Volume 7 Chapter 4 Part 15
Fiancée of the Wizard
[previous_page]
[next_page]
Translation by burnt.marshmallows
Editing by Team Foxsunes
I was pretty impressed that the person could pinpoint and hit this room, which was located on the second floor…….but this wasn’t the time for that. The person must have a lot of guts to play pranks on the landowner’s mansion so late at night. Maybe it’d be better for me to keep my guard up, just in case.
I thought as I opened the window. The cold wind blew into the room all at once. As I my body suddenly started shivering, I looked downstairs. When I did, I could see the silhouette of a single person standing there. It was pitch black outside. Without moonlight, and only a faint glow from the stars, I wasn’t able to determine who that was.
The jacket that wrapped around that person was being blown around by the night wind.
「Hey, you over there. You shouldn’t play pranks. Or do you have some business……!?」
Before I could finish speaking, the person propelled themselves off against the ground with their feet. I didn’t even have time to be shocked. With one jump, the person jumped onto a branch of the tree planted in front of me. I stood there frozen with my mouth wide open, dumbfounded. The person who stood in front of me on the branch took off the hood that covered their head. Under the faint glow of starlight, those beautiful yellow eyes glowed. I opened my eyes wide.
「Noct?」
How could I possibly forget those citrile-like, translucent eyes which sparkled like stars even in the darkness of the night? The black, beast-like ears that grew on the top of his head were pointed backward and faced downwards. The ash-grey hair that was kept neatly when he was at the Lancent mansion in the Royal Capital was now completely unkempt.
I could see his face in between the gaps in his hair. It looked as good-looking as usual, but the expression he made was devoid of feeling. It was emotionless. From afar, it looked like he was wearing a jacket, but up close, it looked completely different. Noct was covered in the same kind of rags that he was when I first met him.
「Um…….it’s been a while, hasn’t it?」
Not knowing what to say, what came out of my mouth ended up just being some template greeting. Even I wanted to tell myself off. There must have been more suitable words for me to say in this situation.
Noct opened those yellow eyes of his widely, as if slightly shocked. His gaze was fixed on my face. I-I didn’t mean to say anything that would warrant an expression like that.
「W-why」
「What?」
I couldn’t hear him properly. I leaned forward towards the window and tried to listen more carefully. However, Noct just sat there on top of the branch, keeping completely balanced, as he looked at me, his eyes full of hesitation.
「Are you not angry?」
That feeble voice of his vibrated in my eardrums. Hearing those unexpected words, I couldn’t help but blink my eyes. The hesitation that Noct harbored in his eyes made it seem like my reaction was the most surprising thing out of all of this. But not only that, but there was also a hint of pleading in those eyes of his.
「ーWhy should I be angry?」
It might have been unfair for me to reply to his question with another question. But it was too late when I finally realized that. Noct bit his lip as he spoke, stammering.
「I mean, both you and Agedilus got chased out of the Royal Capital because of me.」
「Ah, but that is incorrect. I was the one who suggested that you stay in the mansion with us. That’s why I should be the one taking the blame. But more than that, it’s dangerous over there. Come in first. It must’ve been cold right?」
I opened the windows widely and invited him in. I knew that it was bad to just invite him into the mansion without seeking permission beforehand, but it would be equally bad to continue this conversation with Noct while sitting on the branch of a tree. Even though it was already really late at night, there were a lot of people in the Schtorenvihein mansion. If we carelessly get seen by someone else, then I would have any more excuses to give this time. The wife of the Royal Palace Head Magician, who is currently in captivity, meeting with a demon boy late at night. …….Hahahaha. At this point, I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of that. That wouldn’t just be bad. It would be the worst possible scenario.
ーAnd more than anything, there was no way that I could stand to watch Noct continue to be exposed to the night wind in those terribly thin clothes of his. He had an atmosphere somewhat like a young child who had gotten lost. He seemed so helpless. How could I possibly leave him like that?
As I stepped away from the window, Noct behaved shiftily. But in the end, as if finally making up his mind, he jumped off from the branch and onto the window frame. As he came into the room, cold air from the outside entered the room as well. I couldn’t help but shiver.
「Oh dear, it’s so cold……. For now, please bear with just my shawl. What should I do? Should I raise the temperature of the room?」
「N-no! It’s alright!」
「Are you sure?」
I gently placed the shawl that I wrapped myself in over Noct and was about to adjust the room temperature with the magic stone. That was when Noct shook his head in a panic. I guess it’s alright if he himself says it is, I thought as I nod once. I faced Noct again.
「So, why are you here?」
Since we were separated in the Royal Capital, I hadn’t received a single piece of news from this boy. It was pretty amazing that he made it to the Schtorenvihein region, so far away from the Royal Capital. Indeed, the rumors about that man and I leaving the Royal Capital and coming here had spread throughout the Royal Capital. Maybe he had heard about it by chance.
Why would he come all the way here? That thought suddenly appeared in my head. As I tilted my head. Noct started to speak, stammeringly, with his head facing downwards.
「I heard the rumors from the Royal Capital, so I chased you guys here. I thought that it would probably cause you even more trouble but…….I, was, um, worried. I was the one who caused all this, so I know that I may not have the right to be worried. But, I just couldn’t help but……!?」
As I watched Noct try to find the words one by one, I started to caress his head before I knew it. Those ears that had been facing downwards the entire time suddenly shot up in surprise.
「No, we don’t think that at all. Thank you for worrying about us.」
Mysteriously, even with Noct standing right in front of me, I didn’t feel any rage rush into me. Rather than that, my heart was filled with relief knowing that he was safe, as well as joy to be able to meet him again. Ah, I really cannot bring myself to hate this child. Even though that man had been taken away, I couldn’t help but think so. But I couldn’t help but think that that man felt this way too. Surely, that man still liked this child very much. After all, up till the very end, that man never said anything to blame Noct. And that was not just because Noct resembled himself and our child. His reason was the same as mine.
「Enough about us. Were you alright?」
「You don’t need to care about me. Rather than that, let’s escape Filmina.」
「Escape? Escape from what exactly?」
Noct reached out his hand and grabbed onto mine. I shivered at the coldness of the hand that had been robbed of its warmth by the night wind. As I looked at Noct with an expression of doubt, he looked back at me with a shockingly serious face.
「From the priest of the big temple. Agedilus got captured right? There’s no guarantee that you’ll be safe either. 」
His tone was a sincere one. It was one that made me think, without a doubt, that he was truly worried about me. Hearing once again about how that man got captured, I felt that I was reminded again about just how cornered we were in this situation.
What Noct was saying, was definitely true. Although the Princess was working hard at it, she herself said that she needed more time. There was no guarantee that I would be safe until then. But, even so.
「……Thank you. But I can’t. I have to wait for Edi.」
Can’t wait to see more? Want to show your support? CLICK HERE to be a patron and get additional chapters ahead of time!
[previous_page]
[next_page]
Comment (0)