“My thoughts are quite the opposite,” Dorothy declared.
“Oh? What are your thoughts, Senior?”
“I hope you can surpass me, becoming the strongest heroes of the next generation. My era passed long ago. Most of the council members are old now, and after such a long silence, it’s time for new heroes to emerge and lead the age.”
Dorothy held high hopes for them, convinced they possessed the potential to outshine her.
Lia parted her lips, about to speak, but in the next instant, she witnessed a shimmer of silver-white magic coalescing in Dorothy’s palm. Slowly, the broken hilt of a sword began to materialize.
It was unmistakably a lady’s sword, its hilt intricately carved with delicate silver-white blossoms, exuding a noble mystique amidst their captivating beauty.
Yet, a network of cracks marred these exquisite silver flowers, mercilessly defiling the sword’s splendor. Its former brilliance was irrevocably lost.
Beneath the hilt, only a finger’s length of the blade remained; the rest had vanished without a trace.
“This is…”
Lia vaguely recognized it, yet dared not believe her own eyes.
Dorothy gazed down at the hilt, her eyes reflecting both nostalgia and a touch of regret. Then, she slowly uttered its name: “The Hero’s Holy Sword, Megaphas.”
Confirming her silent suspicion, Lia gasped in alarm. “Isn’t this your personal sword, Senior? How could it be reduced to just a hilt…?”
Megaphas had always been the revered Holy Sword, sought after by countless heroes. It possessed its own consciousness and incredible power, serving as both the personal weapon and the symbol of a mighty hero.
Yet, this legendary Holy Sword now lay before her like a piece of junk, so diminished that Lia had almost failed to recognize it.
What truly astonished Lia was the sheer peril of whatever could shatter a Holy Sword.
It must have been unimaginably dangerous.
“It’s broken now. Even I can’t restore it,” Dorothy sighed, stroking the hilt. “It’s time for it to seek a new master.”
A new hero could restore the Holy Sword to its former glory.
Generations of heroes had risen and fallen, but the Holy Sword Megaphas had always endured. In her youthful naivety, Dorothy had once believed she would carry it to the very end.
But reality had shown her that she was no different from the heroes who had come before.
The adventurous tale of the Silverbloom Sword Princess and Megaphas had reached its conclusion. This Holy Sword was destined to find its next hero.
Clutching the broken hilt, Dorothy gazed at it wistfully, as if the day she had been acknowledged by the Holy Sword were only yesterday.
“Silverbloom Senior…”
Witnessing the Silverbloom Sword Princess’s despondency, Dorothy felt a pang in her heart.
Everything in the world eventually succumbs to the passage of time. At this moment, the Silverbloom Sword Princess seemed to be bidding farewell to her past self.
Her personal sword was seeking its next hero, her former teammates had long gone their separate ways, and even cherished memories had begun to blur. The Silverbloom Sword Princess, who embodied all the world’s beauty, would never return.
This thought inevitably led Dorothy to ponder her own future. Perhaps one day, she too would find herself like the Silverbloom Senior, sighing over the past, reminiscing about her time at Ruin Academy, and missing the friends who had accompanied her.
“Senior, what are you saying? If you wish it, you can still become the strongest hero! I believe in you!”
Hugging her close, Lilia paused for a long moment before asking in a muffled voice, “Senior, you won’t leave us, right?”
The hand stroking Lilia’s hair stilled. Dorothy lowered her head, a fresh wave of guilt washing over her. Receiving no answer, Lilia sensed something was amiss. She pulled away from Dorothy’s embrace and sat upright on the bench, her gaze fixed on the older woman.
In silence, she extended her hand, allowing the cold rain to patter onto her palm. Gradually, her warm heart found a quiet calm amidst the gentle drizzle.
Dorothy put Megaphas away. She gripped the hem of her skirt with both hands, pressed her lips together, and then, as if having made a difficult decision, she spoke.
“Lilia…”
“Senior.”
Lilia, who had also begun to speak, paused, then tilted her head, brushing a strand of hair aside. With a smile, she asked, “Do you have something to tell me, Senior?”
“…Yes.”
Lilia’s eyes were beautiful, like precious jade. Yet, Dorothy couldn’t bring herself to meet them, her gaze drifting instead to the deserted garden.
“I’m sorry, but I’ve actually been hiding something from you all this time…”
Her voice grew softer with each word, and the grip on her skirt tightened. Just as she was about to continue, Lilia suddenly reached out and placed a hand on Dorothy’s.
“I don’t want to know.”
Dorothy looked at her in surprise, only to find a strained smile gracing Lilia’s face.
“I don’t want to know any of it, Senior. Whatever it is, I don’t want to know.”
“Silverbloom Senior has always been the one I respect and admire most. I hope it will always be this way in the future. So, can you continue to keep it from me, Senior…?”
The small hand resting on Dorothy’s trembled slightly. Dorothy stared at her blankly. After a long silence, she turned her head away, guiltily saying, “I’m sorry…”
‘Continuing to hide it would only hurt her more. She didn’t want to do that anymore.’
The cold, small hand withdrew from Dorothy’s. Celia’s gaze fell upon a nearby flower, and she said no more.
Seeing this, Dorothy slowly revealed everything: “More than twenty years ago, I was defeated in the Demon Lord’s Castle and gave birth to a daughter. She had a black butterfly birthmark on the back of her neck; she was very beautiful and adorable.”
“Later, when she was two or three years old, I abandoned her and fled back to Vidona alone. Since then, I’ve never seen her again.”
“I thought I would never see her in this lifetime, until six months ago, when she suddenly appeared before me. But for some reason, she had become the young lady of a noble family…”
The strained smile on Celia’s face gradually vanished as Dorothy spoke. She touched the butterfly birthmark on the back of her own neck, her expression becoming somewhat blank and vacant.
After saying all this, Dorothy fell silent. The immense shock made Celia’s breathing quicken, and a flush spread across her pretty face.
Then, she gave a faint smile, seemingly disbelieving Dorothy’s words. “Silverbloom Senior, you must be joking, right? This joke isn’t funny at all. Next time, it would be better to tell a different one.”
“I’m sorry, Celia. This might be difficult for you to accept, but…”
“But what?” Celia suddenly interrupted Dorothy, the smile on her face completely vanishing, replaced by an endless indifference. “But I’m supposed to forgive your deception, is that it?”
“No, that’s not it…”
Dorothy’s heart seized with panic, and she tried to explain, but Celia gave her no opportunity. “Is it precisely because you are my birth mother that you became our instructor back then? Is that why you were inexplicably good to us?”
Her words rendered Dorothy speechless.