Chapter 135: Homecoming – 2

I limped and hobbled, looking at the Alan family’s castle in the distance.

The snowflakes scattered in the wind, white and drifting.

The high and sturdy castle walls, built to block it.

In this harsh winter where the cold had spread to the south, the Alan family’s castle stood tall and solitary, seeming even stronger and lonelier.

The castle looked more somber and rough than I remembered.

My eyes, accustomed to the warm southern castles, could not easily adjust to this sight.

The southern horse I brought along was trembling in the cold.

I was no different.

This cold was unfamiliar.

Every scar left on my body felt icy, and it chilled me to the bone.

My chest, which had been inhaling the cold air, now ached and felt dry.

Despite everything, I kept walking.

The horse had reached its limit, and so had I.

We needed shelter.

I stroked the shivering horse’s mane and spoke softly.

“…Just hold on a little longer. We’re almost there.”

The horse answered with a rough snort.

As we reached the castle gates, soldiers holding spears blocked my way.

One of them spoke.

“You’ve lost your mind, coming through this cold.”

However, the soldier speaking didn’t seem to be bothered by the cold.

Unlike me, who shrank from it, he stood upright and wore light clothing.

“Where are you coming from?”

He asked.

I paused for a moment and then answered.

“…Loctana.”

“Loctana…? Where’s that?”

One of the soldiers beside him tapped his arm and spoke.

“Don’t you know Loctana? It’s the land of the Rondor family.”

“Loctana was the land of the Rondor family? But from Loctana…”

They seemed puzzled by my answer, but it appeared they didn’t quite grasp the reason for their confusion.

I wasn’t in a hurry.

I quietly complied with their inspection.

The soldier asked again.

“What brings you all the way out here?”

“I came to see my family.”

“What? But this guy’s answers are so short…”

A man, seemingly of higher rank, walked out from behind them.

“Hey, hey! Let him in already and let’s rest! Can’t you tell by his hair color that he’s one of ours?”

The man reprimanded the soldiers and then turned to me.

“Hey! What’s your name? We need to write it down.”

“Kailo Alan.”

At those words, the soldiers froze.

After blinking a few times, they scanned my body from head to toe.

“…What?”

***

Ding ding ding ding!!!

The bells rang as I crossed the castle walls and moved toward the inner castle.

Normally, the bells would ring when the enemy was attacking.

But now, the meaning had changed.

People poured out.

It felt similar to when I first entered Loctana.

Back then, people had thrown stones at me and raised their voices in resentment, but now, the people’s gazes were filled with surprise and gratitude.

“Ah, you’re here!!”

“We did it…! It’s finally happening! Someone to lead us again…!!”

As the murmurs grew louder, people began to shout at me one by one.

“Kailo! We’ve been waiting for you!!”

“We’ve heard everything!! Thank you for your hard work!!”

“You’ve finally escaped those wicked Rondor bastards!!”

The crowd continued to swell, pressing in around me.

I kept riding the horse.

There was still somewhere I needed to go.

After walking for a long time, I finally arrived at the Alan family castle.

Once again, it was even more desolate than I remembered.

-…I guess the northerners don’t have a sense of it.

I could almost hear Vivian’s voice echoing.

She would surely say something like that.

I couldn’t laugh or get angry at that voice.

I stood still, expressionless, and then moved my steps again.

In the courtyard, many people were already waiting for me.

The first to approach, weeping, was my younger sister, Kayla.

“Oh, brother…!”

She rushed into my arms and cried against my neck.

I exhaled deeply, slowly embracing her.

I closed my eyes tightly and stroked her back.

“You’ve worked hard.”

I said.

I knew well that she had been supporting the family in my absence.

“Y-you’ve been through so much… H-huh… O-oppa…”

She stayed in my arms for a while.

Kayla wiped her tears and stepped back from my embrace.

Next in line to wait for me was the third, Eleanor.

She was shorter than Kayla and had a gentler face.

For a northerner, she had a southern vibe.

Unlike Kayla, Eleanor hesitated.

Her eyes were already filled with tears, and it seemed like the changed me was too awkward for her.

She was confused about what kind of distance to maintain.

“Eleanor.”

“…Kailo… Oppa.”

I smiled faintly.

“You’re 17 this year, right?”

“Ugh…!!”

It was a trivial thing, but the fact that I hadn’t forgotten her age made her relax.

Tears began to flow from her eyes, and she urgently hugged me.

And then, she started crying loudly, unable to hold back her sadness.

She definitely seemed more fragile than Kayla.

“O… Oppa…!! M-mom… Ugh…! And Dad…!!!”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Why…! Why did you only come now? It was so… scary!!!”

Our awkwardness quickly crumbled along with her words.

We could return to the familiar closeness we had when we were younger.

Looking back at Kayla and Eleanor from the past, they were really dependent on me.

They cried a lot and caused a lot of trouble, so I often had to comfort them and sort out their mess.

They followed me everywhere like thread and needle, and it felt like that time was returning.

While comforting Eleanor, I saw a boy staring straight at me.

He looked so much like my younger self that it made me chuckle.

I quickly recognized who he was.

