Chapter 8.11

“Well, we’ll be going now, Brienne.”  

With a gentle smile, Olivia held Brienne’s hand tightly. After finishing their meal at the restaurant, it was already time to catch their reserved boat.  

“If it weren’t for your father’s work, we would have stayed a few more days… I’m so sad we have to leave right away. I just can’t bring myself to go.”  

“I feel the same. Don’t forget your promise to come back once Father’s work is finished, okay?”  

A warm smile appeared on Brienne’s face as she looked at Olivia, who was pouting. Although it was sad not to be together longer, meeting her family had lifted the heavy stone that had been sitting on her heart.  

“Of course, I’d never forget a promise to my daughter.”  

Just then, Damon gently approached the mother and daughter, who were looking at each other lovingly.

“Hmm, Brienne… As I said earlier, don’t push yourself too hard. If you ever want to come back, you can return anytime. We’ll always be waiting for you.”  

“Yes, thank you, Father.”  

Brienne nodded at his words, smiling as she took in the faces of her family one by one.  

Her mother, her father, and Shylo.  

She had left without a word, but now that she’d reunited with her family after so long, she didn’t want to part. Still, knowing her father was busy, she couldn’t act like a child and whine. Brienne let out a faint smile and gently released her mother’s hand.  

“Well, you should go now. I’ll write often.”  

“Of course, you must.”  

Olivia hugged Brienne tightly, pressing her lips to her daughter’s forehead.  

“Stay healthy, my dear.”  

“You too, Mother. And Father, please take care of yourself.”  

After saying goodbye, her parents turned away. Brienne then noticed Shylo hesitating in front of her, and tilted her head in curiosity.  

“Shylo? What’s wrong? Do you have something to say to me?”  

“Well…”  

Shylo awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat, avoiding Brienne’s gaze.  

“…Actually, I saw the letter you left for Father.”  

“A letter?”  

“Yeah, and after reading it, there’s something I wanted to tell you.”  

Something he wanted to say.  

Brienne furrowed her brow in confusion, and Shylo took a few steps closer, speaking softly.  

“Um, Brienne, I actually believe you’ll do well on your own.”  

“What?”  

“You’ve always been better than me at studying or anything, ever since we were kids. Unlike me, who just likes hanging out with people.”  

“…Shylo? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”  

Brienne was stunned by his unexpected, embarrassing words and gave an awkward smile. But Shylo’s expression turned serious.  

“Don’t laugh! I mean it. I don’t know what you think, but I never believed you spent all your time locked in your room just waiting for Kaiden. Your room was… a space for your imagination, where anything was possible.”  

“……”  

“You read countless books there. Romance novels, travelogues, biographies of great people, even several encyclopedias.”  

The smile slowly faded from Brienne’s face as she looked at Shylo. But it wasn’t because she felt bad.  

“So what I want to say is… at least as much as I believe in you, you should believe in yourself. If you can’t trust yourself, then trust the books you’ve read, and the time you spent with them. Brienne Ford’s life wasn’t as meaningless as you think.”  

…It wasn’t meaningless.  

At those words, her nose tingled helplessly. Maybe she’d been hoping someone would say something like this to her. The unexpected encouragement warmed Brienne’s heart.  

Brienne steadied her voice and managed to speak.  

“…Thank you, Shylo.”  

Really, truly. As she added quietly, Shylo’s eyebrows scrunched up even more.  

“Ah, forget it…! Why did you have to leave such a letter and make me say things like this?”  

Shylo turned away in embarrassment and stomped off. Brienne wiped away the tears gathering in her eyes and couldn’t help but laugh.  

“Shylo, wait. You should say goodbye properly.”  

“I did! Don’t follow me—just go!”  

Brienne’s light footsteps followed Shylo’s big strides. The golden hair of the bickering siblings was bathed in the warm, orange sunset.  

At that moment, Brienne’s heart felt comforted by the sunlight.

* * *

“You’ve worked hard. You must be tired after coming all this way, so you can go in and rest now.”  

Back at the Academy, Brienne bowed slightly to the knight who had ridden in the carriage with her. He was a knight from the Ford family, sent by her father.  

“Sir Kelton, you will be shown to your quarters by the administration, so please head to the main building. I’ll be going to my room now, so my schedule is finished.”  

“Excuse me?”  

