Chapter 18: Birthday Present

Hello?

My name is Emily. I'm 8 years old- an age when if I just put flowers in my ears and walk around, people still laugh and say I look cute!

Normally, by this time, I should be finishing school and eating snacks at home, but today, we are climbing a snowy mountain.

Why?

Well, even though I’m climbing, I don't really know the details.

Mom and Dad just told me that we can't live in Flower Garden anymore, so we had to move.

Oh, Flower Garden is my hometown.

Even in the Clark Republic, it is famous for its beautiful flowers.

By the way, my favorite is yellow flowers. They suit me the most!

But Mom and Dad told me not to go near them! I can’t even smell them!

So I have no choice but to watch them from afar. 

Well, that’s a lie. Actually, my dad is a high-ranking person in the botanical garden, so I always got to touch the yellow flowers whenever no one was looking.

"Emily, are you tired? Do you want me to carry you?"

I guess my dad was worried about me. I smiled and told him I was okay.

If you're eight years old, you're old enough to climb, right?

Besides, I’ve become a lady since yesterday.

Why, you ask?

Because yesterday, Delphin, who lives next door, confessed his love to me.

I learned from books that when you know love, you become a lady! 

So, I became a lady too.

Of course, I rejected his confession.

Dating under the age of 20 is illegal in the Clark Republic.

Delphin said it would be okay to do it secretly. But if someone found out about it, my dad and mom would be taken to the concentration camp. So, I refused.

But well, since we’re moving away, we won't have to follow the Republic’s law, right?

Hmm, then I'll consider it. 

Of course, Delphin will have to confess again!

“Aren’t you hungry?”

"No! I'm not hungry!"

"Okay, let's quickly cross this mountain and have a birthday party." Mom said, stroking my head.

“Yeah! Party!”

It feels so good to have my mother’s hand in thick gloves stroking my hair!

By the way, can I tell you a secret?

Today is my birthday!

Ah, what could my present be?

I'm really looking forward to it!

In fact, the snowy mountain is too steep. The strides of adults are also so big that it is difficult to keep up with them, so I was secretly hoping my present would be warm and fluffy pancakes.

Still, I have to be patient.

Surely, if we cross this mountain, then we can eat delicious food… right?

Then everyone will also congratulate me, won’t they?

Huh?

However, suddenly, the people who were walking in front of me started shouting something.

"Please!"

"We did nothing wrong!"

"Emily!"

Everyone was screaming something with a frightened expression, but I couldn't see because my mom was holding me tightly.

Hearing those screams, I felt scared and unknowingly hugged my mom tightly too.

"It's okay. I'll go talk to them."

Then, I heard Dad's voice. 

I turned my head slightly and saw Dad laughing confidently, as he always did.

"Little, cute Emily. Don't worry too much. After a while, we can live happily and peacefully again.”

"Uh-huh."

“You know Daddy doesn’t lie, right?”

"Yeah!"

Dad always receives compliments from the people in the village. Surely Dad will solve everything!

"Earl of North Whedon! We came from the Flower Garden of the Clarke Republic! Please, just listen to our story once..."

Huh?

Suddenly, Dad's voice was cut off.

I wanted to stick out my face and check it, but Mom hugged me even tighter so I couldn't.

"I love you. I love you, Emily... You know that Mommy and Daddy really love you, right?"

"Yeah, Mom. I love you too."

My mother, who was trembling, seemed like the tower I usually made with stones, which collapsed with a slight touch. 

Seeing her like that, I also got scared.

"Don't ever mention my name again, you filthy immigrants."

A scary voice, which I’d never heard before, spoke.

By the way, does ‘filthy’ mean us?

“Chief Marks, catch them all and use them.”

"Yes, understood."

It was extremely cold this high on the mountain, but strangely enough, after hearing those words I instantly fell asleep.

* * *

“Ahhhhhhhh–”

I woke up to a terrifying scream.

Ow, my head hurts.

It's the first time my head hurt this much. Thinking so, I looked around me, wondering where I was.

Everything around me was pitch-black, and even the green lights a little far away looked scary.

"Don't look, don't look!"

I tried to get up forcibly, but suddenly I heard Delphin's voice next to me.

He covered my eyes with his hands, but this screaming voice...

"Keeeeek! Help me! Help meeeee!"

"Mom?"

I pushed Delphin away and jumped up. I found out I was trapped in a cage like an animal, but that was not important right now.

Mom was outside the cage, screaming, surrounded by strange people in white clothes.

“Uh?”

Why?

