The Brand (3)
On a night when snow fell in relentless sheets.
“……?”
Rebecca felt a gentle pressure on her sleeve and quietly opened her eyes. Their eyes met. She sensed the anxiety flickering in the girl's pupils.
“T-that is… that.”
Golden eyes brimming with tears.
A voice as fragile as a candle before the winter wind.
“I’m sorry… I’m in so much pain.”
Instead of answering, she gently pulled the girl closer by the waist. The child, wriggling deeper into her embrace, was almost unbearably cute. After a few strokes of her hair, a soft floral scent wafted beneath her nose.
“Today… it’s chamomile.”
During the day, it was the refreshing scent of pine; at night, the soothing aroma of flowers—or perhaps the sweet scent of fruit. Without anyone noticing, the seasons had slipped into her daily life, and she had come to recognize the scent blooming from the girl. The child's existence was nature itself. On a grand scale, she was the forest and the garden; on a small scale, she was the shade of the trees that comforted her weary body and mind.
“……It’s hot.”
“It’s okay. It’ll be okay soon.”
Whispering, she brought her lips to the girl's forehead. To her surprise, it was as hot as a burning ember. The palace's personal physician had visited secretly during the day, but he had said, “As expected, we cannot casually administer human medicine to a druid's child. First, have her examined by the head of the Ceres Magic Tower, and then prescribe medicine accordingly.” Instead, he left some herbal teas that would help with fever.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”
“It’s okay. Come closer.”
Rebecca's clear blue aura emitted a chill befitting her. It was perfect for cooling the fever. Moreover, activating her aura beside the child inexplicably heightened her sensitivity, making it an effective training method as well.
“…But where did this decay mana come from?”
From the report received from Sonia. The decay mana and the demon estimated to have been summoned by the child. Rebecca had been ordered by the Emperor to protect the girl and simultaneously monitor her thoroughly. But decay mana, rarely seen even on the battlefield? She couldn't believe it. During the time she had spent with the child so far, she had never felt such ominous energy.
“Rather, if it's this friendly and comforting aura… I could even promote the entire knight order. Ah, no need for such troublesome things. I just like it. It's incredibly lovable. If I keep this up, soon they'll take the child from me, and I might go mad.”
I want to have her.
I want to hide her somewhere forever.
If only she could look at me and rely on me for the rest of her life——
“Wah, it's hot. It's too hot.”
While thinking such forbidden thoughts, she snapped back to reality at the girl's pained whimper. An overwhelming sense of possession had slipped into the unconscious gap without her knowing. Realizing it, guilt surged. Damn it, as a knight, I must endure.
“It would be good to drink some water.”
Her voice cracked, lips parched.
Moreover, sweat had been dripping excessively since earlier.
“The boiled tea has cooled a bit, but still warm——”
“D-don’t.”
“…!”
Under the quiet moonlight.
The girl looking up at her from within her arms.
Her fists clutching tightly to Rebecca's nightgown.
The flush on her lightly flushed face, and her tear-soaked voice.
In an instant, something snapped inside Rebecca's heart.
“……?”
Ah, how utterly destructive this is…
I want to hold her. Strongly, to the point of not being able to let go!
Damn it… I have to endure! Hold on, Rebecca Artangel!
Isn't it shameful for the vice commander of the Imperial Knights to be like this!
“D-don’t… I’m sorry.”
This is what people call the magic of the night.
It's just a temporary hallucination brought by the time of enchantment!
“…Hah, I will not leave your side.”
“Y-you won’t go?”
“Yes.”
Intense impulse. She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.
Her composure shaking with just one word and one gesture.
She pinched her own thigh to exert extreme patience.
“Since you must be thirsty, I’ll fetch the tea from the teapot over there by the bed.”
Pointing with her finger to the teapot on the table beside the bed.
Just a few steps away.
“May I?”
“…….”
But the force holding her collar didn't fade. Even this trivial force stirred something in her chest. Goddess Arataine, goddess of war and wisdom, please do not test me. Grant me only the strength to overcome trials.
