Chapter 104: Words I’d Never Heard (3)

[104] 16. Words I’d Never Heard (3)

Unlike what he had told Rosalia, Rem didn’t go to sleep. He did go back to the carriage, but that was only to get more magic stones.

He inserted the magic stones into his cylindrical prosthetic leg and then headed towards the forest.

There wasn’t a path, but his steps were sure. This was because the traces were clear in his eyes.

Broken branches,

the faint scent of blood,

and a trail of blood that beckoned him to follow.

Rem finally stood before Feya.

Feya’s appearance was miserable.

Her whole body was drenched in a mixture of her own blood and others, and the fingers on her left hand were all broken. And there were just too many smaller cuts to count.

It was to be expected.

Fighting a large number of people, and knights at that, was no easy task. Even she would have inevitably been injured.

A grinding sound came from Rem’s teeth.

“Should I even thank you?”

Feya’s eyes, finally finding Rem, widened. Her hazy eyes filled with clouded emotions seemed to shimmer with a rainbow of colors.

“…!”

But in the end, she chose to run.

Feya hastily got up. Even limping, she moved her steps deeper into the forest.

“Ugh…!”

However, after a few steps, she collapsed. The result of exhaustion and severe injuries.

“…Ahh…!”

…But even so, she didn’t stop struggling. She clawed at the grass with her hands, dragging herself forward.

Away from Rem’s eyes.

Rem couldn’t stand to watch and walked toward her. He grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up.

“Are you trying to get my sympathy now? Trying to act pitiful after everything you did?”

“I, you told me … to never… show your face… before me… again…”

“Hah…!”

A sharp laugh burst from Rem’s mouth. What followed was pure disdain.

“Crazy bitch.”

Feya’s body was tossed to the ground. Rem spewed his words with a distorted face.

“So you’re going to sneakily follow me around? Until my anger subsides?”

“I-I just, I… wanted to protect you… the… the… I could…Ugh…!!”

A groan full of pain. Her broken fingers were crushed under his magic-powered foot.

“I told you to never appear before me again. And stop with this crazy bullshit.”

“B-But… Augh…!!”

Her already broken fingers twisted further. Rem bared his teeth as he spat out the words.

“If I see you again, next time, it’ll be your legs that’ll be chopped off. Understand?”

And then, he kicked her in the gut. Turning his back to Feya, who was now curled up like a grub, he said coldly,

“You’re disgusting.”

With words as cold as ice, Feya finally raised her head, but Rem was nowhere to be seen.

Then, something strange happened.

“Ugh…”

Her left hand was the most seriously injured. So, naturally, that should be where it hurts the most.

“Aaah…”

But why was it her *heart* that was breaking?

It felt as if it were being ripped to shreds, making it hard for her to even breathe. Her vision blurred from the agony.

Feya hugged her chest and curled into a ball.

Clear liquid dripped, drop by drop, over the dried bloodstains

“I’m… Sorry…”

Feya buried her face in the fallen leaves.

“I’m… Sorry…!”

But her cries, her apologies, her regrets, none of it reached anyone.

They simply echoed within her,

as if she were trapped inside a giant cave.

***

Time is a blind idiot. It never stops nor retreats. It stubbornly keeps dragging the sun up and pushing the moon down again and again.

If only it could just stop once and give everyone some time to think.

Rosalia sighed and looked out the window as night fell. And then she looked back at the door.

A door that only responded with silence.

Hesitating for a moment, she carefully knocked on the door.

“…Can I come in?”

The answer came after a moment of silence,

“Yeah.”

Rosalia took a deep breath and slowly opened the door.

And then, she instantly regretted it.

“Kuhuk…! Kahk…!”

Grey smoke filled the room. It reeked of something awful.

Rosalia managed to stifle her coughing and said.

“…I didn’t know you smoked.”

Rem took a puff from his pipe and exhaled. The words that followed were as thick as the smoke.

“I quit. When I started the magic tool shop.”

