After My Dead Ending

AMDE | Chapter 31

31.

“Um… You’re not planning to pick all the flowers, are you?”

Aren’t Diazi’s principles all about respecting all forms of life? Von asked, recalling Diazi’s strict rules.

“Not all of them.”

Norma grinned, saying, “Just a few.”

Von raised both hands in a gesture of surrender at Norma’s innocent smile. Behind that harmless expression lay an unknown determination and assertiveness. After thinking, ‘Ah well, I don’t know what he’s thinking, so do as you please; it’s not my problem,’ Von finally turned his gaze away.

“But before that…”

Norma’s voice, which had lowered, reached Von’s ears. At the same time, Norma leaned in close to him.

“Gasp.”

For a moment, Von felt overwhelmed by the pressure of Norma’s presence.

Overwhelmed by the pressure, Von was still in a daze when Norma swiftly pulled the sword from his belt and swung it effortlessly. It was a fluid and natural motion, happening almost instantaneously.

Von couldn’t immediately grasp the situation. He didn’t even have a moment to feel ashamed of having his sword taken away as a knight. Instead, he simply found himself involuntarily rolling his eyes unnaturally towards where Norma had swung the sword.

“Wow.”

At that moment, an elegant exclamation reached Von’s ears. He thought it was an auditory hallucination born out of his surprise. In front of him, an unbelievable scene unfolded, matching Norma’s extraordinary actions.

‘Am I dreaming right now? Why is everyone acting so strangely today? Is this a dream?’

Hidden behind the tall grass that Norma had just uncovered, a person emerged from under a small bridge that crossed the artificial canal.

“Uh…”

Stunned, Von finally started stuttering. Even as Von was quietly leaving the scene, Norma, who had just swung the sword, remained composed.

“No, hiccup! Ophelia, sniffle! Miss?”

Incredibly, the person who had been crouching under the bridge was Ophelia, the lover of Diazi’s lord, ‘that person.’

‘Why is Miss Ophelia here?’

Ophelia stood up confidently, as if she expected to be discovered. Her steps as she brushed aside the grass were graceful, but her overall appearance, though strikingly beautiful, was somewhat disheveled. In reality, she seemed rather flustered.

“Oh my, I’m sorry. On days like this, hiding here has become a habit.”

Ophelia scratched the back of her head with her left hand, wearing a slightly embarrassed expression and even muttering a bit. It was truly an awkward and unimpressive entrance.

Hiding in the tall grass is a habit? Von found that even more peculiar.

Finally emerging completely from the thick grass, Ophelia stood before the two with an awkward laugh.

“Lord Diazi, good morning. It’s the first time I’m seeing you without our lord. But that…”

With a bright smile, Ophelia pointed to the terasa flowers that were neatly planted in a corner by the artificial canal.

“I planted those.”

“…”

Despite Ophelia’s sudden appearance, Norma continued to remain silent, only staring through her as if seeing right through.

“Uh… Did I startle you by hiding? This is really not something suspicious; it’s just a habit.”

Of course, Norma never expected to encounter Ophelia hiding in the tall grass. To unexpectedly meet the person introduced as his little brother’s beloved in such a way…

With Ophelia standing before him, Norma felt a complex mix of emotions. He couldn’t help but recall Nicolas, who used to brighten up with a smile, as if it were a matter of course, saying, ‘Brother, this is the person I love.’

Upon reaching their destination, Nicolas had shared his story with Norma about his long and eventful journey. Unlike the objective and historical accounts of Aisa, his story was deeply personal.

Nicolas held nothing back from Norma. He narrated how he had initially discovered Ophelia and tried to use her to find Norma, how he had chased after her and the zealots once, and how she had saved his life once. Nicolas calmly recounted all that had happened over the years.

He explained how thanks to her, he had been able to mend his long-standing rift with his father and alleviate his guilt concerning Norma.

Norma could sense how strong the bond between Nicolas and Ophelia had become during their ten years of wandering the continent.

‘Ever since Brother disappeared, I couldn’t sleep well.’

Norma felt as if the ground beneath him had momentarily crumbled at those words. The content was grave, but Nicolas maintained a composed tone throughout.

‘I couldn’t sleep because when I closed my eyes, I could vividly see Brother dispersing into tiny dots. If I hadn’t been taken hostage, if I hadn’t believed in Igor… I regretted it every day, thinking that if I had done things differently, Brother wouldn’t have ended up that way. I simply couldn’t sleep. Looking back, it was a difficult time.’

‘Nicolas.’

‘But strangely, I could fall asleep when Ophelia was by my side. Remember how when you were very young, you told me stories about witches living at the western edge? At first, I actually thought Ophelia might be a real witch.’

His words may have sounded like a jest at first, but Nicolas was more serious than anyone else. Moreover, his expression as he spoke appeared genuinely happy and content.

Norma never knew that the little boy who used to look at him with a dazed expression, no matter how terrifying old tales were, would remember them. When their mother died giving birth to Nicolas and their father found it painful to look at a child who resembled her so much, Nicolas, aware of this fact, had considered himself a curse from a very young age.

A lonely child.

Burdened by guilt.

Regrettably, Norma couldn’t fill that void. Instead, he left behind an indelible trauma and vanished.

Watching Nicolas speak about the past with composure, Norma felt a pure sense of gratitude toward Ophelia. Nicolas continued.

‘Ophelia wants to see her younger sister, even though she hasn’t said a word.’

