Chapter 56
“Well, of course—”
“I hope you don’t lie to me, because I can find out.”
“No, I didn’t mean to lie! If we are to bless someone, of course we should put Duke Edgar first. In the Empire, you are second only to the Emperor.”
“Then, Your Majesty.”
Nocton turned his head.
When he looked at the Emperor sitting on the throne, their eyes met.
The Emperor’s face hardened with embarrassment.
“Have you been blessed?”
“…No, I wasn’t.”
“These are some extremely rude people. How dare you put the subjects before the Emperor? No matter how much you say you’re in the arms of God, it is too much to insult the honor of the Imperial family.”
“T-That’s not… That’s not it!”
“I’m Gervello Gervella of the Great Shrine. I’m sorry, but if you excuse me, Duke Edgar.”
Pushing the contemplative priest aside, another priest came forward.
He was one of the six high priests who came to perform the ceremony, a rare young man.
There was a strong will written on his face.
“We found traces of the use of black magic to summon the beasts. The gate is now closed, but there is a high possibility that someone here has opened the gate.”
When black magic came up, Nocton just listened quietly without even raising an eyebrow.
“They were using black magic to ruin the ceremony. So, through God’s blessing, I want to confirm whether or not you’re a dark magician.”
“Then, I’m asking. Is anyone here going to get the same confirmation? Or is it just me?”
“To be honest, there was an anonymous tip saying that you are a dark magician and about what you’ll do at the ceremony.”
An anonymous tip, unexpectedly blatant.
Worrying about the traces of black magic, Nocton used the minimum and also a sword, but in the end it was pointless.
Still, if he wanted to refuse, he could.
In the Empire, Edgar was special.
The family was known as the founding family, but in reality, Edgar had been located in this land before that.
Those who allowed Karantena, the founding Emperor, to take over the land were also the Edgar family.
As a result, Edgar was promised eternal authority at the time of the founding of the empire and the oath continued as the bloodline of the first Emperor was passed down to this day.
Over the generations, Edgar was obviously the oldest and most powerful ruler in this land, as several times the Imperial family had been trying to change.
So Nocton didn’t have to take that rude test.
There didn’t seem to be anyone who doubted that Nocton summoned the beast.
“You know that even if I decline here, there won’t be a problem.”
“Yes. But to clear any suspicions—”
There were a lot of suspicions from people who didn’t want to be suspected, so it was meaningless.
However.
Nocton glanced briefly at the young and capable High Priest.
The energy felt was quite clean, so it seemed to be usable.
Coincidentally, it was the time when a priest was needed.
“If you promise me one thing, I will accept your blessing.”
“I do not accept unreasonable requests.”
“Then, isn’t it unreasonable to suspect that I am the culprit without evidence?”
“Anonymous—”
“That’s something that can only be done from the temple’s point of view. How can I believe it? Whether or not there was an anonymous informant. Maybe, you’re trying to harm me under the influence of someone else?”
“…If you say that, I understand. Please, tell me about your request.”
“It’s not a big deal. If there’s nothing wrong with my blessing, you have to stay at Edgar for a year.”
It wasn’t unusual for a priest to receive a huge patronage and stay with a particular family.
However, it could be regarded as an insult because a high-ranking priest would only occasionally stay with the Imperial family in case of an emergency.
But Gervella was quite sure of his suspicions, so he just nodded.
Then, a pure white light poured down from his hand and towards Nocton.
Nocton’s lips twisted.
The light of blessing from a priest was usually green, but the white light was an attack magic above the divine one.
If blessed, even if the opponent was a dark magician, they would only feel a little nauseous, but with attack magic it was different.
If it were for ordinary people, divine magic wouldn’t hurt, but the change in words was certainly… It was cute.
“Ge-Gervella!”
The other high priests screamed his name.
Nocton took a slow, deep breath to soothe his messy, twisted stomach.
Even before he became an adult, he drank holy water with an innocent face, so it wasn’t difficult to pretend to be calm even in a situation like this.
It was a magic trick that wouldn’t have made him suffer if dealt with properly, so Nocton was annoyed.
Whether the priest was convinced that Nocton was responsible after a single report, the priest’s face changed to look good.
“No way!”
“It’s good that the priest is strong and works hard, but you have to look up and down.”
t/n: by that i think nocton means that the priest should have investigated the anonymous tip abt nocton.
Nocton swallowed the blood flowing in his mouth and let out a sigh that went from frustration to mocking.
“You seem to have picked up some strange words from somewhere, but even if I was a dark magician, can I attack before it proves that I’m the one who opened the gate?”
“D-Duke, this is…”
“I’m already looking forward to seeing how your innocent illusion and aggressive honesty will change the temple.”
