Love Letter From The Future-Chapter 379: Bread and Dagger (77)

The familiar faces didn’t stop at Senior Elsie.

Right behind her, Senior Delphine and Emma came rushing toward me. Even Isha, trailing at a distance, was cautiously making her way over.

I first took a moment to savor the feeling of Senior Elsie in my arms.

The moment Senior Delphine saw me, her face lit up with joy. It was such a rare display of emotion for her that she quickly cleared her throat, as if embarrassed by her slip.

That just meant she had been just as anxious.

It honestly felt nice.

She had always been composed and haughty. Yet now, the moment she saw me, she smiled brighter than I had ever seen before.

Perhaps it was thanks to the special bond we’d shared.

Even I felt a strange warmth in my chest when I looked at her.

While I was caught up in those thoughts, Emma, panting, reached me with tears brimming in her eyes.

As if in disbelief, the girl’s hands traced my face multiple times. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

Eventually, her legs gave out and she collapsed onto the ground.

“I-Ian... hic, I’m sorry...”

Sorry for what, exactly?

With a wry smile, I reached out to console her.

“It’s okay, Emma. I’m fine... I’m just glad you’re safe. You must have been through a lot, haven’t you?”

On instinct, I nearly pulled Emma into my arms—but then I hesitated, scanning my surroundings.

I was mostly wary of Senior Elsie.

She was, without exaggeration, the embodiment of jealousy. Ever since confessing her feelings, she made a habit of openly displaying hostility towards any woman who got too close to me.

But her reaction was unexpected this time.

She merely let out a little snort and turned her gaze away with a slightly sour expression—like she was begrudgingly allowing it, even if she didn’t like it.

“Hmph, I’m a Rinella... I wouldn’t lower myself to make a scene over a commoner girl.”

That haughty tone—it was just like her.

Still, she couldn’t quite hide the anxious glances she kept tossing my way. I let out a wry smile, but chose to accept her small gesture of tolerance with gratitude.

Surprisingly, it was Senior Delphine who put a stop to things.

“Master, I have plenty to say, but... there’s no time. We need to get out of here.”

“Then what about that monster?”

“We have no choice but to leave it be.”

Patting the sobbing Emma’s back, I turned around with a heavy sigh.

The mass of flesh was still eyeing me and my party. It was the exact opposite of how it behaved earlier, indiscriminately devouring elves.

It felt like it was carefully monitoring us.

Like it was assessing its enemies strength.

And I, somehow, had a pretty good idea why.

“That monster... It grows by absorbing elves. Right now, just as it’s beginning to expand, is when it’s at its weakest.”

Senior Delphine furrowed her brow, while Senior Elsie turned her piercing blue gaze toward the fleshy mass.

Their reactions couldn’t have been more different.

Senior Delphine seemed hesitant, clearly leaning toward retreat. Meanwhile, Senior Elsie’s eyes burned with hostility as she glared at the grotesque mass.

The reason was obvious.

Her eyes flickered toward my wounded side.

Then, as if she had made up her mind, the girl in the pointed hat clenched her teeth.

“Is that so? Then we should teach it a lesson right now! Hey, serpent-head! Do you even realize who you’ve messed with, standing there all high and mighty....!”

“But you’re injured.”

The moment Senior Delphine’s serious voice cut in, Senior Elsie immediately fell silent.

I was the only thing reflected in those crimson eyes.

It was a single, quiet remark.

“If you took a hit to the side, there’s a good chance your internal organs are damaged. And if it’s a burn on top of that... you need to immediately see a Priest and get proper treatment.”

“I’m fine. More importantly, do you not see that thing? That massive monster is just standing there, wary of us! We won’t get another chance like thi— gaaah!”

But my protest was abruptly cut short by Emma’s gesture.

She, who had been quietly listening to my protests, suddenly pressed down on my burned side with her fingers. Caught completely off guard, I let out a strangled cry.

Tears sprang to my eyes before I even realized it.

The pain had already been unbearable. And now, caught off guard by an unexpected ambush, I couldn’t even hold back the undignified cry.

Seeing me like that, Emma’s expression hardened with resolve.

“Let’s return, Lady Yurdina.”

Her tone was adamant.

Emma’s gaze weighed heavily upon me, as if she’d allow no objections.

My lips went dry with unease.

I instinctively knew it.

This was our last chance.

Even my future self warned me not to mess with that monster. If we didn’t strike now, when it was at its weakest, disaster was inevitable.

More than anything, I had seen that bubbling mass of flesh before—in my future self’s memories.

A calamity that swept over the North like a tidal wave.

I recalled that gray-haired woman, standing alone before it.

In the end, I had no choice but to be stubborn.

“Then go ahead without me... just this elf, just take this elf with you.”

I said, gesturing toward Aviang, who I had set down on the ground. It was an absurd suggestion, and the mood among the group instantly grew hostile.

I knew it was a cowardly move.

But my mind kept returning to Aviang and her younger sister. And the eyes of those elves who screamed as they were dragged into that bubbling mass of flesh.

Why did they scream?

Hadn’t they said life was hell? That they no longer wished to live?

Yet in that moment—the only thing reflected in their eyes was pure despair.

Firming my voice, I spoke again.

“We won’t get another chance, Senior Delphine.”

In the end, it wasn’t me but Senior Delphine who gave in.

After all, they had come all this way to rescue me. Leaving me behind while escaping with just one elf girl was out of the question.

A brief exchange passed between Senior Delphine and me.

“...Can you win?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then you get exactly one shot.”

That was the end of it.

Only then did Isha finally cautiously creep toward us, her legs trembling as if buckling from fear at the grotesque sight of that bubbling flesh.

