Chapter 54
I Want to Be Helpful to You (9)
“…Yes.”
“What are you whispering about? Huh?”
I glanced at the thug once, then casually flicked my hand to take care of him with magic.
“Huh? What the—”
That was the last thing the burly man said before disappearing completely from the Crowell estate, likely drifting somewhere in the distant sea.
“Thank you for your help.”
As I turned to express my gratitude to the man who took the punch in my stead, he suddenly…
Swooped in and tightly embraced me.
“Phew, glad that’s over.”
“……”
He had enveloped me in his slightly larger frame.
Tilting my head a bit, I could see his reddened, swollen cheek.
“……”
Why did he take the hit for me?
After gazing at his cheek for a while, our eyes met, his red irises crinkled in what seemed like a joyful smile.
Does he know me?
Before I could even ask, he released me from the embrace and asked,
“Edith, isn’t it?”
My head tilted in confusion.
“Do you know me?”
“It’s me. Ah, maybe you couldn’t recognize me with the hood on…”
Who is he? Just as I narrowed my eyes to scrutinize his face, he pulled back his hood.
Fluttering, the black hood fell away, revealing radiant golden hair. The man with the vibrant red eyes smiled brightly once more.
“Don’t you remember me?”
“…Where have we met before?”
His face seemed strangely familiar, but no matter how hard I racked my brain, I couldn’t place him.
Such a distinctive appearance isn’t common.
“You really don’t remember?”
He said, sounding a bit disappointed as he firmly gripped my hand. The soft palm of his white-gloved hand grazed mine.
“Well, it has been such a long time…”
“Wait, no.”
I furrowed my brow. There was something about his playful yet gentle voice that felt like it was on the tip of my tongue.
Then, the young man delivered the crucial piece of information.
“Edith, ever since you were adopted into the Crowell family.”
Adopted.
“Ah.”
That’s when it clicked.
The dream from last night, which had been lurking at the edge of my memories, resurfaced.
That’s right, in the dream, Camilla had asked, ‘But what happened to that friend of yours who went to the temple?’
If family is a relationship where you rely on, trust, love, and wish blessings for one another…
Even as an orphan, I had a family like that.
Slowly, I opened my mouth and called his name.
“…Claude Gees?”
Of course, it wasn’t because we were born on the same ship, or had an unknown father in common, or anything like that.
Claude Gees.
The “Gees” part of his name wasn’t a surname. The orphanage where I stayed didn’t give us last names.
It was a nickname I had given him, a bond that tied us together as family, when I was a quiet child who barely spoke.
“Hey, Edith. What are you up to today?”
“……”
Claude, who approached me so affectionately, as if we were blood siblings, was the one I could rely on the most within the orphanage.
I can’t remember why Claude was so caring towards me.
Perhaps there was some incident, like me almost falling off a cliff, that he saved me from, as often happens with children.
But it wasn’t like I was trying to express my gratitude.
Back then, I couldn’t properly convey that he didn’t need to go out of his way to look after me.
Anyway, we had agreed to ride the same carriage until we were adopted separately, and during that journey…
“…Claude.”
The carriage was attacked, just like the story I had told Camilla in my dream.
Recalling the memories, I called his name once more.
Now that I think about it, a faint remnant of the past overlapped Claude’s face.
I heard he managed to escape the attack unharmed, so I’m glad he’s doing well.
“Looks like you remembered.”
Claude smiled brightly, as if confirming it.
Why did it take me this long to recall him?
“Yes. A little bit. From the Crowell orphanage…”
“That’s right. Now you speak so well.”
So Claude still remembers me.
“Yes…”
I found myself staring at him intently without realizing it.
Claude tilted his head curiously.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Your face seems to have remained a bit from when we were young…”
“Really?”
I was just a sickly child back then. He’s really grown up now.
Although he still has a youthful appearance, compared to when we were children, he’s in the “growth spurt” phase.
I have to tilt my head to look up at him.
As I realized who he was, a sense of joy gradually welled up.
“…I’m glad you’re safe.”
After we parted ways on that carriage, I had no chance to see him again.
Especially with the countless cycles of reincarnation I’ve been through.
