I, the Female Lead, Ruined the Original Chapter 160

It was Rakrensius’s magic that set fire to the pile of cotton quilts filling the boat. It seemed that Tirtayana, hoping he would do this, had laid down more quilts than necessary and placed her body atop them.

 

At his following gesture, the boat began to sway. That boat had only ever rocked with the waves and was setting sail for the first time in nearly thirteen years. The wind Rakrensius summoned pushed the sail-less boat. With the waves undulating, the burning boat drifted away.

 

The fire would not die out until the body was fully cremated. Rakrensius had cast a spell to make sure the hull would only catch fire after the body had completely turned to ash.

 

The boat carrying the ashes would burn out at a distant place, sinking somewhere in the Far Eastern Sea. Far out on the open ocean, far, far away… It was the perfect resting place for the magician who once flitted across the continent, for the mother who had wandered the world alone to show it to her child, and for the witch who roamed the world like the wind.

 

The flames became fire, and the fire became embers. Until the last small glow vanished, the two of them stood silently, gazing at the horizon, in the very spot where Tirtayana had waited for her son for thirteen long years.

 

Time passed again. After the moon crossed behind their heads… Whether the boat had gone too far or everything had finally burned away and been swallowed by the waves of night. When only the shimmer of moonlight and starlight rippled across the pitch-black sea—Only then did the two rise and brush themselves off.

 

With the night sea beside them, they slowly walked down the cliff path. Though the trail beneath their feet was rugged and winding, the lights Rakrensius had summoned with magic gently lit the path, adding a sense of beauty to the night. They walked hand in hand, carefully guiding each other’s steps. As they rounded the final bend of the cliff and returned to a narrow beach of gravel and grass—

 

“To be honest, I don’t have many memories of this village.” Rakrensius spoke as if letting out a sigh of relief.

 

“Well, you did say you traveled a lot with your mother.”

 

Selleana replied with a slightly nasal tone, and Rakrensius nodded slightly in agreement.

 

“Still, a few things come to mind… When I was little, I used to run around this beach a lot. The house I lived in with my mother is up on that hill.”

 

Though the view was swallowed in the night and shrouded in darkness, a gentle hill could vaguely be seen across the coastline where he pointed.

 

“At the time, I thought this cliff marked the end of the world. Or rather, I couldn’t bring myself to go any farther alone, so I convinced myself that it was.”

 

“Collin…”

 

“No, it wasn’t that bad. I did have friends my age.”

 

“Really? That’s a relief,” Selleana murmured, and Rakrensius chuckled quietly.

 

“It’s just that… since I was always traveling with my mother, gone every ten days or so, I wasn’t in a position to ask other kids to go anywhere with me.”

 

“You mean you were just born introverted?”

 

“…That’s right.”

 

Selleana giggled and gently shook the hand she held in his.

 

“Anyway. From here, you can’t see the house very well. So when I was alone without my mother, I’d feel isolated… I would sit and stare at the open sea until sunset. Sometimes, I’d watch the shadows of ships heading out to the deep sea.”

 

“Did you want to see what was beyond the sea?”

 

“I think so. My mother and I mostly traveled inland.”

 

“Well, I think it was worth traveling from such a young age. In Gillosen, in Sima, even in Auzea… You went ahead while I was asleep, scouted places, and figured out what we’d do.”

 

“Thanks to you enjoying everything so willingly, there were lots of options to choose from. Ah, I used to sit over there all the time.” Rakrensius looked toward a group of large rocks embedded in the sandbar leading into the sea. The tops were flat—perfect for children to sit on.

 

As they continued walking along the beach, Rakrensius reminisced about his memories here. On days he got scolded by his mother, he would dive into the sea until sunset. Late at night, when no one was around, he practiced the teleportation magic he had learned from her. When ships passed nearby while playing with other children, they would all yell and wave together.

 

Talking like that, they reached the other end of the beach. Climbing a hidden staircase in the bushes up the gentle hill, a quiet house came into view, facing the opposite shore.

 

“Ah…”

 

A small, peaceful, single-story home, quietly nestled under the moonlight and starlight. A low fence enclosing the garden, overgrown grass that had long been left unattended, trees that had grown naturally and beautifully…

 

Rakrensius quickened his pace. Wanting not to hinder him, Selleana hurried after him, nearly at a run.

 

Without even needing to try the doorknob, he swung the door open. A softly lit interior greeted them.

 

“The lights… were just off…” Selleana murmured in amazement as Rakrensius strode inside.

 

The interior consisted of a single, open space. A bed he had shared with his mother on one side, a dining table on the other, and in between—a cozy living and study area with two single sofas, a low table, and bookshelves. The creases in the blanket, the cup on the table, the books, the blanket on the sofa… Everything still bore traces of life. It was as if someone had just been there moments ago—there was even a lingering warmth.

 

Rakrensius stood frozen on the carpet in the center of the room.

 

[…She must’ve placed a preservation spell here too.]

 

Di’s brief comment echoed.

 

Then Rakrensius finally began to move, slowly exploring the home. A framed photo on a console, a vase he used to fill with wildflowers as a child, straw dolls, glass crafts, snow globes, miniature trinkets bought during travels with his mother… There was no spoiled food or wilting plants, but everything else remained just as it had been.

 

“So Collin wouldn’t feel lonely when he returned…” Selleana murmured softly, brushing a door that hadn’t chipped at all.

 

“Lea.” Rakrensius walked up to her in a few brisk steps, suddenly pulling her into a firm embrace from behind. “Lea…”

 

“…”

 

“I… honestly, I was never confident about this thing called family.” His hands trembled as if trying to contain rising emotion. “As you know… I was separated from my mother at a young age. She loved me, and I held onto that memory until I met you… but truthfully, it always felt distant.”

 

Of course it did. His current ‘family’ was the imperial one—A stepmother who suppressed him, a father who ignored it, and half-siblings who acted like strangers. The image of a caring family had long since faded into a distant memory.

 

“So whenever I saw how your family loved you so deeply, I often wondered if I could ever make you that happy. As a man, I had no doubts about loving you. But the love of a family? I wasn’t sure I knew how.”

 

“But still.”

 

“Yes, but… I did know something after all.”

 

“…”

 

“I knew it…” Rakrensius wrapped his arms tighter around her and gently rested his face on the nape of her neck.

 

Selleana didn’t know what exactly he had seen in this house. No… it probably wasn’t any one specific thing.

 

What moved Rakrensius was the love of a mother who had used the last of her life’s energy so that everything would remain just as he remembered when he returned. Thanks to her, Rakrensius could say goodbye to a mother who seemed just like the one from his memories. He could enter not a ruined, dilapidated home, but one nearly unchanged from the days they spent together. She must have wanted her son not to feel too lonely. And she must have hoped he wouldn’t resent the years they’d spent apart.

 

Selleana gently patted Rakrensius’s arm with fingers that had touched door frames and window sills without catching a single speck of dust. She didn’t bother to point out that it was a good thing they came. Because she knew—Rakrensius already understood that better than anyone.

 

“Lea.” After a while, Rakrensius lifted his head and turned Selleana toward him.