Ch.105Promise Keeper (3)

Judy stopped by the stable before departing. Goldie was resting after all her hard running.

The stable hand must have doused her with water, as Goldie’s body was damp and clean, and she was chewing on the feed she’d been given.

Judy smiled slightly at her companion, then made a request to the stable hand.

“I need to borrow a horse. It’s been arranged with the Duke.”

The stable hand wasn’t so ignorant that he couldn’t recognize the Ice family emblem on Judy’s shoulder.

“Of course. Since you’ve already left a horse with us, lending you one is no trouble at all.”

Judy nodded and entered the stable. The stable hand followed, beginning to introduce the horses to her.

Judy didn’t care about the horses’ names or introductions. She just needed a horse that wouldn’t tire before reaching Naita Forest.

“This one is called Red Lightning. True to his name, he’s fast, but his weakness is that he tires easily—”

As the stable hand continued, Judy spotted a familiar horse. A massive black stallion, shaking its head dramatically to get her attention.

“…Huh?”

Recognizing that welcome face, Judy immediately headed toward it.

…..It was Caden’s horse, Rush.

The stable hand approached, looking between the horse and Judy, and spoke in a somewhat bitter tone.

“…This one is—”

“—Rush.”

Judy spoke the name first. She could confidently say she knew this horse better than the stable hand did.

“…It’s Caden’s horse.”

“…That’s right. You know him. Then you must also know he’s difficult to handle—”

“—I’ll take this one.”

Judy gently stroked Rush’s face. Rush stopped shaking his head vigorously and felt Judy’s touch.

Rush had always been like this. He would bicker with Caden and constantly play tricks on him, but he was always gentle with her.

“…He’ll be difficult for you to handle…”

The stable hand looked at Judy with genuine concern.

Judy shook her head.

“…I’ll be more comfortable with this horse than any other.”

As if to prove her words weren’t empty, she lightly gripped the reins and pulled. Rush followed her obediently.

The stable hand’s eyes widened at the sight, but Judy had no more time to waste.

After thanking the stable hand, she mounted Rush.

Rush snorted and pawed at the ground, as if eager to run.

Leaving the stable, Judy leaned forward to stroke Rush’s neck and face.

“…Rush.”

Rush responded by flapping his lips.

Judy stroked Rush for a long time. Since Rush was also Caden’s friend, she felt she needed to be careful about bringing up the subject.

Judy found it difficult to speak. Some might think she was being overly sentimental about a horse… but Caden had treated Rush as kindly as if he were his own horse, Goldie—truly like a friend.

After hesitating for a while, Judy finally whispered.

“…Caden is missing. I need help finding him. Can you help…?”

Rush snorted strongly and pawed at the ground again.

Taking that as an answer, Judy straightened her posture.

“…Let’s go, then.”

Immediately after, Judy snapped the reins hard.

****

“Please, Father.”

Once again, Daisy persistently pleaded with Count Hexter.

Count Hexter expressionlessly waved his hand.

“…I already said no.”

“Father… it’s only a day’s journey away… Caden went missing right next door! You could spare some soldiers…”

Count Hexter sighed and gave her a sympathetic look.

“…They’re not saying he’s missing, they’re saying he’s dead.”

“No!!”

Daisy shouted as if throwing a tantrum. After holding back tears, she continued.

“…He can’t be dead. At least not like that…!”

Count Hexter rose from his seat. He embraced his shocked daughter and spoke quietly.

“…I know it’s a bitter truth to swallow. I can’t measure the shock you’ve received. But a leader cannot fall into such personal emotions. As you know, we’re struggling with plague and famine. Wasting manpower and resources to find a dead body—”

Daisy pushed her father away forcefully. It was the first time she had ever laid hands on her father in anger.

Count Hexter stumbled back in surprise and fell into his chair.

Despite seeing her father like this, Daisy’s eyes were filled with anger.

“…How can you say it’s a waste…?”

