Homecoming (5)
I ran and ran. Even when my breath grew ragged, I forced myself to keep going, fleeing for all I was worth.
Only when my lungs burned so fiercely I could run no farther did I finally stop, gasping, and take stock of my surroundings.
Nothing but empty plains stretched out around me. After racing so long along the road, that was only natural. I tried to sort through the chaos in my head while I caught my breath.
"Have you calmed down now?"
It was my older sister who had followed me.
"Ah... Unnie..."
Whether from mental or physical exhaustion, the moment I saw her I found myself clinging to her without thinking.
"What am I supposed to do..."
With only my sister here, I could pour out my true feelings.
"I—I'm a man... and yet a confession...?"
"Mm."
"Rejecting him is the right thing to do, isn't it?"
"If that's what Yuli wants, then do it."
"It's not my fault. Why—why in front of other people..."
"Mm. That man was the one in the wrong."
Having my sister agree with me soothed my heart.
I clung to her and fretted for quite a while. Eventually, Priest Daniel and Sister Mary arrived, driving the carriage.
"Thank goodness."
Ugh, how embarrassing. They'd seen the whole thing—the confession, the rejection, the running away.
I'd been bracing myself for a scolding from Sister Mary, but instead she gently pulled me into a hug.
"You must have been frightened. That foolish man put you through so much..."
Sister Mary wasn't scolding me at all—she was comforting me. That was enough to bring a few tears to my eyes.
In time, my feelings settled.
"Hah... I'm sorry."
By bolting off without a word, I'd put my sister, Sister Mary, and Priest Daniel all through trouble.
"Not at all. That fool is the problem."
Priest Daniel, Sister Mary, and even my sister all tore into Young Master Maximilian with one voice.
"I never imagined a man would make a confession in that manner."
Priest Daniel sighed and shook his head.
"Yeah. It was stupid."
Even my sister... As the one who'd received the confession, I'd been flustered, mortified, and ashamed—but was it really something that deserved this much abuse?
I couldn't quite bring myself to say so out loud.
"A fool like that deserves what he got."
"Ahaha..."
Anyway, once my mood had recovered, we properly headed back toward the village. Of course, we weren't going straight back—there was a stop to make along the way...
During the journey my thoughts grew thoroughly tangled. And I found myself thinking I needed to find a way to become a man again as soon as possible. As long as I remained like this, incidents like today's were all too likely to keep happening.
To cut them off at the root, turning back into a man was clearly the best solution.
So I had to find a hint—no matter what.
By the way, everyone was so quiet... Was it because of me?
Awkward... so awkward...
It took about three days to reach our first destination: the ruins.
In that time my feelings more or less sorted themselves out, and I came to understand.
I could finally grasp why the young master had always been so kind. Why he'd always wanted to go out together, why he'd hovered at my side—I understood it all. It was a little creepy in retrospect, but that was in the past.
And he wasn't a bad person, after all...
"Is this the place?"
"Yes."
Priest Daniel spoke as he looked over the ruins.
In the past I hadn't known why a ruined house stood out here, but now I had some idea of the reason. It had probably been a noble's villa before the barbarians struck.
It had already been two years, so my memories weren't perfectly clear, but nothing seemed to have changed much.
The young master had led people here to search, but...
Rather than checking other spots, I headed straight for my destination. The storeroom near the kitchen, was it?
"Found it."
The trap I'd fallen into.
Or should I call it an entrance?
"This is..."
"We need to go down there. What should we do?"
We had the horses and carriage, so someone had to stay and guard them.
When I looked at Priest Daniel, a heavy sigh answered me.
"Understood. I'll watch the luggage."
Priest Daniel must have read the meaning in my eyes, because he gave up at once.
"Then the three of us will go."
Would we even find anything worth taking...?
I tapped the floor here and there, listening for the hollow sound, until I located the cavity.
"Here."
Once I had the spot, I stepped back a little and used magic to smash open the entrance.
"This is..."
Sister Mary and my sister both gasped at the revealed hollow.
"Let's go down."
I hopped lightly down. Thanks to reinforcing my body thoroughly with Holy Power, I could handle the impact. Then I immediately cast a light spell to illuminate the surroundings.
A long passageway appeared. So I'd come back to this damned place again...
Honestly, I felt a twinge of unease.
But I had to go. I had to check again.
"Let's go."
When I tried to take the lead, my sister drew her sword and stepped forward.
"I'll take point."
