Chapter 274: Vargan (Complete)
The divine power of Gamigin flowed through Vargan.
It began to delve deep into Erica’s memories, slowly surfacing like a pesky insect nibbling on leaves.
Stuffing things into its mouth so that no traces remain…
…
It seems she’s getting engaged.
To the renowned third son of the Schugenhartz Family, no less.
“Letter! A letter has arrived!”
“Hey, Laila! What does this mean?”
“Lord Vargan, I read your letter carefully. From your writing, I can tell you’re a wonderful person… I will strive to become someone who suits you… I eagerly await the day we meet.”
“Awesome! Surely, he’ll like me, right?”
— …Nope.
Back in their childhood, they had only exchanged letters without seeing each other’s faces.
On a sunny spring day, the two finally met.
Erica, hiding behind her mother’s dress, cautiously peered out as her father told her to maintain her poise.
Vargan took the initiative and approached the shy Erica.
His warm smile—a reflection of the mature and kind demeanor portrayed in his letters.
Definitely not ghostwritten.
It was the tone from the letters.
Young Erica felt pure joy.
Though her voice was small, it felt like they could face each other properly one day.
“I, I also… I’ll be counting on you, Lord Vargan…!”
— …No. …No!
On Erica’s 11th birthday, she received a black cat plush doll from Vargan.
A cute doll with a slightly crooked expression.
“Thank you so much, Lord Vargan!”
Erica hugged the doll tightly and beamed.
Seeing Erica’s joy made Vargan smile without thinking.
Erica repeatedly looked at the doll and hugged it, saying,
“I’ll cherish it! I will never let it get dirty!”
— …No! No! No!
It’s been a little over five years since their engagement.
Today is a very, very important day.
“I hope this makes Lord Vargan feel better!”
Her voice was bright and cheerful, but Erica had been worrying a lot lately.
“Suddenly, why… is this happening…?”
“By the way… where did Laila go? She said she’d check it out before I showed it to Lord Vargan after wrapping everything up.”
“I said I’d let you see it before showing it to Lord Vargan.”
“Not here either.”
“Not here either.”
“…Hmm. Where on earth could it be?”
“Is it here…?”
“Laila… is it…?”
“Lord Vargan…?”
—I don’t want to forget…!
“This is terrible. Starting next year, I have to attend Academia with him.”
Erica spoke disdainfully, unable to even look at Vargan.
It had been a while since the two had met.
The families had left the spacious dining hall, leaving just the two of them.
“If we end up in the same class, I’ll just transfer to Rikeion.”
“I don’t even want to associate with someone like you.”
“Just sitting here together makes me want to puke.”
“Schugenharz. You rotten bastard.”
—I don’t want to forget anything…!
The banquet hall buzzing with new students.
“Hmmm. That must be him?”
A small figure with brightly shining hair.
Incongruously alluring eyes and a slightly youthful tone.
Portlet Troa Erica.
She was a childhood friend of Vargan.
And they were engaged.
“Don’t pretend, Schugenharz. You know why I’m here. I came despite not wanting to.”
“Seriously… why do I have to be involved with someone like you?”
—I don’t want to disappear…!!
Erica opened the window and let a bird inside.
The bird flitted around the room before becoming a letter and two theater tickets.
“…What’s this?”
Erica began to read the letter.
A precious letter sent by her mother.
However.
As she read more and more, Erica’s expression turned to shock.
She let out a long sigh.
“…How am I supposed to tell Schugenharz about this?”
—Stop it…!
The theater where the play of Romeo and Juliet was unfolding.
As the lights changed, their faces became visible, and Vargan’s and Erica’s gazes crossed.
With both of their eyes fully visible.
Erica realized his eyes weren’t frozen solid.
She had thought they would remain like icebergs for a lifetime, but now they seemed to be melting just a bit.
To hide her embarrassment, Erica purposely threw out a provocative line.
“Anyone would think you’re confessing. Sudden feelings for me or something?”
Vargan averted his eyes from Erica, assuring her that wouldn’t happen, so she shouldn’t worry.
In the slightly unfamiliar atmosphere.
The two focused on the play to avoid the current mood.
—Please, just stop…!!
Erica slowly opened her eyes.
She saw a figure of a man bathed in the light of the soft night sky.
Erica’s eyes widened as the energy of nightmares faded away.
“What happened to Altife…?! And you…?”
Having heard the rough situation from Vargan, Erica said something she didn’t really mean, or maybe just a little.
“…You should have just left me.”
“So when you realized it was a trap, you should have abandoned me, right?”
Vargan deliberately spat out a nasty remark, and Erica glared at him, her eyes moistening.
Erica’s eyes were red as she retorted,
“You… you…!”
Taking a breath, she captured Vargan’s image in her gaze.
“I still blame you. I will continue to do so.”
“I don’t feel any positive emotions towards you. I don’t even want to say thank you.”
“But!”
