The Camellia Tattoo - Chapter 131
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
this book is completely translated on luna kofi (advanced chapters for the website will follow)
That dawn, unable to sleep, Amber quietly lit a candle.
“Igmeyer still hasn’t arrived.”
From far away, she could hear the raucous sounds of men still drinking.
Deciding to give up on sleep altogether, Amber lit the candle and settled onto the sofa.
In her hands was an old book, which released a whiff of dust as soon as she opened it.
Worried it might crumble, she carefully turned the pages.
Though she had read this passage earlier, she wanted to revisit it.
[…The place where the weary woman arrived was a cave filled with glimmering crystals. Inside, there lay a massive creature.
“Great being, are you in much pain?” the woman asked.
The great being exhaled roughly, its sharp eyes glinting.
Yet it could neither snap at the woman nor swing its tail to chase away this bothersome intruder.
The dragon was far too weakened for that.
“I’ll share half of my heart with you. I’ll share half of my blood with you. I’ll share half of my breath with you.”
The woman did not know why this magnificent being was suffering.
However, moved by the sight of the dying dragon, she bravely whispered her offer.
“Take my half and survive. Breathe easily again, let your blood flow swiftly, and allow your heart to beat freely once more.”
Thus, the dragon consumed the woman’s half.
She fainted, and eight nights passed.]
This was a kind of novel. Or perhaps a fairy tale.
So, if one were to categorize it, it could be seen as ‘believe it or not.’
[For a long time, the sleeping woman’s consciousness remained in a starry world tree.
There, she encountered the dragon in human form and formed a bond with it, traversing places inaccessible to humans.
The world tree stood without roots at the center of a triangular pillar, with a blue ocean above and an infinitely extending sky below.
The dragon said, “This place is completely detached from the laws of humanity. If you wish, let us become stars here and remain together forever.”
But the woman shook her head.
“I want to return to my family.”
The dragon could not hold onto the woman as she whispered this.
Instead, he bestowed a blessing upon her.
“Because of you, I have been revived, and so I will share half of my power with you. I am the dragon who governs time and the guardian of this world tree. You and those you wish for will be able to turn back time just once in your lifetime, and I will watch over you here as you do so.”
At the dragon’s declaration, the woman smiled and replied.
“Thank you, oh dragon. If I may, I humbly ask that you bless the women of my house.”
With that, the dragon nodded and kissed her forehead.]
‘This part. The women of my house. This is a crucial detail.’
The founder of Shadroch was the Empress.
After all, the name ‘Shadroch’ has a very soft sound to it.
Though she didn’t particularly like dividing words by gender, it felt more fitting for a woman than a man.
“Grandmother didn’t give this book to my mother.”
Perhaps she didn’t want to pass it on to the daughter-in-law.
But after all the twists and turns, it had come into her hands, and that was what mattered.
‘But wait, no one in Shadroch knows about this blessing, right?’
There were no remaining royal elders, and her older brother wasn’t even married yet.
Once he did marry, the new mistress of Shadroch would inherit the blessing.
“But there’s no one to tell the Queen about the Blessing of Regret. It’s just me.”
While she couldn’t frequently visit Shadroch, when the wedding took place, she would be staying in her homeland for a month.
Then, she would share the story along with this book.
‘If I have a son, the blessing would be interrupted again. It seems more fitting for this book to be with the Shadroch royal family.’
Gently closing the book, Amber ran her fingers over the old leather.
After all, if this blessing manifested from the dragon, she had a question.
If they were both dragons, why was the dragon of Shadroch benevolent, while the Nidhogg here was a wicked dragon?
Surely, Nidhogg had its own origins as well…
Sitting with her legs tucked in and hugging her knees, Amber sighed heavily against them.
A whirlwind of emotions had been stirring in her heart, making it hard to sleep.
On days like this, she needed a friend more than her husband.
‘Tomorrow, Nicholas will come.’
She didn’t want to discuss the Blessing of Regret with Nicholas, something she hadn’t even shared with her husband.
But at least she could reminisce about Grandmother Linda and share stories about her.
For now, that might be enough to calm her heart.
