Episode 189

And again, it was she who rescued Lucerne from the depths of hell again. The next day, Ian came to Lucerne in a hurry.

“General, an urgent message has arrived. This is news from afar.”

“Leave it.”

Lucerne was smoking a cigarette, looking out the window. The look seemed somehow empty.

“Ah, General. Please calm down If our health deteriorates like this, we are all ruined.”

“Know. Stop nagging and get out.”

Ian took a deep breath.

“Are you really not going to read this letter right away?”

Lucerne turned her head. Her eyes contained no emotion.

“A letter from Sanctuary.”

Lucerne hesitated.

*​ *​ *​

Ian quietly closed the door and left.

Lucerne looked at the letter Ian placed on the tray for a while. Messy letters. It was clearly Elisha's handwriting. He slowly looked at the envelope as if savoring it, then broke the seal.

It was a long letter. Lucerne couldn't even guess what it was about. He's probably asking for a divorce. The last time she saw her, Elisha didn't want him anymore…….

And she was right on just one of the letters. To ask for a divorce. Other than that, it was something he had never even imagined.

The letter contained something from a very long time ago.

“Under.”

When he saw the contents of the letter, he laughed in exasperation.

[To Lucerne.

The last time we broke up, we weren't in a situation to ask each other's regards, so I'll skip asking for details.

I will only tell you that it is a very deep night here.

There was something I wanted to tell you from a long time ago. Believe it or not, I met a guy named Pian when I was a kid.

He was known as an unstable mind confined to a monastery. Some said he had contracted an unknown disease.

But he's a very smart man, and I talked to him a few days before he died, walking around the room where he was locked up.

I'll keep it brief if possible. There is a will from Paian to you. It happened when your men betrayed you. The detailed circumstances at that time are mentioned.]

The contents of the letter began like this.

[I will deliver the will from his diary along with the letter. Perhaps your anger is so great that you do not want to read Pian's will, so I will write down what I read.

The first thing I want to say is that Stevan was more of a demon than I could have imagined.

Did you know that among the ancient relics of evil spirits, there is a weapon that only attacks people inhabited by gods?

The creature is called 'Bloodworm' and it infects those with otherworldly magical powers, sucking their blood and causing instant death.

It is very difficult to raise, and I heard that it is already extinct in this world.

The creature makes no sound and is said to be invisible to the normal human eye.

Jacob's father and your uncle. And you will remember Stevan, who made all of this happen. I know he was also a very competent magician himself during his lifetime. Rosaria told me that many of the Cartier family became magicians.

It is said that there were many things that obsessed with magic or magic tools because of the inferiority complex for not being possessed by demons like you.

Stevan appears to have succeeded in restoring the creature several years ago.

Because, it seems that Stevan planted bloodworms in your men's bodies.]

When reading that part, Lucerne's eyelids trembled once. He had to press his eyes for a moment. But he couldn't stop reading the letter.

[So, that bloodworm is a natural enemy to you.

Not even a normal wizard. The one with the magical power of another world. Like a saint or you……. It is said that those who are protected by demons die instantly when the bloodworm touches their body.

I've heard that bloodworms suck magic from the outside world.

Information learned from the Forbidden Areas of Sanctuary while here. Also, when I was with Sophie, I got a hint from the information Sophie told me about the magic tools of evil spirits.

Not only that, bloodworms are said to be lethal to the general public.

When it settles in the body of a normal person, it causes the skin to melt and slowly die over several days. They usually die within a week.

Your uncle, Stevan, planted a bloodworm on all 14 people who came out of Elphirim with you.]

[It is said that if blood worms are planted in the body of an ordinary person, they have an instinct to move into the body of a person with stronger magical power.

If the bloodworm is passed on to another person, the original host survives.

You will understand easily. Bloodworms react to people with strong magical powers.

My guess is this. Stevan must have told your men.

'Bloodworm responds to someone with mighty, magical power from another world, Lucerne. If I meet you and infect the bloodworm, I will be able to live.'

I think that's how Stevan made your minions into living assassination tools.

Your minions planted with bloodworms……. I could have lived if I met you. Bloodworms prefer those with magical powers from another world. So I could have passed the bloodworm to you.

But they didn't. It seems that they just chose to die with bloodworms.]

Attached to the letter was an old thesis on bloodworms. In fact, it's like a legendary creature, so most of the research data vaguely guessed that it existed.

But it definitely existed.

