Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Hizen’s eyes were dark as he looked at the leaves falling on the floor. He bent over and touched the slightly crushed leaves.

There was a strange smell that he had felt one day. Where was it, was it on a battlefield? Hizen was lost in thought after taking back his two swords.

Then, Leasis came quietly. She smiled at Hizen, who was pondering over a leaf in his hand.

It had been a long time since she had faced Hizen under the dimming sky. So she wanted to enjoy this moment. She did not do anything, and only looked at Hizen as if time had stopped. She really wanted to do that because it was a precious time.

Hizen did not notice that she was hesitating between coming closer and watching.

A calm wind passed between the two several times. Once, twice, three times. That was about the time Hizen raised his head.

His eyes grew bigger when he found her standing a few steps ahead. He thought she had already gone back.

You’re not hurt anywhere, are you? He stopped breathing while looking at her. Leasis’ sweaty appearance was fascinating. Her red hair slightly sticked to her forehead, her wet rosy eyes, loose upper buttons and messy uniform.

The leaf in his hand slipped on the floor. His heart beat hard, and his whole body got feverish. Hizen unknowingly lowered his gaze diagonally.

A bold voice rang in his ears.

“Count-nim, the Imperial Knights’ working hours are over. I’m here on my personal time now.”

“…”

“I thought I’d regret it again if I didn’t tell you now.”

Hizen took a deep breath because his cheeks seemed to be burning. Even the cold night air felt hot.

It was a really weird sensation, but it did not feel bad. Rather, his mouth, feeling, and everything was sweeter than after eating a lot of macarons.

“Actually, I was… regretting it a bit.”

Regret? Hizen was worried by the sudden remark. As he raised his head suddenly, he could see Leasis’ difficult face.

“I liked being by Count-nim’s side.”

Her voice was slightly hushed, unlike usual.

“I’ve missed Count-nim. The last thing I want to say is…”

Hizen strode to Leasis and wrapped her cheeks with his hands. Her cheeks, which he thought would be colder than ice, were too hot.

Surprised, Hizen said in a low voice.

“Who says it’s the last thing.”

Leasis stopped breathing. Hizen’s trembling breath was delivered to her ears. Rough, mournful, desperate.

That was ridiculous. Was he not the strongest man in the world? When she raised her eyes, she saw his trembling red lips. A hot breath flowed out and scattered in the night air.

The two stopped in that position for a while. As if they had forgotten how to move, as if time had stopped.

Greed. Hizen closed his eyes and tried to calm down the feelings he had never felt in his life. He was not used to suppressing strong emotions that made him a different person.

After a while, his blue eyes contained everything, from her surprised face to her disorganized outfit and stiff body. He did not want to miss even a little bit.

“You’re still a fool.”

“What?”

Leasis’ red eyes grew wide. The wind pushed them up a bit. No matter how overwhelmed with excitement, she could not forget what he said.

“You seem to have forgotten, so I’ll say it again.”

She was puzzled. She believed that she had listened to everything Hizen said and carried it out.

As soon as she was going to ask what he meant, Hizen stroked her face. She heard a low voice in her embarrassing ears.

“I thought I was patient… But I don’t think I am…”

Hizen’s long fingers patted her cheek smoothly. The touch made her shiver without realizing it.

“Leasis, listen up.”

“…”

“I, I’ll wait for you this time.”

Hizen’s beautiful eyes got closer. Then, his hot lips touched hers.

It was a just for a moment, but everything seemed to stop. Leasis unknowingly raised her eyes with her hand on her lips.

“I’ll wait as long as necessary. Don’t worry and come back safely.”

Was she dreaming? With a sweet smile, Hizen looked down at Leasis.

Her face was finely colored in rose. Having no family, she had never even kissed lightly, nor had a man made her feel like this.

When she tried to lower her head a little shyly, Hizen clicked his tongue. Her big hand fixed her face.

“C-Count-nim… Did I get something on my face?”

“No.”

Embarrassed, Leasis heard Hizen’s low voice.

“Me too, I missed you.”

“…”

“A lot more than you.”

She could see every detail of his face, that she had not seen so far. The wind shook Leasis’ chest as if firecrackers had exploded inside.

