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The Regressed Villainess Tore Up The Annulment Papers - Chapter 6
🕑 Added 2024-09-01 06:15:10 +0000 UTCChapter 6: The Northern Lords' Assembly (1)
Corpses littered the ground, a gruesome tapestry of death.
The sight was all the more horrifying because most of the victims appeared to be no more than children, their youthful faces frozen in eternal silence.
What had happened here?
"...I'm sorry."
Aria turned her head towards the voice.
Eugene, her beloved Eugene, knelt beside a young boy's body, his arms wrapped tightly around the lifeless form.
"If I had attended the assembly on time... If I had just hurried a little..."
He spoke in a voice filled with self-recrimination, as if blaming himself for this tragedy.
A group of shadowy figures, their expressions menacing, approached him slowly.
"I know I have no right to say this, having failed to protect you... to protect all of you..."
Eugene gently laid the boy's body on the ground, a somber smile gracing his lips as if bidding farewell to a departing soul.
"But I'll at least make sure you're not alone on your journey."
He glared at the approaching figures, his eyes burning with a fierce intensity.
"...I don't know who you are, or why you did this..."
Eugene's fist connected with the closest attacker, crushing his skull in an instant. A dangerous glint sparked in his eyes.
Then, a violent, ash-gray aura erupted from his body.
"But not a single one of you will leave this place alive."
Eugene charged into the fray, a whirlwind of fury clashing with the shadowy figures.
...And then, Aria woke up.
"Gasp!"
She sat up abruptly in bed, her heart pounding, her eyes frantically scanning her surroundings.
The room was familiar yet strange, the guest room in the Everhart manor where she had fallen asleep the night before.
The horrifying scene she had witnessed, the carnage, the despair, it had all been a dream.
'What... was that?'
It felt too real to be a mere figment of her imagination.
She glanced down at her chest, where Eugene's ring, a delicate silver band threaded on a cord, rested beneath her clothes.
A faint glow emanated from the ring, pulsing with an otherworldly light.
'Could it be...?'
A terrifying thought struck her – what if the dream wasn't just a random nightmare, but a glimpse into Eugene's future, a premonition of events to come?
She vaguely recalled hearing about a major incident in the North around this time in her previous life.
'Something about an attack at a gathering of Northern nobles...'
At the time, she had been too consumed by her own pain, too focused on avoiding any connection to Eugene, to pay attention to events unfolding in his homeland.
She hadn't bothered to learn the details, to understand the scope of the tragedy.
"Oh..."
She cursed her past ignorance, her willful blindness to Eugene's world.
The memory of his grief-stricken face, the despair she had witnessed in her dream, filled her with a renewed sense of urgency.
She wanted to go to him, to comfort him, to shield him from the pain that awaited him.
As if sensing her thoughts, Eugene appeared in the window, walking with a purposeful stride towards the training grounds.
"...Eugene?"
Without a second thought, she scrambled out of bed, her instincts guiding her, her heart leading the way.
***
Early dawn.
Eugene woke as he always did, his body accustomed to the rhythm of early mornings. He made his way to the training grounds, his steps purposeful, his mind already focused on the day ahead.
He passed the servants bustling about their morning chores, exchanging brief greetings. They seemed unfazed by his early morning routine, their faces reflecting a quiet acceptance of his habits.
He returned their greetings with a nod, his focus unwavering.
He pushed himself relentlessly, lifting heavy weights, running laps, his body a blur of motion as he honed his skills.
Throughout his training, he circulated his mana, directing the flow of energy throughout his body, pushing himself to his limits.
It was a unique cultivation technique, one that strengthened his body by repeatedly depleting his mana reserves, similar to how muscles grew stronger through exertion and recovery.
'The Heart of a Beast.'
A secret technique passed down through generations of his family, a legacy designed to empower its practitioners to face any foe, even the most ferocious of beasts.
It allowed him to absorb the expended mana into his body, strengthening his physical attributes, pushing him beyond the limits of human potential.
'Our family's renowned physical prowess is largely due to this technique. It forces the body to grow, to adapt, to transcend its limitations.'
