“Oh, okay. I’ll go. I’m leaving, so make sure to bring a meal!”
Bang at the end of Ophelia’s worrying words! and the door slammed shut. Neria, unable to cool down, was gazing at the door and gazing at the door, when Ophelia and Eri were talking through the cracks in the door.
– Ugh, that stubbornness is real.
– Because Neria cared for Cloud-sama. That’s why you’re so upset.
– I know it’s upsetting who doesn’t know that. But there’s something about it! It’s normal for you to stay in your room and not eat and tremble.
“That..!”
Neria’s eyes widened at Eri’s voice that she didn’t understand. I wanted to kick the door out and grab Eri by the neck at any moment and shout, ‘Then, your colleague died, and you’re normal, you’ve only been sad for a few weeks and went back to your daily life!’
In fact, I even grabbed the doorknob to do it, but…
He quickly dropped his hand helplessly.
Because I knew it was pointless.
Cloud didn’t come back just like this.
The anger that had burned like fire was quickly extinguished. A sense of helplessness and weakness filled the place of the vanished anger. Taking the strength out of her distorted facial muscles, she slumped her shoulders and sighed.
I locked the door and turned my back.
The interior of the frayed hut was unbelievably neat that it had been neglected for years. It was thanks to Neria who stopped by the hut as soon as she arrived in the village and cleaned it. However, even with cleaning, the passage of time felt in the furniture and walls could not be done.
If you want a cleaner look, you should replace it with a new one.
But Neria had no intention of doing that.
She approached the wall in the corner opposite the bed. The walls were full of sharp marks. She smiled strangely and stroked the traces with her hands.
-Look at this! I’m tall!
– Yes, you are smaller than me.
-…Originally, it was said that men grow up later than women. As I get older, I’ll grow bigger than you.
– Who is it?
– My dad! That’s right, Dad.
– Uncle, no, I’ll always be bigger than Cloud.
What comes to mind is memories of the happy past.
When they were young, Neria and Cloud, who were immature, used to fight while building their pride over useless things.
‘Then he usually took my side.’
Because Neria was the village chief’s granddaughter. Cloud’s father sided with Neria most of the time, and Cloud grew fat with a sense of betrayal. Each time his mother held him in her arms, Neria would often walk up to him and secretly embrace him.
‘It was good…’
Cloud’s house was poor, but it was a warm place full of laughter.
Neria’s hand stroking the wall stopped at the end of the trail. The cut marks were cut off at the height of a 10-year-old child at best.
There was a reason why the traces disappeared. This is because Cloud’s father and mother, who should be left behind, have disappeared one after another. Cloud, who was suddenly orphaned, had no one to engrave his key on the wall…
‘No, there is.’
there was.
This novel was posted at noblemtl.com
Only one person.
That person was Neria, herself.
Taller than Cloud, she was able to engrave his height on the wall. Even if he was taller than her, he could engrave it with a chair or the like.
But there were no traces of that on the wall.
It was natural.
Because she didn’t do such a pointless thing.
At that time, as she saw Cloud struggling after losing her parents, she thought that she had to protect her. So, unlike his peers, he trained his stamina and learned the sword from travelers who occasionally stayed in the village.
Neria felt that she was doing well as her physical strength and swordsmanship increased day by day. I also felt a sense of accomplishment when I scolded the children who bullied Cloud.
But now I regret all those actions.
‘I thought you were well taken care of…’
I thought I did the best I could.
Half thought he had raised him.
It was an arrogant and stupid idea.
It is true that she saved him from bad children and provided food for him. It is true that it helped him.
But did it help him solve the problem he was facing?
not.
Cloud didn’t get along with his peers.
why
Because Neria prevented children her age from approaching him.
Cloud was not treated well by the village elders.
why
It was because her father, the village chief’s son, hated seeing Neria taking care of his meal, because he ate his own home-cooked food for free.
Eventually, Cloud was isolated from the village.
because of her
‘Stupid bitch…’
His height should have been engraved on the wall one more time when he was swinging his sword. I should have had a friendly conversation with him during the time I was training.
He should have calmed his ailing mind in time for training or something.
Had he done so, Cloud might have been able to correct his characteristic timid and insecure personality.
If it had, Cloud would have believed in himself, and his talent as a warrior might have blossomed because of that.
If so!