“………”

“Caden was supposed to become a member of our family! He was supposed to be my husband! How can you treat someone who could have been the most important person in our family this way?”

Count Hexter quickly hid his expression of shock and hurt, then pointed out the truth to Daisy.

“That was all when Caden was alive.”

“…Father…!”

“Accept it. Don’t talk about what might have been. What could have happened, what should have happened… it’s all meaningless now. Caden didn’t marry you, and now that he’s dead, he has nothing to do with us.”

Daisy’s eyes darted around, looking for something. She seemed ready to break something in her uncontrollable anger. Seeing this, Count Hexter hastily continued.

“Besides…! Even if we don’t go, the forest where he was attacked is already full of soldiers. The Praester soldiers are searching the area. Well… seeing that, even if he was disowned… I can see that Caden wasn’t completely unrelated to the Praesters. If he had lived… there would have been no problem with him marrying you.”

Count Hexter stood up again. This time, he grabbed Daisy’s shoulders.

“I know I sound cold. But you need to calm down. Think about our territory’s people rather than this man Caden. Even if we sent soldiers, they wouldn’t be of any help now. We have our own problems. People are dying of disease right now—how can we afford to divert our attention elsewhere?”

“……”

“Even the Praesters are just unable to accept his death right now, but soon they’ll come to terms with reality. They even found his body. I don’t understand what more they’re looking for. They found his corpse still clutching his sword, so what else—”

“—Stop, please..!”

Daisy covered her ears. She couldn’t bear to hear those terrible words anymore.

The bandit attack.

Caden’s death.

The cremated body…

Each detail was unbearable to hear. Perhaps, as her father said, she was being stubborn. Maybe she couldn’t make proper judgments due to the shocking news. She couldn’t let go of someone who had disappeared so suddenly.

But there was one more reason she felt this way.

He had promised to return to her. While holding her in his arms, he had promised to come back to her. Even if he left the Academy, even if his relationship with the twins soured, he had promised to return.

She was so confused about what to believe. Whether to trust the information from Vensrak or to believe in Caden’s promise—she couldn’t decide.

In the end, Daisy turned away, broken once again. She knew that continuing this conversation with her father would only hurt and distress her more.

She resented her own powerlessness. How could she call herself his fiancée when she couldn’t even help him in his time of danger?

Before they were even engaged, Caden had helped her by sharing food with her territory’s people.

Once again, she retreated in agony.

****

Helen was trying to maintain stability in the now-chaotic family.

This was the first crisis of this magnitude in 10 years.

Ten years ago, when the previous head of the family, James Praester, and his wife passed away, Riana Praester had to re-enter politics, and they had to adopt a child named Caden for the sake of the twins who had suffered a tremendous shock.

The family had been greatly shaken then.

Fortunately, bringing Caden in had been the right decision, and the family was able to regain stability within a year.

With Caden as a supporting pillar, the twins grew around him like vines, becoming beautiful, strong, and sturdy.

Helen had been proud that the twins and Caden represented the face of her family.

But just days ago, Caden had left the family. Having assisted and spent time with the young man, Helen was shocked by this fact but tried not to show it.

There was no need for her to show her shock when others were already devastated.

The twins, who should have been able to stand on their own without him by now, collapsed when he left. Perhaps their stems weren’t strong enough yet. Or maybe they never developed the strength to stand alone because they believed he would never leave.

Or perhaps, beyond these metaphors, he had simply become too important in their lives.

Both twins were rapidly falling apart.

Helen knew that Asena’s decision to disown him had been driven by anger. Even without asking, it was clear the twins still needed Caden.

But that wasn’t the end.

In less than 10 days since his departure…

…news of his death arrived.

Many servants were shocked by the news and shed tears.

Some were angry, some cried, and some denied it.

Helen herself wiped away tears when remembering the time she had spent with Caden.

Additionally, after meeting with Vensrak and hearing the detailed explanation… she had to accept, whether she wanted to or not, that Caden had passed away.

Even though Kirsy and Asena couldn’t accept it.

