Looking at the woman who had loved him through countless days and nights in the past, now crying herself into a tearful wreck.
Every tear that fell.
Was like a bullet piercing Moran's heart.
He knew that he had wronged Medea in every possible way, but if he went back to the first simulation and had to choose again—
Moran would probably still choose to return to the island.
Having to place the Gorgon Sisters and Medea on opposite sides of a scale was simply too cruel for him.
In the end, Medea, overwhelmed by inexplicable emotions,
fainted before you.
This time, Medea had come to the island under the pretense of traveling. Because she was the princess of Colchis, you had your subordinates and priests receive this foreign princess with the utmost care and the highest honors.
Whether guilt or self-reproach lay behind that order,
perhaps only you yourself knew.
Moonlight streamed through the window and spilled into the room.
Medea lay asleep on the bed.
Her ample chest rose and fell faintly, while the rest of her body lay completely still.
She was beautiful as a painting.
Her peacefully closed eyes, her long lashes, and her tender, lovely lips that remained dewy even without lipstick.
Looking at her sleeping form,
Moran sat on the floor with his back against the wall, silent.
Even now, memories from the previous simulation still flashed through his mind. They were warm memories he did not wish to forget.
Did she still remember me?
No... if she remembered, how could I face her and explain what happened last time...?
Your mind was filled with questions.
Somewhere in your heart, you wanted Medea to remember you.
Yet you also did not want her to recall the ending, because it must have been lonely and desolate.
Death had spared you from facing it in the previous simulation.
This time, you could not ignore it.
After an unknown number of silent hours passed, even the evening glow outside the window gradually gave way to daylight.
"Mm..."
Suddenly, a faint sound came from the bed.
Medea was stirring.
Moran immediately came to the bedside and watched the girl who was about to awaken.
The emotions in his heart were exceedingly complicated.
Yet in the end, he still prayed for one outcome.
Even if it was an imperfect ending like the first simulation, Moran still hoped Medea would find happiness.
What had happened could not be treated as though nothing had happened.
Medea's tightly shut lashes trembled slightly before opening, and her pale blue eyes reflected Moran's figure.
Silence. Both of them remained silent.
No one knew what emotions had brought it about.
For Moran, the process was agonizing. He did not know how to begin speaking to Medea.
Should he treat her as a stranger? Or as he had in the past?
Just as Moran was struggling with these questions,
Medea spoke first.
Chapter 41: Love Overcomes Hatred—Please Send Flowers! Please Send Monthly Tickets!
"Moran... sir..."
That familiar voice made his heart tremble.
For a moment, it felt as if he had been pulled back into the previous simulation.
"Medea... do you remember?"
Moran froze for several seconds before asking.
The newly awakened Medea wore a complicated expression, unable to process Moran's question.
While unconscious, she had seen something.
She had seen scenes she had dreamed of ever since childhood.
A woman both unfamiliar and familiar stood gazing toward the shore, as though waiting for someone to return.
Waiting, and waiting...
For who knew how many days and nights.
So long that even Medea, watching from the sidelines, wanted to step forward and persuade her, yet she could not enter the dream.
She could only see that beautiful silhouette beneath the moonlight.
It was so sorrowful and lonely.
Perhaps she had long known that the one she awaited would never return, yet she still could not help gazing toward the shore.
Whenever she saw that blurry dream repeat itself,
Medea's heart would be touched by a layer of sorrow, as if she could truly empathize with that loneliness.
That feeling lingered even after she awoke from the dream.
As she continued to grow up,
the scenes in her dreams became increasingly vivid.
It was precisely because of these strange circumstances that, when she heard an Undefeated Hero was staying on The Invisible Island,
her heart seemed to flutter.
A powerful impulse drove her to go there.
It was so overwhelming that she could not ignore it.
The King of Colchis, who doted on his daughter, did not refuse Medea's request. He even sent people to escort her on her journey.
That was why Medea came to meet you.
"I... have some memories..."
There was a slight hesitation in Medea's words.
Her reaction struck Moran as strange.
"Moran, sir... you once made a promise to me... and I was the one waiting for you... wasn't I?"
"...Mm."
Moran's heart clenched sharply.
Looking at Medea's expression, so desperate for an answer,
he truly could not avoid her.
"...Yes... it was probably me..."
"It really was you, Moran, sir... Medea has finally seen you again! What should I do... how am I supposed to react...?!"
Medea was instead at a loss.
The instant she saw Moran's face, the overwhelming emotions that surged from the depths of her heart had caused her to faint.
The scenes she saw in her sleep were no longer blurry.
They were clearer than ever before.
"Medea, aren't you... angry with me?"
"This..."
They had reached the most crucial subject.
Moran could no longer ignore the problems of the past. He had never liked pretending problems did not exist.
Especially when this time, he was the one who had made the mistake.
"To be honest, I have the memories, but they aren't very clear. There are only a few things I remember clearly... of course, I remember that Moran, sir, broke his promise to me."
As Medea spoke, resentment filled her eyes.
That gaze left Moran with no desire to resist at all.
"I'm angry, you know. Very, very angry! Angry enough to want to grab my wand and wave it around wildly!"
Medea instinctively picked up her wand and said indignantly.
For someone as adorable as a little lamb to make such a gesture,
one could easily imagine how furious she was.
Moran clenched his teeth and prepared himself to be struck.
No matter how Medea vented her anger upon him, he would not think it excessive.
"Though I received those memories like an observer, I know very clearly that it was one of the few requests I ever made, and Moran, sir, still broke it! You're the worst!"
Medea raised her wand high, intending to bring it down.
When the wand was truly about to strike Moran's face, it stopped in midair just millimeters away.
She could not bring it down.
"Mm... even though I'm this angry, even though I'm so hurt that I can't stop crying, I still can't lie to myself..."
Medea's wand fell to the floor.
Tears fell onto the bed along with it.
"Rather than being angry at Moran, sir... when I first saw that you were all right... I didn't feel angry or sad... I was happy... so happy that I felt it was wonderful that I had lived until now..."
"Medea..."
Moran looked at the sobbing girl.
Not all of those memories were sorrowful and lonely.
Besides seeing herself waiting for your return, Medea had also seen countless precious memories.
Researching magecraft with you in the workshop.
Cooking delicious food together like a pair of foolish spouses.
Facing all kinds of adventures together.
Creating legends throughout Greece with everyone aboard the Argo, and cherishing every moment spent by your side.
Every little memory washed over Medea.
The girl waiting for her beloved's return did not harbor only resentment in her heart. She had always held onto the purest love.
That love overcame resentment and sorrow.
It was also what had driven her to keep watching over the sea.
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