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[Translator - Night]
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Chapter 181
Vania Remilish… I shouldn't have just killed that wretched woman.
Arsha, terrified, darted her eyes around before letting out a short breath.
"It's okay. If it's uncomfortable for you to eat, we'll leave."
"N-no, it's fine."
After that, Arsha resumed eating, trembling all the while.
Seeing her trying so hard to eat slowly, Melissa's hands trembled with frustration.
* * *
Although Arsha’s aphasia and PTSD had significantly improved, recovery from mental and memory-related issues still required time.
Among the lingering effects, the most noticeable was her separation anxiety.
She would become completely lost if Melissa and I weren't by her side, as if she thought meeting us had only been a dream.
Luna said that such symptoms would likely subside within a few weeks, but since Arsha was still a child, there were always variables to consider.
While her condition was improving, she continued to suffer from nightmares.
Because of that, my plans involving the Dragon Heart had to be postponed.
It was only natural that Arsha's well-being was more important than my own amusement.
"Arsha."
Even as I called her, Arsha remained trapped in her nightmare, unable to wake.
I silently took her hand and held it tightly.
Only then did her breathing become more even, as if she had finally found some peace.
"I wonder what kind of nightmare she's having…"
As I was contemplating this, something on the back of Arsha’s hand began to glow.
"Huh? This…"
[Seal of Contract detected.]
The Seal of Contract.
At those words, I took a sharp breath.
"A Seal of Contract… You mean the one used by Beast Masters and monster tamers?"
[Confirmed. Yes. Based on its form, it appears to be a powerful seal encompassing both roles.]
So she’s an owner of an incredibly rare talent.
"But why does Arsha have this…? No, wait, I should have noticed something was off ever since the Angler Bird incident."
I hadn't sensed any such signs when she was younger, but perhaps her talent had fully awakened in the meantime.
Just as I muttered this, I reached out to touch the Seal of Contract on Arsha’s hand.
And at that moment—
Whooosh!
The familiar energy surging from the seal stunned me.
"Don't tell me… she made a contract with him?"
The King of Forbidden Realms.
There was only one being in existence with such an overwhelming presence.
Come to think of it, it wasn’t entirely impossible.
Vania had tried to summon the King of Forbidden Realms in Remilish, and the sacrifice for that summoning ritual had been Arsha.
Fortunately, the King of Forbidden Realms was favorably inclined toward me.
And instead of demanding anything in return, he had voluntarily formed a contract with Arsha.
I didn't know how exactly things had unfolded, but his power seemed to whisper to me.
Take her hand. Touch the seal. Do not resist.
Though I had never spoken directly with him before, I knew he was trustworthy.
As I surrendered to the power flowing from the Seal of Contract, my consciousness was suddenly pulled in, as if I were being thrown into a vast ocean.
[Consciousness interference detected! Resisting…]
"It's fine. Let it happen."
The text blurred before my eyes, and my vision shifted.
"I don’t want to!!"
A child's voice, filled with anger and frustration, rang out.
Right now, my body existed as an outsider in this dream world.
I couldn't interfere, and none of them could perceive me.
Passing through the walls of a cabin, I saw two familiar faces looking troubled.
And in front of them, pouting and throwing a tantrum, was Arsha.
Arsha had always been a gentle child.
She had never thrown a fit at our parents before.
But as a child, she was bound to experience deep feelings of betrayal over things adults wouldn't expect.
"I don’t want to eat this!"
"Arsha."
"You promised! Mommy promised to buy me mermaid cookies! I even told my sister and brother about them, saying I'd let them know how they taste!"
"I'm sorry. Mommy forgot to prepare them… And now it's too late; they’re probably all sold out."
"Hmph! But I was looking forward to it! Mommy, I hate you!"
Arsha shouted, her voice quivering.
"Oh dear… She’s never thrown a tantrum before…"
It was easy to figure out when this was.
This must have been the day of the accident at sea.
For some reason, Arsha had thrown a tantrum at our parents for the first time that day.
It was just a simple case of a child being picky about food.
Mermaid cookies were a popular treat among nobles—soft and delicious.
They were usually difficult to obtain, available only in specific maritime regions where trade with merfolk was possible.
They were considered a rare delicacy, often sought out by travelers taking sea voyages.
Some nobles even planned maritime trips just to get a taste of them.
I vaguely remembered Arsha boasting about it before her trip.
