"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted that way..."
Lena, still with wet hair, apologized in front of the lodging with a hot spring. Leo Dexter, who was sitting on a small bench munching on sothing, silently patted the seat next to him.
"Want so?"
As she sat down, Leo handed her a white, round object that he had split in half.
It was a 'radimu.'
Also known as winter radish or ice radish, it was a crop from the north that could be eaten raw and did not spoil easily. The people of the north often used it for bartering.
The rchants' wagon was full of radimu. And since Leo had saved their lives, he was welco to eat as much as he wanted.
Lena didn’t refuse. She took a bite, grateful to Leo for accepting her apology so casually...
"Ew! Hey, this is the bitter end!"
"Hahaha."
The upper part of the radimu, where the stem grew, was sweet. The lower part, however, was quite bitter and astringent, and most people, except for older folks lanting "kids these days don’t know the value of food," didn't eat it raw.
Leo, finishing what was in his hand, spoke up.
"It would be a waste to throw it away. Especially since it's free. If you don't want it, I'll eat it."
He took it from her.
Lena watched him take what was half in her mouth without a care and bite into it, feeling conflicted.
When did he grow up like this?
Leo had changed at so point. There was a certain {dignity} in his every move, and he acted with confidence even in front of older adults.
Even though they had co of age together.
'Every ti I think I've caught up, he moves further ahead, and when I think I've caught up again, he's even further away...'
Leo had always been like that. He grew a step ahead, and it was her role to chase after him.
But this ti, maybe because they had co of age, it felt like Leo had leapt not just a step but several steps ahead.
Especially his swordsmanship was astonishing. He had grown imnsely as if he had grasped sothing.
Honestly, this ti... it felt overwhelming.
So when Leo easily killed the knight, she felt a pang of jealousy. No, more like a sense of futility, wondering if she could ever catch up to him.
'...No. I can do it. Don't act like a fool, Lena Ainar.'
Encouraging herself, Lena dug into her pocket. She pulled out sothing she had secretly bought and held it out to him.
"Take this. It's an early birthday present."
"...Oh, right. Today is my birthday? I had forgotten..."
"What are you talking about? It's not for a while. I'm just giving it early, so take it."
Leo, holding the gift, looked puzzled. Lena prepared to rebut what she thought he would say, but Leo's words were unexpected.
"You forgot my birthday, didn’t you? And now you're trying to cover it up. Tell exactly, when is my birthday?"
"Huh, do you think I'm stupid? Forget soone's birthday?"
"You mixed up your friends' birthdays last ti and gave them the wrong gifts..."
Lena quickly covered Leo's mouth, her face turning red as she made excuses.
"Th-that was a mistake. And there's no way I'd forget your birthday. It's the sa as the birth date of King Maunin. I was going to give it to you on the day of the Maunin Festival... Just take it. You should be grateful when soone gives you a gift."
"Haha. Alright, I'll gladly accept it. But... isn't this the sa as what I bought for you last ti? You deliberately chose the sa one. I like it."
She handed him a long black leather cord. She had secretly asked the leather rchant for another one, just like the one Leo had given her.
Originally, if Leo asked if it was the sa one he had bought, she planned to proudly retort, "You bought it for , so it's mine. What's the problem with giving it as a gift?"
But Leo's kind response made her stamr, "Uh, yeah. It's nice to have the sa one..." in a hesitant voice.
'Ugh. I should have bought sothing else. I thought it would be fun.'
When did he grow up like this?
Leo's shoulders next to her felt broad. Even sitting hunched over, his presence seed to overshadow her.
'Ugh...'
Then Leo took her hand. Turning her head, she saw him gently guide her chin up to et his eyes.
He was asking for a kiss.
Lena turned her head away. Fortunately, soone approached, giving her an excuse.
"Sir Leo, we have a problem. I just t with the village chief... A war has broken out."
War!
Lena was startled, but Leo, unfazed, responded.
