Love Letter From The Future-Chapter 372: Bread and Dagger (70)

The coniferous forest was like a vast cage.

The forest’s structure ensured that any first-time traveler would inevitably lose their way. After all, when every direction presented the same scenery, wouldn’t anyone feel disoriented?

Even one’s sense of direction could become dulled.

Snow, trees, and animal tracks.

Those were the only landmarks in sight. Most of them were meaningless, as those three things could be found anywhere in the coniferous forest.

That’s why it was essential to bring a guide when navigating through the coniferous forest.

It was a task demanding keen perception, innate navigational instincts, and years of rigorous training.

Not many people were capable of serving as guides. Fortunately, I happened to know people that were up to the task.

The elves.

They not only lived for centuries but also possessed keen observation skills, due to their way of life that emphasized their connection with nature.

And the one I was following was an exceptional guide, even among elves.

A gray-haired girl named Aviang.

From a young age, she had lived as a spy within human society. While she may not have undergone formal training, the fact that she was naturally talented was undeniable.

Take her sense of direction, for instance.

We’d already been walking for half a day. To my eyes every landscape looked the same, yet Aviang continued forging ahead completely unperturbed.

Is she really leading us the right way?

Who knows? She might have had a change of heart and decided to betray me.

Harboring such pointless worries, I forced out a wry smile. It was pointless to doubt her this far in.

Instead, I simply asked her a question.

“Aviang, how much farther?”

“We’re almost there.”

Didn’t she say something similar a few hours back?

Though my gaze grew skeptical, I refrained from pressing her further. Her face showed faint traces of fatigue.

In truth, the emotions she harbored seemed far more complicated.

She had volunteered to be a spy for her people, living with her pride as an elf. Now, she found herself in a position where she might’ve been betraying her own race.

Well, strictly speaking, it wasn’t really ‘betrayal.’

If anything, those who truly betrayed the elves were Leoric and his cult. After all, by continually driving a wedge between humans and elves, had they not made the elves suffer even more?

Even so, it was only natural that she would feel extremely conflicted.

Moreover, Aviang’s younger sibling was apparently staying at headquarters. If she hadn’t known about Leoric’s true nature she might’ve thought differently, but she had already witnessed his madness firsthand.

No wonder she was so restless.

Clearing my throat with an ‘ahem’, I asked Aviang,

“...Is this hard on you?”

For a while, Aviang didn’t answer.

She simply continued walking in silence, pressing on toward somewhere.

It was only after a few minutes passed that she finally spoke.

Right when I was on the verge of feeling awkward.

“Ever since childhood, my siblings and I have been treated differently. I told you before, right? How they called us the children of a ‘vampire’...”

Gray hair and blue eyes.

Those who bore a vampire’s blood were said to exhibit such traits. The mention of it made me recall another girl with similar characteristics.

Seria... I wonder what she is doing right now?

And then Senior Delphine came to mind. The man she spent that night with vanished, so she couldn’t have been at ease either.

I kept silent, hiding the wave of melancholy welling up inside.

“Everyone respected us, but at the same time, they feared us. After all that’s just the kind of existence a ‘vampire’ is—a being shrouded in the heavy scent of blood, making them unapproachable.”

“And yet, it had children?”

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“To be precise, it sucked their blood. When that happens, the elf who was bitten becomes the vampire’s servant.”

No matter how I looked at it, it sounded eerily similar to the Vampire of the Great Forest.

But the Vampire of the Great Forest was trapped within the Great Witch’s barrier, unable to move freely. There was no way she could have reached the coniferous forest, which laid on the opposite side of the continent.

At least, not through ordinary means.

I quietly held Aviang’s words into my heart.

“In truth, that was when I realized, ‘Ah, I’m an elf, yet not really an elf.’ Isn’t it ridiculous? My people are my only family, yet even they keep their distance from us.”

“But you looked like you loved the elves so much.”

“Because I had no other choice...”

I thought I understood what she meant.

How many people could two orphans who lost their parents rely on?

The elves, bound by such a strong sense of kinship, must have been their only option. After all, the North was far too cold to survive without someone to rely on.

It must have felt miserable.

Yearning for companionship more than anyone else, only to be kept at a distance by her own kind.

“Maybe that’s why I volunteered as a spy. Among elves, I’m labeled a ‘vampire,’ but in human society, I can just be an elf, right?”

“You must have been desperate.”

“Yes, but now... I’m fine.”

It was a rather unexpected confession.

I glanced at Aviang. Her calm voice matched her serene expression.

