Ch.40When Eyes Turn Red (6)

I struggled to my feet, swaying unsteadily, and Irene looked at me with a worried expression.

A laugh escaped me involuntarily. Her eyes were bloodshot in the moonlight,

making her look like she might cry at any moment. I steadied myself with my sword against the ground and gave her a slight smile.

“Were you crying?”

“…I wasn’t crying.”

Yet she was rubbing her eyes. My vision was still blurry.

If I stayed like this, I might pass out again. I blinked hard a few times, then kept my eyes wide open as I exhaled.

My body had no strength left. Probably because I had used my mana to its limit. If I had fought the troll for even a little longer, I would have been the one to lose.

There was a metallic taste in my mouth.

After spitting out the blood that had surged up my throat, Irene stared at me with a rigid expression.

“If you’ve suffered internal injuries, we need to treat them quickly—”

“I’m fine. I just pushed myself too hard and twisted something inside.”

Honestly, I didn’t expect to say something like that so calmly. But that was truly how I felt about it.

Just some twisted organs—wounds that would heal in a few hours. I had dodged all the troll’s attacks.

My face got slightly grazed, and I suffered some internal injuries while deflecting the axe, but I could say I was much less injured than I had anticipated.

I waved my hand dismissively and said I was fine, but Irene’s expression didn’t easily soften.

Pleased by her concern, I smiled slightly and gazed steadily at her.

When we first met, I couldn’t have imagined this—her pretending not to worry while clearly concerned—it was quite surprising.

The masked expression was nowhere to be found now.

What flickered in those blue eyes was warm concern, so I casually shrugged my shoulders.

“…I’m really fine.”

“I wasn’t worried.”

“I know. I just wanted to say it.”

As I grinned while saying that, Irene suddenly frowned and glared at me.

Honestly, she should just admit it—anyone could see she was worried about me.

Perhaps she found it embarrassing to acknowledge.

As I stared at her, she turned her gaze away and spoke again.

“I’m going to investigate Roman this time. Did you notice anything strange about Lord Adel? Though… seeing him collapsed like that, he doesn’t seem to be heavily involved.”

“…Well, I didn’t notice anything particular since he was knocked away at the beginning. But, are Roman family eyes normally purple?”

Hearing Adel’s name made me feel drained.

I hadn’t even wanted to bring him along, but he insisted on coming to fight, only to be knocked out from the start, which only boosted the troll’s confidence.

Although we won, it might have been easier without him.

What bothered me was his purple eyes.

The troll’s eyes were also purple.

Later, when I cut off its head, the eyes returned to their original color, suggesting they had turned purple while under dark magic.

Since Adel’s eyes were also purple, I couldn’t help but be suspicious.

After pondering my words for a moment, Irene nodded and spoke.

“They were probably purple from the beginning. But… if Lord Adel was knocked out at the start, then you defeated that troll entirely on your own.”

“That’s how it turned out.”

As I stared blankly at Irene who was gazing at the troll, I suddenly flinched at a voice from behind.

That exaggerated laugh—it had to be Lord Chris.

When I turned around, sure enough, it was Lord Chris. He approached, patting my shoulder, and then looked at Irene and me with a grin.

“You two seem quite close. Is it really appropriate to embrace like that? Someone might mistake you for lovers.”

“…You saw that?”

“Of course, only I saw it. Everyone else was busy tending to Lord Adel. Actually, I knew from a distance that you were just sleeping, but the young lady seemed so serious that I couldn’t say anything.”

“Lord Chris.”

Irene shot him a cold glance.

Her voice was so icy that Lord Chris awkwardly laughed and scratched his head.

“Well… I mean, it’s good if you get along, isn’t it? I’ve never seen the young lady worry about someone like that before. It can’t be bad for a lady to have a good relationship with her knight.”

“Be quiet. My head is pounding.”

“…Understood.”

After sighing briefly, Irene frowned and looked at me.

She seemed to have something to say but couldn’t because Lord Chris was nearby.

The tips of her ears looked slightly red. Perhaps she was embarrassed about being caught embracing me.

When I met her gaze and smiled, Irene responded coldly.

“What are you smiling at?”

“…Nothing. Just feeling weak.”

As Irene glanced at me briefly before walking away, I narrowed my eyes at Lord Chris.

“Why did you have to mention what you saw? She’s already quite shy.”