"You an we should leave quickly? I think so too. You can advance the schedule, but it's late today. Let's stay here tonight."
Vernon replied, "Of course. We'll leave tomorrow morning." and left.
The next day, the rchant group hurriedly left the village. Until now, they had pretended as if they had never t the baron’s knight, but now they had an excuse.
War.
Moreover, fearing the baron might harm their families during the chaos, the rchants hurriedly drove their wagons as soon as winter ended. By the ti they reached Barnoul, it was fully spring.
*
"Make sure to visit our house! It's near the market in the southern part of the inner city! Just ntion my na to the rchants, and they'll show you the way!"
"My house is next door!"
Anne and Ran shouted. Leo and Lena waved at them as they walked away, then turned to go their own way.
"Leo, where do we go now? I'm excited to see the house where you were born."
Lena asked, and Leo took out a letter from his pocket. It was a letter his father had written on the spot for his older brother, with the address on the envelope.
- First alley on Danika Boulevard, iron hinge archway.
'But why did Father write the address when giving the letter?'
It might be overly sensitive, but it felt like he anticipated his son might not find the house. Did he sense that I had no mories of the past? Leo wondered but dismissed it.
He must have written it just in case since I left when I was very young.
"Let's see... It should be this way."
Leo checked the street signs to find the right direction. As they asked people for directions and navigated through the city, Leo and Lena observed the streets of Barnoul.
Barnoul, though not as ancient as Orville, was a very old city. When the founding king of the Arcaea Kingdom, Todler Akiunen, was born in what is now the northern part of the Bellita Kingdom, the Arcaea Empire put significant effort into developing the northern region
The focal point of this developnt was Barnoul, which beca the capital of the 'Aisel Kingdom,' established by King Maunin and Queen Retii after gaining independence from the empire. It is now the capital of the Kingdom of Astin.
The city, constructed from layers of flat gray stones, appeared before them.
The stones weren't stacked in layers but rather tilted and interlocked diagonally, creating a rugged yet charming look, bearing many marks of its long history.
However, there were also many sad remnants.
"Are those gravestones? No, right?"
"...I don't think so."
Letters were carved into stones all over the city, both on walls and the ground. Upon closer inspection, they read, "Bruno, father of three children - lies here at thirty-five," commorating victims of the devastating 'Nine Days War' from eleven years ago.
Whether the ti was short or long, the Kingdom of Astin and its people had worked hard to overco past wounds and live on, but the dead could never return.
With a natural sense of reverence, Lena and Leo walked across the countless stones engraved with nas and ssages, entering Danika Boulevard.
The first alley.
Turning into a fairly wide alleyway, they saw a rustic stone wall and, in the distance, an arch-shaped wooden door with five iron hinges.
"My goodness..."
The wall of what Leo presud to be his father's house, Noel Dexter's ho, was densely covered with inscriptions. Unlike the others they had seen, these ssages were filled with resentnt, anger, curses, and occasionally forgiveness.
During the Nine Days War, Noel Dexter, notorious in Barnoul, had beco a symbol of scorn for the city's residents.
Although he hadn't gone around killing innocent civilians, he was a knight who had contributed to the brutal war and was infamously known as the 'Butcher of Nobles.' This made him a target for the post-war anger of the citizens.
‘I think I understand why he left...’
Leo knocked on the door. Using the tal ring hanging on the wooden door, he knocked, and soon soone ca out.
"Who is it?"
Leo didn’t know what his uncle, 'Elson,' looked like. But he knew the young man before him wasn’t his uncle, so he introduced himself.
"I am Leo Dexter. I’ve co to see my uncle."
"...You must be the young master. I apologize for this, but the master is currently out, and I cannot let in strangers."
"I have a letter from my father. Would my identification and this letter not suffice?"
The young man, who seed to be a servant, shook his head.
"Apologies, I cannot read. Though, by your appearance, I can tell you are likely the master's nephew..."