A living magical creature called a 'Bloodworm'. It was a magical creature bred in ancient times to attack wizards protected by divine powers.

The creature was mainly used to assassinate someone. If you plant and send the bloodworm to the attendants or family members of the assassination target, the opponent will be infected with the bloodworm in the blink of an eye.

Moreover, bloodworms are transmitted without physical contact or exchange of saliva. I could move it just by being close.

So it was no exaggeration to say that it was the strongest weapon in the world. The bloodworm was a weapon that greatly contributed to the downfall of the ancient mage.

Elisha's letter continued.

[I did my own research on Pian in the monastery, but one day he ended up in an abandoned cellar. Surprisingly, he remained alive for quite a while, but he died before reaching the moon.

As always, Miss Rosaria was benevolent without harming us. So I left him alone, but he didn't let anyone approach him saying he had the plague. He didn't even get a decent treatment, so I think that kind of ending was natural.

You may wonder why Fian, who must have died brutally at the hands of your uncle Stephen, found its way into the monastery where I grew up. I don't know the exact reason for that either.

However, my guess is…….

Faian was a very good wizard, so he may have survived and escaped with serious injuries.

Or maybe Stevan let go of Faian to shock you by informing you of his brutal death.

However, I've heard that even people who get bloodworms can survive for quite some time with very rare exceptions. Please read the research material I sent you.

Wizards, whose blood clots do not settle properly, suffer longer than other specimens and die slowly with their skin shedding.

Good luck or bad It seems that the end of Pian was like that.]

The same was written in the attached will of Pian.

[When I was betrayed by 14 subordinates, including Paian.

Lucerne, you were still a boy.

You are a cool person now, but maybe you weren't then.

You could have visited them knowing you were going to die and infected with bloodworms.

Or, he could have ruined his life by blaming himself for the 14 people who died from the bloodworm infection.

If it wasn't for that, he might have been attacked and killed to get revenge on his uncles and others.

Fian and others have decided to shut up and become traitors for the sake of your future.

If you're going to die anyway, it looks like you've chosen not to burden your life.

I just hope their death doesn't ruin your life.

Besides, Paian was an excellent king scholar. He must have known that the condition of a good leader is driven by vengeance.

Perhaps……. This is just my guess.

Pai An's will states that there are now fourteen bloodworms in his own body.

Fian was a very capable mage. Fearing that he might harm you in the future, he may have planted as many bloodworms as possible in his body to escape. I don't know by what means he could have made that possible. However…….

You decide the rest.

This is the last information I can give you.]

Lucerne's hand trembled. When Lucerne visited Pai An, he treated him coldly and did not even come out the door.

And he said 'Leave your mind, Lucerne.' Those were the words he never forgot for the rest of his life. It was also the last teaching of Pian.

At the end of Elisha's letter, it was written as follows.

[So now, take your anger out on me.

Find your original place and continue your life.

To say I loved you was real. It's been a long time.

I sinned against you long ago. That sin is no longer gone, but from then on, you remained like a stigma in my heart.

So, I wanted to give you my life back and give you everything.

Only this heart is sincere. And now I want to put an end to it.

I have nothing more to give you.

Please,

Please divorce me.

Finally, I pass on the will of Paian to you.

And to you,

I'll give you my heart back.

Elisha de Lor Dream.]

“There's really nothing you can't do. A letter like this would prevent war.”

Lucerne would rather laugh.

'Are they sending me to hell and then saving me this time?'

He felt it in that moment. What I had avoided and feared for so long had already happened a long time ago.

He will never win her over, and Elisha will rule him all her life.

Even if she doesn't want him. Even if she doesn't want Elisha to want him at all. No, even if she hates him.

Lucerne sincerely wanted to possess Elisha. She is one of her emotions, gestures, and skin. I wanted to be able to handle everything on my own.

Emotion was fear, and affection was weakness, she had learned. So he thought of the familiar escape. The only love he learned was possession and monopoly. So he did.

But he failed…….

He had never owned Elisha for even a moment.

Lucerne told her of her love. But her love was so great that her selfishness and possessiveness showed her only her stubbornness rather than her love. The moment he started to love her with the heart he finally got back, Elisha tried to put her end to him.

There was a time when Lucerne had only himself. He knew that if he lost himself, everything would be ruined.

Lucerne had a gut feeling. He would now love her all his life.

So Lucerne was now hers all her life. The rest of his life was now in her hands. Now the monster had everything, but lost everything in exchange for a heart.

It was an ecstatic ruin.