Let's Go Back (3)
To me, Anella’s words sounded like the desperate grasp of someone clutching at their last remaining lifeline.
She had lost her parents. She had lost any place to return to.
If things continued like this, she would be cast out onto the streets to live a miserable existence. Her plea was the final, solitary cry for salvation from someone who had nothing left.
And yet, as I looked at her like that, I couldn’t understand why memories of my own childhood in this life kept surfacing.
If the young lady hadn’t chosen me, I would have died. This child would probably meet the same fate. If I abandon her here simply because she seems like she might be useful, she won’t be able to live well in the future.
In truth, if our position had been secure, I would have wanted to raise her properly within the royal palace…
But given the current atmosphere of the Grand Duke’s household, leaving her here—someone connected to us yet utterly powerless—would likely lead to her being harmed in some way.
That’s right. Shagalor is the kind of woman who, when enraged, would even try to kill the young lady. If things don’t go her way, she could easily lash out and kill a child with no real connection in a fit of anger.
Therefore, leaving her in the royal palace from the start didn’t seem like a good choice.
So I made my decision.
I would accept this child’s request for protection.
After all, this too must be fate, right?
She was someone who would have died if not for me.
I would take her with me to the very end.
With that in mind, I simply asked her carefully.
“Anella. When you say you want me to take you with me, does that mean you want to go to the academy with us?”
“Y-yes…”
“…Alright. I also feel a strong desire to take in a pitiful child like you. However, it might not be exactly as you imagine… I may not be able to take great care of you.”
Even so, despite those last words, a bright smile bloomed across Anella’s face.
“That’s okay! I… I can cook, do laundry, mend clothes—everything! So you don’t have to worry about me at all… I can live on my own just fine…”
It was a strange confidence that she could at least pull her own weight without becoming a burden to me.
But that wasn’t what I had meant.
To the girl who seemed not to have understood my words yet, I simply shook my head and explained my meaning more clearly.
“No. When I said I might not be able to take care of you, I didn’t mean I would make you do all those chores. What I meant was simply…”
…….
“The young lady’s well-being is more important to me than anything else. If she is in danger, or even if she isn’t but something comes up where I am needed, I will prioritize her over you without hesitation. Keep that in mind. This is my ironclad rule that will never change.”
“I-iron… cl-claw…?”
“Ironclad rule. To put it simply… it means a principle as firm as steel. A rule that won’t waver no matter how fiercely the world around it rages, right?”
“……Wow, that name really suits the Lord of Steel, Your Excellency—!”
I had decided not to use that title anymore.
But I couldn’t bring myself to shatter a child’s innocent admiration, so I let it pass without correction.
I simply offered her a gentle smile and spoke.
“Anella. I’d like to hear whether you understood.”
“Of course I understood, Your Excellency… That’s only natural for the sword who protects the young lady.”
“What a clever child.”
“I-I already knew that! If anything, it’s almost strange how much you match the rumors…”
“Haha…”
Anella, who had been blinking sleepily as she spoke with me, was clearly exhausted.
I dismissed Hawk and Hilken, who had been watching the selection process, and took the young girl to lay her down in a room.
It hadn’t been long since we returned to the North.
Yet it felt like we had experienced an incredible amount in such a short time.
Finally, tomorrow would be the day we returned.
The dragons we had brought with us numbered five.
And our party had consisted of seven people.
Myself, Hilken, Gorgo, the young lady, and the trio we had met in the capital.
But with Hawk and Anella added, our group had grown to nine.
We would inevitably need to ride two per dragon.
On top of that, we had quite a lot of luggage to bring back.
I was a little worried about the burden this would place on the dragons…
Krrrr—.
“Brave one. Magnificent Jabberwock. It seems you can still fly just fine.”
Fortunately, it looked like carrying the extra weight was no problem for them.
They were flying carriages, after all—high-end explosive dragons.
Carrying two hundred kilograms per rider seemed easier for them than eating cake.
Their considerable output was certainly part of the reason.
Anticipating that we would be carrying heavy loads on the return trip, I had spent several days modifying the royal crested dragon armor that Cryan had custom-ordered and gifted us. It was worth the effort.
When the time to depart finally came, the faces of the friends who had come to the North as if on a short trip were filled with anticipation.
“Ah, that was fun—.”
“We’ll be able to come back again someday, right…?”
But for me, the sight wasn’t entirely comforting.
I had come here intending to cause a stir from the very beginning.
Who would have thought Shagalor would end up being confined under the pretext of recuperation…?
Did my sincerity actually get through to him…?
I only learned about Grand Duke Rexas’s change of heart around the time we were preparing to return to the Empire.
Since things had become so serious, the images of the children who had watched every step of the process with wide eyes now came vividly to mind, and it weighed on me a little.
If I had known this would happen, I shouldn’t have brought the ones who followed me.
It was my fault for dragging them along on impulse, then leaving them to entertain themselves while I handled everything on my own.
“Yohan. Why do you look so sullen?”
“…Cryan? I always look like this, don’t I?”
“No, you look like something is bothering you. You don’t usually make that face.”
It was Cryan who could read my mood so accurately.
He quietly approached me and said,
“…There’s only one problem. During the week you brought us to the North, a lot happened, didn’t it? If you’re feeling sorry for not being able to pay attention to us while handling all that, there’s no need. Each of us achieved the goals we had set for ourselves.”
