The Contract Marriage for Attilenta's Revenge - Chapter 73

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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 Revenge: A Marriage Contract — Episode 73
“……So it was you all along.”
Perhaps because I had felt their presence even in dreams, this strange place, and the spring-like essence flowing from them, felt oddly comforting to me.
Or perhaps it was because I had grown up with Mother.
Once again, questions bloomed fresh and tender in my mind.
“What exactly did you warn me about in the dream?”
“You already know well enough without us telling you.”
Andy pressed forward, still holding my hand. The forest path remained quiet, as though no one else existed anywhere nearby.
“Please tell me, Andy.”
Her answer came without hesitation.
“It was your own anxiety and fear. There are those who already know the secret you’ve been protecting, aren’t there?”
Tanya, charred black in a way that seemed strangely at odds with this place where a clear blue sky spread overhead like a painting on a ceiling, continued her explanation in a measured tone.
“You were able to reach us in your dreams once you escaped from those who bound you.”
“And for the first time, we sensed a presence near you other than the goddess Pria. How delighted we were.”
My eyes widened involuntarily.
“Bwendia?”
Andy’s smile was warm and embracing.
“That’s right. Come, greet Teresia.”
Before me now stood an enormous tree, so vast it could not be taken in at a single glance. Around it bloomed flowers and grasses in profusion, with small sculptured figures scattered about, depicting something I could not quite discern.
“That is Teresia, the great Spirit who watches over us.”
Even though I had been in this forest all this time, standing before such vast nature, I felt overwhelmed, and my words trailed off.
“That you would show me…….”
“Child, Bris’s daughter. All things in this world have boundaries. The sea and the forest. The sky and the earth. Spirits are beings that cross those boundaries.”
I understood the meaning at once.
“So that is why you appeared in my dreams. By borrowing the Spirit Power to cross boundaries.”
“Yes, Teresia is the very source of us and this forest. Ask what else you wish to know, and I will tell you.”
Since meeting them, I had any number of questions, yet my response came quickly nonetheless.
“You said you were delighted, and I’m curious about Bwendia’s story. And also, how I am able to understand your words. This is magic, isn’t it?”
Andy wore the gentle expression of someone addressing a child. Strangely, I felt no offense at it.
“There would be much more to ask, but let me explain that part first. That dragon was quite… peculiar, you might say.”
Andy settled herself down on the shadowed earth with a soft thump, then patted the space beside her. I found myself sitting down beside her without thinking.
“The truth is, a dragon has no need to interfere with beings younger than itself. Even if Bwendia is an Earth Dragon, she guards her land. She was not born with the mission to protect each individual human. You would understand that distinction, wouldn’t you?”
“Ah, I see…….”
I murmured as I listened to this dreamlike tale.
“Of course, unlike the Celestial Dragons or the Sea Dragons, she does walk closer to humans who tread the earth.”
Andy tilted her head back, gazing up at the brilliant blue sky and the sun that illuminated the entire forest.
“Long ago, a Sea Dragon who dared to disturb the order of this world received a great punishment. That story must be famous among dragons, so they would surely be wary.”
“Then, if dragons and gods and humans are all different beings, each must have its own order and discipline?”
“I knew you would understand. Just as I said.”
Spirits are beings who cross those boundaries…….
I recalled a passage from a book I had read long ago.
“Dragon Magic, Spirit Magic that you wield, and Divine Magic — is the hierarchy fixed from the beginning, immutable?”
Tanya handed me several more leaves of varied shapes, speaking softly at last.
“You’re asking because you wish to grow your magical ability beyond what it is now, aren’t you? That is possible.”
Anya gently wound something around my wrist.
“What matters more than the tales of the beginning is that you have something Bris left you. Do not doubt that.”
Somehow a bracelet had been made — a gathering of colorful flower petals and stems woven together. I gazed down at it in a daze.
“……Then Mother was a Demi-human?”
“It is difficult to say so simply — Demi-human or not. The truth is, even now many of us watch over you and keep our awareness upon you. Some among us are deeply averse to bringing an outsider human here in this way.”