“This is a procedure that was unavoidable for the honor of the Imperial family! Retaliation against the temple is—!”
“I did not say that I would retaliate. However, the donations to the temple were purely out of favor, so it would be too much to say that it’s retaliation to collect them.”
“Duke!”
“Other than that, I hope you keep your promise. If you treasure what you have.”
Nocton walked past the other priests whose faces turned blue.
There was a hand that tried to hold him back, but Nocton mercilessly slapped it off.
Nocton ignored even the handkerchieves of the imperial servants and walked straight to his carriage.
The escort knight, whose eyes were blurred, held out a towel to Nocton and he roughly wiped away the moisture from the rain.
Then, there was a low-pitched voice.
It was Duroa’s voice. Perhaps she had returned while Nocton was arguing with the officials.
Focusing on his keen hearing, he raised his head.
Alice Limorand was looking after Duroa to see if there was anything wrong and then apologized.
Duroa suddenly changed her tone, as if she was exhausted from saying she was fine.
“No, I’m fine, Alice. Although the bear hit the sixth rib bone on the left.”
“What? You’re hurt? Oh, my God! You need to be treated right now! Where is it? Here?”
“Oh, I was mistaken. Come to think of it, it’s the third, not the sixth.”
“Third? Where’s the third rib? Where are you, Sir Claymore?”
“…it’s this way for now.”
“And here? Does it hurt here, Duroa?”
“No, it’s not the left, it’s the right.”
“Right? Then here?”
“Isn’t that the third one?”
“…Duroa, are you kidding me? You’re fine!”
“You finally figured it out, Alice! I thought it would take another half hour!”
Pretending to be moved, with an exaggerated expression, Duroa hugged Alice.
Alice tried to push Duroa away, but eventually they burst into laughter together.
It was a very friendly, happy smile.
Watching them, Nocton remembered the past.
‘No, it really doesn’t hurt. It’s been more than two weeks since I got over my cold!’
‘Who said that? Your throat isn’t well and you sound weird and noisy. Be quiet.’
‘Wow, such nice words. If you’re going to pretend to be like that, then get rid of these cups. No matter how good it is for a cold, how many cups are there? One, two, three, four, five. If I drink five cups of tea, I’ll catch another disease.’
‘It’s surprising in many ways that you have to count them one by one to know there’s five cups. Are you still sick?’
‘Sarcasm… Oh! My hand…! It… slipped.’
‘Oops. You failed to topple the cup pretending your hand slipped.’
‘Sometimes I get annoyed because you’re so quick.’
‘Clearly. Alright, now drink.’
‘I’m better, really. Do you want to see my throat? Ah…’
‘You want me to pour it down your throat?’
‘…You can drink it, bastard.’
After that, Duroa probably burned the roof of her mouth from drinking the hot tea and then made a fuss.
Nocton laughed involuntarily since the memory of her blaming him for it was still vivid.
Yeah, it was.
There was a moment like that.
There were moments like those.
But now, there won’t be anymore.
Nocton spit blood on the towel, pretending to dry himself.
He thought maybe he’d miss calling her Valrose.
***
“Have some tea, Miss. It’s good for your cold.”
“Thank you, Sadie.”
On top of the tea that Sadie put down, a woman with a blank expression reflected in it.
Her face was hot and her eyes were tired, apparently she caught a cold.
Duroa thought she had a strong health, not as much as a knight or a magician, but she couldn’t stand being in the rain during the winter in a forest.
I had a headache all of a sudden and I think I already caught a cold while talking to Nocton Edgar.
Sadie sighed, covering Duroa’s shoulders with a thick blanket.
“Really, why did it suddenly start raining?”
Duroa barely managed to not flinch at that remark.
She was suspicious of the sudden musty smell, but not the rain. Both the rain and the smell were artificial magical clues.
They said that the reason the beast appeared was because someone created a gate that connected the beast’s lair and the forest.
The beast had a unique smell and the rain was pouring down with magic to cover it up.
It was never revealed who did it or what its purpose was.
For that reason, the Imperial family was being extremely sensitive.
However, it was said there was a report announcing that there might be a problem with the competition in advance.
Thanks to that, they were able to gather a lot of priests and all three knights of the Imperial family were present, so there were no casualties, but there were wounded.
The reason why so many priests came was because the new Emperor was timid. Duroa had no choice but to reflect on that thought.
I’m sorry, Your Majesty…
Well, I heard it all from Alice.
No one else knew, but Duroa still had to tell the inside story to Kantana Limorand, the prospective winner.
She would tell Duroa’s sister everything if it wasn’t dangerous, so Kantana could know the full story.
The other people only heard that there was an accident and the beast appeared then it was severely punished.