Why are mom's arms and legs...

… …why?

"Mommmmmm!"

Bam!

Mom!

Mom!

Mom is in pain!

I have to go and help her!

I have to go and save her!

“Mommmm!”

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

"Don't hit the cage! Then those people will-"

Although Delphin tried to stop me, I didn't think of anything else. I kept throwing my body with the intention of just rescuing my mother.

But only the sound of something breaking came from my shoulder, and the cage never budged.

And then,

“Who is it?”

The oldest-looking person among the people gathered around my mom looked at me.

But this feeling... It felt like my heart stopped beating…

I realized what terror was for the first time.

The man - whose mere eyes filled my body with terror - had a name tag on his chest, just like we did at school.

[Director of the Marks Research Institute]

He was the one who had knocked us all unconscious...

"It's me!"

Delphine, who raised his hand in place of me, was shedding a lot of tears. 

I couldn't understand what was going on.

"I'm sure I told you to stay put."

Director Marks walked over. I was so scared that I couldn’t say anything, only my teeth chattered.

“Emily.”

Delphine, who raised his hand in my place, smiled and gave a thumbs-up.

"I'll always save you."

"Ah..."

"So date me."

Tears flowed without my knowledge at the sight of Delphine grinning and confidently leaving the prison in the hands of Director Marks.

I was so sorry.

Because I understood.

"G-gah! It's not him! Ugh! Sob! Sob! Actually, It's not him!!"

Even if I screamed that it was someone else, I couldn't help but shed tears seeing Delphine still being dragged outside. I thought it was only natural to curse me.

"Em, Emil! It was me, Emily-! I’m sorry!!"

No matter how many times I shouted sorry, Delphine couldn’t even hear my voice.

Like that.

Time continued to pass.

Every time the iron bars opened, one person disappeared.

At first, there were so many people, but they all had disappeared now.

"You're the only one left."

I was the only one left inside the iron bars.

Mom was already unrecognizable, buried among the masses of corpses a long time ago.

Delphine, who turned to ashes from an electric shock, was swept away by a broom and thrown into a trash can.

And Dad…

I could always see Dad.

“Did you say that’s your father?”

Dad was hanging by his neck in the center of the lab. 

Director Marks happily explained that he instilled fear in us by using my father, who was the representative, as an example.

Since I was the last one, he said he would show me the laboratory once.

I didn’t want to see it, but I couldn't refuse.

.

.

.

Eventually, I was also laid down on the experimental platform where countless people died.

A large blade cut open my chest.

It hurt. It hurt so much…

Ah, I want to eat pancakes.

I want to see yellow flowers.

I want to go to school with my friends.

I want to raise a puppy.

I want to hold hands with Delphine and go on a date.

I want to hug my mom and dad.

There are so many things I want to do.

However,

“I will save you.”

What does this cold man in front of me want? He is someone I have never seen before.

That's given since I can’t even remember how long ago I lost consciousness; I just felt too much pain and lost consciousness without realizing it.

“What is your wish?”

My lips, as stiff as plaster, feel like they are not mine.

My voice naturally does not come out.

I think I have a handful of chalk dust in my throat.

Even though I try to quench my thirst with tears or spit, I have already cried so much that there is nothing left.

I am so dried up that I cannot even say a word.

Puff!

Thud, thwack.

Thick blood enters my stiff mouth. The unique bitter smell, thick and powerful enough to numb my nose, comes along.

The man in front of me stabbed his hand with magic and poured blood into my mouth.

“Wet your throat and speak clearly. I will listen."

"I-"

Despite the tightness in my throat that prevented me from speaking, a single word was allowed to pass through because of the blood that flowed in.

What I want…

I said it before.

I want too many things.

There are a lot of things I want to do.

But…

If I had to choose just one thing.

If this is the last word of my life- perhaps, a birthday present that came a little late.

Then, what I want is…

“Revenge.”

'I want revenge.'

Upon hearing this, the cold man smiled- a smile I thought he could never make.

“Yes, well said.”

* * *

The girl’s spirit believed in me.

The resentment in Emily’s spirit - which gently seeped into me - was excruciatingly heavy, making me nearly fall to my knees in an instant.

Finden Ai supported me as I stumbled. The monster she was dealing with had become a limp bone now because Emily’s spirit - the medium - had disappeared.

"That was the memory of that child, right?"

"Did you see it?"

“… … yes.”

Yes, that was possible.

“Spirits with a lot of resentment often show their past. They want someone to know them.”

