66. The Knight Can’t Sleep
“Hi! Is this the first time you’ve seen him?”
The boy rubbed his dirty, muddy hands on his clothes and then abruptly reached out to the girl.
“Nice to meet you!”
“… ….”
“Where are you from? Is that old man your father, Sher?”
“… ….”
“Are you from the city? I want to go to the city, too!”
“Ah….”
“Huh? What?”
“Oh, hi….”
“… What can I say! Your voice is beautiful!”
The girl, who was introverted by nature, couldn’t resist the boy who smiled cheerfully and talked about this and that, but she couldn’t accept it.
Spring with a cool breeze. A girl and a boy met on a hill full of small and pretty flowers, under a plum tree growing tall on the top of the hill.
It’s been a week since I came to this town. Beside the girl who had climbed the hill alone for a week and looked down at the village to pass the time, the boy sat down and talked about her.
At first, the girl, who was displeased with the boy who suddenly approached her, began to listen to the boy’s story without even realizing the passage of time as the boy’s talk flowed like flowing water.
“So… ah! I promised to check the rabbit trap with my mom!”
Time passes in an instant, and it’s almost sunset. Suddenly, the boy jumped up from his seat and began to stomp his feet, fidgeting.
“Ugh… I’m going to get scolded… ! Hey! It was fun today! I’ll go first! See you again!”
The girl just stared blankly at the boy who hurriedly went down the hill.
It was the first time. Other than that old man, someone approached the girl.
It was the first time. Someone willingly stepped forward and spoke to a shy and frustrated girl who couldn’t even answer.
It was the first time. A conversation with a boy my age.
Unbeknownst to himself, that unknown village boy took away the girl’s beginnings in many ways.
“Again… see….”
Perhaps even the girl’s heart.
* * *
“Gracie. You are a little late today.”
He’s a blunt, boring man. Gracie always thought so.
Born in a back alley, abandoned by his parents, and taken in by prostitutes in a brothel, Gracie, who grew up drinking milk, was taken in by this uncle at the age of three. No, it would not be unreasonable to say that she was practically saved.
He was the father to Gracie. Although it was difficult to follow the old man around, Gracie knew that the old man would always accommodate Gracie.
However, the old man who always wore thick and cold armor never showed his bare face to Gracie.
“… Mister.”
“… Gracie. I always said… Isn’t it time to call you Daddy or Daddy?”
Is it simply an illusion? After talking with the boy today, the old man’s tone, which seemed cold, somehow felt friendly.
“… How long are we going to stay in this town?”
“This time a little… I should have stayed longer The star shards are too deep.”
Hearing that, Gracie was a little taken aback by her inner joy. Are you happy? Why?
It’s because of that boy. After meeting that boy, for some reason, my mind was at a loss….
“… Mister. Can I come over tomorrow too?”
The knight, who was staring at Gracie hesitantly speaking, shook his head as he finished polishing his sword.
For the first time in her life, the girl looked forward to tomorrow.
* * *
“Hey! I met you today! Hi!”
Seeing the boy running from a distance, Gracie let out a sigh of relief.
I woke up in the morning and climbed the hill, blankly looking down at the village and waiting for the boy. What if you don’t come today? If we meet, should we say hello? We met one day yesterday, maybe I’m pretending to be too close?
Such anxiety was unfounded. Just like yesterday, the boy casually approached Gracie and greeted her.
“Ah! It was hard today too!”
Gracie didn’t look at the boy who casually sat down next to her, and only glanced at her out of the corner of her eye.
Always soiled and dirty clothes, light brown hair and leaves stuck here and there.
What are you doing in the morning? Gracie was curious, but he didn’t have the courage to ask the boy.
“You know, did I come here often?”
Today, too, the boy spoke first to Gracie, who was biting his nails because she couldn’t speak to the boy.
“After hunting in the woods with my mom, I always come up here to see the village. What… I missed it last week because I was camping in the woods with my dad.”
Hunting. Sure enough, the boy was going hunting with his mother. If that’s the case, then it made sense to stick leaves on the muddy ground like that.
The fact that she knew one more thing about the boy, that he was one step closer to him, made Gracie a little happy.
“I don’t have many friends my age in this town. Most of them are busy helping their parents with their work. There are only a few friends who can play with me. However….”
