Partially corrected MTL Novel
C80
It was the night when Asrahan had just returned from his first battle. It wasn't Hallstein who would send him a telegram in the war about a minor matter.
Feeling that something had happened, he tore open the envelope and pulled out the letter. It was a notice from Hallstein, stating that Lariette had written it. His butler mentioned that he didn't want him to be too surprised and explained that she had left a letter.
'Disappeared?'
Asrahan was once again terrified when she was kidnapped. He was worried about getting caught up in something dangerous again. But Lariette's letter, which she confirmed shortly after, left him even more shocked. She didn't disappear in the midst of an emergency. She left of her own accord.
"It couldn't have been written by Lariette."
Asrahan thought so. Despite recognizing Lariette's elegant and beautiful handwriting, his thoughts were firm. It could easily be fabricated if someone made it by hand. The letter paper was also Candel's paper, but if they decided to steal that too, there was nothing they couldn't do.
Even if they invented everything in the world, he couldn't do it. Asrahan believed in what Lariette had shown him until now. The tender and affectionate words, he had no doubt that the beautiful smile was genuine. However, the terrible anxiety and nervousness that robbed him of sleep couldn't be avoided.
"There's no way... That can't be right."
Asrahan repeatedly severed the heads of the enemy. His impatience soon revealed itself in his movements. He fought day and night. Other generals condemned the duke's decision as being too reckless and hasty. It was also ridiculous that he had lost his sense of wartime spirit because he had left the battlefield long ago.
But as the battle continued and news of victory spread, they soon fell silent. What a loss of tact, Asrahan participated in every battle and swiftly claimed hundreds of lives. His remarkable skill raised the morale of the imperial soldiers, and the soldiers of Danubio were busy running away. Wielding and thrusting a sword without breaking, he seemed like a monster in person.
"That's Candel! It was an amazing tactic."
The generals quickly changed their attitude and praised Asrahan. To him, it was simply ridiculous. There were no tactics; it was just a frenzied struggle to return and see Lariette. As a result, Asrahan beheaded Prince Jeremiah Danubio. The war ended so quickly that it was embarrassing to call it a war, and the soldiers joked:
"It was a waste of hardworking carps."
Back in the capital. Standing at the front of the procession, Asrahan was reminded of Lariette once again as he looked at the clock tower of the capital, which seemed small in the distance.
"Now that the contract is over, I'm leaving. I'm tired of this."
He had only read it once, but he remembered the entire contents of the letter. It felt as if the writing was etched into his skin. Asrahan wanted to get rid of the terrible note immediately, but he couldn't. He didn't dare throw away her letter, whoever wrote it.
"Especially, it was a little bothersome to say 'I love you' during a contractual relationship."
As the contents continued in his mind, Asrahan bit his lips forcefully.
"No way."
He murmured, as if casting a spell to shake off his thoughts.
Indeed, Asrahan knew. As long as Lariette was missing, that letter would be a memento of her. The handwriting was too similar for someone to copy. However, Asrahan continued to persuade himself that Lariette couldn't do that. Even if what she wrote was correct and it was true that she had gone, he thought there must be other reasons. It was inevitable. He couldn't stay sane without such shallow faith.
"I don't believe this is your true heart..."
Asrahan took something shiny out of his uniform pocket and slowly rubbed it with his thumb as if making a wish. It was a silver pendant gifted by Lariette. The pendant's shine had faded in just two weeks. However, the surface was smooth, and the gemstones were immaculately clean thanks to his careful handling during the bloody battle.
Looking at the purple jewel that resembled her eyes, the area around his heart grew rigid. It was because he remembered the last time they kissed before leaving the mansion.
"I will believe what I saw with my own eyes," he kissed the pendant, looking at the approaching capital. His icy blue eyes shone with a strong determination to find her.
Asrahan refused to welcome the emperor and went straight to the Candel mansion. It was something to be called arrogant, but he didn't care at all.
"Sir, are you here?"
Hallstein greeted Asrahan with a subtle look. He was glad that his young master had returned but deeply saddened by the reality he had to face. The duke slowly climbed the stairs and headed to the room. The place where he used to have breakfast with Lariette. There was no one in it. Just like before he met her. Asrahan cursed being alive every morning. It was an empty and harsh room.
"... There were no signs of a struggle," Hallstein said with a mournful voice, feeling great sorrow for Asrahan's gaze. "I searched for her constantly, but..."
"I'm going out."
The capital city spread an unknown rumor, but Asrahan let them talk.
"What? Where are you going?"
"I'll be late."
He left the room without answering Hallstein's question. It was also because he didn't know where he was heading; he just wanted to get away from there. It was hard to bear the fact that Lariette had vanished in this room filled with memories of her.
--------------
"Ahhh!"
The central square of the new capital city, the most crowded place. At the scream of a woman tearing through their ears, people crouched down. There was no one to help a civilian who had committed no crime, even though a man was forcefully taking her away. It was because her hair color was red, close to pink.
"Here we go again, here we go again."
"He's been quiet for a while. Is he now just targeting people with red hair?"
"Are you venting your anger against innocent people for being dragged into the war or what?"
People lowered their voices and spat insults, saying that the Duke of the Monster was even crazier. But they didn't help a woman screaming for help. They only sympathized with the duke because they were afraid of losing their lives.
"No, no, no!"
"You're not following me now?! Can't you hear me when my leg is being cut off?"
As the woman's rebellion escalated, the man dressed as a knight burst into anger. Despite the horrifying threats, the woman didn't give up and struck the man. A small hand hit the man's chin. Then his eyes quickly turned fierce.
