[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
Chapter 335: Quickly, Before I Change My Mind
I explained everything to Siena.
“The truth is, I am a reincarnator.”
“A rein… what?”
“It ans I have a past life, I rember it, and I am aware that I have been reincarnated.”
“……?”
Siena’s expression turned strange.
She was probably doubting her own ears.
“And my past life was as an underworld bladesman nad Karzan. I was that very man.”
“……!”
After dropping these shocking truths right from the start, I slowly began to explain.
How Karzan was orphaned at a young age and taken in by a poor old man.
How after his grandfather’s death, he road the back alleys and entered the underworld to protect his friends.
How he then built his power, avenged his enemies, and made a na for himself, eventually becoming an enforcer for the Black Society by accepting their deals without knowing their true nature.
And the fact that after refusing their offer to beco a slave in exchange for learning demonic arts, he was marked for elimination.
How, while trying to get his subordinates to safety, he fled with the Dark King’s treasure, only to be surrounded by his old friend, Ivan…….
And finally, how he awakened the subtle principle of Penetration and Spiral to break the barrier protecting the wooden box, only to be killed in an explosion when a hidden trap magic was triggered.
“The Soul-Slumbering Black Moon is, in fact, an ultimate technique I perfected by refining the skill I used back then.”
“No, is that really true?”
“It is.”
…The story continued.
How I awoke to find I had been reincarnated in the body of Allenvert, having lost my mories.
And how I had lived as Allenvert until the present day.
And most importantly, the final piece…….
“I had an unresolved connection with a woman nad Adeline.”
Also, how I recently learned that she had been honoring my mory all this ti while caring for orphans.
And that her guardian and my second-in-command at the ti was none other than Zamuel.
And so, I told her everything, leaving nothing out, including how the Dark King was an adversary who transcended both my past and present lives.
“……It’s a difficult story to believe, but I can’t not believe it, either.”
Siena’s expression changed from mont to mont.
“I thought there was sothing, but I never imagined I would hear a story like this.”
What remained at the end was a sigh.
Siena took a deep breath and asked .
“Young Lord, everything you’ve said until now is the truth, isn’t it?”
“I swear on my soul, it is.”
“I see. Now it all makes sense.”
Siena gave a small nod.
“Zamuel’s existence, your strange relationship with the man nad Ivan. Your actions in the underworld, the way you so skillfully handled them. And above all, a growth rate that the word ‘genius’ couldn’t begin to describe.”
She was right.
Those things couldn’t be explained away simply by being a genius or an unusual person.
“I wondered how you could get so strong so quickly. It all happened within a year of you properly starting your martial arts journey, regardless of your age. I naturally assud you had been secretly training during your seclusion, but—”
Siena looked straight in the eye.
“It was so fast because you were on the path to reclaiming a state you had lost.”
“That’s right. Furthermore, I encountered divine arts and fortuitous opportunities that I had never seen in my past life, which allowed to soar faster and higher.”
“I see. All the pieces of the puzzle fit now.”
With a look of soone holding sothing back, Siena finally asked the question she was likely most curious about.
“Adeline, were you and she lovers?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I was a coward.”
“A coward, you say……”
“I was afraid of starting a family. I was afraid that while living by the sword in the underworld, I would die one day, and my wife and children would be forced to live a difficult life, just as I did when I was young.”
“……”
“And the thing I feared eventually happened. That’s why, even after I was reincarnated, I didn’t regret that choice.”
I thought of the countless lonely nights I had spent thinking of Adeline.
“But you must have missed her.”
Siena said, seeing the look on my face.
“Would you prefer I be honest?”
“Please, be honest.”
“……I missed her, but I thought I would never be able to et her again. In the first place, there was no guarantee she was even alive.”
However.
“Through Severian and Zamuel, I learned that she was still honoring my mory. But I have my duties in this life, and—”
I brought out all the difficult words.
“There is also you, Lady. That is why it was hard to make up my mind.”
Siena asked with sad eyes.
“Why are you telling all of this?”
“……After consuming the Dragon Heart, I recovered all of my childhood mories in my unconscious.”
I said.
“And I finally managed to rge the two egos, Karzan and Allenvert, into one whole. In doing so, I ca to a clear distinction.”
Siena waited quietly for to continue.
“Karzan is dead, and I must live the life of Allenvert. I’ve decided to accept that my feelings for Adeline are a fondness born from lingering attachnt and longing, and to accept it as a connection that has passed, unfulfilled.”
……I took Siena’s hand. It was, I realized again, a white, beautiful, and calloused hand.
“That is why I have revealed everything. If you are disappointed or disillusioned, this is your last chance. It’s alright if you refuse—”
“Young Lord.”
Siena cut off and glared at fiercely.
“How can you say such a thing?”
“Uh, did I say sothing strange?”
“Sigh.”
Siena suddenly snatched my wrist. I flinched for a mont at her forcefulness.
