Chapter 136

14. You, Me, and Us

A week after Lydia disappeared. There was a public execution ceremony for Marquis De Flon in the largest square in the capital.

He, who once boasted of power and wealth that was said to be the best in the Empire, vanished into the dew of the execution ground. His apprentice, an unknown warlock boy, was also executed.

Originally, aristocrats with the status of Marquis De Flon were executed quietly in the dungeons, as a courtesy, but it is said that Curtis strongly insisted on his public execution.

Perhaps it was an attempt to gain support by demonstrating that he had defeated the evil warlock to the people of the Empire while clearly showing off his position to the nobles.

Yurina didn’t go to see his execution. Not only did the people around her lock her in her room, saying she needed to settle down, but she didn’t even want to go see it herself.

‘It won’t make me feel better to see this, so why should I go?’

Not only she, but Carthia’s people and Reynard, none of them went. However, the story of the day spread among the servants, starting with some of the employees who had been to the execution site.

The head butler and Betsy hush up and crack down on the employees, but they couldn’t completely shut their mouths, so Yurina vaguely heard the story.

‘They said he struggled until the end.’

However, since the mana to use normal magic as well as black magic had already been blocked, all Marquis De Flon could do was scream and curse.

The imperial army was diligently searching the capital and nearby territories, but Lydia De Flon was still not caught. The horses were searching ‘hard’, but in reality they were taking care of things.

And Yurina hasn’t yet been able to reveal her relationship with Reynard to her family. Because Reynard asked her to wait a little longer.

He still didn’t say the reason, but Yurina roughly guessed that it was because he wasn’t ready yet or because he had a lot to do.

‘Because he’ll be given a title soon.’

For his contribution to discovering that Marquis De Flon was a warlock and that he was targeting Curtis, the Crown Prince who could be said to be the future of the Empire, the Emperor decided to give Reynard the title of baron.

Reynard’s guardian, the Marquis Carthia, has only revealed his intentions, and considering that there are many things to prepare, it will be a long time before he actually receives the title.

However, Marquis Carthia personally began teaching Reynard, and Reynard became as busy as he had been as a child learning noble etiquette. Perhaps soon he will be showered with invitations, and he will go out to various parties and make friends with people.

Yurina was very happy with that. Reynard used to say that she was everything in his world and that he only needed her, but she wanted him to see the wider world and experience various things.

Just like how young Reynard ate soft bread and went out on the main street and turned his head around in surprise.

Even if it’s not her, so that he can have a reason to live in the future.

‘Then what should I do?’

The future completely changed. The story that will unfold in the future is the story that they haven’t seen in the book, and they will make it entirely. It was fragmentary, but unlike the past when Yurina knew the future even a little bit, she felt a bit complicated because she didn’t know the future now.

Yurina let out a small sigh as she looked out the window, where the rain poured incessantly. The weather has been hot lately, but a few days ago the rainy season started.

Dark clouds hung over the sky all day long, making it impossible to tell whether it was day or night, and heavy rain poured down so much that it was impossible to see ahead.

Rather than being melancholy, it was a cool rain that seemed to wash away all the worries she had so far. But Yurina couldn’t shake her gloomy feelings for some reason.

And it was not even because of the uncertain future. Although she was confused, she wasn’t depressed or worried. Her concerns were solely about Reynard.

Yurina suddenly felt cold, rubbed her hands and looked around. Even with her candle lit, there was no one but her in her dark room.

For some reason, Reynard didn’t show up to visit her secretly. It was very strange. Raynard sometimes sneaked into her room at night. However, with the beginning of the rainy season, visits to it completely ceased.

Although Yurina thought he should go to bed early since Ray was getting tired from work these days, Yurina suddenly remembered the image of Raynard she saw as a child. That fragile figure that trembles alone under the covers, because it is afraid of thunder and darkness.

He gave her a cute bluff that he would protect Yurina, that he wouldn’t be afraid of thunder and darkness, but he couldn’t completely hide the fear from his face. In the end, he told her that he didn’t like the rain. 

‘He didn’t tell me why…’

In fact, several times after that day, Yurina sneaked into Reynard’s room without Betsy and the adults knowing until the rainy season was over.

At first, Reynard was trembling under the covers, but after learning that Yurina was coming every night, he stuck out his face under the covers and stared at the door until she came. As if waiting for Yurina to come.

