After trudging through desolate, sandy terrain for roughly twenty minutes, a forest trail emerged as if by enchantment. Fortunately, the forest wasn’t deep and seemed to act as a sort of barrier. Within less than five minutes, we could hear the lively sounds of people.

“Let’s get down now. I’ll untie your arms.”

We couldn’t keep using the same excuse from the checkpoint every time we encountered people. Derrick easily dismounted from the horse.

When I cut the rope with a dagger, I noticed his wrists were swollen from the rope digging into his skin. Feeling guilty, I quickly healed the swollen areas.

Derrick watched the spot where the light faded with interest.

“Thanks. You didn’t have to bother. You’ve already done so much for me by bringing me this far.”

“This kind of healing is nothing. We’re just getting started. Once we find your family, you can thank me properly then.”

“I’ll thank you now and again later. Good things should be expressed often.”

He smiled as he naturally took the reins from my hand. His smile was so genuine that it made me feel like a jaded person.

“…Alright. We should eat something first.”

We walked side by side, looking for a restaurant. Being near the border, there were many places to eat and stay, likely due to the frequent comings and goings of outsiders. We chose a place where we could take care of both food and lodging at once, handed over the horses, and ordered our meal.

“I’ve never been to a place like this before.”

“Have you spent your whole life on a ship?”

“Almost, until we settled on the island that became our base. Even when docked, they never let me set foot on land.”

“Afraid you’d run away?”

“Exactly. Having someone like me around made things easier for a lot of people.”

Derrick grinned again, as if to say it was all in the past and not to worry.

Since he seemed okay with it, I figured there was no need to delve deeper into the conversation, so I simply nodded.

While waiting for our food, Derrick eagerly looked around the restaurant and at the few patrons inside. Meanwhile, I quietly observed him.

Derrick was quite handsome. His strong jawline, straight nose, mischievously upturned lips, and friendly eyes gave him a youthful yet oddly mature vibe.

His hair was as bright yellow as a chick’s feathers, and “blonde” seemed like a word invented just to describe Derrick’s hair color. His soft, shining light brown eyes complemented his bright hair perfectly.

Despite his lean frame, likely from not eating well, he had a toned and muscular build. He wasn’t as tall as Leopold, but he was still quite tall.

He definitely had a striking appearance that would stand out anywhere. If his family had truly been looking for him, they would have found him long ago.

“I have a question.”

“Ask me anything. I don’t know much, but I’ll do my best to answer for Hazel.”

“Why didn’t you run away from them? You could have escaped. In ten years, you must have had several chances.”

“That’s not an easy question to answer.”

Derrick raised his eyebrows slightly, as if he was pondering the question. Worried that my inquiry might have been too forward, I watched him closely, but he casually rolled his eyes, likely recalling memories.

“When I was young, I was scared. If I jumped off the ship, it was just the ocean everywhere. How far could a kid swim alone? There were times when the ship stayed at sea for months.”

He rested his chin on his elbow, propped up on the table.

“But then, when was it… about five years ago? They kicked me hard because the laundry wasn’t dry, and for the first time, I thought about escaping. I was tired of getting hit.”

He sighed through his nose and paused. Just then, our food arrived. The clatter of dishes being set on the table was loud. I wanted to help the owner, but I was so shocked by his story that I couldn’t move.

Getting beaten for the laundry not being dry was merely an excuse for them to vent their anger on someone. It was infuriating, but Derrick, unaware of my feelings, continued recounting his past as if it were someone else’s story, completely absorbed in the well-cooked meat with grilled onions.

“One day, I actually had a chance to escape and got off the ship, but, well, you know how it ended. If I had succeeded, I wouldn’t have met Hazel. I got caught and beaten nearly to death. After that, the thought of escaping just vanished.”

Perhaps I looked overwhelmed. Derrick, unlike me, was overflowing with happiness as he bit into a piece of meat.

