Chapter 21: Isolda Evergarden VII (1)
Yuria was openly cursing the Isolda, who was right in front of her.
However, while listening to that, Isolda didn’t feel the emotion called anger.
Rather, the feelings she was feeling at the moment were— doubt… and anxiety over something she herself couldn't understand.
“Wh… why do you think so? What did that woman do?”
Isolda asked in a trembling voice.
Facing her question, Yuria looked at Isolda and answered with burning anger in her eyes.
“She is my enemy… the evil woman who ruined my parents… and forced them to die in the end…”
“Isolda… did that… to your parents?”
It was something she didn’t know.
However, she was able to guess certain things.That’s why Isolda knew… that what this girl was saying was the truth.
That this child’s parents died because of what she had done.
“Yes… so you can’t imagine how happy I was not long ago, when I heard that evil woman was punished by Lord Bahamut…”
Yuria recalled the joy she had felt at that time while tightening her hands holding the reins.
However, she didn’t notice that Isolda was looking at her with a pale expression.
“Originally, I was planning to succeed in my trade and then get revenge, but now I don’t have to. That’s why I’m going to my parents now. To let them know that Isolda is dead… and now they can close their eyes in peace…”
“Yeah… you should do that.”
“Hmmm… Miss Isera? Are you… okay?”
Only then did Yuria notice that Isera’s complexion wasn’t looking quite good.
In response, she called out to her with concern, but right after that, Isolda raised her hand to block her words.
“It’s okay… I’m feeling a little… tired. I… I’ll rest inside for a moment.”
“Ah yes. Then rest for a bit, because we have to go a long way to set up camp anyway.”
“Yeah… well, then I…”
Isolda staggered into the carriage.
Looking at her, Yuria began to search through her memories to see if there was anywhere she could get medicine along the way. She worried that the wound on Isolda’s back might have gotten worse.
***
Isolda chose to lie down in the carriage.
But… she could hardly lie at ease.
‘I… killed… I… killed… the child’s… parents… I…’
Isolda who had thought that a person’s life was worth less than a single gold coin, was feeling shaken.
She had always thought that other humans were just tools to be utilized and objects to be traded in various ways. However, even she couldn’t take the current shock lightly.
Yuria was someone she had been able to connect on a psychological level. She was some she had been able to sympathize with.
Because of that, even when she heard about her parents, Isolda didn’t feel like they were strangers.
Their story had touched her heart, and she felt sad for their deaths. She sympathized with them who had suffered the same fate as hers.
However, the culprit behind all of that… was none other than Isolda Evergarden herself!
It was her relentless desire that had must have harmed them.
That must’ve been the thing that killed them.
If it hadn’t been for her, that child… that girl who resembled her younger self wouldn’t have to struggle while driving a carriage alone in the cold wind.
She had taken away the child’s family, her future, and her happiness.
‘No, it’s not just that girl.’
There were lots of others like her who don’t even know Isolda’s face. They must have already suffered the same pain as that child.
Everyone who she had used, robbed, and abandoned.
Everyone who she had treated as mere tools and discarded without mercy.
‘I… I… until…now. Just what… what… what have I done…’
She had always thought of herself as a special being different from others.
She was a colossus who would one day grab everything in the world, and other humans were just objects she could use to achieve her goal. That’s why she thought she could use even humans without hesitation for her own benefit.
‘I thought it was alright to make others unhappy for my own sake.’
But…
After she met this girl named Yuria.
After listening to her story.
After empathizing with her feelings.
For the first time in her life… she was able to share heartfelt feelings with others.
It ailed Isolda’s spirit, which had been weakened and shaken by the failure and the suffering she had to endure.
At the moment, she had no choice but to admit one cruel fact.
The people who she had harmed in the past… were actually no different from her.
They had a past just like hers, they had a family like hers, and they had suffered from failures just like her.
As soon as she realized that the things she had discarded as worthless were in fact huge debts.
She… the evil woman who had brought tears to the eyes of many people, was beset with immense guilt.
Tears of blood flowed from Isolda Evergarden’s eyes… as her heart was filled with self-reproach.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m really… sorry…”
***
“Are you okay? You still have a bad complexion…”
“It’s okay. And… you should get some rest too.. you look very tired.”
Still with a pale, bloodless face, Isolda spoke with a calm expression.
In response, Yuria suggested her to get a little more rest.
But Isolda stubbornly refused and asked her to get some sleep.
“That… well… if you’re really having a hard time, wake me up anytime. Because I’m fine with…”
“Yes. I will do that. Now go have a good rest…”
After repeating the suggestion, Yuria went inside the carriage and fell asleep.