Chapter 63

For days, a strange silence lingered around Talian Hall.

It was awkward.

Stifling.

Servants and slaves tread lightly, careful with every move they made.

"Lucy?"

"The master has said they will not receive visitors."

Again today.

Ian moved with a heavier step.

He passed servants busy with their tasks and Belenka swinging a sword in the clearing, heading back to his quarters.

For days, Ian hadn't seen Lucy.

Every attempt was met with a polite but firm refusal.

There was nothing left for him in Talian territory.

Staying any longer would just be a waste of time.

It wasn't just Ian; Galadin was visibly wasting away with each passing day.

"Ian. Are we leaving today...?"

"Um. I guess not."

"Ah..."

Galadin wasn't just a tourist.

He was a Baron's scribe, involved in various administrative duties.

Staying in Talian was a real-time loss for him.

"... Alright. We'll postpone our departure until tomorrow."

Galadin slumped his shoulders but...

There was nothing he could do.

What could he do if Lucy Talian wouldn't meet Ian?

Galadin couldn't understand why Lucy suddenly secluded herself.

And it wasn't just Galadin.

Ian too found Lucy's behavior hard to accept.

Was saying goodbye that difficult?

They weren't parting forever, just going on a journey.

Ian's fairy silk piled up in the domain meant they'd have to return to Talian anyway to deal with that.

Yet, Lucy acted as if she couldn't bear Ian disappearing from her sight.

Am I doing something wrong?

Ian even thought that.

But Ian hadn't done anything wrong.

They had traveled together under a guard contract, and now that it was over, they were to part ways.

Clearly, Lucy didn't want that.

"Lucy?"

"I'm sorry but..."

A week had passed.

With Lucy continuing to refuse meetings, Ian had to make a decision.

"Belenka. Galadin. Let's leave now."

"...Finally!"

They decided to part ways with Lucy without saying goodbye.

It was regrettable to leave without seeing her face.

But Ian had to continue his journey.

Lucy Talian gazed blankly up at the clear sky.

An untainted azure sky.

The purity of the heavens, as spoken of in the scriptures, resided right above.

"Dear God."

She wasn't a particularly religious girl.

But the deep darkness in her heart made would make even the most debauched noble invoke the name of God.

"I must have been mistaken."

When Ian first said he would leave the domain, she was shocked.

That shock was named [betrayal].

Up until now, Ian had journeyed with Lucy.

They laughed and talked together, walking the same path.

They shared concerns when cornered in war and fought together until the end to reclaim her rights.

Lucy still remembers vividly, as if it was yesterday, the moment Ian saved her.

When Graham's soldiers approached her.

The embrace Ian offered when he swooped in to save her.

The shaky ride and her wildly beating heart.

Lucy could never forget.

Lucy Talian was not someone special.

She knew that all too well.

Born to noble parents, used as bait to lure mercenaries.

And when an angry mercenary rebelled and killed her parents, she ran away helplessly seeking help...

Just a helpless 18-year-old girl.

To such a Lucy, the wizard Ian was an extraordinary being.

Controlling water and wind, bringing down darkness.

His peculiar magic invoked fear and respect in people.

To Lucy, Ian was a [coveted tool].

At first, she wanted his magic.

She planned to keep Ian by her side, making him a wizard who serves her.

Having nothing but an incompetent self, she tried to hold onto him through marriage.

The idea of using marriage?

She had no qualms about it.

Lucy's parents were the kind to use marriage for their ends.

Marriage is a useful tool.

It would be foolish not to use it for one's benefit.

But as she continued her journey with Ian.

The more she got to know Ian as a person.

Her heart began to change.

She wanted more than Ian's magic.

'...'

Lucy Talian realized.

What she wanted was not Ian's magic.

But Ian himself.

She wanted to keep Ian by her side.

Just like when they were traveling together, seeing each other's faces every day, spending time joking around.

Ian always smiled when he looked at Lucy.

So, Lucy thought.

Maybe Ian felt the same way about her.

"Ian."

Lucy looked at the bracelet she received from Ian.

It was crude. But beautiful.

She thought this crude bracelet resembled her.

Plain now, but capable of becoming splendid.

Just as she, being nothing more than a noble, could improve her domain and become a better person.

If there was just one person to tailor and adorn her.

She thought she could become a valuable treasure...

She wanted to undergo that growth with Ian.

But Ian's heart was elsewhere.

No.

He hadn't even considered staying with Lucy.

Lucy was furious about that.

That's why she felt betrayed, locked the door, and avoided going out.

It was ridiculous.

She had set her own expectations.

And when Ian's feelings didn't match hers, she sulkily got angry like a child would.

"Master."

A servant came in, but Lucy didn't turn around.

She didn't need to see to know.

It was morning with the sun shining low.

As always, Ian had come to see her and then left.

"The wizard came to see you."

"Okay."