“Do you know what’s really scary? When violence continues, you start justifying the situation without even realizing it. Like, okay, there’s a place to sleep here, and there’s food. If I lived on land alone, I’d have to provide for myself, which wouldn’t be easy. I might even starve to death. It’s better here. I can meet my basic needs in exchange for getting hit. It’s not a bad choice. It’s actually a decent deal. I couldn’t survive otherwise.”

He cut a piece of meat and offered it to me, but I hadn’t even picked up my fork. My appetite had vanished, so I could only pretend to eat.

“And, honestly, there were more times when it didn’t hurt than when it did. Especially if I kept the captain happy; sometimes he’d even take my side.”

Was he really saying this? My frustration made me feel like I would get indigestion just from drinking water.

“But during the last Fojetta raid… a lot of innocent people got hurt. I had never seen such harm inflicted on others before. I felt immense guilt. How long would I have to keep hurting others against my will? Looking back, I think I was already too exhausted by then.”

Since it was a recent event, Derrick finally showed a more human expression. The emptiness that followed his bitterness felt familiar.

“When there’s no hope in life, you end up giving up everything. So I decided not to dodge any knives or arrows and just let them all hit me. I genuinely wanted to die. And after that, well, you know the rest.”

He finished speaking and resumed chewing his meat enthusiastically. For some reason, a part of my chest ached. I managed to swallow a sip of water and asked another question.

“…Do you regret it? That I saved you?”

“No! Thanks to Hazel, I have real hope for the first time.”

Derrick smiled brightly, genuinely happy.

Hope, huh.

I suddenly felt curious.

Looking back, my life always seemed to flow in a better direction. Meeting Jayden helped me endure tough days, meeting Lady Lawrence allowed me to live comfortably, and meeting my teacher taught me the joy of dedicating myself to others. And then, there was Leopold.

Of course, the unreciprocated feelings sometimes hurt endlessly, but there were also moments when just his presence was overwhelming and fulfilling. Times when sharing the same air, language, and space made life feel worthwhile.

What happened to me afterward was unfortunate, but now I had been given life again. All those past events became the driving force that led me to the next stage, like the ‘hope’ Derrick spoke of, the force that keeps life moving.

But Leopold…

What about him?

Having unintentionally hurt his mother and bearing that burden throughout his childhood—no, his entire life—what kept him going? Did he have any hope, or at least a purpose in life?

Questions I had never considered began to surface from deep within. If my death had given him even a little relief…

Even though I had lifted the heavy rock of the past, the jagged pieces that broke off kept rolling around somewhere in my heart.

“Hazel, it’ll get cold. Eat while it’s warm.”

Derrick picked up the spoon from my side and handed it to me. I barely broke my train of thought and silently finished the rest of my meal.

“We’ll stay here for the night and head to the capital tomorrow.”

“Yes, that sounds good.”

He responded with a bright smile that showed no hint of worry.

For some reason, a bitter smile crept onto my face, perhaps because Derrick’s brightness always seemed to contrast with Leopold, who never appeared to feel anything.

***

Thanks to our early start the next morning, we reached the central administrative office of the capital before lunchtime.

The principality’s office was noticeably different in scale from the buildings I had seen in the Empire. It stood only three stories high and was shaped like a short rectangle, looking even smaller than the Academy’s main building. Yet, even this seemed impressive to Derrick.

“Can I really go in? What if they find out I was a pirate?”

He leaned slightly toward me and whispered worriedly.

“As long as you don’t say those words out loud, there’s no way they’ll find out.”

When I warned him, Derrick closed his mouth with a determined expression.

The security wasn’t overly strict, but the knights stationed throughout the office were enough to make any naive visitor nervous.

The person guiding us asked a few questions about our origins and the purpose of our visit, then directed us to wait on a long wooden bench in the hallway. A few others were already waiting for their turn.

“When the person ahead of you comes out of that door, you can go in.”

Following the guide’s instructions, we nodded silently and sat down. It was around the time when hunger began to return. Finally, the person who had gone in before us opened the heavy door and stepped out.

“Hazel.”

Derrick whispered softly, standing up first and offering his hand. But even though it was just a routine escort, taking his hand suddenly felt awkward. In the end, I gestured that I was fine and stood up alone, heading inside.