TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 52
“Hey, don’t you get in trouble with Aslan for sneaking food like that all the time?”
During the height of Kraush’s activity in the Skyborne Generation.
Kraush had caught Lirina, Aslan’s servant, sneaking bread from the basket of food she was supposed to deliver to Aslan, and asked her in disbelief.
Aslan was one of the top talents in the Skyborne Generation.
The only grandson of the Flame King, he was once lesser known but now stood as the strongest flame mage alongside Abella.
So it was baffling to see his servant, Lirina, half-asleep, repeatedly pulling stunts like this.
“Yes, he knows, but he doesn’t scold me.”
She said this as she gulped down the bread.
“Lord Aslan doesn’t eat bread, you see. So I’m just doing him the special favor of eating it for him.”
For someone claiming that, she always ate the bread with great enthusiasm.
“You’re going to get fat at this rate.”
“What are you talking about? I take great care of myself. Want me to show you? How infuriating.”
“Why does Aslan even keep you as his servant…?”
Lirina, Aslan’s servant, and Kraush were fairly close in their own way.
Aslan was also part of the Skyborne Generation.
He often had to deal with the World Erosion, which sometimes left him cursed, and each time, Kraush helped him out.
As a result, Kraush and Lirina often exchanged casual conversations, throwing jokes at each other.
“Because I’m the only pretty maid who takes care of Lord Aslan. It’s all about looks, clearly.”
“Aslan doesn’t need to pick servants based on appearances.”
“I’m quite popular, you know? Whenever I’m out, gentlemen always invite me for tea and try to charm me.”
Kraush simply stared at her blankly.
“What? Do you have a problem with that?”
“No.”
Taking her word for it, Kraush let it slide.
“You’re always so rude to me. Could it be that Mr. Kraush has feelings for me? This is awkward. I’ll have to refuse. Lord Aslan is the only one for me.”
“Thank you.”
With that, Lirina gathered up the basket.
“You may not be good at much else, but thank you for chatting with Lord Aslan. He seems a bit more at ease when talking to you, Mr. Kraush.”
“…He only talks normally with me because there’s no one else.”
Lirina covered her mouth and let out a light “Hoho” laugh.
“Let’s just put it that way.”
Her eyes weren’t smiling, though, leaving Kraush puzzled by her behavior.
“Still, I believe that someday, just like you steal curses for me, you’ll manage to draw out Lord Aslan’s true feelings as well.”
Despite being called the Flame Emperor, Aslan always wore an indifferent expression toward the world.
Kraush, who had seen that face countless times, clicked his tongue.
“…How many days does he have left now?”
“291 days.”
After murmuring that number, Lirina bowed her head and left.
Kraush mulled over the number 291.
Because it represented Aslan’s remaining lifespan.
And now, Kraush was watching the present-day Lirina, who was stuffing bread into her mouth.
‘…Does that woman not age at all since back then?’
Kraush realized he had never seen Lirina during this particular time before.
Kraush only became acquainted with Aslan after joining the Skyborne Generation.
Aslan had never attended Rahelrn Academy.
Yet, oddly enough, Lirina’s appearance hadn’t changed from then to now.
At this point, it was almost frightening.
Along with that, it stirred nostalgic and peculiar feelings in him.
“Here’s your soup and bread.”
At that moment, a server brought out the soup and bread.
Meanwhile, Lirina finished the rest of her bread and was heading outside with the basket.
Seeing this, Kraush tapped on the window next to the table.
A fluttering sound and the noise of something flying away echoed from outside.
‘She’ll follow it perfectly, I’m sure.’
Kraush turned back to the soup and bread.
Coincidentally, Kraush was starting to feel hungry as well.
‘Let’s eat first.’
After all, Lirina and Aslan weren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Then, Kraush suddenly remembered something and turned to Bianca.
“Bianca, shouldn’t you tie your hair?”
Bianca, who was holding a spoon, glanced at her hair.
Then, with the spoon in her mouth, she lightly touched the back of her head.
Sure enough, her hair had grown quite long, just as Kraush had said.
Since coming to the Green Pine Mansion, she had trimmed her hair occasionally but hadn’t cut its length.
As a result, her hair was much longer than it had been initially.
At that length, it was bound to get in the way while eating.
In fact, Bianca always tied her hair before eating.
Her maid, Ellie, usually helped her tie it.
But Ellie wasn’t here now.
“Then can you tie it for me?”
Bianca turned her body and handed a hair tie from her pocket.
