Chapter 282
Chapter 282
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 282
Chapter Title: The Golden Knight, Isabelle (2)
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***
Knock, knock.
"I'll be right back."
"Yes..."
As Adelia rose at the sound of the knock and walked away, a strange feeling came over me as I watched her.
I was told the Golden Knight would arrive sometime this afternoon, though I didn't know the exact time.
And now, just after lunch, as the afternoon was beginning, I wondered... could the person knocking be the Golden Knight?
My gaze followed Adelia to the door.
Click.
Adelia opened it without hesitation.
"Cadet Glacia?"
But the voice I heard was completely different from what I'd expected.
"..."
Through the slightly ajar door, I caught a glimpse of her signature blue hair.
I could faintly hear them talking, and a small smile escaped my lips.
The reason she'd come to the infirmary. It was easy to guess.
'So Glacia was worried about me, too.'
Perhaps that was why.
Just seeing her for a moment warmed my heart. And a small pang of guilt settled in a corner of my mind.
'My body' was mine, yet not entirely my own anymore.
'I can't just think about myself anymore...'
I felt it even more keenly after waking up today. Yesterday, at the end of the Release, the moment I finally let everything go. Miraculously, Karite and I had survived.
Looking back, I was relieved by the choice I made in the end, but I also knew it wasn't entirely the right one.
It wasn't a crisis I overcame with my own strength. We were saved because Kalli found us, like a miracle.
In truth, I had chosen death alongside Karite... Thinking about it now, I shouldn't have.
There were more than just one or two people who worried about me and came to see me.
"..."
Kalli, whom I saw as soon as I woke up, and then Adelia, with whom I shared a long, quiet conversation—I felt how much they both worried about me.
And now, Glacia had come to see me, too...
Their feelings reached me, clear and true.
"Cadet Glacia, then... just for a moment? It'll only be for a little while."
Adelia's reluctant permission at the end of their conversation cut through my thoughts.
Click.
The hem of a pure white skirt swayed as she slowly walked toward me, and I met Glacia's gaze, her expression unreadable.
"..."
"..."
As our eyes met, Glacia's softened.
"Han Cheon-seong..."
Her voice sounded a little different than usual.
"Oh, Glacia..."
I answered her call cautiously.
My relationship with Glacia.
She had shown me feelings that were close to true affection, and I had been honest with her about my situation. Afterward, Glacia had chosen to remain friends with me for now.
And yet.
Rustle.
As Glacia carefully sat beside my bed, her gaze never left me.
She simply looked at me without saying a word... and in her soft gaze, I could feel that our relationship wasn't just that of simple friends.
"Your body... it's okay now, right?"
"I'm fine."
"You don't look very fine to me..."
Despite my answer, Glacia denied it in a listless tone.
Even as she looked right at me, her eyes remained hazy.
I let out a soft laugh.
"To be honest... I still need time to recover. But it's not that serious."
So, instead of just saying I was fine, I gave her a more realistic answer.
Glacia dislikes beating around the bush, so I thought this was a better response than simply insisting I was okay.
"..."
As Glacia stared at me, I glanced elsewhere.
Rustle.
Adelia quietly gave me a look and stepped away for a moment. I was grateful for her consideration as I took in the silent Glacia.
Sigh. Glacia let out a deep breath and shook her head slightly.
"You know, Han Cheon-seong, I just... don't understand. Why do these things keep happening to you?"
"I know. I'm starting to wonder myself."
I answered lightly, but I could feel the mood sink. So I deliberately smiled wider.
I smiled brightly and blinked, as if nothing was wrong.
The atmosphere was heavy. I could feel her worry just from her hazy eyes, so I wanted to be a little brighter for her.
"Hah. Why are you trying so hard to act unfazed...?"
Glacia sighed and asked strangely.
"Unfazed?"
I found myself asking back. I knew it wasn't the best way to respond, but the words slipped out.
"You're struggling right now. If it's hard, you can just say it's hard. You don't have to force yourself to say you're okay... I've seen you enough to know you're the type to not show it, even when you're suffering."
...Her words made me pause.
For a moment, I couldn't find a reply to Glacia's voice, which seemed to see right through me.
'Is that how I seem to others?'
Through all the crises and incidents, I'd always been able to pull myself together.
