Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Could you hug me just once more, for the last time?
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Tail woke up in the morning and sensed that the monastery was in quite an uproar.
'Ah, today is the day.'
It was finally the day the war had ended.
A period that could feel long or short had now come to its conclusion.
'I should go help Abbot Noha.'
He would probably be incredibly busy today.
Yujin had already left, so Tail hurried to get ready.
As soon as he finished preparing and flung open the door...
"Huh?"
He came face-to-face with a girl pacing anxiously in front of his room.
"...T-Tail."
With her radiant golden hair and sapphire-blue eyes.
Her fair skin looked especially pale today. It was Chloe.
"Lady Chloe."
The moment her name left Tail's lips, moisture began to well up in Chloe's eyes.
"Tail..."
She bit her lip hard, trying to hold back the tears.
And then she continued slowly.
"They say the victory bells have rung."
The empire had won.
It was exactly what she had so desperately wished for.
She had been so anxious about this possibility that she could barely sleep.
Yet, strangely, Chloe's expression showed no joy at all.
"Our empire... the Bellenuus Empire has won."
Her voice trembled endlessly.
Watching her like this, Tail forced down his own bitterness and said,
"Congratulations. You'll be returning to your rightful place now."
Chloe's expression turned subtly complicated.
It felt deeply disappointing and hurtful somehow.
"Is that... all there is to it?"
Her voice sharpened, and her face hardened.
"Pardon?"
As Tail looked flustered, Chloe nervously bit her thumbnail.
"...No. It's nothing."
She seemed utterly distraught.
She looked like she didn't even know how to act.
"We won."
Her lips moved slowly.
"Our empire is completely safe now. I should be happy, but why... am I."
Overwhelmed by rising emotions, she clenched her teeth.
But despite her efforts, tears finally spilled from her eyes.
"Why does it hurt so much?"
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Even in that moment, Chloe's eyes held Tail.
As if she never wanted to forget him.
Tail couldn't offer any words.
Then Chloe wiped her eyes and forced a bright smile.
Her strained smile felt heartrending and poignant.
"I'll probably leave around tomorrow."
Tomorrow.
She likely couldn't afford to leave the imperial castle empty any longer.
With an anxious expression, Chloe said,
"Tail. I'll write to you."
Tail nodded in response.
"I'll write back too."
Chloe hesitated for a moment before continuing.
"Could you... hug me just once more? For the last time?"
A commoner embracing an imperial princess?
If the outside world found out, it would cause an uproar.
'I'd probably be executed for it.'
For daring to touch the skin of such a noble and precious princess.
Normally, he would have refused, but the word "last" stuck in his heart.
'Yeah. It's the last time.'
Five years from now, she'd head to the academy, meet some dashing male lead, and become the popular girl on the rise.
Memories of an extra like him, just a commoner, would surely fade.
Thinking that way, Tail nodded.
"Sure."
At his permission, Chloe slowly placed her hands on his shoulders.
The warm, soft sensation of a woman's body enveloped him.
As her face rested on his shoulder, a sweet fragrance wafted into his nose.
She hugged him tightly for a moment, then whispered softly.
"We will meet again. Definitely."
Chloe's voice rang in his ear.
"Take care until then, Tail."
Meet again? Take care?
Puzzled, but assuming it was just a farewell, Tail brushed it off and replied,
"You take care too, Lady Chloe."
Tail gently stroked her hair.
Soft golden strands slipped between his fingers.
How long did they embrace like that? She slowly pulled away.
Her face held a mix of reluctance and anticipation.
"I'll miss you so much, Tail."
With those words, she flashed a fragile, breathtaking smile.
"So wait for me."
Until I'm ready enough to come back for you.
Chloe swallowed the rest.
And with that, she slowly turned and walked away.
As if promising a next time.
Tail stepped out of the building right away.
'But why is it so chaotic?'
For victory bells, the workers seemed tense, glancing toward Cecilia's tent.
Seeing that, Tail had a gut feeling.
'Something's gone wrong.'
Tail hurried over there.
At the same time, a shrill voice pierced his ears.
"I'm not going! I said I'm not!!!"
"Cecilia, please listen! He's just a commoner boy. He's not on your level."
There, he saw Cecilia arguing with Duchess Duvier.
"Don't talk about Tail like that! And I'm not going! I won't!"
"Cecilia!!!"
The duchess raised her voice in a shout.
At that moment, Cecilia spotted Tail.
"T-Tail!"
She ran to him, tears flying, and threw herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
"I... I don't wanna go! I don't wanna be apart from you..."
She rubbed against him in his embrace, pouring out tears.
Then she looked up with a desperate expression.
"Tail, can't you come with me? Please?"
Tail glanced at Duchess Duvier, who glared at them with clear displeasure.
If he agreed here, she'd explode.
Tail continued soothingly, as if calming Cecilia.
"Miss, it's okay. Don't worry. We can write letters."
"Letters...?"
She gazed up at him with teary eyes.
"Even then... it's not enough. I won't be able to see you anymore..."
She clutched his collar tightly with both hands.
"Tail, you promised to stay by my side. You said you wouldn't disappear. You promised!"
She shook his collar wildly, as if blaming him.
Tears spilled from her eyes again, scattering into the air.
Seeing Cecilia like this, Tail knelt down to meet her gaze.
"Miss."
Tail stroked her hair.
And for the first time in a while, he used the Brother's Healing Hand skill.
Cecilia visibly began to calm down bit by bit.
"When we write letters, come visit me sometime."
"Sniff... No, I don't wanna..."
Cecilia sobbed and shed more tears.
"If you come back, we can go to the night market together."
Tail kept using the skill as he spoke.
"We can check out the back mountain together. See how much the world's changed."
"Hic..."
"I'll never forget you, Miss. I'll always be waiting."
At Tail's words, Cecilia kept sniffling.
But she was definitely calmer than before.
"So until then, don't skip meals, and stay healthy."
Cecilia nodded vigorously at his words.
She probably knew it too.
With her brother gone, she was the only one left to carry on the family.
She had to go because without her, the family would end.
Knowing that must have made her even more upset.
Tail grinned widely and whispered to her.
"Grow up healthy and amazing, and when we meet again, I'll give you a new gift."
At that, Cecilia's eyes widened slightly.
And through her sniffles, she continued.
"You won't give one to Chloe, right?"
Even at the last moment, Cecilia warily eyeing Chloe was so cute that Tail burst out laughing.
"Pfft. Of course not. It'll be just for you, Lady Cecilia."
"I'll never forget you."
"Me too."
He answered that way, but Tail knew better.
The moment she returned, buried in letters and parties, she'd forget him.
So this sadness was probably just temporary.
Tail smiled wryly.
"So stop crying. If you keep it up, no gift~"
"Ah, no! The gift! I'm done crying!"
Cecilia wiped her tears immediately.
And she extended her pinky toward Tail.
"Then promise me, Tail."
It was the "promise just between us" from when she first tried to feed him.
Tail chuckled softly and hooked his pinky with hers.
"We promised. You can't break it."
Cecilia said in a babyish voice.
"If you run away and don't keep it."
Cecilia's reddened eyes gleamed coldly.
"Whether it's mountains, oceans, rivers, or you hide really well."
Like a villainess, she muttered ominously.
"I'll chase you down anywhere."
Her eyes clung to him, sticky and binding.
"So you have to keep the promise, Tail."
At Cecilia's words, Tail just laughed it off as cute.
And that was why he didn't realize.
That her words were utterly sincere.