I have no idea what made Adrian cry so much, but he fell asleep in my arms after sobbing for a while.
I glanced briefly at the woman collapsed in my embrace and let out a small sigh.
She really didn’t have anything to apologize to me for. What could she possibly feel guilty about to apologize so fervently?
In all the countless lives I’ve lived, I’ve never been directly involved with Adrian.
Besides, there hadn’t been anything today that would warrant an apology. I figured I would have to ask her about today’s events later.
Being a saint, she might have seen something extraordinary, I thought.
“…If you’re going to sleep here, I’m going to be in trouble.”
Since she was fast asleep in my arms, it would be awkward to wake her up right away.
As she deeply slumbered, I gently lifted her body which had just slumped against me.
If Berod saw this, I thought he might explode for various reasons, but I couldn’t just send Adrian back to her room in this state.
Looks like I’m not getting any sleep tonight. When I laid her on the bed and covered her with a blanket, the strength in her arms that had been hugging me loosened.
Watching her fall into a peaceful sleep, I slowly brushed the hair that had fallen over her forehead.
Why did she cry so much? No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t recall the reason for her tears.
Apologizing to me, suddenly hugging me because she felt cold…
Then suddenly, I noticed the wound on Adrian’s hand.
It looked pretty painful, filled with wood splinters. Had she come all this way with such an injury?
It seemed like she had been pierced by something from Rosario.
Since the necklace that had been hanging around her neck was gone, I cautiously pulled out the splinters, and blood began to flow.
…She must have been in a lot of pain.
Yet the fact that she came to me means there was an important reason she had to reach me.
I didn’t know what that reason was. I just vaguely felt gratitude lingering within me.
How long had it been since I had someone’s warmth close to me? It’s been decades since I was with Miragen as lovers.
It felt like ages since I had sensed someone’s warmth so closely. For a moment, I could forget this winter.
Even while disinfecting her wounds and wrapping them in bandages, Adrian remained sound asleep.
I figured she would be staying in this bed the entire night.
If we lay on the same bed, misunderstandings would surely arise, but spending a night together wasn’t that difficult.
I carefully covered the still-sleeping Adrian with the blanket.
I blew out the lone candle and, relying on the remaining moonlight, slowly began to read Arwen’s letter.
It was always an early morning of solitude, but today was different since we were together.
It felt strangely peculiar.
As the sky gradually brightened, I managed to read through Arwen’s letter.
Specifically, it took a little time to analyze the code written inside.
The sentences described in magic, rearranging them for interpretation was probably something only Arwen and I could manage.
This way, we could exclude any potential risks.
If anyone else saw it, it would seem like we were just checking on each other’s well-being, but interpreting the content meant…
It was about the relationship between the Crown Prince and the Dead Dragon.
There wasn’t too much written in the letter.
It was probably everything I had managed to investigate while staying in the North, but most of it was already known to me.
Because most of it was something that everyone already knew.
[There aren’t many connections between the Dead Dragon and the Crown Prince yet. Unless we go South and come into contact with a Relic, it would be difficult to grasp what Residual Thought really is.]
I nodded at that statement.
Unless I were to bring the Relic from the South directly to the Crown Prince, everything about the two was still a mystery.
I wasn’t assuming it either, but this was the first time such a direct conversation had come up in this round.
It seemed I approached the question of ‘how’ the Crown Prince killed me rather than ‘why’ he did.
Each round strange variables would pop up.
Some came from the Crown Prince’s name, but most emerged from places I never expected.
If even those had a connection to the Crown Prince…
This problem might not just be my personal issue.
If I were to fight the Dead Dragon, what would happen?
I saw the tip of the Sword, but now I doubted whether that was truly the end.
Wouldn’t it be right to say I was touching the next wall while doubting my realization?
However, the problem was that I still needed physical growth.
If there were just a little over a year left until the full confrontation with the Crown Prince, how far could I elevate this body would determine success or failure.
