"What...? A returner?"
"I'm sure you've heard of it before. It refers to people who return to the past from the future."
The queen stared at him, mouth open in a silent gasp.
"That's who I am. No matter how many times I die, I continue to return to myself in the spring of my twentieth year. I've been repeating the same life over and over again for a very long time."
"I don't understand... What are you saying?"
"You don't have to believe me if you don't want to," Tesilid said simply. But, of course, that would mean the end of the conversation. Tesilid decided to wrap his explanation up quickly, watching Queen Laviosa stiffen with every progressing second. "For me, this isn't the first time we've met. We've met many times in my past lives, although neither of us was aware of our true relationship. And in each of those lives, you've always been... Let's say, you've been hostile toward me."
He softened the devastating experiences he had post-Loop Seventeen that he dared not say in front of Ailette, but this was more than enough for Queen Laviosa. She knew best how cruel she could be toward people she'd designated as an enemy. Shocked, she stared silently at Tesilid for quite some time, then finally glanced over at Ailette to seek an answer from the prophet of God who could be trusted to always tell the truth. A thicker layer of shock and confusion seeped into Queen Laviosa's eyes as she witnessed Ailette's silent confirmation.
"A returner... My son...?"
Ailette knew that it wasn't something that was easy to believe straight away, so she decided to make a suggestion.
"Why don't we do this?" she asked as she pulled something out from her inventory. It was a divine potion in a glass bottle with wings, the holy relic of the Divine Realm that the Cliché Gourmet had gifted Ailette.
â¬Â«Item» [Story âAccelerator: Amnesia Cure Potion]
No need for low-quality potions that only recall the memories of the past. The ultimate cure for amnesia that recalls both memories from the current life and past life. A rare item, rare enough to destroy all plots and exterminate the concept of balance.
Note: If used in a world of endless returns, only the Loop with the most incidents and events will be recalled.â
It was Ailette who offered Queen Laviosa a potion this time, just as the queen had done to Tesilid a moment ago.
"Your Majesty, I believe all memories, both good and bad, must be shared in order to truly be a family. Hence..."
The queen eyed the potion cautiously.
"I will share with you one Loop Tesilid had experienced," Ailette said, holding the glass bottle out.
"Drink it. It's safe."
Ailette waited as she looked into Queen Laviosa's distraught eyes. In truth, she didn't really want the queen to drink the potion. She simply used the same method that the queen had so that Tesilid wouldn't be forced to accept his family. She had hoped that Queen Laviosa would hesitate for a moment and then walk away, but the older woman surprised her.
"I'll drink it."
Ailette hadn't expected this response. Determined, the queen took the potion from Ailette and, without another second of hesitation, she knocked the tiny bottle back.
What followed for Queen Laviosa was a bit of dizziness and a hazy view as her vision swam before her. Then suddenly, it was as if she was somewhere else. Memories began to attack her mind. She was beating someone as blood spurted everywhere in what seemed like overpowering darkness, and she could feel that she had a deep sense of hatred for the man whose arms were bound as he was brutally abused.
Ha. It isn't enough to rid myself of the wrath in my heart.
Why? Because he'd gotten in the way of her son and his political influence. She knew that the man hadn't intentionally gotten involved. In fact, the only interference from the man had been a result of him simply trying to avoid one of Rigarez's evil schemes.
But the details of how this situation came about no longer mattered to Laviosaâhis actions had become a seed that threatened her son's position as a prince, and this angered the queen more than anything imaginable.
"My son could've become the king if it wasn't for you!" she had screamed as she beat him. "How dare you?! You will not die peacefully, for I cannot forgive you for what you did."
Although she was beating him under the pretense of interrogation, she had no intention of stopping. The queen beat the man until his white holy knight's uniform tore and his skin broke underneathâuntil her arms shuddered and trembled from exhaustion. Even then she didn't stop, having her tired muscles healed over and over again so that she could continue turning him into a bloody pulp. Little did she know that the man she was beating was her first son.
No! Stop!
The current Queen Laviosa cried out in anguish, but the desperate pleas being screamed inside her head could not reach through the fabric of time.
Please... Stop... Don't do this to our child.
Of course, the crueler version of herself inside her memory didn't stop. Dozens of wooden sticks snapped in her hand against the boy's battered body, only to be replaced by a leather whip that was used to work animals in the field.
No... No...
The memories that automatically flowed into her mind didn't even allow her to close her eyes or look away. She was forced to watch every moment as her son's back became a grisly mess, while the crazed woman she once was continued the assault with a sadistic smile. It was horrific, the way she smiled with pleasure as if she was torturing her mortal enemy when she was actually slaughtering her child.
