Love Letter From The Future

Chapter 353: Bread and Dagger (51)

Neris hated Ian Percus.

It was only natural. From the very start, their relationship have never been normal

Hadn’t she even tried to capture and torture him once?

In the end, only after enduring the humiliation of being burned, doused in liquor and soaked in water wrung from a filthy rag did she finally concede defeat.

And to this day, that ill-fated bond persisted.

That fact alone caused Neris immense mental anguish.

Whenever she saw Ian, only three things came to mind:

Fire, iron and blood.

Each one a memory so horrifying it chilled her to the bone.

A superior who would lop off your fingers if you dared to question him? Even calling him ‘the worst’ didn’t cut it. When Ian was formally appointed to the academy branch, Neris genuinely wanted to die.

How could anyone serve under such a man?

And yet, she had to put up with it.

Neris had devoted her entire life to becoming a member of the Imperial Intelligence. She couldn’t simply quit because she disliked her superior.

It was too late to turn back now.

She refused to let the blood and sweat she’d poured into this go to waste.

Besides, the Intelligence Division prided itself on being both a ‘cradle and a grave.’ Once you joined, leaving became next to impossible. Even if you did manage to leave, for the sake of secrecy, you’d be shackled by countless restraints.

Given that, to hold out for a few more months seemed better.

Neris was a fourth-year student at the Academy. In other words, in half a year, she would graduate and leave anyway.

It was just a few months ago that she bit her lip and made up her mind to hold on until then.

But now, she was anxiously pacing around the room.

It was a sad and unproductive cycle.

Her fruitless steps, yielding no answers, repeated endlessly. Occasionally, the sound of her biting her thumbnail echoed through the silence.

Neris hated Ian Percus.

Being summoned on her day off made her seethe. She quietly cursed him more times than she could count.

Getting called in on your day off by a superior you can’t stand?

Who wouldn’t be angry?

And when he called her all the way up to this cold and remote northern region, she agonized over it multiple times. She’d even indulged in childish thoughts of using some flimsy excuse to avoid going.

Of course, she could never actually go through with it.

She was scared of Ian.

What if he came after her with his hatchet again, just because she dared to needlessly question him?

A madman is called as such precisely because they’re unpredictable. The best she could do was avoid provoking him. And so, Neris ultimately followed him to the north, feeling like livestock being dragged to a slaughterhouse.

Yes, that was how it had been.

Neris really hated Ian Percus.

Occasionally, he would show concern for her, acknowledge her efforts or express trust in her. In those moments, she would awkwardly scratch her cheek in embarrassment.

But that didn’t mean the bitterness lodged in her heart ever went away.

So why, now?

Why did she feel so anxious, like she could barely breathe?

It had been days since he vanished after being trapped within a mysterious barrier.

Yurdina Castle was literally at war.

“How many spare troops can we dispatch?”

“To enter the coniferous forest, we’ll need guides. But after the recent elf raids, many local hunters have been killed...”

“An envoy from the Holy Nation has arrived.”

Countless voices filtered into Neris’ ears as she sat slumped against a doorframe.

Through the cracks in the door, her aura threads slipped out, carrying whispers from all around. But no matter how much she eavesdropped, she couldn’t hear the one piece of news she longed for.

Nowhere was there any news of Ian being found.

Burying her face in her knees, Neris let out a long, drawn-out sigh..

Why had he done that?

Ian had sacrificed himself to save her. Had he just abandoned her and fled, he wouldn’t have gone missing.

He looked so desperate.

She was just a subordinate, wasn’t she?

So why did he go out of his way to save her, giving everything he had until he had to sacrifice himself?

She had no idea.

That’s why she felt suffocated.

Maybe it was guilt. She thought she had long erased such naive emotions from herself, but, at her core, Neris was still a woman.

“Are you certain he’s somewhere in the coniferous forest?”

“According to the Mage Corps, yes. The coordinates of the spatial transference spell have been partially determined and they point to somewhere deep within the forest...”

“Deep within? And they expect us to search with such vague information?”

Faintly humming, the threads carried the information forward.

Neris silently mulled over the conversations, replaying them in her head again and again.

“Honestly, he might already be dead...”

“They’ve ordered us to recover the body, even if that’s the case.”

She kept listening in silence, not uttering a single word.

“That’s Yurdina’s command.”

Neris staggered as she stood, her face carrying a strange sense of resolve.

Part of her wanted to see it as a blessing in disguise.

That annoying, terrifying boss was gone. Sure, it was a serious sin to fail to protect the bearer of the Dragonblood Script, but not serious enough to risk her life over.

And yet, she couldn’t just sit still.

She was too anxious, too scared.

Neris fiddled with the whistle tucked in her coat. It produced a special sound wave that covered a wide area, a perfect tool for searching.

If Ian were alive, he would undoubtedly respond to it.

But she couldn’t venture into the coniferous forest alone.

She needed allies.

So she quietly made her way down to the first floor of Yurdina Castle, when suddenly—

She noticed a commotion.

“...You’re lying.”

A faint voice echoed through the lobby.

Halfway down the stairs, Neris abruptly stopped and glanced below.

A girl with gray hair stood there, facing several women with grim expressions.

They were Ian’s companions.

But it wasn’t these women confronting the gray-haired girl.

Rather it was a knight from Yurdina Castle whose face looked utterly troubled.

“Uh, Young lady? I’m not saying Sir Ian is dead, only that his whereabouts and condition are currently unknown...”

“I told you not to lie!”

It was practically a scream.

Clang! With a lightning-fast motion, she drew her sword, sending the young knight’s body soaring through the air. Moments later, a heavy thud echoed as he crashed to the ground.

