Love Letter From The Future
Chapter 397: Interlude: Gold and Silver (2)

Chapter 397: Interlude: Gold and Silver (2)

0% The ground was still covered with pristine white snow.

It was the aftermath of a long-raging blizzard.

The Demon Realm was a place of eternal winter.

The howling winds from that frozen hell had continuously scattered snow across the entire Northern Region. While the North was accustomed to sudden heavy snowfall, the snow clouds rising from the underworld were an entirely different matter.

The sheer volume of snow was monstrous.

The North was as dry as it was cold. Though there was the occasional snowfall, it wasn’t frequent.

But for a blizzard to rage endlessly for weeks...

If I hadn’t taken down Leoric, the North would have perished not by monsters, but by snow.

The remaining packed snow was proof of that.

The snow, piled ankle-deep, made walking difficult.

It took significantly more effort to walk the same distance through the dense snowfield.

Though the journey was enough to make one curse, I didn’t even feel like complaining.

I wasn’t alone.

The group walking ahead of me felt the same way.

Slender bodies, pointed ears, and elegant features.

They were ‘Elves’—once thought to be blessed by the gods.

Enemies of humanity, barbarians driven to the North.

I was walking behind such a group.

“Glad you made it, human—uh, I mean, Ian, right?”

Those were the first words spoken during this silent march.

Though his gaze wasn’t directed at me, his gentle voice carried genuine concern.

This overly caring elf’s name was ‘Ruget’.

He was one of the elves I’d grown particularly close to in the village, so I was able to respond with ease.

“Call me whatever you like.”

“But isn’t ‘human’ a bit cold—especially since you’re the only one we’ve got in the village.”

“Think of it as a nickname, I kind of like it. It feels like I’m representing humanity.”

As Ruget and I chatted, I noticed furtive glances from around us.

The village elves I hadn’t seen in a while were clearly uncomfortable around me.

It seemed they had already begun adapting to human society again.

They wouldn’t have known before.

Just how much weight the name ‘Ian Percus’ carried.

I was humanity’s rising hero and one of the Empire’s prominent new swordsmen. Moreover, my connections were nothing short of impressive.

The House of Yurdina, one of the Empire’s five noble families, supported me.

Behind me stood the Imperial Princess and the Imperial family, and I even had deep ties with the Saintess of the Holy Nation.

My origins as a viscount’s second son no longer mattered.

I had already positioned myself at the core of the Empire’s power.

The elves naturally realized this while living among humans at the Castle of Yurdina, though they couldn’t grasp it before, no matter how much they were told.

They understood that humanity’s expectations of me were far from ordinary.

Yet nothing about me had actually changed.

A bitter smile crept across my lips.

Ruget followed suit with his own wry smile.

“You know, I still don’t get it.”

“Get what?”

“Taking you into our village.”

At this sudden reminder of the past, I fell silent.

Come to think of it, he was right.

Ruget was the one who had accepted me and Aviang when we first appeared in the village.

I asked while feigning hurt.

“Do you regret it?”

“In some ways, yes.”

With each step, wisps of white breath drifted in the air.

Everything around us was pure white.

“Looking back now, you were too big for our village to contain. We were just elves, barely getting by on tree broth. But after you came, too many things changed. In fact, we nearly died several times.”

“Sorry about that.....”

“Not sayin’ it’s your fault, mind you.”

Then, Isha, who had been walking at the front, gradually slowed her pace.

It meant we were nearing our destination.

Isha, who was always prickly but full of vitality, was unusually quiet today.

But no one questioned why.

Because they heard without hearing.

That was what it means to be old neighbors.

“Actually, at first, I was really shocked and dazed. Why would powerless elves like us get caught up in such a massive conflict... Wouldn’t it have been better to just live on tree broth, even if it meant going hungry sometimes?”

I silently pondered his words.

I could understand the guy’s feelings. Hadn’t I felt the same way?

One day, I suddenly received a love letter from the future, and from that, everything began.

Even as I crossed the line between life and death and endured flesh-rending pain, I couldn’t stop obsessively asking myself.

Why was I doing this?

No, why me of all people?

No matter how many times I asked, there were no answers. More than once, I felt so fed up I wanted to cast it all aside.

Yet my path continued...

To where I stand now.

The snow-carved grave blended seamlessly into the winter landscape. At first glance, it looked like a natural mound of accumulated snow.

A faint groan escaped through Isha’s teeth. Then she collapsed to her knees as tears fell to the ground.

The snow and ice couldn’t withstand the warmth.

One by one, the elves knelt down. It was the highest form of respect elves could show to the deceased.

Only Ruget and I remained standing.

“......Don’t you feel resentful?”

It was a question I barely squeezed out.

From the moment I faced the grave, my breath was suddenly caught in my throat. It felt as if someone else had been sacrificed because of my selfishness.

The elves’ tears fell like rain.

Like a scared child, I rambled on,

“If it weren’t for me, Elder Poff would still be alive, wouldn’t he? You wouldn’t have suffered so much, and you wouldn’t have gotten caught between humans and elves for nothing......”

