Love Letter From The Future
Chapter 418: Proof of Existence (6)

Chapter 418: Proof of Existence (6)

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To my beloved Ian Percus

Summer is fading and autumn is approaching. Before I knew it, cold rain now falls at night, and the softened sunlight has become a welcome presence. How are things over there, Ian? I wonder if you can hear this rainfall soaking the moon as I do.

Night, rain and alcohol.

It’s a perfect day to reminisce about the past. Some might criticize a priest for drinking, but as that day approaches again, it’s hard to wash away the bitterness in my heart. You’d get it, right?

Unlike today, it was a bright and sunny day—the day we set off together for the Holy Nation, remember?

I still recall my heart swelling as if going on a picnic. It was my first time visiting my hometown with you. For everyone, one’s homeland holds a special meaning and love makes you want to share it all. I thought I could proudly face even the childhood I buried long ago if I was with you.

It was nothing short of a confession. Perhaps I wanted to repent for that little girl, with too many tears and grudges, whom I had deliberately been turning away from.

Who would’ve thought? My real sin... was something else entirely.

Even the Lord once said that the more we hate another, the more we come to hate ourselves. As resentment deepens, our hearts only grow more anguished and tormented.

I think that the emotion of ‘doubt’ is similar.

The deeper I dug into the suspicious happenings at the orphanage, the more my doubts deepened and the more I came to distrust myself. It was when everything I had believed in was crumbling. On the day I was betrayed by someone I couldn’t even bring myself to suspect, I blasphemously doubted the very existence of God.

Because I was betrayed by none other than a fellow comrade.

Every path I’d loved led toward the cross. The day I stood in the courtroom, death loomed before me and the God I’d sought my entire life was nowhere to be found.

It’s late, but I want to ask.

Why... why did you believe in me?

This isn’t just about being falsely accused. The verdict was as good as decided, and I had no confidence in saving myself. To be more precise, I’d given up. My convictions, my God, my faith—everything that defined my life had been denied.

And yet, why did you...

Even as your flesh tore, your bones shattered, and your blood ran down...

Why did you try to save me? Why did you try to show hope again to someone who’d abandoned everything?

Actually, I already know your answer. Because you’ve always said it.

‘Obey’—the Lord’s will is truly unfathomable.

But now, I finally understand—that even when we are broken by wounds and trials, there comes a time when we must stand again and move forward. And that is how the Lord proves His existence.

Even this drink I’m having today will someday become a memory.

Commemorating the anniversary of a pitiful soul, and for our unfathomable future.

One glass, and then another. This one—I’ll drink for you.

My love, my foundation, my eternal companion.

On this rain-soaked night, before the presence of the Lord—I pledge my love to you.

P.S. 1: I’ll likely visit the capital in the middle of next month. You’ll be there to meet me, won’t you? But one piece of advice—please get rid of that pet dog of yours. I’m getting headaches from its snarky letters arriving weekly.

P.S. 2: There’s a rumor going around that the Yurdina House might have an illegitimate child soon. Show some restraint, seriously. Before I have you both brought before the Inquisition for adultery.

From. Your ‘Lucia’

On the twelfth day of the Moon of the Disc, Imperial Year 571.

——

After reading the letter, I remained silent.

Detailed circumstances were still not revealed. This was a characteristic shared by all letters, including the first one. At this point, it was more likely that there was some kind of force at work, rather than mere coincidence.

Even my future self said something similar before.

That directly conveying information ‘consumes’ too much. I didn’t know what was being ‘consumed’, but it seemed there was a limit to how much could be altered from the future. This was probably related to why my future self couldn’t intervene in the previous incident.

In the end, I had to navigate through another treacherous future with this vague clue.

But even so, it was better than blindly facing the storm. Yet, I couldn’t shake an uneasy feeling.

The reason was simple.

The brief phrase scrawled on the back of the letter caught my eye again

‘Beware of family.’

Along with the mention of a traitor—It was enough to plant a seed of doubt in my mind.

And when it came to family, there was only one suspect.

My younger sister—Ria Percus.

“.....No. That’s impossible.”

Swallowing a hollow laugh, I shook my head.

There was no way Ria would betray me. Unless she was being controlled by the Dark Order, but even that possibility had become slim long ago, when we destroyed the core of the Corpse Giant.

