A deep and dark s.p.a.ce—in this place, I told Aren that it was Sarah"s letter. Aren looked at it and was amazed. He then asked me where I got this, and I told him the truth, while being as detailed as possible, to avoid any misunderstandings. Finally, I reached the end of the story.
“...I see.” Aren"s expression was so pensive that it was hard for me to describe. I could only speculate that there was a story about the letter based on the redness of his eyes. He asked me, “Have you read what is inside?”
“No, I haven"t read it. It is polite for the owner to see it first. You can tell just by seeing that the envelope isn"t open.”
“Oh, I wasn"t doubting you. I"m sorry.”
“No, it"s fine. Huhu.”
There was another silence. He looked at the text on the outside with sunken eyes. I still remembered the words.
“I will forever remember the always s.h.i.+ning angel who was my joy.” Aren read the text on the outside of the letter aloud. He subsequently said, “This was from one of my dead wife"s favorite poems.”
“...Um.”
I knew that Sarah was someone a.s.sociated with Aren, who was standing in front of me, but I hadn"t expected her to be his wife, who was no longer in the world.
“She thought that angels were the most precious existences in the world. She also thought that everyone in the world could be an angel. Sarah had no preconceived notions. She often said that everyone was equal, regardless of how much money they had.”
“...She is a worthy woman.”
“Haha. That"s right, I know. That"s why I confessed first.” Aren laughed. He looked at me again and stated, “By the way, I haven"t asked for your name.”
“I"m called Jackson.”
“...I see. Jackson, you have given me a letter. Why don"t you go somewhere with me?”
His eyes were serious. I didn"t know where he would take me, but I trusted him. Based on the att.i.tude I saw earlier, I was convinced that he wouldn"t take me to a dangerous place.
I nodded slightly. “I"ll go.”
“Thank you.”
At the same time, Aren took out his designated return stone. Then he called someone and started to speak. It seemed to be the third grade magic engineering function, Secret Communication. “Uh, it"s me. Tell the guests that I have something urgent and that I will see them in two hours. The meeting should be postponed to that time. Yes. Yes. Please.”
Then the call ended. I only heard Aren"s voice and didn"t know who had answered the phone or what they said. It was better than I thought.
“I"m sorry to have kept you waiting.”
“It"s fine.”
“Let"s go.”
I followed his instructions. We walked a bit longer and a big crossroad came out. It was like an underground labyrinth. We walked for so long before finally arriving at a small iron door. Aren pressed around the bricks and the iron door rattled. It opened with a loud sound. The door opened and revealed an unexpected place.
“This place...?”
“It is a small cabin. It is a house I lived in with my wife for a while. n.o.body is staying here now. I sometimes stop by.”
The cabin was cuter than I thought but for some reason, it seemed warm. There was a mobile hanging in the air and the bear dolls seemed to be made by hand. It wasn"t inhabited but it was well managed.
“There is no dust.”
“I always clean this place every time I come. It is a place where I have many memories.”
A trace of nostalgia showed on his face. Aren didn"t hesitate and opened the door to the outside. Then another unexpected place was revealed.
-I will forever remember the always s.h.i.+ning angel who was my joy.
The words on the tombstone were familiar. At one glance, I could tell who this tombstone belonged to. Aren asked me, “Do you have the bouquet you made earlier?”
Before going down the stairs, Ellis had handed me the bouquet of flowers.
I hadn"t known why she gave it to me so I put it in my inventory. Now I knew the reason. “Here it is.”
Aren received the bouquet and skillfully handled the withered flowers near the grave. Then he put the bouquet of flowers I made on the grave. Perhaps these withered flowers were the same as the bouquet.
“Sarah, I came. Was I a bit late this time?”
Aren continued talking to himself. He told many stories in front of Sarah"s tomb. I couldn"t help feeling pained when I saw this. There were many things similar to what I told my dead wife.
“Cough...”
There was a tingling sensation at the tip of my nose. By the end of the long conversation, my face was already covered with tears and snot. My runny nose flowed into my mouth and tasted salty. I quickly wiped my face before Aren looked back. I tried to pretend as much as possible that nothing happened.
“Did you cry?”
“No, I didn"t cry.”
“Ah, yes. Haha.” He smiled awkwardly and didn"t believe it at all. s.h.i.+t. I was already caught.
“Cough. By the way, why did you ask me to come here?" I got straight to the point. In fact, there was a greater reason for changing the topic apart from embarra.s.sment.
