Chapter 107
“Yes.”
Hizen, who nodded calmly, seemed to be sucked into the pitch-black darkness.
There was no despair, no regret, no sadness in his voice. He was only accepting reality. Even if it was really the end, there was no change in his expression.
Rather, Leasis seemed to be going crazy. How could he be such a frustrating man? She asked sarcastically.
“You’re going to die. Aren’t you scared?”
“You don’t have to take long.”
“…What?”
“Let’s finish this.”
It was very Hizen-like until the end. Hizen’s expression did not change even though she blinked several times. Even if the sky were to collapse, she felt like he would still be looking at her like he was doing now.
Leasis felt dumbfounded at the thought. She was so angry that she wanted to spit out swear words, so frustrated that she wanted to hit her chest, and her voice was hoarse with sadness.
In a whirlpool of emotions, Leasis clenched her teeth. She asked mournfully.
“What you wanted to say to me. Is that all?”
“Any other words… Is there anything else?”
The longer the silence, the more blurry her eyes became. Hot tears started to flow nonstop on Leasis’ cheeks.
He could hear her trembling breath and the sound of her tears dripping on the floor.
Hizen clenched his fists. He held back his desire to wipe her tears right away.
Every time she took a breath, pain spread all over her body. Hizen spoke in a cool voice.
“There is nothing else.”
Hizen said to himself as if he were determined.
“None. Nothing.”
“Why isn’t there anything… Why not?!”
Leasis shouted through her sore throat.
“Make some excuses! Say it was your father’s fault, that you are innocent, beg me!”
Hizen’s heart collapsed like a sand castle swept away by waves.
His wet blue eyes looked only at her. He took off his mask for the first time in decades.
A thick tear ran down his thin jawline. Leasis stared blankly and Hizen smiled sadly.
“I love you.”
Thud.
Her heart sank. Hizen became again like the boy whom Leasis used to love when she was a child. A weak-hearted boy who tried hard to smile despite the traces of beating on his whole body.
“Leasis. What comes to my mind now… All I can say is that I love you.”
But Hizen could not move. He had to put up with it. Now he had to give her the right to hate him and a chance to end everything. Leasis mumbled with a blank face after reading his mind.
“So… you’re leaving me behind? Cowardly… is this the gift you were talking about? You said it would make me happy!”
He could hear soldiers buzzing across the window. Hizen slowly raised his body and approached her. Then he grabbed her arm and went out of the library.
Her red eyes mixed with anticipation shone on Hizen. But Hizen took out a scroll of fire and threw it into his library.
Ah.
Before she could say anything, Hizen entered the library and closed the door. Bewildered, Leasis grabbed the doorknob, but she could not open it.
Leasis knocked on the door in a hurry.
“What are you doing? Open the door. Don’t play around and come out.”
“Open the door!”
There was a terrible smell of fire. Leasis screamed and lost her temper, pulling the doorknob. Maybe magic had been used, because she could not open the door with force alone.
Hizen seated across from her and slowly blinked his eyes. A hellish fire was reaching him through the burning bookshelves.
But the strange thing was that he could smile. He was relieved to hear her breathing and Blix’s voice from across the street.
[Hizen.]
Neren, who smiled brightly, seemed to beckon him in front of his eyes. Hizen frowned slightly at him.
“Why didn’t you stay. If I had been sick instead of you…”
‘Neren, you would have made Leasis happier than I did.’
Hizen mumbled bitterly and closed his eyes. The memories of the past flooded his mind. The clearest thing among them was Leasis.
She was at the beginning and at the end of his life, so he had no regret. With her, he had learned sweet happiness, felt overwhelming love, and could smile until the end.
His hands burning in the fire were hot. When he turned his head, he saw Leasis holding his hand and smiling brightly.
[Hizen.]
Her hands were rough but lovely. I want to kiss you right now.
I love you.
With a last confession, his vision turned black.
