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sylvia-forest · 1 year

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[CN] Shaw's 2023 Birthday R&S

⚡ Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for a R&S which hasn't released in EN yet!⚡

[Released Date: 16 June 2023]

[This content was translated with the help of Google translate and by my lovely friend XD]

✧[Chapter 1]✧

Shaw walked unhurriedly on the path on one side, and the earphone cable on his chest also dangled. It wasn't until a fork in the road appeared that he was finally willing to lift his eyelids and look left and right.

It was still the bat’s road on the left, two or three vehicles were parked there.

To the right, there was a gentle slope upward, and between the layers of trees, you can see a tombstone standing there, as well as two or three places where white smoke drifts out due to worship.

Since the burial of the old man, this is the second time he came here. Hardly a year has passed by but there were a lot more tombstones than before, and he couldn't even find where he was.

But Shaw wasn't in a hurry, he put his hands in his pockets, and walked east without hesitation. No matter how much this place changes, going to somewhere with the best Feng Shui never goes wrong.

[T/N]: Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese art of arranging buildings, objects, and space in an environment to achieve harmony and balance in a way that will bring peace and prosperity. Or in simple having luck with the environment!

So it didn't take long for Shaw to stand in front of the old man's tombstone without any problems. After staring at the photo that’s mosaicked in the middle, he reached out and pulled out the earphones.

“Hey, old man.”

“I can't believe I chose this photo, you're the one with the biggest smile.”

Shaw raised his hand to brush off the dead leaves from the tombstone, but just with few strokes, his hands were covered with a layer of black dust.

“.........”

After a few moments of silence, he squeezed his hand around his white cuff and wiped the dust off the tombstone bit by bit.

“Old man, you are too far from the city center. So don't blame me for not frequently visting, just swear some words upon the sky.”

As Shaw spoke, he suddenly narrowed his eyes and sneezed several times in succession.

“... Mine was pretty fast.”

“Then you relax yourself first, I haven’t finished reporting. When I’m finished reporting, you can criticise me all you want.”

At this time, the right cuff had become black from dust, so Shaw pinched his left cuff, and continued to wipe the dust.

“Originally, I wanted to wait until Ching Ming festival to gave you a grave sweep, although i don’t visit so often, certain rules still has to be followed”

[T/N]: 清明節 Ching Ming or Qingming festival means the Remembrance of Ancestors Day or Grave-Sweeping Day takes place on the 15th day after the Spring Equinox.

“But I’ll be busy with some school stuff at that time, so I came early,”

“As for the antiques...everything is fine, except that your business has been reduced a lot without you.”

“You also know that I don't like making trouble, so I'll try my best not to lose money for you. Oh, and there's one more thing— —

“I accidentally broke a cup of yours some time ago. Fortunately, it was only from the Qing Dynasty. In addition, it was repaired in time, so the loss is not big. I just feel sorry for your old age, so I will pay you more.”

Shaw lifted the plastic bag that he brought all the way here and shook it in front of the tombstone. After shaking it, he took out a still warm roast chicken, three or two fruits and a handful of original melon seeds from it.

Then, he glanced at the bottle of sake left in the bag, and raised the corners of his lips slightly.

“Remember it all, all of them are your favorites.”

After pouring the sake into a small glass, he finally straightened up and fell into complete silence, and without his voice, the place was even quieter, with only a string of heavy metal sounds slipping out of the headphones which were half-dangling out of his pocket.

“.......”

“It's all me talking, so it's boring.”

When Shaw raised his foot and was about to leave, he suddenly thought of something and took out a few copper coins from his pocket.

“Old man, you say I can do divination, can you tell me what you want to say to me through divination?”

Jingle—

The coins were thrown up and scattered on the ground, Shaw bent down and looked at them, and laughed.

“It's amazing, it seems to be there.”

He said, glanced at the sake cup that was only 70% full, and then picked up the sake bottle to fill it.

“Okay, I'll fill you up, but don't be too greedy. I'm really leaving this time, and I'll come see you when I have time.”

After Shaw finished speaking, he left without looking back. Only the small sake bottle was left, and the sake made silent waves with the wind.

On the way back, the sky was gloomy, and Shaw was still walking slowly when, a lingering smoke of plant ash floated behind him, and an old lady who seemed to have just finished sweeping the grave hurriedly rushed ahead of him.

“Young man, hurry up, it's going to rain heavily.”

Shaw took a look at the sky, and then kicked a stone on the side of the road.

"What a stupid rain."

✧[Chapter 2]✧

After returning to the antique shop, the dust on the cuffs had condensed into a ball.

Shaw didn't take off his coat, he directly took out a dust pan and broom from a corner of the backyard. Originally, he hadn't planned to clean it today, but the layers of dirt accumulated during the tomb sweeping made him realize that it hadn't been cleaned for a long time.

But when Shaw stood in front of the secret room with the broom, he never pressed the switch.

Since the old man left, he almost never went in there again. Even if he wanted to get some necessary things, he would just quickly go in and come out immediately, without any extra stops.

