Chapter 230: Flamme: My Chest hurts
Inside a guest room in the City Lord's Mansion in Crescent City.
Flamme awoke from a nightmare.
Dreams are a continuation of reality, and her dream was exactly what had happened during the day, except that the arrival of Kurtz and the others was missing, replaced by distorted images of the shattered barrier's light and the monsters attacking the city.
This was also her biggest fear, but thankfully, Teacher Kurtz had been there.
Her throat was sore and dry. She tiptoed out of bed, glanced at Frieren, who seemed to be sleeping soundly on the bed next to her, and gently pushed open the door, intending to go downstairs to get some water.
The corridor lights were all off, but fortunately, the moon was very bright tonight, illuminating the corridor.
Rubbing her throbbing head, she was about to head toward the stairs when she faintly heard voices drifting from the direction of the distant terrace.
One of the voices was clear and calm, yet also had a soft, gentle quality. Was it Teacher Serie? Then the other voice must be Teacher Kurtz.
What were the two teachers doing on the terrace so late?
A strange curiosity seized her.
Flamme instinctively slowed her pace, approaching slowly and hiding herself in the shadows cast by the pillars, holding her breath as she peered out.
The moonlight clearly illuminated the view on the terrace.
Ms. Serie was wearing a simple white robe. Her posture was not as upright as usual, but instead had a touch of laziness, and several wine bottles were lying haphazardly at her feet.
Mr. Kurtz was standing right next to her, very close, and was talking to her while looking down.
The atmosphere between the two was the same as in the cabin in the woods.
There was an indescribable closeness and tacit understanding between them, which Flamme had witnessed many times before.
But if that were all, she wouldn't think much of it. However, for some reason, her heart skipped a beat, and an inexplicable premonition made her uneasy.
Then, she saw Ms. Serie suddenly stand up, and then the accident happened.
The intoxication caused the elf to lose her balance, and her body fell backward uncontrollably.
Kurtz immediately reached out his hand.
Teacher Kurtz should be able to handle it, right?
Flamme thought to herself.
With Teacher Kurtz's abilities, catching Master Serie should be a piece of cake.
However, the next scene was not what she had expected.
For some reason, Professor Kurtz's movements seemed to slow down for a moment, something that shouldn't have happened, but it was this momentary slowness that led to a different outcome.
Their figures overlapped, and they both fell to the ground.
What made Flamme's pupils shrink even more was that their lips were pressed tightly together!
The moonlight mercilessly magnified every detail, which Flamme could see very clearly.
Boom—!
She felt her mind go blank, and then a chilling coldness suddenly appeared and spread throughout her body.
She covered her mouth tightly to prevent the gasp from escaping.
Her body slumped backward uncontrollably, then crashed heavily against the wall, and slowly slid down, shrinking herself entirely into the shadows.
Why does my chest hurt so much? The pain was so intense that it felt like she couldn't breathe.
She opened her mouth wide, gasping for breath like a fish out of water, but she couldn't feel a breath of air; only the excruciating pain seemed to tear her whole body apart.
She had thought she had a chance. Yes, she had already seen through her own heart.
She liked Kurtz.
His wisdom, his strength, his occasional teasing, and his gentleness toward her... all seemed like the sweetest poison, causing her to fall hopelessly into it.
She strove so hard to become stronger, not only to live up to expectations, but more importantly, because she longed to one day stand shoulder to shoulder with him, to become an indispensable part of his life, like Teacher Serie, or even more.
She had even harbored a sliver of hope: elves have incredibly long lifespans, and consequently, their emotions were often weak; perhaps her own human-like emotions could...
But the scene before her eyes in the moonlight shattered all her hopes.
A millennium.
Between them lay a thousand years.
Those were long years that she could never reach in her entire life.
Her few short years of companionship seemed as insignificant as a speck of dust in the face of this thousand-year bond, as laughable as a presumptuous dream.
It turned out that her position had been predetermined from the very beginning.
She was just a student.
She could never, ever, ever truly reach the existence she longed for.
Tears welled up like a burst dam, blurring everything and obscuring Flamme's perception of the outside world.
After an unknown amount of time, until the sounds from the terrace completely disappeared, Flamme stood up dejectedly and returned to her room.
Inside the guest room.
Frieren had actually woken up when Flamme got up.
She watched as Flamme walked in, dazed and confused, her face pale, her eyes red-rimmed, and an indescribable aura of sorrow surrounding her.
"Flamme?" Frieren sat up and called softly, her eyes filled with pure confusion and instinctive concern. "Did you have a nightmare? Why do you look like... you're about to break down?"
She couldn't find a more suitable word to describe Flamme's state at that moment.
Flamme raised her head and looked at Frieren, her heart filled with an overwhelming sorrow.
She shook her head. "It's nothing. It's just that I think I've fallen for someone I shouldn't, and I'm facing an opponent I'm destined to lose to. There's no chance of winning..."
Frieren was even more confused, and her pointed ears twitched slightly.
Like? Rival? Battle?
She couldn't understand the meaning behind Flamme's words, nor could she comprehend these complex human emotional entanglements.
In her naive mind, if you liked someone, you should get close to them; if you didn't like someone, you should stay away from them. Why shouldn't you?
Why must one suffer so much if one can't overcome it?
In a battle, if you knew you couldn't win, shouldn't you retreat?
As an elf whose emotions were almost identical to those of Serie a thousand years ago, Frieren was utterly unable to empathize with Flamme's feelings at this moment.
But she could clearly sense the sadness emanating from Flamme.
She frowned, trying to comfort the other person in her own way, and awkwardly began to speak.
"Is it because the opponent is too powerful? Like Lord Kurtz and Lady Serie?" She paused, thinking hard. "But even the most powerful beings have things they can't do, right?"
Frieren's meaning was simple: even beings as strong as Kurtz and Serie had things they couldn't do, so it was okay if you couldn't beat them, it wasn't a big problem.
"Frieren, you don't understand. This is an emotion unique to humans."
"Yes, I really don't understand. For elves, these human emotions are indeed hard to comprehend. Sometimes, even if an elf tries to hint at it or even states it directly, they still can't understand the emotions they can't comprehend, and in the end, they'll only get a rejection, right?"
Frieren seemed to comfort Flamme, or perhaps to offer a rational explanation of the characteristics of her race.
But these words, heard by Flamme, who was in a state of extreme sensitivity, instantly illuminated a certain direction for her!
[End of Chapter]
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