Love Letter From The Future

The hospital room was shrouded in a heavy silence. It was a chilling stillness.

The air was taut, as if it would burst at any moment. Neither Celin nor I was angry, but perhaps it might have been better if we were.

Being angry meant revealing one’s emotions.

The more one did that, the easier it became to see through deceptions. People often acted more emotionally when they had something they didn’t want to hide from the other party.

But Celin did not show anger. Along with the silence, she simply stared at me with her amber eyes.

Celin crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall. For a moment, her gaze swept through the void, avoiding me.

It was a story that began when sound was born once again in the stillness, after a little more time had passed.

Celin chuckled lightly and asked me, “What suddenly brought this on?”

It was a vague smile, an expression that suggested she was asking silly questions, but I understood.

Celin would respond that way whenever she wanted to hide something. The knot of suspicion in my chest grew larger.

I sighed and splashed some cold water on my face. Oh God, please.

“I heard some bad rumors about Seria, spreading mostly among the second-year girls.”

“Are there even one or two girls in the second year?”

Celin’s indifferent reaction was a signal that she no longer wanted to continue the conversation.

She took out a small knife from her pocket and began to groom her nails, regardless of what I had to say.

“From what I’ve heard, those second-year girls are particularly known for tormenting Seria verbally. Curious about why, I found out they’re all low-ranking nobles.”

Celin made a strange sound, ‘Huh,’ and turned her amber eyes toward me, which were slowly filled with a cold light. It was a gaze I could not imagine coming from the usually lively Celin.

In retrospect, there were far too many hints.

First, there was Reto. He openly mentioned Celin and that she needed to be taken care of; even now, I had no idea how that translated into a reason for tormenting Seria.

Still, as the pieces of the puzzle fit together one by one, I found ample reason to doubt Celin.

Of course, there wasn’t any concrete evidence. However, seeing Celin’s reaction now made me half-convinced.

At the very least, whether or not Celin was the ringleader, she was certainly involved. There was no way she would hide something from me otherwise.

Our connection was not that thin and fragile.

Celin’s cold complexion was indeed a stark contrast to her usual self, but I wasn’t unaware of that side of her.

It was a few years ago. I briefly stayed in the territory of the Haster Clan and roamed around here and there with Reto and Celin.

During that time, with the Baron Haster’s consideration, we had gone hunting in the family’s hunting grounds. It was just a small forest, but still, a hunting ground was a hunting ground.

We caught a deer there, and that night, we hosted the Baron and Baroness Haster at the lord’s castle. At that time, I, Celin, and Reto were all capable enough youth to aspire to the Academy.

However, the most memorable scene from that day was not the moment we succeeded in the hunt nor when we were served a dinner laden with deer meat.

It was Celin’s merciless, cold demeanor as she began to chase down the game.

Even then, Celin wore that cold expression. She pretended to be indifferent to everything but observed the situation with a chilling gaze before anyone else.

The figure I had seen in that portrait years ago was now being recreated before me.

Not as a fragile young girl but as a lovely girl with fresh charms.

“And isn’t it strange? Usually, rumors assess the parties involved in an incident; why do they elevate me and disparage Seria?”

Celin scoffed at my question. A cold smile hung at her lips.

“Because that’s the objective reality? Ah, and I-an is our new idol among the low-ranking nobles.”

“You know that’s not true.”

It was true that Seria had run away, but that was due to a coincidental injury to her ankle.

Even without that, Seria would have embarked on tackling the monster alongside me that day. Instead, I had been the one to dissuade her and suggest we flee.

Celin couldn’t possibly be unaware of that fact. And the status Celin held among the second-year low-ranking nobles, especially the girls, was not something to be dismissed. Her connections were thin and widely spread because of that.

Yet, the fact that such nonsense rumors were spreading implied at least one truth.

At the very least, she was allowing these baseless rumors to circulate. That’s why I stared at Celin in silence.

She had been indifferent, turning her gaze away from me, but then she finally looked at me.

In her eyes, annoyance and displeasure surfaced. Her brow furrowed slightly.

“For me, that is indeed objective reality.”

“Celin…”

A sigh slipped out of my mouth. At the sound of my distressed voice, Celin’s emotions spilled over.