The boy, who was speechless, suddenly pushed his head toward Gracie, who was staring at the boy blankly, so Gracie barely managed to hold back her screams and glared at the boy.
“… By the way, you were there! It was so nice to see you yesterday, so I said hello without hesitation. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable!”
While breathing a sigh of relief at the boy’s face, who was moving away again, Gracie was deeply regretful.
The moment they got so close that their noses touched, the moment she saw the clear blue eyes of the boy shining brightly, Gracie couldn’t help but look into the boy’s eyes as if bewitched by magic.
‘… I wanted to see a little more.’
Whether he knew Gracie’s feelings or not, the boy excitedly talked about me.
“I always played alone when I came here, but from today I can play with you! I mean!”
Shoot it full of the scent of flowers! In the spring breeze, the branches of the plum tree on which the boy and Gracie were leaning danced to and fro.
Gracie’s eyes were taken away by the sight of pretty pink petals gently blowing in the wind, and the sight of a field of flowers blowing in waves in front of her eyes.
The scent of flowers was so fragrant that it seemed like my nose would go numb.
“The scent of flowers, doesn’t it feel good? When it comes to spring, this place is so beautiful with so many flowers.”
When Gracie, dazed by the smell of her flowers, turned her head, the boy’s blue eyes, as clear as the autumn sky, were smiling wide at her girl.
“Delicious plums grow on this plum tree in summer, so let’s pick and eat together! I’ll even teach you how to climb a tree!”
“I, I….”
“Huh?”
Gracie, she decided to take a courageous step and move closer.
“Me too… I hope so….”
The boy stared blankly at Gracie, who blushed slightly as she answered, then smiled broadly and stroked Gracie’s hair roughly.
“Yes! Let us do it! Plum Tree Lady!”
“Ah, aww… ! Mae, plum tree lady… ?”
“You didn’t give me your name, so I thought there was something wrong! We met under the plum tree, plum tree lady!”
Seeing the boy’s big smile, Gracie couldn’t even think of giving her name and she could only nod her head blankly.
“Instead, my name is also a secret! If one day you can tell me your name, I’ll tell you then!”
Unbeknownst to me, the petals of plum blossoms that had risen lightly on the head fell down along the boy’s hand.
After a while of gently stroking Gracie’s hair, the boy jumped up and ran down the hill, waving his hand at Gracie.
“Then, plum tree lady! See you again tomorrow!”
We didn’t know each other’s names or ages, but like those plum blossom petals that fall to the ground in the spring breeze, Gracie began to be strongly attracted to the boy.
* * *
Time passed and passed, and spring came back before I knew it.
After spring, after summer, after autumn, after winter. Even though spring has returned again, the boy visits the plum tree girl on the hill every single day.
During the short year, the boy and Gracie went through a lot of changes.
Gracie is finally able to call the knight uncle his father.
At the boy’s request to meet Gracie’s father, Gracie introduced the boy to the knight.
Gracy’s father, the knight uncle, always practiced the sword every morning. Did you fall in love with the appearance of such a knight? The boy also followed Gracie’s father and practiced the sword.
“A knight is cool! It’s cool, like a character in a fairy tale!”
“That, yes… ?”
Beside the boy learning the sword diligently, Gracie also started holding the sword.
Because the boy said he was cool. Gracie also wanted to become a knight at some point.
“I will protect you!”
After the hard swordsmanship training, the boy always smiled brightly and said to Gracie.
Even though Gracie had better swordsmanship than the boy, the boy treated Gracie with a bright smile.
“You are worse than me….”
“Mr. Wooi! I don’t know swords, but I shoot a bow better than you?! If you become a knight, I will become an archer!”
Like that, one year. The boy and Gracie soon came to want each other.
“… Gracie. Take only what you need. Pack lightly.”
So, Gracie couldn’t hide her embarrassment as the moment of separation came so suddenly.
“I must go… ?”
“… Gracie. If we don’t leave, this town is in danger. Maybe that boy too….”
At the words of the knight, the timid Gracie was speechless. Even though Gracie was leaving town right away, he bit his lip and held back tears.
Today will probably be the last day I meet the boy. I didn’t want to face the boy with puffy eyes.
As they climbed the now-familiar hill, Gracie held back the tears.
When you climb the hill, what you see is the same scenery as it was a year ago.
