Intermission: The Regret of Isaac Granzeus
Intermission: The Regret of Isaac Granzeus
As I, Isaac Granzeus, sat in the royal castle, checking budget-related documents one by one and giving instructions, a light flashed outside the window. It was Enrique’s messenger magic—a rare sight. I opened the window apprehensively and took the butterfly-shaped object. After confirming its receiver’s magic, it turned into a letter.
“The holy beast is badly wounded. Serephione is shut away in her room healing him. Return immediately.”
I immediately went weak in the knees. What had happened to Serephione after she went off to her guild in high spirits this morning?!
“Sir, you’re back!”
“What’s going on, Enrique?! I need an explanation!” I demanded as I rushed to take off my mantle and head to my daughter.
“Serephione returned about two hours ago holding the holy beast, who was covered in blood. Her face was wet with tears, and she looked exhausted. She ran to her room and instructed me not to interrupt her.”
“Serephione... And she hasn’t come out since then?”
“Young Isaac, I just asked her if she would like dinner, but she said she didn’t want any tonight...” Martha had tears in her eyes as she wrung out her apron. Something huge must have happened for Serephione to brush off Martha, her mother figure since she was young!
I ran up to the second floor and stood helplessly in front of Serephione’s room.
I heard a conversation going on inside. Apparently, Lou had recovered enough to be able to talk. I felt somewhat relieved. But who in the world had hurt the holy beast? And what guild commission was Serephione on in the first place that led to this? As I stood perplexed, questions floating through my head with no answers at hand...
“Waah, aaahhhh! Ahh...”
The anguished wail seemed to come from her soul itself.
“My young miss is crying...” Martha sat on the floor next to me, as if the strength to stand had left her.
Serephione was crying. My daughter’s wail, a new sound to me, echoed through the mansion.
Serephione didn’t cry. She was low-maintenance as a child. No. She still was. She kept her feelings to herself and handled them on her own. She lived quietly yet strongly, not relying on her parents, just taking what she could get on her own. At times, she wore a mature, pained expression, but when asked what was the matter, she would brush it off by saying it was nothing and that she was fine.
Her agonized cries were like a knife in my chest. I felt disgusted with myself, having never heard her scream before and not knowing what the reason behind it was. I was so ashamed to know that my daughter, the person I loved most in the world, was crying, and I couldn’t do anything about it.
As I bit my lip in anguish, the pained cries gradually died down, and I heard a quiet conversation going on. Then, I no longer heard anything at all—and the door swung open.
“S-Serephione!”
I gasped. Standing before me was the holy tiger at his full size, the first time I had ever seen him thus. I could feel the power emanating from his body, and his face was sterner than ever before—he looked truly godlike. This was his true form. I assumed a kneeling position as a matter of course.
Lou quietly closed the door to Serephione’s room.
“Your Holiness, are you hurt? Is Serephione okay?”
Still frowning, he nodded to me.
“What happened, Your Holiness?!”
He gave me a scrutinizing look.
“Please tell me, Your Holiness! Why was Serephione crying like that?!”
Lou glanced at me before beginning to descend the stairs. I crawled over and hung onto his back leg.
“Please wait! I don’t want to make any further mistakes. I became too cowardly after my wife’s death to treasure Serephione when she was a child as I should have! I want to be closer to her now!”
Though I said that, Lou’s voice was inaudible to me, given that we weren’t contracted. Realizing I had acted impolitely, I let go of Lou and gazed wordlessly into thin air.
Just then, Lou’s face appeared before mine, and he nodded once. I hastily stood up and followed Lou down the stairs.
Lou brought me to my study. He gestured for me to sit on the sofa, bared his fangs, and growled. Thinking he wanted to confirm my resolve, I quietly nodded.
At once, he closed the distance between us and bit my neck. His magic flowed into me.
“Agh, ahhhh!”
A pain like being stabbed with thousands of needles shot through me, sending convulsions throughout my body. Feeling nauseous from the sheer pain, I involuntarily covered my mouth. I collapsed onto the sofa, clutching my head.
“Hah, hah... Gh... Hah...”
When I had lost my sense of time passing, I strangely grew accustomed to the pain and was able to open my eyes slightly.
“I see you’re still conscious. I’m impressed.”
