RPWS Chapter 105

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He said he didn’t hate her. Said he didn’t resent her. Elaine looked at him in disbelief.

There was no anger, no contempt in his eyes as they gazed back at her.

She didn’t dare expect it.

She couldn’t imagine a future where he forgave her.

What was she so afraid of? Didn’t even Espel, someone else she thought would hate her, forgive her as well?

But Ash, he was different. He’d lost so much as a result of Elaine surviving in Bella’s place.

And yet, how?

Tears welled up in the corners of her still damp eyes. Elaine asked, her voice tinged with tears.

“Really… You don’t hate me?”

“I don’t.”

“How? I, I stole Bella’s heart. Inside me… Even though her heart is beating in me, you still don’t hate me?”

“Of course not.”

Ash shook his head again.

It was Elaine who’d saved his mother from a truly terrible curse. And now she’d saved his life, too. Why did she continue to be so hard on herself.

“Elaine, it was my mother’s choice to give you her heart.”

Ash looked into Elaine’s wavering eyes.

“So don’t beat yourself up anymore. I’m sure my mother wouldn’t want that either.”

“…Is that true?”

Elaine asked with trembling lips. Ash thought he already knew the answer to his next question. He smiled wryly.

“Did my mother regret giving you life?”

‘I was happy to have you, Lane.’

‘I won’t regret this choice.’

In her last moments, she remembered Bella’s face, stained with tears, but smiling beautifully. Even as she gave up her life and crumbled, her face didn’t show any trace of resentment.

Purple eyes that resembled hers were looking at Elaine, unwavering.

“Ah…”

Hot tears welled up. Elaine lowered her head and her thin shoulders trembled. Ash gently caressed her cheek and whispered.

“I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you sooner.”

Elaine buried her face in his arms. He pulled her close.

His hand stroked her back, steady as if he were caressing a wound. His warmth seemed to tell her that everything was okay now.

Then, a drop of rain fell from the sky, then two, then three…….

Whoosh!

Soon, it was downpouring.

As if to cool the remaining heat and wash away the ashes scattered everywhere.

Instead of running from the downpour, they stayed still in the rain embracing each other.

Until their torn and festering emotional wounds were washed away with the rain.

* * *

The forest was silent. The rain had stopped, and the sky was clear. The air flowing through the clearing had cooled slightly, and the damp ground smelled of rain.

“It must have been a shower.”

Ash muttered briefly while looking at the sky, then lowered his head.

The rain had stopped, and so had Elaine’s tears, which had been flowing continuously.

“Have you calmed down?”

“Yeah…”

Elaine gave a small nod. She blinked, and the water droplets hanging from her wet lashes slid off.

“We’re both… soaking wet.”

Elaine crinkled the corners of her eyes together and looked back and forth between herself and him. He brushed a lock of hair away from her cheek and tucked it behind her ear.

“Come on. No one will ever know you cried now.”

Her face was wet, from both her tears and the rain. His touch was gentle, a slow sweep across her slightly reddened eyes.

He hadn’t yet lowered his arm that was wrapped around her. His gaze, so close and steady, tickled her. Elaine backed away from him slightly.

“Well, let’s go.”

“Now that I think about it, it seems like your style of speaking has become a bit shorter?”

“Oh, that’s…”

Ash tilted his head. Elaine was a little embarrassed and pursed her lips.

She’d used honorifics when she was an escort knight and he was her lord, but now that she no longer had to hide her identity, she’d unwittingly reverted to her old, comfortable way of speaking.

Of course, it was probably awkward for Ash. Since he rarely heard someone speak informally to him, would he feel uncomfortable?

“It’s nice hearing you speak comfortably.”

Contrary to her expectations, he laughed lightly.

“Is that the way you used to talk?”

“Yes.”

She nodded. Ash stared down at her.

“There’s a lot I don’t know about you yet, so I don’t know what to ask you first.”

“That’s okay. Ask me anything you want.”

There was still so much she hadn’t told him about. There were things she wanted to ask him, things she wanted to tell him.

“I’m not going to hide anything from you anymore.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I promise.”

She didn’t want to deceive him any more than she already had, so she promised herself and him.

“Then can I ask you a question?”

Ash immediately asked.

“Yeah, anything.”

Hearing her answer, Ash locked eyes with her for a moment, then opened and closed his lips as if choosing his words.

Then, in a whisper, he asked.

“Before, when you said I couldn’t like you, was it because of who you are?”

Elaine’s face, ready to answer anything, froze.

The question was sudden and unexpected. He was reflected in her trembling eyes. His eyes were deep as he stared at her.

“Suddenly… Why…”

“I actually couldn’t keep the promise I made to you back then.”

She barely opened her mouth to speak, and he answered softly.

He’d promised her that he would be satisfied with their current relationship. He’d promised her that he’d be happy with the way things were, that he’d never bring it up again if she didn’t want him to.

Now, he realized she was the Elaine of his past, the one he’d finally reconnected with after so many years. Maybe this question would shake their relationship again.

“It’s hard to give you up.”

Nevertheless, he said it anyway. If the reason why Elaine rejected him with such a pale face was because of her unspoken secret and guilt…

How did she feel when she looked at him, without all her secrets weighing down on her. He wanted to hear the answer once again, properly.

Elaine stared blankly at the man who said he couldn’t give up on her.

His confession was spoken from the depths of his emotions, straight from his heart.

Her heart was beating fast. Just like when she first heard the confession, heat spread to every corner of her body.

“Even though you know… who I am?”

“It doesn’t matter who you were. No, on the contrary, now that I’ve found out, it’s become more difficult to give up.”

His sincerity was evident in every word and every glance.

She thought he’d already given up his feelings for her. Aside from that, even though he knew Bella’s heart was beating inside her, he still liked her.

Strong emotions welled up inside her.

Why did he keep giving her things she never dared to ask for, things she never expected, as if it were natural?

‘…What did I expect?’

In that moment, Elaine realized one thing.

While she was heartbroken because she thought he’d moved on, it hadn’t occurred to her that she needed to move on, as well.

She liked him so much that she couldn’t even consider it.

Ash said it didn’t matter who she was. Elaine finally understood what that meant.

The walls she’d been building up crumbled at once. The emotions she’d been hiding and holding back flowed out like a stream of water.

“I like you.”

She didn’t want to hide it from him anymore. She didn’t want to fool herself.

Ash’s eyes trembled. All he could see was the woman in front of him, tears still in her eyes and a bright smile on her face, saying that she liked him.

He stroked her cheek, mesmerized. He wanted to see if this was real or not.

His head slowly lowered to hers. Elaine didn’t avoid him. Instead, she closed her eyes in silence.

Just like that, their lips overlapped with each other. His strong arms held her tighter.

The kiss was deep and long. It was so tender and affectionate that it made her heart ache.

A tear fell down her cheek. This time, the tears weren’t filled with pain and suffering, but with overwhelming and heartbreaking emotions.

* * *

On August 16, 532, a massive forest fire in the monster’s nest was extinguished within half a day.

There were many casualties in Killiard, which was attacked by a swarm of monsters. The residents who evacuated were safe, but those who lived on the outskirts or were unable to evacuate because of the distance suffered damage.

Nevertheless, the death toll, excluding the injured, was only about 100. It could only be considered a miracle.

This was thanks to the witch’s flame wiping away the enormous swarm of monsters before they breeched the city wall. Otherwise, there would’ve been no living creatures left in Killiard.

Afterwards, Duke Killiard quickly repaired the damage to his territory.

Shortly thereafter, on August 25, 532, the evil deeds of King Chelsea de Philion were announced to the world in the name of Duke Killiard and several other nobles.