CH 137

[Childhood Friend]

Two weeks after we came to the residence of the Henestrosa family, the attention of the people in the royal capital are getting more focused on enthronement of the new king.

Although Noelia, Al, and I have been released from house arrest and have become able to act freely, the whereabouts of Vigo, who disappeared from the royal capital, are still unknown.

Therefore, we can only patiently wait for information at the mansion.

“Frick-sama, are you free right now?”

I turn my eyes to the entrance of the room hearing the voice, and standing there is Noelia.

“Yeah, come on in.” (Frick)

“I am with Al-sama, however.” (Noelia)

She’s with… Alfine…?

With all the crazy things that happened, I haven’t got a chance to talk to her, but.

After all, we must sit down and talk properly once.

I have to ask her what she meant when she declared that she had been chasing after me not because she wanted to take me back, and that she was going to live as Al, abandoning the name Alfine.

“Perfect timing, I have something to ask her as well, so please come in.” (Frick)

Noelia nods, whereas Al, who’s hiding on the other side of the entrance, shows up her face, and together, they enter the room.

According to Suzana, Noelia has often visited Al’s room lately.

I’m curious as to what they were talking about, but I can’t ask that to the people themselves.

However, from what I heard from the surrounding people, they didn’t have a terrible atmosphere, rather, they seemed to be getting along well.

I couldn’t believe that the hard to please and unsociable Alfine would make friends with a person she hadn’t known quite well, though.

But seeing her looking close to Noelia like this, I feel a sense of discomfort.

“Please sit here, Al-sama.” (Noelia)

“Sorry, and thanks.” (Al)

I sit on the other side of the two sitting on the sofa.

After sitting down on the sofa, I get exposed to the gaze of Alfine who is still dressed as a young blonde blue-eyed swordsman.

At that gaze, I see her appearance overlapped with that of the black haired Alfine verbally abusing me.

“Frick-sama, your complexion is…” (Noelia)

“No, don’t worry. I’m fine.” (Frick)

Alfine, watching me, also has a worried expression on her face.

That expression… is definitely not that of Alfine I knew…

I wonder if her change in appearance also brought a change in her personality.

I take a deep breath and suppress my fast-throbbing heart.

“Alfine, there’s one thing I’d like to ask you, is that okay?” (Frick)

“Alfine is already dead. I’m Al, you know. Finn-san.” (Al)

At my desperately squeezed out words, Alfine evades, saying she herself has already died.

“What are you talking about. You just changed your name and appearance to hide from Gile’s pursuit, didn’t you!” (Frick)

Alfine shakes her head silently without giving any answers.

Just what is she playing at!

Why didn’t she swear at me, make a fool of me, or have me do as she told like usual!

She responded completely differently to Alfine I knew; gradually, frustration wells up in my stomach.

I can’t help but feel like she’s silently protesting to me, for getting tired of her selfishness and running away.

“Was… was… was it my fault? Do you mean to say that it was my fault? It was my fault, because I broke off our relationship and ran away…” (Frick)

Even though I try to stop, I can’t stop the words that spring up from the pit of my stomach, and say them out loud like curses.

“I did my best. I tried to do various things well! As your childhood friend, as your lover, as your partner! I tried to be a man who could meet up all your demands! But…” (Frick)

I ran away…

Even though I knew that Alfine was extremely afraid of strangers, disliked people, and rarely opened up her heart to others, and that I was the only one she could show her truest self to.

I broke off our relationship and ran away.

“I’m… sorry. For pretending not to notice that I had been hurting Finn.” (Al)

Alfine, who has been silently listening to me, opens her mouth, before tears start falling from her eyes immediately after.

“I was stupid, so I didn’t doubt that Finn would stay with me forever. But, that was just my wishful thinking. I came to realize that the reason why Finn had been staying by my side, protecting the immature me, was only because he was especially kind.” (Al)

The appearance of Alfine, shedding large drops of tears with her hands covering her mouth, sobbing, comes into my sight.

What on earth… such a frail crying figure, is not that of Alfine I knew.

There’s no way that Alfine, who had always been confident, could do anything, and would definitely accomplish any tasks no matter how dangerous they were, would sob and shed large drops of tears like this… it’s just a joke, right…

Seeing Alfine sobbing and shedding large drops of tears, an old memory surfaces in my mind.

It is a memory of my childhood, one before Alfine picked up the sword.

She had been a scaredy cat, a frail girl who constantly hid behind me and cried all the time.

I was always with her, thinking that I should protect her.

Alfine, who is in front of me right now, is still that same frail girl who cried all the time.

I should have known, Alfine is actually not strong…

I, who grew up together with her, should have known that.

I was the one who selfishly created an illusion of the perfect Alfine after she picked up the sword.