101-7

Chapter 7

“Count, thank you for looking after my wife and children all this time. I’ve received such great kindness that I, Heil Peneus, will run to the side of Count Agnes whenever you call.”

Not long after Heil arrived, the Peneus family prepared to head north as quickly as beans roasted over a lightning fire.

Even though they had accumulated many belongings during their year and a half in the capital, they managed to pack everything within just a week.

It felt somewhat rushed, but this was the long-awaited journey to the north. It couldn’t simply be called too hasty.

“Herwin, does this mean we’re going to the north now?”

“…Yeah.”

“Live well there. And make sure to write letters often.”

“…Yeah.”

No matter how much Lucia and Lucas tried to talk to him, Herwin only responded half-heartedly.

“Noona, noona! You’re coming with us too, right?”

At that moment, Henry, who had been playing alone a little ways away, ran over and threw himself into Lucia’s arms.

Just as he had kissed her even before he could speak properly, Henry still adored her.

“No, I’m not going.”

Hearing her quiet words, Herwin’s face stiffened.

“Why not? Come with Heni.”

“Mm, that would be difficult.”

Hearing an answer he didn’t like, Henry pouted and showed his displeasure.

“Heni’s going with noona!”

“You little rascal, starting again, huh?”

Lucas chuckled and pulled Henry away from Lucia.

Whenever Henry clung to her, it was Lucas and Herwin’s job to peel him off. But today, Herwin just stood by and did nothing.

“Kids! Time to go now!”

“Ah, looks like they’re ready.”

Herwin’s expression darkened even more.

“Now, little one. You need to live well in the north too, okay?”

“Waaah! No! I don’t want to! I’m going with noona!”

Lucas picked Henry up and left first. As she watched the two of them move farther away, Lucia turned her gaze to the side.

“Aren’t you coming?”

Herwin didn’t reply. Instead, he suddenly stood up, walking forward with slow, dragging steps.

“Herwin, what are you doing? Hurry up!”

Scarlett’s urging only made him walk even slower. Staring down at the ground, Herwin eventually stopped. Lucia stopped too, keeping pace with him.

“Herwin, are you sick?”

“…Lucia.”

“Yeah?”

He lifted his head and met her clear blue eyes. Something heavy pressed against his chest, words he wanted to speak but couldn’t, because he didn’t even understand what this feeling was himself.

All he managed was a faint movement of his lips.

“Herwin!”

“Let’s go quickly, or Madam will get angry.”

Unaware of his turmoil, Lucia grabbed his hand and pulled him outside.

Was it because of the sudden burst of bright light? Herwin couldn’t see Lucia’s face clearly.

“We’re late for departure. Hurry.”

Scarlett ushered him into the carriage. Inside, Henry was sniffling, exhausted from crying.

“Thank you for everything, Julian. Thanks to you, we’re leaving with such good memories.”

“It was nothing. Live well there too. Come visit us again!”

It was finally time for farewells. Scarlett and Johann finished their goodbyes to the Agnes couple and climbed into the carriage.

“Hyah!”

The driver cracked his whip, and the carriage began to roll. As it moved, Herwin, who had been staring down at his hands in his lap, suddenly looked up.

“Oh, Herwin!”

Forgetting his manners, he scrambled onto Scarlett’s lap and leaned his head out the window.

“Lucia! Lucas-hyung! Don’t forget me, okay? Promise!”

“Yeah! Take care, Herwin!”

“We’ll write you letters!”

Thankfully, his voice reached the Agnes siblings. Relieved, Herwin also felt a pang of sadness as Lucia grew smaller and smaller, until he could hardly see her.

Even after hearing he was leaving, she had not shed a single tear. He hadn’t expected her to cry, but at the very least…

I thought she’d feel sad, like me…

It seemed like he was the only one reluctant to leave for the north, and that hurt.

That early summer when he was six, on a day when an unusually cool breeze blew—he knew he would never forget it.

Time passed slowly, yet swiftly, after Herwin left for the north.

For several days, Lucia often seemed absent-minded.

Her side, always filled with someone’s presence, now felt empty, and nothing seemed fun anymore.

But that didn’t last long. A child’s memory is short.

Even so, she and Lucas didn’t forget their days with Herwin.

Whenever they reminisced about playing with him, a letter would arrive from the north, and the Agnes siblings happily sent back replies.

After a month, then two, then three, as the seasons began to change, the frequency of their letters gradually lessened.

Their once-vivid memories grew faint, and they were too busy enjoying the present to dwell on the past.

Then one day, even the occasional letters stopped completely.

It had been a year since Herwin left.

Time flowed again, and Lucia grew into a proper eight-year-old.

“You’re saying we’re going north?”

Lucas exclaimed in surprise during teatime with their parents.

