The time when Leonardo and Signe boarded the train again was about 15 hours before her enlistment. Though three hours would be enough to reach their destination—Port Bellmayer station in the central region—they also had to factor in the trams and military escort vehicles they’d need from the city center to enter the Port, the main base.
The problem was that it took more than ten hours just to enter the Port. Within Bellmayer, which remained a war-remnant zone, there was Lederpol, the old downtown, and Castbell, the new downtown. Everything else was classified as a military control zone. It was a desolate place that fully bore the scars of war, and at the same time a dangerous area with millions of landmines buried in the ground.
Because of this, the roads and transportation to and from the Port were limited, and recruits being assigned to stationed units had to gather at Castbell to board the escort vehicles.
Signe, who had left Riverside two days before her enlistment date to get ahead of the crowds, also planned to spend the night in Castbell before entering the Port. But when she opened her eyes on the bench, less than half a day remained, and Leonardo could fully understand her anxiousness. That was also why he had left the station of beginning and end to see her off as she hurried, stamping her feet.
Though he still had many unresolved questions about the “gift,” he promised himself he would return later, believing the castle wouldn’t disappear from that place. For now, shouldn’t he make sure the greenhorn enlisted on time? He didn’t mind sending her alone, but since she’d been delayed by volunteering to be his guide, he wanted to take care of whatever he could for her.
Fortunately, Signe, who had been nervously biting her nails, steadied after boarding the train and immediately eating a lunchbox and snacks. Though she glanced at her watch now and then, she deliberately repeated positive words, saying she could still get in with plenty of time—an hour early.
Leonardo responded while occasionally resting his chin on his hand and staring blankly out the train window. His mind was still lingering in the old castle.
“So we wandered in the field for nearly sixteen hours? In my memory, it felt like only about two hours passed.”
Chewing on a military energy bar sold quietly by peddlers, Signe sat in her seat and retraced what she remembered from the field. Leonardo, who had been watching the scenery whip past, shifted his gaze to her across from him. He didn’t understand why she was eating now what she’d soon be eating until she was sick of it after enlisting, but he didn’t bother stopping her.
“...I don’t know either. I didn’t check the time much.”
“Or was I asleep for that long? Actually, I barely slept the day before yesterday because I was excited. But if that’s the case, wouldn’t you have slept next to me too? It doesn’t make sense that you would’ve just waited quietly for over ten hours.”
“Hey, do you think I’m like you? Falling asleep in a place that suspicious—”
Leonardo, about to snap back in disbelief, trailed off. He suddenly remembered how he would sleep as if he’d fainted even in enemy territory when comrades were by his side. Hadn’t they even threatened that if Bay didn’t wake up, they’d leave him behind?
As he was momentarily at a loss for words, Signe giggled as if she’d caught him.
“You slept too, didn’t you? The place has a nice breeze. It’s quiet. The weather’s clear, so time passes fast when you take a nap, right? Still, it’s lucky you woke up first in the middle. If we’d slept through, we really would’ve been late. Ugh... I don’t even want to imagine it.”
“.......”
“Even though you couldn’t meet your appointment in the end... in my opinion, the fact that there was no one at the station means the person you were supposed to meet had already gone somewhere else. Who would wait in such a foggy place? We barely made it back after wandering around so much.”
Signe, who still couldn’t remember what had happened in the old castle, kept shutting Leonardo down at odd moments. After his vision had been flooded with light, he even wondered if he, too, had woken in front of the stone tablet after a long dream. But for that to be true, his memory—and the evidence of the note in his pocket—was too vivid, and it was strange that Signe couldn’t even recall the name “Theodore.”
“The station attendant also said that the number of people who’d visited the station recently, besides us, could be counted on one hand.”
She seemed to have forgotten everything about the key to entering the old castle.
And yet, the process of reaching the answer to the riddle was impossible to deduce without the hints Signe’s sister had dropped. That meant the conversations he and Signe had had in the field were real events, not something his unconscious had stitched together.
‘Then it certainly wasn’t a dream, but...’
Could this also be a device someone made? Perhaps to strip the memories of those who entered, so the gift intended for the Sun King wouldn’t be defiled by others.
