Free Web NovelThe faint smile hanging at the corner of Ren’s lips slowly disappeared.
His eyes and nose were perfectly hidden, but the hood did not completely cover the lower half of his face. The slender line of his jaw exposed beneath the hood, the tall nose faintly visible, his pale skin, and his attractively shaped lips dried rough all drew attention. Forgetting her mistress’s warning to absolutely never ask a guest anything, the maid cautiously opened her mouth. There was a trace of expectation that perhaps, since he seemed like a kind guest, he might listen to her words.
“Um, then why don’t you take off your hood?”
“You!”
The servant was startled and hurriedly tried to stop the maid. The maid smiled brightly and dragged out her words.
“Whyy, I’m curious.”
Just as Ren touched his hood at the maid’s urging, the door opened and the knight leaned half his body inside.
“Lady Lucia. There is something I need to tell you. May I come in?”
“Ah, ahh. Then we’ll be leaving now!”
When the servant jabbed the maid in the back, she jumped in surprise and quickly stepped aside. The servant and maid left, and the knight fully stepped into the room.
Click. The door shut, and after about ten seconds passed, the knight slowly approached Ren.
“Before departing, there was something you promised Lord Giselle. Do you remember it?”
His tone was so businesslike it sounded cold.
“I remember. Just now... I made a mistake.”
Before leaving the royal palace, Ren had met privately with Giselle several more times. During those few brief meetings, nearly the same conversation had been repeated. Most of those conversations had been about restrictions.
“As though some kind of magic had been cast over the royal palace.”
At the flat voice telling him it would be best to do as instructed if he wanted to leave without being discovered, Ren had nodded.
That was also why he needed to stay several nights in the capital. Moving between several safe houses, Ren planned to remain in the capital for about a week. Once the days had been filled, he intended to immediately cross into another kingdom.
Crossing over the sea Ren had dreamed of. If luck favored him, perhaps he might even see the sandy desert.
“The only people Lady Lucia may remove her hood in front of are those personally assigned by Lord Giselle. Even then, I would not recommend it.”
“I understand. I remember well.”
Ren nodded repeatedly. The name Giselle had given him as an alias sounded unbearably awkward. Even though the knight knew that, he still called Ren Lucia. Probably because he wanted Ren to grow accustomed to the name. Ren understood that, but the dry, unfamiliar name scraping against his ears kept reminding him of the situation he was in.
It felt like proof that there was no longer anyone left who would warmly call out, Ren—
“But I don’t regret it.”
That was only natural. Ren needed time alone to sort everything out. There were many things he had left behind because he was unable to carry them with him, but Ren thought that was for the best.
What use was carrying many burdens in a life already nearing its end?
Instead, Ren had packed a small notebook and a quill pen. Those too had been prepared by Giselle.
He had struggled to bring along the things gifted to him, but he felt no attachment toward the things left behind. If there was one thing he regretted, it was only the memories slowly fading away.
From the day he left the royal palace, Ren had decided to write a diary. A diary beginning from the moment he first left the village. Perhaps it ought to be called a memoir instead. Ren did not want to easily forget the people who had treated him warmly, and he wanted to preserve forever the precious emotions he had felt. Thinking about it that way, there was nothing more suitable than a diary. Ren was clumsy, but he did know how to read and write.
“Though my brother probably doesn’t even know when I learned.”
That too was natural. His brother had been busy as a Hero, and personal time was more precious than gold to a Hero. Where his brother spent his money, how much he spent, why he handed out the things inside the shack to the villagers so freely. Ren still did not understand it, but he decided not to think about those old memories anymore.
Because before life and death, such things were nothing more than lingering attachments.
What use were resentment and hatred, regret and sorrow?
Ren wanted to leave with dignity.
To Shawn and Duke Gannion, Ren had said this before.
That the people left behind would be all right. That he hoped they too would be all right.
And that he himself, and the people who had stayed beside him, would somehow also be all right...
“Then please eat. I will remain outside the door.”
Ren knew the knight would not listen no matter what he said. But he still felt bothered by it. He grabbed the knight’s hand as the man was leaving and pressed one of the desserts laid out on the table into it.
