The Village of Tears (Triang Village, Part 4)
The decision to handle the matter through the Academy came after Grace's stubbornness could not be broken.
Even so, since there was still one more place where the man could be used, we simply knocked him out and tossed him roughly near the camp, then returned to our spot.
Almost immediately, I felt Grace's gaze again, sharp and strange, fixed on me.
"Enough already. You saved the guy, didn't you?"
"But…!"
Anna and Lilisciana slipped out of the tent at just the right moment, their bodies appearing smoothly to block Grace's long-winded speech before it could even begin.
"Hee-ah~ Did we share the story nicely in order?"
Entering had been cozy, and the moment we came out, the tone was perfectly sequential.
Instantly, a wave of frustration surged through me, and I bit my lip hard.
After all, he was the bandit leader we had dragged here on purpose, and the plan we had rehearsed for this very purpose.
Taking a deep breath, I calmly explained the entire situation to Lilisciana.
"So… there was absolutely no romantic atmosphere between me and Grace. From the beginning, Grace and I only exchanged glances because the bandits spotted our approach, right?"
"Yes."
Lilisciana asked again to confirm, her finger pointing at the bandit leader we had brought along as she raised one eyebrow.
Keeping her calm expression, I nodded in response to her question.
Of course, everything I said was a lie. A lie built on truth.
But if something could be used, we had to use it. With an easy path right in front of us, there was no reason to detour unnecessarily.
The only nagging point, however, was Grace's unwavering devotion.
That's why she had instructed Anna to stay and talk while taking only Lilisciana along to explain.
"Hmm."
Lilisciana pursed her lips and began staring fixedly at the man sprawled on the ground.
"He really is a bandit. With your level of skill, you would have noticed someone approaching."
"As expected, Your Highness the Princess."
Her gaze shifted from the man to me. Lilisciana looked briefly into my eyes, then turned and headed toward the camp where Grace and Anna were waiting.
I let out a quiet sigh of relief, but the moment we reached the camp, Lilisciana asked Grace the exact question I had just been asked.
Grace glanced sideways at me, and I pleaded with my eyes for her to twist the story to fit.
In response, Grace offered Lilisciana the same gentle, motherly smile she always gave me.
"Between me and Berry-nim, there was never any exchange of friendly feelings."
"If you, who is famous for speaking only the truth, say so… then that's the case."
Grace maintained her serene smile in silence, and Lilisciana tilted her head for a moment before sighing as though she had no choice and sat down beside the campfire.
I could not bear to watch her noble, flickering heart any longer.
"Your Highness…!"
"Anna-nim."
Why? Why was she in such distress over me and Grace?
Grace gave me a glance that said she was watching me, then gently helped Anna rise from where she was sitting.
Though I had no idea what she was plotting, since she had already taken action, I had no choice but to watch and wait.
"Huh…? Why…?"
Anna asked while rubbing her sleepy eyes.
Grace suggested to Anna that it was perfect timing, and that she should take her turn as night watch.
"Anna-nim should rest inside. I won't be able to sleep because my heart is still racing from what happened just now. It's only fair that someone who can sleep does so."
"Eh… then, instead of me, it's the princess who…?"
"The princess said she would not allow it at the camp, didn't she? Don't worry and come inside. Quickly now."
Anna looked at Lilisciana with the same bewildered, childlike eyes she had toward small animals, asking if it was truly okay.
Lilisciana, unable to resist that innocent gaze, nodded.
Grace pushed Anna's back and guided her into the tent, then approached me and whispered softly.
"I will talk calmly about that matter. Berry-nim, please go inside and rest."
"You? Why?"
Grace looked at the bandit leader we had brought as if answering my question.
"You must be tired from what happened just now. I will speak to the princess carefully, so don't worry and go rest well."
"You seem plenty tired yourself."
Grace gave me her usual loving smile.
"There's no need for you to worry. Unlike you, I haven't done anything, so I have no right to talk about resting."
"No, still…"
"Come now, don't waste time here and hurry."
It was the epitome of pure goodness from her. She appeared to have no reluctance at all in her sacrifice.
There was no way persuasion could reach someone like her.
Her words were instantly dismissed, and I had no choice but to follow her suggestion.
Thump. Thump.
The crackling of the campfire had long since faded into the quiet forest.