He couldn't say why he didn't want to go there, but he didn't want to "get to the bottom of it". He always felt that once he did so, a lot of troublesome emotions would come up.

So at last he turned and left, and went back to the door.

“Forget it, let's talk about it another day. You can't finish so many things in half a day.”

He began to sweep and drag the chair, and the harsh sound made from time to time made the parrot in the cage jump up and down as if startled.

Shaw stopped moving again and pinned the broom to the ground, “What, are you going to give your cage a big cleaning too?”

Seeing that the parrot continued to flutter its wings, he silently picked up the water basin on the side and walked towards the door.

“Okay, your voice is really precious, I've been raising you for four or five years, and I haven't seen you say a few words.”

After speaking, he lifted the water basin and poured towards outside, "Hey, what a coincidence, I bet you brat purpousefully poured it towards me!"

The old man just stepped into the antique stop and almost got splashed by water, his feet were shivering on the dry floor like an electric shock.

Seeing this, Shaw just shrugged his shoulders, picked up the mop and started mopping the floor, “You also said it's a coincidence, don't touch the porcelain”

“……Come on, I'm too old to argue with a kid like you.”

Old Yan put his hands behind his back and began to look at the "renewed" antique shop, with a puffing sound coming from his mouth.

“I was just next door when I heard your bells ringing, so you were giving it a cleaning .”

“Could it be that you have been enlightened by the Buddha's light, and you are finally willing to take care of this antique shop for your master and inherit the mantle?”

“........”

“Out of the way.”

Seeing that the broom almost reached his front foot, Old Yan immediately step back, Shaw slightly opened his mouth again. “Move to the left, there’s a treasure on the right.”

Old Yan subconsciously put his foot on brakes, and when he looked back, his face turned pale.

“This, the authentic work of Huang Tingjian, you put it here?”

“It's been raining for a while, and it's hard to come across a dry, cloudy day, so I took it out to dry.”

Old Yan's body went rigid, as if he hadn't recovered from the fright just now, “Anyway, put it in a safe place, I was almost knocked down by it just now!”

Shaw remained expressionless, silently putting down the mop in his hand.

“Old Yan. When it was first discovered, it didn't know that it would last for a hundred years or that it would be trapped in a wooden box by future generations.

“It's not too much to let it out once in a while to feel the breeze, right?”

Old Yan was stunned for a moment, his eyes even showed a few moments of longing, and then turned away.

“...... Why do you always come and then disappear?”

Old Yan didn't turn around, the afterglow quietly fell on his back.

“I won't be coming back today.”

…. It’s almost an year, how come today thinking about the scenery of my master enjoying chatting with these precious antiques comes to mind.

And then, there was only a sigh left at the corner.

The antique store was empty again, and the parrot was quiet.

Shaw didn't clean up any more, just leaned casually to one side, looked at the calligraphy and painting quietly for a long time, and then raised the corners of his lips.

“Surely you miss him too?”

“It's so awkward.”

Shaw shrugged, pretending to be indifferent, and when he was about to continue mopping the floor, a black shadow broke into the corner of his eye and stood at the door of the store.

He turned his head and saw the black letter 5 with a slightly raised tail engraved on the man's earphone.

✧[Chapter 3]✧

At dawn, Shaw walked quickly in the forest, dragging his bleeding left leg.

“This time the "extra money" was harder to earn than imagined, but fortunately the things have been successfully obtained, and the rest is to extort more "loss fees" from BS.”

As he was thinking, his vision suddenly blurred, causing him to run and hold onto a tree trunk and look down at the wound.

Even wearing black pants, you can still see that the place cut by the blade is bloody, surrounded by a network of broken fabric on the top, oozing black and blue blood.

“.......”

It seems that the tip of the knife seems to be poisoned.

He frowned and quickened his pace, walking towards the exit not far away. But the weird thing was, it’s clearly located in front by less than a metre, but he’s like stuck in cycles, spinning around in the same spot.

It wasn't until the third attempt that Shaw finally stopped beside the tree trunk he had carved a mark on.

“Tsk, do you really think these tricks can work on me?” Shaw gritted his teeth and complained, then simply closed his eyes.

How treacherous is the illusion?

And there was no escape from the four-element, eight-diagram array.

The next second, the off by hard memorised Eight Front Strategy taught by that old man, spread out from a circle supported by two legs in his heart. But as soon as he stepped on the “kun word”, a dazzling light wrapped him up.

He opened his eyes slightly, and found that the source of the light was actually coming from the dragonfly eye worn on his chest.

Shaw took off the chain in surprise and twisted it, but before he could continue looking, that dazzling light burst out again, completely engulfing his sight.

When he opened his eyes again, it was completely black.

“.......”

Shaw subconsciously stretched out his hand, but before his arm was straightened, his palm first met a rough and hard touch, like a pitted stone wall.

