WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

Wizard of the Abyss

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 157 - Past (7)

She saw a river.

A river flowing with blood.

"...K-Kyaaaaa!!!"

Sharmia jolted upright, clutching the blankets.

Her hands, soaked in sweat, fumble over her face when the door burst open and Knights stormed in, drawing their swords.

"What happened, Your Highness!?”

"..."

Gasping for breath, she—

Forced a smile and shook her head.

"It’s nothing. I just had a nightmare…”

"...Are you alright? Your complexion looks terrible.”

"I’m really fine. There’s been so much trouble in the palace lately. I think it just got to me.”

"Understood. If anything happens, please call us immediately.”

When the Knights left, Sharmia grabbed her trembling left hand.

'...That was the future, wasn’t it?'

The dreams she had.

Dreams she had dismissed as nightmares. All of them suddenly flooded back into her at once, tearing through her mind.

The Empire that had once seemed unshakable was devoured by rats, its pillars collapsing one by one.

The wizards took their own lives. Every tree withered, and in that wasteland, without a grain of food remaining, people could only wait for their death.

Plagues spread. Insects swarmed. She saw people waiting for death in agony.

Hatred, with nowhere left to go, simply evaporated.

The ones to blame had already died long ago…

-Hug!

"Ugh..."

Sharmia wrapped her arms tightly around herself on the bed.

It felt as though she alone remained in the world. And in truth, she was the only one who knew this secret.

She understood it now. That this nightmare would someday inevitably arrive, and it could not be stopped.

That certainty itself was her magic.

"N-No…”

Her throat burning, she almost called for the head maid.

...Would she believe her?

No matter what she said, she would probably dismiss it as a child’s nightmare.

But even if she believed her, that would actually be worse.

If she knew that this future, this ‘disaster,’ was something the Empire could never hope to stop, something it could never stand against…

Only despair would follow.

No matter whether she believed her or not, telling her would be wrong.

She trembled on the bed for some time. Then in front of her, a small cracking sound rang out.

"...?"

Tap, tap.

A tiny noise, like someone knocking on the door.

But the only entrance to the princess’ bedroom was firmly guarded by Knights. There was no way they would be playing childish pranks like knocking on her door.

Tilting her head in confusion, Sharmia soon realized that the sound was coming from the mirror that had been covered with cloth to her right.

If anyone discovered that the princess couldn’t look at mirrors, it would be a weakness she couldn’t afford to expose, so she covered it instead.

Gulping, Sharmia hesitantly stepped forward with small steps toward it.

And then, slowly, pulled the cloth down.

"Agh."

Just as she expected.

Every time Sharmia looked at a mirror, she sometimes felt as though an unknown figure was staring back at her.

But whenever she tried to focus and see who it was, the presence would vanish as if it had never been there to begin with… So this was the first time she had truly faced it.

[Nice to meet you.]

Flowing golden hair and beautiful eyes. A woman wearing pajamas much like her own smiled alluringly and held up a piece of paper with those words written on it.

She was so breathtakingly beautiful that Sharmia forgot the suffering of the future for a moment and simply stared with her mouth slightly open.

"Wh-who are you? Why are you inside my mirror?”

Only after speaking did she realize the other person couldn’t hear her voice, and her cheeks flushed red, but the woman simply kept smiling and lowered the paper.

To her surprise, a reply was already written on it.

[I’m Sharmia. The princess of this Empire.]

"You’re me…?”

[Just a little older.]

"...Ah!"

Only then did Sharmia realize how familiar that shade of blonde was.

The clothes, the face, the eyes. Everything was exactly the same as hers.

'No, but this…'

Of course, everyone has eyes, noses, and ears.

But that didn’t mean everyone looked the same. She’d never thought herself unattractive, but she also didn’t think she would grow up to be this beautiful.

As she kept glancing at the tall woman’s figure, Sharmia soon realized that this wasn’t what mattered right now.

"You’ve been secretly watching me all this time, haven’t you? From inside the mirror.”

[Yes. I felt terribly guilty about it. I tried not to, but when you live in a world like this, you start longing for the past.]

"...A world like this?"

Her thoughts drifted back to the nightmare.

A future borrowed through those nightmares.

"S-so that really is the future, isn’t it?”

[Yes.]

"And it can’t be…changed?”

[Yes. I think I would know better than anyone.]

"..."

It was true.

The moment she awoke from that dream, Sharmia knew those events would inevitably happen.

A seed that’s watered may or may not grow. A seed given too much water may not. The world is full of possibilities.

