Chapter 53
The outside was pitch-dark, and dawn mist hung thick in the air.
Last night, she had even stopped passing mercenaries in the street to ask if they’d seen Chaud.
“Never saw him. Did you check all the places he might go?”
“Yes. He’s not at the top of the clock tower, not on the fruit shop roof, not under the bed either!”
“…People don’t usually hide in places like that.”
A sudden ominous thought crept in.
“…Kidnapped?”
Someone found out Chaud was a noble’s son and kidnapped him?!
A planned crime for a ransom?!
“…No, that can’t be it.”
If a strong Swordmaster vanished without a trace, it had to be by his own choice.
Worry, confusion, hurt—emotions tangled together inside her.
It was strange that just Chaud’s absence at her side could make her feel this way.
Thump.
Erika stopped and took in the crisp dawn air.
Then she started walking again.
She decided to check the guild dorm one last time before leaving.
Crossing the wide Denter city streets, she entered the familiar alleys.
Step, step.
The alley in front of the Mercenary Guild headquarters.
As she turned a pitch-dark corner—
Whoosh—
Someone grabbed her tightly from behind.
“…”
Normally, Erika would have flipped the attacker to the ground in an instant.
But she didn’t.
The refreshing scent was far too familiar.
“Let go.”
As always, he didn’t listen.
She looked silently down at the arms hugging her tighter.
She tried to turn her head, but she couldn’t see the stranger’s face.
Only navy-blue hair falling smoothly. His handsome face was buried.
Chaud had buried his head deep in Erika’s shoulder.
“You.”
She was about to scold him with curses, but chose to keep her voice calm instead.
“Where were you all this time?”
But Chaud didn’t seem intent on answering.
So that’s how it was, huh? Even when she was trying to be nice?
“I almost left you behind, you know. I was just about to set out.”
“…”
“What were you doing?”
“…”
“No answer? You’re not coming to the capital with me then?”
At that word, something seemed to reach him.
Chaud pressed his small sigh against her shoulder, breath heavy and wet.
Still, he said nothing.
He just held her close, his tall frame enveloping her, refusing to let go.
“Let go.”
Erika began to twist out of his grip when finally Chaud spoke.
“…I don’t think I can go to the capital with you.”
His arms loosened, slipping away as if he no longer had the strength to hold on.
“…”
Erika bit down on her lip.
She knew it.
His mind had changed, no doubt.
If he didn’t want to go to the capital, he could just say so!
“Hey, do I look like I’d beat you up?!”
She whipped around to face him.
“Why are you saying this only now—”
“…”
Erika looked up at his face.
The sight froze her words in her throat.
Eyes on the verge of tears.
She had never seen him like this, but she knew instantly it would not be strange if tears spilled at any moment.
His turquoise eyes brimmed like the sea.
Erika parted her lips and barely managed to speak.
“…Why does your face look like that?”
His damp eyes were unfamiliar.
Chaud stood rigid, staring down at her as if nailed to the ground.
“Did something happen?”
“…”
“What is it? Are you okay?”
Without thinking, Erika lifted her hand and cupped his cheek.
Chaud covered her hand with his.
“No.”
He leaned into her warm palm.
A sigh escaped him, heavy and wet.
“My father and brother are dead.”
His voice was calm, but the words were anything but.
“I have to return to the family.”
Chaud held it back, suppressing his rage with all his strength.
Could I survive?
With only the memories of you to hold onto, could I endure that hell?
Now, a lifetime without freedom. Without Erika by my side.
Chaud tried to fix the warmth in his memory—the warmth of the hand he held.
“…”
Her large eyes filled with tears, trembling, about to spill. So shocked, so sad.
Chaud forced a smile.
He knew it wouldn’t look right, but Erika liked his face anyway.
“Erika.”
He made his decision.
He glanced toward the mithril scabbard he had once lent her.
“Keep that sword. One day, I’ll come back for it.”
“I’ll give it back to you now.”
“No. Let it be the proof that Aragon of Blizzard will come back for you.”
“…”
Erika blinked at him, forgetting even her tears.
Aragon of Blizzard.
Like a lightning bolt, yesterday’s newspaper flashed through her mind:
『Heir of Duke Aragon of Sagewood Dead』
『Blizzard Territory Sealed Off』
The north was in crisis now.
They called it a calamity, like something from another world.
She had never imagined that misfortune would fall on Chaud, right before her.
“Can’t I… can’t I help you somehow?”
“…”
“Take me with you to the north. I’ll help.”
“…”
Chaud was silent for a long time, then smiled faintly.
“…You know that’s impossible.”
So much was contained in those words.
Erika had to go to Uranus.
The Tenearha contract couldn’t be annulled, and she had already borrowed the Grail for her master.
She could not go north.
“…”
Erika looked into Chaud’s turquoise eyes, unable to say anything more.
Meeting his gaze, she felt his emotions pour straight into her.
‘…So heavy, so terrifying.’
The Aragon Ducal House was imperial blood.
Second in line to the throne, after the crown prince himself.
The weight Chaud now had to bear—forever—was unimaginable.
He should have been the one crying.
Yet it was only Erika’s eyes that brimmed with tears.
She stared at him endlessly, afraid even to blink lest the tears fall.
Neigh—
The sound of horses whinnying carried from nearby.
Though not in sight, they were close. Several horses.
It even sounded as if someone had spurred them on deliberately.
As though urging: there’s no time.
“Listen to me carefully.”
Chaud took her hand again.
This time, he interlocked their fingers and held on tightly.
“Erika.”
He endured with all his might.
“I’m not giving up on you.”
This wasn’t surrender—it was enduring.
He would probably cry, clutching their memories, but somehow he would survive with them.
“I’ll come to the capital. No matter when… I’ll come to you again.”
Chaud pressed his lips to the back of her hand.
“Just stay there. I’ll come.”
A kiss on the hand—for farewell.
A kiss on the hand—for respect and reverence.
That was all Erika knew of such gestures—
“I swear.”
Chaud made a vow whose meaning she could not understand.
Erika could only wipe away the tears clinging to her eyes.
The farewell was real. She felt it.
“Chaud. Be well… I really hope you’ll be well.”
When had they first met?
Was it that absurd moment in the high skies, on the back of a great wyvern?
When had they become friends who shared their hearts?
Perhaps that rainy day in the forest, facing the legendary basilisk?
Or maybe when she finally awakened as a Swordmaster, the dream she had long cherished?
They had ridden horses together, sailed ships together, run across the land together, crossed swords together.
Laughed, argued, laughed again.
She had believed it would go on forever.
But their precious friendship could not last all the way to the capital.
It ended here.
The dark dawn stretched unbearably long, and that day the morning sun rose painfully late.
And Chaud left Erika’s side.
