In the end, Kaon accompanied Alessia on the patrol. The members were alarmed to see Alessia’s pale face and tried to stop her, but when she insisted she was fine, even using magic to prove it, they couldn’t argue further.
The temperature had already dropped significantly after the heavy snowfall. The forest, which didn’t get much sunlight, was even colder. Kaon, who had brought along a sable fur, decided to drape it around Alessia’s neck himself.
Alessia seemed a bit taken aback by his overly kind gesture but didn’t resist. Perhaps she still wasn’t fully recovered from her fever and was too dazed to react, but she didn’t seem to mind.
“Oh, this is so sad… I should start looking for a partner myself,” Maurice said, pretending to be sorrowful as he watched them. Kaon thought it was an unnecessary comment, but Alessia surprisingly laughed. It wasn’t a polite, forced laugh; it was genuine.
Thinking back, Alessia always laughed at Maurice’s jokes. Kaon didn’t understand what was so funny about Maurice’s antics, but he figured it was better than seeing her cry. So, he played along with Maurice’s comment.
“Shouldn’t you have found someone by now?”
“I’m only twenty-six! What are you talking about?” Maurice retorted, looking serious. Twenty-six was indeed not young, but Kaon knew Maurice had had several opportunities to marry, which he had declined at the last moment.
Despite his talk about wanting to get married and find his partner, Maurice’s actions were always very passive.
“You’re twenty-six, Maurice? Wow. I thought you were around twenty,” Alessia said, genuinely surprised. She kept expressing her amazement, her mouth forming little exclamations.
“What? Hahaha! Did you all hear that? Ah, this blessed face… I don’t know why anyone would dream of immortality. Just live with a face as young and handsome as mine forever,” Maurice boasted, clearly delighted by her reaction. Indeed, he did look younger than his age and was quite handsome when he kept his mouth shut, but his constant self-praise negated all those points. If you added up all his pros and cons, you’d probably get zero.
“Behold, the face of a twenty-six-year-old that looks like twenty! Not something you see every day! Enjoy it while you can!” Maurice continued, reveling in the attention.
Kaon shook his head and quietly watched Alessia. Her gentle smile seemed unaffected by everything.
“It’s not like you’re the only one who’s said that to me.”
However, that phrase kept echoing in Kaon’s mind, unsettling him.
Who else had said such things to her? How many times had she heard it to react so nonchalantly? The unanswered questions felt like a thirst that dried his throat.
***
This winter had seen an unusual amount of snow. Madeleine, watching the flurries through the large glass windows, spoke in an admiring tone.
“It’s almost time to clean up the branches. Time flies so quickly…”
“Thanks for always taking care of it, Madeleine.”
“There’s no need to thank me, young master. It’s only natural. The lady cared for this place dearly; how could we neglect it?”
Madeleine smiled warmly, as if reminiscing about someone dear. Kaon felt he knew who she was thinking of.
“She spent more time here than at the main house. The master even joked about moving her room here.”
“Yes, but she loved it. It made Mother happy.”
“She was truly a romantic, your mother.”
Kaon nodded calmly. His father was an unusually romantic man for a noble, willing to throw everything away for love.
As a child, Kaon had whimsically thought that if his mother passed away first, his father would soon follow. It wasn’t a serious thought, just a reflection of how deeply he felt his father’s love for his mother.
“Ultimately, it turned out to be the opposite.”
Kaon’s parents had passed away in the same year. His father, who had overworked himself in his youth, succumbed to illness first. His mother, weakened by grief, couldn’t bear to live without him and followed soon after.
The two of them must have reunited. His father would have waited for his mother and taken her with him somehow. His love was that unwavering.
Kaon visited the small castle, separate from the main one, for the first time in a long while. Though it was nearby, it felt like almost a year had passed since he last came. This castle was filled with memories of his parents, especially his mother. For that reason, he avoided coming here whenever possible.
Kaon both loved and resented his mother. She was the one who had burdened him with two secrets he could never share with anyone. Thinking of her brought a complex mix of emotions that tormented him.
The castle was as quiet as ever. Kaon climbed the stairs while looking up at the clear sky, which seemed ready to pour down at any moment. The keys Madeleine had handed him jingled.
The paintings hanging on the walls were his mother’s works. His father, proud of his wife’s talent, had hung her paintings both in the main castle and here. He had even chosen the frames for them, showing his utmost devotion.
