Between Your Letter and My Reply

Chapter 148
Episode 8: Crossroads

—Lily.—

A low, baritone voice called Lilliana’s name. Lilliana loved that voice, which resonated like an echo in a cave.

Lilliana snuggled into a large embrace and said,

I’m so happy to be living with you again, Dad!

The person hugged Lilliana back and scanned her face.

—Have you gotten prettier?—

I’ve always been pretty.

Lilliana replied with a giggle.

—I missed you.—

I missed you a lot too, Dad.

The conversation felt so warm.

—I’m sorry. For putting you in this situation…—

It’s okay. You’ll be with me, right, Dad? What could be more reassuring than that?

—Yes. I can’t leave you alone… And Casey will be okay with being with you now too.—

Thank you, Dad.

—There’s no need to thank me. We’re family.—

Family…

Lilliana savored the word in her mouth. Family… It was both embarrassing and heartwarming.

And then, the scenes continued in a disjointed manner, like a flickering film.

—Lily, is it delicious?—

Oh, can I be honest? Was this really the best you could do?

—I’m sorry. When I was alone with Casey, I didn’t pay much attention to this kind of thing, so my cooking skills and Casey’s…—

It can’t be helped. But what about you, brother? Is there any maid who’s worse at cooking than a noble lady?

—Lily, come here. How can a grown young lady be playing in the valley like that?!—

I can have some fun too! It’s not a big deal…!

—Lily, you seem to have forgotten your situation…—

Ah, Dad! That’s too much!

—I made this for you.—

Oh my! An atelier filled with flowering trees, it’s perfect! Thank you!

Lilliana said with a bright smile,

I love you, Dad! I really love you!

***

“Ah…”

Lilliana turned over at the sound of birds chirping, announcing the morning. She opened her eyes slightly and saw that it was still dim outside, feeling a bit frustrated for waking up so early.

She was about to rub her eyes, then realized they were wet. Tears were flowing down her cheeks.

“I woke up crying again…”

Lilliana wiped her eyes with an indifferent attitude. This had been happening a lot lately. Whenever she had a dream, she would wake up crying.

And after waking up, her chest would ache. More precisely, her heart ached.

The problem was that she couldn’t remember the contents of the dream clearly. She didn’t know why she couldn’t remember it vividly, but she assumed it must have been a very sad dream.

Otherwise, there was no reason for her heart to ache like this.

“Memories…” Lilliana muttered, staring blankly at the ceiling. A teardrop still clung to her eyelashes.

“It seems like my memories are returning…”

It was supposed to be a good thing.

But then why this ominous feeling?

It felt like something that had been suppressed was bubbling like lava, about to erupt.

Lilliana was anxious. It stemmed from fear. She was afraid that the sadness that made her cry would turn into a giant tsunami and swallow her whole.

She lightly patted her cheeks.

“It’s okay.”

Lilliana took a deep breath and calmed her heart.

“I’ll always be okay.”

Because I’m Lilliana Carnell, who neither runs away nor hides.

My memories will be my burden, and I will gladly carry them as their owner.

She had clearly vowed that in front of Soliel.

It wasn’t that she didn’t have any fear. Lilliana was also human; she naturally had the defense mechanisms that all living beings possess. And they whispered,

Lilliana, are you sure you’ll be okay?

“What do you mean, not okay? I want to know who I liked…”

Lilliana’s thoughts continued, then she paused abruptly.

Did she really want to know? What did she want to do if she remembered the person she liked?

Suddenly, Damian’s face flashed through her mind.

“That person isn’t by Lilliana’s side right now, is he?”

Whenever this topic came up, Damian always repeated those words like a parrot.

He was right. They say that when you’re physically apart, your hearts grow distant too. Lilliana felt her feelings for that person gradually fading.

She was still curious about the person she had forgotten. But the desire to meet him had already faded considerably.

She felt a little guilty, as if it were disrespectful to someone she once liked.

‘Well, whoever it is will naturally come to mind once I regain my memories, so let’s not be impatient or dwell on it too much.’

Lilliana reassured herself and, instead of going back to sleep, stretched and opened the window. The newspaper delivery person was riding around on their bicycle outside.

Since she was up early, Lilliana decided to fetch the newspaper and went outside. Newspapers had been delivered to each mailbox in the common hallway.

Lilliana picked up the newspaper and scanned the headlines on the front page. The top story was about the economy, so she wasn’t very interested and casually glanced down.

And then, seeing the title of the article below, Lilliana’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Whoa!”

She unconsciously let out an incoherent exclamation. She flapped the newspaper in her hand and dashed back into the house like a madwoman.

Ignoring the loud thudding of her footsteps, she ran up to the 10th floor and pounded on Damian’s door.

“Damian! Damian!”

In the short time it took her to call his name twice, the door flew open. As a result, Lilliana’s fist, which had been pounding on the door, struck the resident’s chest.

Damian, still sleepy-eyed, looked down at her with a bewildered expression.

“Lilliana? What’s wrong?”

What was so urgent? Had something major happened?

Lilliana, instead of answering the anxious Damian, thrust the newspaper at him.

“Look! Look at this!”

Damian, caught off guard, took the newspaper and read the headline article on the front page.

“No! Below that! The article below that!”

Following Lilliana’s instructions, Damian lowered his gaze and his jaw slowly dropped as he read the third headline.

Seeing his reaction, Lilliana shouted excitedly, “Lebe won! Lebe won the war against Suvelz! Lebe is now an independent nation!”

[Lebe’s Victory March! Glorious Triumph over the Suvelz Empire!]

It was clearly written in bold letters in the newspaper.

And in smaller letters, it said that as of dawn today, Lebe had succeeded in reclaiming all the territories occupied by Suvelz and regained sovereignty over the entire country.

Thus, the victor of this war of independence was Lebe.

Furthermore, it said that the process of Lebe officially declaring itself victorious and ending the war would begin today, and Suvelz’s surrender declaration was also expected to be announced within two days.

The article emphasized that although no official documents or announcements had been made yet, Lebe had clearly won.

Damian stared blankly at the newspaper, dazed. Lilliana grabbed his shoulder and shook him.

“It’s thanks to you! Lebe won because of your fight!”

Damian stammered, unable to find his words, and then the door across from him burst open.

“Shut up!”

Asher shouted, rubbing his eyes with an irritated look. But Lilliana, ignoring his annoyance, shouted excitedly, “Lebe is independent from Suvelz!”

At those words, Asher’s expression softened, and he made a face that was somewhere between a smile and something else.

“Ah.”

After that short exclamation, Asher glanced at Damian and said, “That’s great, Damian. Congratulations.”

Then he quietly went back to his room and closed the door. With Asher’s tacit approval, Lilliana started chattering excitedly.

“Congratulations, Damian! That’s great! Isn’t it? That…”

Lilliana, who had been talking to herself while Damian remained silent, paused and trailed off. A stream of tears was flowing down Damian’s cheek.

“The war…” he said, his voice thick with emotion.

“The war is over.”

Damian buried his face in the newspaper and wept. Wet spots appeared on the newspaper from his tears.

He didn’t know why he was crying. But Damian slumped to the floor and sobbed like a child. He felt like he wouldn’t be able to expel the leaden weight that had been pressing down on his chest all this time unless he cried.

The more he cried, the more the leaden weight melted and flowed out with his sobs. Damian let the tears flow and the sobs escape until it was all out.

He had thought it was a fight he had fallen behind in, but he had been acknowledged that his fight wasn’t in vain. He was happy about that. He wanted to laugh, but tears came instead, and he couldn’t control himself.

He wept, as if pouring out everything he had kept in his heart.

—————

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