episode_0075

Charlotte roughly grabbed Arwen’s shoulder as she silently packed her bags and slammed her into the wall. I pushed hard enough to make a sound.

Her red face, the thick veins that clearly appeared on her neck, and her raised voice clearly expressed what she was feeling right now.

“Are you crazy? Why are you going there!”

Arwen’s eyes never changed from the moment she announced to everyone that she was heading to the battlefield until now, just before she left the castle. I never dreamed that the moment when I would feel irritated by those upright eyes that only looked at one goal would come again.

She grabbed Charlotte’s wrist, who was holding her shoulder, and opened her mouth in a stern tone.

“If I don’t go, who will? There is no one stronger than me in this area. If someone else goes, there will only be more useless sacrifices.”

She hated the faint tremors that ran through her wrists, and the horrendously terrible reality of having to leave her loved ones behind to go to war.

Charlotte wasn’t the only one who wanted to cry. If it weren’t for the attention of people around her and the weight of the crown she was carrying, Arwen would have cried in Charlotte’s arms right away, saying she didn’t want to be separated.

However, District 1 requested troops from all districts to fight against external pressure, and Arwen chose to sacrifice her own cattle for the sake of her residents.

Charlotte, who had experienced it herself, knew better than anyone around her that once Arwen made up her mind, no one could break her will.

I couldn’t stop it, but I couldn’t just sit back and watch. I couldn’t send her to a deadly place alone and be alone in a comfortable place.

“If you go, I will go too.”

Arwen’s brow furrowed slightly at Charlotte’s insistence.

It was the first harsh expression she had ever made, as she always smiled like an idiot no matter what she heard.

“Don’t be stupid. If you go as far as you, who protects this castle, District 7, and Aser? Because I trust you, I can go with peace of mind. You’re my right hand man, right? In times like these, you need to stay centered.”

“But… .”

Arwen gently patted Charlotte’s head, which was disheveled with sweat, and smiled lightly as if to relieve her grimly distorted expression.

“It’s okay. You know my strength best, right? I’m waiting while getting along well with Aser.”

Charlotte’s hand, which was holding her shoulder, falls helplessly to the floor. I wanted to hold on to it like a chimney, but I couldn’t.

How could he argue with her about the difficult decision he had made to follow her wishes? It was an act of humiliation, trampling on Arwen’s decision and her will.

“I’ll go.”

Charlotte asked Arwen who opened the room and went out into the hallway.

“You don’t have to tell Aser?”

Arwen’s steps toward downstairs stopped for a moment when Aser’s name came out. She glanced at the door where Aser was sleeping without a care in the world, then quietly raised the corner of her mouth.

“Because it’s not the last time… I will definitely come back here again, so I won’t say goodbye.”

With those words, Arwen left the castle without looking back even once.

For the first time, Charlotte hated the way her words were so miserable that she couldn’t even say a proper word of consolation to the sight of her head on the verge of death.

If she could turn back time, Charlotte would have turned it back again and again to prevent Arwen from going to war.

Even if it meant sacrificing all the residents of District 7, and even if it meant Arwen would resent him for the rest of his life, he would have always made the same choice.

Arwen left with a smile and did not return even after three years had passed after the war ended with District 1’s victory.

Without Arwen’s warmth and boisterous laughter, the castle was immersed in silence, filled with bitter cold. It was then that I realized for the first time that a castle with no employees was so quiet.

At first, the absence of a precious person was incredibly painful, but as time passed helplessly, the open wounds slowly began to heal.

The wind of change that seemed like it would never come came to Arwen’s castle.

The chef, who had been the only chef working before Charlotte came to the castle, had become so old that he had difficulty moving around, and he retired, saying that he wanted to spend the last days of his life with his children. Aside from Arwen and Aser, Charlotte was the only person she was attached to, so she gave her a gold coin and said goodbye, hoping that her final future would be smooth.

I wanted to hire another maid to manage the castle, but I stopped hiring other maids so that when Arwen returned to the castle, the castle would look the same as before.

As a result, all responsibility for managing the castle was left to Charlotte.

I started doing things on my own that I had never done for anyone else in my life, such as preparing meals and feeding Aser, washing him, mending his clothes, and cleaning dirty floors.

At first, I thought I was lacking even ten body parts, but as time went by, I found it amazing how my body was gradually adapting.

In the castle where only Aser and Charlotte were alone, they became each other’s support, comforting each other through their wounds and loneliness, and little by little they regained their smiles.

In Aser, he saw his lost mother, and in Aser, Charlotte saw his lost friend. Nevertheless, it was impossible to completely fill the void left by Arwen, who left a huge hole in her heart.

Dawn sat next to the bed of Aser, who was whining that he couldn’t sleep, and read a book for two hours to put him to sleep, and then he was eating a late dinner alone at the restaurant.

Arwen appeared so suddenly that memories of their first meeting came to mind.

“I’m here.”

Charlotte stopped moving her hand when she heard a familiar voice in her ear.

The moment of reunion that I always dreamed of, the scenery that I always dreamed of.

At first, I thought it was just a ghost fearlessly playing pranks or a hallucination caused by the fatigue accumulated from work and the yearning that had built up without my knowledge.

