Volume 10 Chapter 36 Sylphina's Diary
'Today was another fun day. My magic teacher praised me for having a talent for magic. I was told I'm a gifted student with a lot of special magical power. It's a secret from Elder Brother. If he finds out I'm more talented, he would be sad.'
'Today, something happy happened again. Mother baked me a custard pie. It was topped with raspberry sauce and was really delicious. Mother is great at cooking. I want to be able to cook too.'
'Today was a good day. I made custard pie with the chef. I made a little mistake, but Mother happily ate it.'
The clumsy handwriting, probably Sylphina's diary, overflowed with joy and happiness.
I could almost picture the adorable young princess spending her days under the watchful eyes of everyone in the Kirschtein castle.
"...Sylphina was so happy back then."
Such a joyful and fulfilling daily life for Sylphina, and now she is imprisoned under the red moon.
Alone for what feels like an eternity.
My chest tightened, and my hand holding the diary trembled slightly.
As I continued reading, Sylphina's once bright and cheerful handwriting began to transform into something more fluid.
'It seems a proposal for a ceasefire agreement has come from a nameless small country. This nameless country was originally a place where the Kirschtein people, who had no magical power, rebelled and moved to. They have attacked many times, trying to take our homeland, Kirschtein.'
"...A country of Kirschtein people without magical power?"
'Father and Mother hate war. They have been in pain for a long time, negotiating repeatedly, and finally managed to reach this ceasefire agreement. I have to marry the prince of that country as a sign of peace──the prince of a barbaric nation.'
The girl who wrote only about happiness, fun, and joy suddenly seems to have grown up.
The words now carry a sense of sorrow, colored with anxiety.
'I'm really anxious. Since I'm the princess of an enemy country, I'm sure I'll be hated. But I have to fulfill my duty. Sir Theobart. I wonder what kind of person he is. I'd be happy if he's a kind person.'
Tears that had spilled without me noticing fell onto the diary with a soft patter.
'If possible, I want to get along. When I have children, I want to feed them raspberry custard pie, just like my mother did. I wonder if there are raspberries in that country. I hope there are.'
Knowing what happens to Sylphina later makes me want to scream from the tightness in my chest.
Sylphina, who was mocked as a Witch by everyone, was an adorable girl who could express both joy and anxiety so openly.
If only I could go back in time──if only I could save Sylphina from her pain.
Where did it all go wrong?
'I should put a lock on this diary. So that if anyone else touches it, it won't open. I recently found out that Elder Brother had been secretly peeking at my diary. It would be embarrassing if he saw it.'
And with that, the entry in the diary ended.
The lock that wouldn't open was one that Sylphina had put on.
I don't know why it opened when I touched it──but I closed the diary and returned it to the shelf.
"...Lydia, are you okay?"
"Mr. Lucian..."
I must have been so absorbed in following the words.
I didn't even notice that Mr. Lucian was illuminating my hands with a lantern.
He placed the lantern on an empty shelf and leaned in to peek at my face from behind.
"I'm sorry... I got sad."
"That's understandable. ...You're seeing Sylphina's life through the memories that were passed on to you. Normally, you can't see someone else's memories. You might know them in hearsay, but..."
I nodded at Mr. Lucian's words.
Sylphina, who lived so long ago, feels like a friend I've known forever.
In fact, I even feel like I've become Sylphina herself.
"Sylphina will become a Witch after this, and the Kirschtein Kingdom will likely be angered by her brother, who hurt her, leading to a major conflict with the nameless Bernard Kingdom. In the end, the Bernard Kingdom, which had the goddess, won, and Kirschtein ended up losing most of its land."
Mr. Lucian sighed deeply as he said this.
"But, throughout the long history, there must have been times when they intersected. From the Bernard people, who have no magical power, those with magic were born again. The limited magic of the Bernard people is probably because they were originally a group that wasn't good at magic."
"...I don't know who is to blame."
"That's right. It's not always something that can be divided into good and evil, or black and white. Lydia, ...I've committed sins to survive as well. Would you hate me for calling me evil?"
"I wouldn't hate you."
"Do you hate Eiris and the others who have committed sins?"
"I wouldn't hate them..."
"It's the same thing. ...Somewhere along the line, something must have gone wrong. That's why you want to help Sylphina. And surely, you can do that."
Mr. Lucian said this and lightly pulled my arm, turning me around.
With my back against a tall bookshelf, I found myself in a position squeezed between Mr. Lucian and the shelf as he placed his hand on it.
"Mr. Lucian...?"
"Lydia. ...I have to tell you something, I'm..."
In the dim light of the bookshelf, Mr. Lucian's serious eyes, illuminated by the lantern, pierced through me.
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