Chapter 7: 7

“Count, I thank you for taking such good care of my wife and children. You have done me a great favor, and I, Hail Phoenaeus , will come whenever Count Agnes calls.”

Soon after Hail’s arrival, the Phoenaeus family prepared to sail north like beans on a stick.

After a year and a half on the islands, their luggage was already overstuffed, but they packed it all in a week.

There’s no sense of urgency. They see they’re on their way to the North, a place they’ve been looking forward to for so long. They can’t say it’s a quick trip.

“So, Herwin, you are going north now?”

“……Yes.”

“Go and take care of yourself. Send me lots of letters.”

“……Yes.”

Lucia and Lucas continued to speak to Herwin, but he responded lukewarmly.

“Sis, Sis, do you want to go with us?”

Just then, Henry, who was playing alone a few feet away, walked over and ran into Lucia’s arms.

Even when he couldn’t speak, he still liked her, just as he had kissed Lucia.

“No, I’m not going.”

Herwin stiffened when he heard the words from beside him.

“Why? Let’s go with us.”

“Uhm, that’s not a good idea.”

When he didn’t get the answer he wanted, Henry pouted his mouth to show his frustration.

“Henry’s going to go north with his sister!”

“Nah, there goes the little guy again.”

Lucas smirked and pulled Henry away from Lucia.

It was Lucas and Herwin’s job to pull Henry away from Lucia when he clung to her, but today, Herwin just stood by and watched his brother.

“Come on, kids, let’s go!”

“Ah, I see you’re ready.”

Herwin’s face darkened even more.

“So, little one, you’re going to the North, too, to get along?”

“Shhhhh, shhhhh, I’m going with my sister!”

Lucas scooped Henry up in his arms and left first. Lucia watched them walk away, her gaze drifting to the side.

“Aren’t you going?”

Herwin didn’t answer Lucia’s question, but jumped to his feet and walked away, slowly, at the slowest pace he could manage.

“Herwin, why aren’t you coming!”

Scarlett’s urging slowed him down even more. Looking at the ground, Herwin finally stopped walking. Lucia followed suit and stopped as well.

“Herwin, are you hurt?”

“……Lucia.”

“Huh?”

He lifted his head and faced the blue eyes. He wanted to say something, but he couldn’t, because he didn’t know what it was.

Herwin finally managed to get the words out.

“Herwin!”

“You must go. Your mom will be furious.”

Unaware of Herwin’s feelings, Lucia grabbed his hand and ran outside.

Was it the sudden bright light? Herwin could barely see Lucia in front of him.

“It’s late, you have to hurry.”

Scarlett urged Herwin into the carriage. Inside the carriage, Henry was sobbing and exhausted.

“Thank you for everything, Julian. We’ve had a great time.”

“You’re welcome. Take care of yourself. Come hang out again!”

Now it was time to say goodbye. Scarlett and Hail said their final goodbyes to Mr. and Mrs. Agnes and climbed into the carriage.

Yikes!

The coachman cracked his whip and drove the carriage. As the carriage slowly moved, Herwin, who had been looking down at his hands in his lap, looked up.

“My God, Herwin!”

Herwin knew he was being rude, but he climbed onto Scarlett’s lap and poked his head out the window.

“Lucia! Brother Lucas! Don’t forget me! Do you understand?”

“Yes! Bye-bye, Herwin!”

“We’ll send a letter!”

Thankfully, Herwin’s voice reached Agnes’ siblings. Herwin was relieved, but also saddened to see Lucia, who had gotten so far away that he could hardly see her anymore.

She hadn’t cried once when he told her he was leaving. Not that he wanted her to cry, but at least….…

‘I thought you’d be sad like me…….’

He felt bad that he was the only one who seemed to be sad about leaving for the north.

Early summer at the age of six.

He’ll never forget that day when a particularly cool breeze blew.

* * *

Since Herwin’s departure for the North, time had passed both slowly and quickly.

In the days after his departure, Lucia was often lost in thought.

The seat next to her, which had always been occupied by someone, was empty, and nothing seemed to interest her.

But it was only for a moment. A child’s memory was short.

Still, she and Lucas hadn’t forgotten their memories of Herwin.

Whenever they reminisced about the days they spent playing with him, a letter would arrive from the north, and Agnes and Lucas would be delighted to receive it.

A month, two months, and three months passed, and then the seasons changed, and their correspondence became less and less frequent.

Their vivid memories gradually diluted until they could barely remember anything, and they were too busy enjoying the present to dwell on the past.

One day, when they were satisfied with their lives, the letters stopped coming.

It was a year after Herwin’s departure.

Another year passed, and Lucia was eight years old.

“We’re going north?”

Lucas asked in astonishment as he and his parents enjoyed tea.

“Yes. Do you remember the Phoenaeus family who used to stay at our house?”

“Uh…ah…you mean Herwin and Henry?”

