Translator: Nox

Chapter 60

Episode 60. Cherry Blossom Nightmare

2023.10.30.

Cherry blossom petals were scattering everywhere.

The moment Herdin opened his eyes to that sight, he instinctively realized.

It's a dream.

A dream he'd had countless times over the past decade or so, one so tiresome he could recite the next scene by heart.

Probably next came his father's voice.

“Herdin.”

A voice that once carried slight excitement and joy when he turned to it, but now felt unwelcome.

Yet in the dream, he had no power to resist, so Herdin could only watch the scene unfold like a scripted play.

Before him stood Cassian, sword stained with magical beast blood, and young Herdin cowering on the ground.

“Herdin……”

Cassian had lost control fighting the swarming magical beasts, consumed by power.

His ice-blue eyes, identical to his son's, lacked focus. Uncontainable mana seeped from his body.

“……Father?”

The father who usually wore a gruff yet gentle smile now silently raised his sword.

The terrified child merely stared up blankly.

Herdin watched that scene—already faced dozens, hundreds of times—with indifferent eyes.

Because no matter what he did, he couldn't change the past.

Next came his mother.

“No, Cassian!”

The instant Cassian swung at young Herdin, Eloise rushed in, embracing the child and taking the blade instead.

“……Mother?”

Young Herdin clutched Eloise's collapsing back, his palms drenched in red blood. Cherry blossom petals piled like snow on the ground turned crimson.

The boy's hands began to tremble. His eyes shook violently too.

Terror filled those eyes in an instant.

Next came loss.

And finally…….

Young Herdin cast a spell. The boy's eyes facing his father held no fear.

The last emotion filling them was blind rage.

Herdin attacked Cassian with magic.

Born with the divine beast's power like his father and trained from childhood, Herdin's magic was never weak—and Cassian knew it.

Yet he didn't dodge his son's spell. As if he lacked even the reason to do so.

Herdin seized the gap as Cassian staggered from the magic, picking up a sword dropped by a fallen knight nearby.

As Cassian swung, Herdin barely parried, deflecting the blow. But a child's strength couldn't match an adult's.

Herdin fought with both sword and magic.

Cassian used no direct spells, but the sharply honed mana swirling around him wounded everything nearby.

Herdin charged heedless of the cuts accumulating on his body. Reason had fled him too.

Herdin unleashed a powerful spell for a decisive strike. In that moment, Cassian faltered.

Seizing the split-second opening, Herdin pierced his heart—with the sword techniques his father had taught him.

The menacing mana around Cassian dissipated.

Cassian collapsed atop Herdin. His fading voice whispered in the young boy's ear.

“Her…… din……”

With those words, light returned to Herdin's unfocused eyes. Realizing what he'd done, the child's gaze shook violently.

“Father……?”

He'd often wondered.

That day, did Father recognize me before dying?

Or was it just an unconscious habit, murmuring my name?

One day, he'd think Father regained reason at the end, recognizing him.

The empire's greatest magic swordsman wouldn't lose to a mere child, even rampaging. Surely Father saw me and yielded on purpose.

Wishing for me to kill him.

Thinking it a relief…….

Another day, he'd dismiss it as self-rationalization—Father died without regaining reason.

Too cruel for Father to know he'd nearly killed his son, then lost his beloved wife to his own hand, only to die by that son's blade.

Day by day, his thoughts shifted to ease his mind, until he stopped altogether.

What use was it?

The fact remained: he'd killed his father with his own hands.

A few closest retainers buried the truth to protect del Mark and solidify young Herdin's position as head.

Publicly, Cassian rampaged over Eloise's death and took his own life—but no concealment could fool himself.

“Ah…… ugh…… Aaaah!”

Herdin watched his younger self collapse into the blood pool, wailing like a beast, with dry eyes. Wearily, he slowly closed them.

The nightmare always forced him to the end before waking.

Opening his eyes, the familiar ceiling greeted him. Turning his head, a familiar face: softer and sweeter than marshmallows.

Herdin gazed briefly at the soundly sleeping Blair before looking out the window. Cherry blossoms scattered like snow.

Just like that day in the dream.

Those flowers were to blame. Every year around this time, the dream returned.

After staring indifferently at the dreadful sight, he slowly rose. Donning his robe, he headed to the table holding his cigars.

Reaching for a cigar and lighter, he paused at something beside them.

The bowl he'd used for marshmallows.

Three unroasted ones remained. Blair had left them last night for his morning snack.

‘If you want, you can have two. You didn't eat any.’

His wife had spoken as if sharing her own cherished rations.

Recalling her voice, Herdin chuckled. He popped one of the marshmallows she'd graciously offered into his mouth.

The soft texture wasn't to his taste, but the rare sweetness was better than expected. He smiled faintly.

Savoring the sweetness yielded by his wife, Herdin pocketed the cigar and lighter in his robe before leaving the bedroom.

* * *

Afternoon, past lunchtime.

Blair walked the corridor, gazing at the garden beyond the window filled with blooming cherry trees.

Behind the central fountain stretched an artificial waterway lined on both sides with cherry blossoms.

Mason had told her Eloise, Herdin's mother, designed the landscaping herself.

He'd said she could change it as the new lady of the house wished, but Blair had no desire to.

Partly because she didn't want to leave traces in a mansion she'd soon leave, but also because she truly liked the current design.

And above all…….

‘It's one of his mother's traces for Herdin.’

She didn't want to erase it on a whim.

Thinking of him unbidden again, Blair naturally recalled last night—when she'd acknowledged her feelings for him.

She sensed she could no longer evade or deny this persistent emotion.

Instead of fleeing, she'd accept it.

‘I still love Herdin.’

Acknowledging it changed nothing. Once their goals were met, she'd leave as promised.

But even if doomed to end, this life she'd properly conclude what ended poorly before.

I don't want you to remain a painful memory for me.

I don't want to hate and resent you like before, bound to you again.

Thus, she'd pour out her remaining feelings. So they'd leave no regrets.

“Ppippi.”

Entering the room where Ppippi played, Blair called its name.

“Ppi!”

A baby ermine—no longer quite a baby—darted out from somewhere.

Recognizing its owner, Ppippi bounced excitedly in greeting.

As Blair knelt smiling and extended her hand, Ppippi nipped lightly in response.

“Playing hide-and-seek alone?”

“Ppi.”

“The flowers are blooming nicely today, and the weather's good—want to play outside?”

Blair fetched the walking harness from a drawer. Melly, skilled with her hands, had made it.

But Ppippi, wanting more play indoors, dodged toward the corner. For its slender body, even a small gap sufficed.

“Hmm, want to play hide-and-seek with me?”

A rustling came from the narrow crevice in reply.

Blair approached the corner where Ppippi hid. Covered frames stood there. Peering into the gap, she spotted Ppippi between a frame and the wall.

“Found you!”

“Ppi!”

Ppippi bolted out, knocking the cloth off a frame in the process.

The cloth draped over Ppippi as it tumbled.

“Ppi?”

The cloth heaved with Ppippi's panicked movements.

Blair burst out laughing at the sight. But her laughter stopped upon seeing the revealed frame.

It held a portrait of a boy she'd never seen.

Black hair like Herdin's, but green eyes—not him. Nor very similar.

Cassian's black hair and blue eyes ruled him out too.

‘Who is it?’

As Blair wondered, a knock sounded, and Mason entered.

“Madam.”

Approaching her, he spotted the portrait she stared at and paused.