The Last-Seat Hero Has Returned

82. The Moon Swallowed by the Sun (4)

The Helios family, located on one edge of the imperial capital.

True to its reputation as a family that once wielded power even greater than the imperial throne, the estate sprawled with an astonishing expanse, its grand mansion a testament to their might.

Yet, it was not a place that flaunted mere ostentation like the homes of other wealthy families.

The Helios family’s guardians of the sun, known as the ‘Sun Gates,’ numbered three in total.

As soon as one arrived at the entrance of the mansion, the towering walls and iron gates loomed like a fortress.

This massive gate, referred to as the first Sun Gate, was meticulously guarded around the clock by hundreds of trained sentinels.

The second Sun Gate was marked by the knights visible throughout the estate grounds.

The ‘Order of the Sun,’ the Helios family’s own knightly order, maintained their quarters along the path leading to the mansion, ever ready to confront any intruders.

The first Sun Gate, protected by hundreds of sentinels.

And only after passing through the second Sun Gate, guarded by one of the most powerful knightly orders in the empire, could one finally glimpse the mansion of the Helios family.

The moment the door of the mansion, boasting an overwhelming size that could leave one breathless, swung open, a far more formidable Sun Gate stood ready to thwart any intruder, incomparable to the previous one.

The final third Sun Gate was a protective barrier personally installed within the mansion by the ‘Great Sage’ Julius Bastian for his dear friend.

This powerful barrier would activate the moment an unauthorized outsider attempted to breach the mansion, unleashing a barrage of terrifying magical projectiles that could reduce an intruder to ashes in an instant.

The reason for the vague phrase ‘it is said’ was that in the 500-year history of the Helios family, the third Sun Gate had never once been triggered.

While outsiders had attempted to invade in search of the treasures within the Helios family, most had failed to breach even the first Sun Gate.

Of course, compared to 500 years ago, the Helios family’s influence had waned significantly, and the grandeur of the Sun Gates was no longer what it once was.

As the saying goes, “A wealthy family can survive three generations,” even if they were on the path to decline, the Helios family remained a fortress that none dared to challenge.

“…….”

Inside the mansion of the Helios family.

A silver-haired woman gazed blankly at the sunlight streaming through the window.

“…It’s clear.”

Yurina looked up at the azure sky, devoid of a single cloud, a bittersweet smile gracing her lips.

“I wish it had been a bit overcast today.”

The sun shone brightly above the blue sky.

The sunlight, illuminating all things, blazed brilliantly as ever, as if it might swallow the world whole.

As if to swallow me whole.

Knock, knock.

The sharp sound of a knock shattered my thoughts.

The door opened, and my mother stepped into the room.

“Are you all ready?”

“…Yes.”

I nodded weakly and rose to my feet.

The thin white gown, almost like a second skin, brushed softly against the floor.

“Mr. Faust says he’s ready too, so it’s time to come out.”

“Okay, I understand.”

I followed my mother’s footsteps slowly.

Creak.

“…….”

Before stepping out of the room,

I paused and turned my head toward the mirror placed in the corner.

A silver-haired woman in a white gown gazed back at me with sad eyes.

Hello.

Take care, Yurina.

I waved softly at the silver-haired woman reflected in the glass.

“What are you doing standing there?”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

“Move quickly now. And loosen that expression. It’s a good day, isn’t it?”

“…….”

“If the procedure goes well today, let’s have a little celebration.”

“…Yes.”

A good day, indeed.

I forced down the emotions that threatened to spill from my throat.

“…….”

I walked silently down the corridor, following my mother.

The place where the procedure would take place was in the mansion’s basement.

The place was quite a gloomy one, despite its moniker, “The House of the Sun.”

“You’ve arrived.”

As I reached the basement, a man who introduced himself as Faust approached me.

His hair, white as snow, was slicked back, and he wore gold-rimmed monocles over one eye.

With a handsome face and a friendly smile lingering on his lips, there was an inexplicable discomfort that churned in my stomach just from conversing with Faust.

“Is something bothering you?”

Had my emotions betrayed me on my face?

Faust tilted his head, scrutinizing my expression.

“Ah, is it that your gown is too thin for your comfort?”

He clicked his tongue at the sight of the flimsy robe I wore.

“That’s my oversight. I thought you wouldn’t mind, having lived as a man until now. Would you like me to prepare a thicker gown for you?”

“No, it’s fine. It’s not that.”

It wasn’t just empty words.

‘I was so embarrassed when I entered the bathhouse with Dale.’

Why was that?

Standing before a man I had never met, clad in a gown that left little to the imagination, I felt no particular shame.

What I felt now was merely an instinctive discomfort.

It was akin to the feeling one gets when encountering the crushed remains of a bug.

“Hmm. Is that so?”

Faust wore a subtle smile, shrugging his shoulders.

“Well then, you can lie down comfortably here.”

In the center of the expansive basement stood a treatment table, barely large enough for a single person to lie on, and surrounding it was an enormous magic circle that would astonish even those unfamiliar with the arcane.

