Chapter 60: Two Cracks – 2

Valon, Willas, and Martin stood inside the vast hall of Rondor Castle.

A long dining table in the hall was laden with a variety of foods.

Soup, fruits, meats, vegetables, and even drinks.

However, the food remained untouched, just as it had been served.

The owner of the meal, seated at the head of the table, hadn’t moved an inch.

“…What on earth is she doing?”

“If I knew, do you think I’d just sit here like this?”

Valon whispered to Martin in a voice barely audible.

It was the eighth time already.

It had been days since Vivian had sat at the table without eating a single bite.

Steam no longer rose from the soup, and even the once-tantalizing meat had turned tough and cold.

Vivian remained still, not even glancing at the food before her.

No one could figure out why Vivian was behaving this way.

Even after hours of trying to come up with a solution, they were no closer to understanding.

Valon muttered under his breath, lamenting.

“…What exactly is Kailo thinking, dumping this on us…”

The request Kailo had made to them three days ago still echoed clearly in his mind.

-You guys look after Vivian for a bit.

-What? All of a sudden?

-Just watch over her starting today. Got it?

Without any explanation, Kailo had simply said his piece and left.

According to Yanis, Kailo had started acting strangely lately.

Plucking flowers from here and there, letting them drift downstream in the river…

Martin had a rough guess.

Perhaps a letter from home had brought bad news.

It seemed likely that someone in Kailo’s family had passed away.

The theory made sense.

Kailo had been returning to his quarters late at night, sleeping only briefly, and then disappearing early in the morning ever since.

It looked like he was going through his own process of mourning.

As such, it felt awkward to confront Kailo about the task he had delegated to them.

After all, they’d known him for over three years now—he was a friend who had saved their lives on many expeditions.

Still, grief aside, why was Vivian acting like this?

Why had she been refusing to eat for days on end?

Valon couldn’t wrap his head around what might have led to such an outcome.

• Tap, tap.

Wallace nudged Valon’s side with his elbow.

“…?”

When Valon turned to look at him, Wallace was signaling toward the maids.

One of the pretty maids gestured anxiously, her expression full of concern.

Valon felt an inexplicable surge of courage and resolve at their gestures.

‘What?’

Valon mouthed silently.

The maid gestured toward Valon, Vivian, and the food, giving repeated signals.

She kept miming the action of holding a spoon and eating.

‘You want me to tell her to eat?’

The maid nodded.

Apparently, the maids were worried about Vivian going days without eating, though none of them had the courage to speak up.

Valon, bolstered by the maid’s urging, took a deep breath.

A desire to appear gallant welled up in him.

He hesitated before walking up to Vivian and quietly suggested,

“…Lady Vivian. The food is getting cold. Please, have a little.”

“It’s been days already. If you keep this up, you’ll only harm yourself…”

But Vivian didn’t so much as flinch.

If a bug had flown by, it might have elicited more reaction than this.

It was as if she hadn’t even heard him.

She remained completely unmoving, without sparing a single glance at Valon.

Embarrassed, Valon shuffled awkwardly back to his seat.

‘What are you doing!’

The maid’s face filled with exasperation, as if scolding him for his pathetic attempt.

‘You do it, then! Unbelievable…’

Valon retorted under his breath, deciding he’d given up on impressing the maid entirely.

-Creek…

At that moment, a faint sound echoed from the entrance of the hall.

-Whoosh!

Vivian, who hadn’t reacted to any loud sounds earlier, turned her head instantly.

But there was no one there. It was just the sound of the wind passing by.

“…Hah.”

Vivian finally let out a sigh.

It was the first sound she had made since sitting down.

Slowly, she stood up from her seat.

“…Clear this all away.”

The maids hesitated for a moment but eventually moved to follow Vivian’s order.

After that, Vivian turned and walked directly toward the three of them.

All three immediately straightened up, nerves on edge.

Just looking at her irritated expression was enough to put anyone on edge.

“…I’ll give you one command.”

She spoke.

Valon nodded.

“Anything. Just say the word.”

Vivian gritted her teeth for a moment.

The muscles in her jaw twitched ever so slightly.

She wrinkled her nose and said,

“…Do not give any food to Kailo Alan. If it’s something served at the unit… don’t provide him with anything.”

“If he’s hungry, tell him to come here and eat.”

At her words, the trio exchanged glances with each other.

Sensing something strange, Vivian was the first to ask,

“…What is it?”

“Well…”

Martin swallowed hard and answered,

“…Kailo hasn’t been eating for several days already…”

Vivian’s furrowed expression relaxed.

For a moment, a faint glimmer of worry seemed to pass over her face, but Valon thought it must have been his imagination.

Vivian remained silent before turning away.

The trio followed closely behind her.

***

I plucked petals from a flower again today and let them drift into the river.

It was our own way of mourning my mother’s death.

In the northern lands, flowers are among the hardest things to find.

So when someone precious dies, you find a cherished flower and scatter its petals far and wide from the cliffs of the high snowy mountains to mourn their passing.

The fortunate thing is that flowers are plentiful in this distant southern land.

The unfortunate thing is that I couldn’t find a high mountain to complete the ritual.