And yet, I couldn’t completely shake off this thread of anxiety.

Because betrayal is originally something you suffer from someone you trust.

Wasn’t it clearly mentioned in the letter? That she was betrayed by a ‘comrade’.

I chewed my lip while lost in thought. I didn’t want to doubt Ria, but on the other hand, it was true that I felt anxious.

After tapping my finger on the table for several minutes...

But no matter how much I agonized over it, I wasn’t going to find an answer on my own. At times like this, I first needed to collect additional clues.

For this, I had two options.

First, investigate my future self’s actions.

And second, consult with a colleague smarter than me.

The more information I had, the better my deductions would be. And as always, I chose to start with the first option.

It wasn’t difficult to track ‘my’ movements within the Academy.

Because I was such a celebrity that all my movements were exposed. The next person I sought was none other than the Imperial Princess.

“Sir Ian, you’re here again!”

She greeted me with her usual bright face. In the rear garden of Verlata Palace only given to the Imperial Family, the shadows of two people were the only thing reflected in that deserted place.

Yes, two people.

Surprisingly, there was a familiar face I hadn’t seen in a long time beside the Imperial Princess.

A female knight with neatly arranged blue hair cascading like a waterfall was visible.

Irene Lupermion.

She had returned after staying at the Percus territory to help with protection.

I greeted my comrade’s return with a welcoming smile.

“Dame Irene! You’re back!”

“Yes, Teacher. I’ve been well, thanks to your guidance.”

She received my greeting with a bitter smile.

That ‘Teacher’ title was still unfamiliar. Come to think of it, the Princess and Dame Irene were among those who didn’t know about the existence of my future self.

I should reveal it someday.

But then again, Dame Irene who calls me ‘Teacher’ might feel awkward, so I decided to disclose the truth later. The one she regards as her teacher is my future self after all.

Instead, I offered a normal greeting.

“How is the Percus estate? I heard you were coordinating searches with Imperial Intelligence. Any sign of the Dark Order’s agents?”

“I would have contacted you at once if there had been any, Teacher. But the thing is.....”

Ahem—Dame Irene cleared her throat and showed a slightly embarrassed expression.

She looked like a child checking their parent’s reaction after doing something wrong.

When I gave her a puzzled look, she sighed and began to confess.

“The ‘masked assailant’ has completely disappeared. We can’t even identify a suspect......”

In other words, they might still be lurking somewhere near the Percus estate.

When I responded with a Hmm, the Princess looked back and forth between me and Irene. She seemed unable to follow our conversation.

Was she just slow on the uptake?

While I hesitated whether to give a supplementary explanation, the Princess tilted her head.

“Didn’t you ask about that ‘masked assailant’ two days ago too?”

This time, it was Dame Irene who was surprised.

She hung her head with an even more guilty expression. The cold sweat trickling down represented her feelings well.

“I-I’m sorry, Teacher... I didn’t know because I just arrived yesterday. If I had known you were so concerned, I should have stayed and watched a bit longer... Sh-Should I go back?

“That won’t be necessary. More importantly—what exactly did I ask?”

After cutting off her suggestion, I asked the Princess again.

If my future self inquired at this particular moment about the ‘masked assailant’, there had to be a reason. He wasn’t the type to waste his efforts on meaningless matters.

And, up until recently, he had shown no interest in the ‘masked assailant’ at all.

Although he was sighted in Yurdina territory as well, to suddenly show interest was unnatural.

The Princess, not knowing the circumstances, just showed a dumbfounded expression.

“You asked about the assailant spotted at the Yurdina House? Things like... their appearance.”

“And? What did you tell me?”

“Well, I was so startled at the time that I don’t really... remember.”

The Princess gave a silly smile with an ‘Eheh’.

It was a frustrating answer, but it was hard to get angry when facing that innocent expression. She at least recalled one useful piece of information.

“Ah! Now that I think about it, you also asked about Dame Irene.”

“Dame Irene?”

“Yes, you said you needed to hear her testimony in detail.”

Our gazes naturally turned to Dame Irene.

Yet, she still seemed anxious and couldn’t quite meet our eyes. She just tightly closed her eyes, seemingly trying hard to recall something, then gave an awkward expression.

“As I said, there was just a ‘flash!’ before everything went black.....”