Rem took another drag on the pipe. The smoke flowed out along with the sharp tone.

“If you’re here to tell me to stop, then leave. I’m not going to listen.”

“…I’m not here to talk about that.”

“Then what?”

Rem’s eyes turned to Rosalia. His hazy, relaxed eyes felt unfamiliar.

Rosalia hesitated, then managed to open her mouth.

“When we stopped the carriage because of the dead knights.”

Rem’s eyes dropped.

“That woman, was she nearby.”

He slowly nodded his head while biting the pipe.

“…You went to see her?”

“I won’t be seeing her ever again.”

His tone was cold and firm.

But what struck Rosalia wasn’t his coldness, but his honesty.

“…You met her.”

Her voice was a mixture of pain and sorrow. Rem frowned and tapped the ash from his pipe.

“I went to warn her. And that was it. So, is that what you wanted to talk about?”

Hesitation returned to Rosalia’s face.

But then she finally spoke up, her voice trembling.

“Rem, do you remember? When I tried to save you at the lakeshore?”

When Rem had stabbed Rosalia.

It’s something she hadn’t said, but Rem’s face darkened as if he understood. He looked away.

“…Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. You didn’t have your memories back then. It’s just…”

Rosalia’s faint smile vanished.

“You were trying to protect her, right?”

White smoke streamed from his mouth. Like a thick fog, it obscured his face.

“…You really liked her, didn’t you?”

There was a time when Rosalia considered a woman’s intuition to be a joke.

But that night, when she saw Rem, she could feel it.

The way he looked at that barbarian,

The tone of his voice when he spoke to her,

and his resolve to protect her.

Perhaps, that was why she was even more desperate.

…And maybe that’s why she’s acting so pathetic now.

*Would the feelings she harbored for him disappear, even after he’d regained his memories.*

“…And you still like her.”

The smoke cleared, revealing Rem’s face.

Bearing a bitter smile.

“…I just didn’t have anyone to rely on back then. And that woman, she was broken when she cut off my legs.”

He tapped the ash from his pipe. But the clumped ash was stubborn and wouldn’t come off.

He had no choice but to scrape it off with his fingers.

“It’s just… a complicated mess of guilt and dependence… a disgustingly tangled relationship.”

He filled the pipe with fresh tobacco and lit it. The tobacco leaves crackled and burned.

“So, no. It’s not like that.”

Once again, smoke covered his face.

“And I don’t think that woman’s chasing after me out of love either. She’s just feeling guilty about kicking my ass. That’s all.”

“…Why do you think that?”

Rem froze for a moment, then he said slowly.

“That woman has never once told me she loves me.”

I wonder if he even knows what his voice sounds like right now.

“Anyway, I’m telling you, I won’t be seeing her again. Not her, not me. To begin with, it’s ridiculous for me to be hanging out with the crazy bitch who told me to stab my own friend.”

Rem waved his hand, trying to clear the smoke.

And then he hid his face behind an even thicker cloud of smoke.

“And by the way, this tobacco is really strong. God, I feel like I just lost a few months off my lifespan.”

A playful smile now appeared on his face. He rolled his eyes dramatically as if dizzy.

And so Rosalia covered her own face as well.

She chuckled and shook her head.

“…Did Dorn give you that? Everything he smokes is like that.”

“Ugh, I think I’m good on tobacco for a while.”

Rem snapped the pipe in half and tossed it out the window. Stretching, he walked toward Rosalia.

“So, is that all you wanted to talk about?”

“That’s it, I’ll stop bothering you and leave. Sorry for taking up your time.”

Rosalia stuck her tongue out and turned her back to Rem. She walked towards the door, as if fleeing.

And she stepped out and closed the door.

“….”

Then, leaning her back against the door, she slowly slid down.

Slumping down, she stared at the sky outside the window.

A clear, refreshing autumn sky.

And yet, it only filled her with overwhelming emptiness.