That made sense. Sister with her sword in the vanguard, me with my spear in the center, Sister Mary bringing up the rear.
With our positions properly set, we advanced.
After three minutes? Five? A gargoyle appeared.
"A gargoyle. So there still are some."
To think they were still here...
Two years ago my skills had been too poor to handle them properly, but not anymore. With just my spear, I could take down every last gargoyle now.
I was about to step forward with full confidence when—
"Done."
My sister charged in like a storm and swung her sword in a graceful arc. Dense mana coated the blade, and it sheared straight through the gargoyle's hard stone body in a single stroke.
"Wh-what...?"
I'd been planning to avenge myself for two years ago, but she'd disposed of it far too easily.
"Yuli?"
"Y-you're strong, Unnie."
I'd known she was strong ever since she reached Knight Class, but...
I hadn't seen her move properly in real combat very often. Was this what Knight Class truly meant?
She was overwhelmingly strong.
"Is this a dungeon?"
Sister Mary asked, looking at the shattered gargoyle.
"Something like that, I suppose."
I didn't know enough myself to explain properly.
"Let's keep going."
It would take quite a while to reach the plaza that was our destination. Standing around here would only waste time.
He felt his mind going blank.
How had it come to this?
He could only stand there dazed, watching her grow more distant. The shock had been that great.
Why had this happened?
There was no need to wonder. It was because of a single letter.
On an ordinary day of training the soldiers and honing his own skills, he had received a letter.
Because it came from her, he had opened it with great anticipation.
But the contents betrayed every expectation. She was returning to her village...
Would he never see her again?!
Anxiety seized him.
His heart churned, and his restlessness grew.
There was still a chance.
The moment she left the territory to return to her village.
If he waited then, he could meet her.
He could delay no longer. He could hesitate no longer. It was time to decide.
He truly had to confess now.
He couldn't sleep, turning over and over how to confess, how to persuade her—yet the more he thought, the more his head spun.
But he had to do it.
If not now, when would the chance come again?
Soon he would have to march out to defend the border against the barbarians.
And once she returned to her village, would she ever come back to the territory?
He couldn't know.
Would their connection simply end like this?
It was agony.
If only—if only he had confessed earlier. He wouldn't have been driven into this corner.
Regret came too late. All of this was the fault of the coward who had kept putting it off, telling himself there was still time...
No—the fault of the coward he had been.
The fault of the man who had delayed and delayed the confession for fear of ruining their relationship.
He had already come too far for regret.
Fortunately, one chance still remained.
He would make the absolute most of that single chance.
Clinging to that thought alone, he endured.
But he failed.
Confessing out of the blue had been a failure after all. And to make such a graceless confession at that.
There had been parts he couldn't help.
The moment he stood before her, his mind went completely white—no thoughts came, his words stuck, his breath caught in his throat. It was almost surprising he'd managed to confess at all.
But he failed.
Faced with that clumsy, foolish confession, she recoiled and rejected him.
The instant he saw her eyes go wide with shock, he understood. He had failed... And yet—and yet he had to speak.
So he kept talking... and received a clear rejection.
She thought he was a good person, but she didn't see him as a man...
Those words cut to the bone.
And he remembered advice someone had once given him. The person who'd given that advice was probably looking at him with pity right now...
Being kind to everyone means no one feels special.
Exactly as those words had said. By treating everyone kindly all this time, he had managed to leave the impression of a good person—but that was as far as it went.
When he apologized for the failed confession, she flushed red and fled the scene.
It was an extremely dangerous thing to do, yet he couldn't even think of chasing after her.
That was how great the shock had been.
"You idiot."
A tongue click and a curse reached his ears, but he could say nothing.
It was his blunder. He hadn't meant to confess like that...
How had it come to this?
His former companions, the priest and the nun, each tossed a remark as they passed him by.
"So now that you've been rejected, you're giving up?"
Short words, but heavy with meaning.
Was his heart so small that a single rejection would make him quit?
Could he truly give up?
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't.
He had urgent duties for now, so there was nothing he could do—but he had no desire to give up.
Yet he couldn't answer. He had just been rejected, after all.
"Moron."
The nun's words seemed to pierce deep into his chest. But he couldn't refute them.
And he could only stare blankly after the nun and priest as they walked away.
What remained for him now... was one thing.
First, protect the territory. That would be the same as protecting her.
His heart ached so terribly it burned.
But there was work he had to do. He couldn't collapse here.
Even so, he was so sad, and his heart hurt so much.