Beautiful flowers bloom profusely, and a plum tree with abundant pink flowers.
“Hello!”
However, if there is one difference, it would be the existence of the boy waiting for Gracie under the plum tree.
“… Hi.”
“You didn’t even train today? What happened?”
“… Nothing happened. It’s just, Daddy must be a little tired.”
“Really? I mean….”
When to say something, Gracie secretly looked for an opportunity to say something, but even as the sun was setting, he couldn’t open his mouth.
Because of this damn personality. Because of his timid personality, he cannot speak on his own unless the other person speaks up first.
“Ah! It was fun today! I have to go now!”
At that time, why didn’t I notice? The boy’s usually quick-witted voice trembled slightly somewhere.
Why didn’t I notice? She knew that her own eyes, her own, had become moist.
Last summer, while eating hard-picked plums. Why did he tell the boy that he had been passing by for a while, that he would probably not be able to stay here for the rest of his life?
“Maehwa Tree Lady! See you again someday!”
“Oh, sleep… !”
Before Gracie could catch the boy, he was already running down the hill.
From noble mtl dot com
Now, I mustered up the courage to tell you the name. I didn’t want to call you boy, but now I wanted to know your real name.
With my back to the setting sun, I stretched out my unreachable hand toward the boy.
“Someday… Again, let’s see….”
Gracie, she cried like that for a while.
* * *
“… Austin.”
Gracie wiped her pale face as she refilled her empty glass.
There was no one in the room that smelled like alcohol except for Gracie.
After meeting Austin, I bought her a random drink and drank it. I hope it will soothe your sore stomach.
Looking at the empty room, Gracie muttered once more.
“Austin.”
Even though she met the boy she wanted to meet again, and even though she knew the name of the boy she wanted to know so much, the boy had already left her side.
Then, if she had the courage herself. Then, if she had asked for a name. Perhaps, this ending could not have been met.
There were no difficult circumstances. Just, just… Since we are parting one day, if she told me her name, I thought I would never forget it.
From noble mtl dot com
No. If this is a difficult situation, then it must be a difficult situation.
She couldn’t give her name, as she said she wouldn’t be able to forget it anyway.
… Stupidly.
Tears flowed again, as if the alcohol that had just been poured came out of his swollen eyes.
Despite having already drunk over five bottles, Gracie continued to keep the strong drink in her mouth.
“Guyueek… ! Ugh… !”
Even though she regurgitated bitter gastric juices and alcohol in a wooden bucket in the bathroom, this terribly depressed feeling did not go away.
“Ouch… ugh… Whoa….”
I put a lot of effort into fixing my timid personality. Someday, to meet the boy and have a natural conversation.
The boy has become a longed-for knight. Someday, so that I can meet a boy with a proud face.
In fact, it wasn’t that she wasn’t suspicious of Austin from the start. Although light brown hair was common, those clear blue eyes were a boy’s strength that was hard to imitate or resemble.
The boy liked to shoot an arrow. However, Austin used a crossbow rather than a bow. Rather, he hated the sight of Adrien using the bow and even looked at it.
The boy was bright and innocent. Like Austin, she wasn’t even gloomy.
So, I’ve been thinking that she might just be someone who resembles a boy. He was awkward to ask Austin, and Austin didn’t want to talk about his past too much.
If you think about it, you must have continued the fight to the death while putting your body into the ranger. Now that I’ve become an adult, I shouldn’t have expected the pure and bright innocence of childhood.
At the vague resemblance, Austin might have been dissatisfied with him. And his blunt treatment of Austin. Maybe he did it because he was annoyed at his vague resemblance to the boy.
“Black… Ugh… Me, i just….”
Gracie buried her face in a table full of empty bottles.
Kung—! I heard the sound of a table hitting my forehead.
“Kheuheu… Whoa… My, I’m Austin… Austin….”
If we meet again, then I wanted to talk under the plum tree.
I have loved you for a long time. From the moment I first spoke to you until now.
You are like a stake in my head, in my heart.
And, at the fact that he was the one who pulled out the stake, saying it was cumbersome, Gracie wept bitterly.
“Huh… ugh… Damn… Kkeuk… !”
The night was getting deeper, and the girl who had shaken off the boy with her own hands could not easily fall asleep.