Chapter 104
Chapter 104
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: The Day Wanes (2)
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Rebecca, who had been languishing in illness, suddenly beamed brightly and welcomed Jamie.
The Valle Viscount couldn't help but furrow his brow.
His daughter had been so wracked with pain that she could barely eat. Yet here she was, acting as if it had all been nothing, leaving just one thought in the viscount's mind.
‘...Rebecca likes Jamie.’
A father's eyes could read his daughter's state in an instant.
The viscount himself had left plenty of women in tears back in his day, so he knew lovesickness all too well.
Those were the eyes of a girl in love. Someone might scoff—what kind of love could a mere ten-year-old feel?—but did love really care about age?
Still, it was a genuine headache.
There was no cure for lovesickness. The only remedy was for the love to come true.
‘Hmm.’
The viscount turned his gaze to Jamie.
The boy, far more mature than his years suggested, seemed to have picked up on Rebecca's condition as well.
That was intriguing in itself. Mature or not, he was only seven. Love might not need age, but he was hardly old enough to know the real thing.
In the brief silence, Jamie made a request to the viscount.
"Viscount, could I have a moment alone with Miss Rebecca?"
"Of course."
The viscount stepped aside without a word.
He had no idea what they might discuss, but Jamie clearly understood his daughter's state. Which meant Jamie could handle the resolution.
For better or worse.
But meddling that far wasn't his place.
‘If the kids hit it off somehow...’
The viscount chuckled wryly at the thought.
Arrange a political marriage if things worked out?
The count would likely jump at the chance, but they were still just kids. And he wasn't ready to think about political marriages yet.
Not that he regretted the situation.
With that, the viscount left the room.
With the viscount gone, the two were alone.
Jamie pulled up a chair and sat beside Rebecca's bed.
She was still too weak to sit up, so she just turned her head and smiled at him. Even that seemed taxing, with sweat beading on her pale skin.
"I heard you suddenly took a turn for the worse. Feeling any better?"
"Yeah... I think so."
She giggled like a fool.
For a fleeting moment, Jane's face overlapped with hers. Jane had been gravely ill once too. Even then, she'd smiled and said, ‘I'm fine,’ to reassure him.
When she most definitely wasn't.
"Young... master."
Rebecca drew out the words as she reached out her small hand.
"Could you... hold my hand?"
Jamie took it wordlessly.
It was burning hot. Her fever must have spiked with the illness.
He summoned a faint chill and let it flow gently through her body.
"That's cool."
"Better now?"
"Yeah."
Rebecca nodded faintly.
She squeezed his hand and said,
"I missed you, young master."
"Miss Rebecca."
"I keep thinking about you. Why is that?"
Jamie had no words.
What could he say? I can't return your feelings. I'm sorry. I don't know love. I don't even have room for it in my heart.
He couldn't say that. If she were older, he might have been blunt, but to a young girl, it would leave a deep scar.
Wasn't she suffering now precisely because of feelings like that?
‘But... love doesn't exist for me. Not really.’
Rebecca was Jane's reincarnation. Her personality differed greatly, but she tugged at his attention more than most.
Still, reclaiming past emotions was impossible.
That made it all the more heartbreaking.
Jamie gathered his thoughts and spoke.
"We won't see each other for a long time."
"No!"
The reply came instantly.
Rebecca shook her head, her face demanding to know why he'd say such a thing.
But Jamie was firm.
"I don't even know when we'll meet again."
"Don't say that! I hate it!"
Her grip tightened on his hand—different from the joyful squeeze earlier.
"Why would you say something like that to me?"
Rebecca's eyes welled up, on the verge of tears from sheer incomprehension.
"Listen."
Jamie gently tugged her slender arm.
But she squeezed her eyes shut and whipped her head away, refusing to hear it.
For a girl so young to fall this hard in love, the moment was pure agony.
Jamie could have used mental manipulation to alter her feelings toward him, but he didn't want to resort to sorcery on her.
So he conveyed it with words.
"Because I won't forget you."
"..."
"Not after years, or decades. I'll always remember."
"Nooo..."
Tears streamed down her cheeks from those wide eyes.
Drip!
Jamie wiped them away.
Rebecca murmured softly, "Drip."
"Don't get lost in your feelings right now."
"Lost...?"
"Don't let them consume you."
"But young master..."
"Stop crying. Be strong. Brave. It's not like we'll never meet again, right?"
Young as she was, Rebecca didn't fully grasp his words, but she sensed what he meant.
Time was on her side.
No guarantee she'd feel the same years from now. They wouldn't meet for a long while anyway—that much was certain.
Clinging to fleeting emotions would only hurt her.
And if she still felt the same when they reunited someday...
That was what Jamie was saying.
Rebecca had only just realized what her feelings were, and now they seemed unattainable. It was heartbreaking.
But there was nothing more Jamie could do.
Any further words would only torment her more. He simply held her hand and quietly watched her cry.
How much time passed?
Once she'd calmed somewhat, Rebecca looked up at him through puffy eyes.
