NABC Chapter 304: Bread and Dagger (2)
Chapter 304: Bread and Dagger (2)
Chapter 304: Bread and Dagger (2)
To My Beloved, Ian Percus
The moon is bright again tonight.
Did you know, master? The cool night air provides a delightful atmosphere for drinking, and on nights when even the moonlight is beautiful, I can’t help but think of wine.
Yes, and of you.
How could I ever forget you, my love who shines brighter than the moon?
Even the intoxication of sweet wine cannot chase you from my heart.
Looking back, it’s truly an interesting fate.
Even after ascending to the position of head of the family, my life didn’t change much. In fact, since I held the real power even before Father passed away, nothing was likely to change.
My life has always been like that.
The path I was to walk was determined from birth.
It was probably a future filled with victory and glory. Because the lord of the North must not lose to anyone; it was something I heard so often since childhood that my ears hurt.
If ever I were to be defeated, that day had to be the last day of my life.
But isn’t it funny?
I’m still alive, flirting with you and calling you ‘Master.’ On top of that, I’ve turned into a woman blinded by love, still chasing after you.
Had someone told me this a few years ago, I would have laughed until I passed out.
No, even the me before the day you came to our territory would have done the same.
It was truly a battle that changed many things.
That day, the destinies of countless people changed. Of course, mine was among them.
A pitiful girl completely consumed by her obsession with victory and self-righteousness.
It was a life where I couldn’t love or despair as I wished. Then, for the first time in my life, an ordeal struck me. At least, it was an event not included in the ‘plan’ of my life.
Perhaps that’s why I felt my shortcomings all the more.
So many things in the world I knew were lies.
Perhaps because I didn’t try to go beyond the bars of my family, all sorts of misunderstandings and errors tore at my mind like wild beasts.
About the elves.
About my little sister.
About my Father.
And further about my family and the Empire. I knew nothing.
But I lived because I was with you.
I too had to give up and sacrifice many things, but I’m grateful that you stayed by my side. If this had been a few years ago, would I have cursed myself as a ‘stupid woman blinded by love?’
But it doesn’t matter.
Because now I know that, even as a fool, life can still be happy.
I’m truly happy that you, who never gives up, are by my side.
So even in the future, if those women keep bothering you, come to me. I’ll always offer you my embrace.
My body and heart already belong to you, don’t they?
Do whatever you want. I’m already your possession, so there’s no such thing as a right to refuse.
My beauty, praised as the Sun of the North, my breasts that many men drool over, and my hips hiding a secret valley.
They’re all prepared solely for you.
Are you also looking at the same moon as I am?
If so, I hope you think of me.
The moonlight resembles my colour, and our first night together also happened on such a bright moonlit night.
We intertwined our tongues while holding wine in our mouths, didn’t we?
I remember it tasted sweeter than any wine I’ve ever had.
Today, too, I’m waiting only for you.
So come to me anytime, I’ll especially keep it a secret from those women.
Understood, Master?
Your woman is eagerly awaiting punishment in the North.
It was still early in the morning.
Even so, the dormitory was already bustling with people. Now that the vacation was over and the new semester had begun, the daily life of the academy had returned.
One thing I was relieved about was that none of them picked a fight with me or whispered about me.
It meant I hadn’t done anything strange in front of the public.
That was fortunate.
Not that my reputation could get any worse, but I didn’t want to be blamed for things I didn’t do.
I already had more than enough notoriety.
I didn’t want to continue being an object of fear.
Of course, even then, I couldn’t let my guard down.
That was because the ‘me’ from the future always went around doing one crazy thing after another.
It was an unbroken rule without a single exception.
It was obvious he must have done something, even if it wasn’t in front of the public. Otherwise, there was no need to have lost several days.
In the end, I even skipped breakfast and left the dormitory.
I was too anxious to have an appetite. More than that, I was more curious about what the ‘me’ from the future had been doing during that time.
The answer, surprisingly,wasn’t far away.
As I left the dormitory and my steps reached the central avenue, I saw a familiar back.
It was of a girl with neatly tied black hair.
Her steps looked somewhat lethargic, but since I had known her for years, I could tell. The woman walking ahead was none other than my childhood friend.
Just when I felt lost, she appeared like a lifeline.
Filled with relief, I called out loudly.
“...Celine!”
But the reaction she showed was the exact opposite of my expectation.
She flinched and carefully turned around.
And the moment our eyes met, her face turned pale.
There were very few people that the bold and lively Celine feared so much.
Would she cower like that if she were facing the Emperor?
Celine stared at me with violently trembling pupils for a while. Only after some time had passed, my childhood friend seemed to realise something was off.
Hesitantly, she asked,
“I-Ian Oppa...?”
“Yeah, it’s me. Ian Percus.”
I could only reply, utterly confused.
I couldn’t think of any reason why Celine would be so frightened upon seeing me.
In that case, the cause must lie with the ‘me’ from the future.
As if to prove that my guess was correct, Celine burst into tears and threw herself into my arms.
“Y-You’re finally back! Heunnng... I-Ian Oppa. I had such a hard time...”
As Celine’s sobs continued, my doubts deepened.
In the end, just as I was about to ask Celine a question because I couldn’t stand it.
She, after crying for a few minutes and pulling herself together, wiped her eyes with her sleeve and said to me.
“No, no... There’s no time for this, Oppa. Let’s go to Seria, quickly.”
“...Seria? Why?”
Even to my dumb question, Celine didn’t give a proper answer.
She just uttered a single sentence with a gloomy expression.
“Seria, she is currently admitted in the intensive care unit...”
The moment I heard that, I let out a deep sigh.
What on earth had happened?