Chapter 109

Chapter 109

When he opened his heavy eyelids, something white flickered. Hizen slowly blinked and thought.

“Am I dead?’

He thought he was going to fall into hell, but it did not seem so. Hizen swallowed a bitter smile and accepted the approaching reality.

Perhaps early spring had come, the wind flowing through the window was warm. A lot of thoughts circulated in his head.

If spring had come, that was enough. Because Leasis would be happy. Sadness came to Hizen’s face lying on the bed, wrapped in bandages. Leasis was the only thing he thought about even after death.

At the end, he remembered only Leasis, and was grateful for it. The existence of Leasis, who was born in this world, her life and her courage to find herself again after losing her memory.

A transparent liquid flowed on Hizen’s cheek. He closed his eyes, holding his breath. He thought it was really okay now, but it hurt him to think he could not see her again.

Creak.

Leasis came in after opening the door, and approached Hizen lying on the bed. But in sorrow, he did not feel her coming.

The young man with his arms wrapped in bandages covering his eyes looked mournful. His figure overlapped with the little boy he used to be.

Hizen had been crying a lot since a long time ago. He was a weak man. The tears that he had held back burst like water, and his shoulders were slightly shaking.

Leasis stopped trying to reach Hizen. She still had mixed feelings about him.

After sobbing for a long time, Hizen lowered his arm. Then, Leasis appeared beyond his blurred vision. Red hair tied low, warm ruby eyes looking at him.

What changed from his memory was her clothes. Leasis was not wearing a black uniform, but a casual, shabby dress. Her silhouette, like an angel, was thinner than before.

Hizen frowned instead of trying to hurriedly get up. The pain all over his body made him groan.

“Stay down.”

Her voice was as calm as usual. So it did not seem more realistic. Because she was different from the last time he had seen her.

Leasis put a hand on Hizen’s forehead. His blue eyes grew bigger at the touch of her rough hand.

“Am I alive again?… How…’

Fortunately, he had no fever. Leasis muttered, scrutinizing Hizen’s condition.

Her figure was so unusual. Hizen looked at her with a blank stare.

“Blix-nim helped.”

“This is the Cromus Empire. Here, no one knows you or me.”

Surprisingly, Leasis talked about the things Hizen was curious about. She arranged the bed sheets in the same way as when she was serving as Hizen’s direct maid. Leasis murmured in a small voice.

“I haven’t lost my memory, we haven’t been seriously hurt, so that’s fortunate.”

He had to say anything, but his mouth did not open as if it was locked.

“It’s not like you can’t talk, is it?”

“No…”

The voice coming out of his mouth was strange. Hizen felt that his neck was stiff.

“Then I’ll bring you some soup so take a rest.”

Leasis rose from her seat as if she had finished her business. Then she stopped walking, looked at Hizen and said.

“Stay quiet until I come back.”

Another month had already passed. Nothing much had changed in the meantime. Leasis did not show any emotion, and neither did Hizen.

The more so, the heavier Hizen’s guilt became. Hizen hesitated in front of the tightly closed cabin.

He had no idea why Leasis saved him or whether she still wanted her revenge. It was also a little burdensome for her to take care of him sincerely.

“It’s nice to be together, but…’

Thinking of her who would be uncomfortable, he felt like a thorn was stuck in his heart. Hizen raised his hand on the doorknob with a bitter face. He looked like a sad puppy with his shoulders slightly down.

At that time, children who were making a fuss around found Hizen.

“What? He’s the handsome Hyung!”

“Wow!”

They rushed to Hizen. The children were curious about the handsome man that could not be easily seen in the village.

Especially, it was fun to tease him, who was always quiet.

“Hyung, Hyung. You like Noona, don’t you?”

He flinched. Hizen, who was now again an ordinary young man and not a knight, was an easy opponent.

The children hovered around him and chatted loudly. Surprised at the sight, Hizen put his index finger in front of his lips. He was worried that Leasis would wake up.

“Shhh. Be quiet.”

Hizen headed to a nearby open space with the children. But he limped a little because of his leg that had not healed yet.

He did not show it in front of Leasis, but he thought he had hurt his leg a little in the fire. Since she had used a powerful magic scroll, her healing magic would not work on it either. The magic scroll was a family heirloom of the Dratius family and had been made by his father.

Hizen leaned against a nearby tree with an expressionless face. Then the children held his hands and shouted at him to teach swordsmanship.

Looking closely, there was a pile of wooden swords near them. It was clear that the fairly well-groomed swords had been made by Leasis’ hands.

