The Return of Lilietta - Chapter 164

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 164

Sera recalled the first time she met Rita Pascal.

Three children in filthy condition, wandering the ruins without any support, unable to eat properly, covered in festering wounds.

When she realized that among the three children, only the mage was relatively unharmed without major injuries. When she noticed it was the result of the other two doing their utmost as combatants to protect the mage in the rear.

When that mage child, who alone was unharmed, hid her apologetic feelings behind a prickly attitude and pushed the other two toward her, saying she was fine so please treat these idiots instead.

When she treated the festering scar that the skinny, reddish-brown haired girl was hiding in her hand, and realized that scar was a human bite mark.

And when she noticed that child kept glancing guiltily at the boy’s eyes, which bore large burn scars.

She could see clearly how much these children cherished each other, how they had done their utmost to protect and care for one another.

During their time deserting and wandering the ruins, everything must have been lacking, yet rather than fighting, they seemed to only care more for each other.

Sera Pascal thought she envied that kind of relationship those children had.

Oli Pascal, who had little interest in others, and Gid Pascal, who was kind but had clear boundaries, were difficult to get close to, whether openly or subtly.

But Rita Pascal was different.

That child unhesitatingly brought Sera and other children into their seemingly solid enclosure.

“Sera unnie, this. I found it while searching.”

“Didn’t you like candy, unnie? You kept calling me cherry candy. So I secretly saved this.”

It was amusing for Pascal’s children to think this way when they were obviously orphans, but to Sera, that child somehow seemed like she had grown up receiving lots of love from a good family.

Because she casually shared her overflowing affection with those around her.

When Rita brought other children by the hand, Oli gradually began treating them comfortably, and Gid welcomed them outwardly while cautiously measuring them inwardly, gradually accepting them.

After bringing all the Fair squad children into her fold like that, Rita Pascal drew a blueprint of a lighthouse before them. And Gid Pascal turned that drawing into concrete blueprints.

Those children dreamed dreams that even Sera Pascal and Is Pascal, who were older and among the eldest of Pascal’s children, couldn’t even imagine, and made them reality.

Sera thought being able to join that dream was the greatest fortune of her life as Pascal’s child.

Beacon was her happiness and family, and Rita was the child who had let her into that family’s embrace.

She remembered the taste of candy from crumpled wrapping paper. It was red but tasted like apple, not cherry. Actually, the flavor didn’t matter.

Seraphina hugged Lillieta tightly and patted her like a younger sister while murmuring.

“Stop making me worry.”

“Okay.”

“Do you even know how much unnie cried after what happened to you? Really, how could you do that. Not even thinking about the people left behind…”

“I’m sorry.”

“I told you to stay healthy at least until we could see each other again, but you went and got scars on your body…”

“I’ll really be careful now.”

“You’ll cause trouble again, yet you chirp so well. Such a naughty canary.”

Instead of protesting or making excuses about that distrust, Lillieta hugged Seraphina back. Pretending not to hear the faint sobbing by her ear.

Sera Pascal rarely called people by their names. She gave everyone nicknames and had several of them, constantly changing what she called them.

Rita had once asked her the reason for this.

After moving beyond the light response of “just because it’s cute, it’s fun, isn’t it?” After becoming close like family.

“Because I want to remember people more properly.”

“I see many patients whose names I don’t know. I got into the habit of giving them nicknames based on their characteristics to remember them.”

“Names are mostly confirmed when giving death sentences… so the feeling isn’t great. Even when a child I knew died… I had to write the name on the death certificate.”

Sera Pascal had also written all the death certificates for Beacon members who died in the Kraken subjugation and sent them to Command Center. Since she was the only medic left in Beacon.

Because she called them all by nicknames, Sera Pascal could be relatively calm when writing documents with the members’ names.

It was her way of protecting her heart from countless deaths.

‘Because unnie is someone with deep affection.’