Just now it was an open forest, how did it become like this in the blink of an eye? He frowned and took out his phone to turn on the flashlight mode, the moment it illuminated, the surrounding environment was completely out of his expectation.

He was in a closed and narrow "passage", the rocks above his head could be touched by his feet, and the air was thin, with a cold, damp stench.

It was as if this place had never seen the light of the day.

“What's going on?”

Shaw endured the pain and walked a few steps, until he encountered a fork in the road, he turned his head sideways and looked in the two places.

Under the sweeping light of the flashlight, he saw some pottery and ironware on the ground, and a set of chime clocks were displayed in the distance, arranged in order from small to large at the bottom of the wall.

At this moment he felt something was wrong. After all, he grew up on West Moon Street, and he was surrounded by the old man every day. Even if he hasn't experienced it himself, he can probably tell that this was the place where the ancients lived in the legend.

“........”

How come when this thing lights up, he comes here?

He stared at the Dragonfly's Eye in his hand for a while, puzzled. But he didn't see anything unusual. His intuition told him that there must be a hidden secret. That's why the old man never explained it, but only entrusted him to take good care of it….

Just as he was thinking, a benevolent voice came from the storage room, Shaw immediately came back to his senses, and walked with light footsteps. And when he walked to the entrance of the side room, he saw an old-fashioned flashlight lying on the ground, looking along the bright light, a young man in a crumpled Chinese tunic, whose leg was firmly pressed by a broken stone slab.

Shaw didn't move for a while, just watched this strange young man scrambling back and forth on the ground, sweating profusely and grinning.

When he finally pulled his foot out of the gap, he stood up half-heartedly, looked up and saw Shaw standing at the door, and almost fell to the ground again in fright.

“You, who are you?”

✧[Chapter 4]✧

Before the words fell, Shaw's flashlight was directed on the young man's face.

“You don't care who I am. You've got a lot of nerve, what kind of society is this, and you still dare to put yourself in danger?”

While the young man was blinded by the light, Shaw frowned.

He always thought this square-faced man looked a bit familiar.

But in the next second, the young man blocked the dazzling light with his hand. Seeing that he didn't reply for a long time, Shaw moved the flashlight to his hand again, and shook it lightly.

“Don't play dumb, this jade bead is the treasure you want to take away, right?”

“How about this, give you a chance to redeem your sins, you give it to me, and I'll handed it in for you.”

The young man immediately put the round white jade beads behind his back, his face full of indignation.

“You, what do you think of me? I was going to hand it over to the museum. This is a stone bone white jade, which belongs to our cultural product of the Western Han Dynasty. It is impossible to hand it over to someone with unknown origin like you!”

"You don't look like a good person with that hair color of yours, maybe you are with that group of foreign thieves!"

Shaw was listening and ran a hand over his blue purplish hair.

“Okay, not just a reckless man, but also quite knowledgeable, but you are wrong about one thing, this is not the Western Han Dynasty, but also the Ming Dynasty.”

As Shaw said, he shone the flashlight on the heavy wooden box behind the young man.

“This is lime sand made by mixing lime, glutinous rice, and sand. No one would do this before the Ming Dynasty.”

The young man froze for a moment, leaned over to take a look, and when he turned his head, the vigilance in his eyes was replaced with curiosity.

“....Where did you learn this from?”

"You wouldn't believe it if I told you, how about it? Want to give it to me?"

Seeing Shaw taking a step forward threateningly, although the young man was afraid, he still firmly guarded the jade bead in his hand, as if he would rather smash the jade than give it up

“I'm not going to hand it over to you no matter what you say.”

“It has been sealed for centuries, and I will not allow its future fate to remain in the hands of wealthy merchants.”

“It should be seen by the world, it is history, it is culture!”

“Not synonymous with money!”

The young man's cheeks were red, and his voice became more and more subdued, as a resy Shaw couldn't hold back his laughter.

“I finally remembered who you look like, your accent, tone of voice, and a face that couldn't be more square .......”

“Just like the old man.”

Shaw scannedthe young man up and down while speaking, “It's okay for you to play retro style, no problem, but it does’nt suit that face of yours, too old looking, I advise you to put that big head down......”

Before he could finish the sentence, a dazzling ray of light flashed on his chest again.

It's the dragonfly eye.

“This is the Warring States glazed dragonfly eye, why do you have it?! I clearly —”

Shaw couldn't hear anything, the shining white light completely enveloping him.

✧[Chapter 5]✧

In the following week, Shaw searched all over the antique shop, but he couldn't find any information about the Dragonfly Eye.

After a long silence, he finally raised his hand and pressed the switch on the back of the antique shelf, and entered the secret room. With the kerosene lamp in his hand, he stared in silence at everything before him - an ancient book lined up on a wooden table at the end, a magnifying glass at the foot of the page, and a sperm tilted against the door.

There are "traces" left by the old man from the last time everywhere.

That's why he doesn't like to come to this place.

He didn't know whether to tidy up the messy secret room or keep it as it was.

