No Need For Regrets

Chapter 39

When Lexion and Seriniel arrived at the Rosenvester Manor, it was already quite late.

“Madam!”

As Lexion had predicted, Kina, who had arrived at the mansion first, rushed over as soon as she saw Seriniel getting off the carriage as if she had been waiting anxiously.

“Are you alright? I was so worried.”

“Uh, I’m fine…”

“To be precise, it’s not like nothing happened.”

Standing beside her, Lexion interjected abruptly in response to Kina’s question.

“But there shouldn’t be any issues with Madam’s safety, so it’s best for her to rest for now.”

Acknowledging Lexion’s words, Kina nodded as if to say she understood. Anyway, Seriniel in front of them looked extremely tired. So it seemed like a good idea to let her rest.

…Of course, Lexion’s statement, “It’s not like nothing happened,” bothered her a lot, but… given his words… It seemed unlikely that there would be any danger here, of all places, in the Rosenvester Manor.

“Then where should I…”

“To the bedroom.”

At Lexion’s unexpected words, Seriniel hesitated.

…To the bedroom?

Kina was also surprised. Seriniel and Kina looked at Lexion in astonishment, and Lexion sighed before speaking again.

“I don’t really understand what both of you are thinking… Well, maybe I do, but anyway, let go of unnecessary worries.”

“….”

“I’ll be somewhere else, so don’t worry unnecessarily.”

Looking at Seriniel, Lexion said.

“If you’re really worried, Kina, you can stand guard all night. Then, you might feel a bit relieved, right?”

With a mischievous touch to his words, Kina asked with a determined expression.

“…Sorry, but can I really do that?”

“Damn it.”

That was the end of it. Lexion muttered a curse under his breath, shook his head in annoyance, and walked away alone.

“….”

Seriniel silently watched Lexion’s retreating figure. Then, after a while, she chuckled softly to herself.

“Madam, let’s go inside quickly. You look very tired….”

“Uh.”

She was grateful for Lexion’s consideration. But could she really use the bedroom alone? Would it be right to drive the master out? It might be better to talk about it again tomorrow. “It’s fine for me to stay somewhere else. Please rest in the bedroom.”

Anyway, today was such a tiring day. So, even for just a moment, she wanted to rest without thinking about anything. So Seriniel started walking towards the mansion with Kina.

The long day was coming to an end like that.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

Seriniel slowly opened her eyes.

But she couldn’t see anything. All that surrounded her was pitch-black darkness.

…Where am I?

I’m sure I fell asleep in the bedroom?

Seriniel sat up and tried to feel the ground, but there was nothing to feel.

Could I have been kidnapped? By people sent by Calian or Leraie?

But even thinking that seemed too strange. Could there be someone who could sneak into the Rosenvester Manor?

…Seriniel, feeling a little scared, was about to call out to anyone when she was about to part her lips.

[I love you, Seriniel… Only you.]

Suddenly, a voice rang out, completely unfamiliar. She didn’t hear it at that time.

[Seri, you’re my most precious friend. I can do anything for you…]

These were things Seriniel knew very well. So, Calian and Leraie…

And then it happened.

Someone appeared in front of her.

Looking completely drained and blank as if everything had been taken away from her…

It was Seriniel herself.

“…I don’t… want to…”

She seemed to know where she was right now.

After being unfairly killed by Calian and Leraie…

It was a dream she had had, knowing everything they had done.

Right before she returned.

“I don’t want to die…”

The Seriniel in the dream muttered angrily with eyes full of rage and a broken voice.

…But why am I dreaming this again now?

Could it be…

The very fact that I’ve come back… was that a dream in itself?

I’m still trapped here.

She was thinking that.

[A wish?]

Suddenly, someone’s voice came. Completely unfamiliar. She didn’t hear it before.

[I don’t believe in gods.]

…It was Lexion.

[But you’re going to fight tomorrow, aren’t you?]

[So.]

[Of course, you’ll surely win again, but it’s a war where lives are at stake like everyone else’s.]

Who is this? Seriniel didn’t know this person at all.

[Usually, people make wishes before going to war. It could be their last, so they wish with all their heart.]

[What do they wish for?]

[Well…]

[It’s hard to say.]

Someone laughed.

[Some pray for help to win, some pray to return safely. Of course, the latter is much more common.]

[….]

[So why don’t you make a wish too?]

“I can’t… go on like this…”

The conversation between Lexion and someone else, and the sorrowful words of the dream version of myself sitting on the floor, were intertwined.

[Acknowledge your presence and make your plea. Since you’ve never believed in gods before, it’s your first empty wish, so who else could be more merciful than a god who listens.]

The sound of footsteps receding was heard. A moment of silence fell, and…

[I’ve never believed in gods or wished upon them. I won’t change that in the future either. It doesn’t matter to me if I die tomorrow.]

And after a considerable time passed…

[…Instead, her.]

The voice spoke with a split tone.

[When you feel like you’re left alone at the end of the world. So when it’s hard and lonely… grant her wish. So that she can confidently answer if someone asks her to be happy again, like she did then. Even my share, which I cannot.]

…This is my first and last wish.

Lexion murmured softly.

“I don’t want to die like this…”

And then, the dream version of Seriniel cried out like a plea.

“Please, save me…!”

That was the end of the dream. The pitch-black darkness swiftly engulfed Seriniel.

Just like the dream I had before.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

“Ugh…!”

Seriniel woke up gasping for breath. She struggled to sit up, and sitting down, she breathed heavily.

After catching her breath a few times, Seriniel reflexively looked around.

It wasn’t Helcar’s bedroom. It was the bedroom of the Rosenvester Manor where she had fallen asleep exhausted yesterday.

On the bedside table, the glass of water I had drunk before falling asleep was still there.

“….”

Seriniel’s complexion paled slightly. She sat there dazed for a moment, then, out of curiosity, she pinched her own thigh lightly.

“….Ow.”

It hurt, so it wasn’t a dream.

She vividly remembered what had happened yesterday. Calian and Leraie, Belles’ distorted face, and such.

Then what was that dream?

And the incomprehensible conversation I heard…?

No matter how much she tried to remember, she had never heard Lexion having such a conversation with anyone before. And she couldn’t figure out who the other person was either. It was the first time she had heard such a voice since she was born.

[Grant her wish. So that she can confidently answer if someone asks her to be happy again, like she did then. Even my share, which I cannot.]

…Could it have been me?

The woman Lexion mentioned…

Sitting there dazed, Seriniel absentmindedly touched her own hand. Then she thought to herself.

…Then, even though I died like that, could the reason I came back be because of Lexion?

After returning, Seriniel had been curious about how such a thing could happen. But there was no way to find out the answer.

If it was really because of Lexion that I could come back…

Why did he make such a wish?

Lost in her own thoughts, Seriniel jerked her head up suddenly.

It was because of the sudden knock on the door.

“Are you awake?”

And beyond the closed door, Lexion’s voice was heard.