Lilisciana was thinking carefully because Grace had asked about the situation where they had not been able to meet their "lover."
Everyone knew the truth that Grace could see through a person's lies, and yet some were already calling her the Saint of Truth because of her abundant holy power, beautiful appearance, and kind nature.
So Lilisciana was carefully choosing the words she would say to Grace.
To find a kind answer that would not become a lie as much as possible.
But unlike what was known, Grace could not only detect lies—she could sense emotions as well.
So the moment Lilisciana spoke, Grace could not help but feel the emotion behind it.
"Always regretful."
'Always regretful.'
Lilisciana had chosen words that would not become a lie, but hidden inside them was a regret so deep that even I could not have imagined it.
Grace narrowed her eyes.
Is she regretting coming to the Academy?
Regretting not meeting her lover… The depth of that regret was almost unbelievable, but if it came from truly loving someone, Grace could understand.
"Are you regretting coming to the Academy?"
"No, not really."
But Lilisciana's answer was a firm no, and her heart was sincere.
Then why?
What exactly was she regretting?
Grace took one step toward the vague emotion.
"Has Your Highness ever regretted something from the past?"
"Well, isn't it something everyone does once or twice?"
Lilisciana's voice carried a deeper regret because she remembered the times she had tormented her attendant.
Of course, it was not shown outwardly in her words.
"That's right… I often regret not being able to save the people I couldn't help because my abilities were lacking."
Grace gazed at Lilisciana with gentle eyes.
Grace realized that her past regret had originated from her own mistakes.
Normally, she would have found it difficult to reveal her own flaws first, and asking the princess to share her past regrets felt disrespectful.
Yet by doing so, Grace had managed to draw out Lilisciana's answer.
Partly because she was still under the influence of dawn emotions, and partly because recalling her attendant's memories stirred her heart and soul, making her want to pour her feelings into someone.
"I regret being too young. Not my age, but my mind."
"…"
"I regret my short-sighted thinking and the childish personality I had once I let my guard down—something I never thought about or saw beyond."
Grace looked back at Lilisciana with a heart filled with envy, her eyes overflowing with regret, longing, and bitter envy.
"If I could see through lies like you, then the story would definitely have been different?"
'I wouldn't have lost… Finn…?'
Lilisciana's eyes grew hazy. It was because tears had covered her pupils.
The moonlight reflected in those hazy eyes was beautiful. She was showing off her form as if unaware of her pain.
Just as the moon still shines beautifully in a puddle even if rain falls, Lilisciana's collapsed grief paradoxically made her look incredibly beautiful.
This young girl whose face was about to disappear… What exactly was she regretting?
More than making this sorrowful princess cry, who was she who drove a stake into her heart?
It was a form of love unlike anything she had ever seen before.
Love, after all, should make people happy. No, it had to.
By receiving love, a person could live a life.
By giving love, a person could find meaning in their life.
'That meaning of life… regret and sorrow?'
Grace, unable to understand no matter how she thought, began organizing her own thoughts again in the usual order.
First, the princess had done something wrong in the past and regretted it deeply. The other person was probably her lover.
Second, the mistake was related to a lie.
Third, the mistake was connected to the princess's own childish personality that she had mentioned.
'With this alone, I still don't get the full picture.'
Apologizing for the mistake would be simple. If it was a lie, admitting the truth and declaring remorse for her past self would be enough.
That was why Grace could not understand Lilisciana, who regretted and grieved so deeply even though she truly loved her lover.
Or, who could have predicted it?
The empire's princess.
A girl so beautiful that even Grace herself, who had once captivated all the men of the empire with her beauty, was left speechless at her appearance.
A girl who would bind a shackle on her left-hand ring finger and declare that she would consider the dead man her lifelong partner.
Who could have guessed that?
So Grace spoke aloud the one sentence that could resolve her confusion.
A sentence that was no different from the reverse scale to Lilisciana.
"People always have value in regretting and reflecting on their sins and mistakes. Yet Your Highness already regrets your own actions, does not the only thing left to do is to seek forgiveness…?"
"That's why I'm doing this!!!!"
The girl's voice, mixed with tears, split apart and erupted.
She voiced her regret without filter, without regret for forgiveness or for anything that could be undone—directed toward someone who could not understand her inner feelings.
Grace realized her mistake and took one step closer to the full truth.