He always feels that once these are returned to their original places, time will take advantage of them and erase all the traces left on them. So when Shaw searched, he deliberately avoided touching these things.

The kerosene lamps began to fade but he still found nothing. The only accidental discovery was a dusty wooden box dragged out from the bottom shelf of the ancient shelf-

It contains a red hardcover photo album, and some fragmentary objects.

Shaw didn't think twice and opened the first page.

What caught his eyes were four black and white group photos, each photo has seven or eight young people in Chinese tunic suits smiling shyly.

In the next second, Shaw's fingertips holding the album tightened a little bit.The person standing on the far right of the photo was a young man with curly hair and a square face.

“.........”

He subconsciously held his breath.

Obviously the guess was right, but he was still stunned, he continued to flip the pages in a daze.

There weren't many photos of this man, but you can tell that he has slowly changed over time - he has become a little fatter, his face has more wrinkles, and his hair has turned gray. In the end, it became the most familiar appearance to him.

“……..”

When everything was irrefutable, Shaw couldn't help but smile, only the undetectable regret remained in his eyes.

“....Old man, you are very interesting. Hiding so many secrets from me...But it's okay, just leave it as a mystery for me to solve by myself.”

“Sooner or later, I will know whether that person was my hallucination, or I really met you.”

When he put the photo album back, he found an old notebook underneath.

“There are a lot of things.”

He flipped through a few pages, which contained the old man's notes on studying antiquities when he was young, and some essays—

“History is not as old as you imagined, as long as you see it, touch it ...... Naturally, you’ll become a part of history.”

[T/N]: Please take note of this line and don’t forget it, cuz it holds a special meaning behind it and play a big role in his bday date which will also be explained later ;)

Seeing this, Shaw inadvertently looked at the ancient books, calligraphy and paintings in front of him. For some reason, these things that he has been accustomed to since he was a child, seem to have undergone different changes at this moment.

It seems that through these, we can see the past and see the freshness of the past.

Thinking of this, he raised his hand and placed it on one of the ancient books.

Has he become a part of history? To be honest, he has doubts, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Because the only person he can ask has become “history”.

✧[Chapter 6]✧

The time has come for the summer solstice, and the cicadas are chirping even more.

He patted the dust on his hands before picking up his phone and glancing at it - [Speedy Skateboard Shop] Dear member, happy birthday! Coupons have been added to your account, welcome to shop! Remember to subscribe back.

Shaw didn't even think about going back, and walked straight into the shop. It's been more than a year and a half now, and it's time to come to the store to make an account. Even if he doesn't bother to take care of the business, some basic things still have to be done.

But when he took out the calculator from the drawer, he found that there were stickers on the bottom of a business card.

He tore it off casually, and found that it was not only crumpled, but also had many cake patterns printed on it, one of which was the peach cake.

When Shaw saw this, he couldn't help laughing.

“Old man, aren't you hinting at something again?”

However, the only answer to him was a beep.

But Shaw didn't mind, and laughed even more.

“Okay, I've been eating it for so many years, and I would feel uncomfortable if I suddenly stopped this year.” He picked up the landline beside him and dialed the number from the business card to see if he could buy it.

After a while, the phone was connected by an aunt with a northern accent, ”Master Hua, why did you call this year? Don't you usually order it a few days ago? But it's okay, the birthday cake has been reserved for you.”

“What do you say, when will you come to pick it up? I'm off work soon.”

Shaw held the phone tightly, “Now”

She seemed to realize that it wasn't Master Hua's voice, and the other party was taken aback for a moment, “Oh, it's not Master Hua? Then will you help him get the cake from here? Or would he be getting it himself?”

“........”

"He's not coming, I'll get it myself."

The time Shaw finished taking the cake and returned to the antique shop, it was already dark…

Without saying anything, he cut a piece of longevity peach cake and put it on a plate, and ate it quietly. But yes, what can change dramatically in the past year?

Shaw paused for a moment while eating the cake, and there was a glimmer of darkness in his eyes.

He couldn't say that, except for this cake, there were quite a lot of changes.

“Stinky boy! Stinky boy!”

At this moment, it was as if a stone had hit the calm lake. Shaw straightened up suddenly, and looked at the parrot who had finally opened its mouth. It was obviously still dark on the street, but time seemed to be turning backwards, and the bustling noises of the daytime could be heard next to his ears— —

“Old man, can you stop nagging me? This chicken is learning to talk, I don't want another bird to scold me.”

“Brat, if you were less of a troublemaker, could I say that?”

“...stinky old man,”

“Well, you brat!”

When this past incident came to Shaw's mind, he couldn't help laughing, not even noticing the cream on the corner of his mouth.

He continued to fork a piece of yellow peach and put it in his mouth,

“Old man, what did I say? You can't say everything out loud.”

“The bird always learn the bad, not the good.”

The night was quiet again, and the parrot also lowered its head and combed its feathers,

Shaw looked at the empty antique shop, picked up a candle and stuck it in the cake.