The current Queen Laviosa gave up on pleading with her other self. Instead, she began to pray desperately that someone would come and kill the demonic woman in her memories, or that someone would at least break the hand that was holding the whip. And if that wasn't going to work...
Just kill me instead! She wished she could die. She wanted to disappear forever so that she would no longer have to carry this atrocious memory with her.
Please! She begged for it to end, for the pain to finally be over, when suddenly it was.
"Are you all right, Your Majesty?"
A concerned voice brought her back to reality. Queen Laviosa panted as if she'd just been rescued from drowning, which was why she only belatedly realized that she'd been squeezing the Divine Emissary's hand.
Thinking back, it seemed that the Divine Emissary had taken the queen's hand into her grasp, as if she was the one who finally stopped the beating. And frankly speaking, the same could be said of this timeline. Queen Laviosa would've certainly ruined things in this Loop had it not been for the Divine Emissary exposing her to the truth of her son's identity. She was a schemer who'd do anything in her power to achieve her dreams, so she no doubt would've used this man in deceitful ways to make sure that the Divine Emissary married Rigarez. What would've followed might have been even worse than what she'd seen in the memory, and there was no way around this but to simply admit it.
Thinking this, Queen Laviosa couldn't help but realize that she was in no place to demand that Tesilid recover his childhood memories. Teardrops flowed endlessly from her eyes, seemingly tapping into a well that she thought had gone dry years ago. Her lips twitched, opening and closing for quite some time, but she couldn't form a single sound.
A sinner so irredeemable she couldn't even attempt to give an excuse, the queen decided to turn away without another word, when the Divine Emissary gently remarked, "Goodbye, Your Majesty."
Indeed, the saintess was merciful. The queen appreciated her kindness in letting her go without protest. Dropping the black veil over her face again, Queen Laviosa walked away.
â
When Queen Laviosa disappeared, I picked up the potion she'd dropped on the ground. It was a precious potion made from the Fruit of Memories, that acted like a lullaby of the fairies by helping one recall only their happy memories from the past. Knowing how rare it was, I placed it in my inventory for now.
Turning to Tesilid, I said, "Drink it if you ever decide you want to. It's completely up to you."
Tesilid gave me a silent stare, which made me a little bit nervous as to what he was going to say. Perhaps I'd let myself become too involved in his personal family matters when he'd never asked for my help. What if I made him suffer more instead of making him feel better? What if he's thinking about how to best warn me to not get involved in his business?
Truthfully, the thought of him wanting to establish firmer boundaries between us made me feel a bit upset. I was sorrowfully thinking of the proper words to apologize when he interrupted my wandering thoughts.
"I can't take it out if it's in your inventory."
"Oh..."
The anxiousness weighing down on me instantly lifted, which was when I realized I had been holding my breath.
"Allie?"
"Oh, it's nothing."
Waving my hand in the air to dismiss his curiosity, I reached into my inventory, but not to give him the memory potion.
"About that, there's something I want to give you."
"Really? What is it?"
"Come here."
I took out the cufflinks that Lord Scale had gifted me and attached them to Tesilid's cuffs.
â¬Â«Item» [Seal of Proof: Joint Assets (Cufflink Type)]
A specially designed item that allows the wearer to access your inventory.â
â¬The Scale that Judges Souls is proud of his considerate gift.â
"You can now use my inventory as well, and it works even if you're far away. Isn't it amazing?"
"What?" Tesilid looked confused, inspecting the cufflinks skeptically.
"Test it out," I urged him. He did as I suggested, mentally summoning the trans-dimensional storage space and reaching inside. I was wondering what he'd pull out, when his hand emerged with the mirror that was keeping Moriphys captive.
The grand mage was no longer attached to the chair, for he had somehow found a way to elongate the chain that kept him bound. He'd even changed the interior of his new prison, decorating it like a room designed for a much more comfortable stay. He didn't seem all that disturbed by his confinement. Probably because he was already insane.
Placing the mirror back in the inventory, Tesilid murmured with disbelief, "I can't believe it works."
"Of course it works," I replied with a scoff. "Do you think I would lie to you?"
"It's not that, just this is a bit..."
Puzzled by his rather unimpressed attitude, I asked, "What is it? What's the matter?"
The way he hesitated to answer only worsened my curiosity, so I leaned in, closer and closer, until he finally noticed.
Pulling his head back a little bit, he reluctantly remarked, "Don't you think..."
"Think what?" I goaded.
"Don't you think you're giving too much of yourself to me?"