Chapter 184:
Chapter 184:
Chapter 184 I Saw the Future.
It was a strangely beautiful day.
The warm sunlight streamed through the windows of the tea house.
The aroma of tea filled the space with elegance, and the two women sitting across from each other were noble figures of the royal family.
And in such a situation.
“Shameless woman.”
That was all Aurora heard from Yushia.
More than the words, Aurora was startled by the look in Yushia’s eyes.
There was an unmistakable resentment in Yushia’s gaze, piercing through Aurora.
Aurora was momentarily at a loss for what to say, but Yushia opened her mouth again.
“Is that the only reason you came here?”
Yushia’s voice hit Aurora’s ears again, and she snapped out of her trance.
‘Did you just come to see Flan?’
That was what Yushia meant.
It made sense, but it wasn’t accurate. Aurora wanted to see Flan’s face, of course, but she also came to take responsibility.
The entire magic department of the academy was paralyzed.
It was all Aurora’s fault.
The royal family, who didn’t know the truth, blamed Flan for the disaster at the reception.
‘Of all things….’
If it were the past, she would have taken these things for granted.
The royal family had to protect themselves, and all the mistakes and faults were to be borne by the lowly ones.
That’s what she thought.
But now things had changed.
Keeping her promise to Flan became her goal, and these actions became shackles that choked Aurora’s neck.
She had to somehow undo what had happened.
If Flan, who had revealed himself, found out that Aurora had not kept her promise, if he found out that the whole magic department was paralyzed….
…Flan would never shine his light on her again.
She hated that. She was terrified of that.
It was the first light Aurora had ever experienced in her life.
He was the only one who made her feel at ease even when she couldn’t see the future. She didn’t want to be resented by him, not even in death.
That’s why, for Aurora, Yushia was a good opportunity.
Unlike herself, who had the blood of a blood demon flowing in her body, Yushia had a pure bloodline. Her existence was the essence of legitimacy. Wouldn’t you agree?
‘My origin is a blood demon…’
From now on, it would be difficult for her to give orders directly.
If the fact that she was a blood demon was revealed later, it might cause harm to the magic department and Flan. It would be no different from them being tied to the orders of a blood demon.
So, Aurora happened to be looking for Yushia.
If Yushia, who had pure blood, gave the orders, there would be no problems later.
It wasn’t a bad deal for Yushia either. It could be a great leap for her to gain power.
So Aurora planned to make Yushia give orders for the sake of the magic department.
If necessary, she was also willing to ask for a favor in the process.
For the previous Aurora, bowing to someone else was unimaginable, but now her only interest was Flan.
She didn’t care about anything else.
Aurora took a deep breath.
And carefully opened her mouth.
“Regarding the paralysis of the magic department….”
“I’ve taken care of it.”
The words she uttered with courage were mercilessly cut off. Startled by Yushia’s tone, which sounded like anyone else’s, Aurora blinked a few times.
But as if she didn’t care about Aurora’s confusion at all, Yushia continued firmly.
“I gathered the voices of the people who participated in the reception. Sir Flan is not someone who would cause an accident, and he didn’t either.”
Yushia’s eyes were cold as ice.
“He will never be broken. He is not someone who will bow to anyone, and I won’t let him either.”
Aurora’s face went numb.
She knew Yushia fairly well.
She was a sickly child when she was young, and a coward afterwards. She was a child who was scared every time she faced Aurora.
But how could she be so fierce and determined just because Flan was involved?
She could tell even without foresight.
Yushia looked like she would do anything for Flan. She felt complicated. She felt jealous and frustrated.
But soon she realized her own feelings.
Aurora was envious of her.
Come to think of it, Yushia’s future had been hard to read since she entered the academy. It must have been because she was entangled with Flan since then.
She envied that.
If only I had Flan a little earlier, if only I had realized the warmth of his light a little sooner, the situation would have been very different.
You are blessed beyond measure. Do you know that?
Just as Aurora was about to utter some objection.
“No.”
Yushia’s words sank in.
What truly surprised Aurora was that she saw her old expression on Yushia’s face.