Rustle-
While I was still deeply focused on Arwen’s Letter, I turned my head at the sound coming from behind.
The soft breathing that had been coming from the one sleeping was no longer audible. Perhaps she was about to wake up soon.
Now that the sun had completely risen, it seemed alright to turn her over.
This was the perfect time to avoid being caught by Berod.
As I recalled what kind of tea was good for relieving fatigue, Rosemary suddenly came to mind.
It seemed like it was among the tea leaves I had.
Boiling the water and steeping the tea leaves, the fragrant aroma began to fill the space.
Winter mornings aren’t that cold. With the sun just having risen in its brightest state, the warm light shining on the pure white snow was just right for waking someone from sleep.
As the tea fragrance wafted through the air, I took out some cookies I had saved and placed them on a plate, and then I heard a rustling sound from the bed.
“Are you awake?”
I approached the bed and handed over the teacup. Adrian, rubbing his groggy eyes, stretched his arms and shook his body.
Perhaps still half-asleep, he only nodded cautiously while holding the cup I offered.
As he blankly sipped the tea, his gaze slightly turned towards me, and Adrian’s eyes, usually closed, were now barely open.
His transparent eyes met mine, and the hand lifting the teacup trembled slightly.
Then, from his slightly parted lips, a small voice emerged.
“…Robert?”
“It seems you are finally a little awake.”
“Uh, when did you come to my room? Where’s Emily—”
“She’s probably at the top of the Moon Tower. I sent her back after she came to find me in the early morning.”
The expression of the attendant who visited me while I was reading the Letter seemed to find Adrian sleeping in my bed quite intriguing.
Hadn’t he said he couldn’t easily sleep if it wasn’t in his usual spot?
But considering the circumstances, I thought it was possible. Hadn’t he cried himself to sleep?
-He’s asleep too deeply to wake up like this, so I’ll go up with him in the morning.
-That’s a relief. I was going to rouse the Paladins thinking you had disappeared. Though… I’m not saying I don’t trust you, but please take care of him.
It’s not that I intend to be rude, but I’m counting on you.
I have no plans to do anything inappropriate. Especially since this is the Moon Tower, after all.
I know what you’re worried about, but I certainly had no intention of touching Adrian’s body.
Thanks to coming here and only showing good aspects to others.
At the very least, you can be sure that I am not someone who would do something strange, as you’ve entrusted Adrian to me.
When I said I sent the attendant away, Adrian blushed and brushed his cheek.
It took a while for that red hue to fade, and then perhaps recalling the memories of dawn, the tips of his ears turned bright red again.
“Ahh…”
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Although, I am a little curious about the reason you cried yesterday.”
“Please don’t say that! I know it myself…”
Seeing him respond in a crawling voice made me chuckle, prompting Adrian to thump the bed with his foot.
Looking back now, it was indeed a rather embarrassing memory.
He came straight to me, hugged me, and cried for a long time while apologizing before falling asleep.
Even I feel my cheeks heat up thinking about it; his own feelings must be even stronger.
Holding his knees, Adrian had been tightly shutting his mouth for a while, then slowly turned his head towards me.
His cheeks, which had been completely red, had regained a bit of their color.
Was he finally ready to explain what happened yesterday? His gaze was fixed on me for a long time.
“You’re still here, right?”
“Of course. Where else would I go?”
“…Could you hold my hand? I’m feeling a bit anxious.”
Looking at the shadowed expression, I nodded while giving a small smile.
I just couldn’t figure out why he gets anxious every time he looks at me.
Adele and Adrian both said they were always worried I would disappear.
Gently uncovering the blanket, I took his hand lightly, and Adrian flinched but gripped my hand tightly.
Our fingers intertwined, and I quietly stared at our held hands.
It felt like he was saying not to run away.
Was he somehow foreseeing a future where I disappear? I found her attitude quite difficult to understand.
