ALL NOVEL chapter 25
25 – Winter (3)
Walking like that, I ran into a woman standing in a corner of the garden.
Her white hair, which contained the pale light of the moonlight, hung down to her waist,
This is looking at a tree with nothing in it with an empty gaze.
The blue eyes that had been shining alone in the pitch darkness soon turned toward me.
“Evan.”
A calm voice resounds. As if her bell is ringing, whenever her voice that leaves a lasting impression reaches her, her heart trembles for some reason.
For some reason, it reacts so sensitively. However, she soon brushed off her thoughts and opened her mouth.
“Were you waiting?”
The cloak she was wearing stood out. It’s a chilly day. Is it okay to dress like that?
As I looked at her clothes and slightly frowned at her, Irene approached her and opened her mouth.
“It hasn’t been long since it came out. It’s okay if she doesn’t look at me like that.”
What was my expression like?
As I touched her face with her hands, Irene immediately took her eyes off me and moved on with her steps.
Looking at the bright lights floating in the city far away. I also started walking after her.
#
The winter in this duchy, which has not yet snowed, was more desolate and chilly than anything else.
Cleaners who can’t come out in the cold,
Gray and brick-colored streets are littered with trash, dyeing the streets black.
Everyone wore thick clothes that covered my face,
Unlike the previous season, people who lost their color were wandering the streets like corpses.
When you open your mouth, what comes in is the cold that stings your lungs,
I couldn’t dare step outside because of the sensation that my mucous membranes were frozen every time I blinked.
It would have been a little better if it snowed, but on this street where the white petals hadn’t fallen yet, all I could see was dead leaves.
It’s cold.
It was a thought that came to my mind while walking next to Irene.
In the summer, and in the fall, whenever I set my eyes on a different place, I would take in the scenery.
The scenery created by this winter was horrendously cold.
Winter in the Empire was exceptionally cold, and it was no different even in the Duchy of Juris.
Especially when it comes to Yuris, who protects the northern part of the empire.
I’m sure we’ve just entered winter, but sometimes I laughed out loud when I saw the hanging icicles.
Damn, how cold is it going to get when time goes by?
She turned her head in the direction of Irene, touching her new red nose.
As if Irene was quite familiar with the cold, she just silently walked in front of her, clutching at her cloak.
Maybe it’s because she’s been living here all along. Her face was still pale with no hint of redness.
“By the way, what are you here to buy?”
I was curious as to why she was here.
The weather today was colder than usual, so there was no reason to come out.
She wonders if she has something to buy in a hurry. When I asked, Irene looked at me for a while and slowly opened her mouth.
“…I just have something to buy. Is there anything Evan can buy?”
“Okay.”
These days, she honestly has been living in abundance.
Irene’s position as an escort was quite an attractive position, as much as it was difficult to understand how her previous life had been lived. She
She Of course, she’s so close to her that this is possible.
Actually, except for the lack of internet or smartphones, I didn’t have anything in particular to wish for as it was a luxurious life that was incomparable to the previous one.
Still, if I had to ask.
“I need a few swords.”
“A sword?”
As the intensity of training has increased these days, the sword has often been broken.
The sword the duke gave me in the first place was for ritual use, so I couldn’t use it mainly.
Although he used several wooden swords in the duke’s residence, it was quite difficult not to have one of his own.
After hearing my words, Irene looked at me blankly and then nodded her head slightly.
“…A sword, I understand.”
Are you really trying to buy me a sword?
I’m not sure if she’s real, since she never bought her anything.
Still, it had been a long time since she had been together like this, so her steps felt light.
The last time it came out it was summer, but the atmosphere seemed as bleak as winter.
When I thought that the air had become softer than before, I inadvertently burst into laughter.
For some reason, the scenery that seemed so cold just now doesn’t look very cozy.
What will happen on this outing?
I looked at Irene, who had gotten farther away, and then started following her again.
#
“Who are you looking for?”
“…Ah, Mr. Chris!”
A smile broke out at the voice of Lopena, who called herself Mr. Chris.
Why the hell is he calling himself by his first name while calling Evan a knight?
Well, it felt a little more friendly, so if you call her that, she’s herself.
It took a moment for Pena to stroke her hair as she came closer, and it dawned on her that she was looking around her and looking for something in her.
Who is she looking for, she’s probably not herself.
As she tilted her head, Pena, who seemed to understand the meaning, began to chatter with her small mouth.
“I was looking for a driver. I found it because I wanted to give you something.”
“Are you going to give me a birthday present?”
With that, Fena opened her eyes wide, and then she gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.
Anyway, should I write it after the emotions on her face are revealed like this?
She looked so cute that she didn’t resemble her master at all, and as she chuckled, Fena tapped her chest with her tiny hand and opened her mouth in a hurry.
“Oh, how did you know? Was this a secret?”
“Somehow I found out. Couldn’t you possibly know the birthday of the guy I teach?”
Of course, the person whose birthday was her didn’t seem to think very well of her birthday.
But still, I wouldn’t refuse a gift from Lopena.
That guy seemed to care about Lopena too.
“Since he has gone out with the lady now, he will probably come back well after the night. She’d better go to bed early.”
“Originally, birthday presents should be given when the bell rings at 12 o’clock. That’s what Chris told you.”
