Chapter 94
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
Chapter 94
New flowers bloomed upon the barren earth.
Trees and shrubs shed their sharp thorns and unfurled verdant leaves.
The dark, turbid river transformed into a crystalline stream brimming with petals, flowing cool and refreshing.
The gloomy sky that had churned in shadows reclaimed its azure hue, and the eerie sounds that had echoed through the forest fell silent.
In their place, birdsong and a gentle, beautiful melody sung by someone drifted through the air.
The sight of life force flooding back into the dying land was miraculous.
It was a spectacle worthy of the divine miracles that humans praised.
As I painted the black world green, I poured my heart into my power, desperate to convey my sincerity.
'It's alright.'
I understood the emotions she felt better than anyone else.
I whispered the words the fairy most needed to hear.
'Nothing will torment you anymore.'
My wholehearted effort stemmed not merely from being swept up in the fairy's emotions or from the need to escape the Illusion Realm.
In truth, I thought of my mother.
If only I had been by my mother's side when she lost her mind.
I would have tried anything.
I would have filled the land of death she created with flowers and soothed her.
Even if every attempt had failed, at the very least....
I would have remained at her side so that her death would not be lonely or agonizing.
I recalled the only trace of my mother that remained within me.
Remembering the lullaby she had sung in that tender voice, I transformed the gloomy Illusion Realm.
When the Illusion Realm reclaimed its original, perfect beauty.
My vision filled with flowers.
The fairy, now lucid, was withdrawing the Illusion Realm.
'I did it.'
I smiled softly.
I wanted to confirm our return to reality, but not a shred of strength remained in my body.
This was the first time I had drained myself so completely, scraping the very bottom of my reserves.
I struggled to pry my fading eyes open, but it was futile.
I lacked even the strength to lift my eyelids.
Feeling gentle hands receive me, I finally lost consciousness.
***
I had a dream.
It was a terribly monotonous one.
The scene repeated endlessly: a woman with long golden hair carelessly draped leaned against a tree, stroking her swollen belly while singing a lullaby.
I could not see the singing woman's face.
Yet the lullaby echoing in my ears felt familiar.
It was the lullaby my mother used to sing to Chesa.
Chesa watched her from a distance before awakening.
"...."
Still drowsy, Chesa stared blankly ahead.
Four red gemstones filled my vision....
'What is this?'
In the moment I couldn't gather my wits.
The four gemstones drew closer, approaching right before Chesa's nose.
Just as I thought we would collide, the red gemstones spoke.
"The baby's awake."
"Sister, you're up?"
Only after hearing their voices did I realize what the gemstones were.
'It's Karha and Ishuel.'
My senses gradually returned.
As Chesa simply stared without speaking, the Twins grew anxious.
"What is it? Why aren't you saying anything? Is this okay?"
"I'm not sure either."
As they whispered so seriously, a sudden urge to tease them welled up.
Chesa blinked quietly, then moved my lips slightly.
"Who are you...?"
A brief silence fell.
The Twins' eyes and mouths began to open slowly.
Shocked at the youngest's memory loss, Karha stammered.
"Uh, hey, this, what do we do...."
That was when.
Ishuel swiftly struck Karha's ribs.
As Karha groaned in pain, Ishuel smiled brightly.
The boy utilized his radiant, beautiful face to the fullest as he whispered.
"We're the people you love most in the world. Especially me."
His quick reflexes in seizing the moment were admirable.
Realizing that any further teasing would leave nothing of me, Chesa quickly corrected herself.
"Oh, you're my older brothers."
At that, Ishuel pouted his lips.
Karha exhaled a sigh of relief and grumbled.
"I thought my heart would stop."
I chuckled quietly to myself and surveyed my surroundings.
Judging by the somewhat shabby furniture and interior décor, this appeared to be an Inn.
I lay upon the bed, with the Twins seated on either side, gazing down at me.
Both of them clung so closely they seemed reluctant to part, and it occurred to me they were standing guard as if to protect me.
