VNC 40

Chapter 40

“I have no idea. You came to the wrong person.”
The woman brushed off the hand that had grabbed her chin and spoke.
He, emerging from his memories, tried to overlay the face of a girl he barely remembered onto hers.
But still… he didn’t recognize her.

“Do you really not know me?”
Seven years ago, that girl had known who Esselian was.
Otherwise, how could she have known him well enough to perform purification?
If, as the Duchess said, she had to recite the activation spell, then she would definitely have known him.

“What trick is this? I don’t know who you are. Do you know me? Ah, well… I do travel around, so maybe you’ve seen me somewhere.”
Yet the woman before him truly seemed unaware. There was no trace of deceit.

“I don’t know who you are, but could you leave? I’m feeling quite unpleasant right now.”
The door closed in front of him.

Not just anyone could be a cure for madness. Only Gerard’s saint—or someone borrowing her body.
The Empress and Princess Titiana were the only possibilities.
Which made it even more puzzling.

“Your Highness…”
He looked at the Duchess—a woman who had never been considered in any investigation. Brown hair, green eyes.
But it couldn’t be her.
Titiana had been confined to the palace her whole life. There was no way the Emperor would have left his own daughter unprotected.
Even if she tried to leave the palace, she would have been caught before getting far.
Even miraculously breaking through the strict guards, she wouldn’t have ended up anywhere near here.
A fourteen-year-old, clueless princess wouldn’t have traveled this distance alone. And at that time, she didn’t even know his face, making it all the more impossible.

“Are you… alright?”
“What do you mean?”
“The person you were looking for… I don’t think it’s them…”

Schwen didn’t know what to say. He had thought Esselian was going to meet his benefactor, but now it was clear he was looking for who that benefactor was.

‘Ah, so that’s why he said he’d check.’
So that’s what “there’s no time for reminiscing” meant.

“……”
Esselian didn’t reply, as if he’d lost words. Schwen felt uneasy watching him—the strange expression he’d had in the carriage, the desperate gestures he now made.
It seemed he had been longing to meet his benefactor.

“Your Highness, please don’t be too disheartened. You were unlucky this time, but you’ll definitely meet your benefactor again. They say fate always brings people back together.”
Schwen worried that Esselian might be deeply disappointed.

“I’m fine. I didn’t expect anything in the first place, so I’m not disappointed.”
‘I don’t think so.’
Schwen thought Esselian was just pretending to be tough.
But she didn’t add anything. Saying more now would be like adding fuel to the fire.

“Let’s go see the aurora quickly.”
Schwen grabbed Esselian’s arm. At this point, she had no choice but to lift his spirits.

The journey to see the aurora was long and arduous.
Most people watched the aurora from the cathedral spire, but Schwen chose the more difficult path.

‘I want to see it from the summit. At the cathedral, there’ll be too many people around, and I’ll be distracted.’
‘If it’s the people that are the problem, I can clear them out,’
‘No! No, I don’t want to bother anyone. Can’t we just go up the mountain?’

Esselian couldn’t understand this choice but assumed the Duchess wanted to climb.
She seemed strong enough, judging by how often she roamed around the Grand Palace.

An hour into the climb:
“Haa… ha. Your Highness, just a little… just a little slower.”
Schwen was regretting it.
They had prepared thoroughly before climbing.
At the foot of the mountain, it had been daylight. Now, halfway up, it was already dusk.

“Shall we turn back if it’s too hard for you?”
“No! We’ve come this far… we can’t turn back now.”
“We haven’t climbed far. Going down would be quick.”
“No…”

Schwen had chosen the mountain entirely for Esselian’s sake.
Of course, she wanted to see the scene in the booklet up close, but that wasn’t the main reason.
She wanted a space where Esselian could freely express his emotions, away from others.

“You can make it! Just rest a little…”
Today, Schwen intended to make him cry.
Suppressing grief only deepened the heart’s wounds.
And Esselian had likely never cried in front of anyone before. In novels, he was depicted as a cold-hearted man from whom not even a drop of blood would spill when stabbed.

“If you keep resting, you might get frostbite. We can’t stop to rest if we’re climbing.”
“…Then let’s go.”

Schwen instinctively reached out her hand.
Though she hadn’t climbed mountains before, she had always been held by Sophie’s hand when ascending heights—a reflex habit.
Earlier, she had been conscious enough to avoid such mistakes. Now, exhausted, her hand went out instinctively.

“Are you really climbing just to see the aurora?”
Esselian naturally took her hand and gently lifted it. Stepping up, Schwen nodded and held her basket of cookies tightly.

“…Yes.”
Not exactly, but Schwen said so anyway—knowing the surprise would be greater that way.

‘If he doesn’t cry after all this… it’ll have been for nothing.’
If Esselian had made cookies for her and climbed the difficult path so she could cry alone, Schwen might have cried rivers.

