Alice in the Land of Steam

Is Chapter 136 a last resort?
“It’s a curse.”

The noble princess of the Leslie royal family used such cold words to describe the tragedy that had happened to her, which once made the travelers who broke into this place feel extremely familiar, as if they had heard similar statements somewhere before, but could not remember. It was not until Saint Xia Liya spoke softly that they suddenly remembered that this shepherdess who held the power of destiny seemed to have used the word "curse" to summarize her experience in the world from her sleep to her awakening.

This curse caused her to lose many memories, and even gradually forget her mother's face. The only thing she remembered was her own identity, origin and mission. Therefore, she embarked on a journey of pursuit in the mortal world, wanting to find other young queens and ask them about the truth buried deep in the ruins of memory.

But it seems that things will not go as smoothly as she thought.

"What kind of curse?"

The shepherdess looked at her nominal sister with her clear and peaceful golden eyes, trying to find some familiar impressions of their past daily interactions from her words and expressions. Although the latter might not know, the kinship connection between them never came from the warm pulse in their veins, but could be traced back to a memory tens of thousands of years ago.

Before all the truth was revealed, the girl holding the black lantern still only saw herself as the princess of the ancient Beman Kingdom, the only heir of the Leslie royal family, and perhaps the most beloved only child of her parents. She had never had any other siblings or blood ties. There was no past, no present, and naturally no future.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes and answered Saint Shallia's question in a nonchalant tone: "I don't know what kind of curse it is, but I have been afraid of the dark since I was a child. As long as I am in an environment without light, I will feel uneasy and anxious, "like the instinctive and intuitive sadness I feel in the whole dark river, the blindness that seals my eyes, and even a certain impulse to let passion turn into mud." At the worst time, even my limbs became numb and gradually lost consciousness. My body became weaker day by day, and then..."

She gently placed her other hand on her left chest and pursed her thin lips: "I can't hear the beating sound anymore."

Everyone was silent, it was hard to imagine what that felt like. Life's fear of darkness was an instinct engraved in the body from an age older than ancient times, but fear to this extent seemed to transcend instinct and be engraved deep in the soul.

This is a very simple truth, which may seem redundant to some people, but to the girl in front of her, it is a precious treasure that she can only touch after she has experienced sinking, blindness, and returning to the comfort of the human world.

Light must coexist with shadow, so darkness cannot be eliminated. It always echoes the emotions of life. Sometimes it is a symbol of solemnity, immortality and sacredness, but more often it is a coffin leading to sadness, death and pain.

"I stayed in bed for seven days before my heartbeat finally recovered. When I touched this living world again, I felt from the bottom of my heart," she murmured, staring at the warm flame in the lantern, "it is better for people to live in the light."

"How pitiful." Metien said sadly, and soon she realized something and quickly covered her mouth.

But in fact, Ovilla didn't care about her unintentional words, or she thought so too.

Isn't it pitiful for a person who loses himself as soon as he falls into darkness and can't even resist?

At this time, Alice interrupted and asked, "Phobia of darkness?"

"Maybe." Olvera didn't know what dark phobia was, but she understood the literal meaning. She said noncommittally, "The teacher also said that this is a disease that can be cured. But the kingdom's astrologer told my father that this is a curse. The dark world fears my power and wants to pull me into an eternally closed abyss. If the curse is not broken in time, not only will I become a prisoner of darkness one day, but even the country of Bemang will be destroyed by the disaster I brought."

Ah this.

When Alice heard this, she couldn't help but ask, "Did your father believe it?"

"I should have believed it, but not completely." The girl recalled the past with some regrets: "On the one hand, he asked the teacher to find a way to cure the disease, and on the other hand, he asked the astrologers to find a way to break the curse. It seemed that he could choose between the two methods and choose whichever one was better for me. I am very grateful for his concern for me, but in fact, the luck we have buried deep in the darkness sometimes often confirms a more unfortunate premonition, so in the end, the curse mentioned by the astrologers became a reality."

She said calmly, "When I was sixteen, the day before my coming-of-age ceremony, the power of the curse erupted: my shadow left my body and transformed into countless ferocious beasts. As soon as they appeared, they devoured the light and brought darkness; they created panic and caused disasters. The endless abyss began to descend, and the entire land of Beman was trembling. The withered forests whispered the fear of evil. The people who could have lived here would rather abandon their hometown to escape this nightmarish disaster. The only stone road leading to the outside world was full of footprints left by the refugees. If this continues, our country will not be far from destruction."

When Lingge heard this, he couldn't help but look at the corridor. In the dim and oppressive firelight, he saw a pair of cold scarlet eyes, like solidified ice, so silent and dead, it was chilling.

Olvera continued in a calm voice, "Faced with the crisis of national destruction, my father had no choice but to follow the advice of astrologers and build a castle on the border of Belmang. He built high walls with no windows and no light, and then sent me inside. At the cost of this, he sealed an endless darkness in a cage until the end of time. Only in this way can we drive away the nightmare and bring back our light."

After he finished speaking, Metien clenched his fists and blurted out: "But this is too cruel for you. How could he do this!?"

Not to mention that Olvera was his daughter, the only princess of Bemang, just talking about his actions, locking those dark beasts together with Olvera in this building called a castle but actually a cage, doesn't it mean that the girl has to live with the things she fears and hates the most? Doesn't he know how much pain his actions will cause his daughter? Or, he knows, but still does it, which makes people feel dissatisfied and angry.

Alice and the elf Shemi were also outraged and could not agree with the old King Beman's actions. Only Lingge and Saint Chariya remained rational and calm. The former was because he could understand, and the latter was because... she didn't understand.

"There's really nothing to argue about."

Olvera, the person involved, slightly avoided the gazes of these enthusiastic guests and said vaguely: "Father was just forced to choose between me and Beman, just like he was once forced to choose between 'this is a disease' and 'this is a curse'. When all other methods have failed, the last method has to be used even if it is not a method, so I don't blame him. Besides, he knew I was afraid of the dark, so he left a lot of candles for me."

She raised the lantern in her hand. The candle inside was burning and dripping wax to the bottom of the lantern. The bottom layer had solidified into mottled fragments. "The candles can be used for a very long time. They started burning when I entered the castle and will continue to burn in the future. I have them to keep me company, so I am not lonely. The teacher once said -"

She suddenly paused here, and a look of confusion and thought emerged in her hazy eyes, as if she was recalling what the teacher had said to her.

　Oh my god, double the monthly votes. I wanted to vote for myself, but I didn't. Give me some meow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)