“Thank you, human.”

But Ruget’s response was firmer than I’d imagined, causing me to close my mouth again.

With a thud, the elf’s hand was placed on my shoulder.

“We’ve always lived by running away. For hundreds of years... No matter what the truth was, we were only focused on survival. Leoric exploited that weakness in us. After running away for so long, we’d finally even forgotten our reason for living.”

Ruget’s hand patted my shoulder twice before gripping my collar. Then, he began walking forward.

Right up to the grave.

Before I knew it, I found myself standing beside Ruget, having been led by his hand.

“I, well.....”

“It can’t be helped.”

At those words, softly breathed out like a sigh, I remained silent again.

Ruget knelt quietly and said to me,

“There’s nothing we can do about it. Such is the way of the world. Fate flows proudly and at times cruelly. People like us can only be swept along its flow.”

I tried to argue but instead, closed my mouth.

Surprisingly, what crossed my mind were memories of a certain man.

The life story of an unfortunate man who gradually lost the ones he held dear until even his laughter and emotions withered away.

He probably didn’t want to become a hero either.

“At such times, we don’t have many paths to choose from. Only two remain... Fight back, or run away.”

Ruget grasped the wooden stick placed before the grave.

And passed it to me.

I hesitated briefly, unable to guess his intention, but eventually accepted it.

It was because of his serious expression.

“Human, we won’t run away anymore.”

It was then that Isha, who had been silently crying, waved her hand.

A gentle, warm breeze caressed the stick I was holding, and a faint spark was drawn at its tip.

“We won’t turn away from our brothers and sisters dying of hunger while we eat tree broth. We won’t abandon our reason for living just for the sake of survival.”

With each of Ruget’s words, the spark at the stick’s tip grew brighter.

With a whoosh, it burst into flame.

I instinctively realized this was the final step of the funeral.

Elves love and value nature.

That was why they also tried to understand death as part of nature. I had previously heard about their funeral customs that left no graves behind.

I nervously chewed my lips as I wondered if this role truly suited me.

My eyes squeezed shut as I moved the burning branch towards the grave causing the mound of snow to crumble helplessly.

During the ceremony that lasted several minutes, Ruget shared his resolve with me.

“......Not just us, but all of our kind.”

I smiled faintly as I immediately grasped his meaning.

It was an ambitious dream, unlike his usual self.

Many elves still remained in the coniferous forest. The Flesh Monster had spat out many elves as it reduced in size.

They must be going through a very confusing time.

Ruget intended to become their central figure, to stand tall as the elves’ representative.

Only then would their previous conflicts and sacrifices not repeat themselves.

Of course, that process wouldn’t be smooth.

For a choice made at the crossroads of fate they’d been swept into, it was an incredibly narrow and steep path.

But I didn’t test his resolve.

Hadn’t he already made it clear? They wouldn’t run away anymore.

So I had only one question to ask.

“Think you can pull it off?”

“Honestly, no, I’m not sure... but with your help, maybe we can make it work.”

At this truly Ruget-like answer, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

By now, Elder Poff’s burial mound had completely melted away. His soul would now wait to be reborn as another life in nature’s embrace, without wandering the nine heavens.

As I bid my farewell, I carefully stored away the memories we’d shared in my heart.

He had ultimately changed the fate of the elves.

“I’ll make you one promise. We will grant you one favor, whenever or whatever it may be.”

No, perhaps even the fate of humanity.

Though Elder Poff had departed, his will would be remembered forever.

And so, I dreamed of a world without conflict.

***The meeting between the two sisters in the family head’s office appeared peaceful.

It was a repetition of exchanging greetings, hearing reports that needed to be received, and giving instructions.

What caused a crack in this routine was a single question.

“......Unnie.”

Delphine’s eyes, which had been leisurely reviewing reports, turned to Seria.

Those blood-red eyes showed no hostility or wariness. This fact frustrated Seria so much that she clenched her fists.

Until her nails dug into her palms.

Seria asked in a cold voice.

“Who were you with in your bedroom last night?”

For the first time, Delphine’s composure cracked.

She furrowed her brow for a moment, then lowered her gaze in contemplation before mustering a confident smile again.

Though it was just a moment’s wavering, it couldn’t fool Seria’s eyes.

After all, this was the person she’d been determined to defeat at least once in her lifetime.

Delphine then asked, even mixing in a faint laugh.

“Why? Are you already worried about Yurdina’s heir? Don’t worry too much—I’m still young...”

“Was it Senior Ian?”

Silence dominated the room.

Seria couldn’t stand to hear any more of Delphine’s disgusting way of changing the subject. It was inevitable that the voice leaking through her gritted teeth became fierce.

Though it took the form of a question, the conviction in her tone was firm. Delphine wasn’t one to miss this.

So the woman in gold couldn’t speak for a long while.

Her lips opened and closed several times.

The choice of the woman who kept silent while avoiding eye contact was...

“.....So what if it was?”

A Yurdina never avoided a confrontation.

A spark was drawn in Delphine’s blood-red eyes.