“Did you take so lightly? Of course, it feels like a poke in the heart to think there was another woman.”
But?
“Thank you for not hiding it until the end. And the fact that you tried to tie up the loose ends yourself is sowhat manly. Though a bit frustrating.”
“I have no excuse for that.”
“……So, you’re saying you’ll accept my heart in the end, is that it? Say it clearly.”
I nodded at Siena’s uncharacteristically forceful push.
“Yes. I’m sure.”
“Then that’s settled. ……If you want to see Adeline, you can go and see her.”
“Are you serious?”
“We have a battle for everything on the line, so it would be best to clear away any lingering feelings in your heart. I won’t resent you or hold any grudges, so go and see her quickly before I change my mind. You have wings, don’t you?”
“I-I understand.”
Siena pushed my back.
“In return, when you co back, tell about the conversation you two had. I have that right, don’t I?”
I replied in a fluster.
“Um, if you’re asleep, tomorrow morning—”
“Do you think I’ll be able to sleep in this situation? I’ll be up all night, cutting down scarecrows or sothing, so just go quickly.”
“……Are you really sure it’s okay for to go?”
“Tsk.”
I hunched my shoulders and escaped from Siena’s room as if fleeing.
‘Is this right?’
I felt like I had just experienced a preview of my future married life.
But the thought that Siena had a side like that sohow made smile.
“Haha.”
How did I ever et such a wonderful woman?
***
The place where Adeline was staying was about halfway between the Litvaleur Royal Castle and the Montera Duchy.
“Hoo.”
I put on the Mask of Aminicrus.
It would be quicker to explain things if I appeared in the form she rembered, rather than as Allenvert.
‘Let just take a deep breath.’
I recalled Adeline’s letter.
Thinking of the heart she had put into it, I wanted to see her, but at the sa ti, I felt so deeply sorry that I wanted to run away.
But I had to move forward.
‘Co to think of it, showing up in the middle of the night when everyone is asleep is quite rude.’
I used the subtlety of concealnt and entered the large, shabby building.
‘……The children’s faces are clean.’
While their clothes couldn’t be called the finest, it seed quite a few children were growing up with good nutrition and hygiene.
‘And a wide range of ages.’
Most importantly, their sleeping faces were peaceful.
There didn't seem to be any children crying secretly or suffering from anxiety.
This alone was enough to see how ticulously Adeline was caring for them.
‘Haha.’
I laughed silently. Adeline was still a good person.
She must have saved the lives of so many children over the years.
Finding Adeline’s room wasn't difficult. I just had to find the room where the light was still on at this hour.
‘Now, how should I start the first greeting?’
My tongue, which had never faltered before anyone, was now frozen as if I had beco a fool.
Knock, knock.
I knocked first.
“Hm? Who is it?”
Even though she must be tired, her voice was full of gentleness, and I already felt like crying.
‘That’s the voice.’
A voice unchanged by the years.
But its tone was even softer than it was back then.
“I’m sorry, Adeline. I’m so late.”
Silence followed from beyond the door.
The sound of a sharp intake of breath, a quickening respiration of disbelief. And then—
“……Karzan?”
Just as I had, Adeline also rembered my voice.
“It’s , Adeline.”
The door opened.
The face I had longed for so much was there.
“Karzan, it’s really you.”
She had changed a lot from the person in my mory.
Her long hair was cut above her shoulders, and like Zamuel, the traces of ti were etched all over her face.
But the eyes I rembered were still the sa.
“Am I dreaming?”
“It’s not a dream.”
“……I wanted to see you just once before I died.”
Adeline smiled.
A single, clear tear trickled down her cheek.
.
.
.
We talked for a long ti.
About our lives after we parted, the final monts, the reincarnation, and the life that followed.
“Are you really telling you’re Allenvert Grunewald?”
I took off my mask to show her my face.
“……This is absurd.”
Only after touching my face here and there did Adeline finally seem convinced.
“Still, isn’t it a bit too extre, from one to the other?”
“Zamuel was quite surprised when he saw , too.”
“Ahaha!”
“I’m traveling with Zamuel, so I’m sorry I couldn’t send him to you right away.”
“I heard the news. When I heard he was making a na for himself beside Lord Allenvert, I thought that perhaps you might really be alive.”
“……I read all your letters.”
I recalled the words written in them.
- Karzan. I have missed you for a long ti, but I also know well what you feared. I know now that I cannot be with you. But I want to see your face once before my life is over.
With what kind of heart did she write those words?
- Karzan, how have you been? What do you look like, now that you’ve aged? Were your years arduous and lonely? Did you find a lover and family to be your sanctuary? To ask of your well-being like this, all of it is a joy, and also a longing.
I was a pathetic man who blessed the idea of you eting a lover and starting a family, while at the sa ti, not wanting to see it.
Therefore.
“……I see. You’ve found a lover.”
Adeline’s calm voice dug into my chest.
[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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