“…”

Finden Ai clenched her mouth tightly.

Deia also approached us, forcibly holding her balance, as if her body had lost strength.

“So, that’s the family secret… … ”

Deia, who seemed to have been quite shocked, covered her face with both hands and asked me as if she was gasping for breath.

“What are you going to do?”

“What do you mean?”

"You said you would help her get revenge."

"..."

Finden Ai also looked at me.

“You’re not going to hold Darius accountable, are you?”

"He has nothing but the sin of not taking responsibility… Even if he knew the truth after everything was over, it would be too much if he was blamed for this."

"...Then what should we do? The revenge that child wants is already impossible."

Because everyone was already dead.

Emily, the girl, was a person from at least 150 years ago.

Naturally, all the related people had already died.

But…

"The cane."

When I reached out my hand, the cane that had fallen to the ground flew to me.

It had slipped from my hand while pouring blood earlier.

[Here it is.]

As the worm had already disappeared, Skarm, who was able to come to the basement, carefully placed a cane in my hand.

The two women were surprised that the cane had flown to me without any mana manipulation.

I pushed Fenden Ai away and supported my body with the cane.

The resentment was so strong that I felt like my body would be torn to shreds.

But there was still work to be done.

“Do you remember what I said?”

“What?”

“What are you talking about?”

Breathing heavily, I explained again to the two women who looked confused.

“All spirits whisper their grievances and regrets very secretly.”

It was the same for every soul… Both in my past life and in my present life.

“It’s easy if you think of it as a kind of quiz. Even though each soul hides its thoughts like a quiz, their intention is not to hide the content itself. On the contrary, they want someone to find the correct answer.”

“Suddenly, what-”

Deia tried to cut me off, but I continued.

“It’s just their nature. But most of them think their uncreative quizzes are outstanding.”

I knew because I was the one who relieved the grievances of many spirits.

They were just humans who were alone, repeatedly following the same tracks of thought.

“For example, there are souls who act and speak backward. They behave bizarrely and provocatively, but in reality, they are like young children who just want to be noticed."

Finden Ai and Deia looked puzzled as if they did not understand what I was saying.

However, I was not speaking to them now.

"So, what I want to say is..." I raised my head slowly.

And calming the crazed Emily, who wanted to attack immediately to take her revenge, I spoke.

“Introducing names backward is a damn common riddle, Skram.”

[...….]

His face became expressionless.

I asked with a mocking laugh mixed with contempt.

"Did you really think you could fool me with such a petty act?"

The day I first met Skram, he introduced himself to me like this:

‘My name is Skram, and it’s an honor to finally be able to repay Detros Verdi for the favor I received 150 years ago.’

"Were you really just trying to deceive me by disguising yourself as a mere butler? Did you really think you could get away by telling me an inverted name?"

[Ha... ]

Skram, or rather, Research Director Marks, chuckled and scratched his head.

[Is it because I had no brain after I died?]

Despite being caught, Marks was still so bold.

[I never thought I would be found out by such an idiot second son.]

“...”

[So what are you thinking?]

Marks shrugged and raised the corners of his mouth as if in disbelief.

[Are you going to judge me? By what right? You are Verdi! I only followed your family's orders! In a way, I'm also a victim!]

"...."

[If you want to judge someone, judge your ancestors! As the blood of the masterminds who put these experiments into action, you're no different from a bastard if you try to judge me.]

"I've decided to fulfill that child's wish."

[What kind of justification is that? You mean revenge? Can that really be said to be the revenge of that girl?!]

“You must have seen it several times already.”

The spirit of the girl floated above my hand.

Through my necromancy, she - who had been absorbed into me - was gradually transforming into a large blue flame.

“The soul contains mana.”

[...!]

The blue flame took on the form of a small girl and stood on the ground.

“I only convert the mana contained in her soul into magic.”

Exorcizing souls with necromancy was a skill with a fairly high level of difficulty.

Ordinary necromancers didn’t have special eyes like me, so they couldn’t see the appearance of the souls or have a conversation with them.

But if that was the case, then why were necromancers able to manipulate the soul?

It was… through pain.

By inflicting pain on the soul with magic, they controlled and domesticated them.

“With only basic skills of necromancy, even if I wanted to exorcize her, I wouldn’t be able to.”

The pain they are inflicted with never ends.

The flames of the necromancer give burning pain to the dead, hindering the rest they should enjoy after life… But in my case, the girl had become my flame.

I gently pushed her from the back and whispered.

“Happy birthday, Emily.”

--- End of The Chapter --

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