“…Thirst is bearable. But I don’t want to be alone.”
“Then shall we go together?”
Nodding.
“As you wish.”
Rebecca gently lifted the girl into her arms. To prevent her from breaking, she carefully wrapped her waist like handling glass. The child leaned her head lightly against Rebecca's shoulder. The soft—less mature horn's texture felt together. The gentle breath near her ear.
“Even the cat in the training ground would be heavier than this.”
Thinking this, as she took a step.
“?”
As if waiting,
An owl's cry echoed from somewhere.
“[───… ───…]”
“?”
As if waiting,
An owl's cry echoed from somewhere.
“[───… ───…]”
Outside the window, on the snow-covered branches.
Two owls sat side by side.
𐂂
The Moon Messenger Owl spoke.
“[Sister, that rat… no, I think it was the one Lord Ramon mentioned, that child? ]”
They had been gifted with the insight and wisdom to oversee the secrets of the forest from the mother nature. The ability to find paths even in darkness without light and to read the flow of subtle mana, and the silent flight like sliding on frozen lakes, were abilities perfectly suited to them.
“[Indeed, it’s not a normal human child.]”
“[But those horns sprouting from the head, unmistakably a demon race——]”
“[No demonic aura felt, so no.]”
“[Then perhaps a mixed blood of human and demon? ]”
The owl shook its head.
“[Eh… Anyway, seeing the child escape safely from the prison, it seems the Emperor properly understood Sister’s oracle! ]”
“[Though it was quite late.]”
A voice laced with sorrow. The conversations with Ramon had been quite enjoyable. When the weather turned cold, she had thought the child would leave for winter sleep, leaving her alone. That small rat had ultimately chosen to stay by the child's side even if it meant sacrificing his life. If only the human leader, the Emperor, had acted more hastily…
“[Sister has done her best. She spent almost a month searching only for the human leader of that race, the Emperor. Because of that, the journey to the Great Forest was delayed. Ah, how much sweat I shed trying to soothe the cries of the crows! So, Lord Ramon must be grateful.]”
Perhaps.
But it would have been better if she had been gentler.
She felt a bit guilty about how she had treated him at the end.
Though it was too late for regret.
“[Do you remember. The dream that all the spirits of the continent wove.]”
“[Of course. The flower field of that pure white Oxalis! It was so beautiful that the next summer seemed to be waiting.]”
It was indeed beautiful, but to her who knew Ramon, it was a heartbreaking sight. The untimely Oxalis flowers. A flower that should have bloomed in the vibrant summer of life force had bloomed in the dead of winter, signaling a desire that could not be fulfilled due to the misalignment of seasons.
“[If you knew the meaning of that flower, it wouldn’t be so beautiful.]”
“[I haven’t learned it yet because my wisdom is short.]”
“[When the next summer comes, I’ll teach you.]”
Oxalis, or love grass. Its meaning——
“I’ll protect you till the end.”
Ramon, you have accomplished it splendidly.
“[Sister? Are you okay? ]”
“[…I’m fine.]”
The owl, awakened from sleep, instinctively sensed Ramon’s death. And that he had safely been embraced by the mother World Tree after accepting his mission. That day, the mother had shed tears over his death. The fierce rain pouring over the Great Forest. The spirits who had lived for quite a long time would have realized it even in their dreams.
“[Should I laugh or cry? I truly don’t know. I was just briefly tied to a fleeting connection.]”
“[Since the child lived, Ramon’s noble mission is complete. So, don’t be too sad.]”
“[Yes, that’s enough.]”
The girl he had tried to protect.
The owl had first seen that girl today.
The form of mana flowing from that child…
“[By the way, about the mana flowing from that child. Haven’t I seen it somewhere before? ]”
“[Hmm…? It’s too faint to tell clearly, but… it feels familiar somehow… ]”
Just a coincidence?
Golden mana shining warmly like sunlight.
And strangely, like from the mother——
“[Eh, Sister! The child is coming this way.]”
“[Cry loudly. So that the child can look this way.]”
Following the mother's will,
The time had come to fulfill the oath with Ramon.