74 – Yuna (1)
Yuna’s steps, which had been running aimlessly as if she was about to be embraced in the blue moonlight, suddenly stopped. I felt puzzled by her rigid appearance, as if time had stopped.
“Yuna.”
“…”
“Is it Yuna?”
“…”
“Yuna!”
“Huh?”
Only after calling her name three times did her lips open. A light breath leaked irregularly from the lips that seemed to be parted out of obligation.
“Ah…”
Yuna suddenly let out a faint sigh and wiped the area around her empty eyes with her hand. Then she rolled her eyes and stared at my face endlessly.
“What’s wrong? Is there something… Strange?”
“…”
The gaze that had been scanning my body suddenly turned to the sky. A blue moon in one eye. And with her other eye filled with tiny stars, she slowly opened her mouth only after the cool wind caressed her cheeks.
“No…Just…”
“…”
At the end of the barely connected sentence, there was a hesitation rather than a period. The girl, who was staggering dangerously under the pitch-black night sky, finally finished her sentence after a long time had passed.
“…Today. Because the day is so nice.”
The sight of her wandering around the night sky in a daze as if she was seeing stars for the first time was clearly her usual Yuna. However, the voice that was slowly fading away like a flame in a pile of ashes really bothered me. I ended up hugging her slightly trembling shoulders.
“The weather is a little chilly. Let’s stop walking. The coachman will be waiting, so we should go quickly.”
“I see. I have to go quickly.”
The voice was still small and weak. Maybe I have a cold or something. Out of concern for her, I took off her coat and put it on her, and Yuna snuggled into my arms more gently than usual. She was so fragile right now, it felt like if I hugged her just a little harder, she would break into pieces and shed a handful of tears.
That’s why I deliberately walked quickly. Yuna was hugged by me without a word and we walked together. Still, as we shared each other’s body heat up close, the anxiety that had gripped us subsided a little.
Soon, the carriage that had been parked near the academy began to appear in the distance. Since our luggage was already loaded, all we had to do was get on.
“Hey, Ellen.”
At that time, Yuna suddenly stopped her steps. I inertically looked away and answered.
“Huh?”
“There…There…”
Yuna’s eyes shook violently, as if she were revealing a huge secret. But it soon drifted down the horizon and formed into an awkward smile.
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s nothing?”
“Yeah. I’m just nervous. I thought I was about to leave.”
Yuna looked back at the academy building with faint eyes. She, like me, seemed to be feeling a bit of nostalgia. It was obviously her natural reaction, but for some reason she hated the sight of him with such a serious expression on her face that she stabbed her defenseless side with her hand.
“I don’t think it’s anything?”
“Ugh…Hey!!!”
Only then did Yuna scream and glare at me as usual. I laughed a little exaggeratedly because Yuna, who I had lost for a short time, seemed to have returned. Yuna also belatedly sighed and burst into laughter.
“Really. You…”
Yuna deliberately glared at me calmly. But she soon softened her expression and grabbed my arm.
“Okay. Let’s go quickly. We’ll be late if we keep going like this.”
There was still a hint of hesitation in his voice. But I left myself in the carriage, leaning against the same body temperature as always. Another fate began to move through the night sky and into an unfamiliar landscape.
As we left the paved roads of the city and started driving down the dirt road, the carriage began to rattle violently. If this happens, won’t the luggage loaded on the back of the carriage be damaged? Pointless worries kept rising. But since there was nothing good to be gained from worrying unnecessarily, I erased those thoughts with some nice chatting.
“Um…So where should we go, Miss Yuna?”
“First of all, didn’t you decide to go to the place Guero introduced you to? It was definitely… A place called Ethanrich, right?”
“Yes. But, you can change your mind at any time, right? Was there a place you wanted to go?”
“Well…I can’t think of any place right now.”
“Well, it’s a bit vague when you get out there. Still, you can think about whether the city or the countryside would be better. Which do you think is better?”
“I think it’s okay wherever it is. Everyone has their pros and cons.”
“It’s difficult. After all, it might be better to stop thinking about it and just go to the place I was introduced to. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes…That’s right.”
“Is it Yuna?”
I looked up at her weak voice and saw that Yuna’s face was rapidly turning pale. Her breathing was irregular and she kept swallowing her dry saliva, so it seemed like she was feeling sick or dizzy.
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?”
“Yeah…I guess I’m motion sickness…The carriage was too shaky…”
“Really? Then should I ask you to stop for a moment?”
“No, it’s okay. It’s bearable. You don’t have to worry, it’s okay.”
Yuna waved her hand, saying it was okay, but it was true that she still felt worried. At least she called the coachman to slow her down, and her complexion seemed to improve a little.
“I’m over seasick. I guess you’re more nervous than when you went to meet the Duchess?”
