The time that had stopped returned.
“Ah!”
Sarah quickly tried to tumble, but the shock wasn’t nulled because she fell on her head first. However, being in pain didn’t matter now. She jumped up to look at the cracked ground.
“It isn’t here…”
There was definitely a huge crack in the ground, and there were eyes on it. However, as if it was just a dream, the crack, and the eyes were now gone.
Feeling possessed by something, Sarah stood there for several minutes.
Neigh.
The horse seemed to have calmed down now and was making horse sounds. Sarah had come to her senses and ran her hand around the neck of the horse. Her fingers were visibly shaking, and Sarah held her trembling hand with her other hand.
“What do I do…”
The moment to choose wasn’t far off. Was it the place where just happiness existed, or was it going to be the reality?
She had to choose one of them. Sarah’s mind was complicated.
Despite knowing that this was a world of trials and knowing that she could move forward through these trials, she couldn’t make a choice because this was such a sweet dream.
Knowing that this was the ideal situation that she could no longer experience in reality, Sara bit her lower lip until it bled.
For now, she decided to head back and mount the horse.
Even though she didn’t hold the reins, the horse brought her back to Sears.
“Brother.”
Right after dinner, Sarah went to the library, where Jamie was.
Jamie, who was reading the books stacked up on the ground, raised his head at her call.
“Hmm? Why are you here?”
He seemed a bit taken aback that his sister, who would have never come to his side, was here. And it was understandable since Jamie was the only one who used the Welton library.
Jamie closed the book and offered her a seat.
“Sit here.”
Sarah jumped onto the high chair and sat down. Normally, someone would have done it for her, but a few days ago, she could do it on her own.
It was strange for Jamie to get used to it, so he just sat down on the other side.
“For what reason did Sarah come to see Brother?”
Perhaps she had come to make him read her a book before bed, which happened once in a while, and that looked like the case today, so Jamie pondered what to read to her.
In the first place, since she was his younger sister, he had no idea that he would have to provide her counseling services.
So when Sarah spoke, Jamie was speechless.
“Is Brother happy now?”
She was suddenly asking about him being happy?
Were these words really coming from the mouth of a 5-year-old kid?
He had lived a long time, but this was the first time he wasn’t sure how to respond.
Jamie scratched his cheek with a smile.
“Hmm. If you ask me that now, I am happy. Is Sarah happy?”
“Very, very happy.”
“That’s good.”
“But I don’t know. I am so happy, but it hurts so much here.”
Sarah poked her chest with her fingers and cried.
“This place is so nice. I love spending time with Mom, Dad, and Brother. Having delicious meals and a picnic… I can no longer be this happy, and it is a world I have been dreaming about…. I don’t know what to do.”
“Sarah.”
“What do I do? What should I choose? I want to be here for the rest of my life, but if that happens, the original world will be ruined.”
“Calm down for now. Did you have a nightmare?”
“Nightmare…. Uh, it was. I don’t know if this is a nightmare too.”
Jamie couldn’t understand a thing she was saying. Not only was she suddenly asking about happiness, but she was also now saying things he couldn’t understand.
But as her older brother, it was his duty to calm her down.
“Calm down for now. Brother cannot understand a single thing. Speak slowly, and I will listen to everything you have to say.”
“I do not know why I am talking about this to Brother. I just want to talk about this with someone, but I cannot tell Mom and Dad, so I only have you.”
“Yes. I understand. It is alright. Start by taking a deep breath. You are gasping for air right now.”
Sarah was so shocked that she was panting. Jamie used magic to calm her down, and her mind and body seemed to have stabilized.
As mana entered her body, her breathing became normal again.
“Are you alright now?”
“…. Yes.”
Sarah nodded with a calm face. Her face looked tense, but that was all Jamie could do. Anyway, Jamie, who judged that she was ready to talk, asked her,
“So, what happened? Did something bad happen? I am Sarah’s brother, so I’m ready to listen to anything. Calmly organize your thoughts before saying it.”
“Brother.”
“Huh.”
“This world is actually fake.”
At Sarah’s words, Jamie’s face went stiff.
Jamie was speechless at his sister’s remarks.
Before he had time to even think about it, Sarah continued,
“This is a world created for my trial. Mom, Dad, Brother, and even the people who work for the Count’s family are all fakes.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I am going through a trial right now. It is a trial that runs through my life. That is why I am talking to Brother like this, and I am only returning to the happy days that actually no longer exist.”
“Wait, Sarah. Brother can’t understand you right now.”
“Brother, how much do you like us?”
“Us? Are you talking about our family?”
“Yes.”
Jamie was confused, but since she was asking him, he answered,
“I don’t know how much, but I am sure of one thing… you, people, are the existence that I need to protect at all times.”
“What if Brother cannot protect us?”
“Hmm… that cannot happen, but if it does… I will do whatever it takes to get our family back to where it is now.”
In the past, Sarah had thought of her brother’s words as just goals in life and liked them, but now she knew what kind of person he was.
“Then what if my brother becomes unable to care for our family and leaves all of us? Then why do you think that would happen?”
“What kind of question is that?”