If so, why was his memory intact? Could it be that even his memory was part dream, part reality? After all, he too had a moment when he lost consciousness before opening his eyes in the old castle.
But there were other questions, too.
‘The grandfather clock in the old castle struck at 4 a.m. And now it’s 18:00 by Riverside time. Did it take me more than twelve hours to bring Signe out of the castle? That can’t be.’
The inexplicable gap between the two points in time only deepened the confusion. By his sense of it, the time it took to return to the station was, at most, an hour, even with a generous estimate. He’d known all along that space-time was distorted, but the loss of roughly twelve hours lent weight to the idea that time flowed differently inside and outside the castle.
If so, the old-castle scenery he had seen, and the memories within it—through what era had they passed? Had he gone back several centuries to their romance, and did it still actually exist now? Complex thoughts sprouted like bamboo shoots, then tangled.
In the midst of it, Leonardo recalled the moment long ago when he’d set out on a mission with his comrades, counting the stars in the night sky on a hill lush with undergrowth. He didn’t know why that day came to mind now. Still, the story Ian—alive then—had told him remained clear.
‘Leo, you know what?’
‘What?’
‘Those stars we see in the sky right now—they might already be gone. We’re looking at the stars’ past.’
‘......’
‘They say it takes tens of thousands of years for starlight to reach this earth. So we’re watching a train of light that already departed, chasing what’s left behind—the soul, the afterimage—believing the star still exists.’
‘...What nonsense. Did you hit your head in the fight earlier?’
Leonardo pictured Ian with shining eyes, hands clasped behind his head. Ian tilted his head slightly and smiled gently at him.
‘It’s true. That’s why they say you shouldn’t believe everything you see.’
‘Then I won’t believe what you’re saying now, either.’
‘Please believe my words at least, Captain.’
Around then, Leonardo furrowed his brow and squeezed his eyes shut.
‘...Is this also a kind of afterimage, Ian? If I’d brought that scroll, real or fake, could I have heard you answer again?’
The “gift” embraced by the Castle of Romance might truly have been someone’s romance itself—dreams, ideals, ardent wishes one chases. The residue of flowing time, thoughts, obsessions it had captured.
The unexpected journey that began with a single note from Alec Siles had left his mind unsettled. The problem was that nothing had actually been resolved. Where was the “room of clocks” the guy had promised for next time? Was it a specific space within the old castle? After suffering through riddles overnight, he was tired and no longer wanted to find the guy. Someday, he’d have to shove a stone in that man’s mouth for training him like a dog, then beat him with his fist.
With his eyelids half-lowered, Leonardo let his thoughts settle, aimlessly basking in the sunlight. If it was an issue that couldn’t be resolved right away, it was better to turn his attention off for a while. For now, having left that place, shouldn’t he feed his junior—far behind him—a little more before parting with Signe?
Having reached that conclusion, Leonardo turned to Signe, who had been unusually quiet.
“Are you full? Is there anything else you want to eat?”
“Oh, can I eat more? You’re buying, right?”
“I’ve been buying all along. Why get formal now?”
Signe gave her characteristic bright smile, like she was saying, That’s right. Maybe because she was simple, looking at her helped shake off distracting thoughts.
She rose from her seat, saying she’d go to the next car to buy snacks. Leonardo pulled his wallet from the bag slung across his chest and handed her a few bills.
Signe took the money and was about to leave, but then she looked back and forth between Leonardo’s face and his wrist and asked,
“Do you need a band-aid or an ice pack? I’ve been wanting to say this, but the back of your hand and your wrist are red.”
“Huh?”
“Did you strain yourself carrying me?”
Instead of answering, Leonardo looked down at the back of his hand as he put his wallet away. There was nothing on the right... But when he checked his left, his pupils tightened. A faint red mark covered the area from the back of his hand to his wrist.
‘...When did this happen?’
It wasn’t so much swollen as it was shaped like something had pressed into it. Here and there were pinprick blood spots on the pale skin where circulation had been cut off.
Leonardo tilted his head and covered the mark on the back of his left hand with his right. The marked area was much larger than a palm.
As if a large hand had clamped down on his and refused ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) to let go for a long time.