“Even if you try to gouge out my eyes, I won’t do it.”
“What…”
“If it’s your fault that something disgraceful happened, then accept it gracefully. Don’t you hear what the participants are saying? Lord Flan is not a villain, but a hero.”
That’s when she remembered.
When they met in the palace corridor. Aurora had threatened to gouge out Yushia’s eyes if she won the bet.
And now, Yushia shook her head firmly.
“Even if you blackmail me with my eyes as collateral, even if you really gouge them out, even if you try to control the information, or press me with force, I won’t comply.”
“…”
“Because I’m on Lord Flan’s side, no matter what.”
First of all, Yushia misunderstood.
Aurora didn’t want to use Yushia as a means.
She didn’t want to suppress the magic department and Flan with force, either.
She rather wanted to normalize the magic department…
But Yushia didn’t seem to think so.
“I…”
She tried to explain something, but Aurora clamped her lips shut in the middle.
She realized that it was natural that they didn’t think so.
Not only Yushia, but anyone she asked would agree with her.
She was arrogant.
She was a person who never gave up her stubbornness.
Everyone knew that better than herself.
“…”
So it was useless to tell the truth.
Even if she spilled everything, no one would believe her.
Humans only believed what they wanted to believe.
A woman who never repented. A broken person who never gave up her stubbornness.
A fake who acted like a princess when she was a bloodsucker.
…That’s how she would be remembered.
Aurora clenched her fist so hard that her nails dug into her palm. But she didn’t feel any pain.
She wondered whether to tell Yushia the truth or to stay still. She focused on that.
In fact, there were many options.
She could temporarily hide the fact that she was a bloodsucker and threaten Yushia more. Or she could tell her everything and hope that she would believe her a little.
But.
“…Fine.”
Blood dripped from Aurora’s clenched fist.
She felt that this was karma.
Compared to what she had done to control and despise other people’s futures, this was something she had to accept.
She would be grateful if she could keep her promise with Flan.
Being a bloodsucker who was doomed from birth, being a tool that was used by others, or being a trash that used others as tools, it would be greedy to keep her dignity.
So.
“If that’s what you think, I can’t help it.”
With tears in her eyes, Aurora forced a defiant smile. If there was anything she could do best right now, it was this kind of act.
“Yes. Then go ahead.”
Yushia was a bit puzzled by the tears in Aurora’s eyes, but she didn’t bother to ask. She just sent her away with a cold voice.
Aurora left the tea house with her shoulders slumped.
Yes. This was the perfect ending for her. It was a simple conclusion, and a miserable reality.
But then it happened.
The full moon rose in Aurora’s pupils.
“…!”
A ringing sound and a headache came along. She closed her eyes reflexively, but something started to unfold clearly.
“What is this…”
Her foresight ability came back.
It was the first time in a long time that she saw it.
The future.
Aurora looked around quickly.
A place where white and large mansions were lined up.
Jasmine’s crest.
It seemed to be the territory of Fritz, a familiar scenery by now.
Of course, there were Mythril everywhere, hardened and ugly.
They had been neglected for a week, so they couldn’t be fine.
But then.
A warm wind wrapped around her body, and a butterfly landed softly on her nose.
She shook her head left and right to shake off the butterfly, and then she saw a man’s silhouette in front of her eyes.
As soon as she recognized his identity, Aurora’s eyes widened.
The man she had been looking for.
The man who made a promise with Aurora.
It was definitely Flan.
“Hey…!”
She reached out and shouted, and the whole scenery scattered like a mirage. What she saw was the reality again.
“…”
She swallowed her dry saliva.
She slowly dropped her hand that couldn’t hold anything. She felt the sweat dripping down her forehead.
“What was that…”
It was clearly a vision of the future.
There was no doubt about it.
I longed to reunite with Flan.
His words of promise, that he would protect me as long as he lived. I wanted to hear that warm voice again.
I wanted to face his sincerity that I felt even without seeing the future.
So, I had decided on my destination.
Flan, only for him.
Aurora moved her feet again.
?
“How much time has passed?”
That was the first thing Maiev heard from the man.