But Charlotte instinctively excluded all negative thoughts from her head and called her name without realizing it in a trembling voice.

“Arwen… ?”

“What, it’s been a while since I came back, is that the end of the greeting? If I had known it would be like this, would I have come a year later?”

He doesn’t care at all about people’s feelings and only says what he wants to say. It was definitely Arwen.

When she returned from the war, she was not in a state where she could even say she was fine.

The left eye has completely lost its light, the body cannot walk properly without crutches, and scars are everywhere.

Arwen calmly gave her second greeting, looking as if she might collapse at any moment.

“It’s been a while, Charlotte.”

When Charlotte saw Arwen greeting her by calling her name in a calm tone, the first thing that came out of Charlotte’s throat was anger instead of the joy of the reunion.

“It’s been a while… . Where have you been and what have you been doing all this time without any contact!? Do you know how hard it was for me and Aser!?”

Arwen responded casually to Charlotte’s scolding, even raising blood to her temples.

“After the war ended, I went to District 1 for some recuperation. I wasn’t in a state where I could move right away.”

My trembling body gradually calmed down and my anger subsided. Arwen grinned at Charlotte’s calm appearance and opened her arms wide, except for the hand on the crutch.

“Is that the end of the swearing? Then you can hug me now.”

As soon as Arwen finished speaking, Charlotte kicked up her chair, ran to her, hugged her tightly as if she would never let her go again, and muttered in a wet voice.

“Welcome.”

From that day on, the castle came back to life.

Arwen’s life was no different from before she participated in the war, except that she used crutches and sometimes stumbled while walking.

He smiled while playing with Aser, and still spoke to Charlotte in a playful tone. Although he expressed regret for the chef who is now gone, he did not spare praise for Charlotte, who knew how to cook quite delicious food.

However, as Charlotte continued to live, she gradually realized her ideals. In the past, Arwen, who always washed together, chose to shower at times when Charlotte was not around, and they no longer had the sparring that they had been forced to do whenever she was bored.

If that were the only negative impact of the war on Arwen, Charlotte would have been overlooked. However, the moment I discovered a clear trace of blood or a sticky mysterious liquid on the blanket, it became something that could not be taken lightly.

I realized it with him. The peace that was briefly restored was a precarious peace that was built on sand and could collapse at any moment. Charlotte realized that she was not feeling well and went straight to Arwen’s room.

“Let’s go to the hospital.”

These were the first words that Charlotte, who opened the door, spoke to Arwen as she prepared for bed.

Arwen looked at the blood-stained blanket that Charlotte had brought in her hand and smiled helplessly, as if she had caught everything. She held Charlotte’s hand as she came a short distance away, and shook her head with a smile that seemed to have given up on everything.

“No, it’s not something that can be solved by going to the hospital.”

After finishing speaking, she took off the top she was wearing.

At the same time, the fishy smell of death trapped inside spread everywhere.

Her upper body, with its skin covered with stitch marks here and there, patched together as if it were other leather, and leather over the wounds, was no better than rags.

Charlotte opened her eyes wide and took a deep breath as she saw yellow fluid flowing from the open wound.

Arwen smiled sheepishly at Charlotte’s expression and put her clothes back on to cover her wound.

“Isn’t it ugly? It’s worse down there. When my body got to this point, my mental strength was not at a level where I could endure it. My eyes start to close several times a day.”

It was almost a miracle that I came this far with these scars on my body.

“With these wounds… . Why did you come here?”

It was certainly a good thing that Arwen came, but with wounds like these, it would have been much better to recuperate in Area 1 until they were completely healed.

“I know my body best. This is hopeless. I haven’t shown my motherly side to Aser yet, and I wanted to spend my last days in this castle where I was born.”

“It’s a secret from Aser.”

That smile, faintly reflected in the moonlight seeping through the window, was the saddest smile I had ever seen on her.

After Charlotte revealed her wounds, Arwen’s health deteriorated so rapidly that her request to keep it a secret was meaningless.

No, perhaps it would be correct to say that the pain that I had desperately been holding on to because I did not want to worry the people around me had finally exploded.

Eventually, Arwen reached a point where she could not move even with crutches. The golden eyes that contained burning flames became cloudy, as if nothing but ash remained, and the once brilliantly dazzling blonde hair became brittle, as if it would crumble at any moment if touched.

Arwen, lying on her hospital bed, realized that her end was near and called Charlotte and Aser.

No one present could speak first.

Arwen, who had been silent, slowly opened her purple, dry lips that were losing the light of life.

“I have one last favor to ask.”

“What is it, tell me anything. I will listen to everything… !”

Arwen knelt down and looked alternately at Charlotte and Aser, who were holding her hands tightly.

“If I die, my daughter… Please treat me like a demon king properly. Now that I think about it, I’ve never heard any respectful treatment from you. Are you still my exclusive maid?”

Arwen’s attempt to change the mood with a lame joke until the last moment felt cruel.

“You idiot! Something like that… .”

Charlotte, who had stopped crying as she spoke, held Arwen’s hand with both hands and lowered her head.