“Whether human or elf... maybe the distinction doesn’t matter so much. As long as there’s someone who stays by my side, would that not be enough to consider them family?”

“Then wouldn’t that make me your family too?”

I had meant it as a joke, but Aviang didn’t deny it.

Instead, she blushed faintly before turning her head away.

After a long moment of hesitation, she muttered softly,

“...I-I guess you could say that?”

‘Family,’ huh. I hadn’t expected Aviang to utter such a heavy word.

Yet, in a way, I could understand her feelings.

For Aviang, ‘family’ was synonymous with ‘her own people.’ That was probably because aside from her sister, she never really had any family.

In that case, it wouldn’t be so bad for me to become part of Aviang’s family.

Though I couldn’t claim we were that close, I hoped that I had enough to offer to comfort this lonely elf girl.

Looking back, our relationship was bizarre.

To think the girl I had once interrogated as if I meant to kill now considered me family....

Letting out a wry chuckle I said,

“Alright, let’s do it...become family. But can a human and an elf even become family?”

“I told you, being human or elf doesn’t really matt—...”

Crunch— suddenly, the sound of footsteps pressing into the snow came from somewhere.

My gaze immediately shifted to the source. It must have been far off, because Aviang looked momentarily puzzled, before she perked up her ears.

It didn’t take long for Aviang to catch on to my intentions.

Taking the lead again, she raised a finger to her lips.

“...Shh.”

Then she motioned with her eyes.

She wanted me to hide.

With a swift leap, I climbed onto a nearby tree before concealing myself among the prickly leaves, holding my breath.

It didn’t take long before Aviang encountered an unknown elf.

A male elf trudged over toward Aviang.

“Who’s there? This is near the headquarters. Only elves with authorized status are permitted to enter here”

“It’s me, Aviang.”

‘Hmm,’ the elf muttered, stroking his chin. Closing his eyes, he seemed to be trying to look through his memories.

Then, as though recalling something, his eyes flew open.

“Ah, you’re that spy! I heard that the funds being sent to headquarters have dwindled lately—have you perhaps returned to sort that out?”

“Yes, something like that... and I also have something to report to Lord Leoric.”

“Well then, fine.” he said with a nod, turning his back as if to lead her towards their ‘Headquarters.’

But he didn’t get far.

Thunk— a spike made from mana pierced his throat.

A bloody stream trickled down and even then, he couldn’t process what had happened. Grasping at his neck, his last act was to glance downwards.

He died instantly.

Panting, Aviang stumbled backward, her face pale from having just killed one of her own kind.

Alarmed, I immediately jumped down from the tree.

“Aviang! Are you okay? You didn’t have to kill him....”

“My cover was blown.”

That was the reason Aviang gave.

Or perhaps it was an excuse, or a justification.

Though the statement itself was true.

Leoric had the ability to view the past events of any location through some mysterious means. It was likely exposed that Aviang was with me.

In other words, Aviang couldn’t infiltrate the headquarters with her true identity anymore.

“So, I have to borrow someone else’s identity... It’s fine. It’s for ‘family,’ after all.”

Her words carried a conviction that was almost heartbreaking.

Unsure of what to say, I hesitated for a moment.

Then I sighed deeply in resignation.

“...You didn’t need to push yourself this far.”

“You also killed your own kin for me, didn’t you?”

Silence fell again as my gaze shifted towards Aviang’s trembling hands.

“Back then, did you feel like this too? This awful feeling...?”

“That’s why I didn’t want you to find out.”

Resting my hand lightly on Aviang’s head, I concluded,

“...Let’s get ready. We’re almost at the headquarters.”

Then as if on cue, a ‘caw’ rang out from somewhere nearby.

A crow swooped down, perching calmly on my shoulder.

Now, it was showdown time.

***Delphine, who had been leading the group, suddenly stopped in her tracks.

They had been walking through the coniferous forest for quite a while. Following Delphine’s lead, Elsie and Emma also stopped in their tracks.

Everyone’s puzzled gazes turned to Delphine.

Then, without warning—

Slash!—a golden streak carved itself through the air.

It was a lightning-fast draw of her blade, which intercepted an arrow flying in nearby.

The searing heat engulfed the arrow, burning it up along with the surrounding air. With a whoosh, the blazing flames formed an arc as they fell to the ground.

Only then did Delphine smile.

“...Found them.”

Beyond her crimson gaze, an elf boy slowly stepped into view. Following close behind him was a female elf with a tense expression.

Delphine’s smile grew even broader.

Now, she could finally see him.

The man who had taken her virginity.