CH 73

“Kyahaha, Princess! Where are you going?!”

Bang! Bang! As soon as Psychke stepped on the ground, a giant plant stem rose up.

Ashen grass splashed in front of her and a cloud of dust floated in the air.

Psychke ran madly without looking back.

‘Even running is difficult. Why does my body feel stiff?’

She knew there’s no way she can beat Shiona in this place.

It was her realization after many exchanging of attacks.

Her body felt heavy as if some heavy thing was hanging on it. Her ability hasn’t been manifested that well, either.

Even if she squeezed hard she could, all that came out was just a size of her fingernail.

“There is no point in running away!”

Snake-like gray plant stems sprinted ferociously. Trees turned into monsters spread their branches in all directions.

Because of them, her cheeks were scratched, even her clothes was torn, making a light scratch appear on her skin.

Her hair, like a silvery thread, passed precariously between the branches.

Psychke trampled the grass that kept tripping on her feet. With her sword, she cut off and slashed the plant stems that had grown thick like giant snakes.

She continued to run, shaking off everything in her way, but a blue lake that suddenly appeared blocked her way.

“Acckk!”

In an instant, the plant stem caught her limbs.

Because of the unbearable pressure pushing her down, she lost her sword from her hand.

Shiona, on the other hand, was leisurely walking sideways, watching Psychke suffer.

She then grabbed her hair and forced her to look in her direction.

“How have you been, Princess? I’ve been having a hard time because of you, Princess!”

“…”

“Don’t stare at me with those eyes of yours! You’re scared?”

Shiona giggled like someone who have gone insane, covering her mouth with the back of her hand.

“Ah, thanks to you, I’ll sleep well tonight. But what the hell are you doing here? I can’t tell if you don’t answer me but it’s also fine if you keep your mouth shut, anyway.”

Shiona tapped Psyche’s cheek as if she was dying of her cuteness.

Then she saw the blue lake in front of her and laughed.

“You have come a long way. When did you get here?”

“… If you- kill me…”

She tried to kill her quickly.

The plant’s pressure on her was loosened.

The pressure on her chest was gone, and Psychke quickly gasped for air, whilst her heart beat wildly.

Shiona sneered at her.

“Ah, my mistake. Since you kept running away, I put too much strength. But do not fret, I won’t kill you. You seemed a bit injured, but if I fix you, I can use you again, so why would I kill you?”

What was she trying to say ‘fix’? Psychke bit her lips.

The sword that turned into his earring touched her toe.

Pulling it towards her, she twisted as hard as she could to free herself from the plant.

However, since her strength was drained, she could only kick the grass, which had no effect. The lake swayed calmly.

“You’re cute. It’s just that, you’re useless… Ah.”

Shiona twinkled her eyes, giggling after mocking Psychke.

“It’s great that you’re a curious person. Right now, what can you see?”

“… What?”

“A lake, I was asking about it! Do you see anything like it?”

It was just her and Shiona, pathetically stuck.

Shiona mumbled when Psychke didn’t respond.

“Hmm, His Majesty kept saying something about the reincarnation of the first Silkisia, so I expected it, but was it just senility?”

The moment she tried to retaliate fiercely at Shiona’s words that she couldn’t understand, Psychke’s expression hardened.

The lake started to stir, and Shiona disappeared.

She was left alone, tied down in this unknown place.

She collapsed on the white snow field and was crying in someone’s arms.

“Why, why? What do you see?”

The changed Psychke’s expression made Shiona more excited.

Psychke looked down at herself reflected in the water.

Looking closely, she realized that the woman reflected in the water was not herself. It looked similar to her face but gotten older.

‘This face is something I haven’t seen before.’

「 “…. Les…” 」

Suddenly, a sound came from the lake.

It was a dying voice.

「 “… Me, Lestir.” 」

It was a sound right in front of her, but it echoed as if speaking from afar.

Just then, she remembered where she had seen this face.

‘The First Silkisia.’

She saw this face in a room filled of portraits of the successive family heads.

That woman who looked like herself was the original Silkisia.

「 “Kill me, Lestir…” 」

Along with the gloomy words, the water shadows shimmered.

Then, it returned to a normal lake.

“Tell me. What do you see?”

Shiona, who couldn’t hear the lake’s voice, was anxious. She asked to speak quickly and pulled out her dagger and she even held it.

Even so, Psychke did not hesitate once.

She had no idea what was it, but she didn’t want to do what other person wanted.

It was Shiona who sweated.

“Ah, it looks like you can see something.”

She bit her pouty lips with her nervous face.

Is His Majesty right? I think he is. Then I am a mighty wizard who cast a brainwashing spell on the first Silkisian…?

“Great. I’ll have to find out for myself, then.”

Retrieving her dagger, Shiona tore her palm without hesitation.

Then she covered Psychke’s face with her bloody palms.

“I’m going to do a little memory searching to confirm, so listen carefully and I’ll be done in no time!”

“What? Wait!”

Psychke couldn’t even finish her words when the darkness engulfed her instantly. She had lost her consciousness.

* * *

“… Psychke, Psychke.”

When Psychke opened her eyes, she was back to when she was ten years old.

She was in the Training Hall of Silkisia.

As a child, she threw down her wooden sword and bowed down in front of Logan, who was enraged.

“What did I say?”

“In order to become a true Silkisia… You said, that I… I must not defeat my older brother, Yzhar.”

Before she could figure out what the situation was, her mouth opened on its own. Her little body trembled with fear.

“That’s right! But you-”

A cold gaze dug into her back.

The little Psychke wanted to say, ‘It was my fault, I won’t do it again.’

However, the Psychke of reality prevented it.

