Chapter 61
When Bjorn began his public activities, it was fortunate for her. It became much easier to approach him.
Leila now mixed among followers numerous enough to be called a whole company rather than a mere crowd and cheered for Bjorn.
Because they had gathered with nothing but love for Bjorn regardless of status, Leila was not particularly mistreated there either.
Until then, she had thought being alone was more comfortable, but talking together with people who shared a common interest was quite enjoyable. Of course, that common interest was Bjorn.
What clothes he wore at which mass and how he wore them, how brilliantly he shone during the Knight Corps procession on festival days. The topics were usually trivial things like that, yet simply sharing stories and information about Bjorn was meaningful.
However, contrary to Leila’s belief that being loved by many would make him happy, Bjorn seemed to grow more desolate with each passing day.
Was he exhausted in body and mind from too much work? One day she even bought his time with money to give him free time, yet Bjorn did not look pleased at all.
At the time Leila could not think of any other method. She thought he needed a true friend or someone to rely on, but never imagined that role could be hers.
Leila had learned first how to hide to avoid dislike rather than how to gain favor. Even after becoming an adult, that habit did not easily disappear.
She had never intended to approach closely in the first place, and as her father put it, she was someone who only provoked displeasure, so she could not even imagine standing beside him.
Unlike Leila who was always alone, he was always surrounded by many people, and everyone longed for him. She wished that someone among them would become precious to Bjorn. Around that time, that was her hope.
Even without becoming close, Leila received much comfort through Bjorn. She, who had grown tired of a world that only hurt her and buried herself in books, stepped outside little by little thanks to his existence.
Thus, while she quietly supported and sponsored him, until she became the heroine of a notorious unrequited love whispered about by others, Leila’s time flowed like water.
* * *
Leila’s once peaceful life shattered one day at news like a bolt from the blue. It was news of the holy war.
Though it was a war at the far end of a distant continent unrelated to their homeland, the Principality, there was one person she thought of first.
The possibility was low, but she hoped Bjorn would not participate. Yet that wish naturally did not come true.
When news spread that Bjorn would depart for the holy war, the capital filled with the tears of young women. Among them, the most heartbroken was probably Leila herself, who had watched over him for fifteen long years.
Even up to the moment he left for war, Bjorn seemed not to have found happiness in life. He hid it well with steadier eyes than in childhood, yet Leila, who had observed him for long, could faintly sense it. A dangerous fragility still remained in him.
And now he had to go to the battlefield. She could not help but resent the Lord God for his miserable fate. Thinking of Bjorn, twenty-three years old, who might fall on the battlefield without ever experiencing joy in his short life, her chest felt as if it would tear apart.
It would be fortunate if he returned safely, but if he became crippled or even lost his life… what death could be more futile than that…
Leila, who had never once seen Bjorn smile until then, became more desperate than ever. At that moment an object suddenly came to her mind, the heirloom of the Bailey family.
The rosary left by the first Count of Bailey, a paladin, was a holy relic said to protect the life of the wearer according to the earnest wish of the giver.
She did not know what possessed her, but Leila immediately searched her father’s safe and stole the rosary.
“All for a mere paladin you’ve already thrown our reputation into the gutter, and now you intend to ruin the family as well!”
Her father, who learned of it only after Bjorn had left, naturally raged in fury.
But at that time Leila saw nothing else. Whether she was removed from the family register or cast out of the house, she could endure anything as long as Bjorn remained safe.
Discussion
0 CommentsReactions
No comments yet.