Lou’s voice—the voice of a being equal with the gods—resonated directly in my head.
“My magic is more toxic the more impure the receiver is. Everybody amasses some level of impurity by adulthood, and you killed people in the last war, did you not? I’m surprised your reaction wasn’t worse, but then, you are Sere’s father.”
“Your Holiness...” My voice was rough.
“Sere tells me my magic feels crisp, like a snowy mountain. She enjoys the sensation. I feel the same about her. She is a truly immaculate girl.”
“Serephione...”
“You wished to speak with me, so I gave you my magic. This will only last temporarily, however. Any objections?”
“Thank you for your special consideration.”
“Do not speak of what I tell you to anyone else. I will tell you because you’re her father. I’ve become...somewhat attached to you after spending so long together. Understood?”
“As you wish.”
I shook at both the honor of speaking with a holy guardian beast and the knowledge that my beloved daughter’s secrets would soon be revealed to me.
As I lay pitiful and helpless on the sofa, Lou stretched his large body before me, seemingly unconcerned with my state.
“To start with the conclusion...Serephione is a Reborn.”
“A Reborn?”
“Yes. I couldn’t ask for many details tonight due to her exhaustion. She was rambling through tears, so I filled in some gaps with my imagination, but I imagine I’m not far off. Serephione was born in this world with her memories of her past life still present. She lived in a world with a far different value system from ours, and there she met with an early death. It may be that she was summoned by the gods to this war-torn world for her wisdom.”
I was at a loss for how to respond to this information, something I had never imagined in my wildest dreams.
“In her past life, Sere read a book of prophecy.”
“Prophecy...?” A chill ran down my spine.
“This book wrote of this world in great detail. She was then reborn as Serephione in this world, met her family and me, disciplined herself, and went on to contribute to this world with her powerful magic ability. So far, things have gone largely according to the prophecy.”
“Okay.”
“However, this is the problem. According to the prophecy, Serephione becomes the target of some conspiracy as soon as she enters the magic academy, and all her loved ones turn against her. She is then executed without mercy.”
“It can’t be!” I tried to lift myself up, but collapsed again.
“Sere remembered the prophecy on the day she met me. Ever since, she’s been struggling to defy that fate. She’s been living in constant fear, thinking of when she’ll be betrayed, when she’ll be killed. She is but a small child, struggling to make a path for herself despite despairing at the prediction of a death more cruel than beheading.” Lou looked into the distance as if remembering the past.
“I refuse to allow that! Anyone who threatens Serephione will face death at my own hands. When should I use my magic, if not to protect my beloved daughter?!”
Lou held my gaze silently.
“Don’t tell me...”
“You too will betray her, Isaac.”
“No... I will? I’ll betray Serephi?”
“Hmph, don’t worry. You’re not the only one. We all will. Including Larouza and me.”
“Does... Does Serephione believe that I’m going to betray her?”
Is that why she doesn’t confide in me? Is that why she smiles despite looking so pained?
“I think it’d be more accurate to say that she’s resigned to it.”
“Why? How can that be?! Lou, please, do anything you can to help Serephione. You’re my only hope!”
“I already told you. I’ll betray her too, according to the prophecy.”
My vision went dark.
“The despair and loneliness is deeply ingrained in her heart.”
“Let’s...return to what happened today. We went to the border of the Trundle domain on a guild commission, and there I met a girl.”
I couldn’t immediately follow the sudden change in subject.
“As soon as I saw her, I lost my senses. My entire body yearned for her. My thoughts filled with the urge to throw myself at her feet, to do anything she wished, despite never having seen her before.”
“She affected your mind?”
“Yes. My heart sought her with great passion, while my head was filled with questions. It was bizarre that I should be so drawn to someone I’d never met. I was confounded by what was happening to me. Nothing like it had ever happened before in my hundreds of years of life.”
“How could that be...?”
“When I came to, Sere was in front of me, shedding her pure tears. She said to me, ‘I don’t want to see you suffer. You can go to her. Break our contract. I’ll always love you.’”
“Serephi...”
“I finally realized that it was a trap to pull me and Sere apart. I bit off my own paw to regain my sound mind.”
I had no words.