In truth, at her age, death wasn’t so unfamiliar. Many people she had loved had passed away, and there had been even more shocking deaths.

Most notably, the death of James Praester. Thinking about that time, this incident wasn’t impossible.

…But this time… unlike then, her heart ached more.

Having watched how Caden had grown up, Helen was saddened that he had left this world just as he was blossoming as a person.

Knowing how much the twins loved him, her heart was equally torn when thinking about those left behind.

Just the sound of Kirsy’s recent wails was evidence enough.

…It wasn’t a sound of this world. Her cries contained numerous emotions.

It was the kind of scream and crying that made one’s heart sink just by hearing it.

Listening to it almost made Helen want to cry along with Kirsy.

She could vaguely sense how much pain Kirsy was in.

And what about Asena?

She rarely expressed emotions to begin with.

Because she was someone who endured everything herself, Helen was even more worried about her.

Unlike Kirsy, who expressed her pain, Asena suppressed everything inside.

And then she finally saw it.

The sight of Asena with one leg over the windowsill, ready to turn her back on the world.

Surprised, Helen stopped her, but this time she was just lucky to have been able to intervene.

If Asena attempted suicide again on another occasion… would she be able to stop her?

“…Sigh…”

If it had ended there, Helen might have been able to keep her spirits up.

Even now, she was struggling to maintain stability, but she was getting tired.

…Especially since Riana Praester had collapsed as well.

When the mistress she had served since her youth collapsed, Helen felt as if she had been dragged down with her.

Consciously or unconsciously, Helen had been relying on Riana.

Riana and her husband, Aiden Praester, who had led the Praester family to its golden age.

The respect built during that time had not faded at all.

But when even the strong Riana fell ill with grief over losing Caden, Helen couldn’t help but feel powerless.

She didn’t feel like she could do anything.

All she could do was keep the disoriented servants in line.

But now even she was hoping for a miracle.

Though she knew it was an impossible dream… she still hoped.

“…Master Caden…”

For his return.

Though she thought he was no longer of this world… because of a sliver of hope, Lawrence had gone to Naita Forest to look for him.

Even Judy Ice, his friend and the illegitimate daughter of a rival family, had gone to search for him.

…She prayed that he was miraculously alive.

If not… truly, the Praesters might collapse this time.

She had felt it since the incident 10 years ago.

Forces outside the family weren’t frightening. There was no reason to fear them.

What should be feared was rotting from within. Collapsing on one’s own.

That was the enemy to be most wary of.

And now, Helen could see that they were crumbling from within.

Caden had to return.

“Head Maid Helen..!”

A servant ran up and called her. Helen hid her troubled expression and greeted her.

“…What is it?”

“…Ki…Kirsy is acting strange..! I think you need to come quickly..!”

Helen felt her heart sink. She nodded and began walking.

As her worry for Kirsy grew, her steps quickened.

Then she entered Kirsy’s room. Many servants surrounded the bed where Kirsy lay.

Kirsy had lost a lot of weight. Her silver hair, once lustrous, had lost its shine, and her cute smile was nowhere to be seen. The energy that always overflowed from her and her sparkling eyes had lost their color.

But other than that, there wasn’t much change. Helen pushed through the servants to approach Kirsy.

“…Lady Kirsy?”

“…Ah…”

The moment Kirsy opened her mouth, Helen had to feel a strange sensation.

“…Lady Kirsy… are you uncomfortable somewhere?”

Helen asked further.

Kirsy shook her head. Then she opened her mouth.

“…Ah…..uh….ah…”

“…Pardon?”

“…uh…..oo….uh..”

Helen’s brow furrowed deeply. Her heart began to tremble.

Finally, Max, who was beside Kirsy, explained.

“…She understands everything we say. But… but she can’t speak.”

“…What?”

“…I’m not a doctor, but I think it might be aphasia…”

Helen shifted her gaze back to Kirsy.

Kirsy weakly murmured… no, weakly mumbled.

“…uh…oh..bah…”