Even if my spirit was about to break, even if it did break, I could always get back up.
Because I'd overcome it somehow, and because I was still alive.
That alone was enough for me to steady my heart.
But I suppose to others, I might have seemed strange.
"..."
I was about to speak, but I let out a laugh instead and reached out my hand.
Rustle.
I slowly took Glacia's hand and met her gaze directly.
"To be honest, my body is tired. It's not like the past incidents didn't affect me. But it's okay, because my heart isn't tired. Right after I woke up today, Instructor Kalli said some warm words to me, and then Instructor Adelia's treatment helped me shore up my spirit."
I stated the facts calmly.
I knew mentioning other women might bother Glacia, who held feelings for me.
But it was the truth.
Looking at the silent Glacia, a small smile escaped me.
"And now, I'm looking at you, who came all this way to see me. That gives me strength. Even if my body is tired, my heart recovers quickly. Like you said, it's not like I don't have hard moments, or times when I'm exhausted. There have been times I wanted to let everything go. But I can pull myself back together. So, since my heart isn't tired, I can say I'm okay."
I continued, explaining in detail why I could be okay.
There are others who support me, and there's you, right here in front of me.
Squeeze!
I squeezed her hand a little tighter, trying to ignore the creaking sensation in my own.
"Thank you for worrying about me, Glacia."
And then I was able to speak with a bit more sincerity.
Just the fact that she came to see me made me happy. It meant she was worried and cared.
...And now, there was something compelling my heart to act more clearly.
Because in that fleeting moment on the brink of certain death, I had looked back on my life. Perhaps that's why I was now letting my heart lead, and expressing myself more.
"...Han Cheon-seong."
Seeing Glacia respond in a dazed voice, I answered with a much lighter heart.
"Yes."
"Can I... hug you right now?"
Her sudden, unexpected request made me freeze.
"Glacia?"
It wasn't just the two of us in this room.
If we were alone, I would have allowed it. I wanted to respond to her feelings, to her concern.
But in the bed right next to me was the still-unconscious Karite, and though she had stepped away, Adelia was still in the same room.
"It's nothing else. Right now, as a friend who cares for you, I want to give you a hug."
But Glacia's next words... seemed to create a path for me.
"..."
When I cautiously nodded, Glacia pulled on the hand she was holding and gently hugged me.
As I leaned into her embrace, my heart seemed to react even more.
And now, my heart was about to get even greedier.
***
Meanwhile, at the academy's designated portal station.
Flash!
A great light shimmered, and a female knight soon appeared.
She wore sophisticated silver armor adorned with beautiful gold decorations. As her golden hair, even more beautiful than her armor, swayed to reveal her stunning features, the Imperial Knights who had been waiting greeted her brightly.
"Welcome, Sir Isabelle."
"We greet Sir Isabelle, the Golden Knight."
"Yes... It is good to see you all again."
Isabelle nodded in response to the knights' welcome, steeling her resolve.
—The Imperial Central Academy.
Now that she had arrived, there was no more hesitation in her heart. She felt she simply had to do what needed to be done.
Clank. Click...
Walking through the academy under the guidance of an Imperial Knight, the different sounds of their footsteps echoing, Isabelle casually took in the scenery outside the window.
"..."
Her first impression of the academy's facilities and exterior was that they were all respectable and possessed a rather sophisticated beauty.
For Isabelle, who had walked the path of a knight since childhood and lived a life unshaken by her trait, this first sight of the academy was enough to leave a special impression.
"Sir Isabelle, the Prince and Princess wish to see you first."
"Yes. I thought it best to see them first as well."
As she answered lightly, a strange suspicion lingered in Isabelle's mind.
The royals staying at the academy.
Prince Dersen Ruabella.
Princess Rachel Ruabella.
As the children of the current Emperor's official wife, the Empress, their rank was exceedingly high, even compared to other royalty.
And...
The Golden Knights, a position only the most special could attain, existed solely to protect such noble individuals.
Yet, the reason she was assigned to protect a mere commoner could only be attributed to the influence of the royals currently at the academy.
At least, that was what Isabelle felt.
"..."
So, as Isabelle made her way to them, she wanted to ask them directly.
Whether the commoner she was to protect was truly a person of such worth...