"He didn't return to his quarters but went to the stables instead."

"... Alright. I understand."

Hearing that Ian had gone to tend to his horse, Lucy smiled bitterly.

It had been a week since she started her sulking.

If only she had explained why and in what ways Ian had disappointed her, maybe Ian would have understood her.

But because she shut herself up in her room like a petulant child, Ian didn't even try to say a final goodbye.

She had brought this upon herself.

But...

Lucy was scared.

Scared of having to be honest about her feelings.

The thought of revealing the darkness in her heart and her weak, foolish emotions to Ian terrified her.

So, she locked herself away.

But there was no more time.

Ian was about to leave.

"O Holy Heaven."

[Yes, my dear. Speak.]

"Please give me courage."

[Oh dear. Are you scared? Unfortunately, that's impossible.]

The divine being smiled as it listened to Lucy's prayer.

[Because you are already braver than any warrior.]

Lucy didn't know the mysteries.

She wasn't deeply religious, so she couldn't hear the voice of the holy being.

However, Lucy's prayer definitely reached the heavens.

[I support you. Lady born under a star.]

Lucy got up from her seat, fiddling with the bracelet on her wrist.

She ran.

When she opened the main gate of Talian Hall...

"Ugh."

"Ah! I-Ian?!"

She bumped into Ian, who was just entering the hall.

Lucy looked up at Ian with a flushed face, flustered.

Why was he here when she heard he had gone to the stable?

It was due to a blond female knight.

'Did you meet with Baron Talian?'

'No? I was just going to leave.'

'Not even going to see her face?'

'So what. We'll meet again someday.'

'... Go back one more time.'

'Why should I?'

'Think of it as the last courtesy to a friend you've traveled with. If you lack even that much decency, I would consider you unworthy of service.'

At Belenka's stern warning, Ian swallowed hard.

'Is that all?'

'That's it.'

'… I'll be back then.'

Ian returned to Talian Hall, thinking that Belenka might just leave him if he really just took off.

And there, he met Lucy.

Lucy, whom he saw for the first time in a week, seemed unfamiliar and awkward.

Maybe because her actions and expressions were different than usual.

Lucy seemed more intimidated by Ian than usual and was very conscious of him.

"You're leaving... now?"

"Yeah."

However, once the conversation started, all the awkwardness melted away.

After all, they were not the type to be awkward around each other.

"Are you okay? Your body, I mean."

"I wasn't physically hurt."

"Really?"

"... That's a lie. Actually, my heart was hurt. No, I was pissed."

Lucy stepped closer, closing the distance.

"Pissed?"

"Yes. Ian! How could you just leave like that without saying a word to me...!"

"What are you talking about? My role was supposed to end here, remember?"

"I remember! But still! It's annoying!"

"What is?"

"Acting like there's no affection and sticking strictly to the contract!"

Oh come on, Baron Talian.

Why are you looking for affection? Aren't you a Westerner?

Even in these uncivilized medieval times, contracts were already a part of daily life, a remnant from the era of the Golden Empire, which was (once) a civilized world.

Lucy's complaints were just tantrums.

She knew that very well.

Since she started throwing a tantrum.

Lucy, with a flushed face, grabbed Ian's shoulders and shouted.

"Ian! Will you be my vassal?"

"No. Why would I?"

"Then, my husband!"

"... I think I said no before."

"Do you really have to go? Study magic?"

Ian laughed and took Lucy's hands off him.

Lucy didn't know.

In fact, Ian was practically an alien, hiding mysterious secrets from a past life, unknown to medieval people.

Until he uncovers the secrets of the world and the essence of Gods.

Ian had no intention of stopping his exploration.

"Yeah. Take care, Lucy."

"...!"

"I'll return as soon as I can."

The moment Ian removed Lucy's hands, Lucy, in the blink of an eye, grasped Ian's cheeks with both hands.

And their lips met.

"..."

The kiss was so brief it could be called but a moment.

Still blushing, Lucy said,

"Promise, you must keep it. You have to come back quickly."

"... Yeah."

"Just try running away somewhere else. I'll sell all the fairy silk and use that money to raise an army to come after you...!"

Ian laughed.

The Baron's threats were indeed frightening.

"I'll come back, so don't worry. And about the fairy silk, you can handle it however you want."

"Really?"

"Just don't blow it all. Whether you make clothes to sell or exchange it for money to invest. It's up to you."

Lucy was lucky, so it might be worth taking a chance on her.

If it ends up being wasted... then she just won't be allowed to handle it next time.

"Got it. I'll make sure to earn lots of money..."

Lucy shyly spread her arms.

Ian and Lucy embraced.

"Take care of yourself, Ian."

"Yeah. I'm off then."

Lucy hugged Ian tightly, as if trying to memorize his warmth until the last moment.

Ian waved goodbye to Lucy.

It was a warm spring day.