557 Deja Vu
"My deepest apologies for not being able to thank you properly for everything you have done for me and my daughters," Belline expressed apologetically from her wheelchair before continuing, "I know this isn't the time to ask of my savior, but I hope you could answer a few of my questions honestly."
"That's fine, Lady Bellin. I also have a few questions to ask you," Vaan calmly said, taking a seat by the tea table under the pavilion and leveling their eyes to meet. Then, he politely gestured for her to speak, "Please ask away"
"Thank you," Belline Delarosa accepted the good gesture with a nod before gathering her thoughts.
"From what I've understood, Lord Vahn has achieved an unprecedented and unparalleled level of power in Pangea. The authorities of this kingdom or any country hold no sway over you. If you wish for it, you could have any number of women more beautiful and powerful than my daughters..."
"What I want to ask is why did you still help them... or help us? It doesn't seem like there's anything we can offer you that you can't acquire with your current standing," Belline wondered.
Vaan lightly smiled before casually replying, "Lady Belline, don't you think the world would be a darker place if everyone's actions were based on benefits and losses?"
"Your daughters and I share a connection bound by a chance encounter and experienced life-or-death situations together. Furthermore, they have been a tremendous help to me when I was a no-name with nothing. A poor man does not forget his favors once he achieves success, Lady Belline?
"Thus, I find it quite rude that you would discredit the special bond we share and suspect my act of repaying kindness with kindness as one guided by benefits," Vaan coolly stated.
"And I apologize for that, Lord Vahn," Belline calmly apologized, fully knowing her questions could be offensive. Then, she said, "If killing me is what it takes to relieve your anger, I am fine with that."
"I just had to be sure I am leaving my daughters in good hands. You see, we both know my time is running out. Before I leave this world, I only wish the best for them. Hearing what you said, I am relieved"
"I truly didn't think my daughters would be all that important to you, Lord Vahn," Belline said honestly.
"You're belittling your daughters too much, Lady Belline. Even if they weren't important to me, their potential is nothing to look down on," Vaan casually replied.
"Nobody is born strong from the start. With my help, they will surely grow into powerhouses. You see them as burdens to me now because they have nothing substantial to offer. But even then, they would still be burdens I can afford."
"But, like I said, they have been a tremendous help to me when I was a no-name. So unless they betray me, I will not abandon them," Vaan firmly stated.
If there were multiple turning points in his life, meeting the Delarosa sisters would be one of them.
After all, if he had encountered witches with an overbearing and supremacist-like nature in the escort group instead, he would have likely experienced a lot more hardship and conflicts.
In fact, if the Delarosa sisters hadn't given him such solid backing, he would have likely embarked on a road of killing witches and becoming a big fugitive in the kingdom.
Suddenly, Vaan's body stiffened.
A series of vague images flickered across his mind. It was flipping pages in a book at an incredible rate that blurred all the contents.
However, Vaan's powerful mind still managed to capture several snippets.
In one image, he saw Linetta and Lilias lying in puddles of blood in a barren land, which appeared to be part of the Blackmoon Region, after leaving the underground cave. Their bodies were sliced and diced with sword wounds.
Several bodies of the escort group could also be seen lying nearby.
The overall details of the image painted a scene of an internal struggle between the Delarosa sisters and the escort group over the Stalactite Milk.
The subsequent images were the deaths of witches in the forest region of the Red Goblin Mountain.
However, these witches didn't appear to be killed by the goblins. They died to sneak attacks from behind them by members of their own group - the hired mercenaries.
Nevertheless, not all of the images revealed the death of witches. Some showed places of taverns and interactions with aura users Vaan had never met, and in places he had never been.
The images were like real events that eventually led up to the destruction of the Black Rose Kingdom.
Henrietta fell in the war against the Holy Knight Empire. Astoria, along with other high-ranking witches of the kingdom, also died in the war.
They didn't die valiantly in battle but were assassinated in secret. It almost seemed like a single person had orchestrated it all.
Yet, he also sensed that person's pain and regret at the end of it all.
Vaan felt lethargic from seeing the vivid deaths of his women.
Obviously, such events never happened. And yet, the images conjured in his mind appeared so real, like he had been there every step of the way.
It was such a strong sense of déja vu.
"Are you alright, Lord Vahn? You suddenly look a little pale," Belline mentioned with concern, noticing his abrupt changes.
Vaan shook his head and calmed down.
"Thank you for your concern, but I am fine, Lady Belline," Vaan said.
Despite that, the series of images lingered in his mind. He couldn't understand why such images would appear in his mind. After all, he didn't intentionally visualize them.
Glimpses of a parallel universe or an alternate reality?
Vaan wracked his brain, but only this possibility stuck to him like glue despite its improbability. It was the only one that could make sense of what happened.
He did suspect the influence of a mental spell attack, but the system didn't notify him. Heck, he didn't even sense any movements of magic.
The problem came from within himself.
Vaan frowned.
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