Chapter 93. Red Hair
Swoosh…
The refreshing sound of waves filled my ears.
In the end, I chose the sea over the mountains and was thoroughly enjoying the seaside village in the warm southern region, which was pleasant all year round.
“Ahhhhh!”
I must have had a lot pent up inside.
As I shouted towards the vast sea, it felt like some of the knots in my heart were loosening. Maybe that’s why I chose the sea.
“You crazy bastards! Let’s never meet again!”
The grueling moments of the past two and a half years flashed before my eyes like a revolving lantern.
Johann, who teased me to keep going while I was gasping for breath during special training, Claude, who dragged me to the Grodes Mountains even when I fainted, and Mihail, who crossed his arms and watched as he pushed me into the durahan army.
Ah.
Those painful days of running around three cities because of that damned official document from the Imperial Palace.
It’s all over now.
I’ve accomplished everything.
“I’m free nowwwww!”
After shouting to my heart’s content, tears welled up in my eyes.
Oh. Why am I like this?
I’m not really the crying type.
I wiped my tears with the back of my hand and looked up at the sea again.
“Huh? Why is this happening?”
Tears streamed down my cheeks.
I was bewildered, unable to understand myself, when someone suddenly offered me a handkerchief.
“……?!”
I thought no one was around?
Startled, I turned my head.
A man I had never seen before was looking at me.
“It seemed like you needed it.”
“Oh…”
“My arm’s going to fall off.”
“Th-thank you.”
I took the handkerchief he offered in a daze.
The red-haired man was someone I had never seen before, yet he felt somewhat familiar. Maybe it was because of his hair color?
I have a lot of good connections with red-haired people.
I vaguely remember Ba-eun having red hair, though I don’t recall his face, and most importantly, the gentleman had red hair.
The savior who pulled me out of that hellish cycle.
“…Did you hear everything?”
I cautiously asked as I wiped my face with the handkerchief, trying to recall if I had mentioned the names of the three crazy guys.
“You have quite the voice.”
“Ugh.”
“Well, everyone has their own circumstances, don’t they?”
“……”
I stared intently at the man.
Thank goodness. It seems I didn’t say anything specific.
Having run away and hidden my identity, I couldn’t let the people of this village find out that I was the purifier, Seraphina. Especially not by my own admission.
Though it was uncertain if anyone here would recognize me.
In this small village where even newspapers didn’t arrive, no one recognized me. It was quite surprising.
Where did the gentleman find such a village?
The information guild is truly remarkable.
Ponitan.
I had never heard of the name before.
On my way here, I bought a map to find the exact location of the city, but the name of this village wasn’t marked on the continent’s map.
That meant it was a very small village.
I wondered if the population even reached 100.
But it had everything necessary, and it was connected to the merchant guild for trading goods.
The world is vast, and there are environments I never imagined existing somewhere. With that thought, I was grateful for Ponitan’s existence.
“Are you a resident here?”
Since I planned to live here from now on, I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to make at least one friend.
The man didn’t answer my question but simply smiled.
So, is he a resident or not?
With a light curiosity, I extended my hand to him. Meeting here like this felt like fate, and getting to know each other didn’t seem like a bad idea.
“Nice to meet you.”
As I greeted him first, he took my hand.
The sea breeze blew between us as we shook hands.
Standing face to face, I quietly observed the man. I had the illusion that time was flowing slowly.
His red hair fluttered in the wind. The hot sun setting above it left an impression on my eyes.
Among all, his black eyes strangely stuck in my mind. They seemed oddly sad.
However, when the man finally spoke, his voice was cheerful.
“I’m Cyril Xavier.”
“Pardon?”
“My name.”
“Oh.”
Right. To become friends, you need to know each other’s names.
Thinking that, I hesitated for a moment.
Even though the people in this village seemed to live disconnected from the world, was it really a good idea to reveal my real name?
Out of caution, no, out of prudence, I quickly came up with a fake name.
“I’m Chloette. I don’t have a last name.”
For a moment, Cyril’s expression seemed to twist slightly… or was it my imagination?
He smiled softly, his eyes curving.
“It’s a pretty name.”
“Thank you.”
Responding to his compliment, I grinned.
I had come to the beach alone, shouting, then crying pitifully, and now I was in a good mood, smiling. I didn’t realize I was such an emotionally volatile person.
Well.
Since I had been holding back a lot.
