Faded Memories
I stared blankly at the document bearing the seal of the Duke’s house, drawing a slow breath in and letting it out again.
There had been no end of talk about money, about the honors they would heap upon me—but in the end it all came down to one simple truth.
The war was over. I could go home.
A laugh slipped out of me for no good reason.
I had made promises I could never keep, then broken them under the excuse of wanting everyone to be happy. No one had asked me to sacrifice myself, yet I had done it anyway.
Every single day I had wanted to see them. Every single day I had wanted to meet them. Whenever the war grew too heavy to bear, I had clutched the picture we had drawn together and forced myself to endure.
The Young Master had told me, quite clearly, that everyone was living happily. That the patronage funds and support I had secured through my own sacrifice had made them all happy. That the childhood friends with whom I once played house were all happy now. Thinking of it that way, those hellish years almost felt like they had been repaid.
Rhea was preparing for marriage, just as she had always dreamed. Surely she had forgotten a man like me and found someone far more wonderful and kind.
Ceria had wanted to become a sister, so she had entered the Orthodox Church. Surely she would grow into someone as fine as Sister Flora—Ceria had always been so gentle.
Claudia was with people who loved her without discrimination, they said. People who surely loved even her Wolf Tribe tail.
“Haa…”
Because the anniversary of the sister who had taken us in had come around, I returned to my hometown for the first time in years.
The childhood friends who were supposed to be living well.
The people I had believed would welcome me home.
“…Hic… Ri-Riel. A-Are you going to leave me again this time? P-Please… don’t abandon me.”
“…Because I’m a Wolf Tribe… because I’m no good… that’s why you left us, right? H-Hold me. I-I’m sorry. J-Just let me stay by your side…”
“I prayed for you to come back… for more than a thousand days…”
Every last one of them was broken.
Without exception, each of them had lines carved into their wrists.