The Road North 3
I really must not be suited for cold places. Ever since a while ago, my chest has felt chilled, and I’ve been suffering from a faint headache and dizziness. It’s like something sticky has pooled in my throat, too. Anyway, it’s definitely not a good feeling. Once we arrive at the northern territory, I should find a doctor first. And then I’ll have to bow deeply and beg for permission to return home, citing my poor health.
“Your complexion has looked poor for the past three days. Is something wrong?”
“It’s nothing. Just a mild headache. It seems I’m simply not accustomed to the northern cold.”
I thought that saying this would make them send me back home immediately, but as always, that bastard called reality was cruel.
“That’s serious. Once we return to the territory, I’ll assign you a personal physician, so please rest easy.”
Is this the second coming of King Sejong? My fiancée, Lady Glacia, did not grant my request to return home. What kind of evil boss is this?
“By the way, Lady Glacia, may I ask you a few questions?”
“Yes, I will answer anything I am able to.”
“When I ran away from the engagement ceremony… did Brother Melchior and Sister Melissa get very angry?”
Since they were Glacia’s parents, I wanted to get a rough idea of the situation. No matter what, I had abandoned their daughter and fled. They must have been at least a little upset. If it were me and someone abandoned my daughter like that, I’d chase them to the ends of hell and tear them limb from limb. Plus, in the game, those two were ranked in the top two for having the worst tempers. Weren’t they probably sharpening their blades to kill me?
Even if things worked out later, I had a feeling I might die the moment I met them.
“No. Father and Mother were not angry at all.”
Huh? That can’t be right. Weren’t those two the ones who ripped apart the mouth of someone who mocked their beloved daughter as a half-vampire and then massacred the entire family? Yet they’re forgiving me for abandoning their daughter? Or are they just smiling and letting it slide in front of her, while secretly plotting my death behind the scenes? That would be completely in character for them.
“Instead, they said this.”
“May I ask what they said?”
I’m going to rip that bastard’s lower half off? I’m going to chop his limbs into pieces? I doubted anything pleasant had come out of their mouths.
“Father said, ‘We didn’t even know about the wounds the youngest was carrying, and instead we poured salt on them.’”
“...What?”
That muscle-brained meathead actually realized what Werner had been struggling with back then? No fucking way. Is that even possible?
Glacia’s father was, to put it nicely, a warrior who valued honor, and to put it bluntly, a barbaric musclehead. He worshipped strength and duty above all else and didn’t particularly care about other people’s feelings… yet he understood Werner’s anguish, something even Zeke and Media had failed to notice?
“And Mother said, ‘We don’t want to hurt the youngest any more than this, so we’ll stay out of this idiotic mess.’”
That really does sound like her. It seems she finally understood a bit of Werner’s troubles. So there actually were people who understood him. The only person I knew who understood Werner was his wizard friend, and even that relationship had fallen apart later on.
“And they told me this: If I truly care about Sir Werner, I should set my feelings aside for now and wait until his wounds have healed.”
Then why the hell am I being dragged along? I haven’t finished recovering yet? If we’re talking in terms of an HP bar, I’m still at about forty percent?
“So I waited. For twelve long years.”
If you were going to wait anyway, you could’ve waited just a little longer. Thirty years would’ve been nice. Then I might have been willing to acknowledge that pure love of yours.
“I even knew that you were with another woman, but I didn’t mind at all. Being with someone else might help heal your wounds. However, little by little, a question began to take root in my heart.”
Glacia grabbed my chin. So strongly that I felt I couldn’t escape. I was certain that if she applied just a little more force, my jaw would shatter. But what frightened me more than the strength of her grip was the look in her eyes. Those intense eyes that seemed ready to shoot beams of light at any moment and pierce straight through my skull.
“Why can’t I stay by Sir Werner’s side? I was a girl the same age as your disciple. Why did I have to endure it, while she was allowed to stay by your side for you? No matter how much I think about it… isn’t that unfair…?”
Why the hell are you asking me that? During that whole process, I was just sleeping peacefully back in my hometown, living a carefree life. I only ended up stuck with the annoying task of raising a child. Who the hell is supposed to understand the hardships Werner went through dealing with that wild little brat?
