20demayo Side Story 8. Live Without Being Lonely
Side Story 8. Live Without Being Lonely
A choked sob. Blood of a color he’d never seen before spilled from his mouth. The boy, Laius, froze, unable to look on.“, Laius.”
Trembling hands wrapped around Laius’ shoulders, as if trying to support him in witnessing this tragedy.
“Laius, live without being lonely.”
The fading figure spoke. The hands that held Laius tightly clung to him, almost painfully.
“…That’s enough. I have nothing more to ask for.”
“Father…”
The two already felt a premonition of their eternal separation. Hot blood stained Laius’ collar. It was Marquis Winfried’s will.
“If you live honestly and clearly, then even without us… you won’t be lonely.”
The hand that held Laius gradually loosened its grip. Laius, noticing this, cried out urgently.
“Father, Father! Come to your senses!”
But the Marquis didn’t seem to hear his son’s voice. He muttered in a hazy voice.
“Lord Luce… Please look after the future of this child.”
That was the last.
The hand holding Laius fell to the ground. Laius spoke in terror.
The hands that had struck down the bandits, his father, had just fallen to the ground.
The fear of being alone in the world gripped the young boy’s mind.
“Father, Father…”
His still-weak hand desperately caressed the Marquis’ cheek, but his closed eyes refused to open again. Finally, the boy’s tears he had been holding back burst forth and poured freely.
“Don’t leave me alone, Father…”
He shook his father, rubbing his cheek, tears streaming down his face, but received no answer.
The boy was truly left alone in this world.
“Father…!”
Laius jolted awake, jerking upright.
His whole body was soaked in cold sweat. His breathing was ragged. He slowly looked at his surroundings. It wasn’t the burning Marquis’ castle, but a familiar room in the Third Knights’ dormitory.
Only then did his rapid, tattered breathing gradually return to its original rhythm.
“Ha…”
Laius sighed, pressing his hands to his face. A damp sweat clung to his hands.
It had been a long time since he had dreamed of that day.
“Lord Luce….”
Laius concentrated on the cocoa-colored light streaming into the room.
His father’s last words remained in his heart as a burnt seal.
It was also a fervent prayer from Luce.
“Justice…”
He was indeed living up to his father’s will.
Just hours ago, he had thrown the apprentice knight Arendt into the underground cell with his own hands.
The image of Arendt being dragged away, with an uncharacteristically blank expression, without even a word of protest, was still vivid in his mind.
‘It’s all my fault.’
This had happened because he had failed to guide him properly. That much was indisputable.
Laius ran his hands through his hair.
His chest tightened.
‘Should I get some fresh air?’
Sleeping again seemed impossible. Finally, Laius got up and changed his clothes.
Quietly leaving the quarters so as not to wake the other knights, Laius walked straight into the deserted garden.
“Whew…”
The chill of the dawn breeze on his face made him feel a little better.
Silver moonlight slid down the leaves of the garden trees. It looked like a sword of light cutting through the darkness.
“Lord Luce.”
Laius unconsciously muttered a short prayer out of habit.
“…Please look after him.”
Would Arendt, in the dungeon, be feeling pessimistic about his situation by now? Or perhaps repenting his sins?
Then Laius quickly corrected himself.
“He probably resents me.”
Arendt’s actions were an unforgivable crime. He had attempted to collude with enemies the imperial family was watching.
It was a crime even Laius could not bear to condone, so he would inevitably face execution.
“There has been no word from Count Eckhart’s family yet.”
It seemed the family had no intention of defending him. If Count Eckhart had taken the initiative, he might have been spared the death penalty.
However, Count Eckhart seemed to have no intention of protecting Arendt, drawing a strict line.
Ultimately, this meant that there was not a single person willing to lend a helping hand to Arendt von Eckhart.
‘This is clearly a matter of concern. There’s nothing I can do.’
Even knowing this, it pained Laius as if someone had torn into his chest.
He seemed accustomed to being alone. He didn’t want anyone around him, and he was negative about everything in the world.
That meant he had nowhere to turn.
“Haa…”
Arendt’s actions were far from justifiable.
Therefore, it wasn’t surprising that people turned their backs on him.
But…
‘If only someone had stood up for him.’
Would things have been different?
Despite Arendt being close, the Third Knights had not even a hint of regret.
It meant no one truly cared about Arendt.
Laius’ troubled footsteps echoed through the garden.
“Lord Luce.”
The image of his father from his dream still lingered vividly.
“What is justice?”
Using one’s power to punish the wicked and protect the weak.
And thus ultimately achieving good.
Could Arendt von Eckhart truly be called evil?
Perhaps Arendt’s core was nothing more than a lonely young man.
“Haa…”
Laius soon realized this was a pointless worry.
