Chapter 80
"...Can't sleep either?"
Ethan nodded slightly, his face shadowed with concern.
We decided to head out for a walk. In truth, we were making our way toward the village.
Kaysen followed behind Ethan and .
"...There's sowhere I want to go."
After hesitating for a mont, Ethan stepped ahead of us, leading the way.
We entered the forest surrounding the village. The trees were so dense and dark that it was hard to see anything ahead, but Ethan moved through them with determined strides.
At the edge of a cliff, we found a view of the village below. Smoke billowed from the clustered houses, a sign that people were still living there.
But that wasn’t all we saw. Surrounding the village were Ryan's soldiers, positioned ominously around the periter, their presence unsettling.
However, just like when we first arrived at this village, one question remained unanswered.
‘Why hasn’t he attacked yet?’
Ryan despised magicians, just like Kiese. Was there a reason he hadn't launched an attack yet?
"This is infuriating."
Ethan's voice, filled with anger, broke my train of thought. I turned to see him, fists clenched, trembling with frustration.
"This is why I tried to find sowhere we could go..."
Even though Ethan knew what Darcy had done to protect the magicians in battle, he didn’t voice it. He understood that finding a place better than the one Darcy had secured would be nearly impossible.
"Why haven’t the people here gone into the forest?"
"So have left. But those who’ve settled down don’t want to leave. They’ve grown attached to the village they built with their own hands."
It seed their deep attachnt to the village kept them here, coupled with the knowledge that Ryan couldn’t imdiately attack this place. They couldn’t have anticipated that their ti would run out so quickly.
'Tomorrow, this village will be in ruins...'
We also noticed so villagers standing outside their hos, gazing at the soldiers.
‘Should I call Darcy for help?’
If I could find a way to contact him, maybe he could do sothing.
I expected the villagers facing the soldiers to either attack or do sothing, but instead, they quietly returned to their hos.
“Why don’t they run?”
There was nothing wrong with running away. I spoke out of concern.
"They know it would be the sa wherever they go. And after living here for so long, they want to protect their ho."
This place had already beco their ho.
...Ho.
“I heard Darcy brought quite a few people to the village. Do you know how he did it?”
Ethan knew the truth about Darcy. He had criticized Darcy’s actions.
Since he knew what Darcy had done, did that an he knew how as well?
Ethan’s shoulders slumped.
“…I don’t know. All I said was to stop and that I didn’t need any pity.”
“….”
“I was just too angry back then.”
It was understandable for a young boy like him to be overwheld by his emotions. Even adults often felt the sa.
“It’s okay. Maybe we can’t do anything right now, but…”
I patted Ethan’s shoulder.
“The future can change. That’s why we’re here, right?”
Ethan bit his lip and nodded vigorously. I felt closer to him than before.
‘I suppose all magicians carry such wounds within them.’
I found myself hoping that my comfort could sohow reach them too.
‘Please let everything work out.’
I clasped my hands together, silently praying as I closed my eyes briefly. When I opened them, I noticed Kaysen staring intently at
from behind, startling .
"W-what is it?"
My surprise made
stumble over my words.
I knew he was following us, but why was he staring at
so intensely?
Anyone would think he had so interest in .
Kaysen murmured as he looked at .
“When did you beco like this?”
The surprise I had felt quickly dissipated as I narrowed my eyes and firmly shook my head.
“What do you an, 'when'? I’m still the villainess you used to criticize, Sir Kaysen.”
What was he trying to say now?
'Don’t tell
he's going to act like Ryan.'
I had a bad feeling, and my intuition was never wrong.
Kaysen, who had been looking down, suddenly muttered.
"Perhaps I’ve been blind."
It was the first ti I’d heard him express regret so openly, and it left
a bit taken aback.
Taking advantage of the mont, I decided to call him out on his past actions.
"Prejudice clouded your vision. You never tried to see
for who I am."
When I spoke so bluntly, Kaysen looked at , almost as if he wanted to protest.
“But it’s true that you didn’t like Lady Leshan.”
I thought we were making progress in our conversation, but then we were right back where we started. A headache began to form.
Pressing my fingers against my temples, I glared at him coldly.
“What do you think my efforts over the past year have been for?”
