Chapter 100 |
After finishing his conversation with Astria, Kraush went on a date with Bianca in the Holy Kingdom of Freeman.
In fact, there wasn’t much to the date.
As usual, they ate delicious food and toured the Holy Kingdom.
“There are so many people, shall we hold hands?”
Since she wanted to, Kraush held her hand without hesitation.
Bianca looked extremely pleased.
Seeing her like that, Kraush couldn’t help but find her somewhat adorable and did everything she asked.
‘The previous saint…’
Naturally, she was nowhere to be seen.
Kraush didn’t particularly feel sympathy for that saint.
He only revealed the saint’s existence in the hope that Astria’s future would improve.
‘I always knew I couldn’t save everything.’
It was already a struggle to protect what he held in his hands.
Without further concern, Kraush returned to the temple with Bianca.
“Are you satisfied?”
Bianca nodded her head up and down.
Seeing remnants of the chocolate she had eaten earlier around her mouth, Kraush raised his hand and wiped it off.
So sloppy.
“You seem very close. Engaged, right?”
At that moment, Kraush turned his head towards the voice he heard.
It was none other than Astria.
The dazed look from before had disappeared, replaced by a confident smile.
She seemed to have sorted out her thoughts.
“You dropped the formalities earlier, so I’ll do the same. You don’t mind, right?”
“Yes, that’s more comfortable for me too.”
It felt more awkward for Kraush to use formal language with Astria.
So, shrugging his shoulders, Kraush took his hand away from Bianca’s cheek.
Bianca immediately grabbed his hand again.
Bianca subtly positioned herself between Astria and Kraush, looking straight at Astria.
Seeing this, Astria cleared her throat and spoke.
“You said to let you know if I want to break the shackles. I’ll remember that. Be prepared when the time comes.”
Implying it would be soon, she walked away.
As she left, she glanced at Bianca, but soon disappeared from sight.
After Astria left, Bianca looked up at Kraush.
“Mr. Kraush, I am your fiancée.”
“Since when did I say you weren’t?”
Why was she so anxious?
Kraush couldn’t help but laugh as he patted Bianca’s head.
Though she was growing, her head didn’t shake as easily as before.
The cute side was fading, and she was slowly becoming an adult.
Recently, she had grown taller.
Although Kraush had grown even more, the height difference was still significant.
‘Maybe one day when she’s fully grown, her thoughts might change again.’
For now, he had to respect the thoughts of the 13-year-old Bianca.
“Your fiancé will never change.”
From the moment he decided to take responsibility for Bianca, this would never change.
As Kraush said this, Bianca looked up at him and rolled her eyes.
Then, she fidgeted and held Kraush’s hand tightly.
“Then it’s okay.”
Bianca’s face turned slightly redder than before.
She seemed unaware that she was smiling.
“Let’s head back.”
After spending quite a long time here, it was time to return.
For the remaining time, Kraush planned to focus entirely on training.
The Holy Kingdom had teleportation magic circles connected everywhere for emergency patient transport.
Naturally, Balheim was also connected.
Using it, he could quickly get back to Balheim.
Since it was late today, Kraush planned to prepare and return tomorrow.
As Kraush thought so and returned to his room,
“Mr. Kraush, you have a visitor.”
“A visitor?”
Hearing the attendant’s words, Kraush looked puzzled.
There shouldn’t be anyone coming.
Opening the door, Kraush saw an unexpected figure.
A head of dark blue hair swayed as it turned towards him.
Standing there was none other than Lilish Balheim.
“Kraush.”
She was the leader of this expedition.
So, she had to finalize everything with the final report.
She had come to meet Kraush immediately after concluding her tasks because she had been worried about him, even though she had heard he had made a full recovery.
‘I thought she would come back to Balheim through the magic circle anyway.’
Kraush hadn’t expected Lilish to come over first.
“I’m glad to see you’re safe.”
Lilish, who examined Kraush’s condition, sighed in relief.
Seeing her, Kraush felt how different she was from his memories before the regression.
In his memory, Lilish had always been stern and indifferent to family matters.
‘Perhaps…’
Maybe if there had been just one trigger back then, she could have changed like this.
‘Relationships can completely change due to such small things.’
Kraush looked at Lilish.
She was undoubtedly an older sister who, even if belatedly, took care of her younger brother.
“I’ll be with Crimson.”
In the meantime, Bianca tactfully gave them some space.
She made sure the siblings could be alone.
Thus, Kraush and Lilish were left alone.
A brief silence followed between them.
Both were unfamiliar with conversing with family.
So, being alone together left them unsure of what to say.
“…Would you like some candy?”
Then, Lilish suddenly took out some candy.
It was the same candy she had given to Bianca.
When she had met Kraush previously, he had been very young.
So, in her mind, Kraush was always remembered as a child.
That’s how distant the relationship between Kraush and Lilish was, despite being family.
Based on that memory, Lilish had heard that giving candy to children could help bond, so she carried some with her.
She thought she might get a bit closer to her younger brother if she gave him candy when they met.
However, the Kraush she met now was on the verge of adulthood, far from being a candy-loving child.
“Sure.”
Kraush accepted the candy with a bewildered expression.
Seeing this, Lilish felt a slight sense of pride.
Although Kraush thought about giving the candy to Bianca later.
“You accomplished a great feat this time. The elders, as well as Father, will hear about it.”
Meanwhile, Lilish began to talk about work.
It seemed she had reported the truth to the upper echelons of Balheim.
She wondered if they would believe a 14-year-old had played a key role in the world’s erosion.
