CH 82

Who is the Fake Bride? (24)

The figure of a man could be seen quite blurry. It was Kergel who was still waiting for her.

“Kergel.”

Roelin called him out. Then, he instantly turned as he heard her voice. He then reached out to her who was still vaguely enveloped in mist.

“Welcome back.”

Roelin took Kergel’s hand and held it in her arms. She could feel Kergel’s hands that were damped with sweat. But she didn’t show any signs, but instead, she just asked while leaning against his chest.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“Not really.”

“……I’m back.”

“I’m glad you came back.”

“They said no one had ever escaped from the illusion.”

“Yes.”

“But I got out twice. Isn’t that great?”

“Yes, that’s definitely great. You’re such a troublemaker. It’s really amazing. I thought you were only a docile being.”

Kergel playfully brushed Roelin’s hair while ruffling it up. Contrary to his nonchalance, his heart was pounding like crazy.

But neither of them were even bothered to express it.

* * *

The appearance of the cave that she visited again was not much different from her memory of when the ceremony had been held. She didn’t know that it was only natural because it wasn’t that long ago anyway.

However, even though what she saw with her eyes had not changed at all, she still felt different while looking around the cave somehow.

The place where she had the companion ceremony with him.

The place where the name ‘companion’ was eventually given.

It was just a formality that had been passed down to the Royal Family, but……

‘Please allow me. I hope that I can live as this man’s own companion.’

She quietly pleaded to Cainbert, who had been the owner of this cave, this tomb itself.

Then, Kergel asked her.

“What are you thinking?”

“……I didn’t just think of anything.”

Roelin shook her head since she felt embarrassed because she already seemed to have shown her insides. Then, Kergel laughed mischievously as he bent over and made eye contact with her before he finally opened his mouth again.

“I don’t think…… I think you thought of something.”

“Oh, and I’m telling you I didn’t.”

She shook her head once again as she became unable to face his golden pair of eyes.

Please allow herself to be his own companion.

And… how could she say that she had made such a wish to have him as her own companion too?

Roelin felt the heat on her neck and swept her nape with one hand. Then, suddenly, her eyes caught sight of the cloth that was hanging on the wall of the cave.

It was the cloth that she had seen at the last companion ceremony.

“But what is that cloth actually covering?”

It had been a question that was inadvertently asked to relieve her embarrassment as well as to change the subject. However, she heard an unexpected answer from him instead.

“Your portrait.”

“……What?”

Roelin did not understand Kergel’s answer and blinked. Kergel, who saw it, smiled like a naughty boy before he approached it and asked.

“Should I show you?”

He quickly removed the cloth from the cave’s wall before she could even answer.

And Roelin opened her eyes wide when she saw the portrait in front of herself.

“What do you think? Do you like it?”

Kergel, who returned to her side before she knew it, asked a question. But Roelin couldn’t answer his question as she kept on staring at the painting.

“This painting is, when……”

When was the portrait painted on this wall? It would have taken a lot of time to paint this big picture and moreover, on the walls of a cave……

No, more than that……

“I heard that this is the tomb of the founding father! Is it okay to draw things over here?”

Roelin looked back at Kergel with her face all white and beat herself up.

“Huh? No, it’s……”

“It’s not like this is any other place, it’s the tomb of the founder of the nation. It is a place where descendants of the Imperial Family have all held their own companion rituals for generations—to come as well—and such a painting……”

“……’

Kergel walked proudly through the fabric and showed off his painting, which suddenly turned to feel like a cultural property destroyer. That was how much Roelin’s eyes were actually looking at him.

“Oh, it’s a misunderstanding! Don’t get it wrong, Roelin!”

He hurriedly waved his hand and explained as he feared that her misunderstanding would deepen even further.

“This is a painting that existed even before I sent my proposal to Rakain!”

“……What? Does that even make sense?”

Roelin frowned as she could not believe in Kergel. Then, Kergel waved his hand once more and began to tug upon her wrist.

“Go closer and take a look. Then, you’ll know.”

“Kergel!”

She had no choice but to go as close to the painted wall as Kergel was leading her.

“Look closely. It looks like paint. But there’s no trace of brushwork at all.”

“……”

She couldn’t see any of that. No traces of human paint could be found anywhere in the mural that she was observing up close.

As if it had existed on the wall right from the beginning. And it was as if it had been a picture that got carved into the rock itself.

“……is this possible?”

So it was even harder to believe. How could this painting be possible?

Moreover, it was a painting of herself, so it must have been painted recently—without any sort of a trace.

If it was an old painting, she might think that there would have been  some traces that got erased over time.

“It’s kind of a mysterious phenomenon that passed down from the Imperial Family.”

“……?”

Kergel spoke out as if to answer her question. Except for the ‘wolf’ part. This was because he thought that it would be rather okay to move on to that mysterious phenomenon.

But when she heard that, Roelin looked even more puzzled.