“….”
“Can you honestly say you’ve ever looked at
without bias? You managed it with Leshan.”
I couldn’t help but think back to Kaysen’s words about how Leshan was beautiful just as she was. It was amusing, really.
And those words weren’t even purely for her.
“You’re harsh.”
“But it’s true. And you still haven’t answered my question.”
I finally voiced the question I had always wanted to ask.
“Have you ever truly seen ?”
Kaysen groaned, furrowing his brow. After a long, thoughtful pause, he finally admitted,
“…No.”
He shook his head, acknowledging the truth. Just hearing that made
feel relieved. It felt like sothing had finally changed.
“Given that, what do you think I could have done in front of you and Prince Ryan? If I hadn’t shut myself away, I might have lost my mind.”
I reminded myself of the initial reason for my seclusion.
Had I not t Darcy back then, I wouldn’t have been able to face Kaysen like this now.
One person’s wound was healed by another.
“…What exactly did Prince Ryan and I an to you?”
“That’s a pointless question.”
I firmly cut off Kaysen’s words.
“Because you don’t an anything to
anymore.”
“….”
Lately, Kaysen had indeed been acting differently. During this journey, he had finally started seeing how Leshan and I interacted without those prejudiced lenses.
But that wasn’t enough.
After kicking away every chance I’d given him, did he really think I’d just graciously accept him now?
“If you think you have the right to ask these questions, then you’re mistaken.”
“….”
“The only reason I allowed you to be my escort this ti was to use you.”
I didn’t care how Kaysen took those words. As we stared each other down, a rustling noise ca from the forest behind us.
...A chill ran down my spine. I spotted a shadow moving through the trees.
"Who, who's there!"
At my sharp cry, Kaysen drew his sword.
A figure erged from the darkness.
"What are you doing here, Ethan?"
The man had long black hair and black eyes. He wasn’t as stunning as Darcy, but his sharp, cat-like eyes were striking.
There was sothing about him that reminded
vaguely of Darcy.
At that mont, I recalled sothing the Lady Werna had said.
"My first love had long hair."
Why did I think of that? Perhaps it was because this was the first ti I’d seen soone with long hair besides Darcy.
'It couldn’t be the sa person.'
I shook my head. What were the chances of Lady Werna eting this man? It wasn’t as if he was the only man in the world with long hair.
‘But it seems like Ethan knows him.’
I watched as Ethan, eyes wide with surprise, ran up to the man with a mix of excitent and disbelief.
“What are you doing here, brother?”
“And what about you? Have you finally ended your long escape?”
At the man’s words, Ethan bristled.
“It wasn’t an escape! It was a journey to find a place where our magicians can live in peace.”
“Sure, sure. So, did you find it? Or did you get captured instead?”
The man replied with a dismissive tone. Naturally, Ethan fell silent at his words. The man had hit the mark.
“It wasn’t an easy task, was it? So… who are these people behind you?”
The man, who had been smirking, finally turned his gaze toward us. His expressionless face gave a sharp impression, different from how he looked at Ethan.
“They’re the people I’m bringing to the village.”
“Why would you bring outsiders to the village? You know we don’t usually let them in.”
“They’re here to make a contract for us. They truly want to help the magicians.”
“…Sorry, but I find that hard to believe.”
It was clear that the man couldn’t just take Ethan’s word for it. He was still a boy, after all, and trusting us would be difficult based solely on his claim.
Seeing the opportunity, I stepped forward.
“Hello, my na is Marceau Etwar.”
“…Did you say Marceau Etwar?”
The man’s eyes widened as he repeated my na in disbelief.
“Yes, and everything Ethan said is true. I’ve brought the contract, and I can explain the business proposal I’ve prepared.”
“May I verify that?”
“Of course. Let’s return to the inn and discuss it.”
The man, who had been deep in thought with his hand to his mouth, shook his head.
“Now isn’t a good ti.”
He seed to have sothing he needed to do here.
“What are you planning to do?”
Ethan asked, trailing behind him. Now that he had let his guard down, he was leaning on the man like a puppy, completely trusting him.
The man raised an eyebrow, clearly not wanting to discuss it in front of .
It seed that gaining his trust would be our first priority.
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