At the end of the day, Arennt had committed acts that could not be defended, and he would pay the price.
That was all that mattered.
Laius hoped that at least his soul would not suffer too much.
That he could find peace in Luce’s arms.
And in the final unfolding of events, Laius realized that all his expectations had been wrong.
“What I committed wasn’t treason. It was a deal.”
The apprentice knight charged forward with a venomous glare.
“If you had just given me a quiet warning before arresting me out of the blue, calling me a traitor, things would have been different. I could have penetrated to the very heart of their power. And now you’re trying to kill me for merely making contact.”
Golden eyes glared at those who had brought him to trial.
“You’ve caught the tail. Then, instead of being satisfied with that, you should have followed its long, dangling body and considered cutting off its head. Did I expect too much from you cowards?”
Laius could only stare in amazement at him, who showed no sign of fear.
That day, Arendt ultimately survived.
Moreover, he personally proved that his actions were not wrong.
It was the first moment that shook Laius de Winfried’s values.
“Oh.”
Arendt, dressed in casual clothes, let out a dumbfounded sound as he stepped into the lobby.
“Why are you sitting there, not making a sound? What are you doing so late at night?”
“I at least don’t want to hear that from you.”
Laius, already seated on the sofa, replied, annoyed. Arendt shrugged and trudged over to him.
“I see you’re having trouble sleeping today.”
“Are you still having trouble sleeping these days?”
“Sometimes.”
Arendt answered honestly, sitting down across from Laius without asking permission.
“Have you tried sleeping pills?”
“I’m not really fond of those either. They make my dreams restless. What about you, Captain? Why are you being so melodramatic at this hour?”
“It’s similar to your situation,” Laius readily answered the blunt question.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had such a harsh dream.”
Laius would occasionally dream about his father. At some point, after such dreams, he’d find himself thinking about Arendt.
And tonight was no different.
It was at that moment that he himself appeared.
Laius raised his gaze and stared at Arendt. Arendt met his gaze and tilted his head.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“…No. It’s nothing.”
Laius answered vaguely.
“How boring.”
Arendt grumbled, propping his chin on his hand.
After entering the palace, Laius had long since forgotten his loneliness.
‘But what about that guy?’
The two seemed somehow quite distant, yet inseparable.
He still couldn’t figure out where he came from or what kind of person he was.
But at least, through Lumiel, he knew what Arendt had had to give up to exist as ‘Arendt.’
“I’m hungry. Do you have any snacks? Or maybe you’d like a drink for the sleepless night?”
Arendt, sitting in a posture that would be unimaginable for a captain, nodded slightly.
Laius couldn’t help but chuckle.
“That works too.”
“How about some of the liquor Senior Richt has stored away? Or maybe Ash has a secret stash of liquor somewhere.”
Arendt seemed eager to start another round of pranks. But Laius was the first to politely decline.
‘It’ll get noisy when morning comes anyway, so let’s just leave it.’
“That’s fine too. Your liquor, Captain? Can I expect it to be just as good?”
Arendt chuckled.
“It won’t be as good as Richt’s, but it’ll at least be better than Ash or Glenn’s, so you can expect that much.”
“In that case, I’ll settle for the Captain’s liquor.”
It was impossible to read another layer into Arendt’s seemingly benevolent words.
For example, the loneliness he inevitably felt.
The ‘Arendt’ he knew and the Arendt of today were different people.
“But they were both lonely.”
Loneliness was a piercing pain.
He himself had experienced it firsthand, deeply, as a child.
Laius, lost in thought for a moment, opened his mouth, half-impulsively.
“Arendt.”
Instead of answering, Arendt merely nodded and looked at Laius.
“Aren’t you lonely?”
“Huh?”
From Arendt’s perspective, the question seemed quite out of the blue. But Laius was completely serious.
“Aren’t you lonely?”
“…What nonsense are you talking about?”
Arendt asked, bewildered.
“Where would I even have room to be lonely? I’m already drowning in work. Look at this. Just when I tried to be alone, you suddenly appeared.”
“Correction. You’re the one who appeared.”
Laius replied calmly. Arendt simply shrugged.
“Why don’t you bring some drinks? You won’t be bored tonight, will you?”
“How many times do I have to tell you not to order your Captain around?”
Laius replied somewhat annoyedly, but nevertheless got up.
“You should get the glasses and something to snack on.”
“Yeah. I wonder if there’s any cheese left.”
Arendt answered indifferently and stood up as well.
Watching him trudging slowly toward the kitchen, Laius smiled faintly.
“Anyway…”
It was a relief.
In a world where things like Luce and absolute justice had lost their meaning, it was good to hear that guy wasn’t lonely anymore.
Turning away from the sofa, Laius headed to his room to retrieve the liquor he’d stored for a long time.
It was a few minutes before their small drinking party began.