever she thought of Zycklint would disappear. She thought she would be able to purely miss only her memories with Zycklint while reminiscing about the joyful and happy past days.

But nothing changed.

No satisfaction, no sense of fulfillment, no feeling of liberation, no sense of achievement she had imagined came.

In the confusion, Magnolia soon found the answer.

Because it wasn't enough. Rosemary Clark wasn't enough. Moreover, Magnolia didn't even know who had killed Zycklint.

She couldn't live forever without knowing.

She couldn't tolerate the person who had taken Zycklint from her living and breathing openly.

"...This is a gift."

Magnolia looked at Rosemary's letter in her hand for a moment, then folded it again and put it in her pocket. Then she looked down at Rosemary Clark before her.

She calmly etched into her eyes this carnage that that person would stand here and see.

The sight of the sword that killed Zycklint embedded in his own daughter's chest.

Taking a deep breath and straightening her body, she looked at Gale standing beside her.

"Zycklint's sword has been too conspicuous, so I've been hiding it with a leather scabbard all this time. There won't be any pursuit just from leaving it behind."

Gale, who had been staring blankly at Magnolia, soon irritably dry-washed his face. Then he immediately took out a dark robe identical to his own from his pocket and pulled it over Magnolia.

Magnolia smiled slightly under the robe.

"Let's go, Gale."

Magnolia jumped out the window without hesitation.

⌜—Then that giant beast's rolling front paw brought down Guardian Titania. At the sight of his only family, his younger sister, being torn to shreds, Guardian Aster despaired, and in that moment forgot his will and let go of the power that had been protecting humans.

The horde of beasts that had been driven back to the cursed forest became frenzied again and counterattacked fiercely. Human weapons couldn't reach the beasts.

When the terror of past slaughters by beasts was recreated, humans were so terrified they couldn't even flee.

The beasts became emboldened.

The Great Mage Ilias, who belatedly realized his lover had met death, raged. The grand magic he had been constructing to use at the appropriate time struck the beasts in an incomplete state. However, while the magic stopped the beasts momentarily, it couldn't even scratch their vitality.

Magic and weapons couldn't overcome the beasts' madness.

When the two guardians' power disappeared, a horrific hellscape was about to unfold again for humans.

Then Guardian Knight Aster raised his sword again. With a cry mixed with tears, he poured all his remaining strength and life into his sword and struck down into the earth.

A deep, narrow furrow crossed the Noteur Plains in front of the cursed forest lengthwise, and this became the <Northwest Boundary>.⌟

Below the last sentence of that page in the book, a footnote in small letters caught her eye.

[Glory to Guardian Aster, the only natural enemy of the beasts that will someday bring ruin to this continent.]

Magnolia traced that sentence with her finger as if feeling it.

Pfft. Magnolia let out a short laugh between her lips and picked up the tea that had been sitting on the table. Since quite some time had passed, the tea had become lukewarm, so she just lightly moistened her lips.

Keeping her gaze fixed on the book, Magnolia listened toward the inside of the cafe.

There were many people in the cafe, making it just as noisy. Everyone was speaking in hushed voices, but if she concentrated, it wasn't difficult to eavesdrop on conversations.

"...The roses from Zamali? Will it be too late if we make reservations now?"

"You still haven't had your dress fitted? This time in Wayne there's a new..."

Even in this chaos, they're still having tea parties.

Flip. Magnolia turned a page and shifted her attention elsewhere.

"...The fortress is walking on thin ice every day now."

"You said your relative is a soldier there? Duke Aster's seclusion is still..."

This side is still talking about the Northwest expedition.

"...This time from Viteo Trading Company, the new..."

"Ah, you mean that new cigar with the mint scent?"

"The brand name is Sordham..."

This side is also leisurely talking about cigar meetings.

"...Lady Raphlia is enviable. Grand Duke Hessen, no less."

"The engagement ceremony will probably be in the east..."

"...I hope this year's Titania commemoration day is a bit more lively."

"For people like us, festivals are our only pleasure, but since last year..."

"...Everyone was excited about Viscount Flieve's ambitions..."

"...Regarding the triumph ceremony, they had prepared in advance... but apparently everything is useless..."

Most of them seemed to be talking about the Northwest expedition incident.

They spoke gloomily, soaked in their respective worries and concerns. Magnolia alone found relief in their troubles.

This place was a book cafe, the most crowded place in Tytharud, the capital of the Titania Empire. Minor nobles and wealthy commoners mixed together without formality, and all sorts of rumors and topics were created and spread.

As the largest social venue in the capital where people mixed without distinction of status, true to its name as a book cafe, everyone put books in the backseat. That was the same for Magnolia.

The most frequently rising rumors recently were about the 'Northwest expedition incident' that erupted this spring and stories about the House of Duke Aster.

Magnolia closed the book she had been pretending to read and read the title on the cover again.

'The Founding of the Titania Empire.'

It had been a book she'd grabbed randomly since she was only going to pretend to read anyway, but it was about the founding mythology that any citizen of the Titania Empire would know.

"Newspaper! Newspaper!"

A newspaper boy ran out from the building across the street, shouting.

Magnolia took her attention off the inside of the cafe and gestured to call the boy. Though the 'academy incident' hadn't appeared in newspapers for about half a year, she was still habitually reading them.

An uneasiness remained that created anxiety if she didn't check.

At the gesture calling him from the cafe window, the newspaper boy ran over as if he'd been waiting. Lately, she was a girl who was quite the talk among the newspaper-selling children.

Since last month, she always bought newspapers at the same spot, at the same time. From her voice, she seemed to be a girl, but she wore a hat with a wide brim, so no one knew her face.

The boy was about to receive the coin she held out while glancing under her hat through the window, but he was surprised to see that white hand. It was quite a rough hand, full of calluses.

Seeing that hand, the boy couldn't contain his rising curiosity. So as he handed over the newspaper, he staggered and pretended to accidentally knock the brim of her hat upward. The wide-brimmed hat, which hadn't been secured tightly, flipped back.

When the boy confirmed the girl's face revealed beneath it, he sucked in a small breath in surprise.

The place where the girl always sat was positioned where the shadows of surrounding buildings always lingered regardless of where the sun was. Therefore, it was cool even in midday. Though spring sunlight was settling just one step behind, only this spot seemed submerged in dim dawn.

Yet how could the hair that had been hidden by the hat look so much like spring by itself?

The fine platinum hair seemed to shine on its own, and the equally pale eyelashes looked like a bundle of sunlight cut and pasted there.

Magnolia swept back the disheveled hair as her hat was knocked off and looked up.

Her thick eyelashes sparkled boisterously, and the deep green eyes revealed beneath were like jewels. The overall pale tones made them stand out even more.

The boy unconsciously stepped back, feeling like he might be sucked into those eyes.

"Hand it over."

Magnolia growled and held out her hand.

"Uh, huh?"

The boy became even more flustered. Then he belatedly realized she was talking about the newspaper. He should just give it to her, but somehow the boy found himself just dithering while holding the newspaper.

Magnolia, who had been glaring fiercely, relaxed the tension in her furrowed brow upon discovering something.

Before the boy could feel puzzled by this, a hand suddenly reached out from over his shoulder and grabbed the upper part of the newspaper the boy was holding. Though it had been a shaded spot, a coolness covered him like shadows falling behind his back.

The boy startled and turned around.