‘Something like this…’
it wouldn’t have happened
Neria only realized now. That the desire to protect him is a twisted desire mixed with sympathy for him and possessiveness. She should have abandoned that desire.
I loved and cared for him, but when the time came, I had to let him go.
He embarked on a journey as a hero, and she should have stayed in the village as a childhood friend who promised the future.
Even if it was painful to say goodbye for a moment, and I was worried that he might have an affair, it should have been.
But she couldn’t.
And it was very regrettable.
Neria collapsed on the floor.
I hugged my knees and buried my face there, thinking about what it would have been like then, what it would have been like, imagining a happy future with Cloud that led to the right choice, and then I realized that it was a future that could not exist, and I despaired as it was. did.
After returning to the hut, he resumed what he was doing all day.
Meanwhile, the soup that Ophelia and Eri brought was getting cold.
“How did you get here?”
“Frylite brought it to me. It’s better than that, there is no uncomfortable place”
Laurenne looked at me in the iron cage and gave a vague expression.
I smiled as if not to worry.
“it’s okay. The guards are friendly and the rice is delicious.”
“It’s really okay”
“Because it’s okay. You’re really okay with that. Why are you making such a shitty expression?”
“…even if you say…”
Laurenne frowned slightly. I couldn’t hold back my laughter and smiled a little. Yes, the Laurenne I know is like that. He reached out and stroked her hair.
“It’s because I don’t have strength in my face. How do you look worse than me in prison?”
“…”
“Tell me something is wrong.”
“…”
“Don’t hide it. I am your husband.”
Laurenne’s eyes fluttered at the word “husband”. After a long silence, she finally spoke.
“I killed my brother. Directly with my own hands.”
Her eyes are gloomy.
‘I wondered what he was thinking.’
“I killed Lorian.”
Laurenne shook her head.
“That is a lie. I still remember I will cut your brother’s neck with these hands-”
Perhaps remembering that time, Laurenne’s hand began to tremble uncontrollably. I grabbed her hand. When the trembling of the clasped hands stopped, he looked into her eyes and spoke in a serious voice.
“I killed Lorian.”
“Oh, no…”
“If it weren’t for you, you’d be dead sooner or later. I know what he did to me. I hate him. Had I done it, I would have killed him very painfully by breaking the bones of his limbs. So you relieved your brother from the pain. nothing more and nothing less So there is no need for you to feel guilty.”
“Hey, that’s nonsense! That doesn’t mean that what I’ve done doesn’t go away!”
“It’s not a lie, it’s true. If it weren’t for you, Lorian would have died very painfully. And what if it’s forced? In the future, you’ll hear a lot of the child’s coercion, but it’s okay to listen to my coercion.”
“…it’s sophistry.”
“know.”
He reached out over the fence and gently hugged her back.
“But even if it’s just sophistry, I want you to feel comfortable. That’s why I’m stuck here, and if you’re having a hard time, all my efforts will be in vain.”
“…”
“And stress is bad for pregnant women. If a mother lives under such stress, the child will also have a hard time. You don’t want to see a child struggling. right”
“…yes.”
“So, even if it’s hard, try not to get stressed. For you, for me, and for the child. can do it”
“…yes.”
Laurenne nodded in my arms.
Yeah, that’s it.
That’s it.
“It is said that the hero, Frilite and the Platinum Knights have crossed the portal.”
“There is a huge gap in the power of the Empire. Now is the best time to broaden the scope of the social reading society.”
“Neither is it. It is said that the hero, Cloud and his party remain in the Empire.”
“Cloud, you know, he’s got a lot of fame right now. You subjugated Lich with Frylite.”
“The old man usually just pretends to run wild, and then he falls into it. It’s kind of annoying because it doesn’t suit you. It will be like this again.”
“But it’s true that we defeated the Four Heavenly Kings, Creas.”
“Four Heavenly Kings and anything else, Creas is a young boy. It’s not cool and I must have gotten it while installing it. If any of us are that stupid, why don’t we die right now?”
“Just kidding. In any case, the fact that the hero, Cloud is a power that cannot be ignored does not change. Kelly Dan, what’s going on with Geese?”
“Compared to us, it is a bit inexperienced, but to some extent he has mastered hematology.”
“It’s only natural that they are immature compared to us. That was enough. Let it move slowly.”
They nodded as leaders of the social reading society and heads of one family each.
Except for one, Haley.
She was very upset about this.