Yujin listened to Elicia’s story until the very end.
She spoke of the happy times she had spent with her mother as a child and then of the day that seemed no different from any other…. until an assassin appeared. Her mother had been killed while trying to protect her.
As she continued, Elicia’s expression darkened. Her eyes and body trembled, but she forced herself to share everything with Yujin.
After hearing it all, Yujin’s response was simple.
“…That must have been difficult for you.”
Yujin had lost his parents when he was only twelve years old.
But Elicia had lost her mother when she was merely four.
He couldn’t even remember what his own life had been like at that age. It was only natural; memories from early childhood tended to fade with time.
And yet, even now, Elicia had never been able to forget. The memory must have been so traumatic, so painful, that it had stayed with her all these years.
Suffering from PTSD ever since, she had taken up the sword despite being a princess, all in an effort to become stronger. Yujin could only imagine the pain she had endured.
Elicia spoke again.
“If I said it wasn’t hard… that would be a lie. Honestly, even talking about it now is painful. But… just as you said, Professor, I can’t keep running from it forever…”
“Yes, you’ve done well to speak about it. You’ve been through a lot.”
“…Thank you.”
At Yujin’s words, Elicia lowered her head and tried to steady her trembling body.
Yujin asked as he watched her,
“Your Highness, may I ask you one more thing?”
“…Yes, of course.”
“I know these memories are from a very young age, so you may not remember well, but I’d like to ask…. what did you and your mother, the former Crown Princess, usually do together?”
“What I used to do with my mother…”
Elicia seemed to ponder for a moment before finally answering.
“When I was little… I loved having tea time with my mother or going for walks in the garden. At night, she would tell me stories before bed… Other than that… I’m sorry, but I can’t recall much. My memories from that time are too faint…”
“That’s more than enough. In that case… Your Highness, do you have anyone you are personally close to?”
“Someone I’m personally close to…?”
“Yes. Ideally, someone who is aware of your condition. It would be even better if it was a woman.”
Elicia seemed to think for a moment at Yujin’s question before finally speaking.
“…Aside from my family… there’s hardly anyone who comes to mind. It’s a little embarrassing to admit, but I have trouble letting people get too close to me…”
“Is that also because of your childhood memories?”
“…Yes. I only learned the truth later, but it turns out that the one who assassinated my mother was one of her own knights. Ever since then, I’ve found it difficult to let others near me…”
So, the assassin had been the Crown Princess’s own knight. Being a knight was a position that carried a certain degree of honor, wealth, and even power. And yet, he had cast all that aside to take on the role of an assassin. This was a task that would not only lead to his own execution but also the complete eradication of his family for three generations.
Still, Yujin didn’t dwell on it. There were countless ways to manipulate a person, and discussing how vile those methods could be would be a waste of breath. That knight had likely been no different.
“So… aside from my family, I’ve never really let anyone get close. It wasn’t just a matter of trust. I simply felt uncomfortable.”
“But if it’s your family…”
“…They’re royalty. But why do you ask about someone I’m personally close to…?”
Elicia asked cautiously, and Yujin answered.
“I was hoping that person could temporarily take on the role of the former Crown Princess.”
“…What?”
“I’ll explain.”
Yujin continued.
“It’s nothing complicated. I want Your Highness to reenact the activities you used to do with the former Crown Princess, but this time with someone you’re close to. By doing so, you might be able to overlay your past memories with the present.”
“Overlay my memories…”
“Yes. If I had to put it into words… it’s similar to the déjà vu effect. As I mentioned earlier, Your Highness needs to gradually get used to being exposed to your trauma. At the very least, you need to be able to face it without breaking down.”
“…..…”
“By engaging in activities you once shared with the former Crown Princess, you’ll naturally recall those memories. And through that, you’ll continuously relive your feelings of longing and sadness, over and over again. The goal is for you to eventually become accustomed to the pain and grief of losing her. Of course, given how young you were at the time, it might be difficult to bring back those hazy memories… but the important thing is to try.”
It was a treatment method often used for PTSD.
In fact, since Elicia was someone actively suffering from PTSD, this kind of therapy was necessary.
After all, PTSD was a condition with a clear cause. That meant the solution was also straightforward.