‘No, you won’t let me off no matter what I do. You just won’t admit.’

“Psychke?”

As if her unresponsiveness was strange, Logan let out an accusing voice.

Her body trembled even more.

She have to answer right now, she needed to answer, because if she don’t she’ll get scolded real bad.

‘No. Don’t answer him.’

She knew that this is just an illusion created by Shiona’s magic, but this was her irreversible past.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t let it go the way it did.

Whether she was useful or not, wrongdoing has to be corrected.

‘I didn’t do anything wrong.’

Psychke of reality fought fiercely with her inner fear.

Perhaps because of that, what came out of young Psychke’s mouth, which slowly opened, was a different sentence from the past.

“… Want to.”

“What?”

“I do not want to.”

She raised her head and looked at Logan.

His face was even more contorted.

“Do you know what you are talking about?”

“Why can’t I beat my brother?”

“It looks like you really don’t want to become Silkisia.”

“I don’t need anything like the real Silkisia.”

Said little Psychke in a clear voice.

“I don’t want to be Silkisia.”

Logan’s expression darkened.

At the same time, Shiona’s voice, which seemed to echo in the distance, grumbled.

‘She completely lost herself. I need to wake her up and repeat.’

Logan and the training hall were shattered by the darkness that spread as if it were scattering.

It felt as if something weighing heavily on her head was breaking.

And the scene changed.

It was a dungeon.

Psychke was lying on her face in front of someone. She was younger than earlier. Her whole body was bound with chains.

She was about to get up however, she didn’t have the strength to do she intended, and she stiffened her body startled by the voice that came from right in front of her.

“Are you sure you want to save her?”

Her father’s voice was colder than ever.

In the primal fear that she might be strangled at any moment, young Psychke lowered her posture. Iron, the chains scratched the floor.

“Are you concerned?”

A dry voice answered. It was the first voice she heard.

“Are you afraid this kid will take your place? There will be no such thing. As long as she does her job well.”

His cold hand jerked her head.

Psychke could finally see the people in front of her.

It was her father, Shiona, and a red-haired, gray-eyed man bent over and grabbing her hair.

The moment she faced him, her body seemed to freeze.

His eyes were so cold that Psychke trembled involuntarily. She tried hard to avert her gaze but he forced him too look into him.

“He’s the person who will be your master, so keep an eye on him.”

‘What is this memory?’

She had never heard like this in her childhood. Was this memory even correct?

Psychke twisted her body, trying to refute him.

However, only the unknown fear filled up, and her mouth did not open at all.

At some point, her tears flowed.

The man, who let her go, commanded Shiona.

“Start. Don’t forget to recognize it as a curse so that she can’t use her superpowers at will.”

What…

“Yes.”

Shiona, who pouted her mouth, squatted in front of Psychke and covered it with her hand from forehead to the tip of her nose.

Psychke didn’t like the touch, letting out a heavy breath.

Suddenly, memories of her that she knew came flooding in.

People who shouted that her ability is a curse, people said that there will be a bloodshed-

You said this was all made up of memories?

‘I have to get out.’

She struggled to escape the spell.

However, her hardened body did not intend to move.

‘This is a curse. It shouldn’t be known to anyone!’

‘If it is known that this child is alive, there will be bloodshed in the empire.’

Her fabricated fake memories blinded her eyes.

She thought her vision turned blurred but what was in front of her turned black, chains that restrained her body disappeared along with the cold prison.

Even the cool air that touched her skin was nowhere to be found.

She can’t see nor hear anything.

Her world has become a complete nothingness.

Then, since when.

Strange letters started appearing. She heard a ringing hum from afar, encroaching on her eyes and ears.

「 “Don’t use your abilities.” 」

「 “Your ability is nothing like supernatural powers. It’s a curse.” 」

「 “Go back.” 」

「 “The only place that accepts someone like you is Silkisia. Go back.” 」

Psychke closed her eyes and covered her ears.

No. Even though she doesn’t know where she should be, she doesn’t think she belongs to Silkisia.

They don’t accept me there. Whatever she does, they just don’t want to admit it.

「 “Go back.” .」

No. No!

I was floating on the edge of unconsciousness, struggling to resist the words that felt like a command.

‘Why, where are you going?’

Someone’s words echoed in her head.

As if drawing a scene with colored threads on a black background, the situation at that time appeared, disappeared, and appeared repeatedly.

She sat down in front of her, then disappeared.

‘Where are you going?’

She couldn’t say anything to those purple eyes that were burning like they were about to swallow her.

In fact, she hadn’t even decided on a destination, but even if she had, she wouldn’t have been able to tell.

‘Tell me. Huh?’

Psychke muttered involuntarily.

She didn’t notice that her numb mouth started to move.

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“Just make up your mind. I’ll burn you for real.”

… Ha, have she ever heard something like this in real life?

Her head turned sluggishly.

It was Shiona’s scream filled with pain that awakened her.

“Kkyaahh!!”

The senses that had returned one by one came back all at once, like a candle being lit in a dark room.

Returning to the boundary of consciousness, Psychke opened her eyes.

At that moment, the world of silence was shattered.

Bang!

“Aaaaagh-!”

The acrid smell of smoke stung her nostrils. Shiona’s screams bursting out incessantly pierced her eardrums.

Her head hurt and she couldn’t balance her drained body. If she hadn’t had someone hugging her, she would have fallen to the floor.

Her vision was blurry because she was out of focus. All she could see was something blue floating everywhere.

Judging by the rushing heat, she guessed that it was a spark.

… Wait a moment. A ‘blue’ flame?

(TN: Giirll, your man saved you~)