He seed to ponder for a mont before continuing.
"Please understand my situation. I cannot turn you away, nor can I let in strangers. How about this? The master is surely at his office. Why don't you visit him there? I say this because I cannot leave you standing at the door."
It was quite a bold request for a servant to make, but seeing no other option, Leo asked for the address of his uncle’s office.
- Thud.
As they turned and left the alley, Leo felt a strange chill. Glancing back, he saw the old knight's house, laden with resentnt, standing quietly.
*
"My nephew has co! Co here, let give you a hug. How long has it been...?"
A man who resembled Noel Dexter stood up, arms wide open.
His uncle's office wasn’t far. It was in a bustling area where nobles and wealthy people frequented, across two main streets. The signboard on the three-story building read 'Dexter rcenary Corps.'
However, there were no rcenaries in sight. It wasn’t that they were out working, but the building didn’t have a lobby, living space, or training ground for rcenaries.
The building was clearly designed to receive guests, with cheap but plush carpets and similarly inexpensive but charming paintings adorning the halls and salons.
"Nice to see you again, uncle. Have you been well?"
Though it was practically their first eting, Leo offered a typical greeting for a long-lost nephew. It was also a polite way to avoid the offered embrace.
Despite resembling his father, Leo didn’t feel comfortable hugging a man he had never t before.
Elson was a bit taller than Noel Dexter, about the sa height as Leo.
He was stockier, with smaller eyes and a rougher appearance, likely due to his different lifestyle.
Unlike the scholarly deanor of the knight Noel Dexter, the rcenary leader Elson had a boisterous and friendly aura. Despite having his hug declined, he cheerfully patted Leo on the shoulder.
"Of course. I’ve been well. Wow, you’ve grown so muChapter Your father must be proud. And..."
Elson's eyes turned to Lena. He soon burst into a hearty laugh and extended his hand for a handshake.
"You must be Lena Ainar. Nice to et you. I’m sorry I couldn’t attend your engagent. Honestly... it was a bit far, wasn’t it? Hahaha."
He winked playfully and seated Leo and Lena on a plush Chesterfield sofa.
Only this sofa and the table in front of it weren’t cheap. It seed he knew when to spend money, ensuring the guests' furniture was high quality.
Maybe the sofa was for his own naps, too.
Leo, noticing the piles of docunts on a cheap desk, handed over his father’s letter.
"Hmm, nothing too serious here. Not sure why he even bothered to write about letting you stay at the house. Isn’t that obvious? Haha. He’s always been so uptight..."
Elson quickly read through the two-page letter and began chatting as he served (cheap) tea himself.
‘...He really talks a lot.’
It might seem rude to describe his uncle this way, but he truly talked a lot.
The topics changed rapidly:
He admired the departure of Prince Arnulf de Klaus and Baron Albacete with their troops a few days ago, noting how the citizens cheered when the king personally saw them off at the southern gate, although the past civil war's aftermath ant they weren’t fully enthusiastic. He ntioned many of his rcenaries had been conscripted, making it a tough ti, but he was thrilled to have a lot of work. He was frustrated that so rcenaries who recently returned from escorting a rchant group wanted to quit...
At first, Leo tried to concentrate, wondering what point his uncle was trying to make, but he eventually realized Elson was simply chatting for fun.
Even so, listening without thinking was quite enjoyable, and Lena seed to have already taken a liking to Elson.
"Oh dear, look at the ti. I’m sorry to cut this short. As I ntioned, I’m quite busy these days... another all-nighter! Yay! Hahaha. I won’t be able to go ho tonight, so you two should go ahead. You know where the house is, right?"
"Yes. We stopped by earlier, but a young man who seed to be a servant wouldn’t let us in. He said he needed the master's permission."
"...That must have been 'Yuan.' He’s not a servant. You might have heard already,"
Elson's expression, which had been bright until now, slightly darkened.
"He’s my adopted son."
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