Rather than running from the situations that triggered it, one had to confront them head-on, fully process them, and overcome them.
Of course, just because the method was simple didn’t mean it was easy for the person going through it. If it were that easy to process in one go, they wouldn’t have developed PTSD in the first place.
Therefore, as Yujin had said, a gradual stabilization process was necessary. First of all, it was important to stabilize her from various discomforts, flashbacks, physical discomfort, and negative emotions.
Until she was able to face the memories that triggered her trauma, she needed to slowly release the emotions and thoughts attached to them, or at the very least, build up the mental and physical strength to endure the shock. That was the current goal.
And that was precisely what this method aimed to achieve. The source of her sadness and pain was the former Crown Princess’s death. By recalling the memories they had shared, she would slowly come to terms with the void left behind, accept it on her own, and free herself from the emotions and thoughts that stemmed from it.
If only EMDR therapy were an option… but unfortunately, I’m not a specialist.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) was a treatment method that involved following a doctor’s instructions to move one’s eyes from side to side while listening to sounds or feeling tactile sensations. This process helped lessen the discomfort associated with traumatic memories. In 2004, the American Psychiatric Association recognized it as the most effective treatment for PTSD.
It was said to be inspired by the way the eyes move freely during REM sleep and was known to either blur painful memories or make them harder to recall.
However, the key point was that EMDR had to be administered by a licensed mental health professional or a certified clinical psychologist in order to be effective.
This was important, as there had been reports of cases where improper attempts at EMDR had actually worsened a patient’s condition.
The treatment’s effectiveness was believed to stem from its role in reconstructing the neural connections in the brain related to PTSD memories. But if done incorrectly, those connections could be reinforced instead, further engraving the traumatic memories rather than weakening them.
Yujin knew this well. He had undergone EMDR therapy himself after his parents passed away. However, since he wasn’t a licensed specialist, attempting such a method would have done more harm than good.
Of course, all he could do was rely on the most basic and straightforward stabilization therapy. That is to help her repeatedly recall memories of the former Crown Princess until she became accustomed to her absence.
At the same time, it would be even better if she had someone to confide in about her pain.
For someone who had experienced a traumatic event, the most important form of support was emotional comfort and the encouragement to openly discuss what had happened. Teaching coping strategies, such as relaxation techniques, was also an effective treatment approach.
Having gone through these treatments himself, Yujin understood them well. That was why he hoped Elicia could gradually grow accustomed to the memories of the former Crown Princess with the support of someone who could provide her with emotional stability.
But…
“Hmm… I suppose asking a member of the imperial family would be difficult?”
“…Neither His Majesty the Emperor nor my brother, the Crown Prince, would have the time. They’re both too busy. Not only with managing the affairs of the state but also with the ongoing power struggle against the Pantheon, ever since they learned that I was being parasitized by a demon’s seed. My sister is the only one who might have been able to help, but… I’ve heard that she recently returned to high society because of my situation and is helping her husband, the Duke.”
At the mention of her family, a flicker of guilt crossed Elicia’s face. Still, she forced herself to speak in an unwavering voice.
Yujin asked,
“What about Her Majesty the Empress?”
“…Technically, she is my mother, but… if you’re asking whether we’re close, the answer is no. In fact, our relationship is… rather awkward. No, very awkward.”
“I see.”
It was rare for the daughter of a legal wife and a concubine to have a good relationship. More often than not, things were just as Elicia had described. The relationship between them was distant, if not outright strained.
If the relationship between a legal wife and a concubine had been good, it might have been a different story. But from the start, the current Empress had only entered the palace after the previous Crown Princess had died. She had no particular connection to her predecessor.
.
Moreover, from the Empress’s perspective, the Emperor had never truly let go of the previous Crown Princess, leaving her as merely a consort rather than making her Empress. That alone would have made things awkward between her and Elicia, the daughter of the late Crown Princess.
“…Hmm, is there really no one else?”
“Someone else… There is my master, the one who taught me the sword…”
At least it seemed she wasn’t entirely without options. Yujin asked,
“Then would it be possible to ask that person for help?”
“…We lost contact after master went to the Demon Realm.”
“……”
The Demon Realm.