“It’s just that you were so loud back then that she didn’t have time to get motion sick. In fact, even back then, the thought of going to see her mother made her feel very upset.”
“…Really? Hmm…Then I guess I’ll have to make a fuss again?”
“If you don’t make as much noise as you did then.”
Yuna smiled faintly and leaned her body against the wall of her carriage. Today, her body buried in the darkness felt so small.
“Anyway, we’re in big trouble. The city Guero introduced us to would be bustling with beasts. If you stay idly by there, you might get run over by the beasts, right?”
“That’s a big deal. I wish everyone were kind people like Miss Guero.”
“I told you to talk confidently earlier. Do you think it’s a bit awkward now?”
“hahahaha…Sure.”
…
“…Yuna.”
“Huh?”
“Are you really okay?”
“…”
It wasn’t a question I asked with much expectation. I just feel like I’m not feeling well today. Just take a nap and you’ll be fine. It didn’t matter if the answer came out like an ordinary excuse.
But Yuna couldn’t even give that obvious answer. Even though she clearly had a secret inside her lips, she couldn’t open her mouth. She just chewed her delicate fingernails, as if she had made a pact of secrecy with someone.
I don’t know what the pledge was, but I couldn’t leave it like this.
“Yuna. Shall we stop for a moment and then go? Let’s look for a nearby city or at least a place.”
“No, it’s okay, Ellen.”
“There’s no need to push yourself. It’s not urgent anyway, right?”
“I’m really fine. There’s no need to worry. I’m really…”
The nail I had been biting over and over again was twisted miserably under my strong teeth. When she felt that her brittle fingernails might eventually break, she held out her hand, even though she knew she shouldn’t. And without realizing it, I grabbed Yuna’s wrist tightly.
“Yuna!”
From Noble mtl dot com
“…!”
For a moment, Yuna and I both looked at each other in surprise. Her delicate hand was holding exactly the center of Yuna’s wrist. I nervously raised my gaze, thinking that her hands might be shaking.
“…”
Fortunately, my hands did not shake. He just looked at me with his lips tightly closed. Just like when they met in the library, the tension between them soon dissipated without a trace under Yuna’s voice.
“Ellen.”
“Yes.”
“Actually, I have something to tell you.”
“Can I ask what that is?”
“No. I’m sorry.”
“…”
“I can’t talk about it yet.”
The story that I finally brought up ended up being dropped along with my head without any conclusion. The carriage began to shake aimlessly again and my vision began to become dizzy.
I looked at Yuna in the tangled landscape. She bit her nails. Her grip on her wrist. Pathetic eyes. I looked at her two shoulders, which were as delicate as always, and carefully lifted her chin with my hand.
“Yuna.”
“Huh?”
“So. Has the motion sickness gotten better?”
When I asked kindly, a little smile returned to Yuna’s face. Perhaps because of that, her pale complexion seemed to have returned to its original state.
“Yes. That’s okay now.”
“Really?”
I playfully grabbed both cheeks and rubbed them. Yuna chuckled as she waved her hand away.
“Oh, don’t do it.”
“Why? I’m giving you a massage. I heard this helps with motion sickness.”
“Aww…I really want you to stop!”
As I continued to joke around, Yuna eventually burst into laughter. Only then did I comfortably lower her hand. Yuna said as she touched her cheeks.
“Ellen, you really are…”
“Do you want to hit me?”
“…Really. Anyone can’t help but like it.”
It was something I heard several times. And, I always wanted to refute it. Yuna, you only feel that way because it’s you.
But I didn’t want to ruin this moment with such words. I just stayed close to Yuna. Naturally, her head rested lightly on her shoulder. We just looked straight ahead.
The carriage was still moving through the unknown night sky. And the sound of her horse’s hooves. The sound of wheels hitting rocks and clattering. The gentle noises of the night sky as grasshoppers cry. Those things seeped into my anxious mind.
“…”
After running for a while, I started to feel sleepy little by little. Yuna seemed to do the same, leaning completely on my shoulder and exhaling comfortably. Then she opened her mouth in a low voice.
“Hey Ellen. You know what I said I had to do…”
“Yes.”
“When the right moment comes, I’ll tell you. Definitely.”
Yuna held my hand affectionately with those words. In the same warm body temperature as always, I leaned my head against the wall of the carriage. And gave a short answer.
“It’s okay not to rush too much.”
Because I was sincere, my words clearly hung in the air. Soon, the sound of Yuna’s comfortable breathing settled gently on top of him.
But I couldn’t sleep, so I looked out the window. The stars in the night sky twinkled as if urging me to close my eyes.
Still, I couldn’t fall asleep.
There were too many things to think about from now on before I could fall asleep.