I don’t want to break up like this, I don’t want to lose my precious person, Charlotte cried out, throwing away all her pride.

“Don’t die… . No, please don’t die… I, I pray like this… ! I’ll give you as much respect as I want as long as you’re still alive… please… please… .”

Charlotte, who had witnessed the death of countless lives and could not understand the sadness they felt, was finally able to feel the sadness of loss.

“What… The last request can be fulfilled this easily… ? It doesn’t suit you when you do it, but it’s nice to hear.”

Charlotte looked like she wanted to say something more, but sadness rushed out of her throat before words.

“Send it off with a smile at the end. No, I will give you my first and last command. Smile, Charlotte. Because you look much better that way.”

Arwen’s gaze turned to Aser, who was standing behind Charlotte and denying reality.

“Haha… Our Asher, I miss you so much… ? Later on, I wanted to become a decent girl, meet a good man, get married, and even see my grandson’s face… . Even if I say this, dying is still scary. Everyone is running except me… .”

She finished her long speech, took one last breath, and moved her gaze to the ceiling.

Arwen’s lips were twitching slightly as if she wanted to say something more.

There was a lot I wanted to say, but now I could see that the spark of life was about to go out. Yes, anything more than this is greed. Let me say one last thing.

What I have been aiming for my whole life.

“Could I have been a light to you?”

Charlotte instinctively knew that Arwen’s words would become her last words.

“Of course… . You were the only light in my life filled with darkness.”

Arwen smiled and closed her eyes.

“Okay, then my life isn’t so vain… I see.”

Arwen’s bloodless hand slips away from Charlotte’s hand, which was holding onto Arwen’s hand tightly as if she would not let go of it, and falls down.

A movement that announces the end of an existence that seemed like it would last forever.

“Mom… ?”

Aser walked slowly, as if in disbelief, passing Charlotte and coming to Arwen’s side.

Aser’s eyes, which were shaking Arwen’s stiffened body without even the slightest movement, also began to swing violently from side to side like a pendulum.

Charlotte swallowed her tears as she watched Aser shaking Arwen’s body over and over again.

“Aser… .”

At that moment, Arwen’s will came to mind. It means treating his daughter Aser properly as a demon king.

“No, Demon King… Now it’s time to let it go.”

“I hate it! I don’t like it!”

Aser clung to the cold chest of Arwen, who no longer had any reason to run, and screamed, rubbing her face covered in tears and snot.

“You must not cry… . From now on, you have to protect your body as the new Demon King… .”

Aser shook off Charlotte’s hand holding his back and clung to Arwen’s body even more tenaciously.

Aser cried out in a voice that could not come out of his small body and shouted at Charlotte.

“Charlotte cries too! Why can’t I cry?!”

Are you crying?

no. That can’t be possible. Aren’t I smiling now?

As per her last command, you must be smiling, right?

Charlotte moved her trembling hands to her face.

It’s wet, it’s hot. This can’t be happening.

Yes, this is rain, not tears.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t have the courage to see Arwen.

“Crying… It’s just raining… .”

But the moment she recognized the tears, Charlotte couldn’t keep her smile.

His expression suddenly became distorted, and he sat down on the floor and cried for the first time in his life.

I couldn’t maintain my senses as the sadness engulfed my body like a wave.

I couldn’t even breathe properly because of the pain, as if my heart had stopped beating at the same time because of her.

The person who caught Charlotte’s eyes was young Aser.

If I don’t come to my senses, who will be able to take care of Aser?

With that thought alone, Charlotte finally came to her senses from the waves of sadness and stood up.

Charlotte hugged the sobbing Aser from behind and whispered in her ear as if she were swearing.

“I will protect the Demon King for the rest of my life… . So that we never experience a tragedy like this again… .”

●

“Charlotte? It’s time to wake up.”

Before she knew it, Charlotte was sleeping with her head laid on No. 25’s thigh.

A posture that is exactly the opposite of what I remembered from last night.

Charlotte calmly raised her upper body and stretched and asked.

“Is it already morning?”

It’s been a long time since I slept.

Number 25 looked at Charlotte rubbing her eyes and asked cautiously.

“Did you cry by any chance?”

Charlotte stopped in her stretching posture and fixed her posture, then slowly turned her head and spoke to No. 25.

“Who cries?”

I knew that saying such things with clear tear marks and red, swollen eyes would not be persuasive, but as if he was considerate of Charlotte, No. 25 did not ask any more questions.

Charlotte watched No. 25 from behind as he was busy getting dressed, and then hugged him tightly without saying a word.

No. 25 was not embarrassed and placed his hand on Charlotte’s arm, which was holding his torso.

Charlotte, who stayed in that position for a while, hinted.

“Who knew? I never thought I would have one more person to protect.”

“Yes?”

“It’s nothing. Well, you should work hard at your job today too, right? Go to the devil. You like kissing in the morning, right?”

Charlotte looked happily at the back of No. 25, who hurriedly left the room after being told to go to the Demon Lord.

The pain of that day is enough. You will not lose even a single person who is precious to you.

Charlotte looked out the window for a moment, then quietly followed No. 25 out of the room.