Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 827 - 768: Admonitions from the Dead

I’ve nearly forgotten why I originally started to put on a stern face.

At first, it was because I didn’t want to resemble him too much—Bradley, my father, who laughed like a fool. It could be said that he colored every aspect of my and Rosa’s childhood, and perhaps Rosa’s optimism was inherited from him. Despite no blood relation, Rosa was strikingly similar to him, a kind of kinship that drew me in.

I felt it was justifiable to display pessimism, no matter how loudly he laughed, it couldn’t mask the cruel reality. At some point, I began to loathe his blind smiles, no longer fond of the similarities I shared with him, even though everyone said we were cut from the same cloth. After realizing my feelings for Rosa, I grew even more reluctant to become a carbon copy of my father. Rosa’s attitude toward me did not change, just like his.

"You and her seem to have switched identities." That man laughed cheerily, the pat on my shoulder as heavy as ever.

"In what way?" I could hardly bear his easygoing nature, nor could I understand how he could get along with his own son as if they were brothers. He could become authoritative, but he never did so with me.

"Of course it’s about personality, kid. Are you still daydreaming about counterattacking to become a prince? That’s incredibly fanciful." He mocked in a way that almost led me to punch him in the face, laughing even louder. "Rosa, that girl when she was a child, was just like you are now. You used to be a cheerful little fool, and she never smiled. Now it’s the other way round. Yep, thanks to your old man’s effort."

"Stop it, I’m just tired of smiling; I don’t want to live behind a mask." I forcibly distanced our relationship, even though we both knew that blood is thicker than water.

His laughter stopped, replaced by a serious look that reflected the silhouette of another child.

"Her father led us toward the light, and I couldn’t bear to see Rosa walk down the opposite path alone. Even if it means dividing my love for my own son, I would favor another daughter. Jeremiah, you could totally accuse me of being an incompetent father."

"I’ve said it before, the present me has nothing to do with you." I never thought you weren’t good enough, Father. This voice remained only in my heart.

Bradley looked up at the murky sky, hooking my neck and forcibly pulling me into his embrace.

"You like Rosa? Don’t worry, I won’t tell." He said in a teasing tone, speaking words I didn’t have the heart to argue against.

"Hmm."

"Will you protect her with all you’ve got?" I suspect this damn man was assuming the role of my father-in-law. His smile was intermittent because Rosa stopped, revealing herself in front of me, "She is a princess, and princesses are fragile. My son, when her father left, I saw that side of her, a delicate girl propped up, and reality kept taking away her supports, her father was one, I am too. I hope you love her, not because of a youthful impulse but for a more resilient emotion. If the day comes when I’m gone, you need to be her new support."

Filled with fervor, I agreed without hesitation. He smiled, and through that unique smile, it was as if I saw my own growth.

Teenagers speak the most passionate words and commit the most foolish actions.

My actions were utterly clumsy; I had never thought that calamity had struck me harder than it did Rosa—that I was more fragile than the delicate princess. I hadn’t become her support, she had become mine.

You’ve always stood opposite me. Now it’s Rosa who props up my sky, and what fills her sky is responsibility towards our clan and optimistic dreams.

I think your sacrifices were right. Rosa is far better than I am.

Faced with despair, Rosa did better than me. I have become a complete pessimist—the very thing I detest became myself, this pitiful and timid me.

I can only watch her moving toward the light, grateful for her affection towards me. Her dreams are beautiful, like flowers blooming in this wasteland. I savor the sweet rain, following her footsteps as I continue forward.

If given the choice, I would become her stepping stone.

"Are you satisfied now!!! Father!!! Jeremiah has taken the same path as you!!! I’ve completely become you!!" Waving the scimitar, seething with malice that had already corroded his thinking, Jeremiah’s words were all transformed into roars, resorting to violence in the hands of the person closest to him.

"She still has sweet dreams as honey; how could I allow you damned, this vicious land bind her steps. Get lost!!" The darkness engulfed the entirety of the youth, the grinning Demon People and the indifferent Demon People clashed.

"Fall for me!! You should have died a long time ago!! Old man!!" Leaving behind his final words, he regressed to a beast that could only roar, the youth became just like him.

Rosa’s love and longing for Bradley were eroded by wicked thoughts, as Jeremiah fell into a Demon Person driven only by a desire to kill, starting with his own father.

The young man’s intentions were conveyed, in the least expected way.

The cradle arrived in a new land, the exiles who survived the calamity threw themselves tearfully onto unfamiliar soil, as Rosa stared at the chaos beneath the cliffs, the thick smoke reddening her eyes.

"We’ve done it, Rosa." Snuggle with a tattered face, forced a strained smile on the edge, a heart-wrenching grin.

"Yeah, thank you, thank you everyone, Phantom." Rosa stood at the edge of the cliff, a breeze stirring her dust-covered long dress, Cinderella and the fairy having their final farewell. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

The great Phantom’s tendrils lifted another small basket, not bigger than a lunch basket when put together, with sleeping little one inside.

"Do me a favor, dear, let them sleep where the flowers bloom most lushly, they like to cuddle with roots in their sleep."

"What about you?"

"I need a good rest too." Before she finished speaking, Snake’s body began to crack, scales shedding, swathes of vines falling into the abyss, her eyes tightly shut, serene as if falling into a soft bed.

Rosa nodded at the void beneath her feet, picked up the basket, and handed it to an exile.

"Lady Rosa... you..."

"I’ve fulfilled my dream, and done what I promised you." With tears still fresh, Rosa, cradling her wounded arm, stood frail on the brink of the cliff, on the verge of falling.

Her mind empty, a patch of clear blue sky came into view, a sight Posuwa had never seen before. She reached out desperately, only to find herself drifting further from the beauty. The last princess of Posuwa made her choice, to fall with the one who loved her most.

So high, it must hurt to fall. If I turned into a Demon Person, could I survive in another way? But, I can’t bear any ill will towards them.

"Jeremiah, don’t stray too far from me."

With that thought, Rosa closed her eyes.

A moment later, without feeling the impact on her body, inhaling thick smoke and embracing despair fearlessly, Rosa opened her eyes in confusion, to see Snake smiling beneath her, cushioning her fall.

"Phantom’s assistance is complete... you can..." Rosa murmured.

"I can help you one more time." Whispered weakly like a dream, the great Phantom’s body wrapped Rosa protectively, offering one last tenderness before the Demon People stirred again.

"I don’t understand, I can’t grasp it, ignoring warnings, willfully using up his doting affection, maybe that’s also a kind of malice, we... Phantom aren’t kind-hearted..."

"Even to the end, we remain capricious, a pitiful race with no future."

Even to the end, like a single candle flame, igniting the light.

In a network plunging into complete darkness, a lonely journeying vessel pleaded for the watchful lighthouse, the sole voice echoing her suffering.

"My king, please help her."