"This woman...!" he soon couldn't contain his anger and drew his sword. The woman flinched in terror as the blade gleamed with a roar.
"Another common subject against Candel?"
The woman trembled as the sharp tip of the sword turned towards her. She wanted to escape even if she had to crawl, but her arms and legs were not strong. The people gathered in the square spoke ill of Candel and felt sorry for the woman, but they couldn't look away from the scene where the man approached the woman. They seemed to be waiting for a provocative outcome. It didn't take long before the man raised his sword under the shining sun.
The woman tightly closed her eyes because she couldn't bear to see her legs being severed. But at the moment the man swung his sword in curiosity, something black appeared out of nowhere and blocked his path. It was a long-awaited arrival. The man, excited to set an example, grimaced in frustration when his plan failed.
"How dare you block the path of a Candel knight!" fire ignited in his heart as his pride was scratched all over his body. "I thought you were..."
The man stopped speaking and fell silent. It was because the face he was looking at seemed subtly familiar. Black as tar, blue eyes. Tall and grander in stature than common folk. He was momentarily confused because the man wasn't wearing a bandage, but that terrifying energy was unmistakably from Duke Candel. When he realized that, the man's face turned pale.
"I really want to know who you are," Asrahan slowly extended his hand and grabbed the sword.
Clang!
With a clear sound, the solid sword bent like a branch.
"Who dares to take the name of Candel and attack civilians?"
His voice was so fierce that it sent chills down their spines. A deep anger was already present on his expressionless face. He heard people whispering around him, so it didn't seem like this was the first or second time it had happened.
They said they would indiscriminately capture a woman with pink hair and use force if she didn't listen. That meant Lariette could have been treated the same way.
"Are you trying to threaten my lover?"
Lover, family, and savior. No matter the reason she had left, the feeling remained. Therefore, Asrahan approached immediately and grabbed the man by the collar.
"Oh, sir...! I'm sorry!"
"Tell me, who told you to do this?"
"Sir, please, somehow bring her in."
Deep wrinkles formed on Asrahan's forehead. It was true that he had ordered them to find her somehow, but he never ordered them to bring her back as if they were catching a runaway slave. Those were words that created misunderstandings. It was ridiculous. Unless it was meant to be.
"Gerard."
"Yes, I'll investigate."
"What did you order before?" Asrahan threw the man to the ground with a flick of his hand, as if dusting off his clothes.
Even if they misunderstood the order, he couldn't forgive those who attacked civilians, recklessly damaging Candel's image.
Moreover, he was a newcomer shortly after joining the duchy. Originally, strict measures were supposed to be taken, well below Gerard's level, but the administration seemed to have been neglected due to the mobilization of most regular knights in the war.
"A few weeks ago, she bought a magical dye in the center. It's a random color, and if you take care of it, it lasts for a month."
Gerard recited the information he had been investigating while reading Asrahan's mind. Before leaving Candel Mansion, he knew everything Lariette had purchased.
"Cloak, pants, magical travel backpack, hood, dry food..."
It was obviously for a journey. This truly meant that Lariette was preparing to leave ahead of time.
"Why? Why out of all things in the world?"
A question came to Asrahan's mind to which he couldn't find an answer. He felt as if his chest were splitting in two. Numerous questions crossed his mind.
"If you had such a situation long ago, why didn't you tell me earlier? Didn't you trust me? Or did you really not like me?"
His heart plummeted with a loud thud. Blood trickled from his long lips. It was a presumption he never wanted to recall. But the situation kept leading him back to it.
"Are you alright? Your face..."
"Let's keep going."
Gerard looked at Asrahan's face with a gloomy gaze. The master's complexion was even paler than the knight who had fainted with his head on the ground, so he couldn't help but worry.
"How dare you, my lord... our lord... He was crazy to think she was pretty and nice!"
Gerard cursed himself in the past for being kind to Lariette and cursed her as well. None of the men who had left their fortresses had seen good things, and she would also pay a high price for abandoning her lord! He promised to sharpen the back of his head if he found her.
"Let's continue."
"Oh, yes."
While Gerard remained silent for a long time, Asrahan ordered with a sharp look for him to keep providing information. Gerard opened his mouth, embarrassed by the fact he remembered the "pure" things about his master.
"Magic stores, anti-monster spray, magical sleeping bags..."
She must have spent some money buying four magical items. Gerard was slightly impressed. If they had armed forces, it would have been possible to cross the continent.
"Scorpion spray, desert shoes, desert hoods."
...
"Oh!"
Gerard blurted out exclamations as if he had realized something. Asrahan's eyes met his. Scorpions and deserts. There was only one place in the empire for such things. Astar, a desert region in the west.
"Don't even think about looking for me. I'm going far away, and I'm afraid it would be unpleasant if we were to meet. Let's not be insensitive and go our separate ways."
Asrahan recalled the contents of the letter once again. If the farewell is something Lariette had planned beforehand, the letter she left may also be sincere. She truly saw their relationship as a three-month contract, and now she might want to leave him and find new happiness. If he truly loved Lariette, he should respect her will.
"... Let's go."
"Oh, would you like to return to the mansion?"
With Asrahan's calm voice, Gerard said:
"That's a good idea. You've just returned from the battlefield. No matter how physically fit you are, you can't go without rest."
He couldn't wait to go back and rest. But Asrahan's next words shattered his expectations.
"To the west."
It wasn't true love, so he could curse it. Now he only needed Lariette.
Tags:
ITDHL (Novel)