"Can I... write you letters?"
"Of course."
"...I'll write sometimes. You have to reply."
"I will."
"Promise."
Not trusting words alone, she hooked her pinky with his. It was such a childish gesture—and truly, she was still a child.
All he'd permitted was letters.
"Hee hee."
The girl started giggling, as if it were the greatest gift.
Her tear-streaked face looked utterly ridiculous as she smiled.
Jamie teased her in a playful tone.
"Crying one minute and laughing the next—you'll get a horn on your butt."
"R-Really?!"
Rebecca was the picture of innocence.
Another day passed.
The formal banquet concluded.
The attending nobles swiftly returned to their territories.
The Valle Viscount's family was the last to depart.
"We'll meet again, big brother."
"Safe travels."
"Take care. You too."
"See you next time!"
"Rest up for three days before you go."
Rebecca and Ash bowed to the count and countess.
The viscount smiled faintly and greeted Jamie and Sara, who stood beside the couple.
"I expect you both to be even more impressive next time. Sara, even prettier too."
"Safe travels."
"Bye-bye."
Jamie and Sara—half-hiding behind her brother—waved shyly.
The viscount nudged his daughters to say goodbye.
"You two as well."
"See you later!"
Ash waved energetically, and Jamie nodded with a smile.
"Yeah. Until next time."
"Bye-bye."
Sara waved too.
She'd apparently played with Sara during their stay and grown close.
Next was Rebecca.
Though much recovered, she still looked frail from the lingering fever.
Even so, she smiled and bid Jamie farewell.
"See you someday, young master."
Emphasizing someday showed she was still holding onto their conversation from two nights ago.
Jamie gave an awkward smile and waved.
"Y-Yeah, see you."
"Bye..."
Not close with Rebecca, Sara hid behind him again and mouthed her goodbye.
The Valle family boarded their carriage, and it rolled out at the coachman's signal.
Ash poked her head out the window, waving vigorously.
"Next time, I'll be even taller! Look forward to it!"
What was he supposed to look forward to?
As Jamie grimaced, Rebecca followed her sister's lead, leaning out as best she could.
"I-I'm definitely writing those letters!"
Jamie scratched his cheek, embarrassed.
"Our boy's quite the heartthrob, isn't he?"
"Haha, indeed. When did he charm the Valle Viscount's daughters?"
"Ch-Charm? I didn't do anything."
Jamie flushed at his parents' teasing, denying it.
‘I was just myself.’
But being so effortlessly cool—what could he do?
If it was a crime, then being born this way was the crime.
"Anyway."
Once the Valle carriage vanished from sight, Count Welton addressed his son.
"You're a day behind schedule, but now we can focus on you."
"Yes, Father."
He should have begun training in the Pure Sword Strike yesterday, but the banquet had dragged on, delaying it by a day.
"Steel yourself. It's a whole different league from Hamilton's lessons."
"I'm looking forward to it."
"Mom believes our boy will do great."
"Big bro, fighting!"
The day waned.
Time flowed on.
The new year dawned, and Jamie turned eight.
"Hm. This bread's too dry. Some milk would help."
A man in tattered, worn clothes gnawed on stale bread.
In stark contrast, his appearance was impeccably neat.
His lustrous bright golden hair was tied back in a single ponytail, a far cry from the hole-riddled, dirt-caked robe.
His skin was so pale and flawless, he could pass for nobility.
His wall-gray eyes were piercing, his sharp nose like a blade.
A man whose looks clashed utterly with his garb.
"Wh-What the hell are you...!"
The bearded brute before him leveled his spear, blade trembling from tension.
He was the infamous bandit lord of these mountains, a former knight and expert-level warrior.
Yet he quaked in terror before this pristine blond.
The man chewed his bread and replied to the bandit lord.
"What else? Just some guy you idiots pissed off."
"Th-That's not what I'm asking! My men—!"
The bandit lord glanced around, bellowing.
Over two hundred bandits lay scattered as cold corpses.
Even more terrifying: not a single wound on any of them.
"What a joke."
The man tossed his bread to the ground.
He'd endured it out of hunger, but it was inedible. His mouth felt like a drought-stricken wasteland.
The man rose.
The bandit lord swallowed dryly, aura flaring.
"You'll pay for slaughtering my men!"
He didn't know what this guy was, but he had pride in his skills.
No great mage could beat him.
Warriors who wielded aura were the natural counters to mages, after all!
The man smirked at the bandit lord.
"Humans always regret their choices."
The air shifted.
No metaphor.
The very density of space increased.
Trapped within, the bandit lord was speechless.
The man—Siegfried—wiggled a finger.
That was the bandit lord's end.
Siegfried wiped his smile and withdrew his mana.
"Wasted time on these nobodies."
The day was cold.
Midwinter. The overcast sky would soon unleash heavy snow.
"Hope I reach Hys before then."
Seventh Elder of the Seldam Kingdom's mage council.
Siegfried of Space.
His form flickered and vanished.