* * *

After training to kill shadows, the harassment of Leasis was noticeably reduced. It was just a repeat of cleaning in the morning and evening.

Of course, her cleaning speed was so fast that her training was never hindered.

Instead, she had another concern. Leasis, fiddling with her broomstick, put a hand on her lips. The soft touch felt as vivid as if it had just happened. She covered her eyes with both hands.

She could see Hizen’s face smiling even with her eyes closed. The dusty training ground seemed to float with sweet air. It felt more fragrant than all the macarons of Liduré combined.

Leasis’ face turned red. Her hair was red, but now her face was also red and she looked like a strawberry.

Trying hard to catch her breath, she looked down. The blue rose brooch on her chest sparkled beautifully.

A few days ago, Max had told her something unbelievable. It was Hizen who had gifted her this brooch and a sword, and she was moved by his heart regardless of the price.

It was so overwhelming that she could not even dare to think about anything else. She seemed to have been blessed by the goddess with just kissing Hizen.

As she returned to her accommodation after cleaning hard, she caught the attention of some knights of the 1st Division. They glanced up and down at her, and then murmured, looking at each other.

“Look over there. Still shameless.”

“A bit thick.”

They were loud enough for her to hear, but she did not even care. She just started climbing the stairs with her cleaning tools.

Every time she climbed one floor, her ears were more itchy. Leasis climbed the stairs, thinking ‘I can’t hear anything’. In fact, she was more concerned about the invisible Hizen than the visible knights.

But an unexpected ambush blocked her. Leasis blinked when she found a knight standing at the end of the stairs of the third floor.

It was a gray-haired young man named Onjet. From the information Max had given her, Onjet was Karma’s right arm.

Onjet was at the end of the stairs with his arms folded. Next to him was Furgin, who had treated her as a member of the Division.

Onjet looked around as if he was waiting for someone. Then he found Leasis and smiled like a bully.

“Hey, Newbie.”

“Hello.”

Onjet reached out a hand with a deep smile. What kind of trick could it be? Leasis did not hold his hand.

Then Onjet said as if he was disappointed.

“I just came to say hello. Let’s be friends from now on.”

“Ah… yes.”

“What are you doing? Not shaking hands.”

Onjet’s hand sticking out in front of him looked sharp like a blade. Quick-witted, Leasis could not hide her uncomfortable expression.

Furgin, who was watching from the side, sighed and intervened between the two.

“Onjet, I don’t think this is right. Let’s go back. I can’t believe you’re harassing a vulnerable woman…”

“What? W-When did I harass her? What did I do!”

“For now… no, don’t block Leasis’ path.”

Furgin’s hand grabbed Onjet’s shoulder with strength. At first glance, several pale veins could be seen on the back of the seemingly weak white hand.

“Let’s go now.”

Onjet frowned at the terrible grip that weighed on his shoulder. Unlike his appearance, Furgin also had the destructive power of splitting rocks with a sword.

Furgin’s gentle threats brought Onjet to a standstill.

“Leasis, I’m sorry for my rudeness today. I’ll apologize instead.”

“Oh, no. It’s okay.”

When Leasis shook her head with her big eyes blinking, Furgin smiled. In the warm atmosphere, Onjet said ‘Do you think you can endure hell training? Wake up from your dreams!’ and went down the stairs.

When the thumping sound rang the building, Furgin looked awkward. He smiled slightly at the surprised Leasis.

“Well… I don’t know if it will be comforting. It will be hard in the future, but please cheer up.”

Furgin’s warm voice reminded her of Neren. Leasis’ eyes deepened as the person she missed came to her mind.

She took a deep breath. Then she shouted bravely as if she was not worried. The voices of the knights who were whispering around them were surprisingly loud.

“I’m really fine!”

Furgin burst into a small laugh. Unlike the weak girls he had seen so far, her voice was full of energy.

Through her familiar uniform, the silhouette of a mighty warrior was subtly revealed. He looked at Leasis with favorable eyes. At first glance, he could tell she had a muscular body type that she had worked on for a long time.