“Goals? We called you here so suddenly. Did you even have time to set any?”
He gave a small smile.
“Eclipse came purely for the trip, so once she realized there was no place for her to fit in, she went around exploring the area near the palace, collecting interesting things and having fun. She bought a lot of tea leaves, too.”
“That sounds just like her. She runs around busily even without being told.”
“And Jurchen was flustered at first when all this happened, but after watching what you did, he was so high on dopamine that he was basically just chewing on corn kernels the whole time. Saving Mihelrn, saving the young lady, that sincere suicide show in front of the Grand Duke… Looking back, they were all things he would have loved, right?”
“That pervert… I was being completely serious.”
“He still hasn’t seen Grespara’s execution, so he was throwing a tantrum about staying behind. I talked him out of it, so just ignore that.”
As expected of him.
He had managed to change the boy’s mind while I wasn’t looking.
In a way, that was fortunate.
If I had to watch Jurchen screaming at the top of his lungs that he absolutely had to see it, the stress might have made me flip over and die on the spot.
“And I… came to see the future, and I saw it. If you want, I’ll make it for you. Just watch carefully and see what I can do, Yohan.”
“………There’s a lot of subtext in that.”
“Yes, well. But… let’s leave that as a fun surprise for later. Right now, the important thing is the road home.”
When I nodded, the young lady called everyone together and gave the order for takeoff.
“Tailwind, no turbulence… It’s the perfect weather for flying.”
“Yes, it is, my lady.”
“We’ll take off in the order I mentioned before we arrived. Understood?”
The place where we kept the dragons was a sheer cliff right beside the royal palace.
As we all stood before it, we could see the city below the cliff—clearly visible from the palace walls—filled with a massive crowd gathered to see us off.
“Whoa, wait—! What is that—!”
“Uh, um… It’s the same size as the crowd at the banquet…!”
“Did almost everyone in the city come out…?”
The distance was too great to hear clearly, but from the way the crowd was moving, it was obvious they were shouting something.
Blue flags—symbolizing royalty in the North—waved everywhere, along with a sea of violets in full bloom, as it was the right season.
“Young lady…”
Overwhelmed by the sight, all I could do was call out to her as she sat atop the blue dragon beside me.
It seemed she felt the same.
She wore an unusually awkward yet lively expression.
Or perhaps…
With a face still filled with the pure innocence of childhood, she looked down at the scene below, mouth slightly agape.
“Wow……”
“Your worries were unfounded after all. As you can see, there are quite a few people who don’t want to see you leave.”
She said softly,
“……Hey. Yohan?”
“……….”
“Thank you.”
“Thank me? I haven’t done anything worthy of such words.”
“…Stop being so modest. If I had come alone, I wouldn’t have even thought of coming in the first place. And even if I had, none of this would have happened. Because I followed the path you showed me, I’m able to leave with a good feeling in the end.”
She seemed excited.
Like a Roman emperor from a world that didn’t exist here celebrating a triumph, she raised her hand toward the sky, attempting to respond to their farewell even from this distant cliff.
And what she said next was simply adorable.
“Yohan. You know…”
“Yes.”
“Meeting you really was the greatest stroke of luck in my life.”
How could she say something so obvious?
I wanted to return the exact same words, but with so many eyes watching, I held back for now.
Bwoong—!!
The sky was clear and blue,
the wind wide open and perfect for flying on a summer day.
With many strokes of good fortune overlapping, we successfully returned to Zigmund.
And the few days we spent in the North would become an unforgettable treasure of our lives.
“Save me, save me, save me—.”
Grespara had gone completely mad from the continuous torture.
The haughty attitude and arrogant pride she once possessed had long since been discarded.
The nails that had been ripped from her bloodied fingertips long ago were now regrowing, and the bumpy flesh pushing up new skin brought pain so intense it made breathing difficult.
Every time the agony struck while trapped in her restraints, Grespara would vomit repeatedly and tremble violently all day long.
Unfortunately, when Gorgo had truly torn out every single one of her fingernails and toenails, the pain had been so unbearable that she had cried and screamed without any regard for shame, spilling every piece of information she knew.
Because she truly had no choice!
It was such unimaginable agony that she thought she might die.
Her shallow plan had been to confess everything, tell Lord Vincent the truth, and have him eliminate everyone who now possessed that information.
But…
I told you! I already told you—!! Why, why?! Why more torture?!
Teeth, toes, young lady—which do you prefer?
Even after Gorgo left, the horrific torture did not end.
Every night, the torturers brought new and bizarre instruments to violate her small body.
That was the real reason her mind was shattering.
Well, dying would make everything easier.
But she didn’t want to die.
“…Lord Vincent. …Lord Vincent—.”
So she mumbled through blood-caked lips.
The name of the one person who might still be able to save her.
The name of her precious one.
And then, at that very moment—
Flash—.
As if her prayer had actually reached him, a light like a falling meteor suddenly burst inside the empty underground prison.
When the light faded…
A woman appeared from within the cloud of dust.
Step—.
Step—.
“………!!!”
Grespara’s eyes flew open in spasms.
Using the faint light, she made out the silhouette.
“R-Rho sis—! S-sis—!”
A cold face, and horns that rose smoothly—different from her own.
It was her sister, Rho.