‘Alright. This time, let’s score big.’
Determined, she dragged her tired legs up the mountain.

Each gust of wind made her shiver. Esselian noticed and muttered awkwardly:
“If I take off my coat, it’ll be too heavy for you. But leaving it on, I can see you shivering, so it bothers me.”
“No! I’m fine! Just keep wearing it.”

She had changed clothes for disguise but still wore her coat, scarf, and gloves.
Blowing her nose, she marched on bravely. Finally, they reached near the summit, though it was still far.

‘I might die…’
The view, the cookies, the aurora—all were great, but the cold was unbearable. Snow kept getting into her boots, freezing her toes.

“Do people live over there…?”
Shivering, Schwen pointed to a mountain hut. As if responding, the dark interior suddenly lit up.

“Looks like someone lives there.”
“Thank goodness. Can we warm up there for a bit? It’s freezing, and my feet are numb.”
Her face and nose reddened from the cold as she turned toward the hut.

“Eh?”
Esselian nodded at her insistence, and her face brightened. Relief was written all over it.

The Duchess was a curious woman. Easy to read yet often leaving one wondering about her thoughts.

Esselian led Schwen to the hut and lightly knocked. No response came.

“Why isn’t anyone answering…?”
Schwen peeked out, still clutching Esselian’s hand. No reply. She grew anxious—neither going up nor down seemed safe; they could get stranded.

“Um… we’re not bad people. We’re just too cold… can we warm up for a bit?”
Frightened at the thought of dying, the words slipped out.

Esselian looked at her, a strangely persistent gaze.
“Say that again.”
“Huh? Ah… ‘We’re not bad people. We’re too cold, can we warm up for a bit?’ This?”
“Not that…”

At that moment, the door opened.
“Who are you?”
A man appeared.

Schwen didn’t know where to look. His chest peeked from a half-open shirt, arms covered in scars.

“Ah… hello. We were just passing by! It’s so cold… may we warm up for a moment? Sorry for intruding.”
“If you knew it was rude, why didn’t you just leave?”
The young man snapped, trying to close the door. Schwen slid her hand into the closing door. Both men reached at the same time.

“Do you want to get hurt?”
The youth shouted. Schwen flinched; Esselian entered fully, opening the door.

“Hey!”
“Just warming up for a moment.”
“You barged in like this! Who are you?!”

Schwen realized following him blindly was reckless, and tried to stop him. But when Esselian revealed his scabbard, the situation ended.
The scabbard bore the symbol of Ranied. Only one person used that symbol.

“I’ll compensate you sufficiently.”

The youth didn’t recognize the Duke—likely from living cut off in the mountains. Annoyed, he still nodded absently instead of ejecting Esselian.

Schwen regretted not having shown the scabbard sooner.
The youth then turned his back, securing the door, muttering.

“Why did the Duke come all the way here?”
Schwen pretended not to hear. Esselian didn’t comment either.

“Bring something warm.”
“….”
“As you can see, it’s freezing.”

Though the subject was missing, it wasn’t the Duke referring to himself. The youth noticed the girl beside him looked awful—lips blue, face pale.

“….”
The youth disliked being bossed around, but he knew resisting was like courting death. He forced a grin, though dissatisfaction showed on his face.

“Your Highness, I’m honored you came to this humble place. Truly… very much so.”
He gritted his teeth. Esselian gracefully took the mug he brought and handed it to Schwen.

The youth’s eyes narrowed. Removing his hat revealed long hair tied back. His voice thin, his body small—he might not have even gone through puberty.
No, that didn’t seem right.

“Why are you dressed like that, lady?”
“Huh?”
Seeing her flustered, it was certain she wasn’t the one.

“You also stuck something on your nose.”
“Something strange?” Schwen rubbed her nose. She felt the still-attached mustache. The youth’s gaze shifted to the Duke’s philtrum.

“Your Highness, you can remove it now.”
“Since the lady enjoys it, let her keep it on.”

Lady? The youth blinked at them, but no one paid attention.

“Really? I’ll take it off.”
Schwen quickly yanked at her mustache. The skin pulled painfully.

“Ah!”
Too much pain. Esselian grabbed her chin to steady her.

“It hurts… I can’t take it off…”
The adhesive was stronger than expected. Tearful, Schwen looked at Esselian, who clicked his tongue lightly.

“Come closer.”
Schwen scooted closer. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

Unlike Schwen, Esselian was composed but focused to remove the mustache without hurting her. Gently pressing the skin, he pulled it off, causing her long lashes to flutter.

“If it hurts, hit my arm.”
Gripped by Esselian, Schwen couldn’t nod or speak.

Watching them, the youth guessed her identity—given the lady’s title and the Duke’s presence, she must be the Duchess.
But…
‘They’re having too much fun…’

The youth couldn’t help but laugh at their unexpected behavior.