Yujin had heard of it before. He had only come across it in passing while reading about the labyrinth academy’s setting, but he distinctly remembered the description.
A place where the monsters left behind by ancient demons and the descendants of those demons gather… Quite literally a Demon Realm.
It was described as a hellish abyss where creatures similar to those found in the Labyrinth fought and slaughtered each other. They were monsters created by demons or those with demonic blood.
Most of the monsters living there had an overwhelming killing instinct and lacked intelligence, so they usually just killed each other in endless cycles. Occasionally, however, when their numbers grew too large, some would spill over the borders. Because of this, various factions, including the Pantheon, would periodically intervene to reduce their numbers.
In addition, a small number of demonkin, those conceived directly by demons through mortal hosts, possessed the blood of transcendents. Though rare, these beings were exceptionally intelligent and powerful and sometimes even launched invasions into the human world.
Of course, such incidents were historically rare. In the past thousand years, there had been no recorded case of the demonkin invading the human realm. The reason was simple. The Demon Realm was a land where even demonkin had to constantly fight for survival. Not only did the monsters behave like ravenous beasts, but even the demonkin considered each other enemies. They were too preoccupied with their own conflicts to unite against an external foe.
For the same reason, the creatures of the Demon Realm never formed factions. How could they? Even among themselves, monsters and demonkin regarded each other as enemies. Unless an absolute ruler emerged with overwhelming strength to unite them, an invasion of the human world was unlikely.
“Oh, but Master is probably not dead. After all, she is the Sword Saint… And more importantly, Professor, as you know, most of the saints and holy ones, including His Holiness the Pope, have joined this great subjugation of the Demon Realm. Master should be fine. Besides, in a place so packed with demonic power, it’s only natural that communication through mana crystal balls wouldn’t work.”
“…Is that so?”
That was the first time Yujin had ever heard such a thing. Then again, he was still a newcomer to the Labyrinth Academy. In fact, wasn’t it Yujin himself who had only learned upon arriving in this world that the imperial princess was being consumed by a demon?
The princess’s master was the Sword Saint, and on top of that, most of the saints and holy ones had embarked on a large-scale subjugation of the Demon Realm… That too was news to him.
“I mean no disrespect to those struggling in the Demon Realm, but… in a way, it might actually be fortunate. Because of the large-scale subjugation, most of the saints and holy ones are absent from the Pantheon. If they were all here while my issue remained unresolved… the Pantheon wouldn’t be as silent as it is now, with the moderates and radicals simply vying for power without any information leaking out. If a radical saint or holy one were present, they might have ignored all other matters and immediately revealed my current condition to the world, perhaps even trying to kill me.”
In truth, the main reason for the Pantheon’s current silence was the absence of the Pope and most of the saints and holy ones, causing them to put off dealing with Elicia’s situation. If not for the fact that one of the few remaining holy figures, the Saint of Purification, was a moderate, Elicia’s life could have been in immediate danger.
Yujin had occasionally wondered how the Pantheon could remain so quiet regarding Elicia’s predicament… but he hadn’t expected this to be the reason.
“…So, in other words, there’s no one available to help at the moment?”
“……”
This was becoming troublesome. Elicia didn’t have much time.
Wouldn’t it be better to rely on the First Princess, even if it means forcing the issue a little?
The First Princess had already returned to high society and was helping her husband, the duke, all to resolve her younger sister’s predicament.
If that was her motivation, then rather than navigating social circles or aiding the duke, wouldn’t it be far more effective for her to help Elicia directly?
Besides, it wasn’t as if Elicia needed to remain at the Academy any longer. Since Yujin was capable of traveling space freely, he could send Elicia to the First Princess Lianna, and then visit her after his lectures to personally oversee her treatment.
For now, the First Princess is likely too occupied with her current obligations, so in that case… I should give it a little time and begin in three days.
Yujin was in the midst of roughly forming a plan in his head when—
“…Professor.”
“…Hmm?”
“…If … if it’s you …”
Suddenly, Elicia blurted out those words.
When Yujin lifted his head and looked at her…
“…Wouldn’t that be…. okay…?”
With her face flushed red, she lowered her head but cautiously glanced up at Yujin.
[..…….]
“……”
Yujin shuddered as he felt Tiamat’s cold gaze on him.
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