“Did I tell you that?”
She pretended not to know anything, scratching her chin and frowning at her, causing Pena to suddenly lose her temper.
Anyway, who resembles someone and has such a bad personality?
“Ah!”
“I remember. It is natural to remember I told you on your birthday.”
“…I mean think of that kind of thing quickly.”
“hehehe. Well, it could be.”
“Ah, but I don’t know if you will like the present I prepared for you. She made her own preparations, but she doesn’t usually tell me what she likes.”
Certainly, Evan wasn’t one to talk about himself easily.
She gazed at Lopena sitting next to her like that before she knew it, and then her eyes slowly began to narrow as she thought about Evan.
Evan Fried, a child who unexpectedly came to the duke’s residence with a sudden request to raise him as a knight, saying that he had exceptional swordsmanship talent.
I didn’t even come with someone from Count Fried,
How embarrassed I was when I saw that young child who was only carrying a sword and a letter.
The only thing reflected in the empty green eyes is emptiness,
The talent of the child who didn’t laugh often was something that could surprise the world.
1 Year.
The time it took Evan to realize mana, which is difficult for ordinary people to even realize in their entire lives.
He was called a genius in his own way, but it took him five years to
He couldn’t help but be astonished when he saw that at some point he was emitting white mana all over his body.
And again three years, the time it took for the boy who held the sword to master all sword techniques.
When he was 15 years old, the duke who had come to me alone had reached the level of an expert.
Even the crown prince, who was called the talent of a thousand years, reached expert at the age of 17,
It took a long time even for him who had been holding a sword since he was very young.
What on earth should we call him who reached the level of expert in just 7 years?
The only thing I was worried about was that there was always no change in expression.
How long has it been since I’ve seen him smile?
Perhaps since childhood, he never once laughed or cried in front of me,
He used to think that sometimes he is not a person, but he must be a doll made somewhere.
He always wielded his sword with a sad expression on his face, and occasionally when a shadow stained his pale face, he always worried that he might die.
The fact that I couldn’t find that kind of expression anymore was just amazing.
It was probably the day he became an escort for the young lady that such a guy changed.
I remember vividly how he yelled at the guy who was just sitting there blankly when he opened the door and went in.
The day he became an escort knight, unlike usual, the guy who spoke exceptionally differently was so amazing.
Now, it’s just that I’m used to such a bright appearance.
The young lady and Evan too. I was happy that it changed in a good direction, but can such a change continue in the future?
One day, as if this change was just a dream, wouldn’t it return to the original bleak and gloomy person?
When that thought came to his mind, he used to think that he should live a little longer.
Because supporting those two by the side would be your role.
With that thought scattered, as she lifted her lowered head, she saw Pena smiling at the box in her arms next to her.
When she’s 15, she’ll be the same age as me, Evan. Why the hell is this guy so childish?
“So, what gift did you prepare?”
“Why do I have to tell you that?”
“This guy.”
I wonder if he really likes receiving gifts? He was the kind of guy who was so bitter about just saying congratulations.
He thought he had done that before, but
Even until last year, he had no way of knowing because it was a knight other than himself who was in charge of him.
What on earth did he go through on his birthday to have such a gloomy expression?
However, nothing was immediately known, so he just smiled and looked at Lopena as she hugged the box in her arms.
“Should I prepare something too?”
“No, you didn’t prepare even though you knew?”
“…Well, that could be.”
As I said that, I looked out the window. The moon shines as pale as usual and reflects the surroundings.
Beneath even the darkness beneath it, there must be a young lady and Evan.
Can the lady choose a gift well?
I was cheering for him because I was happy to take care of my escort driver, but
I wondered if there was a high chance of failure due to its nature.
I don’t know how Evan broiled and boiled the young lady, but since she had to go through the swearing-in ceremony earlier this time, she wanted her to get a little closer this time.
“…Um?”
Then I suddenly thought that the darkness outside the window looked particularly disturbing.
It was definitely a night that was no different from any other night, and the stars and moon were the same as before.
Why does my heart feel stuffy when I see this darkness? Clearly, I had felt this feeling before.
The darkness fills your breath as if you are crawling into a swamp, and even creates the illusion that your eyes are enveloped in darkness.
The moment I recognized the words passing through my mind, my hands holding the sofa began to tremble.
The emotions rising at this moment were bewilderment and anger.
How on earth did they come to Julis again?
A roar-like roar erupted from his wide-open mouth.
“Summon the Knights!”
I felt tension all over my body as I felt for the first time in 30 years.
Lopena looked at him as if he was puzzled at the sudden roar, but that wasn’t the point right now.
“Mr. Chris? Why the hell all of a sudden-“
“…A warlock has appeared.”
When she heard the word warlock, Lopena’s face began to turn pale.
Of course, isn’t the word black magician something that can be easily used as a joke?
What does it mean when the black magician reappears?
It was the sound of those who destroyed the golden age of the empire by spreading plagues and reviving corpses in the Great War 30 years ago.
The darkness seen through the window was different from what I had just seen. The darkness is so thick that even the moonlight seems dim now.
His face was more sunken than ever, as he recalled the two most important people in the Duke’s mansion beneath it.
More than ever.