However, I chose not to speak and simply held his hand for a while, waiting for her to explain.
In moments like these, the name “Saint” seemed to shine brightly.
Despite just waking up, her appearance was not disheveled at all; her fair skin and the vibrant red of her lips stood out remarkably.
With a hesitating expression, it was clear she had a lot to say to me.
“I’ll wait until you’re ready to talk. So take your time. We have plenty of time.”
“I’m not trying to waste time. It’s just that I don’t know how to explain what I saw.”
I sat beside Adrian and waited for quite a while.
Sometimes I glanced out the window, other times I looked at Adrian’s face.
Honestly, simply being next to her filled me with an odd feeling, but that didn’t stop me from staying put.
After all, I am her friend.
If she has something to say, I am more than willing to wait as long as it takes.
I wondered how much time had passed.
Just as the sun that had just risen began to climb higher, and the birds that had been asleep started chirping.
A soft voice flowed into my ears.
“Did you get surprised when I suddenly came to see you yesterday?”
“I was a little surprised. I didn’t think you would come.”
“I’m sorry. I came because I had something I wanted to say. I didn’t think about the time.”
“I didn’t think about time.”
“What did you see? You were crying like that; there shouldn’t have been anything to apologize to me about.”
At my words, Adrian forced a short smile, then let out a quiet breath as he stared into the void. It felt like he was piecing together yesterday’s memories.
He mentioned he didn’t know how to explain it to me, so shouldn’t I be able to hear that story now?
“I had a dream.”
Upon hearing about the dream, his gaze shifted. Adrian’s expression was slightly twisted.
It was like he was blaming himself, a face that seemed ready to burst into tears at any moment, just like I once had.
“…I dreamt that Robert died because of me.”
“Is that so.”
“It wasn’t just once. I saw him end his own life multiple times, sometimes I watched him die at the hands of someone he loved. And even though I could have helped you, I just stood by until the end.”
Those words seemed to echo my own past.
They resembled my death in so many ways that I thought maybe he truly read my past.
“So I wanted to apologize. For not helping you, for just watching you die. For ignoring it, acting unworthy of a Saint despite being one. It’s my fault that you died.”
“I see.”
Yet my voice remained calm. Even if that dream was a glimpse into my past, I had never thought I died because of Adrian.
If I were to blame anyone, it would be myself. I cursed myself for not doing better, for not being smarter.
“You don’t need to apologize to me.”
“…You say that even after I caused your death?”
“Yes, it was just a dream, right? And even if it were real, I wouldn’t hold any resentment. If I died, it would be my own fault.”
I died because I was weak. I died because I couldn’t look around me. I died for not being able to protect the one I loved, caught up in my own madness.
Who would I blame for those dozens of deaths?
Wanting to kill the Crown Prince was merely a way to put an end to this reincarnation. Besides, I had never once blamed Adrian.
There was a woman looking at me with a puzzled expression.
As if she was on the verge of tears again, I slowly spoke to the woman who gazed at me quietly.
“It wasn’t your fault.”
Even if she saw my past, I believed that. It was merely my mistake for approaching too hastily.
If I had approached more calmly, if I had started from beneath the Order, perhaps the outcome would have been different.
And if it were a dream, it wasn’t her fault even more so. I brushed Adrian’s cheek.
Gently stroking her flawless, soft cheek, I sought to reassure her.
I could still feel her warmth through my hand.
It was warm enough to temporarily forget the chill seeping through the window.
“I’m still here, aren’t I?”
“…If you die, if my dream becomes reality, then I—”
“I won’t die.”
I knew that a Saint’s dream was special.
Whether it was foresight or reading the past, it was like seeing reality instead of a dream.
That’s why she must be feeling anxious. Smiling slightly at her pure heart, I spoke calmly.
“I will live on, and I will come back to Moon Tower again.”
To reassure Adrian, I quietly whispered a little lie.
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