I Became a Childhood Friend With the Villainous Saintess

6 – The Place I Want to Leave (2)

Life in this cabin continued.

The Count of Loxen didn’t come even after ten days passed, and the next day was the same.

In the meantime, we adapted well to this cabin.

On the first day here, it felt similar to the first day at a training camp in the modern world.

The feeling of wondering why this is reality. It was an overwhelming and uncomfortable feeling, but now, looking at the wooden ceiling in the morning, there were no special thoughts.

There was a routine in our life.

Hena and I were the first to start the day.

As soon as I woke up, I ran around the snowfield for physical training, and Hena prepared meals and washing water.

After working up a sweat, I chopped firewood.

Chopping firewood took more strength than I thought. After heaving an axe, I felt a sense of accomplishment. I especially liked the feeling of my muscles growing.

We used a lot of firewood because Siren was sensitive to the cold. It was better to have plenty prepared, as it quickly decreased.

“You woke up?”

“Mm…”

By the time they returned to the cabin, the siblings had started their morning routine.

Sirien was washing her face with Hena’s help, while Terion left a mark on the wall of the cabin with his knife.

It was a place where they counted the days they had spent here.

“Is today the 17th day?”

“Yeah. Let’s eat and practice.”

“Sure.”

Though they hadn’t agreed on it separately, an unspoken rule had formed.

They stopped saying that they wanted to go back quickly. It was something everyone wished for, so they couldn’t say it any more.

Holding onto that hope only made things more painful.

So, they deliberately avoided the subject.

Terion and I practiced together every day.

There wasn’t much to do to pass the time here, and if you leave a sword alone for a few days, it tends to rust.

That rust didn’t just form on the blade. It also formed on people. Without continuous effort, they couldn’t maintain their trained bodies and skills.

Our practice sessions felt short, ranging from one to two hours.

Because Hena was scared, they refrained from using ground techniques and only practiced swordsmanship.

After the practice session, they went to the laundry area to wash away the sweat quickly.

Of course, during this time, it was just Terion and me. Terion looked unusually serious.

“Razen, I’ve been thinking.”

“You’ve been thinking?”

“darn it.”

No, it’s amazing that you’re thinking at all.

“I’m not always such a fool. I have thoughts too, even if they aren’t as much as Sirien or you.”

“Alright then. So, what did you think?”

“The war against the Demon King isn’t going well, is it? Worse than what we can imagine. So, I thought about the worst-case scenario.”

“I thought we agreed not to think negatively.”

“I couldn’t help it. Anyway, hear me out. I thought about this seriously.”

Terion gulped down water. His throat was dry after sweating for quite a while.

He said it as if it was no big deal.

“You know, I think Sirien is much more important than me.”

“Because she is your sister?”

“Of course, there’s that too, but I can’t help but think that they’re better than me.”

His tone was quite matter-of-fact.

A tone that made it seem like he was simply stating an obvious fact, like one comes after two.

It could be inferred that he had already made up his mind.

“Well, that’s not surprising.”

“You know, sometimes you can be really mean.”

“I know.”

“That, too, was mean.”

Terion chuckled quietly.

Despite his efforts to avoid getting hurt, minor injuries were inevitable when swords clashed. His body, still dusted with dirt from washing, showed several such wounds.

Terion may be prone to throwing tantrums, but he never complained about the injuries sustained during training.

When seriousness was required, he could be a very serious guy.

I didn’t mind that side of Terion.

That’s why I could tolerate his occasional tantrums and never held a grudge against him.

“A few days ago, on the day when your uncle didn’t come. I was wrong then, too. I’m really sorry about that.”

“I already accepted your apology.”

“You didn’t apologize separately to me. What I did was undeniably cowardly. I shouldn’t have done that to you, and I shouldn’t have shown that to Sirien or Hena.”

He calmly apologized.

Believing that it would be easier on both of us if I just accepted his apology without any further comment, I nodded in agreement.