I could only nod, finding nothing around me but trees, trunks, and vines that seemed as though they had stood in that place for ages untold.
“……I imagine so. This place feels like a space meant for you alone.”
“Yes, but Bris lived with us and learned everything together with us. Even those who dislike outsiders never doubted her talent. So I hope you will do the same.”
Andy touched my cheek with such tenderness. As if, as if…… just as Mother had done long, long ago.
“……Yes. Then Mother is neither a Demi-human like you, nor a human like me?”
“Not entirely human like you, nor like the child you brought with you.”
Calling Henrik a child…….
I studied Andy again. Her features were refined and delicate, without a single wrinkle. Her hair gleamed a brilliant red in the sunlight, her eyes dark and keen.
The story she told of my mother did not feel like a falsehood, yet no matter how I looked at her, she seemed to be of an age similar to my own.
Just how old was she, truly?
“I understand your uncertainty. You may ask whenever you wish. Even when you return to where you live, if you ask the Mirror, it will answer you.”
A Mirror to communicate with this place? My head tilted in confusion, and Tanya added a final explanation.
“Once you develop your abilities a bit further, it’ll be possible.”
I grasped Andy’s hand impulsively.
“If you already know my concerns, could you please tell me exactly what I should do?”
“Child, you’re with the descendant of Bwendia, aren’t you? And you’re wearing the Ring. Magic always begins from pure faith.”
I gazed down at the Black Ring, which gleamed with noble light even in this place.
“Are you saying that if you wish hard enough, it comes true?”
“Talent matters too, but you have enough. Besides, that child is right beside you. Trust her more. You’ll be able to grow much closer to Bwendia.”
In that moment, I recalled something I’d once asked Henrik about.
“And seeing or touching sacred relics in Bwendia’s Temple?”
“That would be difficult if that child doesn’t help you, wouldn’t it?”
I nodded. Yet my curiosity refused to quiet.
“Could I handle my mother’s Magic, and Dragon Magic too, at a higher level than now—the way priests who wield Divine Magic do?”
“With the Ring, Dragon Magic should be possible without even using a Mirror.”
Magic without a Mirror? I’d thought that was a realm I could never reach.
“I thought the Ring simply meant my safety was guaranteed…….”
As my thoughts deepened and my words trailed off, Andy reached out and lightly tapped my Ring, then smiled warmly.
“Bwendia has never broken a promise. Not once.”
Meanwhile, Anya breathed a vivid emerald glow into my bracelet. Feeling that mysterious sensation wind through my body like the wind itself, I recalled Henrik’s words.
“He said that as long as I don’t betray, he will continue to guarantee my safety…….”
It was the moment Andy answered gently, saying that was well done.
“Are you still talking?”
A Demi-human with eyes that flashed sharp as a predator’s approached. His voice rumbled low, like the cry of a beast.
“Oh, right. We have something to do this evening, Atilenta.”
Andy and her sister rose without even brushing the dirt from their clothes. Then they bade me a gentle farewell.
“Let’s talk with the Elder tomorrow.”
After parting with them, I retraced my steps slowly. Though the surroundings held nothing but trees, somehow finding the path wasn’t difficult. Strangely enough.
And the dazzling, verdant silence was making my heart feel more at ease than before.
“You’re back. What did you talk about?”
Soon, upon reaching our lodging—though calling it that was generous, with only cloth spread between the trees—Henrik, standing beneath a tree that cast long shadow, welcomed me.
“I heard much about my mother.”
I told him that my mother had been a remarkably powerful mage in this place, and that I too could wield such strength.
“……or so I was told. I think it will help with my Magic.”
Henrik, lost in thought, opened his eyes narrowly before speaking.
“I felt it before too—that way of yours is similar to mine.”
I remembered precisely when he was referring to.
He must have meant our conversation in the Library. I’d felt that same subtle kinship then.
I understood what he meant now.
Even inheriting the power to wield great Magic, I was a solitary existence. My mother was. So was I.
Henrik was of precious blood, yet circumstances had forced him to walk a path alone.
Unlike now.
Habitually, I touched the Ring with a fleeting hand.
“……No. We’re not similar.”

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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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