Rosalia ultimately covered her eyes with her hands and muttered.

“Who would believe him when he says it’s not like that with that expression…”

Her chest felt suffocating.

***

(A carriage prop and a narrator appear.)

Narrator: Unfortunately, nothing notable happened after that. Well, at least not for a week, that is.

Contrary to Rem and Rosalia’s concern, the Central Knights remained quiet. They did send out a few scouts, but they were all killed by Feya.

Rem, Rosalia, and Dorn’s mercenary group were able to safely reach Essier.

The place where the Dragon King slumbers.

The birthplace of the Dragon King’s Essence.

And the place where this story would finally come to an end.

(The carriage opens, revealing Rem, Rosalia, and Dorn.)

(Rem, after fiddling with his prosthetic leg, suddenly throws the tool he’d been holding aside.)

Rem: (Relieved) Done!

Rosalia: What’s done? Your leg? Already? Didn’t you say it would take two weeks?

Rem: (Boasting) I cut the time in half because given the situation.

Dorn: Walk around a bit, let’s see if it really works.

(Rem stretches out his leg and smoothly moving it up and down.)

Dorn: Hah, impressive.

Rem: Actually, it can also do this.

(Rem pokes a spot on his thigh, and his leg starts rotating clockwise.)

Rem: I can even increase the rotation speed of the leg in this state. (The leg spins a bit faster.) I can even detach it and…

Rosalia: (Makes a disgusted face) Just stop. Seriously.

Rem: But I haven’t shown all the features yet…

Rosalia: I said stop.

(Rem slumps down, defeated. Rosalia looks at him in disbelief.)

Rosalia: Rem, you really need to learn to take care of yourself. Gleefully attaching a steel leg and playing with it is not something a normal person would do.

Rem: (Grinning) Neither is trying to take down the crown prince of the Empire.

(Rosalia sighs.)

Rem: Anyway, so you won’t stop me anymore, right?

Rosalia: (Silence for a moment.) Are you sure it’s completely finished?

Rem: Well, I skipped a few tests, but it should work fine.

(Rosalia sighs even longer and heavier than before.)

Rosalia: Fine. I won’t stop you anymore.

(Rem cheers. Dorn chuckles.)

Dorn: Don’t you think it’s a bit ridiculous to be talking about this now, sister-in-law? We’re almost there.

Rosalia: That’s exactly why this is a problem. The prince isn’t doing anything, and we’re already at Essier’s doorstep. He must be preparing something big.

Dorn: Or maybe that barbarian you mentioned is being our guardian angel.

(Rem’s face hardens.)

Rosalia: Brother-in-law!

Dorn: Well, it’s true that she helped us. She’s quite a fighter.

Rem: (In a cold voice) Hold on a minute.

Dorn: (shrinks his shoulders a bit.) Ah… Did I say something thoughtless again? I’m sorry about that. I just…

Rem: No, it’s not that…

***

“What in the world is that?”

Rem frowned as he looked out the window.

As Essier gradually came into view, rising from the hill,

he saw something hoisted above the walls of the city.

“A flag?”

Rosalia’s face turned pale as she came to stand next to him, she looked at the flag that was rising above the walls. Then, without realizing it, she blurted out,

“Damn it, it’s a yellow flag.”

Rosalia’s irritation spread to Dorn as well. Rubbing the back of his neck, he asked.

“Really?”

“Yes, I’m sure. How the hell did that bastard prince…”

“Hold on, what does a yellow flag even mean?”

Rosalia’s gaze turned to Rem.

“It means they want to negotiate.”

“Uh… What’s so bad about that?.”

“Actually, the meaning of the flag itself isn’t the issue. It’s the flag itself and its location.”

Rosalia pinches her temples.

“That flag belongs to the royal family. And unless it’s a special situation, it shouldn’t be used in the first place.”

“Meaning…”

Rosalia sighs.

“It means the prince is waiting for us in Essier.”

Only then did Rem realize the gravity of the situation.