Kraush’s expression turned incredulous for a moment.
“The soup will get cold.”
Bianca slightly turned her head and urged Kraush.
“You can’t eat hot food, can you?”
Despite his words, Kraush took the hair tie from her and gathered her hair at the back.
He gently pulled her hair together, careful not to hurt her, and skillfully tied it up.
Bianca, confirming her hair was neatly tied, looked at him with a surprised expression.
“You’re good at this.”
“I learned it a long time ago.”
And he’d been scolded quite a bit in the process.
Kraush glanced briefly at his hands, which had just tied her hair.
It was now a distant memory.
With the thought of eating, Kraush picked up the spoon.
The meal was reasonably satisfying.
The restaurant’s appeal was its cheap and filling food.
Naturally, the place was filled entirely with commoners.
Fortunately, Bianca didn’t mind commoner food and ate well.
Perhaps it was because Bianca had preferences but no particular dislikes when it came to food.
After finishing their meal, Kraush and Bianca stepped outside together.
The sky was just beginning to darken.
It made sense, as they had eaten right before evening.
Flap!
At that moment, the sound of flapping wings reached Kraush’s ears.
Raising his head, Kraush saw a crow descending.
It was none other than Crimson Garden.
“Crim.”
Bianca naturally stroked Crimson Garden, who perched on Kraush’s shoulder.
Crimson Garden didn’t seem to mind Bianca’s touch and let her stroke its feathers, all the while looking at Kraush.
“Did you follow her?”
[Yes, I followed her closely. It was just as you said.]
Crimson Garden raised her head in response to Kraush’s question.
Beyond the towering Magic Tower in the direction she headed stood a mansion.
[The mansion is in complete chaos right now.]
Hearing those words, Kraush reacted as if he had expected it.
“The reason for the chaos is, as I thought—”
[Yes, the Flame King’s grandson attempted suicide again. Thanks to that, the mansion has been turned upside down.]
The Flame King’s grandson’s suicide attempt.
The one behind such an attempt was someone Kraush knew all too well.
It was none other than Aslan Igrit.
* * *
In the Magic City of Halgram, what is the most famous mansion?
Everyone would agree without hesitation.
It is none other than the Igrit Mansion, where the Flame King resides.
That very Igrit Mansion was currently in an uproar.
The reason was none other than the Flame King’s grandson.
“This time, he tried hanging himself.”
“Last week, it was poison. Honestly, what is he trying to do?”
The gossiping maids continued their chatter.
Their main topic of discussion was none other than Aslan Igrit’s suicide attempts.
Aslan, the Flame King’s only grandson, was the eldest son destined to inherit the Igrit name.
However, due to his innate condition known as Lunar Body, he was unable to master the Flame Magic that the Igrit family had used for generations.
That said, his nature was not wicked or malicious.
Though Lunar Body made him sleep during the day and mainly active at night—
He was polite and showed genuine enthusiasm for magic.
Despite being unable to wield the family’s signature Flame Magic, he had diligently studied magic.
But at some point, he lost his mind.
Some claimed he had fallen victim to the curse of the World Erosion Beings.
Yet no one knew the exact truth.
“You’ll get scolded by the Head Maid if you talk about Lord Aslan like that behind his back.”
At that moment, the two maids jumped in surprise at the voice they heard from behind.
The voice belonged to none other than Lirina, Aslan’s personal maid.
“Li-Lirina.”
“We weren’t talking about anything!”
As the two scurried away, Lirina clicked her tongue as she held her basket.
Maids of the household shouldn’t have such loose tongues.
Shaking her head, Lirina resumed walking.
After a short while, she arrived in front of a door.
Just as she was about to open it, a booming voice came from inside.
“Are you out of your mind?! After all I’ve done for you, you’re trying to kill yourself?! Why on earth—!”
Lirina knew exactly whose voice it was.
It belonged to none other than Aslan’s mother and the Vice Matriarch, Agatha Igrit.
Though muffled through the door, the voice was clearly scolding him.
Yet, no matter how much she yelled, Aslan’s response remained unheard.
Soon, the sound of heavy breathing indicated Agatha was approaching the door.
Lirina quickly stepped back as the door creaked open.
A middle-aged woman with fiery red hair stepped out and glanced at Lirina.
“Did you hear?”
The coldness in her expression was enough to make even Lirina flinch.
“No, I didn’t hear anything.”
Even if she had overheard, denying it was the wisest choice.
At Lirina’s answer, Agatha glared at her briefly before turning and walking away.
