Shadowless Night

The shop owner blankly repeated her question in his mind. ‘There are other more appropriate questions, such as: ‘How much is this apple?’ or ‘Some apples, please.’ Not: ‘Can I eat this apple?’ Just now, she really asked about just eating it, didn’t she? Why are you so polite to the person you’re trying to rob?’ The fruit shop owner was confused.

The man glanced at her as she stared at him while squinting. Her thinned eyes were bitter, and her expression was cold. Even in this situation, where her face was cast in shadow because of the backlight, her eyes still shone as the sunlight reflected off the blade of the fruit cutter. Would a herbivore caught by a wild beast feel like this? It was so frightening that his hips turned numb, and his hands and feet trembled.

In the end, the man had to smile awkwardly and nod his head instead of saying, ‘An apple is five coppers.’

“Thank you. I will enjoy this food.”

Rosaline hummed and looked at the apples. She lifted one apple from the stack and turned it side to side with a serious expression. It was the largest apple in the piles, the color was pretty, and the flavor was rich. In the end, the owner had no choice but to look at her with a bewildered expression. ‘Are you even going to pick the one that looks the most delicious, now?’

After wiping the apple on her clothes, Rosaline bowed her head and walked down the street again. The shop owner’s feelings were so complicated that he didn’t even notice that Rosaline had left.

[My lady, don’t worry. Young Lord has a lot of money.]

These were the words of Illya, the maid, to Rosaline, who had many things she wanted to eat and have. When Rosaline asked what money was, Illya replied:

[The more, the better.]

Such an ambiguous reply. Therefore Rosaline only knew ‘the more money, the better,’ and ‘Calyx has a lot of money.’ If Rosaline needed anything, she only needed to talk to Calyx or Raymond. Her understanding stayed at that level. Since she had lived only inside the castle and had no money to spend, in a way, this was a predicted tragedy.

Rosaline took out her dagger and cut the apple into small pieces. As she put it in her pouch, she could hear Macaron cheering. Crunch. Munch.

While gnawing at the apple, Macaron asked, ‘what did she give in return? Was it a barter exchange?’

Macaron said that when she lived in the hut on the mountainside in human form she found out about this: In order to have an object, it has to be exchanged for something commensurate with its value. ‘Is it different because this is a big town? The people are nice.’ At Macaron’s words, Rosaline tilted her head. ‘I’ve never really learned anything like that… Then, should I catch a rabbit later?’ She seemed to have to ask Count Drythorne about this.

As a result of continuing conversations with Macaron, which looked as if she was talking to herself from an outsider’s point of view, people’s blatant gazes decreased. Everywhere Rosaline went, the crowd split.

‘Why is it so… relaxing!’ Rosaline was delighted and walked around diligently. She ate chicken on wooden skewers on the street and ate a dessert with honey and butter sprinkled on freshly baked bread.

Of course, she paid for none of them. She just politely asked the store owners if she could eat it. But no one could tell her to pay the fair price because of the rumors surrounding her, so they only nodded their heads.

***

After receiving the letter from Count Drythorne, Calyx left the Radwiell realm immediately. He had completely disregarded his father’s command to maintain the estate. It was just impossible for him. His mother, Edelweiss, also seemed surprised because Calyx was objectively a good and obedient son.

Rosaline bumped with their father even before joining the Knights of the White Night. Likewise, that had been the first rebellion of his sister, who was a model child. Her resolve, which he thought would fade after a while, grew stronger day by day. Calyx admired her decision but thought it was foolhardy.

The Radwiells were a family trusted by each generation of the Imperial family. It was one of the few names that would stand by the Illavenian Imperial family until the empire collapsed. Had his sister not made such a foolish decision, she would have been the successor as Countess Radwiell.

Calyx had never seen anyone as sweet and kind as Rosaline. Nor had he seen anyone as cold as her. It was indescribable how jealous he was of Ricardis’ existence, whom she cherished enough to turn her back on Calyx as a child.

He used to ask her when he was young, (even though he had been at the mature age of sixteen, the point is, he had been younger than he is now) ‘How can you let go of Radwiell County, Sister? Isn’t that the biggest part of your life?’

As a person who had the name of Radwiell, he asked it with a little, no, a lot of disappointment and regret. But, his sister only distorted her pretty face by smiling sadly.

[It is time to do so.]