“Chloette… Chloette…”
“……?”
“Miss Chloette.”
Cyril seemed to savor my fake name, rolling it on his tongue by himself, and when I looked at him strangely, he turned to me with a soft smile.
What is this?
Why is he murmuring my name while looking at the distant sea?
Is he repeating it so he won’t forget? Well, the world is vast and people are diverse.
Deciding to respect what seemed like an unusual habit by my standards, I responded to his call.
“Why?”
“Do you have any plans for today?”
“Why?”
Anyone listening might think I only know how to say ‘why.’
“There’s a nice pub ahead.”
“Oh.”
“Since it’s fate that we met like this, would you like to have a drink?”
“But I’m not good with alcohol.”
Because Cyril’s hair was red, he reminded me of the gentleman. And my first meeting with the gentleman was the worst.
Not wanting to leave a terrible impression on a friend I had just made, I politely declined.
“How about without alcohol?”
“Sounds good.”
Apparently, Cyril didn’t particularly need alcohol and readily agreed.
So we walked across the sandy beach.
Ponitan, being a city that knows romance, had a few restaurants and cafes with a good atmosphere lined up along the beach. Well, there weren’t that many, but still.
“Cafe?”
I asked casually, and Cyril, as if pondering which place to choose among the lined-up shops, swept his gaze over them and stopped his eyes on one spot.
“How about there?”
“Isn’t that a pub?”
This guy?
Didn’t he say it was fine without alcohol?
As I looked at him incredulously, he continued.
“They serve sangria with almost no alcohol. It’s perfect with fruit snacks.”
“Oh, how do you know about that place?”
“I often come here for vacations.”
“Vacations?”
I asked as we walked toward the place with sangria. I thought he was a resident here, but it turns out he was a tourist.
How did he know about this tiny village?
“I travel a lot around the continent for business, and I happened to discover it.”
Cyril answered my unspoken question as if he had read my mind.
“It’s written all over your face. You’re wondering how I knew about such a village.”
“Oh, hehe.”
Was it too obvious on my face?
Embarrassed, I laughed awkwardly and scratched my head.
Cyril, seeing me like that, glanced at me with amused eyes before turning his head forward and walking toward the sangria place.
I stole a glance at his side profile. He seemed to be in a good mood.
It was the kind of expression that made you think he might be humming to himself.
Well, I feel the same way.
Coming to a place like this for a vacation would make anyone feel good.
The refreshing waves, the sunny weather, a new connection.
Everything was perfect that day.
* * *
“Really pulling all the stops.”
Claude, who had spent a night at an inn, sneered as he read the newspaper. In front of him was a pile of newspapers he had gathered by tipping the staff the previous night.
Two long months had passed.
Since Seraphina had abruptly vanished from Elmon.
Claude had now left Hilton and traveled quite far south.
When he first received the newspaper from Kiel reporting Seraphina’s disappearance, all he wanted was to jump up and rush to Elmon to grab Johann by the collar. But after a bit of thought, he realized that might not be the best course of action.
<Are you abandoning Hilton?>
Kiel’s weak voice held Claude back.
Damn it.
If he left now, it might take a long time. Knowing this, Claude’s decision weighed heavier than usual.
Cursing under his breath, he began to prepare. Not for departure, but for a plan to protect the North in the absence of the Guardian of the North.
The Northern Knight Order was cooperative.
The people of Hilton Castle were the same.
Everyone genuinely worried about Seraphina and fervently hoped she would once again be active in the Grodes Mountains.
With preparations complete, Claude set off alone. They decided to use carrier falcons for communication.
Anyway, Claude also actively set out to find Seraphina’s whereabouts.
Surprisingly, he chose to use his head rather than blindly searching everywhere.
“That bastard Johann is digging in the wrong places.”
Closing the newspaper, Claude pondered over the information he had gathered.
Compared to the noisy Johann…
“That lunatic can’t possibly be this quiet.”
Mihail’s side was strangely silent.
Sensing something, Claude decided on his next destination.
“I’ll have to start with Sahar.”
Shortly after, the warhorse carrying Claude galloped swiftly toward the eastern desert.
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Usurpadora
Tentando apostar em quem acha ela primeiro, diria que seria quem vai ser o ML, mesmo sabendo que o quem é o ML, estou em dúvida de quem vai achar, se é o Claude ou o imperador.