Born as the Hidden Daughter of a Villainess and the Male Lead

<Episode 60>

 

“There is an artifact that is briefly imbued with the power of electricity, so please keep it with you. It will protect you from any danger.”

I looked up at him with trembling eyes.

Blocking the light of the pouring sun, he was looking down at me with dark, somber eyes.

“…What do you mean? Then you….”

“It is going to be okay.”

“…….!”

At that moment, I stared blankly at his face in response to the answer I received.

As if Meinhard was trying to reassure me, I saw a smile for the first time on his usually insensitive face.

The smile he wore was so inexplicably warm and friendly.

“…I swore to Mariette. I will protect her child no matter what happens. So I’m just trying to keep my oath.”

He walked in the air as if he really wanted to leave me and go alone.

“Don’t blame yourself. You shouldn’t feel guilty.”

He chanted in a calm voice as if nothing was truly wrong.

“This is the most obvious choice, and I will not regret it one bit.”

…Really, he spoke of his sacrifice casually.

The moment I looked up at Meinhardt with trembling eyes, I suddenly remembered something.

‘…Don’t cry.’

She sacrificed her whole body to save young Meinhardt and then collapsed into a handful of ashes.

Judith, my grandfather’s comrade in arms.

“……I want to ask you something.”

And I asked.

“What is your relationship with Judith, the person who saved you as a child?”

“……..”

His steps, which were busy walking through the air, stopped.

Eyes filled with a dark abyss quietly looked down at me.

“……She was my great-aunt.”

And at the answer that came out, I just closed my eyes.

“I see.”

They were a family after all….

“I’m not leaving you.”

I said, clasping my hands tightly.

“……Yes?”

Meinhardt looked visibly confused.

I looked at him directly in the eye and spoke again with emphasis.

“I’m not going anywhere, so tell me more about what you know.”

Meinhardt looked down at me with a bewildered look on his face, saying nothing for a while.

Hiss!

At that moment, I was so startled that I stopped moving and was unable to avoid the flying debris.

“-Meinhardt!”

A sharp piece of rock scraped him harshly, leaving a deep scar on Meinhardt’s cheek.

“You are hurt……!”

Thick blood flowed from the large scratched wound.

I quickly covered his wound with my sleeve and shouted.

“You knew stories about Oried and Yuhirian that I didn’t know! So, if you know anything, even if it’s about Yuhirian’s weakness or a way to seal him again, please tell me everything!”

Immediately after saying I would not go, Meinhardt, who, to be honest, seemed like a dumb person, gently avoided eye contact and spoke.

“……Actually, the stories I told you were all told by my great-aunt.”

I guessed it.

If not her, who else would have known such secret stories?

“I don’t know exactly who the Spirit King who was in charge of sealing Yuhirian. Moreover, in our current state, we cannot summon spirits. So I continued to draw on and use only the power of the spirits… ”

…Although it cannot be summoned, it is possible to draw on the power of the spirit.

I said, trying to stay calm.

“What are your exact attributes?”

“My main attribute is Astrape, the Spirit King of Electricity, and the secondary attributes are Dryad, the Spirit King of the Forest, and Jin, the high-ranking Spirit of Wind.”

Forest, forest.

I closed my mouth and was lost in thought.

Since ancient times, it has been said that forests are closely related to life.

The small seed sprouts and takes root in the barren land, endures harsh rain and hot sunlight, and eventually grows into a huge life that nothing can do without.

Perhaps that is the phenomenon that most accurately represents the meaning of life.

So wouldn’t there be a close relationship between the power of Ilipia, the spirit king of life, and the power of Dryad, the spirit king of the forest who rules plants?

“Meinhardt, please do me a favor. Please help me grow the plant that is most infused with the dryad’s power.”

That’s because I remembered how Arkane, such an eerie and fearsome being, could not resist Ilipia’s restraint

Even Yuhirian, who was the strongest among the Spirit Kings, and Ignis, who was by nature a natural enemy, did not show any disregard for Arkane, but Ilipia seemed to have a strong hint of ridicule in a corner of her words to him.

‘Arkane, the Spirit King of Darkness, is known to be the first spirit to exist in this universe.’

‘But Arkane binds all the spirits born from negative ideas and reigns over them, as if he were a being symbolizing ‘evil’. His power is very comprehensive, and at times he even appears omnipotent. The ‘magic’ we use also originates from his power.’

As everyone knows, Arkane is a being of a different class from ordinary spirit kings.

He, who was the first spirit king to exist in ancient times, showed ‘respect’ only to Ilipia.

so… Maybe we can make this hypothesis work.

Ilipia is also not recorded, but she is said to be a special being different from other spirit kings.

She was also the first spirit king to be born other than Arkane.

Therefore, the most likely way to overcome the current situation was to draw on Ilipia’s power.

…To be honest, I feel like I’m grasping at straws.

I’m not sure if I can summon the power, or even if I summon the power of Ilipia, Oried’s personality will be awakened!

“Plants themselves are closely related to life. So, I will ask the life that bloomed with the power of the Dryad.”

I want to call upon its source, the power of life.

“And if we infuse the power of life into Yuhirian’s body… Oried might be able to wake up.”

That was the best plan I could come up with.

“…… It might be dangerous. No, it’s definitely dangerous. It is a plan that leaves us with no choice but to get closer to Yuhirian.”

Meinhardt answered with a stern expression.

I shook my head gently and said.

“But we still have to do it. It’s much better than wandering around a city I don’t know where I am in the past and asking for help from someone I am not even sure if they are strong, or will be able to hold out alone against that vicious spirit king!”