“Then, isn’t it wrong?!”

“Of course, it’s not; Seria merely made a mistake…”

“No, it was before that.”

Celin’s voice squeaked through her thin lips as anger flared in her eyes. Blue flames sparked in her gaze, as if the fire had been ignited.

Her demeanor became fierce. She trembled slightly, angered like a cat before its prey.

“She suddenly picked a fight with I-an, and then proceeded to beat him up so badly he had to spend days in the temple!”

“That was all under circumstances…”

“Circumstances, circumstances, circumstances! No matter what you say, there were always circumstances! Is I-an a coward?! That useless brother!”

I placed my hand on my forehead with a thud.

What kind of words were coming out of a young woman of age? I realized that it was time for me to scold Celin after a long time.

“Hey, you… no matter what, a daughter of an Imperial noble should maintain her dignity…”

“Humph, enough. I don’t want to hear such archaic sexist remarks.”

She shook her head as if she were disgusted and shivered. I wanted to lecture her about how there were lines even if the times changed, but I kept my mouth shut as Celin’s sharp voice continued.

Now she was revealing her feelings. There was no reason for me not to listen.

“When she gets involved, I-an gets weird. Lately, he only hangs out with that brat, and it was because of that brat that I-an had to deal with monsters, right?”

“…It is also my fault for making a poor judgment.”

I defended Seria in a low voice. If only I had given Seria the potion that concealed her presence like Reto suggested, this wouldn’t have happened. I was merely foolish enough to put myself in danger.

Of course, I didn’t expect Celin to understand that.

“Anyway!”

As I expected, Celin growled and jumped, clenching her fists.

She looked like a cat that was utterly furious. How could such a vicious atmosphere make her appear cute? It was truly a sign of the severity of looks-based bias.

“I just don’t like that girl, no matter what I-an says. And I just returned what she did. Is that wrong?”

At those words, it was now my turn to be taken aback.

My expression crumpled. I was about to shout something, but I dropped my arms roughly. A sigh slipped from my lips, laden with irritation.

As my mood turned frigid, Celin’s body trembled slightly from her previous yells. It seemed that her ferocity began to weaken at that moment.

As she bit her lip, she averted her gaze from mine. A heavy voice escaped my mouth.

“Well, that’s wrong. Isn’t it?”

Celin, perhaps feeling frustrated by those words, shot me a displeased glance. However, upon seeing my endlessly grave expression, she eventually shut her mouth.

Her gaze fell to the floor. She kicked the innocent marble floor with her foot.

“What has Seria done? Even if there’s some fault on her part, ultimately, it was my will to listen and resolve it. Why is that Seria’s fault?”

Celin’s fierce gaze turned back to me. In her amber eyes, heat and coldness coexisted. A chilling animosity and a fiery anger.

“…So you’re going to side with that girl again?”

“I’m not siding with her; you crossed the line first!”

In the end, I couldn’t hold back and shouted. I couldn’t remember the last time I had yelled at Celin.

Startled by my outburst, Celin flinched, and tears began to well up in her eyes as if she was hurt.

It was a heartbreaking sight, but I thought that since I cared for Celin, I needed to speak up at this moment.

In a low voice, but with a firm emotion, I addressed Celin.

“Even so, how can you insult someone’s unfortunate family matters? Do you have any idea how much that hurt Seria?!”

My voice was low, growling.

As my voice, obviously threatening, reached her, Celin wiped her eyes with her uniform sleeve. Once again, she gnashed her teeth in frustration.

I felt even more incredulous and baffled. After committing such a clear wrong, was she still claiming to be the victim?

Memories of my time with Celin flashed through my mind. Had I spoiled her too much since childhood? If that were the case, then I clearly held some responsibility for her current moral decay.

I thought I might need to consult Professor Andrei from the theological department or the Lady Virgin Saint, as I stared at Celin with a grim face.

“…That’s not me, you idiot brother!”

Celin shouted as if genuinely wronged.

Oh, my head tilted in confusion. She wasn’t the one? That couldn’t be.

Yet, the redness around Celin’s eyes testified otherwise.

She wasn’t lying. Therefore, there was only one conclusion.

It seemed there had been some misunderstanding after all.

---