That wasn’t enough of an answer to convince Calyx. ‘There is no such thing as ‘It is time to do so.’ It’s just Sister’s choice, so why are you talking as if someone had to push you to make the decision?’ Of course, it was just an unspoken thought.

However, seeing himself leaving the estate as soon as he received the letter from Count Drythorne, he was able to understand a little bit of what his older sister had said. He knew the ‘time to do so’ had come for him as well.

His father’s words were absolute to those who would inherit the name of Radwiell.

[The Radwiells protect Illavenia.]

As a Radwiell, it was the duty and responsibility to protect Illavenia first above one’s own life. It wasn’t that he was going to give up on it all, but he couldn’t let go of Rosaline’s hand.

It was a time when he had to do so, and so he did.

Calyx woke up from his thoughts at the sight of a cloud of dust. He had departed almost immediately after receiving the letter from Count Drythorne. At the moment, he had already set foot in Vista, and in the distance, he could see a towering castle.

***

“W- What did you say, Count?”

“Your sister should be in the market. Don’t worry, the security of my estate is pretty good.”

Calyx’s face stiffened at Count Drythorne’s words.

“Is she… alone?”

He had abandoned his carriage and quickly forgot the tiredness of traveling, even changing horses from village to village. The memories of the past and the feelings of the present, which he had been dimly immersed in, all blew away. As if not noticing Calyx’s dismayed expression, Cecil continued speaking leisurely.

“No, she probably…”

Calyx and the Knights of Radwiell who followed him swallowed their saliva. ‘Surely she must have sent someone to fix the situation in the case of an accident, right?’

“…went out with Macaron?”

“…What?”

“The bird, you know? The eagle that your sister carries? Was it always that smart? It played chess very well. Or is it just that Rosaline can’t play well? Well, anyway…”

It was quite an enjoyable conversation, but it was a pity that everyone’s hopes quickly shattered. Calyx grabbed the reins and turned quickly.

“Find my sister!”

“Yes, my lord!”

The knights dispersed quickly. A phrase engraved on a rock passed by Calyx’s sight as he rushed to speak. It was something he had seen many times since he entered Vista.

[Only a fearless blade can open Vista’s door]

Count Drythorne always treated force with dignity, and Vista was overflowing with mercenaries and warriors. The problem was that there were also many undesirable bastards and third-rate thugs. Although Calyx didn’t have a long history of ruling a territory, he knew a market was a good place for such people to work.

‘My sister never left the castle alone. The same should be true when she’s working in the Imperial household. Due to the rapidly changing situation, she would have stayed at the 2nd Prince’s Moonstone Castle…’

Count Drythorne said that there was an eagle, an eagle that was very good at chess. But he still could not be relieved. No, he was more worried. After riding for a while, Calyx got off at the marketplace entrance.

As expected of Vista, Calyx saw a man who occupied eight quarters of the street. From his slender muscles, the man must be a mercenary. There were many people who looked fierce and behaved harshly, so Calyx became even more upset. ‘What if there’s someone who argues with Sister?’ He was concerned about their safety and well-being.

Vista was built with wide and narrow streets as well as squat and tall buildings all crowded together. It has its system, but since this was Calyx’s first visit to the market, navigating the road was quite challenging. In fact, even if the roads were simple, it wouldn’t make much difference. In the current situation where the target is constantly moving, it doesn’t matter whether the road is easy or difficult.

“Buy some flowers!”

A shrill voice that was barely audible, buried in the hustle and bustle of the merchants, caught his attention. Calyx looked around and found two young girls in shabby clothes in the corner of the alley. The alley walls, which had not seen sunlight for a long time, were stained with mold or moss.

It was a cozy-looking space that was especially noticeable even though it was not a rare sight in Vista. ‘Maybe it’s because of the white flowers that don’t suit the place?’ Calyx stood still.

Come to think of it, Calyx was just around the corner from meeting with his sister, with whom he had been separated from for quite some time now. Although the situation was urgent, that fact did not change. In a situation where all he had in his hand was cold sweat, perhaps it was natural to be drawn to the white flowers.

His sister would prefer something to put in her mouth rather than flowers, but generally, people give flowers to celebrate. And for his sister who came back alive from the dead, instead of saying, ‘What are you doing now’ or ‘You can’t do that,’ it would be much more appropriate to say, ‘You’ve worked hard’ and ‘I’m happy that you’re back.’