Chapter 253
At that moment, a sharply honed blade was aimed at Ethan.
It was far too cold an object to be held up to a younger sibling who had called out “Sister” with a teary voice.
Ethan stopped at the sudden situation. Or rather, he had no choice but to stop. He slowly raised both hands and calmly looked at the other person. It was as if someone had poured cold water on his heated head.
All of his family members were dead. Especially his sister, he knew that she had lost her life early on.
She had fought to the end in the last war and died.
At that time, his heart had broken due to his sister’s death.
“Who are you?”
“……Ethan.”
He said in a subdued voice. The woman spoke warily, with a suspicious voice.
“Do you know me?”
It was a strange question. Ethan calmly looked at her. There were slight signs of age, she seemed a bit thinner, and there was a scar he hadn’t seen before on the tip of her ear. But she was exactly the same as the sister he knew. Even her voice. Suppressing the churning emotions inside, Ethan spoke.
“……You have the same face as my sister, who I thought was dead.”
The female knight narrowed her eyes and looked at Ethan intently, then sheathed her sword. Shhh-clack, the uniquely curved Castrello sword slid gracefully into its scabbard.
Then, she extended one hand. It was a hand with various dirty marks and calluses all over it. Even this was the same as his sister’s. As in their old habit, Ethan reached out and placed his hand on hers. The two of them naturally placed their other hands on each other’s shoulders, brought their fingertips to their foreheads, and bowed their heads.
It was the greeting of the Castrello royal family, which had now disappeared.
“……It really is you, Ethan.”
Ethan couldn’t hold back the tears that were pouring out and covered his eyes with the back of his hand.
Ethan’s sister, Camillo, embraced his shoulders.
“How on earth did this happen? I was certain you had passed away.”
“That’s what I want to ask. Weren’t you dead?”
No sooner had the siblings relieved their emotions than they questioned each other. They had a lot of stories to tell. Camillo and Ethan explained their time briefly but intensely.
Camillo had been seriously injured in the war and swept away by the Empire army’s magic attack. When she regained consciousness, she was in a rural village and had lost her memory, spending some time as a member of the village. To put it simply, after many events, her memories had now fully returned, and she had infiltrated the royal palace disguised as a wandering knight.
Ethan listened to her heavily abbreviated, eventful story with a troubled look and then opened his mouth.
“I’m sorry. I should have found you first…”
“Hey, don’t apologize, tell me your story first.”
After his story was finished, Camillo stroked her chin.
“So, in conclusion, you’ve returned to reclaim the Castrello Kingdom?”
That’s how it is. Since it was true, Ethan nodded readily.
“Heh, that’s great! Let’s go!”
“Huh? Where to…?”
“To cut off Icardo’s head!”
“Huh???”
It was only after a considerable amount of time that Ethan was able to stop her.
Afterward, Camillo, having become serious again, spoke.
“Ethan. Don’t talk about being sorry.”
“But, everything went wrong because of me.”
Ethan’s expression twisted in pain.
It was his responsibility. He had surrendered to the Empire to protect his family, but afterward, he had ruined everything by making Roina run away. Although he had decided to follow Roina, he couldn’t do anything about the resentment he felt towards himself, which lingered deep in his heart.
“You did your best. Even if I had been in your place, I would have made the same choice. Don’t regret the choices you’ve made in the past. You promised me that you would live without losing your pride, didn’t you?”
Camillo spoke calmly. Ethan fell silent, feeling something welling up in his chest. That’s right. That promise of hers was a promise from before their final battle.
“Instead of that, come sit here. What I said earlier was actually a joke, and there’s a reason why I haven’t been able to cut off Count Icardo’s head right away. I’ll explain that to you.”
Ethan nodded, feeling choked up.
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