She had excitedly told Melissa and me about a famous, delicious snack and promised to give us a full review after she tasted it.
It seemed that Arsha had begged for the cookies, but our mother, preoccupied with other matters, had forgotten about them.
Feeling betrayed, Arsha pouted and sulked, sniffling.
Our parents, understanding her disappointment, felt guilty but also found her behavior endearing.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. Mommy will go check if there’s any left, so just wait here, okay?"
"Hmph!"
She turned her head away sharply, refusing to look at them.
That was unusual for her.
She must have been really upset since she had been so excited about the cookies.
For a child who had never thrown a tantrum before, it must have taken great courage to make this request—only to be forgotten.
It was no wonder she felt heartbroken.
Understanding her feelings, our parents didn’t scold her and instead left to search for the cookies.
Left alone, Arsha flopped onto the bed and rolled around.
"I wish Sister and Brother had come along too…"
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[Translator - Night]
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Melissa had been at the academy, and I had stayed behind to handle family affairs.
Arsha couldn't hide her disappointment.
So, for almost the first time in her life, she threw a tantrum.
Not knowing that it would be the last time.
“I promised! I promised to tell Brother and Sister what it tastes like... But I should still apologize, right? When Mom and Dad come back, I'll apologize.”
She sniffled for a long time.
Bang, bang!
A frantic knock echoed through the room, and Arsha's eyes widened as she ran excitedly toward the door.
Could they be back?
She had to apologize, tell them she didn’t mean it.
But when she opened the door, she was met with the sight of a sailor wearing a desperate expression.
The sailor, usually dressed neatly, had tattered and dirt-streaked clothing.
“Uh... uh...”
“Miss! Where are the Count and Countess?”
At the urgent question, Arsha recoiled in fear.
“Uh... th-they...”
“You must escape immediately! You need to get to the lifeboat before it’s too late!”
At that moment, her parents had stepped out of the cabin because of her tantrum.
And now, seeing a sailor frantically searching for them, saying they had to flee at once, Arsha froze in place.
* * *
It was the worst possible timing.
Of all days, it had to be that day.
The day Arsha threw a tantrum at her parents for the first time.
The day they changed their plans just to grant her wish.
Her last memory of them was their backs as they left, wearing regretful expressions.
The dream brought back the unbearable guilt of never having had the chance to apologize.
It was a burden far too heavy for an eleven-year-old child to bear.
And then—
BOOM!
I was thrown out of Arsha’s dream.
I stared blankly down at her and muttered,
“So this… this is the real reason you’re hurting so much.”
She had called herself a bad child, saying bad children must be punished.
It wasn’t just fear from the abuse she suffered at House Remilish.
It was her own way of expressing guilt.
A bad child does wrong.
A bad child must be punished.
Punishment means getting beaten.
For a child who only knew such simple logic, this was her best attempt at atonement.
To Arsha, House Remilish was a place of pain and terror.
But more than that, she endured because she believed that suffering was the punishment she deserved.
That belief coexisted with the unbearable pain and the desperate will to see her parents again.
If a child could feel guilt this deeply and painfully, just how traumatic had that day been?
Now, I understood what had happened.
Startled by Arsha’s tantrum, our parents had left their cabin to keep their promise to her.
Then, not long after, the Kraken appeared, bringing a massive storm and attacking the ship.
Under normal circumstances, they should have been safely escorted to the lifeboats from their first-class cabin.
But they had been caught in the chaos, unable to reach the lifeboats.
Arsha, still in the cabin, had been dragged away to safety by the Cascadia attendants.
She had clung to the belief that our parents would return soon.
But reality was cruel.
They never came back, and as she watched the ship sink, she screamed and sobbed, trying to run back to them.
Of course, the attendants wouldn’t have let her.
They must have held onto her with all their strength.
And then the ship was gone, swallowed by the sea.
Arsha was left with the crushing realization that her parents had died because of her.
That the last words she had said to them were harsh and unkind.
And then—
The storm struck, and with it, the Kraken’s psychic attack.
Most of those in the lifeboat perished in the storm.
But by sheer luck, Arsha clung to a piece of wreckage and miraculously drifted to the Pinas Archipelago.
“This wasn’t Arsha’s fault.”
There was something she didn’t know.
In her dream, when she relived that day, the Kraken had been fighting someone.
If not for that person, the Kraken would have easily devoured everyone on that ship.
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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