*
*
Flames were engulfing the mansion and black smoke was spreading in the sky. Elnos, who came to watch the fire, smiled pleasantly. The sight seemed to celebrate Leasis’ future with him.
“Where is Leasis anyway?’
Elnos left his servants and looked around alone. However, many soldiers had entered the mansion and Leasis was no where to be even.
Frowning, Elnos focused his entire body, but he could not feel any energy. He had drank Iddahak’s blood, so she would surely notice his presence.
Something must have gone wrong. Recognizing it late, Elnos ordered the fire to be extinguished. The servants and soldiers rushed to fetch water, and the escort wizards used cooling magic.
The strong flames never stopped. A low voice rang through Elnos’ ears in embarrassment.
“El. You’re wrong this time.”
Standing in front of Elnos, Blix slowly turned his head and stared at the mansion. The mansion, where everything had already been swallowed, was blazing and smoke was dominating the sky.
Blix looked sadly at the black ashes. The tragedy and history that plagued Leasis seemed to be flying away like ashes.
‘Ah.
Blix dropped his head at a tingling pain. From his arm to the tips of his fingers, his skin was black and looked like it was rotting.
Blix’s eyes, which were smiling bitterly, became serious. For the first time, he decided to be brave for someone.
Blix strode forward. Then he pulled Elnos’ arm, who was helping extinguish the fire.
“What are you doing?”
“El.”
The eyes of the two brothers intertwined. Blix looked at him and spoke calmly.
“Shall we make a bet?”
“If you’re going to play a little joke…”
“It’s a bet on Leasis and Hizen.”
“What?”
“I think she’ll choose Hizen even after his death.”
Conviction. The intense emotion in his green eye was firm conviction. Elnos bite his lips, amazed at the appearance of Blix he was seeing for the first time.
“El. What do you think?”
It was needless to say. No matter how weak Leasis was, she could not leave alone the enemy who had killed her father.
As evidence, Leasis had led the soldiers to set fire to the mansion.
Elnos spoke in a cold voice.
*
*
*
Standing in front of the warm fireplace, Owen yawned. There was a rocking chair for her in front of it, and there were cute baby shoes and underwear on the nearby table.
All of them were gifts from members of the Imperial Elite Knights. Owen sat in the rocking chair with a happy face. The soft cushioned chair worked so well that she quickly became sleepy.
Owen’s recent revelation of her early pregnancy had passed in a blink of an eye. First, she had informed Jason, the father of the child, and he had proposed to her.
After that, Owen surprised Max, the knights, Kasha, etc. and they all cheered and blessed her.
Jason’s parents liked the news the most. Jason’s warm parents had given her a big wedding and brought her into their house.
Some people pointed out that she was only a commoner working as a maid. Of course, such people were lightly treated by Jason.
Owen’s face was full of happiness. For the first time in her life, she could enjoy peaceful times without worrying about money. The child’s expenses were supported by the Sebnert family, and she no longer worked as a maid.
The only disappointing thing was that Leasis was not there. Owen took out three books that Jason had prepared in advance with a bitter feeling.
Neren D. Armada. There were all written by the same author. The luxurious cover of the book tempted her to read it quickly.
I don’t usually enjoy books, but let’s read a bit. Owen rubbed her hands and began to flip the pages.
[Commander-nim, I’ll be the bait.]
[What a fool! Do you want to die?]
[I would be glad if I could save people’s lives with mine.]
She smiled slightly at the figure of the rising protagonist. The main character of the book was more righteous than anyone else. He was strong against the strong, protected the weak, and could not bear injustice.
Someone kept telling him that he was foolish, but he did not feel discouraged. He was sure of what was right and wrong, and even if he suffered in the process, he never stopped.
His beautiful appearance and kind heart were a bonus. Anyone who saw him could find again the dream that they had forgotten when they were young. Being a pure, strong, just knight.
Owen fell in love with the book without knowing that Jason was approaching after work. Jason smiled embarrassingly as he sneaked up to see if he was disturbing his wife.