I’ve been so preoccupied with trying to break this cycle that I couldn’t even save anyone before this.
So, how fortunate it is that I was able to be someone who could save others even before this cycle.
“I’m truly relieved.”
“Ah.”
Filled with relief, I tightly embraced him as well. I felt his uncertain hands gently caress my back.
…Right, his cheek.
He got hurt taking the hit for me earlier. I should check on his injury.
“Wait, let me take a look at your injury…”
I quickly released him and grasped his head to examine it.
“…?”
But the reddened, swollen cheek had miraculously subsided.
“…?”
If he hadn’t healed it with divine power, this wouldn’t be possible.
Without any intention of pulling his head away from my hold, Claude mumbled softly.
“I healed it myself. It’s fine.”
“……”
Like all the pieces falling into place, the fragments in my mind came together.
Claude Gees, who can use divine power.
And someone with divine power, who wouldn’t be out of place in this period in the Crowell estate…
“Ah…”
“…Edith?”
As I remained deep in thought, still grasping his hand, Claude questioned me with a puzzled expression.
I slowly raised my head to look at him.
“…Were you the one who healed those two servants?”
“……?”
My question seemed to confuse him, but Claude eventually nodded with a gentle smile.
“Yes, that was me.”
Then, suddenly swallowing hard, he covered his mouth and glanced at me anxiously.
“I told them to keep it a secret since they work at Crowell Castle… But now that you know already…”
“No, it’s alright.”
The fact that he healed them isn’t the issue.
This means that Claude is either the sender of the purple envelope from the desk drawer or at least somehow connected to that mysterious sender.
The resentment I had been seething towards that unknown sender has now subsided, if only temporarily.
Because…
‘…Claude doesn’t seem the type to be plotting something underhanded.’
It’s too sudden and shameless, not at all like him.
“……”
Checking the envelope with the same seal that was supposedly in his backpack would clarify things.
Glancing sideways at his waist, it doesn’t seem like he’s carrying anything with him now.
As I gazed at him intently, our eyes met, and Claude crinkled his eyes in a gentle smile, tugging on the hand he was holding.
“Let’s get out of here first.”
“……”
“Do you still have other business here?”
No, you were the business I had here.
“If it’s alright… Would you like to go up to my room to talk, somewhere other than this place?”
Well, having our reunion right in front of the abandoned secret information broker’s stall isn’t exactly ideal.
But… Claude’s room?
My gaze inadvertently wandered towards the inn, and Claude hurriedly waved his hands, his ears reddening.
“Ah, no! I don’t have any impure intentions.”
He chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
“It’s just that this place seems a bit too secluded…”
I quietly observed his innocent reaction, then nodded.
“Alright.”
I have something to look for.
That backpack that contains the envelope.
🥀
As we climbed the stairs to the upper floor, Claude kept talking to me.
“I didn’t expect to be able to meet you here in the Crowell estate. Did you hear the story from the siblings I healed?”
“Yes.”
Even after learning he was my childhood friend, I still found it strangely difficult to converse with him casually. After going through so many cycles of reincarnation, using polite speech has become a habit for me.
Would he dislike me being too formal?
“……”
Suddenly, turning my head towards him, our eyes met. Claude crinkled his vibrant red eyes in a smile.
“The last time we parted, you were the one who saved me. I was almost upset thinking you had completely forgotten about that…”
“There’s no need to be upset about that…”
“But I was upset.”
Claude murmured with a sense of wistfulness, wiping the dried blood on his hand with a damp cloth he casually picked up from a table in the inn.
“It’s only natural that you can’t remember everyone you’ve saved, since you’ve saved so many people…”
“……”
What?
With my nerves already on high alert, even his brief remark made my eyes narrow. What does he mean I’ve saved so many people?
I haven’t really done anything significant yet…
Claude added lightly,
“Ah, I heard about your exploits during the academy’s extermination training. Edith, thanks to your efforts, you saved the lives of many students.”
“…Ah.”
If he knows that fact, then his words make sense.
Nevertheless, it seems my habit of doubting everything has resurfaced, just like when I first met Therion.
…But Therion was truly a demon, wasn’t he?
🥀
Thank you for reading! ♡