As I was unwittingly overwhelmed by the scale of the magic circle, Faust approached with a soft chuckle.

“Haha. There’s no need to be so tense. The procedure itself won’t take long.”

“…Yes.”

With a weary step, I moved to lie on the treatment table.

The coldness seeped through the thin fabric of my gown.

“…….”

Before my eyes loomed the dim ceiling of the basement.

The glorious day when I would be reborn as a true “Sun” was shrouded in a darkness as deep as pitch, devoid of any light.

‘Dale.’

As I lay on the procedure table, a face naturally came to mind.

‘You looked so surprised yesterday.’

When I approached him in the guise of ‘Yurina’ yesterday.

His expression, wide-eyed and astonished, flashed back to me.

‘Was it because I was too beautiful?’

I chuckled at the thought, recalling our brief encounter under the moonlight last night.

‘It was nice.’

Seeing his startled face, sitting beside him and chatting, the two of us silently gazing up at the moon hanging in the night sky.

Others might scoff, wondering what the big deal was.

But for me, it was a precious memory that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

‘That’s enough.’

Yes.

That was more than enough.

From noble mtl dot com

Just like a candidate who skips class eventually returns to school.

The endpoint of rebellion is rightly a return to the mundane.

“Then, I will begin the procedure.”

Yes.

This is my everyday life.

Lying on the cold procedure table, waiting to become ‘the Sun’—this moment is truly my life.

‘This is what it is.’

This little thing.

This kind of thing.

The life of ‘Yurina Helios’ that I have lived.

‘I hate it.’

In an instant.

A torrent of emotions, too intense to bear, erupted within me.

Swoosh!

I violently swatted away Faust’s reaching hand.

“Yurina! What are you doing?!”

I heard my mother’s flustered reprimand.

“Ah… I-I’m sorry.”

I turned to Faust, my expression one of surprise.

Faust clutched his crimson hands and smiled brightly.

“No, it’s alright. I understand that you’re feeling quite confused right now.”

He took a small step back, turning his head toward Rozanna.

“How about giving Yurina a bit more time to prepare her heart?”

“Ha. I’m sorry. The child has been mingling with the Republic’s lot and has lost her manners.”

“……”

My mother shook her head with a sigh.

In that moment, I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

An empty void carved into my heart.

‘What have I been struggling for all this time?’

It felt absurd to realize that I had desperately toiled for the past eight years just to earn a single word of praise, a simple “Well done,” from someone like that.

‘Even now… could I just run away?’

What if I abandoned everything?

If I dashed away from this place, could my life change?

“What are you doing? Hurry up and lie back on the operating table.”

“…Yes.”

Despite the tumultuous impulses swirling in my mind, my body obediently moved at my mother’s command.

“……”

Life has its inertia.

Even if I wanted to break free, the past eight years had become shackles more solid than anything else, tightening around me.

The moment I heard my mother’s cold voice, my entire body froze, rigid and unyielding.

Even the desire to escape from here felt fleeting, dissipating into nothingness.

“…Ah.”

All I could do was lie back down on the operating table, following my mother’s orders.

“Ha, haha.”

I let out a dry laugh, shaking my head.

‘Nothing has really changed, has it?’

The clock of Yuria Helios had stopped, still frozen on that day eight years ago.

The day she could do nothing but weep, staring at her dead brother’s body.

“Haah.”

Suddenly.

A story her brother had told her in childhood flickered to life in her mind.

The clichéd tale of a prince on a white horse rescuing a captive princess.

‘The brother who told me that story died because of me.’

A self-deprecating laugh escaped her lips as she lay on the operating table, gazing up at the dim ceiling.

She painted Dale’s face upon that dark expanse.

Imagining him bursting through the wall, like a fairy tale prince, to save her.

‘What on earth am I expecting?’

She chuckled at the absurdity of her own imagination.

Hoping that Dale would come to her rescue.

Didn’t he not even know he was not Yuren, but “Yurina”?

No, even if he did know, what could he possibly do?

‘There’s no way Dale could come here alone.’

The Helios estate was fortified like a fortress, guarded by hundreds of soldiers and the Knights of the Sun.

On top of that, there was the protective barrier of the great sage Julius that unfolded within the mansion.

No matter how extraordinary Dale was, there was no way he could breach the three “Sun Gates” to reach her here.

“Please begin the procedure.”

No more childish whims.

It was time to accept reality.

“It seems you are mentally prepared.”

Faust approached her with a gentle smile.

Just as his hand reached for her stigma.

BEEEEEEEEP!

A loud alarm blared from the Hero Watch strapped to her mother’s wrist.

“What’s happening?”

Her mother furrowed her brow nervously as she activated the Hero Watch.

“I clearly mentioned there was an important event today…”

[Chit, an intruder!]

“Excuse me?”

[The intruder has breached the first ‘Sun Gate’ and entered the estate grounds!]