When Airi suddenly disappeared without a word, Werner thought she’d been kidnapped and went around beating up every thug in the area while searching for her. And where was Airi the whole time? She had come back home while he was out looking for her and was fast asleep.
“I can make sure no one disrespects you, Sir Werner. If I were your wife, you could have received a title and become a noble of higher status than anyone else.”
“But I…”
“That is why Mother and Father accepted the marriage talks. It wasn’t to tie you down.”
“...What did you just say?”
I was certain those marriage talks had been a scheme cooked up by his older brother and sister out of fear that Werner would suddenly disappear. Yet what Glacia was saying now was completely unexpected.
“They were always worried that Sir Werner was suffering because of his origins, that his genius was being overshadowed by his status.”
“...... Brother and Sister never said anything like that to me. Instead, every time we met, they would smack me on the back and tell me to build more muscle.”
“What do you think the reason was that they never brought it up in front of you?”
Ah, so that’s how it was. Werner was sensitive about the topic of status, so they deliberately avoided mentioning it. It was a little surprising that a muscle-brained meathead and a vampire could read people’s hearts so well. After all, those two were the last people among the cast who I’d expect to care about someone else’s feelings.
“That’s why they accepted the marriage talks. They wanted to give you the backing of a family.”
“It seems they completely ignored Lady Glacia’s own wishes.”
Deciding their daughter’s marriage partner while only caring about the son-in-law’s circumstances and paying no attention to their daughter’s feelings—what kind of parents do that? This isn’t like sending a daughter off to marry into a noble family during the Joseon Dynasty.
“No. I was the one who first brought up the marriage talks.”
“Pardon?”
“When I was six years old, I told Father and Mother that if I were to marry, it would only be to Sir Werner. No one else.”
So at an age only a year older than Shin-chan, she had declared who she would marry. To say something like that during the age when daughters are the cutest—how badly must they have wanted to kill me? If it were me, I would’ve immediately tracked her down and hit her with dozens of lightning spells.
“Because I have loved you ever since then.”
Just as I expected. I knew she had fallen in love back then, but still…
“If the idea of taking me as your wife is so repulsive to you… if becoming my husband is that distasteful, then I understand your feelings completely.”
“Glacia…”
It wasn’t that I disliked Glacia. It was just that my current situation made marriage a bit awkward. I’m only human. If I had hurt her this much… I would have been willing to marry her out of a sense of duty. Just not right now. It would have to be after I resolved Airi’s issues.
“If that is how you feel, then there is only one solution.”
Yes, for now she should set those feelings aside. No matter how painful or agonizing it is, there is only one way. Keep living anyway. That would be the only answer.
“If you dislike living as my husband, then I will take you as my wife.”
“...Pardon?”
I suddenly wanted to go straight to the north and see what she ate. I was curious what kind of food could lead to that kind of conclusion. Instead of calling off the engagement or postponing it, she wants to switch roles? Whose brain even produces thoughts like that?
“I’ve heard that love can take many forms.”
“That’s certainly true, but…”
“So it should be fine for me to be the husband and for you, Sir Werner, to be the wife. That kind of love.”
It’s not fine at all. Is this that thing about the female falling into corruption or whatever?
“Hehe. It was a joke.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
For some reason I couldn’t explain, the headache that had been plaguing me since earlier seemed to be getting worse. My chest felt strangely cold, and my body felt as heavy as if it had soaked up water.
“...Your complexion is still poor. Let’s stop the carriage for a moment and rest. We can talk about marriage later.”
The carriage came to a stop, and I stepped outside to breathe in some fresh air. Even though I was wearing the fur coat Glacia had given me, the cold wind still pierced through my clothes and seeped into me. The frigid air felt like it was stabbing my lungs.
And the headache that had been worsening since earlier was now accompanied by a tightness in my throat. Whatever was clogging my throat must have grown tired of its imprisonment, because it attempted a prison break along with a cough.
Scarlet blood splattered across the pure white snowfield, and I lost my balance and collapsed.
Only then did I remember—the setting where people didn’t know much about magic sealing artifacts. This thing was dangerous if a grand mage-level person wore it for too long.