After lighting, the warm light of the candle reflected on Shaw's face, the youthful nostalgia and resignation were reflecting out.

“......Old man.”

“All these years, I haven't been very filial to you, I happened to turn 18 this year, so let's set an example.”

“To be your good disciple for once.”

“Your antique store, the treasures you receive with love, the "history" you cherish”

“I'll take care of it for you.”

—

#please read this with a pinch of salt and I suggest you to prepare lots of tissues 😭#this r&s takes place when he just turned 18 #and there's a hell lot of information about his master and a little bit of the dragonfly necklace —#honestly this r&s nearly made me teared up when I find out how he was trying to keep himself in one piece after losing his master😭#and that last scene nearly break me in hysterical cries🤧#you guys honestly don't know how much I wanted to pull him in a hug and tell him that it's alright 🥺#mlqc spoilers #mlqc cn #mlqc shaw #mlqc ling xiao #mlqc translations #mr love queen's choice #mlqc #love and producer

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loosesodamarble · 1 year

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As Time Moves On Part 3: An Overdue Reconciliation

Summary: Nozel gathers his family for a discussion that needs to happen for the sake of the future of House Silva. Genre: general, hurt/comfort(?) Word count: ~3800

..........

Noelle gazed up at the grand visage of House Silva’s wing of the royal palace. The tall, sleek towers and spires. The windows that gleamed more like crystal than glass in the sunlight. It was beautiful but austere.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” a voice asked from behind her.

Noelle turned around to look at Finral as he leaned out of the portal he was holding open. His brows furrowed in concern and as much as he smiled, Noelle could tell it was something he forced at the moment.

“Don’t worry so much. I’m royalty, I’ll be fine here,” Noelle stated as she flicked one of her pigtails behind her shoulder. When Finral didn’t back into his portal, Noelle instead gave her squadmate a small grin. “I’m me, I can handle myself.”

The concern on Finral’s face loosened a bit. He almost receded into the portal before he extended an arm to Noelle. And from the look in his eyes, Noelle knew. She stepped over and let Finral give her a one-armed hug. She hugged him back.

“You better not come back to tell us you joined the Eagles, got it?” Finral muttered as he gave the back of Noelle’s shoulder a pat.

“If you really want to be stuck with me…” Noelle gave him a squeeze before they both let go.

The two gave each other a smile and nod before Noelle turned to House Silva again. Once upon a time, the palace was a cold and lonely prison. She took a deep breath. Then, she took her first step towards the door.

Today, she was returning to her first home.

.....

In one of the palace’s lounges, Noelle sat with Solid and Nebra with tea and snacks on the table between their seats. Nozel was still on his way, finishing squad business according to Nebra. So while the younger siblings waited, they decided to recount their actions from the night Clover Kingdom made their attack against the Spade Kingdom.

“You redirected a spell that large?!” Noelle exclaimed as she leaned forward in her seat.

“Don’t pretend to sound impressed!” Solid snapped back. “I bet you think you could’ve stopped it altogether!”

“I’m not pretending though!” Noelle said, a bit more forcefully than she meant to. “Just take a compliment, why don’t you?”

Solid made a “ngh” sound and his face started to burn red. “What you said was hardly a compliment! Besides, how do I know that you’re not just mocking me, huh?”

“Oh how pathetic that’d be,” Nebra muttered behind her hand. She leaned in Noelle’s direction. “Though if you want pointers on how to get on Solid’s nerves, I can share.” She winked at her sister.

“Yeah, no thanks.” Noelle hid a mildly disgusted look behind a sip of tea. And here I thought Nebra and Solid were as close as can be. Guess they’ll even turn on each other if it amuses them.

Her heart felt heavy at that idea. She’d always felt like she alone was pushed away and knocked down. But the cruel, cutthroat nature of House Silva could target her siblings too it seemed. It really had been for the best that Noelle never fit into that environment, that she wound up in the Black Bulls and became who she was in the present.

Had she been a fool for ever wanting to fit in with her family?

Noelle lowered her cup.

No. She wasn’t a fool for wanting to be close to her family. Rather, she was short-sighted for wanting to fit into a dynamic that tore down the weak instead of encouraging growing into strength.

Noelle glanced to her side to Nebra and in front of her to Solid. Their presence carried with them painful memories but… There was also a relief in knowing that they were okay after all was said and done.

“Ugh. What’s taking Nozel so long?” Nebra grumbled. “He was the one to summon us here yet he—”

The lounge doors were pushed open. And there Nozel was.

Noelle’s eyes went wide at Nozel’s appearance. Rather than his usual attire, Nozel wore a plain white tunic with a low collar. While it wasn’t anything revealing, seeing him dressed that way made Noelle realize that she’d never seen Nozel so casually. Nor had she seen his neck uncovered before. And it was a mildly jarring sight.

“Good afternoon, everyone,” he stated while walking in. The expression on his face looked like a smile but there was a pain to it that made it impossible for Noelle to believe he was happy. “I’m glad you all could make it today.”