The middle-aged knight looked briefly surprised by Brienne’s formal tone, but soon regained his usual expression.  

“No, My Lady. I will escort you until you reach your room.”  

“I’m really fine. I actually want to walk alone for a bit.”  

“……”  

Sensing the firm refusal in her gentle voice, the knight hesitated for a moment, then nodded. He knew her personality well, having watched Brienne since she was a child.  

“Understood. If you insist… I’ll withdraw for today.”  

“Thank you for understanding.”  

Brienne smiled sweetly and turned away from Sir Kelton. But as she walked slowly, her heart wasn’t as calm as the smile she wore.  

Her father had sent a family knight. There was no reason for Aaron to escort her anymore.  

‘…I wanted to hear more about Herace from Aaron.’  

She recalled Aaron’s cheerful promise to tell her about Herace’s marksmanship next time. She wanted to keep being escorted by Aaron, but now that Sir Kelton had been assigned, she knew things wouldn’t be the same.  

‘…I’ll think about it later.’  

Brienne sighed softly and headed toward the dormitory. Escorting was a problem she couldn’t solve right now, but there was something else she wanted to check first.  

The letter from Herace that she should have received much earlier.  

Back in her room, Brienne took out the letter she’d kept safely in her drawer and took a deep breath.  

Her gaze fell to the gray envelope, the color of the Belif family crest.  

To be honest, she was nervous.  

She was curious about what was written inside, but also a bit afraid of how she would feel after reading it.  

Especially since she and Herace had unintentionally quarreled.  

Brienne fiddled with the envelope for a moment, then sat on her bed and carefully opened the letter.  

The contents weren’t long.  

But…  

Brienne’s eyes trembled as she looked down at the letter. After a long moment, she bit her lip and quickly stood up from the bed.  

‘I need to see Herace.’  

Quickly.  

That thought filled Brienne’s mind completely. She rushed out of her room and hurried down the stairs.  

When she reached the building where she’d been told the assistant’s office was, Aaron, who was sitting on the front steps, immediately jumped up.  

“Oh, Miss? Did something urgent happen? Why are you running—”  

“Aaron, where’s Herace? Where is he?”  

Aaron, seeing how urgent Brienne looked, pointed at the assistant’s office with a confused face.  

“If you’re looking for Sir Herace, he’s in the assistant’s office. Go to the last room on the second floor…”  

“Thank you!”  

Brienne ran past Aaron before he could finish his answer and dashed up the stairs. Someone else was approaching Aaron just then, but Brienne didn’t see.  

Without stopping once, Brienne arrived at the assistant’s office, her face flushed.  

She raised her hand to knock, then hesitated.  

What should she say first?  

She’d run here in a rush, thinking only of seeing Herace, but the words swirling in her mind weren’t sorted out.  

Brienne steadied her breathing and calmed herself. Then she recalled Herace’s letter once more.

[I never liked the saying that the ground hardens after the rain. If you have to endure the rain just to become a strong person, isn’t that too cruel?  

But after seeing you, I finally understood the true meaning of those words.  

Like some ballad singer said, where adversity and hardships have passed, a firm spirit is born. Thank you for showing me that.  

I respect your strength, Brienne.  

If another rain ever hurts you, I want to stand in the rain with you, not just cover you with an umbrella.  

Whenever that may be, will you allow me to wait for you?]

His honest feelings, written in neat handwriting.  

The quiet request to let him wait—his heart flooded Brienne’s eyes, her mind, her heart like a tidal wave. It was so warm she didn’t want to avoid it.  

Brienne opened her eyes, now calm, and placed her hand on the doorknob.  

‘…Yes, let’s trust in my own strength.’  

No more worrying about what would happen if Herace’s heart was closed.  

But at that moment, the doorknob turned first, pulling her forward. Startled, she looked up to meet the gaze of deep gray eyes looking down at her.  

“Why are you standing outside instead of coming in?”  

Leaning his arm against the doorframe, Herace asked with a tilted head. His face looked as if he already knew Brienne would come.  

“…What?”  

Herace gently removed Brienne’s hand from the doorknob and opened the door wide.  

“I believe you came to see me.”  

“How did you… know I was here?”  

Herace’s faintly smiling gaze dropped to Brienne’s shoes.  

“I heard your footsteps.”  

With that simple answer, Herace gestured toward the sofa.  

“Let’s sit and talk.”