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“And you? Didn’t you come here looking for something?”
“Oh, come to think of it…”
At Ash’s question, Elaine blinked as if she’d just remembered. She’d seen such an unexpected sight, and was in such a precarious situation with Ash, that she’d forgotten her purpose for coming to the warehouse.
Immediately after, Elaine hurriedly found the sword belt, and it didn’t take long for her to retrieve it.
Fortunately, her mistake went unnoticed.
* * *
Late at night, the sound of the wind rustling across the deserted training grounds could be heard clearly. The pale moonlight reflected off the blade of the red sword as it traced its path.
Ash swung, and swung, and swung.
He swung it again and again to clear his head of the thoughts that filled it.
Elaine’s face in the dark, narrow aisle of the warehouse. He couldn’t get that moment out of his head.
She would never know what he was thinking at that time. She probably also didn’t know that he still hadn’t gotten over her. That he hadn’t gotten his act together.
He couldn’t help but laugh at himself, at the ridiculousness of how he’d said that their current relationship was enough, that he was ready to let go.
Creak.
The solid wooden doll snapped in half and clattered to the floor. The neatly severed sections were clean and unblemished.
If only emotions could be so easily organized.
But no matter how hard he tried, it’s still difficult.
‘No. No, you can’t.’
‘You can’t like me.’
He could still picture that moment clearly, her face drained of blood, her voice trembling with tears.
The desperation in her eyes as she spoke those words.
And how she seemed terrified.
That’s why. That’s why he said he’d give up, even though he knew it was impossible.
Because he really felt like if he didn’t say that, she’d run away from him.
The truth was, there were many moments when he’d wanted to embrace her and shower her with affection. When she smiled sweetly at him again, when she called out to him in her clear voice, or even just when she looked at him.
When he saw her crying on his behalf, when he was exhausted after learning the truth, he wanted to hug her and kiss her as hard as he could.
If she knew he was still like this, would she really run away?
“Ugh…”
Ash lowered his sword. He took a deep breath and looked up at the dark sky.
“Sir, there you are.”
Just then, footsteps approached.
“Lowell.”
“Why were you practicing this late at night?”
He slowly turned his gaze and looked at his assistant.
“I had something on my mind. What is it?”
Then he noticed something in his hand as Lowell stepped closer.
“It’s a message for you.”
The letter, tightly sealed with wax, came from the Marquis of Derk.
His plan to gather support was proceeding without a hitch. As a result of Marquis Derk’s cooperation, they’d succeeded in recruiting nobles from the former crown prince’s faction, and the preparations necessary for an all-out war with the king were also in the final stages.
The Marquis’s letter contained information that, as Ash had previously instructed, a final meeting was to be held with the heads of the families who would be participating in the plan.
On this day, they were planning to draft a statement accusing the king of his evil deeds and announce it to the world. They’d have to wait and see what happened next, but he’d prepared as much as possible.
After reading the letter, Ash burned it with a torch in the training hall.
“I suppose it won’t be long now.”
“Yes.”
Lovell, staring at the ashes, spoke up.
“… By the way, don’t you think it’s a bit strange?”
“What do you mean?”
“The king. He seems a little too quiet, don’t you think?”
Now that Ash knew the king’s secret, they thought he’d definitely use an assassin or something else to cover up the truth… So, they strengthened their guard and monitored his movements even more than before, but unexpectedly, there was nothing out of the ordinary.
“It’s bothering me too.”
Ash narrowed his eyes.
‘What on earth is he up to?’
He couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy by the silence. The king wasn’t known for being docile.
“Even so, we must remain vigilant and aware of our surroundings. Make sure the gates and walls are well guarded.”
“Yes.”
He gave Lowell a few instructions, then turned and strode toward the manor.
The dark moonlight cast shadows in his wake.
* * *
A few days later, the day of the scheduled final discussion arrived.
The meeting was to take place in the Marquis of Derk’s secret compound outside Killiard.
“Sir, you must return safely.”
Lowell spoke to Ash with a determined expression as he was preparing. Then Hilaire, who was next to him, lightly shook her head.
“One would think he were going to war if they saw you.”
“I fear we may soon be.”
Lowell constantly urged them to be on guard at all times, as they never knew when the king might act.
“Sir, we’re ready to depart.”
Just then, there was a knock on the door and Elaine entered. Ash, who’d been listening to Lowell speak absently, turned his head immediately.
“Ah, yes. Good work.”
As Elaine entered, Lowell and Hilaire left the room, saying they’d go downstairs first, and the room was suddenly quiet. Elaine approached Ash as he was putting on his robe.
It wasn’t a complicated outfit since they’d be traveling on horseback, but he was dressed appropriately formal for the occasion. Elaine examined him carefully, out of habit.
“Oh, there’s a wrinkle here.”
She reached down and smoothed out the hem of his vest, noticing that it was slightly creased.
She didn’t notice that he flinched slightly, distracted by the sword at his waist.
The dark sword matched his dark, reddish vest, and she muttered to herself.
“Come to think of it… You always use this sword.”
There were many other nice swords hanging on the wall of his office, but Elaine had never seen him use any of them.
The sword she’d gifted to him, or more precisely, the sword she’d intended to give as a gift but was unable to give it to him directly.