Terion’s expression visibly relaxed.

“At some point, I started thinking that even if we leave this place, it wouldn’t necessarily be safe. The reason they still haven’t taken us is because it’s dangerous out there.”

“I guess that could be possible.”

“So, I thought I should prepare for the worst-case scenario. Like, imagine a really bad moment. If Sirien and I were in danger, and only one of us could survive, who should it be?”

“I’m a little hurt. I learned the sword to prevent such things from happening. Am I not good enough?”

“I trust you, that’s why I’m asking.”

Receiving trust always stirred one’s heart.

I didn’t want to show that I was pleased with Terion’s words, so I pretended to be indifferent.

There seemed to be a very slight gap in the blade. It could be left alone, but for some reason, it felt like it needed to be sharpened right now.

“No matter how good you are, you can’t win against every crisis. But I believe that you can definitely protect at least one of us.”

“Mmm.”

“Then it’s definitely Siriene first, no matter what. Promise me.”

“…Will you be okay?”

“I have to be. I’m an Ellensia too. A noble must be able to make decisions in important moments and bear the consequences. That’s what I’ve learned.”

Swoosh, swoosh.

The sound of a sharpening stone and a knife rubbing together echoed through the air.

“Siriene has much deeper thoughts than me. It hurts my pride a little as her older brother, but she seems so much more mature. It feels like she has a much broader perspective, too.”

“Well, that’s a fact everyone’s known except for you.”

“Will you keep saying that?”

“hahahaha, sorry.”

I awkwardly laughed as our eyes met. It seemed like he wanted me to make a proper promise.

I had to say the words, even if I didn’t want to.

“So, what do you want me to do?”

“Promise me that you’ll protect Siriene under any circumstances.”

“Alright, I promise.”

There was actually no need for such a promise.

Just as Hena was Terion’s maid, I was Siriene’s knight.

The original plan was to gain experience and training with the senior knights on the battlefield a few times before formally receiving knighthood and become Siriene’s personal guard.

According to Siriene, it had already been promised by the Archduke of Ellensia. The commander of the Knights and my father seemed to know about it, so it was a definite plan.

Nevertheless, I didn’t want to continue this heavy atmosphere.

I added something unnecessary.

“Even if I have to use you as a bait, don’t resent me. Not even if you come back after death, because I won’t take care of you.”

“You really are something.”

“So, you don’t like it?”

“No. Just keep your promise. Please take care of Hena too, if possible.”

* * *

After my duel with Terion, it was time for Hena to prepare lunch.

Whenever she was idle, Siriene would read old books from the archives. She had said it was interesting since there were some books that weren’t available in the Duchy.

Some of the books seemed to no longer be obtainable, which might be because the place was so old.

No special events occurred in this place.

Wild animals occasionally lurked around, but it seemed that they really couldn’t cross the magical boundary.

There was a time when a beast much larger than my body lurked, but even that creature couldn’t enter the snowy field.

In the end, all we had to do was create simple word games or crude toys to pass the idle time away.

As time went on aimlessly, I found myself staring blankly out the window more often. The scenery here never changed, always appearing the same.

And so, when something new appeared, it was immediately noticeable.

Today, it was Sirien who was staring out the window.

Complaining fiercely that the book she had chosen was unbearably dull, she closed it just a few minutes ago.

Sirien shouted loudly.

“It’s a carriage!”

It was the most cheerful voice I’d heard recently.

Terion, who had been dozing off, jumped up instantly, and Hena, wiping the table, looked over with wide eyes.

As I happened to be near Sirien, I could see outside the window.

It was true.

Although the flag of the Erelencia Duchy was not hung, a familiar carriage from inside Reheim Castle was approaching us.

“Let’s go quickly!”

The excited siblings hurried down from the cabin.

I watched the carriage a little longer.

To me, it seemed that the carriage wasn’t empty.

In other words, it was laden with something.