Since he had secretly joined the Blue Sea Knight Order, she wasn’t sure how Balheim’s higher-ups would interpret it.
“As long as only the upper echelons know, it’s fine.”
Knowing Kraush wanted to keep his identity hidden, she handled the situation discreetly.
The fact that there was no uproar in the Holy Kingdom about Balheim appearing was proof.
Although the Holy Kingdom knew about Kraush’s fight with Agares, they only saw it as him assisting Lilish.
They didn’t know that Kraush had defeated Agares himself.
The Holy Kingdom likely thought this:
A 14-year-old direct descendant of Balheim, driven by pride and impulse, nearly died following Lilish into the Demonic Realm.
It made no sense for a 14-year-old boy to venture into the Demonic Realm, but Kraush belonged to Balheim.
‘Considering there was already a precedent with Charlotte.’
There was already a precedent with Charlotte, who had ventured into forbidden areas before Kraush.
So, they might interpret it as the youngest of Balheim trying to emulate his older sister.
For Kraush, it was a fortunate story.
He could uphold his deal with the first prince.
“The Sky-Piercing Knights also asked me to convey their thanks.”
They were comrades who had fought together.
Having saved them from crises several times, they expressed their gratitude to Kraush.
“Everyone did their part.”
It wasn’t an achievement made by individual effort.
Kraush valued the contributions of the other knights highly.
Without them, he couldn’t have captured Agares.
That’s why Kraush never neglected his own growth while also caring for others.
Afterwards, Kraush and Lilish had a few more conversations.
But they weren’t long.
They hadn’t talked to each other in so long.
Once the work-related talk was over, they didn’t know what else to say.
Their relationship was more awkward than with strangers.
“That’s all I have to say for now, so take a rest.”
Ultimately, it was Lilish who stood up first.
There was a hint of regret in her eyes, but she genuinely wanted Kraush to rest.
Part of her wanted to tell him not to overdo it anymore.
But she felt she didn’t have the right to say that.
After all, she hadn’t taken care of her family either.
As Lilish moved to exit the room, Kraush quietly bit his lip.
There was something Lilish hadn’t asked outright.
And it was something Kraush had planned to hide.
“Sister.”
When Kraush called, Lilish turned back.
“Isn’t there something you want to ask?”
It was about Kraush using Belorkin’s Ignis.
Although Lilish had interpreted it conveniently.
The reality was far more brutal.
But she genuinely wanted to improve her relationship with Kraush.
So, if Kraush wanted to respond to her sincerity, he had to reveal this uncomfortable truth.
It was something he could have kept hidden forever.
The matter was already completely covered up, and he could have hidden it for life.
But at this moment.
He didn’t want to treat Lilish’s sincere efforts to restore their relationship as foolish.
He had seen Lilish’s genuine trust in him during the battle with Agares.
“Kraush.”
She spoke after a long silence.
“Before coming here, I investigated Belorkin and learned she used to torment you a lot.”
Lilish had instinctively realized that Kraush stole Ignis.
So she tried to understand the situation by looking into Belorkin and Kraush’s relationship.
Their relationship was a mess.
The Balheim family didn’t treat them as blood relatives.
They pushed them to the brink, forcing them to turn their swords on each other.
That was the Balheim family.
Kraush had inherited Belorkin’s Ignis.
Could it be that such a bitter relationship had ended with them working together to defeat the Thousand Faced Demons?
Lilish sadly shook her head.
She had doubts about the events during the Thousand Faced Demons, but she remained silent for Kraush’s sake.
Kraush was the one who brought it up.
He took the first step to open up his heart.
“Can you tell me more about it?”
Hearing her words, Kraush hesitated again.
He didn’t know if Lilish would hold a grudge or feel contempt for her brother who had killed a family member.
But he had seen her sincerity during the battle with Agares.
So Kraush slowly opened his mouth.
“…I killed Brother Belorkin with my own hands.”
To respond to her sincerity, Kraush told the truth for the first time.
Kraush’s story was long.
He recounted numerous events and incidents involving Belorkin.
He tried to be as objective as possible, leaving out subjective thoughts.
Lilish didn’t show anger or contempt.
She simply listened to Kraush, as his sister, about another sibling, Belorkin.
Seeing this, Kraush realized one thing for sure.
Lilish didn’t care about who shared more blood with her.
To her, siblings were siblings, whether they shared the same blood or not.
Instead, she regretted not being able to do anything for the terrible relationship between her two siblings.
For the first time, Kraush felt like he truly understood Lilish.
He felt he knew his family better than the acquaintances beside him.
When the story ended,
“I’m sorry. I neglected you both.”
Lilish, with a pained expression, apologized.
“Can I hug you just once?”
When Lilish asked cautiously, Kraush nodded.
Lilish approached and hugged Kraush.
Though she had always been stern, her embrace was warm.
At least for this moment, Kraush could forget the terrible neglect and torment from his family and clan.
Her embrace was warm.
People carry the pain of their childhood even as they age.
It was no different for Kraush, who had gone through countless hardships.
Deep scars can be covered with bandages to hide them, but they don’t disappear.
So, it was important to know.
There are people who care about such scars.
For some reason, Kraush felt like he had returned to his childhood for a brief moment.
Belorkin, who had been like a scar to Kraush.
In this moment, Kraush finally showed that long and painful relationship to his family.
Beyond the window.
Hydrangeas, soaked with summer rain, were blooming.
Hydrangeas, which change color according to the soil, seemed to resemble himself.
Kraush quietly thought.
End of Chapter
