Please Answer Me - Chapter 118

Since earlier, he had been unable to say anything, so Rosetta spoke instead. “That day, you were there, weren’t you? Watching beside me. You were the one who got me out of there.”

The person who had grabbed her hand, and then carried her up the stairs when her legs gave out, was a silver-haired boy with a still-growing body.

“Maybe that’s why I’ve always felt particularly weak towards you.”

Because he had rescued her from that horrible place. And because the small flowers he brought her were the only things that could make her smile.

He hadn’t always been kind to her. She remembered how, shortly after they first met, he looked at her as if she were a caged pet. But one day, he brought her a flower. Sometimes, he took her to the garden to see the sunlight. And in the end, he took her away from that place.

“I still don’t know why I had to go through such things. But I do know one thing now. It was because of Masha being with me, wasn’t it? Because of the power he held?”

“…Whatever memories you’ve recalled, just forget them.” After a long silence, Iselle finally spoke. “Forget all that and just live normally. As the youngest princess of the royal family, as my innocent little sister, and as my beloved wife. That’s what I wanted to give you.”

“Because you thought it was an ideal life?”

“It’s also the only peaceful life you can have.”

“So, you’re saying I shouldn’t have power.”

Now she vaguely understood. She finally grasped the meaning behind her parents’ frequent advice. They always told her to live an ordinary life. They discouraged her from gaining knowledge or keeping influential people close. Her parents ultimately wanted to prevent her from acquiring power.

“Is my existence a threat to Tanit?”

Why would her being powerful be a concern if she was merely the youngest princess? Her thoughts inevitably led to one conclusion: her existence threatened Tanit’s claim to the throne. Seeing Iselle’s lack of denial confirmed this suspicion.

To Rosetta, Tanit is a beloved sister and a radiant sun. From a young age, Tanit was determined, intelligent, and possessed a commanding presence. Everyone praised her and believed she was destined to inherit the throne. None of their siblings could compete with her. Even Arman, who had achieved glory in war, was insignificant compared to her. And Rosetta was even more so.

But why did Masha’s existence alone pose a threat to Tanit? She would only know by directly confronting it.

“Masha left me with a message.”

She couldn’t remember exactly when it happened. Perhaps in a moment between life and death, Masha left her a final message before departing.

“He told me to make a wish.”

“A wish?”

“To repay a debt of life.”

For a moment, Iselle’s eyes wavered violently. Such agitation was rare for him. Meanwhile, Rosetta looked at him calmly.

“I’m thinking of doing it now.”

Iselle swallowed hard. “Rosetta…”

Rosetta no longer looked at him. Her gaze turned to the distant flames, and beyond, to a place far away.

Instinctively, she knew. If she called his name with sincerity, he would come. Crossing space and time to be here.

“Masha.”

It was a quiet whisper, neither loud nor soft. At first, nothing seemed to change. Her vision was still filled with the blazing fire and nothing else.

But soon, a golden line pierced through the darkness.

***

A long time ago, there was a king who had three grown sons. One day, the aging king summoned his sons.

“I am old now, and it is time to pass on the throne. To the one who brings me a golden feather, I will give the throne.”

A golden feather was a symbol of magic. The bird with the golden feathers was said to transcend death, command all creatures, and possess infinite magical abilities.

The three sons diligently set out to find the golden feather. Crossing meadows, rivers, and arriving at a forest, they found a small bird singing in a tree. The eldest son, for fun, shot an arrow at the bird. The second son caught the wounded bird and tried to break its wings. However, the third son felt pity for the bird, treated its wounds, and saved its life.

At that moment, the tiny bird grew larger than a mountain in an instant. Its dull feathers shone brilliantly in blinding gold. The three sons realized that this was the sacred being they had been seeking and immediately knelt. The golden bird forgave the humans who had tried to kill it. And it gave the feather to the third son, who had shown it compassion.

The third son returned to the kingdom and was warmly received by the king. As promised, the king declared that he would abdicate in favor of the third son. The third son decided not to use the magical power of the golden feather for himself but to help many others. When he planted the feather in the ground and prayed, the stones there were imbued with magical power. Now, anyone could wield extraordinary magical powers.

However, the eldest and second sons were greatly displeased with the third son. They argued that they were the ones who had first discovered and caught the bird. If it weren’t for them, the third son wouldn’t have had the opportunity to heal the bird. In their eyes, the third son had stolen their credit.

One day, they struck the third son on the head with a stone and killed him. The third son’s red blood seeped deep into the black soil. The eldest son usurped everything from the third son and ascended to the throne. He renamed the kingdom to Lysa and monopolized the magical stones.

From that day, hideous creatures suddenly appeared on the land. They looked like animals but were not. They were much larger and stronger than animals and preferred to eat human flesh rather than that of other animals.

Some said it was a curse from the golden bird, enraged by the third son’s death. Indeed, it was a curse. Many humans died because of these sudden monsters. However, Lysa remained untouched by the curse. The king possessed the magical stones and the knowledge of how to use them.

The monsters avoided the magical stones and scattered to other lands. The ancient civilizations in those lands were thoroughly destroyed by the sudden influx of monsters. Nothing remained where the monsters swept through. Only Lysa and a few nations under Lysa’s protection survived. Lysa willingly swallowed up the lands ravaged by monsters.

While the eldest son was thriving after founding Lysa and ascending to the throne, a strange rumor reached the Lysa royal palace. It was a bizarre story about someone having seen the golden bird and a child it protected. The rumor quickly spread like wildfire. If their king was the true chosen one of the golden bird, then who was the child in the rumor? People everywhere whispered in confusion.

The king hurriedly captured the child from the rumor. And upon seeing the child, he realized it. The child was the descendant of the third son he had killed. The woman who had been pregnant with the third son’s child had fled after his death and secretly given birth to the child.

The king imprisoned the child in the underground of the temple. He deliberated on how to deal with the child. Releasing the child was out of the question. Doing so would make people doubt the legitimacy of their king. But he also couldn’t kill the child. He vividly remembered that monsters had appeared after he killed the third son. If he killed this child, an even greater disaster might occur, one that even the magical stones couldn’t prevent.

While observing the child in the underground, he discovered something new. The golden bird could not leave the child’s side and kept hovering around. This sacred and noble being was easily within his grasp because of this child.

With the golden bird in his hands, he no longer needed to worry about the magical stones. He now possessed infinite magical power.

***

The fire spread rapidly.

While gathering the sleeping villagers to evacuate, several explosions echoed. Each time, the flames grew fiercer, consuming the village.

“Riga, the fire has already spread here too!”

The flames spread faster than expected, repeatedly blocking their escape routes. Riding horses would have allowed them to escape quickly, but the villagers slowed them down, making it unavoidable. As a result, the paths they could take were disappearing one by one. At this rate, they might end up circling the area until they were consumed by the flames.

They had already inhaled a considerable amount of smoke. Rashid, with no other choice, led the group to the last option he had considered.

“Head towards the river.”

It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought of it from the beginning. In a situation like this, seeking water was instinctual. However, the path to the river was through a swamp. In the middle of the night, with elderly people and children, it wouldn’t be easy. Even well-trained soldiers struggle when traversing a swamp.

Still, it was the only place where the fire’s spread was slowest, so they had no choice but to head there now.