Kaon soon reached the third floor. Unconsciously looking to the right, he remembered something. The third room on the right was the one he had gifted to Alessia, his mother’s room.
Hesitating, Kaon slowly approached and stood in front of the door. There was a spare key in the bundle, so he could enter anytime, but if Alessia was using the room, it would be rude.
His hesitation didn’t last long. Kaon decided to try the handle; if it opened, he would go in, and if not, he would leave. An unlocked door would mean the room wasn’t in use.
Click.
The door handle turned easily, making his hesitation seem unnecessary. Kaon stepped inside and looked around. It was hard to tell if the room had been used recently. It had been empty for years, after all.
He looked around a bit more but found no significant changes. Whether Alessia used the room or not was up to her, but for some reason, he felt a pang of loneliness.
As he was about to leave, Kaon decided to check near the window. The sight of his mother’s favorite armchair drew him there. He sat in the chair, reminiscing about the past, when he noticed two pieces of paper on the windowsill.
“A calendar?”
Kaon picked up the two overlapping sheets. The front one was for November, the month of harvest, and the back one was for December, the month of rest.
Upon closer inspection, he saw occasional notes written in the calendar squares. They were simple diary entries, brief remarks about the day’s events.
Seeing that there were entries two or three times a week, it seemed Alessia had visited this room quite often. This realization felt strange to him, as he had consciously distanced himself from the room after gifting it to her.
Kaon flipped to the back and pointed to the last day of the third week. Today. The square was blank, as was yesterday’s.
Curious about the last entry, Kaon scanned the paper. Suddenly, he froze. His hands began to tremble. He traced the words with his shaking fingers, reading them one by one.
“Alessia, happy birthday.”
It was a birthday message written in Alessia’s handwriting, addressed to herself. Kaon looked at the date with trembling hands.
“……”
He closed his eyes, speechless.
Alessia’s birthday had been a week ago, the very day she had endured the blizzard alone.
***
“Do you need to talk?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Sensing his gaze, Alessia turned to look at Kaon. He replied nonchalantly and continued to stare at her.
She frowned, finding his behavior odd, but soon turned her attention away as they were about to enter the forest.
‘What’s the harm in saying something?’
Kaon suppressed his urge to speak and stepped into the forest. Thinking back, he had never celebrated her birthday. Last year, they had just discovered each other’s secrets and had no time for such things, and this year, he hadn’t even known when her birthday was.
Not that he thought birthdays were particularly important. Ever since his parents passed away, he hadn’t celebrated them much, and it felt even less significant. Still, he would at least hear a simple congratulatory message. He would never need to wish himself a happy birthday.
But that foolish Alessia Ingelos had kept it to herself, feeling lonely all alone. It was hard to understand why she would want to make people feel so bad. If she had just mentioned it, he would have celebrated it a hundred times over.
‘Madeleine must be doing a good job.’
Kaon had discreetly informed Madeleine, Lily the maid, and a few others. Madeleine had expressed regret over not knowing much about the young lady and had promised to use her skills to make it special. Lily and the other maids had decided to decorate a room for a party.
Kaon had also prepared a gift for Alessia. Though it was hastily put together and he wasn’t sure if she would like it, he thought he could always get her something else if she didn’t.
It was already quite late due to waiting for the gift. He planned to hold a party for Alessia this evening before it got any later.
“Yvonne, you must attend the knights’ gathering this year. It’s a promise. You didn’t come last year or the year before.”
“Alright, just be quiet.”
“You say that every year, which is why I can’t be quiet. Okay?”
Maurice, who was leading the group, was almost clinging to Yvonne, whining, while Yvonne was trying to shake him off. Both seemed quite used to this routine.
“Lady Alessia! I firmly believe you will join us this year as well. Last year you were unwell, so it couldn’t be helped.”
Maurice didn’t stop there and naturally included Alessia in the conversation. Alessia just smiled awkwardly, seemingly concerned about Yvonne.
“If neither of you ladies come, I will truly cry. I will disgrace the honor of the knights from within. But if you do come, you can start the year with a handsome man. Isn’t that a great advantage?”
Thus, Maurice’s voice filled the forest, which should have been quiet. He oscillated between useless persuasion with dubious advantages and serious threats to himself.
“Wait, everyone stop.”
Kaon sensed something strange in the forest.
🍉🍉🍉