“Well… I just thought it was nice to see.”

“You weren’t saying it because it was nice—you just wanted to tease her, didn’t you?”

“That’s half true.”

It was so ridiculous I could only laugh.

As I opened my mouth slightly, Lord Chris frowned and then gave a playful smile.

“Anyway, hurry up and follow her. Go comfort her sulking.”

“…I suppose I should.”

After saying that, I felt my face growing hot.

Though I was pretending to be nonchalant, I was actually quite flustered about Irene embracing me.

How many people wouldn’t be surprised if someone suddenly hugged them like that?

The strong scent of roses that had filled my nostrils still lingered, making me feel as if we were in a rose garden rather than a forest.

That warm body temperature against mine, those eyes that trembled unfailingly when looking at me.

And the faint heartbeat that tickled my chest.

I took a deep breath and exhaled, but my racing heart wouldn’t calm down easily, making me smile bitterly.

How should one react when someone makes you feel so troubled like this? I managed to let it slide this time, but next time…

It probably won’t be so easy to just let it go. I staggered forward again.

My steps toward Irene didn’t feel as heavy as before. Maybe it was just my imagination.

#

“The forest is dangerous at night. When you go off alone like that, it makes me anxious.”

“…Then you should have followed me sooner.”

Her grumbling seemed quite adorable, and I touched my twitching lips with my hand while averting my gaze from Irene.

“Did you leave Rofena at the mansion? I haven’t seen her at all.”

“She wanted to come, but I stopped her. If there was a troll, it would be difficult to protect Rofena.”

I could almost see Rofena’s face clearly.

She was childish for her age, so she might have cried seeing me in this state.

Even Irene didn’t cry, but she came close to it.

Certainly, it was somewhat surprising that she worried about me so much.

Of course, if there was something unsettling, it was that when Irene looked at me, she seemed to be overlapping me with someone else.

Perhaps she had experienced something similar before.

But I couldn’t ask her directly, so I clicked my tongue and continued walking in silence.

It had been quite bright when we were climbing to the peak,

but seeing how dark it had become, I realized how much time had passed.

Maybe I should have tried to hold on instead of lying on the ground.

The stars in the sky looked no different than usual, making my fight with the troll feel almost like an illusion.

The story I heard from Zhanzir—was there something about my bloodline and mana also an illusion?

Out of curiosity, I tried to draw up my mana, but the barely remaining embers only responded without manifesting outside my body.

My body staggered, and I sat down on the ground.

It was a waste of energy, and when I suddenly sat down, Irene was startled by the sound and opened her lips slightly.

“Evan?”

“I tripped on a rock. It’s nothing… ugh.”

I tried to get up naturally, saying it was nothing, but there seemed to be a problem with my bones as my chest stung.

Maybe I got grazed during the fight with the troll.

As I grimaced in pain, Irene, who had approached me, urgently spoke.

“If you were injured, you should have told the mages earlier for treatment. Why are you being so stubborn…!”

“I thought you said you weren’t worried, so why do you look so upset?”

When I retorted with pouting lips, Irene’s expression froze.

Did I seem too upset? But I also thought that if she was going to be like this, she should just be honest.

Perhaps it’s just greed. I smiled bitterly at my desire to hear her say that she was worried about me.

When the pain in my chest subsided, I looked at Irene and then slowly turned my gaze away.

A star streaked across the sky. As shadows penetrated the abundant moonlight and divided the space between us, Irene’s lips moved.

“…I was worried.”

At those words, I turned my head, but Irene had turned away and closed her mouth.

However, she glanced at me again, closed her eyes gently, and spoke once more.

“I was very worried.”

“……”

“I even tied a handkerchief for you to keep you from getting hurt. How could I not have been worried?”

I was at a loss for how to express what I was feeling.

The occasional sound of my heartbeat reached my ears, and heat rose from my reddening face.

It was just her saying she was worried, yet her voice tickled my heart and seemed to touch my soul.

Didn’t I know her claim of not being worried was a lie?

Didn’t I know she was just pretending out of embarrassment? And yet.

Actually hearing those words made my expression crumble bit by bit.

Hot breath escaped between my slightly parted lips, turning white in the cold winter air before dissipating.

The shadows lifted. Light filtering through the trees illuminated Irene, making her blue eyes seem to sparkle even more in the darkness.

