Never Saved You - Chapter 104
Chapter 104
It was a memory from the tower. As the lord of the magic tower, he wore familiar robes, and he heard the news from a familiar subordinate.
It was the memory of the day when Alei’s world crashed before him.
* * *
Alejandro Diarmuid, lord of the magic tower, doubted his own ears.
Because what Meruzia said, as he had just gotten back from a visit to the sirens, was entirely absurd.
The Grand Duchess of Ronen lay comatose?
“Meruzia, are you sure you’re not mistaken? If it’s the Grand Duchess of Ronen—”
“Ophelia Milescet Ronen. That’s right. The reason why she fell ill is still unknown, so you’ve been contacted for help. They need someone to come.”
“…It’s a message from Ronen?”
“Sirens may be stupid, but they’re not so dull that they’d mix up names. It’s likely that they got it right.”
Meruzia held out a letter as he said this. The letter bore Ronen’s coat of arms on its seal, and there, it was written that the Grand Duchess of Ronen lay unconscious for days now, then the request to recruit talented people to help.
Listening from the side, Yennit acted as though she knew her.
“If it’s Grand Duchess Ronen, isn’t that the redheaded Imperial Princess?”
“Ah, now that you mention it, Yennit, you met her, didn’t you?”
“We didn’t just meet. She was quite close to Lord Alejandro, you know.”
After Alejandro had returned, Yennit was reinstated as his aide. Besides that, she was also the one who knew best just how Alejandro was living in Ronen.
“That Grand Duchess didn’t look like she’d collapse just like that, so was it because she got into an accident?”
“Who knows. I’m not sure about what happened, but they’re asking for a mage, right? Since you’re someone who’s already been to Ronen before, it’d be alright to send you, Yennit.”
Then Meruzia added that a few high mages should also be sent together.
But as Alei listened in silence, he shook his head.
“…No, I’ll go.”
“You’re personally going, Lord Alejandro?”
“She’s someone I know. And I need to see for myself if the news is true.”
Alejandro further said that he’d be back soon. It wouldn’t take long to come and go because there’s already an inscribed magic circle at Ronen. Then, he rose from his seat.
The moment he heard the news about Ophelia, he couldn’t sit still.
At that time, Alejandro was in denial of what Meruzia had said. The news about Ophelia collapsing like that was just a lie. There must have been some mistake.
Even so, Alejandro was beside himself in anxiety on his way to Ronen. Until the very last moment they had gone their separate ways before this, Ophelia continued to look at him as though she wanted to hold him back from leaving.
—If you need help, you can call me anytime, Ophelia.
—Can I call the Lord of the magic tower for something like that? But I do appreciate the sentiment. I’m sure nothing will happen.
Yet even as she said this, she couldn’t easily let go of the siren feathers that he was supposed to hand over to her. The way she said that there would be no need to call him echoed in his ears many times. As if she wanted to say something, but couldn’t bring it up.
He wondered if this was a call for help. Alei wasn’t so sure. And this was all the more so because Ophelia was the one who drew the line between her and Alejandro first.
Ever since he regained his memories, Ophelia had been treating Alejandro like that. Whenever she was by his side, she would look as though direct sunlight was being cast down upon her, as if she couldn’t endure the blazing weather.
And the reason for this was clear to Alejandro, too.
‘Because you saw Ariel’s letter.’
And that’s why Alejandro couldn’t dare hold onto Ophelia.
Ophelia found Ariel’s letter while he was away for a while—the letter that he’d been keeping all along.
It was that last trace of Alejandro’s deal he had struck with the mermaid in order to regain his memories.
He could still remember that day vividly. He had stopped by Yennit’s room for a moment and came back, but his room’s door was ajar even though he left it closed.
And when he opened the door, he saw Ophelia holding that faded letter, crying.
—…Ophelia.
When she was called, her eyes as she looked back at him were so dazzlingly blue. And those dazzling eyes were wet with tears, glittering as though they were jewels. However, the gaze she reserved for him, which used to light up with such gentleness, had grown dim.
The moment their eyes met, Alejandro felt something plummet within him. His heart sank to the ground. But what exactly was it that frightened him so?
The fact that Ophelia knew what was going on behind the scenes of the tragedy she had experienced, yet didn’t say anything? That he played a role in her tragedy?
Perhaps it was both. At that moment, Alejandro couldn’t take off the shadow of his deception latched upon him. And Ophelia wouldn’t allow someone who deceived her remain by her side.
As these thoughts reached him, he unconsciously took one step forward. Ophelia just watched him approach her without moving from her spot. There was only that little bit of lingering resentment left.
With the feeling of futility mixed together, Ophelia’s gaze was enough to tell him. He was now nothing more than a stranger to her.
With the thought of wanting to make up for it somehow, his mind started to think of any way at all to gather back the water that had already been spilled.
So, he thought about a way to turn back time.
But then he couldn’t do it for fear of Ophelia being more disappointed in him.
It would have been easier if it was absolutely cruel, but.
—It seems like I made a mistake in visiting today. I’ll see you another time.
As Alejandro hesitated, Ophelia left him there.
If it wasn’t for the Ronen Castle being as frigid of a place as it was, then Alejandro wouldn’t have been able to see Ophelia again after that.
The fact that the fortress was a cruel place for Ophelia was something that he found fortunate—it’s something he could cling onto.
The fact that, from that day onwards, Alejandro regained his memories.
But with an estranged relationship, and with feelings that were irrevocable.
‘I thought I’d be able to get over my feelings once I’ve returned to the magic tower.’
But this was the result. And then there was the unfortunate news about Ophelia. Anxiety crawled up Alei’s spine. Disorganized, unsettling emotions riotously rattled around within him.
While other people’s love could be called a thing of romance, even as much as Alei loved, his love could not be called as such. How would it be possible to love someone who already had a lover?
If Ophelia had reached out and asked for help first, or if she asked him to take her to the magic tower, then Alei would have immediately hidden her in that tower that was in the middle of the ocean, without any hesitations.
After kidnapping the Imperial Princess of Milescet, the Grand Duchess of Ronen, it’s obvious that he wouldn’t be able to keep her on the Maynard continent. But the tower was outside it anyway.
He knew that this was foolish, but for Ophelia’s sake, Alei would be able to close his eyes and cover his ears. If need be, he could go to war. He wouldn’t be able to say no.
As long as Ophelia would hold his hand.
‘That’s never going to happen.’
Alejandro agonized over his thoughts throughout his short journey towards Ronen. Even if she wouldn’t hold his hand, that’s alright. As long as she could stay happy.
Rather than being stuck in the magic tower, it would be better for her to continue living under her rightful title of the Imperial Princess of Milescet and the Grand Duchess of Ronen.
‘So please be safe.’
I don’t have to be a person who’s inside that line around you anymore. Even if you don’t hold my hand, even if you say that you don’t want to see me again, it’s alright. Just please, I beg of you, be safe.
And yet, reality was much crueler than he could ever expect.
When Alejandro arrived at the Ronen Castle, he faced Ophelia, who lay immobile, unmoving on that bed.
The sound of everything inside him being shattered was deafening. When he came to his senses, he was already kneeling at her bedside.
“…Ophelia.”
As he called her name, belated regrets rushed in.
About his own mistake of leaving her behind.
About how he closed his eyes to Ophelia’s tragedy because he was able to cling to it for his own benefit.
His self-indulgent past became a knife that stabbed him right back, twisting right into him. It was aimed at Alejandro’s throat.
And thus, his world crashed before him.
