Prologue — It Was Not the Eyes of a Hurting Person
When I opened the bedroom door, Cecilia was standing there.
She wore a gown over her thin pajamas.
Her silver hair, which she usually kept neatly tied, was let loose today.
I paused to look at her for a moment.
“Even today?”
“... Can I not?”
Her answer had come a little too quickly.
Cecilia's face remained expressionless.
But her mood was different.
The calm that had been there just moments ago vanished in an instant.
It was dark.
Cramped.
An uncomfortable feeling as if something was stuck in my throat.
I let out a small sigh.
“I didn't say it couldn't.”
“Really?”
Surprisingly, those words made her feel a little better.
It seemed she still found it hard to sleep alone.
Thinking back to when I first brought her here, she had improved quite a bit.
The trembling in her hands had almost disappeared.
The habit of wandering at night looking for her sword had decreased.
The nightmares where she woke up drenched in cold sweat were not as intense as before.
But that didn't mean she was fully healed.
Unlike the wounds on her body, the wounds in her heart wouldn't vanish just by taking a few pills.
“Come in.”
I stepped aside, and Cecilia quietly entered the room.
Now it was a familiar routine.
She lay down on the bed first and pressed her body against the wall.
Cecilia lay on the opposite side.
At first, it had been quite a distance.
Enough space for about one arm.
“I'll turn off the lights.”
“Alright.”
When I extinguished the magic lamp, the room darkened.
Only the faint moonlight filtering through the window remained.
I closed my eyes.
Just as I was about to fall asleep...
Slither.
The blanket moved from beside me.
I opened my eyes.
Cecilia had moved a little closer.
... Closer.
Earlier it had been about the distance for one arm, but now it was about two palms.
A few strands of her silver hair touched my arm.
It was ticklish.
When I moved slightly, Cecilia's shoulder twitched.
And...
Her mood darkened again.
Ah.
Was it because of that?
I stopped the movement I was about to make.
I waited a moment.
As expected...
It gradually settled.
It seems to have an effect.
It was the same on the first night we slept together.
Having someone beside you made it much more stable than being alone.
Probably due to the influence of fighting against the Demon King's army back then.
She had mentioned that there were many times she was attacked while sleeping.
Perhaps she felt secure when there was the warmth or presence of another person nearby.
Thinking that way, this much wasn't a big deal.
I closed my eyes again.
How much time had passed?
Something touched my arm.
This time it wasn't hair.
It was fingers.
Cecilia's fingertips were touching the end of my sleeve.
Then, very slightly...
She grabbed the hem of my clothes.
......
I didn't open my eyes.
Her mood was comfortable.
In a way I hadn't felt in a long time.
So there was no need to wake her.
She has improved a lot.
It was fortunate.
With just a little more treatment, she might be able to sleep alone.
With that thought, I fell asleep.
“Evan.”
“Hm?”
“Do you remember the plan to go to the forest today?”
“Of course.”
Liana narrowed her eyes.
“You said that last time too.”
“Back then, Cecilia's condition suddenly worsened.”
“I know.”
Liana pouted slightly and took my hand.
“So today is all mine.”
“Don't treat people like objects.”
“Is that bad?”
Our fingers naturally intertwined.
It was a familiar sensation.
“No.”
“Then it's fine.”
Liana smiled.
It had been a long time since our first outing together.
The forest we had walked countless times since childhood.
It was where Liana had become a Spiritist, and where I had first learned about herbs.
“Today, we'll go all the way inside.”
“Weren't we going to gather herbs?”
“It's a date.”
“We can gather herbs too.”
“That's why you're an alchemist.”
Liana grumbled but didn't let go of my hand.
How far had we walked like that?
Suddenly, Liana's steps stopped.
“Why?”
No answer.
Liana was looking between the trees.
“Liana?”
“Wait a moment.”
The wind blew.
A small light appeared between the leaves and floated near Liana's ear.
It was a spirit.
Liana's expression changed slightly.
“Is someone there?”
“Who?”
I looked around.
I didn't sense anything.
No animals.
No monsters.
No people.
“Over there.”
Liana released my hand.
And she stepped a few steps away from the forest path.
“Liana?”
I tried to follow, but she raised her hand to stop me.
“Stay here.”
Liana, who had disappeared behind the tree, returned after a while.
Her expression was strange.
“What happened?”
“... Nothing.”
“Did the spirit misinterpret something?”
Liana didn't answer.
Instead, she took my hand again.
A little tighter than before.
“Let's go.”
“Yeah.”
I continued walking without thinking much about it.
But I glanced back once.
There was nothing.
Liana had seen it.
Between the trees.
Under the shade where sunlight didn't properly reach.
A woman with silver hair was standing there.
Cecilia.
She should have been resting at home.
It wasn't a coincidence that we happened to encounter her on a walk.
There was no sword.
She wasn't looking for herbs.
She was simply standing still.
Looking at Evan.
When our eyes met, she didn't show any surprise.
She didn't run away.
The two of us stared at each other in silence for a while.
It was Cecilia who broke the gaze first.
Without saying a word, she turned her body.
Her footsteps left almost no trace.
Liana stared at the spot where her back had disappeared for a long time.
And she recalled the eyes from just before.
Evan didn't know yet.
Even if she asked, he would probably answer similarly.
That the treatment wasn't complete yet.
That it was because of anxiety.
That the wound from losing Leon was still there.
But...
Liana saw people in a much more ordinary way than Evan.
That's why she could tell.
This was not the eyes of a person seeking help.
It was not the eyes of someone who had lost something.
Most of all—
It was certainly not the eyes of a woman who missed the hero.
What Cecilia was looking at from the beginning was only one thing.
Evan.