The Contract Marriage for Attilenta's Revenge - Chapter 72

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Atilenta’s Contract Marriage for Revenge — Episode 72
“……A friend, you say?”
“Yeah, you’re Brish’s daughter, aren’t you?”
Brish. Just—Brish.
I found myself repeating the name absently.
Then I stared directly at this person called Andy. Her eyes, too, were dark like Mother’s—but they held a warmth bright as sunlight itself.
In Francia, no one had ever spoken Mother’s name in such a familiar tone.
“There are too many ears listening here. Atilenta, let’s head into our village.”
Andy, standing just two paces away, reached out her hand toward me without hesitation.
I looked between her and Henrik in turn.
“Just you two come. The others should stay behind.”
The moment I muttered this, I thought it impossible—
“Your Highness. Of course we’ll follow you.”
Just as I’d expected, the knights were resolute. Though they might have felt curious, they kept their eyes fixed only on Henrik’s command, ignoring Andy and the other demi-humans entirely.
None of those who emerged from the forest carried blades.
I’d heard it was a closed-off woodland, so how exactly did they defend themselves? Magic channeled through Spirit Power, perhaps?
Like Mother.
Suddenly my heart began hammering hard against my ribs.
Henrik made a light gesture to the knights and then spoke to me.
“Do as you wish.”
Andy looked at us both and smiled brightly.
“Good. Atilenta. You decide.”
What on earth was happening?
Everything seemed to be unfolding smoothly, as though our entry into that forest was something someone had already planned.
It could be a trap—I needed to think rationally and prepare for it.
And yet I didn’t want to hold back.
“……Your Highness, I’d like to see this village.”
Because until now, no one had ever pretended to know my mother.
More than that—Andy resembled Mother not just in appearance but in that mysterious power of hers.
And that inexplicable sense of ease she carried stirred something fierce in my chest.
I lowered my voice and whispered to Henrik.
“You did ask for the Temple’s Magic, didn’t you?”
“Don’t worry about that.”
Henrik answered curtly, then dismissed the knights. They followed without complaint.
In the end, only Henrik and I stepped into the forest, led by Andy and the other demi-humans.
The entrance was made of sturdy wood and creeping vines. No special essence emanated from it, yet I could feel the weight of ancient time.
“See that? I lived there together with Brish.”
Andy suddenly pointed, stretching her arm out, but when I looked, all I could see was dense trees.
“So my other friends know Brish too.”
“……Other friends?”
Confused, I tilted my head.
But it wasn’t a lie, apparently—two figures, one pale as snow and one dark as pitch, who had been standing near Andy, stepped closer to me. They held something in their hands.
The moment Henrik, pressed close beside me, placed his hand on his sword hilt—
“Anya and Tanya. They’re sisters.”
Sisters?
The only thing they seemed to share was those perky little ears.
“Take this.”
What they handed over was nothing but an ordinary leaf.
“……What?”
Even Henrik seemed befuddled, muttering softly.
“……Do people usually give leaves as gifts?”
No matter how carefully I examined it, the leaf showed nothing unusual.
“That’s what I’m wondering……”
They withdrew without saying more, their expressions ambiguous—whether shy or harboring some other thought, I couldn’t tell.
After that, several more demi-humans approached.
Naturally, I didn’t know any of them, but their strange ear shapes and unusual hair colors left a lasting impression.
“So you’re Brish’s daughter.”
“We’ve been waiting for you.”
Some offered greetings with bright smiles, as though welcoming me.
I tucked the leaves and petals they’d given me into my pockets and asked Andy a question.
“How do you know just by looking at me?”
“Your aura—it’s full of Brish’s traces.”
I stopped short without thinking.
“Even though so much time has passed?”
“Yes, we can sense it.”
Since meeting Andy, the questions that had bloomed in me grew stronger still.
Mother had told me much, but I was far from knowledgeable about this place and its Demi-humans.
It was like a terrible thirst. I wanted nothing more than to quench this curiosity.
“Here we are. You can rest here.”
After walking for some time, Andy stopped and pointed between the tree trunks and vines. Something like a blanket seemed to lie nestled there, but my eyes weren’t drawn to it now.
“Atilenta, come with me. I have something to show you.”
I glanced at Henrik at once. Leave him here and go with her?
But Henrik’s expression was the same as ever. Even in this forest full of unfamiliar Demi-humans, he maintained that particular ease of his.
“Go ahead.”
He spoke gently while touching my hand and the Ring of Bwendia.
“I’ll explore this place a bit while you’re gone.”
Only then did I look around properly. The entire walk here had been nothing but dense trees, but this place was different.
I could truly feel the traces of many people living here.
Long cloths hung on lines, smoke curled from small fires, and in a corner sat baskets piled with leaves and fruit.
I followed as Andy and the sisters Anya and Tanya led the way.
Water could be heard trickling somewhere, and the landscape opened into a clearing so bright it seemed almost unreal—the sky visible in its entirety.
Just as Mother had described it long ago.
“Please, finish what you were saying earlier. How did you know just by looking at me?”
“Because I know your Magic.”
I recalled the Mirror I still carried in my arms.
“But that’s only a tool meant to show me guidance toward the future I desire…”
There was only one reason I spoke a truth I’d never told anyone.
These people seemed to already know.
“It’s not just that, Atilenta.”
Andy shook her head firmly and touched my shoulder gently, almost tenderly.
“If that were all it was, reading hidden secrets or hearts would be difficult for you. But if it’s the future you truly desire, it shows you that—even if others tried to deceive you.”
In that moment, I realized how profoundly I had misunderstood.
“You wield such Magic without even trusting Teresia. It’s all Brish’s Legacy.”
Without thinking, I drew the Mirror from my arms and gazed down at it.
“This Mirror…”
Even the sisters, who hadn’t spoken until now, opened their mouths.
“You already know.”
“It’s what Brish left for you.”
At these words from the people of this strange forest who felt the traces of Mother contained in this battered old Mirror—my most powerful remaining Legacy—something stirred.
A memory of Mother’s words came back to me.
‘I love you, Atilenta.
My daughter. More than anything in this world, more than anyone in this world. No one will ever love you as much as I do.’
Ah, I understand now.
The sharp green scent of the trees tickling my nose, the crisp breeze brushing my cheeks, the sunlight so brilliant it hurt my eyes.
And the soft voice barely whispering in my ears—so gentle it was impossible to tell if it was real or a dream.
I understood. Simply, naturally.
After they abandoned me, I had resented Mother. Thinking myself alone in the world. Thinking she had simply left me behind. How foolish.
“It wasn’t that way at all…”
Mother had this home, these people.
No matter how far the distance, no matter if I could never see them again, there was still something real—something that truly existed.
These people who remembered Mother clearly even after all these long years.
Though their forms were not like mine, they called her name in warm and familiar tones.
Like the family of Mother’s I had never once known in my entire life.
I was never alone.
How dare I have resented her for leaving, when she was leaving me behind like this…
“Mother… you’ve been protecting me all this time…”
Something hot welled up suddenly, and my throat tightened.
“Atilenta.”
Andy, who called my name, squeezed my hand as if in agreement. In that grasp was a warmth that felt unmistakably tender—and strange though it was, deeply comforting.
“I hadn’t told you much, yet you saw through it right away, and gave me all these things—I was curious about it.”
“We know you, and you know us. That hasn’t changed.”
Anya and Tanya had drawn close, embracing me as they spoke in hushed, measured tones.
“We’ve seen it in our dreams.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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