“Ah, that"s right. I was distracted. Haha.” Then Aren picked up a thin book that had been placed on the tomb. The t.i.tle was "Saint Helena." Aren"s expression as he gazed at the book was quite serious. “This was my wife"s favorite poem. As you can see, the t.i.tle is Saint Helena.”
The book was engraved with a colorful gold leaf pattern on the sky blue cover. It seemed quite old.
“Why are you suddenly saying this?”
“Does the t.i.tle sound familiar?”
“t.i.tle?”
I once again looked at the t.i.tle and thought it over. Saint Helena. Saint Helena... Saint... Wait.
“...Helena?”
Aren nodded like my words were the right answer. Then he opened his mouth to speak in a voice that was more serious than ever, “I have something to tell you about my daughter.”
* * *
A short time later, Aren and I showed up in front of his mansion using the designated return stone. He smiled and thanked me. I also smiled as I said goodbye to him. We shook hands and parted. Then I headed toward the downtown area of Fortern. I was currently filled with a sense of disbelief. It was due to the incredible story that Aren had told me.
“It is a really tough fate.”
The story he told me wasn"t much. It was the secret of Helena"s birth. Helena was said to have been born from a love that transcended Aren and Sarah"s ident.i.ties. Aren was a high-ranking n.o.ble with a gold spoon, while Sarah was from Garbage Village and the leader of a resistance group called "Karstein."
They loved each other and gave birth to Helena, but happiness didn"t last long. Aren"s father learned of her existence and the two of them were forced to hide Helena. Aino, who was now Helena"s father, was said to be a trusted servant who had been with Aren"s family for a long time.
The important thing was that Helena had grown up without knowing it. This was the only way to protect his daughter from the control of the n.o.bles.
“...It is very complicated.”
Even when Helena got married to Aidan, Aren tried to secretly send some resistance forces to bring her back by force. However, Helena dissuaded him and Aren was forced to leave her with Aidan. Of course, even then, Helena didn"t know that Aren was her father. In the end, Aren bribed Aidan"s servants and planted spies. He ordered the spies to kill Aidan immediately if he wanted to harm Helena. However, it didn"t happen.
“Hrmm.”
Aren had asked me for a very difficult request. I opened the quest window.
[Secret of Helena"s Birth]
[Rating: C
You have learned the birth secret of Helena, who now lives in Metheus Village.
She is the daughter of Aren, now called Aidan"s most powerful rival.
Her mother was the leader of Fortren"s secret resistance group, Karstein.
Let her know about her mother and bring her to Sarah"s grave.
Aren thinks it is the right time to tell the truth to Helena.
-Completion Conditions: Helena arrives before Sarah"s grave 0/1
-Rewards: Aren"s generous trust and support.]
“Hmm. How should I tell her?”
In fact, I was a bit weak when it came to persuasion. Once Helena found out about this, I wondered if she could withstand the stormy aftermath. Nevertheless, I accepted because the quest rewards were good.
“I have to think about it a bit more.”
Aren had given me a lot of time. He said he would keep waiting patiently, and asked me to contact him when I was ready. It was good that there was no deadline, but it made things more complicated. There was the question of what was the best time and place to tell her so that her heart wouldn"t be hurt.
“Groan, why did he have to tell me this...”
Just then, a whisper arrived.
-Park Muyeol: Are you busy?
“Why is it him again? Is he craving a cigarette?”
-Jackson: No, I"m not busy. What is it?
-Park Muyeol: I"m with Mido right now.
-Jackson: Yes, you told me earlier.
Earlier, Park Muyeol told me that he would be hunting with Mido. Of course, I decided to go there later. I would take off my mask and take the form of an ordinary grandfather dressed in a white chef"s outfit. Earlier, Mido had whispered for me to come.
-Park Muyeol: I"m going to teach Mido for a bit.
-Jackson: Eh?
I had many thoughts at this moment. Muyeol wasn"t someone who easily said that he would teach a person... “Indeed, the swordsmans.h.i.+p I saw the other day was unusual. Was it to this extent?”
Park Muyeol wasn"t satisfied unless someone was as talented as his grandson, Park Seongchan. This meant Mido had talent comparable to that.
I suddenly felt worried. Muyeol wasn"t the type to go easy on Mido just because she was my granddaughter. I was worried about whether Mido could withstand the harsh training or not.
-Jackson: I"ll go there first and we"ll talk about it.
I turned to the west of Fortren where the party was located. I pulled at the long thread inside the suit and my appearance became that of an ordinary chef.
[1] Mobile = decorated structure that is suspended and turns freely in the air. Like those hung above baby cribs