So instead, I stood by the river all day, scattering petals so they could drift as far as possible.

I clicked my tongue, feeling conflicted.

By now, would my mother have forgiven me?

I’ve scattered so many petals.

I feel nothing but guilt for not being able to visit her.

Of course, it’s not my fault, and I’m sure she would understand… but as her child, I couldn’t help feeling guilty.

“…Ha.”

After scattering flowers again today, I sighed and leaned against a nearby tree.

…What am I even doing?

For a moment, I felt miserable.

I don’t know which part of me looks more pathetic—

Was it me, sulking now after boldly confronting Vivian earlier?

…Or was it me, who has been protecting Vivian all this time, despite knowing I’d get nothing in return?

I had expected this, but now that I’m actually faced with it, the impact is different.

Of course, I never stayed by Vivian’s side expecting anything in return.

I didn’t help her through her despair, provoke her when she needed to vent her anger, care for her wounds, eat her meals for her, save her from a fire, or protect her from a dragon in hopes of a reward.

I did all of that without expecting anything.

My body just moved, leaving no room for other choices.

But now, seeing how things have turned out, I couldn’t help but feel pathetic.

Was this kind of treatment what I worked so hard for?

Am I carrying this hideous burn scar on my back for this?

…No matter what… between us…

“…Ha.”

I scoffed at myself, pressing my forehead with my hand.

…

“Between us”.

.. what does that even mean?

If you look at it objectively, we were nothing more and nothing less than enemies.

Vivian had always made that clear.

It was me who ignored the truth.

I haven’t been going to Vivian lately, either.

If I saw her face, I felt like I’d hate her even more.

And Vivian wouldn’t have anything to say if she saw my face now.

“You seem troubled.”

At that moment, someone spoke to me.

The voice was strangely familiar.

When I turned around, I couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh at the sight of the person standing there.

It was that maid.

The maid who had been delivering notes to me, loyal to the hidden master of Rondor.

“It’s been a while, Sir Kailo.”

Brown hair, a small stature, and an unremarkable face.

As the dry laugh I almost let out got stuck in my throat, a sigh escaped instead.

Life never seemed to give me a moment’s rest.

“Ha.”

“It’s too harsh to sigh at the sight of a lady’s face.”

How could I not sigh?

It was obvious she had come to deliver yet another piece of bad news.

I glanced at her hand.

Her right fist was clenched tightly, as if hiding something.

It was probably another note from her “master” for me.

I knew this was coming.

With bloodshed on the rise, how could it not?

It wasn’t surprising that more people were targeting Vivian now.

…But.

“…Go back.”

I told the maid.

“If it’s about Vivian, I don’t want to hear it. I’m done.”

The maid tilted her head, as if she didn’t understand.

“…Done? What do you mean?”

“I won’t protect Vivian anymore, from now on.”

“Why?”

Although it was something I blurted out in anger, hearing it questioned so blatantly left me speechless.

How could someone ask so shamelessly without even feeling a hint of embarrassment?

After struggling against my anger for a while, I finally shouted.

“…Why would I do this when there’s nothing in it for me?! How much longer do I have to play the fool?!”

The maid, unfazed, replied calmly.

“Demand compensation from Lady Vivian.”

As if it was the simplest solution in the world.

For a moment, I was at a loss for words, but soon the emotions I had been suppressing erupted again.

I changed the subject and argued further.

“I’m on bad terms with Vivian! Tell your master to come to their senses. How can you expect me to help them? They should stop hiding and—”

“From the beginning, I—”

“They should step up! An adult being so cowardly—!”

The maid shook her head.

“…My lady is determining who is a traitor and who is not. She cannot act recklessly right now.”

I scoffed.

“How long is that supposed to take? Stop making excuses. She’s just pathetically scared, isn’t she? She’s hiding because Vivian’s position is uncertain.”

“…Perhaps so. But she is making truly arduous efforts.”

Her disheartening words drained even the energy I had to be angry.

Emptiness and fatigue filled the void left behind.

I told her.

“Enough. Get out. I don’t want to hear it. Your circumstances don’t matter to me.”

“…Sir Kailo.”

“Think about it. You think about it. Why should I have to do this? Why should I risk my life to protect Vivian?”

“…You have a clear reason, don’t you?”

Her words made me laugh.

How could she claim to know a reason I myself was unaware of?

I had only met this maid three times.

How could she possibly understand what was in my heart?

How conceited must she be to think like this?

I spoke.

“Oh, really? Let’s hear it then. Even I’m curious. What’s that reason?”

The maid answered.

“…You’ve fallen for her. Lady Vivian.”

“…What…?”

That brief statement pierced through my chest like a sharp arrow.

It felt as if my entire body had frozen.

I forgot how to breathe, and my mind went blank.

I couldn’t even think of responding to the maid or shouting at her.

Something surged from deep within my chest.

It wasn’t simple denial, nor was it a realization.

In this complicated moment, the maid, as if trying to further confuse me, continued.

“…You love Lady Vivian.”

Her words, sounding like a cruel curse, lingered in the air.

“Isn’t that reason enough?”