“According to the prophecy, everybody becomes enamored with this girl, starting with the royal family, and condemns Sere. To her, I suppose Sere, her superior in every way, is nothing more than a hindrance. The prophecy states that I will dissolve my contract with Sere and give myself to that girl. Looking back now on what took place, I can see that the girl had an unusual fixation on holy beasts.”
“But... That’s...”
“Sere told me she decided she had to set me free. She gave up on our life together so that I could be at peace. She smiled through her tears, not realizing that as her contractee, I could hear her inner voice crying ‘Don’t go. I’ll miss you, but I love you.’”
Once again, Serephione had held in her feelings...
“Who is that girl? What does she plan to do after gaining the power of a holy beast and the prince? What is behind her spell? There are too many unanswered questions. Given that her spell took control of me, you humans would be mesmerized without the chance to put up a fight. However, from what I saw of her, she didn’t have the same amount of magic or the same qualities as Serephione, which makes me question, is someone behind her? And if so, is that someone human?” Lou closed his eyes pensively.
In the next moment, his eyebrows creased tightly together, and his open eyes glimmered gold with a strong resolve. “Whatever it may be, I will not condone it. Not only did she trap me, but Serephione is the only one I, one of the four heavenly beasts, have ever contracted with in my life. She is my dear child, who I have raised since she was but an innocent youth. Anyone who dares to track down and torment Serephione, the girl I have watched over with great care and affection, deserves to die.”
Lou was at once filled with a fiery determination. The entire mansion creaked. A god who was never troubled by the petty affairs of humans—whose mind was as clear and still as a placid lake—was enraged.
“I have put Sere to sleep with my magic. For the first time in her life, she was close to depleting her vast store of magic. She must have rushed home and worked very hard to heal me. She will not wake until morning. That was wise of me... I imagine she will put today’s events in the past and force herself to smile tomorrow. Isaac, do not let her near the magic academy, and try to inconspicuously learn about who Maribelle is and what she does. Don’t look at her for a second, even through a window. You’ll fall under her spell.”
“Lou, please allow me to at least tell Larouza and my mother-in-law.”
“You may not. Larouza and Erza are impulsive. We can’t have her catch onto us if they act conspicuously. If they approach her carelessly, we may fall under her spell. And don’t underestimate the significance of Serephione keeping this secret for all this time. Do you not understand that she wanted her family to remain at peace and not involve themselves in her problems?”
“Serephione was guarding my feelings this whole time...”
“You and I will guard hers from now on.”
“Your Holiness...I have one favor to ask.”
Lou raised one eyebrow.
“If I ever fall to the spell and turn against Serephione, please kill me.”
“You would ask me, a holy beast, to break a taboo...? Hmph, it depends on how you live your life until then.”
Of course I would. I can’t just give Serephione up to the fate of the prophecy. I need the ability to repel any mysterious spell that’s thrown at me, as soon as possible!
“So she’s a Reborn. That would make her an old soul.”
A grand voice resounded in my head—one that wasn’t Lou’s—while I was deep in contemplation. At the same time, the windowsill began to shine brilliantly, and I sensed another large aura.
Lou stood up and began to growl. When the light faded away...it was the Guardian Beast of the South.
“I wasn’t aware you enjoy eavesdropping, Asu,” Lou sneered.
“I have no choice. My master could not very well remain still after hearing Serephione’s agonized cries.”
His master? Does he mean Prince Gillain?
“What is the meaning of this?” I asked.
Asu glanced at me. “Gillain has transferred magic to Serephione. She is the only other person apart from me who holds it. His magic within her sends her soul’s suffering to him as if it were his own. It’s similar to being contracted, although it requires talent at least as great as Gillain’s.”
“I had no idea...”
...that he was so fixated on Serephione as to transfer magic to her...
“Will you tell him what was said here?”
“Naturally. He wouldn’t let me off easily if I came back without an answer. Serephione is the one anchor tying Gillain to humanity. He would be furious to know that there are those who would try to bring her down.”
“Tell him not to make any unnecessary moves! Serephione doesn’t want that! If there’s a stir now, it’ll only disturb her more!”
“I’ll tell him, but...I can make no guarantees. I’m only his servant, after all.”
Asu spread his graceful rainbow wings and flew up and away through the ceiling.