In total silence, Nozel directed Solid to sit with Noelle and Nebra on the sofa before sitting in the armchair across from them.

“Nozel, why exactly are we here?” Nebra was the one to ask, being the most comfortable with approaching the eldest brother.

There was a moment of silence as Nozel took a deep breath then opened his eyes, meeting each other his younger sibling’s confused gazes with an intense one of his own. He looked more serious in that moment than he’d ever been in his entire life.

And having seen Nozel in the midst of the battle with Megicula, Noelle was shocked that such a feat was possible.

“It’s time that all of you learned the truth regarding our mother, Acier Silva’s, death,” Nozel stated plainly but resolutely.

“Truth?” Solid echoed. He glanced over in Noelle’s direction, his confusion quickly turning to anger. “But we know what happened to Mother! I saw her! So did you two!” Solid gestured to Nozel and Nebra. “She got sick before Noelle was born and she only got worse after! What more is there?”

Noelle trembled, not so much from Solid’s voice but his accusation. Even though Noelle knew the truth, faced the woman and devil behind Acier’s death, the blame was still on her within the walls of House Silva.

“There is much more to the story that you are unaware of, Solid,” Nozel coldly retorted, making Solid’s mouth immediately clamp shut. “If you’ll be quiet, I can explain.”

After Solid seemed to shrink back in his seat and Nozel took a deep breath to recompose himself, Nozel continued.

“To the rest of the world, Acier Silva died due to birth complications, contracting an unidentified illness when her body was in a weakened state after pregnancy and labor, thus the blame being put on Noelle.”

Something about hearing the false narrative, beyond simply “you are to blame” made Noelle’s stomach churn. So much so that she instinctively put a hand to her mouth.

“Now it’s true that our mother fell ill late into the pregnancy. It was the reason why she moved to the family’s estate near the border temporarily. Doctors believed a closer proximity to natural mana would strengthen her and a less stressful environment would be better for recuperation. I accompanied Mother on the trip out of concern for her and a yet unborn Noelle.”

Nozel paused and pursed his lips. His hands clenched and unclenched on his knees.

Noelle noticed and she wanted to reach over, to give him some kind of reassurance as he was delving into his memories, reliving the darkest time in his life. But she held back. She guessed that Nozel needed to say his piece, to bear the facts, before whatever pain was in his heart could be healed.

“Thankfully, that illness was merely an aggressive cold. Noelle was born without issue. And after that, Mother was able to recover in a few days, thanks to the environment and attentive care from healers. The servants were sent home early so that our mother, a newborn Noelle, and I would be granted privacy before our own return.”

“I remember that…” Nebra muttered with her eyes narrowed in annoyance. “The servants were back but you weren’t and I was so impatient.” She swallowed and her expression turned grim. “But if Mother had recovered after Noelle’s birth, then what…?”

“While the three of us were alone at the estate, that was when Mother’s true killer arrived. The devil Megicula and their human host.”

Choked gasps escaped Nebra and Solid’s throats at the words.

Nozel shuddered as he closed his eyes, the memories of that day clearly still haunting him.

With painful slowness, Nozel recounted that day.

How Acier had sensed a dangerous presence before Nozel had and instructed him to sneak off the premises while she went to fight the intruder. The way Acier stood before Vanica with resolute determination.

Nozel’s posture wilted as he recounted how he’d tried to watch the fight, as if he would’ve been able to do anything if he joined it. He explained that he had tripped and the jolt caused Noelle to wake and cry in fright. There was pure fear and horror in his eyes when he described how fast, how terrifyingly quickly, Vanica had moved to loom over him and Noelle.

He described Acier’s final attack and the noxious mana that enveloped her and Nozel when it happened. As he described the curse’s effects on himself, Nozel touched his exposed neck.

“With Acier returning to House Silva weakened after labor, it was all too easy for the blame to be put on Noelle. And because of the curse on me, I was unable to defend you, Noelle.” Nozel raised his head and looked at the youngest Silva. “For that, I’m eternally sorry.”

At that point, Noelle was in tears. Quiet but unrestrained tears.

She was not alone. Nebra and Solid were also crying as if their eyes were opened floodgates.

“It was a curse that killed her?” whispered Solid. His head was bowed and his whole body trembled. “And from a supreme devil? There’s no way…”

“But it’s the truth.”

“A curse that powerful should’ve given off some trace of magic,” Nebra retorted, trying to make sense of what she’d heard. “How did no one sense it? Especially if you were under the curse this whole time!”

Nozel closed his eyes and his shoulders appeared to slump further. “Megicula’s attribute was Curse-Warding. It’s a magic that makes curses harder, if not impossible, to break without killing the caster. It only makes sense that Megicula was able to leave a curse that was undetectable, even to the most trained magic users.”

“So for that whole year… Mother suffered more than we knew…” Nebra covered her mouth, trying to muffle her sobs.

“We were only kids at the time. It wasn’t our fault that we believed what we were told,” Solid muttered with his head turned away from Noelle.