Chapter 54
Nocton showed no reaction, but his chest, which had slowly been moving up and down, stopped.
It was clear that he was holding his breath.
With his indirect consent, Duroa let out a deep breath in the opposite direction.
I want to end it now.
No doubt, no anxiety, no fear, no regrets, I wanted to put an end to all my time with Nocton Edgar.
“My name is Duroa Valrose, Nocton. It’s Duroa, not Valrose.”
“If I call your name… do you think everything will be okay?”
“Well, you’ll have to try it.”
Nocton licked his lips as if he were about to call her name at any moment, but no matter how long Duroa waited, those five letters didn’t come out of his mouth.
You’re not saying anything. I knew it.
Duroa scoffed and pushed Nocton away.
The arms that were twice as big as hers were pushed away so easily.
What should I do now? I can’t stay here.
It wasn’t confirmed that the beast was dealt with yet. Should I just wait for Aaron?
Duroa didn’t know for how long Nocton was going to stick around, but she couldn’t leave anyway.
She felt exhausted, as if her entire body was bruised.
It was as if she was falling out of consciousness quickly.
Now, even if a bear appeared in front of them, Duroa was confident she wouldn’t be able to distinguish it properly.
I don’t think I have any energy left to be surprised.
Duroa glanced outside for a quick second and then turned around immediately when she saw the rain clouds.
No matter how much she hated being alone in the cave with Nocton Edgar, Duroa wasn’t sure she could make it through the rain.
And there was no guarantee that the beasts were dealt with.
As Duroa was playing with her foot in the dried leaves meaninglessly, she looked up when she heard something.
“…Duroa.”
It was a small sound, like an ant crawling.
But Duroa was a little surprised by it and turned around slowly.
Nocton Edgar was looking at her with a helpless face, like a lost child.
“Duroa.”
He called Duroa by her name again, but louder this time.
He called me by my name.
Duroa was surprised and embarrassed by the sudden situation, but she instantly felt sad. At one time, it was something she desperately wanted to hear.
When Duroa thought of Nocton as a friend, when she liked him and felt special feelings for him, her heart wished that he could call her name.
Is it because I’m sick?
Or is it because I already abandoned my old feelings and let them return to dust?
Is it because my feelings for him have already been ruined?
Duroa heard her name coming out of Nocton’s mouth, but nothing changed for her.
It didn’t feel special, and nothing special happened either.
With that, she thought that maybe she wasn’t brainwashed.
Duroa thought about Sheryl Bornaine, she suddenly collapsed as if she was shocked by something, but when Duroa saw there was nothing wrong with her, brainwashing was…
“…Duroa?”
But what does that have to do with anything?
She didn’t really care if the thought that Nocton brainwashed her was only an assumption.
Duroa was not pleased at all.
Nocton Edgar couldn’t be anything to her. A friend or an acquaintance, even just as someone to have around.
Duroa was rather saddened by the feeling of gaining such confidence.
And she still couldn’t believe Nocton.
Although the title, which was thought to be evidence of his betrayal, was refuted head-on, trust did not return.
Maybe that was why.
If it wasn’t for that reason, if it wasn’t for the hypnosis and the brainwashing, why didn’t he call Duroa by her name for so long?
Why, all this time, when it was a name that came out so easily right now?
Duroa held her breath and placed a hand over her forehead.
Three times. Nocton, who called out her name, said nothing for a moment.
Nothing changed in her, as if Duroa knew things weren’t any better.
The sound of the rain had diminished.
That deafening sound was now as small as a scratch on the ear.
The thunder had stopped and the leaves weren’t dancing loudly anymore.
The light, which wasn’t bright but wasn’t dark either, was shining through the forest.
But my childhood did not come back.
Duroa struggled to speak.
“I didn’t think you’d call me that. From the looks of it, you didn’t brainwash me. Or, it was already broken.”
“You’re still the same as before.”
“…Nocton.”
“Not having any intention of going back to how we were in the past, trying to stay away from me, not trusting me at all. Yeah, calling your name isn’t going to solve everything. Actually, I knew it.”
Nocton kept quiet for a while and continued soon after.
“It’s all a meaningless obsession and there’s no way it’s going to be better. It’s already over, but even though I knew that, I still hoped…”
Nocton was saying things that Duroa couldn’t understand, but she didn’t want to pry either.
Duroa just watched Nocton speak to himself in a trembling voice.
Despite this rare appearance, he still had no emotions and his heart was empty as if all the feelings he had were ripped out.
Suddenly, Duroa opened her mouth.
“Now, I guess we really don’t get along.”
“…”
“Thanks for saving me, by the way.”
In a strange mood, Duroa played with the dried leaves on the ground and looked at him.
The embarrassment slowly faded from Nocton’s face.
