Side Story 2.4

Ariel paused after reading halfway through the diary. In her memories, Louis was a small, skinny boy. To get close to him, she disguised herself as a small human girl. She approached Bernard and made him believe she was his granddaughter’s daughter, and later even hypnotized those around her.

The child with lavender hair—Sophia—was a character created in this way.

‘But… nothing comes for free.’

Whatever one does, there is always a price to pay. Celestials originally must not approach humans without a noble purpose. Besides, she was in the middle of a trial. The burden she had to bear as a handicap was the pain in her legs, and it was a sign that she should not remain on earth for too long.  

“Now that I’ve returned to being a Celestial, even if only in name, I’m fine, but just a few decades ago, my condition was at its worst.”  

The heaven Louis spoke of was not such a sweet place. It was essentially like a greenhouse, and for that reason, a Celestial who left that world could not easily return. Only those who looked to the light and remained pure could stay, and the more they were tainted, the closer they became to the lower world. Moreover, as beings who lived for nearly eternity, they had many lingering attachments.  

‘But isn’t this guy just as sentimental? Why not just get married instead of adopting someone like Wagner, and why leave behind notes like this?’  

In any case, so emotional. Complaining that her childhood diary was too cringeworthy, she opened the diary again. From the middle, there were traces of writing and erasing, and after that, records from her youth remained.

***

– Imperial Year 1067, May 7.

There was a man who stared blankly into space and then suddenly flinched in surprise. He glanced between a letter tucked inside his Bible and the window, then carefully opened the envelope. The sender’s line read “Sophia,” and the letter paper, pretty and sky blue, was filled with messy handwriting.

[To my friend Louis,

August. It’s hot, but the weather is nice. How have you been lately? I worry that now that I’ve gone somewhere else, you might be back to just studying alone. Please don’t overdo it.

As for me, this place is boring. Maybe because I don’t have a friend like you? There are many people who come and go, but my heart feels empty. Every day, I wish we could take walks together again and talk about everything.

Unlike there, there are many people my age here, but all they talk about is boring stuff. Like secrets to being a good bride, or how to walk gracefully.

Of course, it’s not unbearable, but spending all day with people who only talk about such things is tough. I want to draw, but they look down on that as something only street artists do, and tell me to do housework instead. Why can’t people live as they wish?

(omitted)

I went to the hospital with Grandfather Bernard for a checkup. My legs are getting worse and worse. At this rate, I might not be able to walk at all. The birds we watched together, the flowers—we probably won’t see those again. But I’ll do my best to keep my promise to you. I miss you.

From your loving friend, Sophia.]

Louis de Rohan Unifa. The man reading the letter was him. After their farewell at fifteen, they continued to correspond. Since they lived far apart, each letter took a long time to travel, but until the year they turned eighteen, the letters never stopped.

That was, until just before the war between Iseris and Eltheim. In the mid-1060s, the continent was filled with a tense atmosphere. The empire they lived in was no exception.

Many people had already experienced several wars before, but most thought, “Surely it won’t happen again.” It was such an extraordinary thing, after all. And it was also something everyone hoped would never occur.

Despite the cold mood of the times, their family still managed the territory in peace and cared for the village, and he was studying doctrine at the church right in front of him. His mother postponed anything to do with magic and opposed his wish to walk the path of religion. But as always, a parent cannot win against their child, and in the end, it was resolved.

Meeting Sophia had greatly changed the course of his life. In truth, he didn’t have the confidence to live as a mage forever. People need something more spiritual.

Magic, like the science and astronomy he loved as a child, was similar, and so the more he looked back, the more he felt the need for something spiritual. If he ever reunited with her, he wondered what kind of expression he would wear.

On the other hand, after Sophia moved once to get a checkup at a bigger hospital, there had been no news. Even the letters that used to come every two or three months stopped completely. The last letter he received had a cheerful tone, but the content was not so bright. Her legs had gotten so bad that she could no longer walk.

When the war began and the Eltheim army’s invasion spread across Iseris, chaos erupted. The people of the territory all gathered at the mansion, which was equipped with an ancient mechanical radio, and he would turn it on and wait for hopeful news.

Usually, the oddballs at the Mage Tower would dig up machines like this and develop magical tools, so maybe they knew something? But all that came through were bad news and warnings of danger.

The defeat of the western Altman territory forces, the retreat at the Maze River front, and then rumors that the Eltheim army had broken through the first defensive line. When those wild rumors reached their territory, he could sense it.

Ah, we’re going to lose!

Many wondered how they could evacuate, but it seemed it might all be for nothing. However, everything turned around thanks to a saintess who appeared one day out of nowhere.

Said to be blessed by God, she purified the enemies with tremendous power, and in the end, the Eltheim soldiers, who had been charging recklessly, lost their will to fight and surrendered to her divine might.

People cheered and felt relieved, but the war ended with a truce negotiation. During that time, the saints and saintesses promoted by the church vanished as if they had never appeared.

For several years after, famine from the war swept the country, and he spent that time alone in another world. The time spent reading the scriptures in a small church was no different before or after the war. Of course, there were small changes, but for someone walking the path of religion, they felt distant.

He listened to the confessions of those who came to church, helped with the weekly worship service, and created a choir so that children’s singing could be heard everywhere. At the same time, he had to keep his promise to his mother to become the lord when he came of age, so he occasionally went on inspections.

In the endlessly busy days, the pain dulled day by day. He came to feel that this was his place. That’s how he found it—the letter sealed deep in the bookshelf.

Inside, the girl of eighteen was still chattering. On the other hand, he, now in his early thirties, was in a completely different place. He had belatedly attended the academy after his mother, obtained his mage qualification, and become the lord.

‘I wonder how she’s doing.’

After tracing the faded letters, he sealed the envelope inside the book. A bitter smile crossed his lips. Feeling as if someone was watching, he left the study—only to bump into the butler, which startled him again.

“The postman came to the mansion.”

The butler said that someone had been lurking out front with a large package. Then he asked if Mr. Louis Rohan lived here. Since everyone around here knew the lord’s name, it must have been someone from another region. Curious, he asked, and the butler brought in the large package and handed it to him.

The package, which the butler said was heavy, was indeed heavier than expected. It felt like wood from the outside. Curious about the contents, he quickly untied the string on the wrapping. Just as he was about to take out what was inside, he noticed something. A white envelope. For the second time today, he saw the same name.

Sophia Loren. She had sent news for the first time in about ten years.

His hands trembled as he took out the letter. To calm himself, he closed his eyes, steadied his pounding heart, and exhaled. Then, crossing himself on his chest, he opened the envelope.