When the crying sounds beside her subsided, Rita spoke in a light tone.

“Unnie, how’s the saint life? Is it manageable?”

“No, I want to quit everything.”

“Haha…”

“There are so many damn rituals and services, it’s annoying to death.”

Sera grumbled as she released her from her embrace. Then she asked.

“Come to think of it, didn’t our lemon candy have something curious about oracles?”

“Ah, that. That’s also related to oppa…”

Lillieta asked the saint, who knew the god’s identity, about the oracle that Richard had heard—the one that had crushed him with guilt.

How could the Pope interpret information from something that was merely an Ode collective, with no special ego or will, as an oracle? Why did the oracle give her brother the answer that it was his fault?

After brief consideration, the saint provided a clear answer. Lillieta carefully stored that answer. To tell Richard.

Then she asked another question.

“Should I tell oppa the truth about god?”

“He’ll naturally become suspicious once he learns the truth about divine power’s identity and that priests and saints are contractors anyway, so wouldn’t it be better to tell him?”

“Separately from that, he might want to believe. Like I said earlier, he could interpret the unconscious awakening itself as god’s will.”

Rita sighed lightly and continued.

“Didn’t unnie write in the memo you left in the history book? That there’s no problem with getting some comfort from believing the Ode collective is god. That’s right. Should I arbitrarily shatter the faith oppa has kept his whole life? Wouldn’t it be better to just leave it alone and pretend not to know?”

“Hmm…”

The saint, who had been humming thoughtfully, soon offered her opinion. Lillieta listened carefully and took it to heart. She decided what to do.

“Then unnie, rest well and let’s meet at the Garden tomorrow.”

Since Seraphina had rarely come to Lamcard, Beacon had specially decided to hold a gathering at the Garden. From Ethan’s nuance when he delivered the news, there seemed to be important matters to discuss too.

‘Has Hanna already found out something at the ducal house?’

Thinking such thoughts, Lillieta said goodbye and left the guest room where Sera was staying, only to discover Isaiah Kortvan leaning against the corridor wall.

“Is seonbae? What are you doing here?”

“I was waiting for you and Sera’s reunion to end.”

He smiled brightly and carefully said to rest well and see you tomorrow, then immediately opened Sera’s door. It was an unusually hasty and rude attitude for him.

Rita unconsciously stopped and listened to the voices inside.

“Sera.”

“…It’s been a while, spruce tree.”

“Right, you can’t run away saying it’s prayer time here.”

“Run away, when did I ever?”

“Whenever that night’s story comes up, you…”

I shouldn’t listen anymore.

With that intuition, Rita quickly moved and left the corridor.

She had seen in Pascal’s history book that Seraphina, who had quit being a saint and was supporting the defense line, suddenly gave birth to a child alone, and though Isaiah Kortvan claimed to be the child’s father, Seraphina firmly denied it and raised the child by herself.

Yet when Seraphina died, she left her child a dying wish to find Isaiah, so the accepted theory was that the child was indeed theirs.

‘I’m curious about their story… but unnie or seonbae will tell me later when things are settled.’

* * *

The next day, June 24th.

Two days before the opening of Geunkuk-je.

In the lounge at the top floor of the lighthouse tower in Beacon Garden, with all of Beacon gathered for the first time in a long while including Seraphina, Ethan delivered chilling news.

“This is information Hanna found out.”

Ethan had secretly followed Hanna, who had quit her footman job at the Raskail house and entered the ducal house’s townhouse.

Though the ducal house’s security was tight so he couldn’t follow her all day, he stayed near the vineyard manor, periodically communicating with Hanna and occasionally sneaking in to protect her and monitor the situation.

“She secretly eavesdropped on Duke Adickl calling his butler for a midnight conversation using wiretapping techniques applied from communication magic… Damn, she’d have no ability to escape if caught, yet her guts are hanging outside her belly. Anyway.”

Ethan cursed and irritably ran his hand through his hair.

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