Misfortune 126

Chapter 126

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Even if it's closer to leaving it untouched and neglected, it would be better in many ways to just write it down and get it over with rather than wallow in such pointless, restless sentimentality.

But Delnia had never done that before. This time was no different.

With the unopened pouch leading the way, she hastily stuffed the coins into her cloth bag, then swiftly tidied her sleeping area. Finally, she blew out the candle. Immediately, darkness enveloped her.

She groped for her pillow, found it, and laid her head down at once.

Yet despite her swift, efficient movements, sleep did not come easily.

Delnia tossed and turned, blaming the excessive silence caused by the snow. The rustling of the blankets echoed like thunder shaking the earth's core, making sleep impossible.

It was in that instant, as she pulled the blanket over her head to create a world of total darkness, that it happened.

Thump, thump.

Amid the crinkling fabric, an alien noise seeped in. It sounded like something being tapped...

'What's that sound?'

Realizing belatedly she hadn't misheard, Delnia gently sat up. The sound continued unabated until she lit the small lamp and slipped her feet into her slippers.

'It seems to be coming from the window.'

Without lowering her guard, she crept cautiously through the darkness. The closer she got, the clearer the sound became.

Was it snowflakes hitting the window? But it was too hard for that. The possibility of a migratory bird seeking shelter from the snow was ruled out for the same reason.

After dismissing each hypothesis one by one like that, only one possibility remained.

Someone was knocking on the window.

By the time Delnia accepted this undeniable truth, she was already standing before the curtain.

Setting the lamp down on the floor, she gently grasped the edge of the curtain and pulled it back.

The cold air, blocked by the thick curtain, first hit her cheek with a sharp rush. Simultaneously, a vast, shimmering silhouette filled her vision beyond the tightly shut window.

It was a shadow familiar enough to recognize at a glance, yet one she now wished to forget.

"How...?"

She reflexively flung the curtain wide open. Beneath a strangely bright night sky, even though the moon hadn't risen, he stood there, meeting her gaze.

Though she saw it with her own eyes, the unbelievable sight left her staring blankly, blinking in disbelief. Then, he tapped lightly on the window handle with his hand. It was a request to open it.

Only then did Delnia's face crumple. An impulse urged her to pretend she hadn't seen him, to pull the curtains shut again and turn away.

But outside, the snow was still falling. The man standing there, fully exposed to it, looked strangely cold.

"...."

Delnia, who had been glaring at Roan with all her might, finally unlocked the door. She had to remove the barrier blocking them, if only to give him a piece of her mind.

But the man, whom she had expected to burst in the moment the door opened, still didn't move. Thus, Delnia found herself standing face-to-face with the man beyond the window frame, confronting him as he stood there, caught in the snow.

In his place, fluttering snowflakes drifted past her one by one, entering the room. Falling onto the wooden floor, they melted instantly, leaving small, round patches.

Yet, despite the cold wind laden with snow, Delnia felt no chill.

Perhaps it was because she was too angry, she thought, finally breaking the silence.

"Climbing over someone's wall in the middle of the night? What kind of rudeness is this?"

Her tone was sharp, like a lady scolding a ruffian.

Of course, if he had formally requested a visit, she would have refused without hesitation. Knowing that, he must have barged in like this on purpose.

"I came to pay my respects."

Then, from the man who had been enduring her fierce glare, an unexpected remark suddenly escaped his lips.

"To pay your respects…..?"

Delnia, unable to grasp his meaning, repeated his words in a bewildered voice.

But he offered no explanation. Only a faint, elusive smile touched his lips.

The truly strange thing was that her heart inexplicably skipped a beat at that faint smile.

Why?

But Delnia wasn't given the time to dwell on that question.

"Milan will come for you soon. All necessary procedures are complete. Just follow his instructions. It won't be difficult."

"What the hell does that even mean………………"

Delnia pressed the man again, who was spouting incomprehensible words. She forced herself to ignore the throbbing pain, like something had been carved out of her chest, ever since he opened his mouth.

But instead of answering, he gently offered her something.

Delnia reflexively took it. Even before her eyes could confirm it, the sensation at her fingertips alone told her what it was.

The frame that had guarded her bedside her entire life. And within that frame, her true treasure from the past.

The man had been to Belfort.

"This is………………."

Her voice began to tremble uncontrollably, as if seized by some intense premonition. Her eyes, unable to hide their agitation, also fluttered helplessly.

The man, silently watching her, slowly bent his waist.

His lips settled upon hers, soft and cool like a snowflake.

Delnia's eyes began to flicker even more violently at the sudden kiss. Yet she couldn't push him away.

It was different from when he had once lunged at her as if to devour her. His lips, pressed against hers in a precarious, almost-touching embrace, never once tried to invade her carelessly.

He simply held her, softly and tenderly. Like a beast licking an old wound, his gentle movements made her ache with an unbidden sorrow.

How long had they kissed like that? As if he'd never clung to her pitifully, he pulled away abruptly. Simultaneously, time, which had seemed frozen, began flowing again.

He slightly furrowed his brow, as if facing something dazzling. Yet, an enigmatic smile still played at the corners of his mouth. That peculiar expression, impossible to tell if it was laughter or tears, only drew the gaze more intensely.

Delnia stared up at him blankly, forgetting even to blink. The hand that had been caressing her cheek also withdrew after a while.

And finally, Roan spoke.

"I love you………………"

Perhaps I always have.

In this weary life that never settled anywhere, you alone were the place I truly called home. My heart, perhaps, was my only true homeland.

Home. Perhaps that…

Roan swallowed those words, words that might never be permitted, with great effort. Because that was the true punishment given to him.

I will bear all of it—the love I dare not speak, the memories now tainted beyond recollection.

So you.

"I'll let you go."

The words that had lingered on his tongue, words he wished never to utter if possible, slipped out in the end.

He knew. As long as he lived and breathed, he could never truly let her go.

And within his brutally clenched grasp, she would slowly wither away.

Then, which to abandon was obvious.

"Congratulations on reclaiming your freedom from me."

At that moment, a clear, hot tear fell from Delnia's eyes. She stared blankly at him, unable even to wipe the tears streaming down her cheeks.

His heart began to race madly as he looked down at her eyes, reddened like a pale sunset. It was those tears that had always made him tremble.

But now he knew. That tingling sensation in his fingertips had been sorrow all along. That his heart pounding so hard it took his breath away wasn't from joy, but from pain.

The truth was, he knew all along she was hurting.

But he had no right to wipe away those tears. Just like those distant days when he could only gaze up at her, his throat aching, knowing his hand could never reach her no matter how far he stretched.

Perhaps their situation hadn't changed at all since then. Only he had desperately struggled to somehow reverse that fall.

She was a woman someone like him should never have touched in the first place.

He could now humbly accept that truth.

"Take care."

Therefore, Roan bid a complete farewell. Before he could no longer hold back the hand reaching out to her, the urge to pull her into his arms right then and there.

The man who had come quietly, like snow falling at dawn, departed suddenly, like melting snow, right until the end.

Delnia couldn't move until the pristine white snow piled up, layer upon layer, over the footprints where he had been, finally erasing all traces.