Soon, the expression completely disappeared.
The raindrops on Duroa’s black eyelashes looked strangely like tears so she blinked them away.
But even if they were actual tears, nothing would’ve changed.
“Let’s not see each other anymore.”
She didn’t mean to, but Duroa’s voice came out quiet.
Still, Nocton heard her anyway.
“I was going to say it properly before, but you vomited blood and went crazy, so I was a mess. Actually, I had to say it at the Imperial ball, but back then I was… I guess I was so scared that you could turn me back.”
Come to think of it, it was.
“Maybe it was all an illusion and it’s a situation that can be fixed. There’s no way you’re trying to kill Aaron even though nothing great happened.”
If Duroa was really afraid of Nocton, if she was really afraid he would hurt her, she could hide in the mansion even by pretending to be sick.
On the pretext of not feeling well, Duroa was able to escape as the Marquis of Valrose representative.
Even if Duroa was obligated to attend, if she complained about being sick or having a hard time, her parents would accept it and somehow manage to correct her immature behaviour.
But she didn’t run away and she didn’t refuse to talk to Nocton at the Imperial ball.
Duroa thought that seeing his face would be better than to have a bad reputation in society or embarrass her parents.
She must’ve had a strange idea that Nocton wouldn’t hurt her even though she was trembling with fear.
With hope, with regret.
But when she was told that Nocton was going to kill Aaron, she couldn’t keep it in any longer.
“When you say this, it sounds like you’re breaking up with me. Do you think I’m exaggerating again?”
Duroa laughed, but Nocton didn’t.
There was not even a brief answer and there was no change in his expression either.
“Well, nothing surprising. After you and I get married, no matter how friendly we are, we’ll see each other more often than before.”
Friends…
“We’re friends, right? Were we ever friends, though? You really didn’t think of me as a toy or an old doll to have around? You said I was special, you know.”
Nocton had no answer, but Duroa shifted her gaze from the floor of the cave, to the sky outside and then stared at the forest, talking to herself.
She knew she had to end it, but she didn’t want to.
And suddenly, Duroa thought she shouldn’t do it.
“Hey, whatever I was, it doesn’t matter anymore.”
The rain, which had poured like there was a hole in the sky, stopped altogether.
The strange smell was gone, as well.
Was it the smell of the train or something related to magic?
Asking herself meaningless questions about the situations, Duroa slowly took a step forward. Taking the first step was hard, then the next one was easy.
One step, two steps and past Nocton, then she was out of the cave.
But at that moment…
“Don’t leave.”
Duroa’s arm was grabbed and her body turned around into Nocton’s arms.
It was similar to what happened the night before, when she had heard about the precognitive dream from Alice, but unlike then, this time it was a face-to-face hug.
She was belatedly surprised but stayed still because she felt Nocton’s arms clinging tightly to her back.
Duroa thought she could pull away if she wanted to, but she just followed Nocton’s wishes instead.
It was the last one.
“It wasn’t that meaningless.”
“Nocton.”
“If you leave… It’s horrible just thinking about it, and you were special. I’m sorry I tested you. It wasn’t you that I tried to test, it wasn’t you, it was me… I thought you couldn’t be by my side so… you’re not a toy. If I was going to just play with you, I wouldn’t have asked you to stay that long. You couldn’t have been this mad at Aaron Claymore.”
“Nocton.”
Even after calling his name over and over again, he didn’t answer and continued making excuses.
“No, I’m not angry. It’s all a lie. Neither at him, nor at your friend. I wouldn’t hurt anyone around you. I… Duroa. I-I wanted to call your name. Since a long time ago, I’ve always wanted to.”
The hands that hugged Duroa were shaking.
It was a mystery.
His desperate embrace felt as if he were saying it was really special.
Every single one of his actions wasn’t like him, and Duroa’s unwavering heart was no longer hers.
It felt as if everything was breaking.
“I didn’t mean to scare you. I didn’t want to. Your maid’s work was brief, too. I just wanted to know if you knew about black magic, so I thought I would do anything to know.”
“You should’ve told me sooner.”
“I…”
“I’m a little surprised. You were the one who could say that. You’re the one who can show your true feelings that way and also someone who could hide something in the midst of that.”
“Duroa.”
“There’s no turning back now, so stop making meaningless excuses.”
Even though it came out of her lips, it felt as if someone borrowed Duroa’s body to speak in her stead.
She had no intention of hurting him because it was already the end for them, but the words that came out of her mouth were sharp.
Duroa tried to get out of Nocton’s arms, but he held on tighter.
So that she couldn’t resist.
She could feel his heartbeat because of the closeness between them.
Only the beat could be heard.
“I’ll tell you everything. I have something to say, Duroa.”