Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 345 Do you want to find true happiness?

"Everything I remember is here. Although seven hundred years have passed and many scenes are no longer familiar, I can still recall what they looked like in the past."

Yieta leaned her head against the wooden door. Her slightly melancholy and sad eyes seemed to be looking at Saint Shallia and the sky in the distance. Her tone was like answering Saint Shallia's question, but also like talking to herself. The six holy white wings behind her waist were slightly bent, wrapping around her slender waist and pale arms. The ends of the feathers were still stained with a little gray shadow, like dirt on white paper that could not be removed. "I remember three days ago, I rode on the back of a giant whale, flew out of the valley, flew into the sky, and finally returned to the outside world. The first thing I saw was the ruins of the old village."

"Everything in the village was destroyed, except for the windmills. Those windmills did not exist originally, or rather, they did not need to exist, because I could do everything that everyone wanted to do with the windmills, and even do it better. At that time, I had not yet realized the harm of wantonly using this power. I just wanted to do something for everyone and create a better life for the only place I had in the world."

"But everyone, including the village chief, rejected me. He also told me that only by restraining greed, learning to be content, and working hard with one's own hands can one achieve true happiness. I have already completed the most difficult step for them, so the next thing is for them to do."

"So, just as the village chief said, everyone started to open up their homes with their own efforts. They built windmills one after another, using the power of the wind to grind grains and cut wood; they made farm tools and reclaimed barren land; they broke the frozen soil and guided distant rivers... Gradually, Avignon Village became a different place, and people had happy smiles on their faces. At that time, I also followed them to plow the fields, sow seeds, irrigate, and then harvest. I personally experienced the happiness that the village chief said, and I thought I would never forget it in my life."

"But now that I think about it, it was probably because I forgot that sentence and didn't learn to be content that I suffered later. When people are not happy, they will crave happiness. When people are happy, they crave more happiness. Such greed is a sign of disaster, not to mention that I was once a cursed person. I used my power without concealment and restraint, without considering the consequences of doing so. The result was the conspiracy of the royal family and the sect, and David's betrayal..."

This angel, whose heart is as pure as crystal, still believes that the betrayal of David, the shepherd whom he regarded as a close relative, was partly due to himself.

She was silent for a moment, and then continued, "The seven hundred years of locking myself in the windmill tower are now an extremely empty memory for me. In the first hundred years, I often wondered if David had not betrayed the village, if I had discovered something was wrong with him earlier, if I had not shown my strength and had not blown away the mountain range... Then, would I still be able to live a carefree life like an ordinary country girl in a small village that was poor but not fighting? I often thought about this, and sometimes I would regret and feel guilty to the point of going crazy, and I would be suffocated and unable to sleep at night. But one day, I suddenly realized that this assumption was meaningless, so I stopped thinking about it. Do you know why?"

she asked Saint Shaliya.

"The village chief, Uncle Jack, Aunt Fasu, Grandma Maria, Little Elaine... and David, and many more people, are all irreplaceable relatives to me. They take care of me so much, so I like them so much. How can I feel at ease watching my family endure a desolate and poor life when I have the power? The village chief said that happiness requires contentment, but if you don't become happy first, the so-called contentment is just deceiving yourself, right?"

She raised her head and looked at the azure sky. The shadows in her eyes seemed to be dissipating bit by bit, becoming as transparent and pure as the sky. "So I think, if I were given another chance, I would do it even if I knew the consequences. If what I would do in the past is still the same as what I would do now, then there is no point in thinking about what if, is it not?"

She asked, and Saint Shallia thought about it seriously again. This time, instead of shaking her head, she nodded gently: "Yes."

If Iyetta had spent more time with Saint Shalia, she would have known that this was her catchphrase, but she didn't know, so she just smiled and replied, "Because I like them very much."

The shepherdess had been listening to these words quietly, like a loyal listener. Even when she first heard Yieta say that she wanted to stay here, she did not show the slightest disappointment. At this time, facing this question, she thought about it seriously, then shook her head and showed an apologetic expression: "I'm sorry, I don't know."

The smile on Yieta's face deepened, and she no longer looked so gloomy, but rather a bit cute. She said, "So, when the whale flew over Avion, I saw all the windmills in the city turning, and I was actually very moved. Because they actually had no need and no reason to do so. I was helping their ancestors seven hundred years ago, and it has nothing to do with the people seven hundred years later, right? They have never received any favors or sustenance from me, but despite this, they still like the wind and me. So, I also want to like them, just like I like those people who brought me happiness seven hundred years ago."

"Every minute and every second of these three days, whenever I thought about leaving them, I felt very uncomfortable, as if my heart was about to break." The girl gently covered her heart, smiling weakly but firmly: "I heard that the wind will not leave its hometown, maybe it is the same for me?"

When Saint Charia heard this, she finally revealed her undisguised disappointment. But she did not force it, nor did she even ask Ieta to reconsider it, because an elder sister should be tolerant of her younger sister. Although it was just an unqualified elder sister and a younger sister who had forgotten the past, this special relationship was destined after the birth of the world and would continue forever. So she quickly put away her lost emotions and said to the girl in front of her: "If this is your decision, I will be happy for you, Ieta. And..."

She thought of what happened a few days ago, and Professor David's crazy greed and desire for power. She knew there was no shortage of such people in the world, so she added, "Be careful."

After saying this, he breathed a sigh of relief as if he had accomplished some difficult task.

She thought that everyone might be disappointed by this news, like Alice, Metien, and Ovira, because they were all looking forward to traveling with Yieta next time. And Lingge, for him who wanted to peel off the golden apple, every young queen was a vital helper, but Yieta's answer made all the previous efforts in vain, and he had to start from the beginning and look for the next young queen.

In particular, the young man had been in a bad mood these days, and he might be even angrier after hearing the news. Although given his personality, he would not vent his anger on Yieta, but not everyone could accept a fruitless outcome.

Saint Xia Liya was thinking about how to comfort him and them, but she didn't think about the fact that she was also disappointed. Perhaps she had long been accustomed to comforting others and never considered her own feelings.

but.

"But," Yieta said, blinking her eyes, "I haven't finished yet, Miss Saint Charia."

The shepherdess tilted her head when she heard this.

Under her puzzled gaze, the white-haired angel folded his hands on his chest and slowly spoke out his inner thoughts, all his true thoughts: "I really still want to stay here, to accompany this familiar land and those familiar memories, and once again... bring happiness to those people I like and who also like me."

"But, I can't do this right now, right? Not only because of the curse, but also because I'm still very immature. I've never understood what the village chief said, and I don't know what the definition of happiness and contentment is for humans. If I don't know what happiness is, how can I help others get it? So, I want to follow you on this journey, to the Holy Temple of Heaven where I was born, to find the mother who created us, to ask Him to lift the curse on me, and to ask Him, what is true happiness in this world?"

"When I get the answer, I think I will come back here and never leave again."

The girl's eyes seemed to be sparkling. "In the past, the royal family and the people of the Heavenly Order feared my power and called me an angel. However, such fear will only lead to betrayal and destruction. So, I don't want to be that kind of angel anymore. I don't want everyone to remember me only because of this powerful power. I don't want everyone to treat me as someone who is unapproachable. I want to be an angel who can bring happiness to everyone!"

She looked at Saint Shallia and curved her eyebrows: "That's it."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)