Our expressions hardened.

This was utterly unhelpful information. Wouldn’t anyone see a flash before collapsing?

Eventually, she followed the Princess’s example and gave a silly smile with an Eheh. She seemed to be looking for an escape.

“Irene, you find this amusing? Sir Ian himself is asking you a question.”

“I-I’m sorry, Your Highness......”

“Since when does ‘sorry’ cut it as a royal guard?”

Of course, her attempt to escape the situation failed spectacularly.

With one hand on her hip, the Princess started scolding in a strangely delinquent tone.

Dame Irene had to bow her head again and again while squirming uncomfortably.

Regardless, my worries were deepening even more.

I had no solid leads. According to my investigation, the last trace of my future self’s movements was talking with the Princess. It was likely that he had done something after that, but it was difficult to investigate right away.

Still, I hoped there would be at least one more meaningful clue.

As I was groaning like that, the Princess, who had been berating Dame Irene, carefully asked me

“Sir Ian... something’s weighing on your mind, isn’t it?”

I glanced at her.

Come to think of it, the princess was talented—talented enough to rank as the top student in the first year Magic Faculty. Maybe consulting her could lead to a new perspective.

But I soon found myself smirking.

That princess? Really?

To me, she had always felt like a younger sister I needed to protect. She wasn’t someone I could rely on.

And yet—Why?

Looking at her ash-gray eyes burning with determination, I was struck by a strange premonition. Looking back, the Princess had already tried to ruin me at the Academy before.

I remember having quite a hard time then.

With the mindset that I had nothing to lose, I decided to confide my worries to the Princess.

“Tell me... if someone left you a message saying, ‘Beware of family’—what would you think?”

“Well, that’s too obvious, isn’t it?”

Ah. Right.

I had momentarily forgotten. She was smiling brightly as she spoke, but no other family would react so boldly to being told to be careful of family.

Except the Imperial Family.

For them, it must be something they’ve heard since they first learned to speak.

However, the Princess also seemed to know well that I didn’t ask with such intention, so she soon tilted her head and asked.

“Still... It’s strange. Why wouldn’t they specify who to beware of?”

“Well... the thing is, due to certain circumstances, direct information can’t be shared. That’s why the message is so vague—”

“Even so, it’s strange.”

She asked back in a calm tone, as if she was genuinely puzzled.

“In the end, it means specific information shouldn’t be conveyed to you, Sir Ian, right? But as far as I know, Sir Ian’s family isn’t large, and it should be possible to specify who it is, isn’t that so?”

It was an apt observation.

Moreover, it was a remark that accurately pierced the point I had been worrying about, so I was at a momentary loss for words. According to that, Ria was the only one I should suspect .

In other words, it was as good as saying to suspect Ria.

Then this was no longer indirect information. While I remained silent, the Princess smiled mysteriously and said.

“The key isn’t that you should suspect ‘family.’ There’s a more fundamental question to answer first.”

And then came her declaration, full of confidence.

“Whose family are we talking about?”

As she added this, the Princess’s ash-gray eyes held a rare, sinister light.

They were the eyes of a schemer who discovered an interesting puzzle.

**

After hearing her advice, I began to consider a wider range of candidates.

I wasn’t the only one with family. I couldn’t rule out the possibility that Ria was the traitor, but I also had to consider another group—The Saintess’s family.

Then could the traitor be someone at the orphanage?

Why are there so many traitors in orphanages managed by the Holy Nation?

While lost in these thoughts, I found myself passing through the warp gate and entering the Holy Nation.

It was then that I encountered an unexpected person.

“Oh, Senior Elsie?”

At my quiet call, a girl wearing a pointed hat turned around startled. Then, a welcoming light immediately bloomed in those blue eyes.

But it was soon replaced by dismay.

Before I could wonder why...

“Long time no see.”

I had to slightly raise my gaze to meet the shadow looming before me. Though I was tall myself, the other person was even taller.

He was truly a man of large build.

And those piercing blue eyes—were unmistakably similar to Senior Elsie’s.

“Nephew-in-law.”

I had to show a dumbfounded expression as I reflexively took the hand he extended.

One of only two Archmages in the Rinella family and the man who fought in the Percus territory alongside me.

It was a reunion with Reynold Rinella.