“Yes. Do you remember the Peneus family who once stayed at our house?”

“Uh… Ah! You mean Herwin and Henry?”

“Correct. They invited us to spend this summer in the north.”

“They say that unlike here, the north is cool even in midsummer, like spring or autumn. Some places even have snow that never melts.”

“That means you’ll see Herwin and Henry again after a long time.”

“Herwin… It really has been a while, hasn’t it, Lucia?”

“Huh? Uh… yeah…”

Lucia, sipping her orange juice, trailed off.

Lucas frowned at her odd reaction, then his eyes widened in realization.

“…Don’t tell me—you don’t remember Herwin?”

“I mean, I remember who he is, but…”

“Is it because you were so young? But you spent over a year together.”

“No, I do remember. Just not everything clearly.”

“Well, at least you still remember. I guess it makes sense—honestly, I don’t remember much from before I was seven either.”

Lucas patted his sister’s shoulder understandingly.

Nibbling on the cookie he gave her, Lucia tried hard to recall Herwin.

I think I once thought he looked like an angel…

She couldn’t remember in detail, just fragments.

Black hair, red eyes, features beautiful enough to call angelic, and… maybe a bit prickly?

She recalled how he would snap when other kids teased him.

He hated being called girly or pretty, right? I think so.

Putting these together, he didn’t seem to have had the best temper. And yet, whenever she remembered him, only happy feelings came to mind.

From what her parents and Lucas had told her, he had taken good care of her, so they must have been close.

Lucia now tried hard to picture his face, which had grown hazy in her memory.

“Hee, I’m curious.”

Kicking her feet excitedly, she was full of anticipation. She couldn’t wait to see what awaited them in the north.

“Hyung, what are you doing?”

“Homework. Why, Henry? Do you need something?”

“Nope, I just wanted to see you.”

Henry’s round eyes curved into a smile. Herwin chuckled and set his quill down.

Creak—

He climbed down from his chair, rolling his stiff shoulders.

Now eight years old, Herwin had grown so much that no one would mistake him for a girl anymore.

It had been over two years since he started swordsmanship training, and despite his young age, his build was already strong compared to his peers. Thanks to tall parents, he was also bigger than most children his age.

Tall, handsome, skilled at both study and combat—Henry adored his older brother.

At five, Henry saw Herwin as his greatest pride.

“Oh, right! Mom said guests are coming from the capital today!”

“Really? Then they’ll probably arrive soon.”

“Yeah! She said they have a sister and a brother too. Do you remember who they are?”

“…Of course I do.”

“What are they like? Are they nice?”

“I think so. I don’t remember everything clearly either, so I’ll have to see them again to know.”

“Is that so?”

Herwin listened patiently to Henry’s endless chatter, never scolding him.

As they walked hand in hand down the corridor, they suddenly heard commotion near the stairs to the first floor.

“It’s noisy.”

“Yeah, what’s going on?”

Exchanging glances, the brothers headed toward the sound.

“They’ve grown so much. Time really does fly.”

“It’s been a long time, Lady Peneus.”

“Lucas, you’ve gotten so big. How old are you now?”

It seemed the guests from the capital had already arrived. While Henry bounced with excitement, Herwin blankly stared at the people in the hall.

Faces he could barely recall were slowly becoming vivid again—

The kind Count and Countess Agnes, Lucas who he had followed around, and…

“Oh? Just in time. Kids, come down and say hello.”

Scarlett spotted Herwin and Henry on the second floor.

As she stepped aside, a girl who had been hidden until then came into view.

Their eyes met—her blue eyes as clear and bright as a cloudless sky.

“Herwin?”

Her voice overlapped with the one in his memories.

“…Lucia?”

“Wow! It really is Herwin!”

The girl he had once mistaken for a fairy when they first met, Lucia, now smiled at him with a radiant, untainted grin.

Herwin felt memories long buried beneath the surface slowly rising again.

“Wow… so pretty.”

He murmured unconsciously, dazed.

“Hyung, she’s so pretty!”

Henry, sparkling eyes wide, suddenly let go of Herwin’s hand and dashed down the stairs before Herwin could stop him.

“Wow, is that Henry? He’s grown so much,” Lucas exclaimed beside Lucia.

Henry’s chubby cheeks bounced as he came running, panting.

“Ah!”

“Pretty noona!”

And then, without warning, he flung himself into Lucia’s arms. Herwin could only watch, one step too late.

“Henry…!”

“Hahaha, Henry still really likes Lucia, doesn’t he?”

Herwin called his name, but his voice was drowned out by Scarlett’s laughter.

“Some things never change. Do you remember, Lucia? He used to adore you so much.”

“Did he?”

Lucas nudged Lucia playfully from the side.