“Answer me. If there ever comes a situation where Mom and Dad are isolated, and Brother stops caring about us, I want to hear why you would want to leave us.”
“That won’t happen. Why would I even leave…”
“Answer me!”
Sarah’s cry made Jamie flinch. He couldn’t figure out what was up with this kid, but he thought he should answer her, and Sarah waited for him to answer.
It took him around ten minutes.
As he decided on what to say, Jamie spoke with an uncomfortable look on his face,
“Maybe I would have done it on purpose. I don’t know under what circumstances I would do it, but if I did… there has to be a strong enemy on the other side. Strong enough that I wouldn’t be able to protect our family. Then I would have to leave all of you.”
“Why?”
“Well, to keep the enemy away from our family? It’s a situation that I can’t really understand, but if that happens, I think it is because of that reason. Other than that, nothing else comes to mind.”
“Then let me ask you one more question.”
“Sarah… why are you even asking all these?”
“Just one more. I will not trouble you anymore.”
“Ugh. Fine.”
Sarah caught her breath and asked.
“Do you think there will ever be a time when Brother will throw his emotions away?”
“… how do you know that…”
Jamie sighed.
He looked at her and said,
“Well, it could be an extension of what I said earlier. I would never let go of my feelings, but if I do, then….”
He answered honestly.
“Isn’t that also because I want to protect?”
“Who?”
“Our family.”
Sarah closed her eyes and took a deep breath. And as if her troubles were resolved, she told Jamie,
“Thank you for being so honest and helping me out.”
“I-Is that so? I guess everything is not yet resolved. The fake world and the real one.”
“It is resolved, all of that too. I am now sure of what to do.”
“Is that so? I don’t know what Sarah is up to, but know that Brother is always on your side. Even if the worst happens, I am on your side.”
Sarah smiled and nodded.
“Of course, Brother is my brother. It is late now, so I will head to sleep. Brother, don’t stay up for too long either.”
“Don’t worry. I will not overdo it.”
“Hmm. Bye.”
Sarah didn’t even look back as she went out of the library.
Jamie tilted his head as he looked at his sister, who suddenly appeared and asked him random questions. Then suddenly, he noticed a faint halo light around her face.
“Sarah?”
He tried calling for his younger sister to see if she was crying, but she ran so fast out of the library that she didn’t hear him.
He thought about whether he should follow her, but he didn’t want to handle her crying, so he went back to finish the book he had just started reading.
Sarah leaned against the library door and wept endlessly.
Originally, she went to find him without thinking much about it, yet she heard so many unexpected things. So now she had made a decision on how to end this trial.
“Haaa.”
When her tears stopped, Sarah turned away from the door and walked to the window on the other side. The round, full moon seemed close, as if it were right in front of her.
She opened the window, and goosebumps rose as she felt the chilly night air.
Was it an illusion that she saw her family’s faces on the full moon?
Sarah gulped back a laugh and rested her arm on the railing.
“Illusion… doesn’t exist.”
She enjoyed this as much as she could and heard the answer that she wanted from her brother.
No.
To be honest, she wanted to enjoy this more and spend more happy time here. She wanted to learn more about the sword from her father and about manners from her mother.
If possible, she wanted to learn magic from her brother too. She wanted to create a bond with each member of her family, but her work was done.
There were things she had to confirm, so she couldn’t stay here any longer.
“I will return to reality.”
Really, it was such a happy day.
That was why it was painful for her right now to decide that she had to leave this place. It was as if one side of her chest was being ripped out.
Still, she couldn’t do much. This world wasn’t real.
The real one was out there.
Her mother and brother were living in the real world.
Although the fact that she wouldn’t be able to see her father was painful, hadn’t she already overcome it once?
Sarah didn’t wipe away the tears that flowed again. She climbed onto the high railing and spoke to the full moon, feeling the night breeze blowing,
“The trial is over. Let me out.”
At that moment, the two red eyes that she had seen during the daytime appeared on the full moon.
[Is it the outside you choose?]
“Yes.”
[No regrets.]
“No. I have so many regrets that I cannot even hold onto all of them.”
[Then….]
“Still, it has to happen! I… I need to get out because there are things only I can do.”
[Is that enough reason?]
“Even if it isn’t, I have no regrets. This is my choice.”
[Right. I understand. Congratulations on passing this trial.]
The red eyes vanished, and a bright light shone on Sarah.
It was then….
“Sarah!”
“Sarah, where are you?!”
“Daughter, come down here! It is dangerous.”
The voices of her family almost made her turn her head back.
But she bit her lip so much that it bled. It was a promise to herself that she wouldn’t turn back.
“Sarah, come here. Come down now. Let us go sleep with Mom.”
“Brother will read you a fairy tale. Okay?”
“You were supposed to train the sword with Father tomorrow, right? I will teach it to you very slowly, so come down now.”
Until the very end, it was such a painful trial.
She had a bitter smile on her face as she told them, without turning back,
“I was happy.”
She didn’t know if this was the right choice, but there were times when one had to walk the thorny road.
If you don’t give up, then you can definitely do it.
Sarah thought of what Shiva told her and surrendered herself to the light.
A few drops of tears flew in the air.
