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Side Story Chapter 2
This was something Nadia had been wary of all along.
If a woman who looked exactly like the sister who died ten years ago suddenly appeared, Leon couldn’t help but be confused.
And if that woman claimed to be someone completely different inside his sister’s body, it was hard to imagine how shocking that would be.
Still, if Leon was this distrustful of people, there was no other way.
She had to tell him his sister’s wishes directly.
At Nadia’s decision, Conrad looked surprised for a moment before nodding.
“Shall we depart after the Crown Prince’s appointment ceremony?”
“No. I want to meet him as soon as possible. Even if I fail and have to go again. It might be better for persuading him if I go several times.”
“Yes, I will prepare everything.”
Conrad bowed and left the office.
Nadia let out a small sigh and intertwined her fingers with the hand Heinrich was holding.
“Honestly, I’m a little scared to meet Leon.”
“Do you think the child will blame you?”
“…Yes.”
It was a difficult and heavy answer. Nadia was smiling, but the smile was stiff and strained.
With his free hand, Heinrich gently stroked her cheek and the corner of her eye, as though he wanted to wipe away all the heaviness weighing on her heart.
“It will probably be just as you think. If Leon misses Marien, he will be shocked by your presence, and he may even resent you.”
Hearing those words from Heinrich made them feel even heavier.
What Heinrich had experienced was not the same as what Leon was about to face.
But the overwhelming emotions that came from unexpectedly encountering traces of a loved one after losing them—those, he had experienced all too well.
“But that is not your fault, Nadia. It was not you who desired Marien’s body. It was Arkis.”
It was completely true, yet Nadia’s expression remained dark. Would Leon be able to understand that?
As if sensing her thoughts, Heinrich continued.
“And above all… you are the only person who can deliver Marien’s last words. Isn’t that right?”
Only then did Nadia lift her head and meet Heinrich’s gaze. A faint glimmer of hope appeared in her golden eyes, which had been darkened by guilt.
Heinrich tightened his grip on her hand and spoke in a firm, unwavering voice.
“Let’s convey Marien’s wishes. Tell him not to become a bad person and to live uprightly. And tell him that you will gladly help him with the realities of life.”
Drawn by that powerful voice, Nadia nodded.
If she truly felt sorry toward Leon, and if she truly wanted to repay Marien, she had no time to be afraid like this.
She had to go to Leon as soon as possible and pull him out of that dark group.
* * *
On a forest-covered mountain road, four grown men sat on tree stumps and rocks as if they were chairs.
About ten steps away from them stood a red-haired boy, scanning his surroundings with a wary expression.
The boy was tall, and his shoulders were fairly broad, so at a glance he could be mistaken for one of the men. But his youthful, beardless face and his slim, lightly built frame made the difference obvious the longer one looked.
“Why is that brat standing so far away again?”
“Leave him. He’s got no guts, so I don’t like him. Just crack a joke and he scowls right away.”
“Kids like that need to suffer a bit. Then they’ll realize how useless they are and start calling us ‘big brothers’ properly.”
The men snickered and mocked Leon. The sound naturally reached his ears, but he pretended not to hear.
He had entered this gang just to survive, but aside from what he absolutely had to do, he didn’t want to touch anything else.
All he had to do was collect tolls. He didn’t want to harass women in carriages or grab weak-looking people by the collar to show off his strength.
‘In the end, they and I are the same.’
Result-wise, Leon was no different. He was collecting tolls on a mountain road that belonged to no one, using absurd excuses.
When he was five and didn’t understand anything, he had dreamed of becoming a great knight and protecting his village. That dream had long since collapsed.
He had wanted to live while keeping his conscience, even if it meant earning only enough for one day’s meal—but when black magic shattered the weakest parts of the world, he too fell off the cliff.
He had tried to become a pickpocket targeting rich people, but even that was “too late” for him. Because he was tall, they decided he could at least use some strength, and so he was sent here.
Leon kept his distance because he didn’t want to resemble them, but he knew the day would eventually come when he would.
The day when his heart wore down completely, when he would call them “big brother” and start extorting more than just tolls.
‘Is living like that… really right?’
As if to tell him that such worries were a luxury, the sound of hooves came from afar. As it grew closer, the sound of carriage wheels rolling could be heard as well.
“Hey, something big is coming.”
“Hey, kid! Grab your weapon! If they look down on us, we’re dead!”
The men shouted loudly while moving around busily. Leon didn’t answer, but he raised his sharpened axe as well.
The carriage drew closer, and below the hill where they stood, a huge horse appeared, followed by the massive carriage it pulled. At a glance, it was clearly not a merchant’s wagon or a carriage carrying commoners for hire.
“Hey, is this okay? It looks like a noble’s carriage.”
One of the men asked nervously, but the leader slapped his shoulder hard.
“First time robbing a noble? What’s so different about them? They’ve got more to take, so it’s better.”
“Y-yeah, but…”
The problem was that this carriage looked far better than that. Even the leader, pretending to be calm, gripped his weapon tighter.
“Hey, light the fire. Make it look like we’ll burn the carriage anytime. Got it?”
“G-got it.”
In the tension, the carriage drew closer. The coachman seemed to sense something strange and slowed down, saying something toward the inside of the carriage.
‘That carriage is so nice—why is there no escort?’
Leon narrowed his eyes, watching the carriage closely.
Then it happened. The coachman lightly patted the horse’s rear and made it walk forward slowly.
Even though it was obvious they were a gang collecting tolls, it was still approaching.
“Will this go easily?”
The leader muttered with a grin. Sometimes, people acknowledged the unspoken rule of these rough mountain roads and paid the toll without resistance.
The carriage stopped completely about ten steps away from them.
“Yeah, yeah! Stop right there! Who gave you permission to pass through here? Did you get approval? Huh?”
The leader shouted arrogantly toward the carriage.
Then the carriage door opened, and a man stepped out first.
Tall, broad-shouldered, yet with a straight posture that never looked clumsy—just from the way he dismounted, it was clear he was a high noble.
The man glanced once at where the gang stood with deep red eyes whose depth was unreadable, then turned his gaze away as if he saw nothing.
They were so overwhelmed by his presence that they didn’t even notice how beautiful his appearance was. They simply froze in place, weapons in hand.
‘He is not here to pay a toll.’
Everyone present could tell. There was nothing humble about his posture. He looked like an elegant predator who had placed the entire world beneath his feet.
The man ignored the gang entirely and reached a hand toward the inside of the carriage.
A hand wearing a white silk glove emerged from within and gently took his. Soon, a woman in a calm navy-blue dress stepped down from the carriage, one step at a time.
She wore a veil, so her face and expression could not be seen. Still, she looked around as if searching for something, then fixed her gaze on Leon.
“Ah, so you’re Leon.”
At those words, Leon’s eyes widened in shock and he took a step back.
A woman who was clearly a noble was calling his name in a friendly voice.
Leon felt as if he had seen a ghost. The men, too, alternated their gazes between Leon and the veiled woman, unable to understand the situation.
“W-what? Do you know her?”
“I don’t know! How would I know someone like that?!”
Even when Leon shouted in panic, the woman didn’t seem bothered. Rather, as if his reaction was only natural, she took another step closer to him.
“It’s okay, Leon. This is our first meeting. But just seeing your face, I knew you were Leon.”