But today, something felt different.
His mana reserves, usually depleted after a rigorous training session, remained full, a seemingly endless well of energy that defied his expectations.
He usually felt a sense of fatigue, a pleasant exhaustion that signaled a successful training session. But today, he felt invigorated, his movements fluid and powerful, his energy boundless.
'What's going on?'
He couldn't ignore this anomaly. He sat down, crossing his legs, and entered a meditative state.
He closed his eyes, taking deep, even breaths, and focused his awareness on his dantian, the energy center located in his lower abdomen.
"...What in the...?"
He stared in disbelief. A vast ocean of ash-gray energy churned within his dantian, its depths immeasurable.
It was several times larger than his usual mana reserves, a staggering amount of energy that defied all logic.
How could he have gained so much mana overnight?
It was an unheard-of phenomenon, a feat that even the most legendary mages throughout history had never accomplished.
'And the quality of the mana... it's different.'
Mana, absorbed from the environment, tended to reflect the nature of its wielder, taking on their characteristics.
'This is... strange.'
The new mana felt tinged with a profound sadness, a sense of resignation that was both unsettling and oddly familiar.
'I've resigned myself to the situation with Aria, but it shouldn't have this much of an impact on my mana.'
Despite being a part of him, this new energy felt foreign, resistant to his control.
Or rather, he didn't feel ready to wield it, as if it were a powerful beast he hadn't yet tamed.
'This is problematic.'
He attempted to manipulate the energy, but only his original mana reserves responded to his will.
The rest remained dormant, a vast, slumbering giant, waiting for him to prove himself worthy.
Rustle!
Lost in contemplation, Eugene was startled by a sound behind him.
He turned his head, his eyes widening in surprise.
"Eugene, what are you doing...?"
Aria stood there, clad in her nightgown, her hair disheveled, her expression a mixture of confusion and curiosity.
Her unexpected appearance, as surreal as the anomaly he had just experienced with his mana, banished all his worries.
Aria's disheveled state, her complete lack of awareness regarding her attire, had a strangely calming effect on him.
Come to think of it, his mana wasn't the only thing that had been acting strangely since yesterday.
'Did she eat something weird?'
He sighed, looking at her, his thoughts drifting back to their encounter the previous day. She was supposed to be gone, their separation finalized. Instead, she was still here, acting even more strangely than usual.
"What are you doing, dressed like that?"
He gestured towards her attire.
Aria blushed, her face turning a deeper shade of red than when her stomach had betrayed her hunger the day before.
"...I-I'll go change!"
She turned and fled, her nightgown's frills fluttering behind her like the wings of a startled bird.
Eugene couldn't help but chuckle, her reaction both unexpected and endearing.
He had never seen her like this, so flustered, so unguarded.
Her unexpected behavior, however, cleared his mind.
He had planned to revisit the issue of their annulment, to have a serious conversation with her about their future.
But the look in her eyes, so different from the cold, distant gaze she had once directed at him, gave him pause.
And judging by her reaction just now, it seemed her feelings hadn't changed.
"...Perhaps I should wait a little longer."
He had already waited years, had endured her indifference with a patience that surprised even himself.
Delaying their separation a little longer wouldn't hurt.
His plans, however, were now disrupted.
'I was going to visit the imperial palace today to finalize the annulment.'
With the annulment off the table, he suddenly found himself with unexpected free time.
How should he spend this newfound freedom? What should he do?
"Ah."
He remembered an upcoming event, a gathering of Northern nobles, scheduled for a few days later.
It was a regular occurrence, a meeting where the heirs and children of the Northern families gathered to share information and discuss matters of importance to their region.
He had initially declined the invitation, unsure of when he would return from the capital.
But that was no longer an issue.
"Perhaps I should make an appearance."
He decided to attend the assembly, an event he had planned to skip, or at least attend belatedly.
And at that moment, as he made his decision...
Thrum!
He felt a subtle shift within his dantian, a tingling sensation that suggested his mana reserves were stirring.
