The Camellia Tattoo - Chapter 143
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
this book is completely translated on luna kofi (advanced chapters for the website will follow)
‘Haven’t I seen everything? Why hasn’t the scene ended yet?’
It was long after the Grand Duke left the bedroom that the woman stirred and woke up from her sleep.
For a while, she stared blankly into space before lifting her frail hands to cover her face. Amber could hear her softly mumbling.
“No, not like this… this won’t do.”
She was right. Continuing this way would lead them all to starve. Amber wondered how they would navigate this crisis.
For some reason, a chill ran through her chest, and she kept clenching and unclenching her fists, overwhelmed by an inexplicable sense of dread.
“I have to do something.”
As Militta’s whispered words faded, the surroundings gradually blurred, just as before. When the light returned to the world, Amber found herself looking at the Grand Duke and Militta standing in a desolate place.
“…Is this where we do it?”
The Grand Duke’s voice was heavy and dark.
Militta nodded, her body swaying, yet her eyes shone brightly with determination.
There was a glimmer in her eyes, reminiscent of someone who had made a great decision, both frightening and poignant, and Amber couldn’t take her gaze away.
“Our sacrifice will save the North.”
“If it’s just me, I don’t care. But why should you have to do this? I still don’t understand.”
“Because I love you. I love you, and through this ritual, our souls will be together forever.”
In Militta’s unwavering tone, Amber sensed not madness, but a genuine love. A love so precious that even in death, she wouldn’t let go, simply wanting to be together.
As Militta whispered these words, the Grand Duke slowly nodded.
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
“I wonder what kind of tree I will become. It will surely be a grand and beautiful tree.”
“…Yes, it will be. It will.”
The Grand Duke sighed, uttering a few words.
A dry wind began to blow from somewhere, wrapping around Militta’s silver hair and moving towards the Grand Duke.
“Then… in half a month, when the full moon rises.”
Militta calmly whispered as she extended her hand. The Grand Duke took her hand and said nothing, merely holding it tightly.
He warmed it with his own.
Watching this scene, Amber found herself crying without realizing it. She didn’t know what they were planning or what would happen in half a month, but the quiet emotion emanating from that moment weighed heavily in her heart.
It felt like something was being given up, yet it wasn’t resignation.
Sacrifice.
‘She mentioned sacrifice.’
There was a successor to inherit Niflheim, after all.
‘It certainly felt like a sacrifice that would cost them their lives. She mentioned becoming a tree.’
As Amber watched the two of them leave, she looked around but couldn’t tell where they were. The land was so desolate that it seemed nothing could survive there.
‘Ah, it’s changing again.’
This time, the scene shifted rapidly, as if someone was flipping through pages of a book.
The surroundings morphed from white to dark and back again, and in the midst of it all, Amber could see an altar being constructed.
It was unmistakably the scene of a ritual.
At the end of it stood Militta.
She held a book close to her chest, one that Amber recognized from before.
“Our story will be recorded here. The worthy will be able to ‘see’ everything, while the unworthy will read a twisted tale.”
Militta said as she set the book down and extended one hand forward.
As she sliced her palm with a ceremonial dagger made of bronze, the Grand Duke winced and shut his eyes tightly, as if her injury hurt him more than any pain he could endure.
“Someday, if the North finds a way to thrive again, may the worthy one see this and understand everything. I, Militta, blood of a witch, mother of a shaman, daughter of darkness and magic, wish for this.”
The blood that seeped into the book shimmered strangely with a golden light.
The display of magic—or whatever it was—was so shocking that Amber felt as if she had been planted in place, unable to move.
Militta opened her arms wide as the Grand Duke approached her.
Steadfast and unwavering.
The heir and the retainers who had been watching from behind, as well as the knights who were still alive, all bowed their heads deeply.
“Come here, my love. We will be together forever.”
“Yes.”
“All the souls of Nidhogg will be with me, so it won’t be painful. We will be together until the day we are all liberated.”
Wait, Nidhogg?
Amber was taken aback. Why is Nidhogg mentioned here?
Before she could process her thoughts, the heir stepped forward to look at his father.
“I understand there is no other way, Father.”
“True. Do not worry about me.”
“Since there is currently no way for the North to survive, I will have an heir with a woman I do not love. When that child grows up, I will cross the sea and return here.”
