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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: TushChen
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The Divine Field was slowly expanding its range, although slowly.
If a Divine Field was deployed by a saintess, not just a high-ranking priest, it would likely engulf about half of Deinhart Castle.
I have lived here for 10 years already.
Deinhart Ducal Castle was already my home; the people living here were my family.
‘She’s taking the hostages perfectly.’
I started to feel agitated.
However, I scolded myself again, saying it wasn’t the time to act emotionally.
‘Father and Mother’s room is quite far away. But my room is right nearby.’
Nias, who rarely opened her eyes once she fell asleep, would still sleep soundly even with this commotion.
It was too greedy to hope she would sense the anomaly and escape.
However, the moment I got closer to save Nias, the Divine Field would instantly expand in my direction, just like when we ran away earlier.
In other words, to protect Nias, I had to find a way to subdue Elin before the Divine Field she had deployed reached my room.
The fortunate thing was that the Divine Field was spreading quite slowly, leaving about 5 minutes.
That was only if Elin didn’t move, though.
“Isn’t the color gradually changing around Lady Elin?”
Elena, who had been carefully looking down at the castle, spoke tremblingly.
“Divine Field…? But… it’s different from the one used by the archbishop. I feel a wicked divine power.”
Although still young, Elena was also a person who served a god.
Anyone could feel a Divine Field, the embodiment of divine power if they concentrated on it.
‘There’s no point in hiding it anymore.’
After a moment of contemplation, I nodded to Elena.
“That’s right. It’s a Divine Field. And it belongs to an evil god.”
At my words, Elena trembled slightly and tilted her head.
Who?
Why?
I could see those questions arising one by one in Elena’s mind.
“Elin is trying to kill you.”
“…Me?”
Elin spoke as if she couldn’t understand.
“Why?”
“I wonder. I don’t know yet either.”
Actually, to be precise, I had a guess, but it still needed to be confirmed.
The question was whether that guess was an ’empty space that needed to be filled’ or an ‘existing setting that was already there.’
At my words, Elena momentarily turned away and looked at Elin.
She lowered her head as if lost in thought. It seemed like she had narrowed her eyes and raised one eyebrow slightly.
It would be understandable to start hating someone who was trying to kill you, especially if they were a priest of an evil god as opposed to the god you believed in.
In fact, I was starting to hate her too.
Still, I might need Elena, just in case.
Thinking I should persuade her, I was about to open my mouth when…
“Save her!”
Suddenly, Elena shouted at me.
Her clear and pure silver eyes sparkled, reflecting the moonlight.
Before I was enchanted by those eyes, I had no choice but to ask back in a puzzled voice.
“What?”
“We have to save her!”
I was momentarily at a loss for words.
Not because Elena tried to save Elin, who was targeting her life, but…
“…We have to save her?”
Because I couldn’t understand those words for a moment.
At my question, Elena nodded her head.
And as if asking why I didn’t know, she gazed at me intently.
“But she’s suffering, isn’t she?”
Suffering?
I turned my eyes and looked at Elin.
Her furrowed face, tightly closed lips, and silver eyes staring at us.
And I slowly interpreted the meaning of the emotions attached to those eyes as if deciphering them.
Yes, she was indeed suffering.
To the point of going mad.
Seeing that, I realized.
This incident wasn’t just Elin’s own will.
This wasn’t a game that ended by subduing or defeating Elin.
It would only end by saving Elin from that suffering.
“That’s right.”
When I realized that, sparks flew into my mind.
The answer I had been searching for started to realign.
‘Will it work?’
Although there was a slight feeling of unease, it was the best I could do.
And I had no choice but to believe a path would open up when I did my best.
“Elena. Do you have memories from when you were young?”
At my sudden question, Elena widened her eyes as if startled.
“Pardon?”
I didn’t have time to answer everything to the perplexed Elena.
“We’re going to save her. Quickly.”
At my words, Elena seemed lost in thought, grabbing the ends of her long silver hair and twirling it with her fingers.
“…I don’t think so. I don’t remember much from before I was 5 years old. I just know that I didn’t have parents and lived in a temple since I was young.”
“Okay. That’s enough.”
I nodded my head.
Then, she probably couldn’t answer the questions I needed.
And I had to find out whether her past was an empty space in this world.
“From now on, I’m going to tell you a quite shocking story, Elena.”
Elena tightened her grip on my arms at my words, embracing me with a tense expression.
I could feel her determination.
“If it’s necessary.”
Satisfied with her answer, I smiled slightly.
“I wouldn’t have asked if it wasn’t.”
