The Camellia Tattoo - Chapter 170
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
this book is completely translated on luna kofi (advanced chapters for the website will follow)
As she watched the servants come in, Amber was momentarily dazed, her heart filled with longing as she turned to look at Igmeyer…!
“Amber.”
“Igmeyer!”
His voice was hoarse and rough, a consequence of being asleep for so long.
Yet his gaze was firm, clear, and sharp—not at all the gaze of someone still trapped in slumber.
Though he couldn’t sit up fully yet, he took her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers.
This was the moment she had longed for.
There was strength and determination in his hand, holding her tightly and not letting go!
“…I love you, Amber. I could barely hear you calling me.”
How she had yearned to hear those words.
How deeply…
“Ugh, huuuuh…!”
At last, Amber’s sobs broke free.
During the times when she had to carry everyone’s burdens and lead them, not a tear had fallen, but now that the man she could lean on had returned alive, she could finally cry.
“I missed you so much. Truly, truly…”
“I’m sorry. I left you alone. I made you endure it all by yourself.”
Amber leaned over the bed. Slowly, Igmeyer managed to prop himself up, gently accepting his wife.
Seeing the couple focus solely on each other, those who had been waiting cautiously slipped out of the room.
They needed to check on the Grand Duke’s condition, but that could wait until later.
Right now, they would give the reunited couple their time.
As Amber cried with relief, the residents of the castle couldn’t help but shed tears as well.
Without needing to say anything, they could feel just how much their Madam had suffered in his absence.
“It’s a relief, it really is.”
“Yes, it’s good news…”
“Now, there’s nothing to worry about in the North.”
The conclusion of such tales usually ends with ‘and they lived happily ever after.’
That future would surely come to pass.
Now that the two had found each other again.
Creeeak.
The bedroom door closed.
What was seen last through the gap was… the two of them, wrapped in each other’s arms, whispering sweet nothings of love.
- Closing
“Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there lived a fearsome evil dragon. The name of that dragon was Nidhogg.”
In a vast plaza,
Water gushed vigorously from a fountain adorned with a heroic statue battling a dragon, surrounded by a park where flowers bloomed brightly.
Children ran around, and adults erupted in laughter at the scene.
The children, in their excitement, stopped at a corner of the plaza where a puppet show was taking place for them.
Recently, a new profession has emerged in the North: the ‘puppet show performer.’
Every half month, free performances of various plays for children were held in the plaza, and these were organized by none other than the Grand Duke’s family.
Of course, they also traveled to different villages to put on puppet shows.
People slowly came to understand that this was a generosity bestowed by their Madam, which they referred to as ‘welfare.’
Though they didn’t fully grasp the concept at first, witnessing the joy of the children helped them naturally realize its significance.
The same was true for the ‘school,’ where initially, commoners questioned why they should send their children there. Now, however, their attitudes have changed dramatically.
After trying it out, seeing their children return home with skills in reading, singing, and arithmetic made them puff up with pride.
Not only that, but the children also learned practical knowledge that would help them in life, and now they were teaching adults in return.
This, too, was a change brought about by their Madam.
Since Nidhogg’s disappearance, an era of culture had emerged, one that valued knowledge over brute strength. People were to learn, and through learning, they could gain greater value, as their Madam had said.
While the residents hardly understood what that meant, they recognized that sending their children to school was important.
This positive change was significantly influenced by the infusion of Shadroch’s people into the lives of the Northern folk, who had spent their lives surrounded by the same faces.
To be honest, the Shadroch people appeared overly boisterous in the eyes of the Northerners, but there was no denying that they were intelligent and knowledgeable.
Moreover, their wise Madam was from Shadroch as well.
Before long, the children began to aspire to be like the Shadroch people, which led to their desire for learning.
It was a successful transformation.
“They’re recruiting for the hunting party.”
“Are you going to join?”
“Hmmm. Should I pick up an axe after such a long time….”
About twenty steps away from where the puppet show was taking place, there was a bulletin board.
Anyone could post important announcements there, and the crowd had gathered due to a public notice issued by the Grand Duke’s estate.
The hunting party referred to a monster-hunting squad.
Though Nidhogg was dead, the monsters it had left behind had not all vanished. Many had retreated into the deep valleys and mountains of the North, establishing their nests.
All of them needed to be uprooted, though that might not be an easy task.
After the focal point, Nidhogg disappeared, the monsters exhibited unusual behavior.
They began to gather of the same species to breed.
