1421-chapter-151
Meanwhile, at the same time.
Aiden paced restlessly in his room. The sound of him biting his nails echoed in the space. Another day passed without any letters arriving. He had sent over ten letters by now, but still no word from his master.
“Why… What could possibly be the reason for…”
There was no reply, saying that there was no solution. Nor a reply mentioning an impossible one. He knew it had been received, but why was there no reply?
Aiden watched the Miss fading away each day, and his heart was burning.
Pulling out a fresh sheet of paper, Aiden’s hand moved quickly, filled with raw emotion.
‘Please, send any news you can. Is there truly no way to save her? Is she really going to die? Miss…’
Smeared with his emotions, the letter was messy. The content was random, too.
Midway through, Aiden sighed heavily. A thick tear dropped onto the paper, blurring the ink. His jaw trembled as he clenched his teeth.
But he moved his hands. He continued writing, albeit more slowly and filled out the paper.
‘To Master Allogen.’
After writing the last recipient’s name, Aiden stared at the letter.
His eyes conveyed a mixture of fury and fear. He brought his thumb to his mouth.
Crunch, blood oozed as he bit it with his teeth. Next to the word ‘Master,’ Aiden pressed his bloodied thumb down, creating a seal resembling a stamp in blood.
With a cold final look at the paper, Aiden folded the letter neatly and sealed it in an enchanted envelope.
It was the last one he had.
Like always, the letter soared through the air, slipped out the window, and headed straight for…. the Magic Tower.
* * *
Allogen sighed upon seeing the letter coming through the window slit.
‘How many is this now?’
Tsk, with a click of his tongue, he opened the top drawer of his desk.
One, two, three… eleven. And with the letter that just landed on his desk, twelve in total.
The letters began arriving a week ago, meaning Aiden was sending an average of 1.7 letters a day.
“I really shouldn’t have given out so many envelopes if I had known they would be used like this.”
The direct letter was a gift from Allogen himself. He regretted his past generosity as he fiddled with the newly arrived letter. Knock, knock.
Then, a knock on the door
It couldn’t have been a person. Wizards of the Magic Tower rarely moved themselves physically for such tasks.
Tapping his desk casually, the door swung open automatically.
What flew in was….a letter.
“Uh.”
Allogen groaned and held his forehead.
He soon opened the second drawer, passing the open first drawer.
Inside the second drawer lay five letters, all bearing the same seal as the one just received.
They were all from the Duchy.
Both Aiden and the Duchy. They had been sending letters so persistently that it was overwhelming.
‘Why did the Lady have to make such a request…? But then again, who am I to refuse someone’s dying wish?’
Stuck between the inability to tell the truth and refusing to lie…. Allogen had resorted to silence.
However, there was a certain amount of it, too. With the desperation of the senders, how could he not fulfill their wishes instead of Selena’s?
With this thought, Allogen opened the letter from Aiden first.
He carefully unfolded the letter that was hastily written in scribbles
‘Such handwriting… to one’s master.’
Allogen’s thoughts trailed. The content was unusual.
Until now, Aiden’s letters had been pleas.
‘Please teach me. Please save her. Please tell me the truth.’
But this letter that arrived today…
“Is this a will or what?”
The letter was like a blood-soaked will.
Allogen chuckled at its almost threatening content.
A threat with his own life on the line.
‘Please send any news. Is there really no way to save the Miss? Is she truly destined to die? Miss….she wants to live.
Master, I’ve lived a hard life. The only person I could call family was a father who beat me when drunk. He ended his life while drunk. I was sent to an orphanage.
A suffocating, dilapidated orphanage.
Alone at home, alone at the orphanage… I’ve always been alone.
After that, the streets became my home. I thought I was receiving human kindness, but I was mistaken. My life was totally ignored by everyone.
It was the Miss who rescued me from that hellish existence. She gave me life… and then she almost destroyed it with her hands.
There were times I wanted to end everything and leave due to the Miss’ harsh words and violence. Regardless of her being my savior or anything. I just wanted to get it over with.
But ironically, I fell in love with her.
The Miss once asked me.
Why did I like her? Didn’t she mistreat me? How can I like her?
I couldn’t say anything. Because I didn’t understand it myself.
I just liked her one day.
The day she stood in my way, the day she sided with me. The day she pushed the cake toward me asking if I liked it. The day she consoled me, saying it wasn’t my fault.
Among those countless days, I wonder which was truly ‘the day.’
Our year together was short yet long. It was just another year for someone else, but for Miss, who lost her memory, this year could have been her entire life.
In a way, I fell in love with her entire life.
So, I thought I would be her first and last love of her life.
Just as she is my first and last. My evil, my good, my love-hate… now just love.
I pity and love that person so much that I wish to walk with her to the end.
Even if that end means…. turning to ash together. I plan to be with her until the end.
With the precious person of my short yet long life, the first and last. Therefore, this might well be my last letter.
It’s been three days since the fifth petal appeared on the Miss’ chest.
One day, two days… or perhaps today. Soon the sixth petal will bloom. And after that… comes the seventh.
I cannot bear to watch her become ashes. If that person must turn to ashes, then I, too, should become ashes alongside her.
Master, if the truth is too cruel to reveal… even that cruel truth is okay with me.
What is there to fear when facing death?
The only fear I have is closing my eyes with unanswered questions.
So, Master. For your departing disciple, please let me know the answer.
This is my last request to you.
To Master Allogen, who was my first and last teacher.’
Next to his name was a red thumbprint, as if to prove the determination written in the letter.
“Since when did you start loving like this? No, rather, what even is love?”
Picturing the face of his beloved disciple, Allogen pressed his temples and shook his head.
He just couldn’t understand his disciple. Likely, most wizards would agree with Allogen’s sentiments.
Wizards typically hold more interest in the study of magic than in personal love.
No, even average people might not understand Aiden.
Why wager one’s life for something called love? Many would wonder.
Aiden and Selena.
Both were wanderers in the dark. They traversed paths unimaginable to others, walking, and walking some more.
How precious a small lantern could be to such people, ordinary people might never understand.
Allogen glanced down at the bloodstained letter again, leaning deeply back in his chair.
He gazed up at the geometric patterns on the ceiling. His head tilted slightly, recalling a memory from the past.
‘Aiden, no matter how I think about it, you belong in the Magic Tower. With your abilities, you could quickly become a high-ranking wizard, no, perhaps even an Archwizard.’
Back when Aiden stayed in the Magic Tower, he once said this to him in a tone half serious, half joking.
Aiden, with a smile, firmly shook his head.
‘Is there a pot of honey hidden at the Duchy?’
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