I turned away from Elena and looked at the other girl, who looked exactly the same.
That girl glared at us through the window as if standing at the opposite end.
“Listen carefully! Elin!”
I shouted loudly so that Elin could hear.
Elin just stared at us persistently with eyes filled with hatred.
“You know very well who you’re trying to kill, right?”
“…What?”
Elin asked back as if puzzled.
It was as if she was asking what kind of stupid question I was asking.
“You and Elena are twins. Did you know that?”
At my words, Elin raised one eyebrow.
Even their habits were the same.
She didn’t seem to be shocked.
As I thought, up to this point, it was already set, and Elin knew about it.
No system window popped up saying that a setting had been added.
This meant it was a setting that initially existed.
It was an empty space that the world had filled in on its own to function normally, although it wasn’t in the original novel or setting.
‘First, destroying the Divine Field with a mental shock… it failed as expected.’
But this was where it started.
I would engrave a particular setting into the world from here on.
If I found a single hole, I could engrave the setting there.
Even if I went to the end of the questions, the probability was fifty-fifty.
Still, it was worth trying.
The coin had already been tossed.
“I’ll ask you one thing.”
I asked after taking in a long, long breath.
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“Is killing your twin something you truly desire?”
The boy’s question pierced through the center of Elin’s heart like an arrow.
Under the tilted moonlight.
Even just before dawn, the moonlight still lingered faintly.
Elin’s silver eyes captured a girl in the boy’s arms.
That girl, who looked exactly like herself, had her back to the moonlight and looked down, puzzled.
Still innocent. With a pure appearance, unaware of her own sins.
In the alley.
When she encountered the girl in that darkness.
There, too, Elena had her back to the moon, looking down at Elin with snow-white skin, kind eyes, and a pure goodness that seemed untouched by anything.
The shining moon behind Elin’s back illuminated Elena like a faint halo.
At that time, she gently grasped Elin’s hand with that appearance and asked kindly.
“Are you alright?”
So Elin thought she was an angel.
Or something similar.
Perhaps a savior sent by God.
However, soon, Elin felt hatred.
‘Kill.’
She heard the whisper of God.
Memories that had been buried deep within her emerged from that pit.
Memories of how much that person had taken away from her.
Like a venomous snake biting her ankle, that poison of hatred gradually spread deep into Elin’s heart through the fangs of memory.
Elin heard many stories from her mother before her love for her had faded.
Those stories taught Elin many things that Elena didn’t know.
The story of how she was chosen and Elin was not.
It was when Elena was very young.
Even younger. When they were newborn babies.
There was a small village deep in the mountains.
One spring day, the winter chill had not yet subsided, and the snow in the deep forest had not melted.
A group arrived at that small village, which was challenging to visit intentionally.
They said they had come following the stars in the sky.
“For 100 years, no saintess has appeared for Nephthys. However, now that a long time has passed, the constellation of Fiat, symbolizing Lord Nephthys, has shone towards this village. There must be a saintess and a future hero here. Find them without fail!”
They said that as they rummaged through the entire village.
And the holy knights heard a story.
The twins with silver hair were born in a small house.
The holy knights stopped their steps in front of a particular prostitute’s house.
Ignoring the screaming and pleading prostitute, they pushed their way into the house.
And they found two newborn babies wrapped in a cozy blanket.
After looking down at the two babies for a long time, the holy knights finally chose one baby.
The woman who had been crying and pleading received money from them.
And she stopped pleading.
That was why.
The woman felt freedom for the first time with the money she received from them.
The woman, who stopped selling her body, gave love to the remaining child.
Elin loved the woman who warmly embraced her and told her many stories.
A warm embrace, a soft blanket, and the warmth of the fireplace stayed by her side throughout her childhood.
And the woman had the opportunity to start a family with a man she loved.
Pregnant with the child of the man she loved, the woman no longer loved the child of an unknown man.
That hand that had once held her warmly disappeared like the wind.
“It’s not easy to love you the same way. I’m sorry, Elin.”
And so, at the age of 8.
The girl was already almost an outsider in the house.
No one in the house loved Elin. Elin was neglected.
She was an only child, the only one in this world.
Still, Elin wasn’t lonely.
Because she knew she had another self.
Amid loneliness and hunger, the girl prayed towards the night sky filled with countless moons and stars.
“Moon. Stars. Please keep my twin far away safe and sound.”
She prayed.
Thinking of that child living happily far away made her heart warm.
Elin prayed for at least that child to be happy.
And one day, this time, people in black clothes came.
They didn’t even uphold the minimum courtesy that the holy knights of Nephthys had maintained.
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