But a seed that is never watered can never grow.

That was only natural. Just as a seed couldn’t take root in desert sand.

"...Why?"

Sharmia clenched her teeth.

A single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Why is it like this? Why does it have to end up like this? Did I do something wrong? Is this my fault…?”

She was still young, but she was determined to live.

She had accepted the fate of being a princess, cast aside the life she wanted, and chosen to devote herself entirely to the Empire instead. To live her whole life trying to leave behind a slightly better Empire for those who came after her.

But a fate where no amount of effort would change anything was a burden no child could bear.

The Sharmia in the mirror looked at her with pity and turned the paper.

"I-I…”

[You want to run away, don’t you?]

"...Huh? Run away?"

Sharmia asked back, wearing a bewildered expression.

[In the end, the title of princess and all the duties you bear are nothing but illusions. If a boulder is falling, you should run. Trying to stop it with your hands will only turn you into a puddle of blood and pulp. You know that, right? The truth is, I was never that remarkable of a person.]

"..."

It was true.

Sharmia was well aware of the fact that if she stripped away her title as princess, she was nothing special.

And even if she were extraordinary—

Even if she were a superhuman who could make even her father step away… In the face of the coming future, she would still be just a single human.

"But…”

[Hmm?]

"Th-that doesn’t feel right…”

Sharmia stammered as she objected.

"If I run away, if I know this future and still don’t even try to stop it, then I’d just be an accomplice."

[And what do you mean by trying to stop it?]

"...I’d have to tell everyone about this future."

[Who would believe you? No, even if they did, wouldn’t that just make you a lunatic? The princess had a dream, and now she truly believes the end of the world is coming? Hmm, yes, that would definitely sound like you’ve gone mad.]

"If the disasters come one by one, they’d have no choice but to believe…”

[It’s even more terrifying and cruel if they believe you. They barely survive the first disaster, only to hear that the next will be worse, just as the princess foretold. Isn’t that right?]

"...”

Her future self had already seen through everything.

As Sharmia stood there, speechless, more papers appeared with messages seemingly meant to soothe her.

[This is for everyone’s sake. They get to keep hope, and I get to rest. Imagine a person trapped inside a steel coffin, unable to breathe, forced to sleep. What you’re doing is the same as waking them up.]

"...But even if I run away, where would I go?”

[I found our ark. That’s why I came to you.]

"It’ll hurt. I’ll…live every day thinking about how I abandoned the Empire…”

[Humans can forget. In the third year after the peach tree I planted bore fruit, I let everything go.]

Sharmia still hesitated.

And yet, she didn’t even know why she was hesitating anymore.

[My past self. Of course, if you don’t want to listen to me, I won’t force you. I can’t force you anyway.]

[So may I ask you just one thing?]

"?”

[If there were someone else like you who foresaw the future, and that person chose to run away without telling anyone, would you blame them? Would you say, “Why didn’t you tell us about the future that was coming? Why did you choose to live alone?”]

"I couldn’t…”

[Why not?]

"...Because it was better not to know.”

Sharmia lowered her head.

She wished she hadn’t known.

Humans weren’t meant to know the future. If even the future after everyone’s death became known, then death itself would lose its meaning as an escape.

[Exactly.]

The Sharmia in the mirror reached out her hand.

It was clearly happening in the mirror, but—

Sharmia felt as if a hand was gently touching her shoulder.

"That was the right choice.”

Her adult self’s voice sounded surprisingly similar to her own.

* * *

"Ugh."

- Clatter.

Only after watching the still-young Sharmia leave the bedroom, tears streaming down her face as she staggered, did I peel back the ceiling tiles and climb down.

All the Knights had followed after her, leaving the room completely silent.

Having witnessed everything that just happened, I clicked my tongue and stared at the door.

"So this is how it goes, huh?”

When I first heard that she would run away, I had wondered what could possibly make that Sharmia leave the palace. But seeing the events play out through the mirror, how should I put it?

I could only think that this adult Sharmia was incredibly spiteful.

Part of me wanted to stop her from running away entirely.

But Sharmia had warned me again and again not to interfere. That trying to stop it would only lead to something far more horrific.

And yet, whenever I asked for details, she would always dodge the question.

Sighing, I glanced back at the mirror.

The woman who had just been speaking with Sharmia was still there, smiling brightly, holding up a sheet of paper.

Words I couldn’t understand were written on it.

I memorized them anyway, burning the patterns into my mind.

The next moment, Sharmia was gone from the mirror.

...A farewell that suited her quite well.

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