Owen’s brown eyes were full of tears. Jason asked, hugging Owen’s little shoulders.
“Why are you crying?”
“Jason… I miss Unnie.”
Jason wiped away Owen’s tears and smiled sadly. Fortunately, she did not have much morning sickness or other symptoms.
But her heart ached. Owen kept missing Leasis. Her heart ached when she remembered her suffering in the mansion swallowed by the fire.
When she had first learned the truth about the two families, she could not believe it. It was so cruel that she wanted to deny it.
It was not just Owen, the same was true as well for the others. If Max had not told them the truth, they would have thought it was a joke.
But it was more tragic because it was true. Jason sighed, hugging Owen.
Two people had disappeared and many things had changed. Because the Commander’s position could not be left vacant, Max, the Vice Commander, was promoted to Commander, and Jason was appointed Vice Commander. It was the fair result of a vote by the military officials and the knights.
Jason whispered as he put his cheek against Owen’s forehead.
“Don’t worry too much. We haven’t found the bodies yet.”
As Jason said, there were no bodies found at the scene of the fire. The neighborhood had been searched thoroughly, but nothing could be found.
It was really unbelievable. It was as if the two had not existed in this world. Only these three books were left behind.
Owen sighed and finished the book. Jason also kissed her cheek and went into the room to change.
Then, a small piece of paper fell off. Owen hurriedly reached out and picked up the paper.
[Congratulations.[11]
The handwriting was too neat to be Jason’s. Owen looked at this familiar handwriting for some reason and opened her mouth slightly.
“Jason, where did you buy these books?”
Jason, who changed into light clothes in the bedroom, said with a smile.
“I didn’t buy them. Setchen gave them to me as a gift.”
“Setchen?”
No matter how close she and Setchen were, they did not speak informally to each other. And Setchen’s handwritting was not good either.
‘No way…
Owen looked blankly at the paper and got up. Surprised, Jason called her from behind, but she did not stop.
Owen headed to Liduré, where Setchen was staying. He had been recently injured in a mission and was resting in Liduré.
Setchen’s height had already gone beyond Owen’s and was similar to Leasis’. Setchen, who was guarding the counter while reading a book, looked up.
He saw Owen opening the store door with the sound of the bell. Setchen raised himself and waved leisurely.
“You’re here?”
“Setchen! The books… How did you get the books?”
“The books?”
“Yes. The series about Count Dratius-nim and Leasis Unnie…”
Setchen scratched his head and was lost in thought. In fact, the books had been given to Jason by Blix, not by himself.
Setchen had said that it was just a gift. Then Owen took a paper out and put it on the counter.
Tack.
“This is Leasis Unnie’s handwriting!”
“Huh?”
When he lowered his eyes, he could really see Leasis’ handwriting as Owen said. She had been in charge of the inventory and household chores at Liduré, so he could recognize her handwriting at a glance.
Setchen picked up the paper and left the store, saying he would borrow it for a moment. He bumped into Jason on his way out, but he could not stop.
“Blix Hyung!”
Setchen entered the Imperial Palace and went to the abandoned palace where Blix was hiding. Then Blix, who was dozing on the ground, woke up and stretched himself.
“Did you bring some bread? I don’t need it today.”
Blix yawned and pointed at a nearby serving cart. Piled up like a mountain, bread and chocolate sauce were all over it.
“No. What’s this!”
Setchen pushed the paper in front of Blix’s nose, as he rubbed his eyes. Then Blix made a strange smile.
Setchen was about to ask again, but stopped. Blix’s hand was strangely rotten.
“Hyung. Why is your hand…”
“It’s because I don’t have enough sleep.”
Blix looked around and lied down on the floor. It was difficult to be disturbed twice, even if it was by welcomed guests.
“Hyung, don’t pretend to sleep and get up! Come on!”
TL notes
[1] Written in informal speech.