I Was The Hero, But I Woke Up as a Phoenix Princess! – Chapter 603

Chapter 603 Chapter 61 Love, and Illusory Scenery (Part 2)
Verafia’s scorching gold pupils peeked out from the bedsheet, watching the back of the young man until Igger closed the room door and completely disappeared.
“Igger is gone now…”
Her lips softly uttered the name. The jade-white fingertips, slightly loosening their tight grip on the bedsheet, revealed a gentle smile that was gradually solidifying on her exquisite face, like a beautiful flower about to wither, leaving only a trace of sadness.
A few wisps of the young man’s aura still lingered in the air, but they would gradually dissipate with the passage of time.
Verafia let out a self-deprecating laugh.
She wanted to become Igger’s wife, she wanted to give him everything today. These were all true, and things she genuinely wished to do.
Otherwise, how could she overcome her shyness and display such a blushing expression, such almost-obsessive murmurs filled with emotions, which she had never experienced before?
But…
Her delicate jade hand clenched tightly. She shook her little head and sat up from the bed. Her small, white-stockinged feet landed on the slightly chilly floor. She didn’t put on her cashmere slippers, nor did she slip into her short boots, but instead let a hint of chill enter her heart.
She remembered Igger’s expression when she had suddenly rejected him. Amidst his restrained discomfort, she had seen a look of relief and pity in his eyes.
“At that time, Igger must have thought I was scared…”
Was it because she, who had once been Lothel, had the experience of being a man, and feared that she couldn’t fully accept him as a man… that he would possess her with his sacred sword?
A faint smile bloomed on the girl’s lips.
As an imperfect girl, such worries had indeed lingered in her heart… She feared that she wasn’t worthy of his love, and also feared that her past experience as a man would make the boy she liked detest her.
“But, you idiot… I’ve made up my mind, I want to be your wife, so why would I be afraid of such a thing?”
Verafia softly replied, speaking to the boy who was not beside her. She gently curled her lips, smiling softly, but her voice was tinged with sobs.
Her slender, white jade hands gripped tightly.
She remembered the young man’s vow. He had sworn to always be by her side, to protect her forever… At that time, the boy was comforting her, who was nervous and scared, but Verafia had no doubt that Igger would keep his promise.
“And this guy, he said he wanted to stay with me always… Idiot, I also want to stay by your side always…”
She returned to the window. Outside the castle’s tall, transparent glass window, the frosted moon still hung high in the night sky. The clear moonlight brushed against the corner of the girl’s silk skirt, falling upon her flawless and beautiful delicate body.
However, the young man who had once held her was not beside her. The tranquil, sweet scene could only be treasured and savored again, but it only made her feel more bitter.
“But, but… how can I possibly stay with you forever?”
Her once melodious voice, like the singing of orioles and swallows, was now filled with the trembling of sobs. A line of clear tears slid down her flawless snowy cheeks. Her precious golden eyes were wet with liquid, and a tear-streaked path marred her exquisite face.
Her jade-white and artistically exquisite delicate hands were clenched tightly, her fingernails tearing at her flawless skin. Crimson blood slowly trickled down, but it was like the most noble crimson flame in the world, igniting in the frosted moonlight.
It shared the same color as the divine spark of the Blazing Flame, the origin of all flames, deep within her body.
Yet, it brought her no warmth whatsoever.
On her slender wrist, she had once shown Igger, smiling charmingly and telling the boy, the awakening of Herafir, and the gradual emergence of the lingering crimson.
That was indeed Herafir’s encroachment on her body, the signs that manifested.
However, beneath this, could her elder sister, the Will of the Flame God King Herafir, only have permeated the blood flowing within her body?
Warm tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision. She smiled silently.
Herafir… her sister, the once noble Blazing God King. How could her awakening be resisted by her? Not to mention that, since Lichen, she had used her power more than once.
“Perhaps, in just a year… or perhaps sooner, just half a year.”
She softly murmured.
Perhaps it wouldn’t be considered death… Herafir wouldn’t completely erase her will. Initially, it would only affect her words and actions, her thoughts… Gradually, it would replace them. At that time, she would still be herself, but rather, it would be Herafir’s true name.
Furthermore, she had long foreseen such a thing… To usurp the authority of the gods, and even to borrow her position, how could she not pay a price? As for death, she had long ceased to fear it a hundred years ago.
However, she was still afraid. Now, having people she cherished, Flarn, who was a thousand miles away, and Ophi…
And her experiences with that gentle young man after trying to be a girl, their sweetness together, even the joy of being with him today… flashed before her eyes, but it only brought greater bitterness.
Such attachment, and the sweet love she experienced as a maiden… were nothing more than illusory scenery.
“No matter what happens… at least, I don’t want to leave any regrets. I want him to remember that there was a girl who wanted to be with him forever.”
This was what she had thought in her heart, which was why she wanted to give him everything… to let the young man possess her, to let her become the wife of the boy she loved. This should be a good memory.
However, Igger’s vow made her tremble with fear.
“Verafia, I will always be by your side, protecting you, until eternity.”
“Idiot. How can I be with you forever…”
Tears fell as she smiled, her delicate voice trembling as if she were sobbing.
Perhaps she could let go of everything, but what about Igger? If she became his wife, wouldn’t it be even harder for the boy she loved to escape from his shadow?
Therefore, at that moment, she was suddenly afraid and stopped Igger from their final union.
Verafia suddenly regretted why she had let Igger leave Misella’s side, and why she had made him fall in love with her. Clearly, the best ending for her and him should have been for him to forget her…
“Chichichi.”
A crisp laugh silenced all the sounds in the world.
But there was no one around her. That voice came from herself.
Her exquisite face lifted, and the lingering tear stains reflected a crystalline gleam in the moonlight. Verafia was not surprised; she was no stranger to such voices these past few days.
“Clearly… as my sister, like an ordinary human… so foolish.”
That was Herafir’s voice.
“Herafir… Sister.”
A faint smile flickered across the girl’s face as she uttered softly, “Are you mocking me… or pitying me?”
The silver-frosted moonlight was blown by the wind. In the room, only the girl’s own murmuring could be heard.
“Her” voice then faded away again.
A smile bloomed on her face, and Verafia gently shook her head. She shouldn’t pay attention to this “sister.”
She thought again of that young man, the young man she loved.
“I can’t make him forget me. But…”
Verafia walked closer to the full-length silver mirror in the room. The mirror reflected her face, with her tear stains still faintly visible.
Her slender fingertips carefully wiped away the tears.
In the mirror, the girl revealed a gentle, sweet smile.
“Verafia, try to be happier. Don’t be downcast in front of him again, it will only make him sad with you… At least, I want the time I spend with him to be happier.”
She told herself.
Even though her happiness and affection with the young man, their envisioned future, were merely illusory scenery… but at least, before that illusory facade shattered, she could decorate it more beautifully.
—
I didn’t expect it to be this long (spits blood).
Even the heroine’s monologue is a full chapter…