Beneath the Twins' fervent gaze, I slowly began to piece together my memories.
I tried to calmly recall what had happened before I lost consciousness.
'This is truly mortifying....'
But I found it impossible to think clearly.
The more I retraced my memories, the more embarrassed I became—I wanted to hide myself away in the depths of flowers.
I couldn't believe that I, no longer a child, had actually wept like one.
Just because my body had regressed didn't mean my mind had to behave so childishly.
'And worst of all, my identity as a fairy was exposed.'
Thanks to Hailon's stubborn misunderstanding, I had somehow managed to gloss over it convincingly.
But only Kieran and Hailon had witnessed what happened in the Illusion Realm.
I wondered if they had told the others.
I cautiously tested the Twins with a single word.
"Fairy...."
"Why mention a fairy?"
Ishuel's eyes, as he asked so readily, were perfectly clear.
Judging by their lack of reaction, it seemed the Twins didn't know I was a fairy.
"It's nothing."
I reached out my hand to them.
The Twins each took one of my hands and helped me up.
They tended to me with utmost care.
They had me lean against the headboard, then brought lukewarm water and held it to my lips.
Without lifting a finger, I drank the water in small gulps.
As if they had been waiting for nothing but my awakening, Karha and Ishuel chattered away on either side of me.
"You woke up in half a day, little sister. You must have been terrified being dragged into the Illusion Realm."
"In all my years, I've never seen a fairy pop out of nowhere on the road. And a cowardly one at that, dragging away a baby."
As I let the Twins' chatter wash over me, I pondered deeply.
For years I had searched, yet never once encountered a fairy.
To suddenly come face-to-face with one like this was extraordinary.
It felt unnatural.
'And it wasn't even a sound fairy—it was one losing its mind.'
But I couldn't afford to let slip the clue I had barely grasped.
To fix this body that refused to grow into adulthood, I needed information about the Fairy Kingdom.
I didn't want to remain a small child forever while the three Basilian brothers grew tall and strong beside me.
An eternally ungrowing child was nothing but a terrifying monster....
I glanced sidelong at my own small feet.
Though the situation was suspicious in many ways, there were also new facts I had come to understand.
Just because a fairy had awakened to the Illusion Realm didn't mean every fairy was as strong as me.
Until now, I had no one to compare myself against, so I couldn't be certain.
'I'm actually quite powerful, even among fairies.'
I had vaguely suspected as much, but this encounter made it abundantly clear.
Otherwise, there would be no reason for a fairy who wielded the Illusion Realm to be hunted by those mercenaries.
Even Chesa's Mother, a fairy driven to madness, had been swarmed by countless Slave Hunters, yet she slaughtered them instead.
'Regardless, I need to ask the fairy several things.'
I also needed to know how she had ended up in this state.
She might have escaped from the Laboratory, after all.
I asked the Twins, who still had me surrounded on both sides.
"Where did the fairy go?"
"That's what you were curious about?"
"Don't concern yourself with such things. Zizi, zizi."
Karha pronounced the word "zizi" with unusual clarity.
I pretended not to understand and asked again.
"I want to meet her."
The Twins suddenly made uncomfortable sounds—hmm, uh-hmm—their discomfort evident.
Karha scratched the back of his head and muttered.
"I wonder if there's anything left of her form. Actually, I don't think there's even a trace remaining."
"Idiot, you should have just said she escaped."
Ishuel snapped irritably.
It seemed they had indeed captured the fairy, but...
'What are they doing that they're reacting like this?'
I felt a chill of unease as I stared at the Twins.
Karha laughed awkwardly, ha ha.
"Well... we're in the middle of asking her some questions."
"Questions...?"
Ishuel shot back with a sly tone.
"She touched my sister—how could we just let that slide? Of course we captured her and were about to—"
Ishuel grimaced mid-sentence and spoke irritably.
"Father and the Heresy Inquisitor are interrogating the fairy directly."
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org