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Chapter : 29
“Hold me.
Anna climbed halfway up the ladder and, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, held out her hand. Raiden shook his head, as if he had no choice, then reached out with both hands and held her arms tightly. As he did, Anna’s face filled with anticipation, like a child in front of a long-awaited toy. Raiden nearly laughed and tried to keep his voice calm.
“You’re not a kid… Hold on tight.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Anna fluttered her golden lashes and grinned, her mouth open wide. When Raiden pulled her up in one swift motion, Anna squealed playfully and fell into his arms.
They hugged each other, stifling laughter. Raiden smiled so wide his eyes disappeared—Anna looking up at him was so lovable that his arms tightened around her without him meaning to. Mischief sparkled in Anna’s eyes.
“I can’t lose!”
Her thin arms trembled as she tried to squeeze his broad frame with all her might. Anna puffed out her cheeks, but Raiden barely felt it. He clenched his teeth; otherwise, he might have kissed her red, carrot-colored cheeks right then and there.
“…Sit here.”
Unwillingly letting go, Raiden arranged the straw neatly, covered it with muslin, and sat Anna down. Anna, as always, thanked him gently for preparing her spot, and Raiden, embarrassed, just closed his mouth and looked elsewhere.
“…You still have a scar.”
While Raiden stared at an old desk, a soft hand reached over and touched his temple. When he turned, Anna was watching him with a somber face, as if she’d never been smiling. Raiden, puzzled, rubbed the spot where her hand had touched. He felt a faint roughness beneath his fingers.
“Oh, that…”
“That’s the wound from when we first met, right?”
As he peeked at Anna, upset on his behalf, Raiden felt a secret delight. It was annoying when other people worried about him, but Anna’s concern was so sweet.
“Could you put this on me?”
After a moment’s thought, Raiden pulled a small tin from his pocket—it was a round ointment tin. Anna’s eyes widened.
“This is…”
“It’s the one you gave me when we first met.”
He echoed Anna’s earlier words with a smile, then placed the ointment in her palm and, crossing his arms, pulled off his shirt in one go.
“Oh my!”
Startled by his sudden bare skin, Anna squealed and covered her eyes with both hands. But Raiden noticed she was peeking through her fingers.
“It’s just so you can put ointment on…”
“Who said anything? Jeez.”
Anna coughed for no reason, opened the ointment tin, and looked over his muscular body, frowning as she searched for the spot.
There was a diagonal gash on his right forearm.
“Who did this? Was it that red-haired knight again?”
“It happens sometimes during training.”
“Why is it always you? The other knights have skin as fair as milk, not even a bruise, let alone a scar. Their arms shine like they put oil on them.”
Upset, Anna scooped up a generous amount of ointment and slathered it on. The wound looked like it was already mostly healed.
Raiden tried to suppress his rising smile. He didn’t know why her being upset for his sake made him so happy. It felt like a fluffy baby bird was fluttering in his chest, practicing to fly.
“But I always win, don’t I?”
He said boastfully, flexing his arm to show off his muscles a bit. Anna clicked her tongue and gave him a playful slap.
“What if you split the wound open? Relax.”
“Yes, ma’am…”
Deflated, Raiden huddled obediently while Anna rubbed ointment in with grumbling care.
“It had to be a sword wound, didn’t it. Were you all right?”
“Ah…”
She remembered. Raiden rubbed his heated neck, feeling secretly pleased that Anna knew his weakness.
“I was fine. I didn’t even have any nightmares.”
“…Good.”
Watching his face, Anna seemed convinced he wasn’t lying and her expression softened. She wrapped his arm in bandages, then patted his back.
“All done.”
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. Next time, go straight to the healers. What if you end up with a scar?”
Anna put her hands on her hips and declared triumphantly,
“Raiden’s body is mine, so you’re not allowed to get hurt anymore. Got it?”
“…”
Raiden just smiled instead of answering, and Anna glared at him—then laughed too.
“I let it go because you’re cute.”
“Thank you.”
They sat back down together comfortably on the straw. Anna hugged her knees and turned to stare at Raiden.
“So how did you end up with sword trauma?”
“…Well…”
Raiden hesitated—not because he didn’t want to talk, but because he worried about making Anna sad. She waited patiently, and finally, Raiden spoke after collecting his thoughts.
“It was after I witnessed my father being murdered.”
“What?”
Anna could hardly believe her ears. Did he just say his father was murdered? And that he saw it happen?
Anna’s face went pale, as if the sun had set all at once, and Raiden watched it happen in real time. His ribs still ached when he remembered that day, but seeing her heart break for him gave him a strange comfort.
Suddenly, he thought: in front of Anna, he wouldn’t mind being the poorest, most miserable man in the world.
“How could—something like that…”
Unable to do anything but offer a common word of sympathy, Anna bit her lip hard. She wanted to comfort him, but the words wouldn’t come easily. Raiden gently took her hand.
“If only I remembered who did it, it might be different, but all I recall is the moonlight glinting off a dagger as it stabbed my father’s chest. That’s why I can’t even take revenge. I’m not much of a son, am I?”
“Don’t say that…”
Tears welled up in Anna’s eyes. Raiden gazed at her—blue eyes brimming, a sea so small yet big enough to swallow him whole.
“My mother…”
Suddenly, Raiden’s voice caught. He swallowed hard but his throat stayed tight.
“Ah.”
When Anna’s image blurred, Raiden realized his own eyes were wet. He didn’t cry over his father anymore, but his mother…
His lips moved on their own, as if making confession to a priest he’d searched long to find.
“My mother… she doesn’t know. She doesn’t know I saw my father’s final moments…”
“…”
“I lost consciousness right after. When I woke up, my father was already gone. The killer must have buried him… or something…”
As his fingertips chilled and a cold crept over him, Anna’s warm hands grasped his tightly. For a moment, Raiden felt as if he were soaking in warm water.
“My mother just silently believed me when I told her father had died. Now that I think about it, maybe she had a feeling too. We left home and came here soon after.”
Their home was on the western side of the empire, in the territory of Marquis Marcus. Raiden remembered noblemen in fancy carriages coming to see his mother a couple of times. Each time, she would look troubled and thoughtful for a long time. In the end, they left on a moonless night.
“Until I was chosen as a squire by the knights, my mother worked alone, doing every kind of hard labor to raise me.”
Raiden’s eyes softened, full of gratitude that he’d been picked to become a squire. If he won the church’s martial arts tournament, he might even receive a baronetcy from the Emperor, which would mean a better life.
Anna, who’d been listening quietly, smiled.
“She must be a wonderful mother. Raiden, you have to take good care of her.”
“…Yes.”
Looking into Anna’s beautiful blue eyes—so full of pride in him—Raiden felt a ticklish feeling in his stomach and bowed his head, embarrassed.
To hide it, he deliberately changed the subject.
“Come to think of it, I heard your father raised you alone, too.”
“Mm, that’s right.”
Anna nodded and added,
“But he’s not my real father.”
“…What?”
“Oh, you didn’t know? He’s my stepfather. He married my mother when I was seven.”
Anna said this so matter-of-factly that Raiden was caught off guard. Then she snorted, making a face.
“But he’s not a cruel stepfather out for money, or anything like that.”
“Huh?”
“My father, Count Evercline, has carefully managed the family estate until I grow up, get married, and inherit the title. He’s nothing like those evil stepfathers people talk about.”