Was it because something important was coming up? It was a bit unexpected but felt refreshing.
“Ah, you mean this sword?”
“Yes… I heard that it’s very precious to you…”
She’d heard that once before. On her first day as Ash’s escort, when she accidentally touched his sword, Lowell had warned Elaine.
“…Did you hear that from Lowell?”
Her words gave him pause. The memory of his callous treatment of her flashed through his mind, and he wanted to curse at his past self, but it was too late.
Anyway, the only person who would’ve said such a thing was Lowell. Though he couldn’t recall exactly what he’d said that day, he’d definitely acted like it was special. It seemed that way, so there was nothing else to say.
“It’s one of the few things I possess …… that means something.”
He looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded slowly. She asked cautiously.
“If it’s meaningful… did you get it from someone as a gift?”
She’d been meaning to ask that question for some time.
How did this sword come to be in Ash’s possession? However, she hadn’t asked for fear that he wouldn’t like it and that she’d arouse his suspicions by broaching the subject, but now, for some reason, she felt like it was okay to ask.
He answered kindly.
“I got it from a blacksmith. A very famous one.”
The blacksmith was probably Grandpa John. He was also close to Bella and knew the relationship between Elaine and Bella very well.
While she was lost in thought, he continued.
“But it was someone else who really tried to gift me this sword.”
He looked down at the dark red scabbard.
He’d never told anyone this before, but for some reason the words kept spilling out.
“She was part of my mother’s family. He said that even though we weren’t related by blood, she was like family to me as well as my mother. Although I don’t remember her…”
One by one, Ash rattled off the things he knew about her. Strong, sweet, and always laughing.
“Elaine.”
“…”
“That was her name.”
Ash locked eyes with Elaine. For a moment, her eyes wavered.
“Same as you. It’s not just the names that are the same. Bright silver hair, like yours, and light green eyes. Moreover, they say she was a very outstanding master.”
“…”
“When I first saw you, I actually thought you looked a lot like her. It’s funny, I’ve never even seen her face. But your age doesn’t match.”
He burst out laughing, as if it was absurd to even think that. But Elaine couldn’t smile. She stared intently at Ash.
‘Ash… knew about me?’
When she thought about it, it was entirely possible. If John had delivered the sword to him in person, he could’ve told him the name of the woman who’d commissioned it. But she hadn’t expected him to know her appearance or any of her other features. He hadn’t given any hint of it.
When she remained silent, Ash felt like he’d missed something. It occurred to him that she might’ve found it unpleasant to hear that she resembled someone else. He quickly added.
“There was a time when I thought you looked alike, but it was only for a moment…”
“What does that person mean to you?”
The question popped out impulsively. Elaine flinched and covered her mouth after blurting it out.
Her heart was pounding with nervousness at the fact that he knew of her and had even met her before. Her fingertips stiffened as she imagined that if she’d made a mistake, he might’ve found out who she was.
But at the same time, she had another thought.
If he knew it was ‘Elaine’ who commissioned the sword for him, and if he treasured it so much that he didn’t want anyone else to touch it, what would the person who gifted it mean to him?
“She’s… Well, I don’t actually remember ever seeing her face, but I thought I’d like to meet her at least once.”
“…Is that still the case?”
“No, now I think it’s useless to attach meaning to the past. Anyway… That person must’ve passed away in Seveka 20 years ago.”
No. She didn’t. She wanted to tell him that the person who gifted him the sword was her, alive and in front of him.
If he doesn’t attach meaning to her because he thought she’d left the world, what would happen if he could see her again, alive and well?
Would he rejoice? Would he show a face other than hatred when the person he remembered only by a hilt of a sword appeared in front of him
If so, wouldn’t it be okay to say that she…
A glimmer of hope rose above the fear that always chased her. Maybe the reason she was so shaken by that feeble hope was because she’d already reached her limit. Whatever that means. Things that she couldn’t say before began to spill out.
“…Sorry, actually…”
It was that moment.
“Gahhhhh!”
An ear-splitting scream echoed from somewhere, swallowing up her muffled voice.
Elaine closed her mouth in shock. The things that had risen to the tip of her tongue immediately sank back down.
Their gazes locked, they immediately moved in the direction of the commotion. As they descended to the ground floor, Lowell came running through the front door, shouting.
“Your Grace! We’re in big trouble! Outside…!”
As he stepped out into the mansion’s large yard, he took in his surroundings at a glance.
Murmurs filled the room. Employees were collapsing or turning pale. And…
“Ah, over there…!”
Someone pointed to a spot with a pale face.
In the distance, past the city wall, to the west of Killiard. The great mountain appeared, like a crouching beast above them.
The monsters nest, home to numerous, vicious monsters.
Wildfires rarely occur naturally in monster nests.
Kennetrisa, a plant-type monster with resistance to fire, lived in a colony, so even if a fire started from lightning or accidental elements, it wouldn’t spread and died out quickly. Historically, there were almost no records of large fires breaking out in nests.
But what they saw in front of them was a roaring fire that engulfed the entire mountain. Something was crawling out of the black smoke that was rising from the flames.
A swarm of dozens, no, hundreds of pitch-black monsters were pouring out, like bees.
Kiaaaaa-
The monsters poured down toward Killiard, like a flood.
With a roar that seemed to announce the end was near.