The sorrow Noelle felt when Nozel recounted the past began to mix with a bubbling frustration inside from listening to her siblings. Her hands balled up on her knees.

“Is that really all you have to say?” The words left Noelle with little thought. “You’re really going to sit here feeling sorry for yourselves?” She rose from her seat. She glared at Solid and Nebra. “You’re just crying over being ignorant kids and not even apologizing for what you did in your ignorance! And you!” She turned to Nozel. “You say you’re sorry for not defending me but you didn’t even try!”

“Noelle, the conditions of the curse—”

“You could’ve easily worked around the curse!” Noelle snapped. “You never had to bring up Megicula. You just had to insist that I didn’t kill Mother! ‘Noelle isn’t to blame!’ ‘Don’t blame the baby!’ ‘It was something else!’” She threw her hands down at her sides. “You could’ve said any of those to defend me but you didn’t! You made zero effort in protecting me and didn’t try to reach out to me while I was made the black sheep of our family! Why didn’t you try?!”

With all her words having been let out, Noelle sighed and buried her face in her hands.

“Why…? Why didn’t…?” she whimpered between gasps. “Just why…”

Noelle cried.

And her siblings looked at her. For the first time, they saw Noelle as who she had been for years. A young girl, their little sister, lonely and sorrowful. As strong as she was, so strong as to be acknowledged by one of the Great Four Spirits and defeat a devil, she only became that way after living most of her life being shunned and left feeling weak.

Nozel stared intently at Noelle. At her wilting posture, the weight of her grief dragging her down. At her tears, which he didn’t know how to soothe. Acier would’ve known. So…

What would Mother have done? Nozel stood from his seat. I remember her… always holding me close. In the good and bad times. He stepped around the coffee table between them. Then, he put his arms around Noelle. It was not a hug, his hold on Noelle was too rigid and awkward for it to be called such.

“You’re right,” Nozel said with a fragile softness. “After Mother gave her life to protect us, I did nothing for you. You were Acier’s last gift to the world and I didn’t do everything in my power to protect you… I utterly failed you as a brother… For that, I’m truly sorry, Noelle. It doesn’t change anything but I hope that it… that you…”

Words left Nozel’s mind.

He didn’t know exactly what he hoped for. Was it his place to ask for Noelle’s forgiveness? Did he have the right to wish her a better life that he never provided her? He hoped for Noelle’s sake but he couldn’t name anything exact to wish for her. There was so much for her to have that he’d been too weak-willed to give in his own power.

It was his greatest shame.

Noelle leaned into Nozel and quietly cried into his shoulder. It was new but there was a comfort to this intimacy that they’d never shared before. It was the comfort of a dream coming true at long last.

“Acier’s last gift to the world.”

The words echoed in Solid and Nebra’s minds. And the visage of their mother, preserved in their memories and in the foyer of House Silva, could be seen in Noelle.

Nebra pursed her lips and a faint memory filled her mind.

“You promise that I’ll get a sister?” Nebra asked, years ago while pressing a hand to her mother’s belly. “It better be a sister or else— Um… or else…”

“Don’t worry, Nebra. I can feel that this baby will be a girl,” Acier answered with a smile and laugh. “And when she’s born, you’ll be a good big sister, right?”

“Yeah! I’ll help her be a strong princess like you and me and make sure she’s the cutest dressed baby ever!”

Had that really been Nebra? Had she really been so eager to meet Noelle and treat her kindly? Was she once the kind of person who smiled at the chance to take care of someone rather than smile at the suffering of others? What would Acier have said if she saw what became of Nebra after her passing?

All that love and gentleness that Nebra had known before was destroyed by the heartache of losing their mother. The suffering that sank into her bones… And her desire to see it inflicted on others…

Solid, too, became overwhelmed by a recollection of the past.

“Solid…” Acier whispered as she smoothed down her son’s hair. “You’re gonna be a big brother. You know Nozel is really cool, yeah?”

“The coolest and strongest big brother!” Solid exclaimed.

“Yes yes. Well, you need to become a cool, strong big brother too.” Acier hugged Soild to her chest with one hand while touching her stomach with her other. “Can you do that?”

Solid bit his lip. “I dunno…”

“I think you can.” Acier pressed a kiss to Solid’s crown. “Please try, okay?”

“…Okay…”

Solid grit his teeth, fighting back the urge to cry out loud. He was Solid Silva, son of Acier. He wasn’t some weakling who cried or regretted things. He was a Magic Knight, a Silver Eagle. Solid was strong, proud, independent…

And a pathetic man who knew pain but never sympathized with Noelle when she cried, just as he did for Acier, all because someone pointed at her and said “she is to blame.”

“N-Noelle…”

Noelle, stepping out of Nozel’s embrace, turned at the sound of Nebra saying, or rather sobbing, her name.

“Yes?”

Nebra wiped at her tears with the back of her hands and took deep, ragged breaths.