Once Agatha disappeared, Lirina hurried into the room.
Inside, she was met with the faint smell of medicine and heavy curtains drawn to block out the light.
Closing the door behind her, Lirina walked further inside with her basket.
Her eyes landed on a man.
His frail frame and long, drooping red hair.
The dark shadows under his eyes.
He was none other than Aslan Igrit.
Around his neck were red marks and a loosened bandage.
The marks were evidence of his recent suicide attempt by hanging.
“You should’ve done it while I was here.”
Lirina muttered to herself, prompting Aslan’s eyelids to slowly open.
He gazed at Lirina blankly before giving a faint, weary smile.
Despite having just endured Agatha’s scolding, he appeared utterly detached.
“Lirina.”
“Yes, I’m Lirina, your personal maid. Are you hungry? I’ll prepare your meal.”
Without commenting on the marks around his neck, she set the food on the table.
It was the meal she had just picked up from the shop.
Thanks to the basket enchanted with Thermal Preservation Magic, the food remained warm.
Slowly, Aslan rose from his seat and approached the table.
Pulling out a chair, he sat and stared at the food silently.
He picked up the spoon Lirina had placed and took a sip of the soup.
“…This is from that shop.”
“Since you refuse to eat anything else, I go there every day to bring this back. Please, make sure to eat everything today.”
“I’ll try.”
But despite his words, Aslan’s movements with the spoon were lethargic.
A few minutes later—
Having barely touched the meal, Aslan set the spoon down.
Seeing this, Lirina stood to clear the table of his unfinished food.
Aslan returned to his bed and lay back down.
“Lord Aslan, lying down right after eating is bad for your health.”
“It’s fine. Thank you for worrying. You can leave now.”
With that, Aslan pulled the blanket over himself.
Watching him for a moment, Lirina cleaned the table and stepped outside.
Half-closing her eyes, she gazed at the closed door to Aslan’s room.
Two months ago.
The cheerful Aslan she once knew was gone.
All that remained was someone wishing for death day by day.
Lirina clenched the basket tightly in her hands.
How could she bring the Young Master back to his former self?
Aslan’s personal maid, she was the only one who knew the reason behind his change.
‘Is there no one…’
Who could bring him back?
Knowing her own strength was insufficient, Lirina let out a long sigh.
Her gaze fell upon a crow perched on the window.
The crow, for some reason, was staring intently at Lirina.
Seeing it, she tilted her head and approached the window.
When she cautiously opened the window, the crow didn’t fly away but remained perched on the sill.
“What a curious little one.”
Lirina glanced back at the basket.
It was food that would be thrown away anyway.
When she took out a piece of leftover meat from the basket, the crow grabbed it in its beak and flew away.
As expected, it seemed to have come for the food.
“What a clever little one.”
And so, her peculiar encounters with the crow continued.
After that day, the crow always appeared whenever Lirina came out after tidying up Aslan’s leftovers, as if it thought of her as the one who fed it.
Each time, the crow took a piece of meat or scraps of leftover food and flew off.
After this repeated for a few days, it soon became a part of Lirina’s routine.
Today, too, as she came out after sorting Aslan’s meal, she saw the crow perched on the window.
“Kami, hello. You came again today.”
At some point, she had given the crow a name. Smiling faintly, she approached Kami.
Seeing that the crow no longer flew away even when she touched it, Lirina felt a small sense of healing.
“Though I’m not the one who needs to be healed.”
Perhaps if Aslan saw Kami, he might find a little joy as well.
That was the moment when she had such a thought.
Suddenly, Kami spread its wings and flew, perching below the window.
Lirina, puzzled, leaned her head out through the window.
“Kami? Aren’t you eating today?”
Kami glanced at her briefly and began walking away, step by step.
Feeling as if it wanted her to follow, Lirina climbed through the window and went outside.
Strangely, Kami didn’t fly away but instead guided her somewhere.
Before she knew it, Lirina had left the mansion and arrived at a park.
It was a park she was familiar with, one she had often passed by.
After walking through the park for a while, Kami suddenly flapped its wings and flew.
When Lirina looked up to follow Kami, it was perched on someone’s shoulder.
Jet-black hair, blue eyes, and a face that still looked youthful were accentuated by sharp features.
The boy’s height, just beginning to sprout into growth, indicated he was in his mid-teens.
Kami, perched on the boy’s shoulder, seemed very familiar with him.
“Who are you?”
The boy asked her curiously.
With a face as pure and innocent as could be.