Just like us back then, the boy had a very small build since he was still in his growing years.

As I approached him, he seemed intimidated by my large frame, his expression twitching.

Nevertheless, his effort to hide it made me feel proud.

“Reginald.”

I ruffled his hair and asked.

“Do you remember me?”

“…I don’t remember.”

His stiff tone made me feel complicated, and I glanced at my younger sisters.

Kayla, realizing my discomfort, lightly hit Reginald on the head and said.

“We’ve told you so many times! It’s Kailo Oppa!”

“How can I remember if I have not seen?”

Reginald rubbed his head roughly, replying irritably.

His reaction made me laugh, and I smiled again.

Reginald, seemingly relieved by my laughter, bit his lip and spoke.

“Th-thank you for coming back now. I know well that you sacrificed yourself for us. I really appreciate it.”

I turned to Eleanor.

“…Did you make him memorize this?”

Eleanor quickly waved her hand.

“No, no, it was Reginald’s own words.”

I looked at Reginald.

“Really? Those were your own words?”

At that moment, Reginald’s eyes subtly turned toward Kayla.

A mischievous glint appeared on his face.

“Actually, Kayla noona…””Hey!”

Kayla hit Reginald again.

This time, Reginald, chuckling, revealed the truth.

“I was just kidding, hyung. No one told me to memorize anything.”

After ruffling Reginald’s hair again, I looked at the last sibling waiting for me.

He was hiding behind one of the guards, nervously biting his nails.

“Come out, the men of the Alan family dont hide.”

At those words, he nervously glanced at the guards, then tightly shut his eyes, gathering his courage.

He walked toward me, meeting my gaze directly.

In truth, I wasn’t familiar with the face of this youngest sibling either.

He was only two years old when I left.

“…He is a shy one, isnt he Oppa? Especially after Mom passed away and Dad fell ill… he has become even more withdrawn.”

I took the youngest’s hand.

“Ragon. Let’s try to get along from now on. Call me Oppa.”

“…Yes.”

“You can speak casually.”

“…Yes.”

“Let’s learn swordsmanship together with Reginald later. I’ll teach you well.”

“…Yes.”

There seemed to be nothing significant to talk about with the youngest.

This awkwardness was an inevitable side effect that occurred while I was staying in Loctana.

I stood up and looked around.

Before dealing with those who were crying and surprised by the changes, there was someone I had to meet first.

I turned to Kayla and asked.

“…Father?”

***

Eleanor swallowed and entered her father’s room.

But today was different.

Unlike the usual moments when she came alone, many people were lined up in front of her father’s room.

Naturally, this was due to one man who had risen to the head of the family.

Kailo Alan.

The successor of the Alan family, a knight who had made a name for himself in the southern lands.

And even though it had been a long time, he was Eleanor’s brother, someone she could not help but rely on.

Eleanor secretly held Kayla’s hand tightly and suppressed her tears.

Thinking about what Kailo must be feeling made it even harder for her.

He had suffered in a foreign land for years.

Despite being born to the same parents, the difficulty of their lives had been completely different.

Kailp had struggled, while Eleanor herself hadn’t had such a hard life.

And now, imagining what her emaciated father would look like in front of the brother who had fought so hard to survive made it hard to even predict his feelings.

“…Father.”

The moment Kailo saw Jade Alan, he whispered as if forgetting the gazes of the people around him.

Eleanor again suppressed her tears.

She didn’t want to disturb their reunion by crying out loud.

“…Father, Kailo is here.”

Her brother, as if returning to his childhood, called out to their father, referring to himself.

His voice was filled with weakness that he could only show if it were his parents.

If there was one person Eleanor thought was the strongest, it was Kailo.

After losing the war with the Delrum Kingdom, when their soldiers advanced toward Alan Castle and demanded prisoners, it was Kailo, even at a young age, who decided to volunteer without fear.

Eleanor, now 13 years old, thought about the age when her brother left.

If she were in the same situation, would she have made the same decision?

The answer was definitely no—she still felt the same way.

But Kailo hadn’t stopped there.

There had been countless rumors about him since then.

Dragon hunting.

Fighting with the Eight Knights.

War with Robert, the lord of Nerumport.

Even in situations where surrender would have been understandable, he did not falter.

When she heard about Kayla’s visit to Loctana, she was even more amazed.

She could see that Kayla, who practically ruled the Alan family, relied on Kailo.

“You’ll really be surprised when you see how much he’s changed, Eleanor.”

“Really?”

“I’ll hold out until he comes. He’s really impressive, you know? I told you before, right? He’s my bro-”

“If he was not my brother, I would have fallen for him. Yeah, yeah.”

Even Eleanor, who considered Kayla strong, knew that Kailo was even stronger.

How could she not admire him?

And that strong man now trembled as he grabbed the thin, emaciated arm of their father.

“…Father, you said you missed me. Was that a lie?”

Drip, drip… Seeing the tears falling from the strong man’s eyes, Eleanor could no longer suppress her own tears.

Kailo knelt in front of their father.

“Please get up… please…”

Jade Alan did not grant Kailo’s request.

He remained deeply asleep, only breathing weakly.