Our gazes met. I swallowed hard at those blue eyes that seemed to pierce through my chest and expose all my inner thoughts.

“…My lady.”

I wanted to say something. My mouth was itching to blurt out something.

But what came out was just that meaningless murmur. I could feel my eyes trembling.

The emotion enveloping me was clearly bewilderment, so I could only blink and stare at Irene.

But Irene rose from her seat without a word.

As if she had said all she needed to say, she turned her back without regret and quietly looked up at the sky.

I simply stood up and approached her side.

I didn’t think there was any need to say anything.

Standing beside her as she stood silently, I stared blankly into space and then took out the handkerchief from my pocket.

The color of the handkerchief hadn’t changed at all. Although my face and body were covered in dried blood,

the handkerchief was still as white as when I first received it, making me smile involuntarily.

I couldn’t keep the promise not to get hurt, but did I at least keep this one?

“I’ll return this to you.”

At those words, Irene looked at my hand holding the handkerchief and stared at me blankly.

Her eyes demanded an explanation as if asking what I was giving her, so I slowly opened my mouth.

“Didn’t you tell me not to soil it? I kept it in my pocket while fighting.”

“…You were thinking about that, even in the midst of battle?”

“It was something you mentioned. Isn’t it something you always carry with you?”

“I have many handkerchiefs. It’s not really that important—”

“It was precious to me.”

Saying that, I smiled faintly.

I just stood there, meeting her gaze quietly, conveying that everything I was saying was sincere.

It was precious to me. Because it was the first time someone had given me such a token out of concern.

The first time someone had worried about me.

“It was a first for me. Having someone worry about me.”

Innate talent isn’t always a blessing.

Being able to accurately grasp all the notes when looking at sheet music,

hearing new sounds when seeing musical notes—these weren’t always good things.

My memories from before I was Evan Fried. Having innate talent was a commonality between Evan and me.

But the difference was that for me, that talent had strangled my life and eventually destroyed it.

I had talent. Because I always showed excellence to people, no one worried about me.

When I made mistakes, what came back were cold stares, and those who had applauded began to point fingers at me.

Why did they think I wouldn’t make mistakes? Why did they think I wouldn’t break down?

I was a person, not a machine. Things often went wrong in unexpected ways.

I was human too—how could I do everything perfectly without a single mistake?

Now I wielded a sword instead of a piano, and though that talent was also abundant, I could die at any time.

Even a master would die if an arrow pierced their heart, so how could I always win against every enemy?

What always resided in my heart was anxiety.

If I ever made a mistake and fell, if I failed to prevent a tragedy befalling Irene.

The reason I sometimes came out at dawn to swing my sword wasn’t because I was diligent, but because I couldn’t sleep.

I trembled. When my sword-holding hand shook, I gritted my teeth and swung the sword even more fiercely.

Did she know what her concern meant to someone like me?

Perhaps enough that I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Enough that I was considering giving up the desire to return to my original world just for that one phrase.

That one phrase was more precious to me than anything else.

Don’t get hurt, I was worried.

Because the boy who had worked hard to hear those words was still here,

I smiled at Irene again. Irene’s eyes wavered as she looked at me.

Perhaps surprised, her eyes were slightly wider than before as they turned to me.

“…You don’t have to return it.”

Her unexpected response left me staring at her in bewilderment.

What did she mean by not having to return it? After saying that, Irene stepped forward.

As I stood still watching her, she turned around after a moment and quietly spoke.

“Keep it. Even if it gets dirty, just always carry it with you.”

“But—”

“…Think of it as me always worrying about you. Don’t fight recklessly alone like this time, and next time, come back more… normally. Don’t scare people.”

“……”

“Come back a little more ordinarily… with a smile.”

Her eyes, soaked in darkness, wavered.

Even though she turned her head again, hiding her trembling lips, I was still chasing the blue light I had seen before my eyes.

Silence fell. The rhythm that could only be felt in a quiet forest enveloped the surroundings,

making the forest, dyed with white starlight and black darkness, look like a piano.

The chirping sound of insects. The occasional sound of flowing water.

Even Irene’s breathing, audible amidst the white noise, mixed with the wind to create a single rhythm.

And so I smiled.

The music I had so despised, this melody created by nature, now sounded more beautiful than any other sound.

“I will certainly do so.”

Ordinarily.

I smiled like that.