kscans

Chapter 143 - The Me in the Diary and the Real Me, Which Do You Like

Darius is a crybaby. If anything happens to me, he cries right away. He’s such a handful. But I have a soft spot for him.

Is the "me" in this diary really me? Or is she someone else? I love Darius even without my memories. The me in the diary is right there with him, being told "I love you." So why do I find myself thinking, "I don’t know if I love him"?

It’s so frustrating. It feels like the lid on my bottled-up heart is about to fly off.

"Darius! Is the me in this diary me?"

"Of course it’s you. Who else could it be?"

"Then why is the me in the diary so indecisive and worried?" I directed all my frustration at Darius.

"It’s probably my fault for always trying to make you into a ‘normal girl.’ By making you feel different from others, I destroyed your self-confidence." Darius sighed.

What is this? Why is the me in the diary being protected by Darius? It feels like she’s being cherished. It’s frustrating.

"Then let me ask you. This woman in the diary and me. Which one do you like more?" My heart was in turmoil. It felt like Darius was in love with another woman. It was unforgivable.

"Huh? But you’re both Ariel, aren’t you?" Darius faltered. His reaction only made him look more suspicious.

"No! I know about candy, I can sleep properly at night, and I’m happy and have fun when I’m with you. I don’t remember being told Mireille is my disciple and daughter. In fact, Mireille is the one who tells me about the time I can’t remember. And Adrian is completely devoted to Lady Eleonora, he isn’t some lecherous man. So she’s a different person!"

He’s in love with someone else who just happens to have my face. That’s it, I was switched out somewhere along the line. What else could this be but an affair?

"No, Ariel is Ariel. Both are precious to me."

"You cheated! I love you even without my memories, but you loved the me who didn’t love you! You’re horrible!"

"What?!" Darius was flustered.

So I hit the mark.

I pressed him further.

"In my memory, there’s no magician stronger than me. So it’s infuriating that I was poisoned by the queen, subjected to mental interference, and forced to back down like that. Why didn’t my purification magic work? I want to know why I had to fight even after taking an antidote with such strong side effects."

"An antidote with strong side effects?"

I laid out all my reasons for wanting to go to the Magic Furnace. Even if I couldn’t find the answer, I had no choice but to go there.

Then, Darius told me what happened afterward, the part that wasn’t in the diary.

He told me how my blood was drawn and my mana was stolen at the Magic Furnace, how I was forcibly kept alive with High Potions.

How because of that, my body grew thin and my mana circulation was thrown into chaos.

How Darius’s father and Adrian staged a coup d'état to save me. How, in exchange for the support of the nobility, Darius had to abandon me, a commoner.

How his brother was ordered to supply me with mana and hurled the same words at me as the king had during his punishments, causing me to fall into a delirium and lose my memories.

And how Darius’s brother held a grudge against me, blaming me for the reason Adrian left the king's side to protect me and for the king taking away his son's upbringing.

"Why didn’t you tell me?"

"You had lost your memories and had forgotten me. The moment I chose to leave you in order to save you, I had already given up on everything."

I clenched my fists.

"The king and queen. I’m going to kill them!"

"Well, I wanted to, but it was impossible."

"Then your brother! I’ll kill him!"

"Wait, wait!"

There was no stopping me now. I couldn’t keep a lid on my emotions anymore. I had entered a combat stance.

"So, Darius! Me or the old me, which one do you love? You cheater! You’re horrible, Darius!"

Tears streamed down my face. I cried, screaming as my emotions exploded.