“……..”

He fell silent for a moment with his eyes closed.

Before long, the golden curtains were lifted.

And the Eyes filled with deep abyss were revealed.

“I will follow your will.”

He answered briefly, extending one hand into the air and flashing an eerie eye.

Crack-crack-!

The Dryad’s power grew explosively in his grasp.

So, staring at the huge tree growing with roots in the air, I stretched out my hand and touched it.

I could vividly feel the mana of the forest beyond my thin skin.

I made a wish deep in my heart for Mana, who seemed desperate to reach me somehow.

Call upon your source, the power of life.

If you help me with just that, you will scatter into the air again

The moment all these words were said, the mana of the forest began to move in unison.

I felt pretty surprised with my eyes closed at the unexpected reaction.

[Kyah!]

[Child whom life loves, even if you don’t ask us, you-]

My ears were buzzing, and I couldn’t help but feel the whispering voice rushing into my head and threatening to explode. It caused me to break into cold sweat but I forced my trembling fingertips to hold on.

At that moment.

“!”

Saaaa-

I felt as if I was in a room engulfed in flames, while I was struggling to breathe and dying alone.

[Edith, wake up.]

A benevolent voice, similar to that of a mother’s I had never heard, rang out like a whisper, and the cool and cozy air that enveloped my body again…

“…This is it.”

I couldn’t help but smile as I felt the power of life permeating my entire body and pulsating with a subtle yet undying vitality.

“…You succeeded.”

Meinhardt, who was watching me silently, said with a look of surprise in his eyes.

“The first time I could do the permanent summoning state was when I was twelve…”

If I think about it that way, I succeeded at the age of eight, so I’m not behind my peers.¹No my dear, you are already an adult with the amount of memories you have, it’s unfair to compare yourself with other kids your age…I think.

“Then, let’s go!”

I escaped from Meinhardt’s embrace, who was looking at me in confusion, and stood straight, stepping on a tree that had grown as if it were splitting the air.

Feeling the endless power of life filling my whole body, I stretched out my hand toward the descendants of Arkane, who had died countless times on the earth below.

At that moment, I felt like the power that had filled my body was leaving me.

[… what?]

The descendants of darkness who had died a gruesome death, lining up in the spot where Yuhirian walked, came back to life all at once.

Then, Yuhirian noticed something strange and looked up at exactly where I was standing.

[…Is that the energy of Ilipia?]

As if he had noticed right away, Yuhirian widened his wildly colored eyes.

At that moment, the black energy that had colored Yuhirian’s pupils became clear for a moment, but soon became cloudy again.

“…This is it.”

It was only a moment, but I saw it clearly.

The light in Oried’s eyes had returned.

It’s clear that Ilipia’s power is the key to bringing Oried’s personality back!

[What a mediocre talent…]

As if he had come to his senses again, Yuhirian stared at me with a murderous gaze.

I spoke to Meinhardt, looking straight into his eyes.

“Ilipia’s power is the key to bringing Oried back, obviously! Meinhardt, please help me come in contact with Yuhirian….”

“I will help.”

Meinhard understood my meaning without further ado and summoned a strong wind.

“We will attract as much attention as possible, so be sure to succeed.”

He drew attention by throwing his body back so that the tree we were standing on could grow towards Yuhirian.

Wow!

He sharpened the wind and attacked Yuhirian.

[How dare you, an insignificant human!]

Yuhirian let out a roar so loud that it echoed in my head and attacked Meinhardt at random.

Boom, boom!

A gravity that threatens to tear one’s entire body apart, a rushing body of a giant, and a storm of sharp rocks.

Meinhardt barely withstood his attack with plants and wind, but in the battle between a human and a Spirit King, the Spirit King was, of course, overwhelmingly superior.

“………!”

Meinhardt, who was quickly covered in blood, was out of breath, mustering up what little energy he had left, and held Yuhirian’s gaze.

Right now.

It was a fleeting opportunity, so I did not miss the gap created by Meinhardt’s sacrifice and ran with all my might along the straight tree trunk toward Yuhirian, who had come closer to me thanks to Meinhardt’s guidance.

[What-you!]

The moment there was only one step left, Yuhirian noticed my presence and quickly turned around.

But I couldn’t give up.

Even if I die at the hands of that vicious spirit.

I clenched my teeth so much that I felt they were going to break and jumped up, wrapped my arms around his neck as if hanging on to him, and breathed all of the power of life into him.

As soon as I emptied it out, I filled myself up again, again and again, without stopping.

Even if I lose all my energy and cannot use the power of the spirit again, I don’t care.

“……..”

How much time has passed?

I gently opened my eyes, which had been tightly closed for fear of what was to come, and carefully looked up at Yuhirian’s face, which had been motionless just a moment ago.

And, I saw….

[…. Even though Yuhirian can’t protect you, I thought he would be good enough to deal with Arkane, but it turned out to be my misjudgement.]

Finally, he was looking down at me with eyes shining with brilliance without a trace of shadow.

‎“……Ah.”

My heart, which had been tight, became free as if it were about to burst.

“Oried….”

The one and only Spirit King of the Earth who had blessed me, whom I had missed so much that it brought tears to my eyes, had returned and was looking down at me with that indifferent face.

 

***

TL:

I am having a very frustrating problem, it’s really hard for me to get the sound effects right. I don’t know if you noticed it, but mostly the sound effects in korean literally translate to kyaaahaaa or saaaa, shikaa.. etc.

I really can’t make sense of them and just try to guess what should be right, so if anyone knows how to solve this problem, please tell me.

Alright, enjoy ~