“That’s amazing. At your age, I think ladies are more interested in dating or dressing up. Since when have you been interested in swordsmanship?”

“Ever since I was young. Especially, I wanted to be strong like Count Dratius-nim.”

“It’s the same as me. Me too… I don’t want to be like my sick father… I started to lift a sword to be strong.”

“Oh, is your father sick?”

“A little bit.”

At Leasis’ worried question, darkness fell on Furgin’s face. To him, it was an unpleasant topic to talk about his father.

“It’s already late. Well, then I’ll go now.”

Furgin finished before Leasis could add anything, and went down the stairs. She stood blankly on the empty stairs and headed for her room.

When she turned the colorful doorknob, she could see a beautiful room. Every time she came in, she was amazed. This room was so spacious and beautiful that it felt too much for her.

If she opened the sea-colored window, which made her feel cool just by looking at it, she could see the picturesque scenery of the Imperial Palace at a glance. There were no small flaws on the furniture that looked like it just came out of a craftsman’s hands, and the small items seemed to have been taken out a fairy tale.

The big bed felt like a cloud when she sat on it. The pure white bed sheets were so clean that it was a waste to touch them with her dirty hands.

Leasis seemed to go back to her time as a maid. She admired everything with her eyes shining. She felt it every time she saw it, but the laundry maids of the 1st Division were doing a great job.

Then Leasis shook her head in a hurry. This was not the time. She needed more effort to join the Imperial Elite Knights. She picked up the wooden sword she had received from Blix.

Leasis smiled with the sword in her hand. The pleasant wooden sword fitting her hand made her forget her worries. She started practicing, swinging the sword as if dancing.

As a result, Leasis overslept a bit and was very busy the next day. She had been organizing the training ground since dawn.

“Can I help you?”

“Oh… Furgin-nim. You came out early.”

“Because I’m worried.”

His warm voice relieved her fatigue a little. She smiled and nodded.

Furgin strode on the lawn, picked up some stones and said.

“Actually, I’m Jason’s friend and his colleague from the knights training camp.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I guess you didn’t hear it from Jason.”

As she thought, similar people would become closer to each other. Leasis quickly accepted the unexpected remark. Jason and Furgin, who were a bit unusual but kind, matched well.

Furgin recalled some memories and told her some things. The two people’s directions changed after their time at the training center when they joined the Imperial Knights.

Furgin said there had been circumstances preventing him to join the Imperial Elite Knights. He changed the subject by fiddling with the stones in his hands.

“In fact, the bare-handed fight that Miss Leasis showed the other day was amazing.”

“Oh… that’s thanks to Count Dratius-nim’s demonstration.”

“Isn’t that a natural talent? I’ve seen Count Dratius-nim demonstrate… My skills didn’t improve very quickly after that.”

Furgin’s voice was filled with regret and bitterness. Leasis stopped her broom and comforted him.

“I haven’t seen Furgin-nim’s swordsmanship yet, but I’m sure you’re better than me. Besides, I have a lot to learn because I can’t use a real sword yet.”

She could not use a real sword. Furgin narrowed his eyes at the unbelievable words. He looked at her in case she was lying, but there was no lie in her eyes.

Well, there was a series of rumors. She was rumored to have a phobia of real swords.

Furgin asked with an interesting voice.

“I can’t believe you can’t use a real sword. Is that true?”

“Yes. I can’t use it yet.”

“Hmm. Is there a reason?”

“Ah… I didn’t get permission from Count Dratius-nim.”

Furgin looked at Leasis with slightly deeper eyes. If a knight could not hold a real sword, there would be many twists and difficulties waiting for them.

But Leasis remained steadfast. Contrary to his concerns, she did not seem to be very heartbroken. Thanks to that, he was able to comfort her wholeheartedly.

“Leasis, you’ll use it in no time.”

“Thank you.”

“Then. Shall we start cleaning again?”

“Yes!”

Leasis answered vigorously and cleaned up with shining eyes. It was fun to be with someone after a long time. The time when she was working with Owen as a maid came to her mind, and the broom in her hand felt more friendly.

Furgin looked at her cleaning and turned his head to the other side. There was not a small beam of light coming into the training ground.