Hizen smiled, taking a hard wooden sword in his hand. There was really nothing that Leasis could not do.

“Teach us, quickly!”

“Noona is sleeping right now.”

“Why don’t you learn it later.”

Hizen, who did not know how to handle children, spoke bluntly. Then the children shouted as if they were frustrated.

“Noona said Hyung is better!”

“Huh?…”

“Noona said you are the strongest and most wonderful knight in the world. She told us she learned swordsmanship from you.”

The children grabbed his pants, telling him not to run away. As Hizen, embarrassed, was about to take a step back, a cute child with curly brown hair asked him.

“Is Hyung a bad person?”

“Noona kept crying because of you.”

You cried?

Hizen stared blankly at the cabin, not even thinking of escaping from them.

“Noona cried every day because of Hyung. She didn’t even get out of the cabin because you were not awake!”

“He’s definitely bad.”

The children gossiped and glanced at him. He slowly bent over and looked at the children.

“You guys.”

His low voice was better to listen to than an instrument. The children forgot they were teasing him and pricked up their ears.

“Would you do me a favor?”

“A favor?”

“Yes. I’ll teach you swordsmanship in return, so please.”

*

*

Knock, knock

The sound of knocking on the cabin made Leasis jump up, as she was lying face down on the table.

Looking out the window, the sun was already setting. Leasis hurriedly tied her hair and looked around. But the bed was neat and tidy.

Creak.

The door opened and the children came in. The children’s hands were full of familiar fruits. There were round yellow fruits with a sour taste and light green grapes.

The children grinned and put the fruits on the table.

“Noona, eat this.”

“Where did you get them?”

“Hyung gave them to… Ugh.”

The child, who was telling the truth, closed his mouth when another one stepped on his foot. The children responded in chorus, saying the fruits were from their mothers.

Leasis smiled at the children and thank them. However, all her nerves were focused on Hizen, who had disappeared.

Where did he go when he was not feeling well? Maybe he left this place because of her. If not… Darkness fell on Leasis’ face. The boy with curly brown hair staring at her grabbed her clothes.

“Noona, Hyung said he was fixing the village fences.”

“Finn, you idiot! Hyung told us not to tell anything!”

“You’re the idiot. Noona is worried.”

At the children’s words, Leasis rushed to the entrance of the village. Then, she saw Hizen fixing a wooden fence with a wooden sword in his hand.

While limping on one leg, he meticulously fixed the surrounding fences. He must have seen the messy village garden this morning.

It was truly Hizen’s sincerity. Leasis watched the scene with her lips tightly closed.

Sweating, Hizen walked to a big tree after fixing the wooden fences. He closed his eyes, leaning against the tree with a weary face.

The picture-like figure burned Leasis’ heart. It was chilly at night, but what if he caught a cold after staying there? No, why did he disappear without saying a word?

In addition, no one would know if it was fixed quietly like this during meal time. He was a man who was not really good at helping others or taking care of his own body.

Leasis’ heart hurt like if it were poked by a needle. She strode and slumped beside him.

A familiar scent and breathing sound. Hizen’s long eyelashes trembled slightly. He closed his lips tightly and tried to control his mind.

There was only a heavy silence between the two. Leasis did not look at him, but kept her eyes on the sky. Come to think of it, it had been a long time since they had been alone like this.

Leasis recalled her father as he looked at the sky where the sunset spread. If he had been alive, he would have scolded her. Because she would be bothering Hizen.

Hizen smiled bitterly and opened his heavy lips.

“I’m sorry.”

“You can go back to your position now. I’m grateful for what you have done.”

His words were natural, but she felt like she was falling to the bottom. Leasis turned slightly and looked at Hizen.

Hizen’s beautiful profil and his shoulders looked lonely. She leaned her head on his shoulder.

Surprised, Hizen’s body hardened like a stone. Leasis slowly closed her eyes and said.

“I’ve thought about it a lot. Thinking and worrying. But I still had a question. Why can’t we be happy?”

They could not be happy even though it was not really their fault. The anxious heartbeat in Leasis’ ears was fast.

“Can’t we be a little selfish? Neither my father in heaven nor the rest of them would wish for our misfortune.”

“Leasis.”

“No… it’s all an excuse, and in fact I… I don’t want us to be separated again.”

Hizen’s closed eyes opened at Leasis’ sincere words. He looked at her with his eyes as still as a lake.

When he saw Leasis crying, his heart seemed to collapse. Hizen’s shoulders trembled slightly.