“Yes. They’ve asked us if we’d like to spend the summer in the north.”

“They said that unlike here, the North is as cool in the middle of summer as it is in spring and fall and that there are places where the snow hasn’t melted.”

“If we go north, we’ll see Herwin and Henry for the first time in a long time.”

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“Herwin… it’s been a long time. Right, Lucia.”

“Huh? Huh…….”

Lucia trailed off, still sipping her orange juice.

He thought she’d be happy to see him since they’d been best friends since they were kids, but her reaction was odd.

Lucas frowned, then his eyes widened as if he realized something.

“……You, by any chance, don’t remember Herwin?”

“Um, I do remember who he is…….”

“Maybe it’s because you were so young, but we were together for over a year.”

“No, I remember him, but I don’t remember everything exactly.”

“Well, I’m glad you remember. Because I don’t remember much of what it was like before I was seven, either.”

Lucas patted his sister’s shoulder in understanding.

Lucia took the cookie from his hand and thought back to her memories of Herwin.

‘I remember thinking he was an angel.’

She doesn’t remember any details. She can only see bits and pieces.

He had black hair, red eyes, and was so good-looking you’d think he was an angel, and she think he was also a little bit cranky….…

She remembers him getting angry when kids said things to her.

‘He didn’t like being called girly or pretty, didn’t he? Maybe.’

Now that she’d put it all together, he doesn’t seem like a very nice person, but she can’t help but feel good when she thinks of him.

Her parents and Lucas had told her that Herwin looked out for her a lot, so they must have gotten along well.

Lucia tried to recall Herwin’s face, now a blur.

“Hmm, I wonder.”

Lucia stamped her foot with excitement. She couldn’t wait to see what life would be like up north.

* * *

“Brother, what are you doing?”

“Doing my homework. Henry, why? Do you need to see me?”

“Nah, I just wanted to see you.”

Henry smiled, his round eyes twinkling. Herwin smirked and stopped his quill.

Clink.

He slid down from his chair and rubbed his stiff shoulders.

At eight years old, Herwin had grown to be so handsome that no one would mistake him for a girl.

He had been learning the sword for over two years now, and even at his young age, he was well-built for his age, and he was taller than his peers, thanks to his parents’ larger-than-average genes.

He was tall, handsome, athletic, and studious, and Henry loved it.

For 5-year-old Henry, Herwin was a source of great pride.

“Oh, that’s right, Mommy told me today that we have a visitor from the Islands!”

“Really? So they’ll be here soon?”

“Yes! She said there’s a big brother too, but who is it, big brother, do you remember him?”

“……I remember.”

“What about you, are you both good?”

“I think so, but I don’t remember all the details, so you’d have to meet them to know.”

“Is that so?”

Herwin listened to Henry’s constant chattering without getting angry once.

As they walked down the hall, hand in hand, they heard a commotion near the stairs leading down to the first floor.

“Something’s making noise.”

“Yeah, what’s going on?”

The brothers looked at each other and then headed toward the source.

“They’ve grown up. Time flies so fast.”

“It’s been a long time, Mrs. Phoenaeus.”

“Lucas is all grown up. How old did you say he was this year?”

It seems that the guests from the islands have already arrived. While Henry scrambled to announce their arrival, Herwin stared blankly at the people in the hall.

The blurred faces of the men gradually became clearer.

Countess Agnes, who had been so kind to him, Lucas, who had followed him around, and….…

“Huh? Finally, there they are. Come down and say hello, kids.”

Scarlett looked up to find Herwin and Henry on the second floor.

She stepped aside, revealing a girl who had been hidden from view.

His eyes locked with those within the walls, which looked as clear as a cloudless sky.

“Herwin?”

The voice from the memory overlapped with his own.

“……Lucia?”

“Wow, it’s Herwin?”

Lucia, the girl he’d mistaken for a fairy when he’d first met her, was smiling brightly at him.

Subconsciously, Herwin felt the memories that had sunk beneath the surface gradually resurface.

“Wow…she’s pretty.”

Herwin snapped out of his reverie.

He looked down to see Henry staring down the hall with a twinkle in his eye.

Before Herwin could realize what was happening, Henry released his grip on Herwin’s hand and hurried down the stairs.

“Wow, is this Henry? He’s grown up.”

Lucas marveled as he watched Henry approach Lucia’s side.

Henry jumped up and down, wiggling his chubby cheeks.

“Awww!”

“Pretty sister!”

And then he lunged for Lucia. Herwin looked up just in time to see Henry in Lucia’s arms.

“Henry……!”

“Hahahaha, Henry still likes Lucia, huh?”

Herwin called Henry’s name, but it was drowned out by Scarlett’s voice.

“He’s still the same. Lucia, remember? He used to have a huge crush on you.”

“He did?”

Lucas nudged Lucia from the side.

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