“H-Human... what is that monster? This is supposed to be the headquarters—so why are there so few elves...?”

“Isha, I’m counting on you to take care of Emma and Aviang.”

Our formation came together in the blink of an eye.

The moment I straightened up and took the lead, Senior Delphine immediately moved in beside me. At the same time, I could already sense mana swirling in Senior Elsie’s hands.

Having comrades who had crossed the brink of death countless times were always the most reliable.

We didn’t even need to speak. An unspoken agreement had formed between us.

Senior Delphine and I would act as vanguard.

While Senior Elsie would prepare a powerful finishing blow from the rear.

She would most likely follow up with ‘Thunderclap’— the most destructive wide-area spell amongst the 5th-circle spells Senior Elsie could cast.

We had to eliminate as many variables as possible until then.

The serpents lurking on the edges, for instance—the ones that might escape the spell’s blast radius.

The bubbling mass of flesh immediately realized our intent. The sheer force of our killing intent was too sharp to miss.

The serpents howled, morphing their faces one after another.

“En, d, it... End, it, plea, se!”

Then came the fleshy tentacles, pounding the earth like thunderbolts.

As though anticipating it, I swung my sword and severed one of the tentacles. With my free hand, I hurled my hatchet at fierce speed.

It carved a crescent arc through the air.

Blood burst forth with a sickening splatter. Some tentacles managed to survive, but they were soon engulfed in golden flames.

It was a golden aura reminiscent of the sun, Senior Delphine’s handiwork.

. The fleshy mass seemed to be particularly vulnerable to fire; its tentacles flailed uncontrollably. Though silent, its agony was palpable.

Then the serpents’ skulls began glowing with an incandescent light.

The sight of dozens of serpent heads lighting up one by one was nothing short of spectacular. Had it been nighttime, it would have been even more breathtaking.

Leoric’s howls continued.

“Th-this, cu-curs-ed, life!”

Beams of light slashed through the air, fracturing the cubical space around us.

Right—this was our last chance.

***Seria’s room was always shrouded in darkness.

Any light that tried to creep through the windows had long been blocked by ornate drapes. Yet, even in this darkness, Seria’s blue eyes gleamed with an eerie glow.

Even without light, she had no trouble going about her life.

And so, like a sinner dreading her own guilt, Seria locked herself away in her room, refusing to see anyone and spent days tormenting herself.

Then, without warning, the Princess came to see her.

To propose ‘patricide.’

Seria vehemently shook her head in refusal, but she knew better than anyone that the princess would never lie. Even so, how could she possibly accept it?

Her father was her only blood relative.

He was the only family connected to her by blood. Though she had Delphine, the older sister she admired but, in the end, they were born of different mothers—making them only half-sisters.

And she was now being told that her father had lied.

The same man who had cast her mother aside.

Deep down, she always thought she hated him. After all, in her childhood’s nightmares, he always played the role of the greatest villain.

But perhaps... she had never truly let go.

That bond of blood.

The voices of the women who had come to see her continued.

Fragmented truths stumbled their way into her mind.

“Marquis Yurdina is a traitor.”

“Sir Ian never lost his memory. Nor did he side with the elves. On the contrary, it was Alex who deceived Lady Delphine.”

“Sister Seria, you must make a decision.”

Seria lowered her gaze, her expression clouded with despair.

Make a decision? Me?

Are they telling me to cut down the last family I have left in this world?

People would claim that she had inherited her lowborn mother’s blood and betrayed her father. Even if the Yurdina Family’s power passed to Delphine, that disgrace would remain forever.

There was no need to even consider it—she had to refuse.

The decision would have to be made one day, but she was not the one who should make it. From the start, she lacked the power to depose Marquis Yurdina.

If there was anyone in the family capable of doing so, there was only one.

Delphine, who held authority as the heir for some time now.

The real problem lay in the choice beyond that.

The senior she cherished more than anything had been betrayed by her father.

And he might be facing mortal danger now.

Seria felt like she was going insane.

Her family or her Senior?

‘Huff...’ Seria’s breathing grew ragged.

“Senior, I know this might be hard, but the testimonies line up too perfectly. There’s little room for doubt...”

“So you want me to kill my only blood relative?”

At that sharp retort, the Princess fell silent.

The Saintess and Neris had already been quiet for some time. Everyone understood that the time had come for her to decide.

But the Saintess added just one remark.

“It’s for Ian’s sake.”

There were only two things in this world holding Seria together.

The Yurdina Family, bound to her by blood.

And her Senior Ian, bound to her by fate.

She had to choose one and let the other go.

Seria’s hands trembled violently. Her eyes held a look of incomprehension, unable to grasp why such a cruel choice had fallen upon her.

She had to choose Ian.

Her heart and mind both told her so. And yet she hesitated, weighed down by the notion of killing her father with her own hands.

Her ragged breaths grew even harsher.

“I... I, I mean, I...”

Even her usual formal tone was gone.

The Saintess closed her eyes in silent understanding. Neris, meanwhile, simply averted her gaze as if she were never there to begin with.

Only the Princess stood there with an anxious expression, fists tightly clenched, her shining eyes pressing Seria for an answer.

Just as she was about to break under the pressure and utter a word—

“Lady Delphine has returned! And Sir Ian is with her!”

A sudden cheerful cry rang out, making everyone’s heads snap toward the source.

Even in her daze, Seria sprang to her feet and then flung open the window she hadn’t touched in days.

And sure enough, the words were true.

In the distance, Delphine and her party staggered forward.

Carrying Ian, who was clearly gravely injured.

Delphine’s voice rang out.

“Assemble the army at once.”

It was a day of especially fierce snowstorms.