Chapter 97
6.
A short while later—
As Kiara made her way toward the library, she looked around with a smile. The royal gardens had already struck her as beautiful the night before, but beneath the morning sun they were even more breathtaking.
Perhaps it was simply because this was the first time she had ever been outside in broad daylight. Everything seemed fresh, vivid, and wonderfully new.
“L-Lady Kiara! Hah… hah… Oh dear, could you slow down a little?”
Raelin called after her between ragged breaths. Now that Kiara had finally left the tower, there was a lightness to her steps that made her surprisingly difficult to keep up with.
Hearing Raelin panting so heavily, Kiara stopped and turned around.
“I told you! Why are you carrying something that heavy? I said we should leave it behind!”
“B-But… L-Lord Laine’s favorite food is my skillet pie!”
Raelin proudly hoisted the enormous cast-iron skillet with both hands. Had she not insisted on bringing it, she would have caught up with Kiara long ago. But Raelin refused to leave it behind, determined to let Rain have a taste of her pie.
She looked so pleased with herself carrying the pan that even from where she stood, Kiara could clearly see the broad smile lighting up her face.
In truth, Kiara’s eyesight was remarkably sharp. The moment Raelin waved the skillet, she even caught the horrified expression on Maeve’s face several paces farther away.
What on earth is that skillet made of? she wondered. It hit someone over the head, yet not even a crumb of pie fell out.
‘…Though perhaps the more astonishing thing was that Maeve had survived the blow without anything worse than a lump on his forehead.’
Remembering the enormous bump on his head, Kiara couldn’t help letting out a quiet laugh before turning forward again.
Just then, a gentle breeze brushed across her face. It felt so pleasant that she slowly closed her eyes.
If Raelin saw her now, she’d no doubt panic and insist she would trip. But there wasn’t so much as a pebble in her path, so what could she possibly trip over?
The grounds were maintained with meticulous care. It really was a royal palace.
A faint smile touched Kiara’s lips as she continued walking with her eyes closed. Perhaps she really would stumble, but she didn’t mind.
Simply being able to walk with her eyes shut… Simply knowing no one could harm her…
The thought filled her with a happiness she could scarcely contain. She was somewhere safe.
And Maeve was there as well, assigned to protect her.
‘The Captain asked me to pass along a message. You’re free to leave your room, provided you remain within the palace grounds, and provided I stay by your side at all times.’
Maeve’s earlier words drifted back into her mind, and Kiara’s smile grew brighter still.
In other words, as long as Maeve remained at her side, she was free to go anywhere within the royal palace.
Raelin, of course, had been horrified by the arrangement.
‘How am I supposed to trust a man like that? Who knows what sort of improper thoughts he’ll have if he’s always following someone as beautiful as Lady Kiara? I, Raelin, am more than capable of protecting her myself!’
Judging by the way she’d brandished that cast-iron skillet, she looked ready to fend off just about anything that came charging at them.
Maeve, however, had dismissed the idea without hesitation. “I don’t know how I hope to meet my end, but being bludgeoned to death with a frying pan certainly isn’t it.”
Whatever the case, Kiara had no desire to spend another moment thinking about death or enormous cast-iron skillets.
‘Winter will be here before long.’
It would be a shame to waste such beautiful weather on gloomy thoughts. Altnebra’s summer was fleeting, and all the more beautiful because of it.
Kiara skipped along like a child. Ah, walking with her eyes closed made it a little harder to keep her balance. At this rate, she really might trip this time.
That was fine. Even if she did.
Raelin would probably fling aside the skillet she was carrying and come running. Even so, Kiara knew she would only laugh with delight.
It wasn’t as though she had stumbled while desperately fleeing from someone. She hadn’t caught her foot in a snare laid to trap wild beasts, nor had she tripped in panic after losing her way in the forest. She would simply have fallen because she had been running.
She might scrape herself a little. She might even bleed. But that was all right.
Because she no longer had to fear that her blood would bring ruin to someone else.
‘Ah, but if I got hurt, Ael would be in a difficult spot.’
Still buoyed by excitement, Kiara gradually slowed from her carefree skipping. For some reason, an unexpected sense of emptiness welled up inside her, and she gently opened the eyes she had kept closed.
Perhaps it was because she had just been thinking about him. When she opened her eyes and Ael wasn’t there. It felt… how should she put it? Ah, a corner of her heart felt strangely hollow.
What? Hollow?
Kiara wrinkled her nose at herself. That couldn’t be right.
Everything she had ever wanted was right here before her.
‘The weather is beautiful, I have people to protect me, and if I get hurt, there are people who’ll come running, worried about me…’
There was even pie waiting if she got hungry. Once again, Raelin’s skillet pie was wonderfully delicious, and she always made more than enough.
So what was missing? Why did she feel disappointed?
Her brow furrowed so deeply that wrinkles formed across the bridge of her nose. Then, as if something had suddenly clicked, her lips parted.
“Ah.”
Only Ael wasn’t here.
Her soulmate was the only one missing from this place.
Discussion
0 CommentsReactions
No comments yet.