CH 57.2

Translator: Lore_Temple (foxaholic)

Proofreader: DreaMing

‘He even wrote a letter… Should I forgive him now?’

To be honest, it was hard for her, she hadn’t had a proper conversation with Mars for two weeks straight.

She has already grabbed the leash, so there should be no problem in loosening it a bit.

She smiled and unfolded the folds, and read the letter.

Though, as she read the letter, her expression hardened bit by bit.

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To Isabella.

Hi, this is Mars.

You may have been a little confounded because of my unexpected letter, right? But, I thought this would be a better option. Also, it’s my first time writing a letter, so yeah, it’s a bit awkward for me. So forgive me if I ramble a bit.

First of all, I would like to apologize for neglecting you while I was wholly immersed in swordsmanship for all this while. I never did it on purpose! You are my friend, our friendship is much more precious to me than swordsmanship.

The reason I made that mistake was just because every time my swordsmanship improved, I felt like I was becoming a person more deserving of you. You are a very precious friend to me, but sometimes too bright to look at, yeah.

I know that saying this sounds like an excuse. I know how angry you are with me. I apologize again. I’m sorry.

And now to the main point, I decided to go on a journey. I haven’t made any concrete plans yet, but I’m thinking of visiting the entire continent for now, that’s the current plan at least.

Before leaving for the journey, I wanted to say goodbye to you, but I couldn’t come up with the courage, so I chose to write this letter.

And you don’t have to worry about me, Cloud hyung gave me some good equipment and took care of my travel expenses.

This journey will take a long time. Because the continent is so wide. By the time I come back, I’ll be a lot more mature than I used to be. I’ll try to be a better person of what I was.

So Isabella.

If I come back safely from my journey and see you again.

Then please forgive me.

And be my friend again.

–Mars.

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Isabella read the letter again.

The content did not change.

Still, Isabella read the letter again.

The content still did not change.

But, Isabella read the letter yet again.

However, the content refused to change.

No matter how many times she re-read it, the content did not budge.

She pinched her own cheek firmly. It hurt.

It wasn’t a dream.

Isabella then faced reality.

“No, no, no. No!”

She opened her door brashly, the letter clutched in her grasp.

“Agh! You surprised me! Isabelle, what happened all of a sudden…”

Ignoring her mother’s words, she ran out of the house. Without even putting on her shoes, she ran towards the hill where Mars’ house was located.

Isabella didn’t stop, though blood trickled out of her feet as the rough ground lacerated them, but she ran—out of breath as she ran up the hill.

That’s how urgent it was.

Running without any happenstance, she climbed to the top of the hill. A little further, and she will soon see Mars’ cabin.

“Please, Mars…”

Please be there.

Just be there, swinging your wooden sword in front of your cabin as usual.

Just by looking at his familiar face, all the negative emotions that currently plagued her chest would be washed away.

Isabella hit the ground hard.

Mars’ cabin entered her sight…

Though, there was neither Mars nor his sword.

For an instant, Isabella almost collapsed, but she managed to hold herself up, though barely stable.

“Mars… he may have overslept today, why not?”

She approached the cabin slowly, unlike how she climbed the hill. With every step she took, there was an imprint of blood left on the floor.

“Mars~ I’m here~”

Isabella said out aloud right in front of the shabby cabin. There was no response. Isabella chuckled.

“How deep are you sleeping?”

There’s no other way. She has no choice but to take it on herself to wake him up.

Isabella entered the cabin. The structure of the cabin where Mars lived was extremely simple. A single room structure in shape of a long rectangle. There was no room per se, so she could see the bed right away.

There was no Mars sleeping on the bed.

“Uh, huh? Not here..? Oh, did he went down to the village? We sure are at odds recently.”

She tumbled into the cabin and sat down with her buttocks on the bed.

She sure can go back down to the village but they may miss each other again. Isabella intended to wait for Mars to return.

She looked around the cabin and smiled.

“Did he clean up recently? He doesn’t have the habit…”

""

Isabella’s smile hardened when she saw the side of the large cupboard empty.

Originally, there was supposed to be a sword present.

He said that he bought it in the city with the money Cloud sent him; he often used to brag about it.

“No… no… no…”

Isabella got up from her seat and looked under the bed. Again, his sword wasn’t there either. Thump, thump. Her nervous heart began to gallop.

“Mars can’t leave me alone.”

Isabella walked over to the drawer and grabbed the handle.

“Is that right, Mars?”

She opened the drawer.

The inside was empty.

“…”

After she closed it quietly, she opened the second and third.

They too, were empty inside.

Her heart sank with a thump.

The despair she didn’t want to accept, the reality, began to approach her.

But she pushed it away.

Instead, she began to rummage through the cabin.

Nothing.

It was totally empty.

In the cabin Mars lived, all traces of his existence had disappeared.

“It’s a lie.”

Isabella murmured with an enraptured expression, and then she ran out of the cabin.

No, there was still hope.

Ten steps from the second tree behind the cabin.

Underneath the soil was the relic left by Mars’ mother. The wedding ring to put on his bride’s finger on his wedding.

Had Mars gone, there’s no way he wouldn’t have taken it with him.

So if it was still there, it was the proof that her Mars didn’t leave her behind.

Isabella began digging.

She didn’t bring a shovel, so she used her own hands. Her skin scrapped and her nails were broken, but she kept digging.

However, despite such efforts…

“Nothing..?”

She dug nothing.

Mars really had gone on a journey.

Leaving her, Isabella, behind.

“Why..? Why…?”

She couldn’t understand.

Why did he leave her behind?

He liked her.

He gave her a short, shy glance when they talked about the wedding ring, which he inherited from his mother.

“Is it because I have been acting cold lately? Are you that mad at me?”

She wanted to dearly apologize, if that was the case.

She did it because she loved him so much. She only did it because she loves him. She just wanted him to look her way.

“But you left just like that?”

If you were going on a journey, you could have at least said a goodbye. If you had, I would have realized that something was wrong. I could have cleared up the misunderstanding…

But Isabella knew why Mars had left a letter instead of a direct goodbye.

That reason was also her.

That fact ripped Isabella’s heart to pieces.

“Mars please… please come back… I’ll apologize…”

They were supposed to go to a festival in the city this time around, together.

That’s why she pestered and pleaded her dad to buy her a pretty dress.

She also saved up pocket money step by step for this occasion.

‘What good is it without you…’

Why?

“Mars…!”

Isabella sobbed as she held the letter in her arms. Desperately wishing this all to be a dream. Or maybe, that Mars would change his mind and hopefully come back.

But in reality, the probability of that happening was low, very low.

Because of this, Isabella could not stop her tears, she couldn’t find any consolation.

Tears dripped down out of her eyes, she only stopped crying when she had none to squeeze anymore.

Isabella opened the letter with a forlorn expression on her face.

She found a name that bothered her.

“Cloud…”

From the first time he saw her, he always called her a pink woman, he loathed her.

This man definitely had the greatest influence on Mars to leave her behind and leaving on a journey by himself.

As her thoughts reached that point, the sense of loss and despair that had gnawed at Isabella’s inner self disappeared. Anger and bloodthirst took their place.

She went straight down the hill to her village.

She sprinted through the door of the only inn in village and shouted.

“Cloud, you pooch, come out!”

“Woh! Woh!”

Cloud, who was having his breakfast, barked.