CH 52

Just Say It’s Hard, Noona

7. Aaron Fitz

She couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Ugh….!”

Kyrie got up and stood to run out. People didn’t catch her. They just watched Kyrie stagger and run away.

Kyrie breathed when she finally reached the small garden between the buildings.  Even though the heat rose all the way to the tip of her head and she broke in sweat, her whole body was cold with fear, and she was going insane. 

She had nothing to eat, but vomit came out.  She lifted her head while struggling on the tree and continually nauseating. The moon was floating in the sky.  It was like her gaze looking at herself, so Kyrie became nauseous again.

“Lady! What happened, what happened……!”

MarryAnne, who ran late, patted her on the back. She took leaves from her sleeve and glued them to Kyrie’s body, but it was of no use because it was a psychological problem.

“M-MarryAnne will bring water and medicine!”

MarryAnne sobbed out of the garden.

Only then did Kyrie remain completely alone. Only then did the tension seem to be relieved. She sat on the bench with her cold sweaty body. She still trembled all over.

‘I’m afraid.’

It was her first time feeling this way. It was something she had never felt when she first stepped out into society.

‘Everyone wants me here.’

She could read it from their eyes. Everyone said only good things, but no one said it with really good intentions. 

Half of the people who were jealous of Kyrie’s position and half of the people who didn’t want her to come out of the palace forever. Their eyes were transparent swords and stabbed her.

“Sigh….”

She pulled over the hair that stuck to her wet forehead. Tears seemed to come out. She knew she had to go back, but she couldn’t fall off. The head hanging from the exhausted body fell.

Rustle.

Then, she heard someone’s footsteps. Kyrie looked up like a frightened herbivore.

“Huh?”

It was a young guard who walked out of the shadows made by trees with a surprised voice. Clear, innocent brown eyes, with spears.

“You….”

Kyrie’s eyes were blurred. She couldn’t ignore it. The boy was dressed in the same clothes as the bodies that were scattered in the snow.

“You are the companion of those that were killed by Nataniel…….”

Kyrie whispered involuntarily and smiled in confusion.

“Are you here to kill me?”

The boy’s face was frighteningly stiff. He was also seen putting a strain on his hand holding the spear. The boy stared at Kyrier with very confused eyes for a while. Then he grabbed the spearhead one more time and came up with a determined look.

“You’re Kyrie Buchanan, aren’t you?”

Kyrie looked up at the boy with clear eyes. The boy spoke sullenly.

“You’re not supposed to be here…….”

Kyrie blinked at the unexpected response. The boy looked around and said with an anxious look.

“You’re not…… with another person”

It was only a short time, but when referring to “the another person,” the boy’s eyes sparkled. Kyrie shook her head.

“There’s no Nathaniel.”

“What about the maidgirl?”

“She went to get medicine and water.”

“Oh! Are you sick?”

The boy was embarrassed. He moistened his lips with his tongue and stood at attention.

“I’ve been ordered to do something, so I have to save you. There’s no one here, so I’ll protect you!”

“……save me?”

“I know you don’t trust me, but…….”

It was not that kind of story. Kyrier’s thought was sharp. She managed to pull out the insides.

“You’re not here to kill me?”

“What? Such terrible words!”

When Kyrie still looked like she didn’t know English, the boy tried to scratch his head and lowered his hand awkwardly when he realized he was pitching.

“You’re not?”

“……Is that true?”

“Yes.”

Kyrie looked up at the boy quietly. Then the boy blushed and avoided her gaze.

“Why would I kill you?”

“It’s….”

The misery of the day passed before Kyrie, who opened her mouth without thinking. Kyrie continued, barely holding onto her face that was about to collapse.

“……I can’t say I’m not responsible for the deaths of your colleagues.”

“Did you get kidnapped on purpose?”

The boy’s reply was sooner than she thought. When Kyrie looked blank, the boy stared at her with a blank face.

“No, the newspaper says the Pprincess kidnapped you, uh, usually she was the one who was kidnapped.…. Were you kidnapped on purpose?”

“No way.”

Her face hardened. Who would volunteer to go into a room where they were determined to drive people crazy. 

Just thinking of the room again immediately gave her a cold sweat. As she breathed, the boy hurried down the window and began to look at her.

“Oh, oh? oh! What do I do? Don’t think about it! Oh! I’m sorry, is this what they call, post-traumatic stress disorder? A, Abby! Think of something good, something good!”

The boy could not bear to touch her. Then Kyrie began to feel nauseous again, and he began to dance with a determined look.

He was out of shape.

At the ridiculous sight, she had no choice but to ask without feeling nauseous.

“….What are you doing?”

“That, I want to see you, smile……”

The boy laughed awkwardly.

“But you’re feeling better, aren’t you? I’m Aaron! Second lieutenant Aaron Fitz! I’m a member of the Snowstream Guard!”

“…….”

Kyrie’s spirit fell again due to his poor self-introduction. But Aaron seemed proud of himself. She laughed at Aaron.

“I’m Kyrie Buchanan.”

“I know! “

“……I see.”

The boy grinned. Kyrie was speechless again, and the boy opened his mouth as he rolled his eyes to see if the silence was awkward.

“By the way Miss, eumm, Bucha….,keung?”

“Miss Buchanan.”

“Why would I kill you Noona*?” (PR note: a respectful way of a male calling an older female)

Kyrie touched her forehead.  She responded slowly.

“I told you……I’m also responsible for it.”

“You said you weren’t kidnapped on purpose?  But why?”

“It’s true that I’m the trigger anyway. A noble family should be responsible for what they have done. Whether it was intended or not.”

“Ah…..”

Aaron blurred the end of his speech. Kyrie didn’t look at the boy. Aaron looked up at the sky once, looked down at the floor, and said quietly.

“I don’t think so.”

Kyrie looked up. Faced with her blank expression, Aaron blushed for a moment and smiled awkwardly.

“You stabbed your arm to stop the Legendary Lord. I saw it. You tried to save us.”

Aaron took a deep breath.

“The one who is bad is the Legendary Lord, so why are you sorry? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Kyrie’s eyes grew bigger.

The boy looked at the window of the palace, where the sound of music and conversation flowed. There was definitely sadness in those brown eyes. But the boy’s voice was indescribably warm.

“What people say to you is, before all of that……I think it’s bad. No matter how hard I look at it, it’s just……I feel like you are going to be a pushover.”

She managed to resist the burning emotion by clenching her molar.

“…Without me, your colleagues wouldn’t have to die.”

“Isn’t it wrong? It’s ‘If it weren’t for the Legendary Lord.’”

“Nobody thinks so.”

“Am I wrong if I’m the only one who thinks so?”

Kyrie was speechless. She managed to say,

“……Don’t you hate me?”

“I wasn’t good at studying, but I wasn’t bad at finding the wrong person to hate!” (T/N: he is saying that he was bad studying but that doesn’t means he is bad in finding out to whom to hate or not,)

Aaron smiled proudly. The boy shrugged his shoulders and looked back at her.

“And speaking of it, I think I know.”

“What.”

Aaron had a sad face.

“Just say that it’s hard, Noona.”