Before the knight could regain his senses, Seria had her blade pressed against his throat.

Her blue eyes blazed like ghostly flames.

“Are you kidding me right now?! Senior Ian was trapped inside some suspicious barrier, and you all just stood by and watched? What, were you trying to advertise how useless you are?!”

“B-But Sir Ian explicitly ordered us not to go inside...”

“Don’t make excuses.”

Her words were cold and decisive.

Her usual polite tone was nowhere to be found. She merely gritted her teeth and kept her glowing blue blade aimed steadily at her target.

“You just wanted to save yourselves... didn’t you? That’s why you left Senior Ian in a place that was obviously dangerous. So that he would be the one to sacrifice himself...!”

Unable to contain her anger, Seria tightened her grip on the sword. The young knight, realizing the blade might pierce his throat any moment, squeezed his eyes shut.

What stopped that tragedy was a delicate hand.

With a soft tap, a hand gripped her wrist, causing Seria’s gaze to turn even fiercer..

The Saintess had approached her at some point and, in a voice drenched with melancholy and exhaustion, she spoke.

“Please stop this.”

“...Aha.”

But Seria was already far from rational.

She had come to Yurdina Castle with high hopes.

She barely managed to build up the skills necessary to be acknowledged by her Senior. And now, he was missing out of nowhere—and worse, his life or death was uncertain?

It was impossible to stay sane under these circumstances.

Seria let out a sharp laugh, almost like a sneer.

“Why? Did I strike a nerve with you all?”

“Sister Seria...”

The Saintess didn’t even get angry.

It seemed she no longer had the energy for it, her eyes reflecting nothing but sadness.

“You can’t let your feelings take priority on the battlefield. We gave Ian full authority, so we were duty-bound to follow his orders.”

“A duty to leave Senior Ian all by himself?”

“No, a duty not to let his resolve go to waste.”

Her voice was calm, but it had a slight tremor— a clear proof of the Saintess’ still unsettled heart. The subtle anger gleaming in those soft pink eyes also said as much.

“Back then, we couldn’t figure out what kind of magic it was. All we could guess was that it might be a barrier, spatial transference spell, or some sort of large-scale annihilation spell... In any case, we wouldn’t have been able to help.”

“You should’ve at least made sure he wasn’t alone.”

Through clenched teeth, Seria retorted.

But the Saintess wasn’t done.

She began listing the myriad possibilities that had crossed her mind in that brief moment.

“If it’s a barrier that seals off the interior, it has to be dealt with from the outside. The moment it activates, the inside will descend into chaos... As for spatial transference spells, it depends on the type, but it’s unlikely such a large space could be moved far. In that case, somewhere within the coniferous forest would be the most plausible spot, don’t you think?”

Faced with such a stream of logical deductions, Seria momentarily fell silent.

She still looked dissatisfied, but it seemed she couldn’t come up with a proper rebuttal.

And that was understandable.

At the time, the Saintess’ mind must have been spinning so wildly it was on the verge of bursting—all because the man she loved was facing imminent danger.

“So if we assume no specific coordinates were set, then leaving him stranded was more plausible. If he landed in enemy territory, he’d have a better chance of escaping alone. And as for a large-scale annihilation spell?”

Heh, the Saintess let out a brief incredulous laugh.

“That would’ve killed us all... Don’t you understand? Ian’s sacrifice would’ve been for nothing!”

“Well, isn’t that great.”

Even after hearing the Saintess’s heartfelt explanation, Seria’s reaction was indifferent.

She scoffed, then turned around and slid her sword back into its sheath.

“Surviving thanks to Senior Ian’s sacrifice... but, I have no intention of doing that.”

With that, she strode off, her presence growing even more menacing.

Her destination was the Yurdina Family Head’s office.

After greeting her father and sister, she intended to request permission to head straight into the coniferous forest.

The one who brought her relentless steps to a halt was none other than Neris.

“...Young Lady?”

Seria flinched, her body stiffening as she quickly turned her head to the side.

She hadn’t sensed a thing.

She’s standing right next to me, then how?

Regardless, Neris only offered a gentle smile.

“Seems we’re on the same page. How about we talk for a moment?”

For the first time, Neris felt like things were starting to fall into place.

Her deep green eyes flicked over to the lobby, where those other women still stood, looking somber as they talked among themselves.

That much was enough.

All she could now was pray that Ian would hold on.

It was the first time.

The first time she’d genuinely wished for Ian to survive.

Without even realizing it herself, Neris bit down on her lip.

There’s no way I’ll let him die on his own terms.

***Meanwhile, Ian was enjoying a feast in the elf village.

Not that there was much to enjoy—after all, the only food available was bread. It was more of a modest dinner than a true feast.

But the elves’ reactions were nothing short of explosive.

“Oh my goodness, so much bread...!”

“I-It’s so soft!”

“Uh, is it really okay for us to eat this?”

Ian just kept smiling silently.

He honestly didn’t know how he was supposed to react. It was only because Isha’s eyes were so desperately pleading as she cautiously asked that he quickly offered his answer.

“Yes, please help yourselves. I have plenty anyway...”

The moment he said that, a dozen or so hands shot out to grab the bread in a hurry.

Ian hoped they’d start eating soon, but none of them dared to take a bite.

They simply shed a few tears and offered prayers of thanks.

“O World Tree, thank you. For bestowing such a precious blessing upon us...”

The corners of Ian’s mouth began to twitch.

It looked like he’d need time to get used to life among the elves.

“It’s warm...!”

“It’s soft and sweet! It’s not at all like that loaf of bread I once tasted before!”

“I-Is this really bread?!”

And quite a lot of it, at that.

Ian let out a long sigh internally.