It was clear that when Nicolas referred to ‘Ophelia’s younger sister,’ he meant Aisa McFoy.

‘Ten years ago, after McFoy became what it is now, the emperor and the crown prince issued a wanted order for Ophelia.’

A stranger who was known to have been particularly close to Nyx when he hid his identity and stayed in McFoy, and disappeared after that day.

Suspicion quickly ignited against Ophelia. The emperor, who had lost his beloved successor through Nyx, personally issued a wanted order for Ophelia.

And not long after that, the long-silent McFoy also issued a wanted order.

‘Lord McFoy’s consideration of Ophelia as an enemy was the wisest choice when viewed from a familial perspective. She would choose Ophelia’s death if it were for the sake of the family.’

‘…’

‘But it’s not the same for me. Ophelia will die whether she’s caught by the royal family or McFoy.’

Nicolas spoke this way with a hardened expression.

‘But Ophelia told me that she must live, no matter what. She said she can’t die. So, I hid Ophelia, Brother.’

Listening to Nicolas’s story in silence, Norma pondered for a moment. Had Lord McFoy been searching for Ophelia with the determination to exact blood revenge for all these years?

Norma’s thoughts were different. The words Aisa had spoken while they were in the carriage, moving from the festival street in Katam to the inn, were clearly not meant for him. They were more like words directed at the woman in front of him, Ophelia, with her blonde hair and bright eyes.

Lord McFoy had officially designated Ophelia and the wanted criminal Nyx as the culprits behind the massive massacre that had occurred that day. It was a horrific event where the entire McFoy family had been slaughtered. Although Nyx was said to have come to McFoy for Ophelia, it was ultimately McFoy who had granted him entry into the castle. Family, friends, neighbors – the rage of the westerners who had lost so much was beyond imagination.

McFoy had failed in the duty to protect the territory. Shifting the blame to a young girl had ultimately been a strategy to ensure the survival of the family name.

In a way, it could be seen as cutting off a loose end with just one outsider, Ophelia. Lord McFoy had justified her actions by declaring that everything she did over the past ten years was for the sake of revenge against the western tragedy.

The west, still bearing the pain, supported McFoy’s extreme actions. The strong bond of the west, centered around McFoy, was based on shared suffering and the desire for revenge.

‘Miss Aisa wouldn’t have searched for Ophelia just to kill her.’

Father, Milan, had also experienced difficult days when just looking at Nicolas was painful. However, his deeply rooted affection couldn’t be erased, so he was in a state of confusion.

McFoy’s obsession with capturing Ophelia must have a more complicated motive behind it.

“Miss Ophelia.”

At that moment, Von belatedly made a gesture of respect towards Ophelia. Norma, finally regaining his composure, nodded briefly and greeted her. The order and formality were all messed up.

“Von, I mean, Sir Bains. Haha, what a surprise to see you here. It’s embarrassing.”

Nevertheless, Ophelia smiled warmly and accepted the greeting.

“But really, why are you here? You don’t need to hide…”

Von asked cautiously. Ophelia, who was a wanted criminal, had a habit of instinctively hiding herself when she saw outsiders.

“It seems like it might be because of the procession. I don’t even know why I hid myself. Maybe it won’t get better.”

Ophelia playfully shrugged and spoke in a cheerful tone. It was a playful remark, but Norma could tell that Ophelia was avoiding the procession, McFoy, with all her might.

Ophelia, scratching her cheek, turned her gaze back to Norma.

“So, you were planning to pick a lot of my terasas, huh? Even though they may look fragile, I personally planted and nurtured these flowers.”

“Ah, I thought they were wildflowers, and even though it looked a bit feeble, I couldn’t help but pick them when I saw the terasas.”

Von interjected awkwardly, not knowing what to do between the two.

“I’m sorry, Miss Ophelia. I thought they were ownerless flowers. When I saw the terasas, my hands moved without me realizing it.”

Norma, who had no prior knowledge of Ophelia’s sudden appearance, looked apologetic as he apologized to her.

“Oh my? Lord Norma, do you like Teretsas? Not many people like terasas… Or is it because you’ve been awake for so long that you’re already giving flowers to anyone you meet?”

Ophelia, with a cheerful tone, asked what she was thinking, and her expression seemed filled with delight.

“…”

Whether it was a coincidence or a deliberate choice, Norma was greatly surprised by the sharp question. So, without realizing it, he tightly sealed his lips.

Terasas. Giving flowers. Aisa McFoy!

He felt the heat accumulating in his ears.

“Oh, my, you really have a lot in common with the lord. Nicolas reacts similarly when teased. He clams up and only his ears turn red.”

Ophelia said, clutching her stomach as if she was going to die laughing. Her laughter seemed somewhat out of place in the quiet Diazi.

“…You look much, much better. Sir.”

“Thank you.”

Norma responded, thinking that it must be a greeting considering their first meeting, even though the remark seemed out of context.

“Yes, perhaps, perhaps that’s what I wanted to say.”

She muttered inexplicable words with an unreadable expression and soon blushed.

“Since I teased Sir Bains, I suppose I should ask for forgiveness. Let me tell you how to find the longest-lasting terasas. In that regard, I’m the best in the world. Do you know what happens when terasas last for a week?”

“You mean good luck comes?”

“You know it well. I’ll even tell you the special way to make them last!”

Ophelia was very proactive. In that moment, Norma couldn’t help but be reminded of Mrs. Stang, whom he had met in Katam.

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    Thank you for your hardwork. Please keep updating.

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