On such a subject, as soon as he heard the sound of the door opening, he quickly lay down on the bed and pretended to be asleep. Although she knew he wasn’t sleeping, she pretended not to know.

And then Reynard would pretend to wake up from his sleep and acts clumsy, saying, ‘I’m staying with you because you’re scared.’ He flaunted his arrogance by telling lies he didn’t even want to tell.

Memories of her childhood always made her smile, even after all this time.

‘I was very worried…’

Even though she never expressed it or even said it in a letter, Yurina worried about Reynard and how he would be left alone at the academy during the rainy season.

And now, how to know, perhaps that he is waiting for her, looking at the closed door?

It was a funny thought even to herself, but she was always anxious and sorry every summer. The only consolation was that there was no rainy season in Crohn Kingdom.

Reynard is now twenty. It’s hard to believe that he couldn’t fall asleep with the sound of rain like in his youth, but for some reason, Yurina’s heart felt stuffy and heavy.

‘Is he sleeping well?’

After lying in bed and hesitating for a while, she put on a dressing gown and headed for the door. Then she froze a step away from the doorknob.

‘Everything will be fine?’

Now she and Reynard weren’t 10 or 12-year-olds who would be called cute even if they were spotted together at night.

It was not possible to freely visit each other at night simply because the Marquise and some others guessed about their relationship.

So up until now, Raynard has sometimes used magic to visit Yurina in secret. At this time, most people were asleep, but it would be a chore if even one person was in the corridor.

‘What should I do?’

After thinking for a while, Yurina’s gaze suddenly turned to the hand she had reached out to grab the doorknob.

A red pendant bracelet glimpsed through the slipping down gown. This bracelet that Reynard gave her to teleport if something happened.

After looking at the doorknob and the bracelet a few times, she finally channeled mana into the bracelet. The mana around them pulsated as the bracelet shimmered in the dark.

When she opened her closed eyes, Yurina found a large blanket rolled up on the bed. It was much larger than it was seven years ago, but it looked the same as it did back then, curled up like a cocoon. Thanks to that, she recognized it as Reynard at once.

Reynard peeked out from under the blanket, probably feeling the mana energy. With his hair scruffed up like a bird’s nest, he slightly frowned as if trying to guess the identity of an intruder who had entered the room.

Then, as if she had discovered that the other person was Yurina, he reflexively smiled and came out of the blanket with his face hardened.

“Yurina, what are you doing here? What’s going on?”

At the same time as the question, a small light appeared right next to Yurina, illuminating the surroundings. She couldn’t find much agitation on Reynard’s face.

There were no traces of tears, no traces of suffering. Rather, he seemed pleased with the behavior of Yurina, who had come to visit him for the first time. It was Reynard who always came to visit me at night.

‘Did I exaggerate?’

She felt ashamed that she was worried that Reynard, a grown adult, might not be able to sleep because of the rain.

It was just as Yurina was about to say that she would go away, covering her cheeks that were starting to burn. Reynard moved his blanket gently to the side and spread his arms toward her.

“Can’t you sleep? Are you still afraid of rain?”

He still seemed to firmly believe that Yurina had been looking for him seven years ago because she was afraid of the rain. The one who was shivering because he hated the rain was himself.

it’s because of you. It was you who was afraid of the rain that day. Today I came because I was worried about you.

Yurina thought about bluntly snapping at him, but kept her mouth shut.

Seven years ago, she wanted to protect the innocence and courage of little Reynard, who pretended to be brave and said he would protect her while shaking his body.

However, she hesitated in place because she didn’t want to bear the stigma of being afraid of rain, but he urged her with a fierce laugh.

“Come on.”

It was a look that could only be described as wild. Yurina swallowed nervously, seeing his smile curved so that his eyes weren’t visible, and moved forward, driven by something otherworldly.

As she closed her gown and crawled slowly onto the bed on her knees, Reynard hugged her tightly and buried his face in the nape of her neck.

“Are you afraid of thunder and lightning? Still so childish.”

As he said that, he kissed Yurina behind her ear. His hand, which was wrapped around her shoulder, came down and slowly rubbed Yurina’s back. Yurina snapped at his hand as he tried to go down further.

“Why am I still a child?”

When she asked with half a joke and half bluntness, he looked at her in silence as if he was speechless before finally answering.

“Then let’s say you are an adult who is afraid of rain.”

Speechless Yurina sighed at him and hugged him by the neck.