Chapter 289

Her tears flowed until she grew so weary that she drifted into sleep. When she woke again, her mother, Lydan, had barely moved from her bed.

She shed tears again as she saw her mother, who had grown old in just one day. This time, Julius bowed his head as he read about how she was so fatigued that she couldn’t sleep.

Renia held her mother’s hand, but she couldn’t recognize her. She was saying something, but she couldn’t even hear it.

[Brother, I made a mistake. I fell for the illusion of magic that promised to make me an adult in a day. I just wanted to see you… That’s all. I couldn’t even protect mother. Maybe Kaichen will come to help, but I wonder if I can hold on.  I feel like a fool, just as you once said. But I do know one thing. I might not get to see you again.]

The handwriting in the diary was surprisingly neat, a far cry from young Renia’s usual carefree and hard-to-read script. She always preferred running over reading.

Given the diary’s weathered condition, Julius had cast a preservation spell to read it, as it was evident that time had passed since Renia had last written in it. Yet, her handwriting, now refined, appeared ordinary.

Tears streamed down Julius’s face as he turned the diary’s pages.

[The world seems to be moving on without me. Is it foolish that my time remains the same? Turbeau will vanish. There’s no way Turbeau, cut off from the outside, can stay intact. What should I do, brother? Did I lead them all to their deaths? Is that what happened?]

Julius exhaled deeply as he read how Renia poured her emotions onto the pages. He felt like he was losing his sanity.

For Renia, it had been around 50 years, but in the distorted world of Turbeau, a staggering 200 years had passed.

She had persevered until the very end, witnessing the land’s demise.

Her time had moved slowly, but Turbeau’s time had raced ahead. She had seen her loved ones age in the blink of an eye, watched childhood friends who used to play in the streets pass away, and observed the dwindling population and the decaying land.

Renia admitted to a guilt she couldn’t erase and expressed that she didn’t seek forgiveness. This was how she survived.

Only the words of self-condemnation from her mature self and the heartfelt desire of a young girl longing to see Julius remained until the end.

As the time magic unraveled, Renia disintegrated instantly due to the disrupted flow of time. Her physical body couldn’t withstand the intense flow of time and magic, something Renia appeared to have grasped as well.

Kaichen left Julius, who seemed dazed, as if his mind had gone blank, and stepped out of the building.

He led the Tenebres, who had been silently witnessing the Crown Prince’s devastating state.

It was hard to believe that a land brimming with vitality just yesterday was not desolate. It was so harrowing that only the word “tragedy” could describe it.

Kaichen barely held his wits together, with his magical energy depleted.

“Ah!”

Zirata unceremoniously landed on the floor, frowning heavily. Saveli ran to him with a surprised face. He finally appeared three days later.

“Why are you showing up just now?” She shouted in frustration, though her face betrayed concern.

Zirata scratched his head, appearing somewhat bewildered, and stood up, dusting off his backside. “I was trailing them just fine, but I got caught up in a big brawl.”

“You got into a fight?!”

“Yeah, well… not a massive fight or anything.”

It was only now that Zirata’s dirty and damaged clothing became noticeable. His clothes were singed and riddled with holes, clear indicators of a scuffle.

“And the guy?”

In response to Kaichen’s brief inquiry, Zirata shrugged. “He’s dead,” he replied.

“Do you have any information?”

“He rambled a lot, but there wasn’t much substance. He seemed like a disposable pawn following orders. He knew using time magic would cost him his life. It was like he understood he was a discarded piece.”

“He used time magic, knowing it would kill him?”

“Annoyingly… he didn’t seem to have a desire to live. According to him, there are plenty of people like him in Momalhaut.”

Zirata spoke casually but appeared displeased. The existence of groups of people defying death and dabbling in forbidden magic was a concerning matter for magicians of the Magic Tower.

“He mentioned that it was just the beginning. I had no choice but to eliminate him.”

“…What about Turbeau’s time magic?”

“It was an experiment. He said we needed to be aware of it, but what does that mean?”

Kaichen sighed. This suggested that Princess Exhetra’s use of time magic in Turbeau wasn’t solely for Julius’s sake.

A shiver ran down his spine. How could a mind so cunning, capable of devising such intricate plots, engage in such sinister deeds? It wasn’t as if she was inherently evil…

Ever since the incidents in the north, Dalia had seized every opportunity to talk about Princess Exchetra. She cursed her.

Even though numerous variables were at play, Princess Exchetra seemed to move as if she had anticipated and planned for all of them.