Chapter 344
Translator: yun
The god held out his hand.
“This is the price I will pay. Instead of granting you the opportunity to travel up the river in the underworld, I will give you your humanity.”
Understanding his determination, I nodded slowly.
“I will be the last god to disappear from this earth.”
Opening his eyes wide, the god spoke once again.
“The Lord of the Gods, my brother had died in these lands without ever being able to find the soul of Kaltanias that had been torn into shreds. All that is left of him was resentment and bitterness. I couldn’t escape the crystal as my brother, who was the only one who could release me, had chosen death.”
As he calmly explained, the god looked at me and smiled as though he could read my thoughts.
“Two thousand years. It has been such a long time. It was long enough for all my divinity to melt away in the crystal.”
At that moment, that image of the god sobbing as he watched Kaltanias die overlapped with that of the man in front of me.
The god spoke calmly.
“All templars will lose their divinity. And there will come a time where all divinity will vanish from this land. But you.”
For a moment there, he was wrapped in a violet glow. All of his gestures from that point looked a little wistful.
“Even if every one of them is to lose their divinity, they will not lose their strength. They will still have a life expectancy that extends beyond an average human being’s.”
His gaze of immeasurable depth seemed to be asking whether I was alright with this.
“This will be the price you pay.”
Rusbella, who bore a great amount of divinity like I did, had died and Castor had disappeared into a faraway place. And I, who was as strong as them… I closed my eyes slowly. When they opened again, hesitation could no longer be sensed in my gaze.
“I accept.”
If everyone could return to life and be welcomed by a happy world, how wonderful would it be?
Even if my time with them will be limited. Even if I end up alone one day.
I shall endure the loneliness while reminiscing the memories of us.
“Please save everyone.”
The god finally smiled.
“You must be my last templar.”
To my surprise, he was now holding the diary with a hole through it within his hands. He handed the book to me.
“I’ll return this to you.”
The god said as he looked up at the moon.
“I had obsessed over that instant and made a foolish choice.”
“… Man has made the same mistake many times before.”
The god continued to smile without glancing towards me.
“You are our creations so it is no wonder you resemble us.”
His straight-laced expressions were ones I could not read almost all the time but, at this moment, I thought I could somewhat understand him.
As he watched the moon, he was longing for someone.
“Will this be the last sky?”
The voice of the god, as he slowly turned his head around to speak, seemed to be suggesting that my misfortunes would now be over.
“I must finally be heading to the side of the one I yearn for most.”
Though it sounded more like he was talking to himself.
“And you.”
When I turned my head around again, the god was no longer there.
The gods truly did resemble humans. A god that passed after burying himself into the earth, a god that tore the soul of his loved one into shreds as well as the other gods I met through fragmented visions.
The god had dissipated with a blinding light. Captured in a beam of light. The light that subsequently surrounded me, rose before shattering without sound. Shards of light fell from the sky like rain.
‘Witnessing the death of a god was like watching stars break as their starlight shattered right in front of your eyes.’
The light shifted from purple like that of the colour of my eyes to deep purple, violet and even amethyst.
The light that was flickering like a candle then blossomed like a flower. The disappearing lights looked enchantingly beautiful but it was merely a death that soon faded away.
Once again, the darkness of dawn fell upon me. Other than myself, all I could see was the diary in my hands.
I opened the diary slowly. For some reason, I felt as though I should. I thought I could. And as soon as I opened the book, I discovered a faint light.
“Huh?”
Widening my eyes, I took another look because it was so faint but there definitely was light.
It was pulsating randomly like a stammering child.
[Are you… really going to erase your memories?]
When I saw this, I burst out laughing.
“Ha… is this the time to be asking that?”
Clearly, I hated the diary for it had tormented me this whole time. But I couldn’t hear any resentment in the low voice of my reply.
“I won’t be erasing them.”
I murmured with my eyes closed.
“You shouldn’t be trusting whatever that man says.”’
I brought the dimly lit diary to my chest and clasped it tightly.
“That man must have been hurting bitterly all this time alone. It would be nice if the pain he carried… was at least as much as the pain I did.”
Gritting my teeth, I murmured but I sounded vulnerable. I could not think of a reason why I would be losing my strength right now.
“And… after a long, long time… no. No.”
I shook my head.
Then, as though the diary was replying me, the light flickered weakly. When I flipped through the pages again, the words it sputtered reminded me of something.
[Don’t concern yourself with that book.] (1)
It was a sentence that I had one day discovered to have been written on the first page of the diary. But that sentence gradually vanished to be replaced with something new.
[Why did you care about it at all?]
I slowly opened my mouth to reply. Tears fell from this indescribable sorrow and yet I was overwhelmed by a vague sense of joy.
“Because it’s my world now.”
Recalling the moment this all started, the end was finally here.
“I believed I had to make it happy.”
I was aiming at my target.
Epilogue
The number of maids working in the Imperial Palace were countless. Yet, the search to find a maid who wasn’t busy would be endless. That was because the Imperial Palace, especially the one the emperor resided in, was busier and had more things to do than any other place.
“Hannah, where should I place this?”
Thebe asked as she carried a large crate.
“Place the shards there. Lena is still tidying it up.”
The maids from the Terena Palace, including Hannah, were also busy.