It was a macaron.
Pretending not to notice, Ren returned to his seat and picked up his utensils, while the knight left without returning it. Ren did not hear his footsteps moving farther away. Just as he had said, he was likely standing guard outside Ren’s door.
Sleep in an unfamiliar place was more comfortable than expected.
How could this place, where neither the people nor the surroundings held a single thing familiar to Ren, feel so comfortable?
Ren opened his eyes at dawn.
An unfamiliar patterned ceiling and a small chandelier looked down at him. Ren slowly dragged himself upright and walked toward the window.
There were three long windows. Ren approached the middle one, drew back the curtain, and opened the shut window wide.
Far away, dawn was beginning to break.
The world submerged in blue made it difficult to tell whether it was dawn or evening. But the quiet, cold air and the absence of human voices softly revealed that it was dawn.
He had seen a blue light like this before. Right before leaving the village with Temar. He remembered tumbling down the road in a hurry to receive medicine from the old apothecary in preparation for the long journey.
How had he felt back then? He thought he had been very happy.
And now? Now his heart did not surge as wildly as it had back then. Of course not. He was preparing to leave his brother and disappear far away forever on his own.
But his heart felt extremely peaceful.
“Cough. Cough, cough...... Khk! Cough!”
Ren covered his mouth as his shoulders shook violently. Even though he had not said to come in, the door opened and the knight entered. Skillfully searching through Ren’s belongings, he immediately pushed a pill into Ren’s mouth. The knight opened a medicine bottle and poured liquid down his throat, and his breathing gradually settled. Ren looked at the knight with trembling eyes.
“How did you....”
The series of actions had been too natural. Without panicking even once, he had immediately prepared the medicine Ren needed.
“Lord Giselle instructed me.”
“Ah.”
Ren nodded.
I see. That person truly knows everything.
Perhaps the reason he let me leave was because he knew I did not have long left to live.
Was it because he thought I would become a burden on my brother’s heart? ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
Because the heart of a Hero could not be allowed to waver. Though his brother had originally never wavered. ƒreewebɳovel.com
Still, lately, he definitely had been strange.
After returning from the land of Media, he had become more similar to how he used to be before, but he still could not completely fool Ren. Temar was anxious about something, though Ren did not know what. And... his memories did not seem entirely intact.
Because after returning, he never once brought up the thing he had wanted so desperately to say before leaving.
Ren only realized how strange that was after leaving the royal palace himself.
War must truly be that difficult. Ren immediately understood, and at the same time thought it was fortunate. Though he still did not know what Giselle’s true intentions were.
But now that he had already left like this, didn’t none of it matter anymore?
“If you’ve calmed down, I will move you to the bed.”
“No.”
Ah, he was still beside me.
Only then did Ren realize the knight was supporting his body.
“I want to look at the scenery a little longer.”
Ren’s voice trembled terribly. Yet both of them remained calm. The knight did not make a fuss over him, and Ren was grateful for that. Was this also one of Giselle’s instructions? Or simply the knight’s personality? Did either possibility even matter?
“Then just a moment.”
The knight rested Ren’s arms against the windowsill so he could lean there, then brought over a tall chair and a blanket. Carefully lifting Ren, the knight sat him down in the chair and meticulously wrapped the blanket around him.
Just as the knight was about to leave the room after giving a brief bow, Ren called out to him.
“Sir Knight.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
“Yes.”
The knight, whom Ren had expected to refuse his thanks like before, instead gave a small bow and left.
Once again, only Ren remained inside the room.
The quiet energy of dawn drifted through the open window and filled the room. Looking at the picturesque scenery, the lakeshore stretching far away, and the luxurious houses lined up across from it, Ren thought:
Ah, it would have been nice if I could have lived somewhere like this together with my brother.
And he realized that no matter what, he still ended up thinking of Temar.
His mouth felt rough as though filled with sand, and his chest felt heavy and suffocating, like a weight had been placed on it. Yet even so, it was not an unpleasant realization.
Because despite everything, Ren still thought that being here alone now was peaceful.