“However… as the second daughter of Portlet Family… as the representative of the family… I will express my gratitude to you.”
Erica lowered her head, one leg pulled back, holding the hem of her dress with both hands.
A graceful motion. A faint light illuminated her.
That picturesque scene seemed to draw in anyone who looked at it.
“Thank you for saving me… for not leaving me alone…”
—Stop it…!!
In the midst of oblivion.
Erica’s cry echoed loudly.
“……”
Barghan, who was pouring out crimson blood and wielding his powers, heard it.
“Stop… stop… I don’t want to forget. I don’t want to forget any memories of you, Vargan….”
Erica’s lips quivered as she spoke.
In a situation where even her eyelids could barely move, her feelings pushed her lips to move.
Erica sobbed and pleaded.
“Can’t you stop it?”
“……”
“I really… really don’t want to forget you.”
Barghan’s death is inevitable.
He had fully accepted his own fate.
Erica, who had been directly casting healing magic, understood. It wasn’t his bleeding body that was dying.
It was something more fundamental.
Perhaps akin to a soul.
“I won’t follow you immediately… I’ll try to live somehow….”
“……”
“So please… can you at least let me miss you?”
She wanted to save Vargan. She wanted to be together.
But if that was impossible, she at least wanted to preserve her memories of him.
She wanted to repeat it so she would never forget.
Erica’s desperate voice.
Her plea was shaking the resolve that Barghan had firmly held, but he struggled to regain his composure.
If he died, it was highly likely that Erica would kill herself too.
There was no way ‘I’ would be able to endure without being by Erica’s side.
That must not happen.
Absolutely must not.
What had he worked so hard on magic for, and altered so much of their story?
Why was he sorrowing like this, burning a life that was destined to die?
Why had he come this far while cooperating with ‘me’?
Barghan pondered this repeatedly, gently rejecting Erica’s plea while pushing forth the harsh reality she didn’t know.
“Erica. This world is nothing but a piece of writing.”
“……”
“It is a creation formed by a god imitating his own world. The air we breathe, the trees stretching out long, the countless lives living within it. All mere replicas.”
Barghan spoke as if bitterly.
It had been a long time since he resigned himself to a reality that couldn’t be denied, even if he wanted to.
“…The emotions we are feeling now, our feelings for each other. In the end, they are just a few lines of setting. They hold no significant meaning.”
“Meaningless.”
Vargan’s hand gently caressed Erica’s cheek.
He moved his hand with utmost care, as if he were touching the most precious treasure.
The tremor in his hand was alarming, as delicate as a petal about to fall in the wind.
As the trembling was transmitted to Erica, her breath quickened, muttering that it wasn’t right.
Vargan struggled to regain his fading sight.
The image of Erica imprinted on his retina seemed like it would smear and disappear at any moment.
Not yet… not yet.
Just hold on a little longer.
He hypnotized himself like that and let out a voice that was only getting weaker.
A faint smile still lingered on his lips.
“But… isn’t it strange? Knowing full well it’s just a setting and has no real significance, why does my heart ache and race when I see you like this?”
The two of them faced each other, kneeling on the ground, lacking the strength to stand.
Vargan slowly leaned in closer to Erica’s face.
He kissed her forehead.
After maintaining that position for a moment, he pulled away slightly to look into Erica’s eyes, which were filled with tears.
Erica’s tearful gaze was also fixed on Vargan.
His eyes, already blurred, seemed not to reflect himself anymore despite being so close.
Tick-tock—.
Time passed in the massive Clock Tower.
The colors of this place, draped in the light of the night sky, began to change.
The sun was slowly rising from beyond the sky.
It gently illuminated the world with the vitality of dawn.
That light touched Vargan’s face as well.
A cool shade fell on one side based on the bridge of his nose rising high.
Vargan moved his lips.
He had so much to say, but his body wouldn’t cooperate.
I’m sorry for not treating you well.
I’m sorry for not giving you better results.
I’m sorry for making you suffer until now.
I’m sorry for hiding everything from you.
I’m sorry for acting on my own until the end.
I’m sorry… I’m so sorry.
He condensed all those numerous lines into a single declaration.
“I love you.”
With no room for anything else, I love you.
Even if my feelings for you are written as a paragraph or a sentence in a mere setting.
I love you.
As he said that, Vargan smiled brightly.
That smile looked brighter and happier than any expression Erica had ever seen on him.
“I said I wouldn’t love you, but I couldn’t keep that promise either.”
Vargan’s last line.
That statement simultaneously pulled out Gamigin’s power, which had dug deeply into Erica.
Vargan’s mana, which had been in turmoil, calmed down as if a storm had passed, and the upper half of his body, barely able to hold on, collapsed forward.
Immediately, Erica lost consciousness and lay beside him.
“……”
In the midst of a tumultuous battleground.
In the falling Academia.
There were Vargan and Erica, unusually silent.
The two finally regained complete peace.