“Lena, hand the clothes over to Bess.”
In fact, they were no longer maids of the Terena Palace. When Ashley Rosé ascended the throne, the maids of Terena moved to the palace where the emperor was meant to live. This was according to the will of the emperor.
“There is no end to this. Seriously.”
After a while, the maids gathered to take a short break. Everyone had been so busy, they were wearing beads of sweat like accessories.
“I can’t believe the coronation’s tomorrow.”
Resting her buttocks on an old carpet, Lena spoke.
“Ha, how long has it been since that day?”
“That day?”
The one who asked with her eyes widened was a new maid that had just started working in the palace.
“You mean when the Imperial Palace suddenly exploded a month ago? A lot of people did die…”
She had previously been assigned to palaces near the gates so she was unfamiliar with the work that needed to be done in the Central Palace.
“Yes. The former Crown Prince had broken into the Imperial Palace and made a whole mess of things before destroying the whole palace. Now that everything’s been repaired, we just need to tidy up some things.”
“But I just can’t see the end of all this work.”
Castor Dje Kaltanias, the former Crown Prince who appeared out of nowhere, had made a mess of the whole place.
And about a month had passed since then. They were actively repairing the damages but there were still signs of his attacks from that day. A lot of people died that day.
“But I heard he had disappeared since that day? I mean, the former Crown Prince.”
“I heard Her Majesty had exiled him somewhere far away.”
“Isn’t he dead? I thought I saw his corpse.”
“Oh, I thought he had just completely disappeared?”
After hearing the questions Lena asked out of curiosity, everyone nodded their heads as though they agreed that it was mysterious but no one said anything else about it.
“Actually, I have something else to say.”
The massacres in the palace Castor Dje Kaltanias was responsible for was still a touchy subject.
“Well, that’s enough of the depressing talk.”
Quickly noticing the change in atmosphere, Hannah changed the subject. Being sensitive to all sorts of rumours from across the palaces, Lena quickly interjected.
“But I just want to talk about more exciting and heart-fluttering things. What about you? Hm? You know, what about the lady-in-waiting?”
The woman she had just referred to was someone everyone here could not help but to know. Rebecca Eileen Von Aventa. The heir to the Aventa name.
“Did you see her again today?”
She had been the most popular subject of conversation for the maids lately.
“I did, I saw her!”
“I was reprimanded by that cold yet beautiful face again.”
“Right? I told you I was right. This is insane!”
One maid wrapped her cheeks with her hands before shaking her head shyly as she spoke excitedly.
“Will she be getting married soon?”
“Of course!”
Lena was sure.
“In the end, the lady-in-waiting must have fallen for him, right? She kept saying that she hated him again and again even though she didn’t really hate him.”
“Really? I thought she really didn’t like him.”
“Oh you. Do you think I’ve watched him for the past two years for naught?”
Lena thumped her chest.
“I’m telling you I saw him come visit the Terena Palace. Right, Hannah?”
Hannah, who had been either listening quietly or had her head down this entire time, affirmed her words.
“That’s true. But then again, she doesn’t seem that welcoming of him.”
Hannah tilted her head as she spoke. Lena noticed what Hannah had her doubts about.
“Actually, about the former 6th Prince. He’s a Templar of Vulcanus now, isn’t he? I wondered what happened. I was sure he had been on death’s row.”
“I heard he was just faking and he used it as a chance to run away.”
“That might be true but a close relative of mine said they clearly saw him die. At the colosseum.”
Hannah, who had been listening calmly, sneakily interjected.
“Nah. They must have sent a body double to be executed instead.”
It was difficult to cross lines between maids.
“If anyone else hears you, you know you might get taken in, right?”
In Hannah’s eyes, Rebecca and Ashley Rosé had a lot in common. Like how they rarely show what they felt deep inside.
However, talks about former princes was something they had to be wary about in the palace.
The maids quickly changed the topic of conversation as though they were also aware. Aitera, who had transferred from another palace, spoke.
“Honestly, what’s so wrong about him? I like the 6th Prince. Of course, I am merely saying this out of admiration so please don’t take it the wrong way. I’d like to live a long life. In any case, he’s handsome, he has a high rank and he’s rich. Don’t you think he’s kind enough to lowly things like us? Especially his looks! Of course, his personality is a given.”
“His personality…”
Lena’s face soured slightly. Hannah smiled before shaking her head at her.
“I don’t like men who treat their attendants as such and yet spare no effort to do anything themselves.”
The fact that the former 6th Prince had returned one day and only began to change his attitude after being chastised by Rebecca was a story only servants close to the emperor were privy to.
“By the way, didn’t Miss Rebecca have a crush on someone else?”
Another maid brought up something new.
“You’re right. She even refused to attend their wedding. Especially that necklace she always wears… I heard someone she liked had given it to her.”
“Oh my, what’s this? Does that mean she’s not going to get together with that man?”
Another maid wept as though she was actually saddened by this news. Unable to help herself, Lena spoke softly.
“Talking about that necklace. The former 6th Prince actually…”
It was then. The doors swung open and a tall maid entered.
T/N:
(1): I knowW I said this in my previous correction that the author was referring to the novel ash ‘read in her prvs life’ but since the story is ending, I just thought it would be nicer if I changed it for a callback.
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