"Before the letter was sent, Aquamarine accidentally saw it. He was very upset that his beautiful and doting mother had not been a virgin when she gave birth. This made him very sad, but the letter did not contain the name of the man, only a place and time for a meeting."
"The boy carefully put the letter back in its place and planned to secretly follow them on the day of their appointment."
"A few days later, the Grand Abbey sent people to the town to take the girl on a pilgrimage. When the old nun learned that the Grand Abbey had sent people, she asked the girl if she had contacted that man all these years."
"By this time, a few days had already passed since the man had been contacted."
"The girl immediately gave the old nun the answer she wanted: 'I haven't contacted him.'"
"The day the abbey people came to pick her up was exactly the day she had arranged to meet that person, so she made an excuse that she had forgotten something and needed to go home to get it."
"The old nun wanted someone to escort her back, but the girl refused, saying that everyone in town knew her, so it was safe and nothing would happen. Therefore, the old nun did not trouble anyone else."
"The girl took a detour to the appointed place, and then a man walked from the other side of the road."
"The girl looked at the familiar person behind her, thinking he was just passing by, and asked, 'Are you here to walk me home?'"
"The man nodded and said, 'I followed you here. I saw you walking alone and wanted to walk you home.' He said these words while quickly approaching the girl."
"The girl hummed in response, thinking to herself that she wouldn't be able to meet that person today."
"However, when the man got close to the girl, he suddenly pulled out a dagger and stabbed her in the abdomen."
"It turned out that the man had been told everything about her by that so-called wild man, and he was a fanatic who believed that nuns must be pure. With just the letter and the secluded meeting place, he took it as proof that the girl was not pure."
"After stabbing the girl, the man yelled frantically, 'Why did you commit such a blasphemous act? Why did you betray Him? You are a betrayer, yet you are invited by the Grand Abbey, and everyone in town has been deluded by you!'"
"The injured girl clutched her belly, pierced by the blade, and spoke weakly, 'I am not a demon who deludes the world… nor am I a nun who dedicates her body and soul to God… I am just… someone picked up by a nun…'"
"At this moment, Aquamarine quietly arrived and saw his mother's abdomen turn crimson, with blood continuously dripping from between her fingers."
"Aquamarine had been taught that in the presence of outsiders, he must call the girl by her name, otherwise their entire family would be executed, and even the old nun would be implicated. Therefore, no matter how heartbroken he was, he could only suppress his grief and call the girl by her name."
"The girl continued, 'Today… I am here… to save the lost lamb…' Clutching her stomach weakly, she extended one hand to protect Aquamarine, preventing the now-crazed man from killing him as well."
"The man listened to the girl's words and thought back to how she had always so gently listened to his troubles, his heart calmed more than once by her. He stared blankly at the dagger stained with her blood, feeling regret."
"'I'm sorry!' The man threw down the dagger and ran away."
"The girl breathed a sigh of relief as the man left. Suddenly, blood surged into her throat, and she felt her body about to give out. She stumbled back two steps and leaned against a tree trunk by the roadside."
"Seeing this scene, Aquamarine could only cry out repeatedly for his mother not to die."
"However, the girl could clearly feel that ever since she was stabbed, blood had been gushing from the wound, and her body grew weaker. After speaking so much, she felt she was about to collapse and could only use her last strength to cover the bleeding wound, trying to delay her death."
"But her remaining strength was not enough to stop the bleeding."
"'So tired, so sleepy. My whole body feels sore and weak. I just want to close my eyes and sleep right now~ That would be so much easier.' The girl was dying from blood loss, and thoughts of simply falling asleep kept surfacing in her mind."
"But she thought of Aquamarine still by her side and knew she absolutely could not let him watch her die without leaving any words behind."
"The girl's will dispelled the negative emotions in her mind, and she strained to summon the last of her strength, saying: 'I really want to stay by your side… to watch you slowly grow up… Although I'm not a good mother… I can't let you be like ordinary families… where you can call me "Mom" even in front of others… I'm so glad I gave birth to you… Aqua… Ruby… Mom loves you… And… I'm sorry… Mom… can't… watch you grow up anymore…'"
"Her voice grew softer and softer, and as she uttered her last word, she lost her breath."
Hiko suddenly heard a faint sob beside him.
He looked up and saw that the area was already surrounded by people.
He had been immersed in his memories, narrating while watching the scenes unfold in his mind, so he hadn't noticed the others gathering around.
"What happened next?"
Ai asked, her eyes red-rimmed.
Among the circle of boys and girls, some had completely red eyes, and some girls were shedding tears, wiping them with tissues.
"Teacher…"
Hiko looked at the teacher beside him, feeling embarrassed. He had been caught slacking off in class, and the teacher had even called people to watch him.
More importantly, she hadn't even stopped his narration.
He was going to get scolded… He could only brace himself and wait.
But the teacher did not immediately scold Hiko; instead, she first said, "Students, do you now understand the charm of language? Sentences formed by individual words turn into stories that move people's hearts."
"Although Saito-kun's story was excellent, you must not follow his example of slacking off in class."
"No matter how good your grades are, you cannot interfere with others' learning. Don't tell stories in class again next time." After the teacher finished speaking, she left the classroom.
The students who had gathered in a circle to listen all urged him to continue, as class was now dismissed.
"There's nothing more."
Hiko didn't know where the other students had started listening from, but they definitely hadn't heard him say that this story had a revenge core, so he added, "I haven't thought of it yet."
Just then, the class bell rang again, and the students had no choice but to return to their seats.
The second period was math class.
The math teacher wouldn't be like the language teacher, letting the whole class listen to a student tell a story during class.
"This isn't the boring revenge story you talked about." Ai, still not recovered from the girl's death scene, asked in confusion.
"Aquamarine had read his mother's letter, and the place they arranged to meet was very secluded; normally, no one would go there."
Hiko once again recalled the heartbreaking scene of her dying words.