“Noelle, I’m sorry… For… everything… I didn’t know better but I still… Sorry, I’m sorry…”

“Me too… Sorry…” Solid muttered just loud enough to be heard. “I failed you as a brother too…”

Noelle’s eyes went wide.

Nebra, who ignored her at best or mocked her if they ever happened to cross paths…

Solid, who knocked her down both physically and emotionally throughout their childhoods…

Their apologies were pitiful but Noelle felt them in her heart.

“Nebra. Solid.” Noelle took a moment to look both siblings in the eyes.

Again, Noelle’s heart was warmed by the foreign affection that she and her siblings never had before. It wasn’t an “I love you” but the kindness in “sorry” was more than enough for her at that moment.

“Thank you…”

Her words seemed to break a dam in her older siblings.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” Nebra whimpered, lacking the pride and grace she usually carried.

“What kind of answer is that?” Solid managed to sound indignant and annoyed as he cried. “Shouldn’t you be mad or something?”

Noelle pressed her lips together.

Maybe she should’ve been mad, or at least bitter towards her siblings. After all they’d done to make her life miserable and then she experienced love with the Black Bulls, she could’ve easily resented them. But rather than hatred, what she felt for her siblings…

“I don’t know,” Noelle muttered. “I should be angry but I…” Her head shook ever so slightly. “I want to forgive you. I want to be a family with you guys but I’m not sure…”

“You don’t have to have an answer right away,” Nozel stated, drawing his younger siblings’ attention to him. “I don’t think any of us really know what to say.”

The Silvas looked between themselves. Nozel’s pale violet eyes. Nebra’s deep pink like gems. Solid’s clear blue. And Noelle’s blush pink.

The four of them. Together. Like they should’ve been from the moment Noelle had been born.

As their mother had wanted…

“There’s something I believe you all should see,” Nozel said to break the silence that settled over the siblings. “Follow me.”

With that, Nozel walked towards the doors of the lounge. Nebra, Solid, and Noelle passed confused looks before following their brother.

The walk was quiet. Hearing the full story of Acier’s death and the tears they’d all shed had thoroughly drained the siblings of energy.

Nozel led his family through the halls of House Silva to a back wing of the castle, to an area where the rooms only existed because the palace had been built so excessively large. He guided them to a room that had been left unoccupied for the last sixteen years. The door opened and the light flickered on with a bit of effort from underuse.

The room was empty. Save for one large cloth draped over something else which appeared to lean against the wall.

Nozel walked to the cloth covered object. Nebra, Solid, and Noelle followed him up to it. As they approached, different expressions crossed each of their faces. Noelle raised a brow in confusion. Solid’s gaze was a pensive one. And recognition flashed across Nebra’s face.

“Nebra, Solid, do you have an idea what this could be?” asked Nozel. His hand rested on the object, curling up in the cloth covering.

Solid narrowed his eyes on the obscured item. “No. Should I know what it is?”

Nozel pressed his lips into a line before shaking his head. “You were so young. It doesn’t surprise me that you don’t remember.” He then looked to Nebra. “Do you recall?”

“It’s still…” Nebra blinked rapidly and seemed to be straining to speak. “I thought that you… that you maybe destroyed…”

“No. It’s been here this whole time.” When Nozel said this, a pained smile came to his face. Years of suppressed grief and love made his heart ache. “Noelle, if you truly wish to mend the broken bonds of our family, then you should see this. We all should.”

Nozel pulled on the cloth.

Depicted in immaculate detail on canvas was a portrait of the four of them with their mother. Acier sat between Nozel on her right and Nebra on her left. Solid sat on Nebra’s other side. And Noelle was cradled in Acier’s loving arms.

Acier’s smile was absolutely radiant despite how much pain she must’ve been in from the curse. Nozel did his best to portray dignity but pain still showed on his face and he'd been unable to smile for the artist. Nebra and Solid’s composure in the portrait, too, seemed forced. The only person who beamed as brightly as Acier did in the portrait was Noelle. Her angelic smile was almost framed by the blanket and Acier’s arms holding her.

Noelle’s legs gave out from under her.

“Mother…”

Nozel knelt down beside Noelle and put an arm around her shoulders.

“She wanted to hold you for as long as possible,” he whispered. “She loved you with everything she had.”

“I don’t… even remember…”

In the corner of Noelle’s sight, she saw Nebra’s skirt pool on the floor as her sister sat down.

“It’s okay. Just let it out.” For the first time, Nebra sounded like a sister. And she felt like a sister as her hand gently rested over Noelle’s.

Noelle shook her head, fighting the tears that were already in her eyes. She’d cried enough already. She stilled when she felt a hand on her back. There were no words but the warmth of Solid’s hand lightly pressed against her back was enough reassurance.

Noelle let out a wail. Only after seventeen years was she mourning the loss of her mother.

After seventeen years, her siblings were finally there for her, comforting her amidst their own tears.

It was a long seventeen years. But they were finally over.

..........

Art by @/crazycookiemaniac.

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