“Let’s not talk about the name for now. Tell me about something else. For example… what was your country like in the past?” Seraphina lightened her voice, afraid of disturbing the courage the other had finally managed to gather.
“Alright…” Lina took a deep breath. “Debisge… was only a small border nation. Calling it a tiny country with few people wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
Although it was located on the frontier and shared bordering regions with the territories of both the Giantwing Demons and the Flame Demons, it couldn’t be considered a particularly prosperous place.
Yet under the efforts of my father and everyone else, it could still be counted as one of the most peaceful among the surroundings.”
But if Seraphina remembered correctly, on the maps of the Demon Realm, the part where the Giantwing Demon and Flame Demon territories met and that was close to the human side was colored gray.
Perhaps she should check the maps from earlier years?
A faint trace of reminiscence appeared on Lina’s face, but it was instantly covered by a shadow.
“But… five years ago.
Somehow a piece of news spread, saying that the Demon Realm was about to raise an army to attack us.
Border frictions had already occurred from time to time, and with the addition of such rumors, the situation was directly magnified, causing panic among the people.
The country was too small, the military strength limited, and the entire royal capital fell into terror… I was still young at the time and only half-understood the situation outside.
I didn’t even understand the increasingly heavy expressions on my father and brothers’ faces.
Until that night, when the rebel army attacked the royal capital without any warning.
There was firelight and the sound of killing everywhere. My several brothers… in order to hold the final royal palace, all… died in battle…”
Her breathing became rapid, as if the scenes of that year once again seized her throat.
Seraphina hurriedly stood up, walked over, and sat down beside her, soothing her mood while also feeling the coldness and trembling coming from her body.
Looking into Lina’s eyes, a wave of worry inevitably rose in her heart; she was afraid Lina would truly break down.
“Or… maybe we shouldn’t talk about it anymore?” Seraphina asked solemnly.
“Hah—it’s alright. If I can’t even bear this little bit, then how am I supposed to take revenge! My teacher… in order to let me escape, he drew away the pursuers… and also went missing… even now his life or death is unknown… As for my parents…”
Tears still slid from her eyes, leaving cold tracks on her pale cheeks.
Seraphina’s heart also sank along with it.
She tightly gripped Lina’s hand, hoping to give the other a little comfort.
The room fell into a brief silence, broken only by Lina’s suppressed sobs.
After hesitating again and again, Seraphina still asked that key question:
“Then… what about the Black Holy See? Didn’t they take action at the time?”
“The Holy See?” Lina abruptly opened her eyes.
The pupils that had originally been filled with tears instantly burst forth with sharp hatred, and she almost gritted her teeth as she spoke:
“Those hypocritical bastards! They used the excuse of going to seek reinforcements and ran away long ago. Even on his deathbed my father was still muttering about the reinforcements!
The strong ones of the Holy See were all concentrated in the heartland, or in some important countries and regions. As for us… we had neither resources nor population!
We were just a place that could exist or not! Of course they wouldn’t care!
Those beliefs, those protections—they were all lies!!”
Her emotions grew agitated once more, her body trembling uncontrollably, filled with both resentment and despair.
Seraphina hurriedly patted her back. “Alright, alright, don’t think about it anymore. We won’t mention them.”
Lina gasped heavily a few more times and suppressed the surging emotions.
“After that… it was endless fleeing. So many, so many people were searching for me everywhere.
I was like a rat in the gutter, hiding here and there… Thanks to those subjects of mine, I managed to hide for a full four years and more!
But half a year ago, a traitor sold me out, and I was still captured.
I didn’t know where they were going to send me. On the road I encountered Movira… and then, I met you.”
Lina’s voice at this point finally carried a dazed sense of having survived a disaster, and at the same time it made her think of the concepts that had been instilled in her when the two first met… and then, they were all publicizing that it was the Demon Realm that had destroyed my country… so… I’m sorry. At that time I really did want to kill you… because this was how we were…
“No, you don’t need to say sorry, because even I wouldn’t have been able to remain calm under those circumstances.”
“Mm…”
The story was finished.
Seraphina carefully savored Lina’s account.
There was indeed very little useful information; many questions had no definite, direct answers.
She very much wanted to ask more carefully, yet she was afraid these questions would be like blades, once again cutting open the wounds on Lina that had not yet healed.
“It’s already been so many years. I was still young at the time and never had the chance to know the full picture…” Lina saw Seraphina’s hesitation, wiped away the tear tracks on her face, and made her voice sound more normal. “If you still have any questions, just ask. As long as it’s something I can still remember, I’ll try my best to answer.”
Seraphina was very glad that Lina could be so strong, and also very happy that she herself was the one Lina trusted, yet at the same time, just what kind of price had this strength been tempered through?
This again made her feel quite bitter.
She also had to find a balance between the truth and Lina’s mental state.
After careful consideration, she chose a relatively specific question that would also take Lina into account as much as possible:
“Alright… Lina, have you ever heard of an organization called ‘Rusting Dawn’?”
“‘Rusting Dawn’?” Lina stirred her memory, struggling to piece it together among countless chaotic fragments. “It seems… I have a bit of an impression. The leader of the rebel army seemed to call himself something like Dawn, but whether it was ‘Rusting Dawn’… I’m not sure.”
This clue might be consistent with the direction Dekalorin and Saint Eustacia were taking.
Although it still couldn’t be completely confirmed, this was undoubtedly an important breakthrough!
No matter what, this clue would also be of great help to Lina’s revenge. After all, every grievance has its source and every debt its debtor.
“Good, I understand!” Looking at Lina’s pale cheeks, a strong desire to protect surged up in Seraphina.
Even if the other was taller than her… by just a little! In reality she was still a bit younger than herself.
Seraphina tightly gripped both of Lina’s hands and said in a decisive tone: “This hatred, I’ve noted it down. From now on it’s my enmity as well. I will definitely investigate the truth clearly, and I will definitely make those people pay the price they deserve! I guarantee it to you!”
The sudden promise, and the relief of pouring out the experiences of the past all at once, at this moment sent a mixed torrent of grievance and security surging up into Lina’s eyes.
The fear, loneliness, and pain that she had borne alone for many years, the emotions that had been suppressed to the point of numbness, found an outlet for release at this moment.
“Click—!”
The study door was opened without any warning. “What are you doing? Hmm? Seraphina?”