Misfortune ss7

Side story 7

***

How long had they walked along the narrow path winding through the dense trees? The sound of water reached the ears from somewhere, and soon a stream came into view.

Transparent, clear water crashed against the rocks, breaking apart and gathering again as it flowed gently. Just looking at it was a refreshing sight that cleared the mind.

And in Delnia's eyes, watching that scene, a strange nostalgia and longing welled up.

"Shall we go that way?"

The man, sharing that memory but not voicing it, pointed to a flat rock in the middle of the valley and asked.

"No. This is enough."

Delnia shook her head gently. The sensation of her feet submerged in the rushing current, embraced by him, came vividly back to her, but there was no need to recreate that moment.

Roan also obediently set down the basket and spread out the blanket on the flattest spot he could find.

The menu was relatively simple: cucumber sandwiches, apple pie, and cheese. But there was an unexpected surprise.

"Did you bring wine too?"

"You'll be thirsty."

The basket must have been quite heavy carrying an unopened bottle of wine. Recalling Roan's effortless stride through the forest, she couldn't help but feel pure admiration again.

"How about a glass of wine first?"

"Sounds good."

Roan personally served Delnia her meal. She accepted his service without any awkwardness.

Sipping wine beneath the green canopy while listening to the water sounds made even a simple meal feel quite splendid.

"Shall we get going?"

After catching their breath and tidying up, Roan signaled it was time to move on. The two explored the forest at a more leisurely pace.

But true to the infamous reputation, Belfort Anemone was nowhere to be seen. Roan's worried glances back at her grew increasingly frequent, and the fatigue seeped into Delnia's complexion, despite her smiling reassurance each time.

"Are you tired?"

"Honestly, a little."

Exhausted, Delnia answered Roan's question and plopped down onto a nearby round boulder. It was an unladylike posture, but they were alone together anyway.

"I don't think I can go on any further."

Finally, Roan declared the search over.

Delnia brightened and nodded eagerly. The anticipation that had swelled like a child on a treasure hunt had long since withered.

Yet Roan, his eyes darting around restlessly as if unsatisfied, suddenly asked.

"I'll go look around by myself. Would you wait here for a moment?"

Seeing him poised to dash off the moment permission was granted, she hastily waved her hand.

"No. Don't do that. There's no need to go that far."

"But..."

Delnia looked at Roan curiously as he bit his lip, unable to continue.

What on earth was making him so impatient? He hadn't even seen the letter she'd sent asking him to pick the flower for her.

" I... ruined your flowers................."

But at the confession that followed, at the deep guilt underlying it, Delnia had to swallow her gasp.

She thought. Of the things Roan had ruined in the past. The nobility of Delnia Eperne in Belfort and their relationship. Perhaps even Roan Barthez himself.

What should she say? Should she explain that she wasn't ruined like that? No, that she gained quite a bit from the ruin.

But Delnia knew that would be a deception.

The past, when she had fallen to the lowest depths imaginable, had undoubtedly inflicted irreparable damage on her soul. Even if she gained something through that wound, the fact of the wound itself could not be erased.

No matter how nicely you dressed it up, a wound was a wound, and the past was the past.

And the future was the future.

"There's always next time."

Delnia said in a voice as clear as a mountain stream.

"Come back to Belfort together and look for it again. If you still can't find it then, there's always the time after that."

Then, Roan's eyes began to flicker aimlessly. As if he had only just realized the obvious truth that there could always be a next time.

As if trying to control his surging emotions, Roan's perfectly straight lips, which had been tightly pressed together for a while, finally began to move.

"Yes. Next time."

It was a short reply. Delnia chose to ignore the tremor at the edge of the lips that formed those words.

"Shall we head back then?"

Delnia brushed herself off, rising to her feet, and asked deliberately brightly.

But Roan didn't answer. Instead, he knelt down on one knee before her.

"Hop on my back."

"Huh?"

Carry her? Delnia startled, looking around frantically.

She had no idea how deep into the forest they had ventured. It meant she couldn't gauge how far the road back to the castle was.

"No, I'm………………”

"Hurry up."

Her refusal was cut off before she could finish. The man's back, already prepared, was stubbornly firm.

Still, Delnia fidgeted helplessly, unable to resist his persistent urging. Finally, she gently wrapped her arms around his shoulders and settled onto his back.

As if waiting for that moment, he immediately stood up straight.

"Ah!"

Delnia, momentarily off balance, reflexively grabbed his shoulders tightly. A low chuckle flitted past her ear like an auditory hallucination.

Roan, firmly supporting her body, began walking forward without hesitation. Just as the two of them had done here, long, long ago.

But one thing had changed since then. It was the view.

The view, now vastly higher than when she'd been carried on the young boy's back, felt unfamiliar. With her eye level changed, the world she saw seemed different too.

No wonder she couldn't properly see the flowers clinging to the ground.

Delnia thought perhaps Roan might not find the Belfort Anemone for a very long time. Yet she also thought it didn't matter.

Truthfully, it hadn't been any different back then either.

Even in those days, she hadn't wanted to see the Belfort Anemone; she'd simply wanted to be with Roan.

As if the world had left only the two of them behind.

If only that were possible, she would…………….

“….”

For a moment, an indescribable emotion welled up inside her. Delnia quietly clutched the hem of his robe, struggling to calm her restless heart.

It was a truly strange feeling. She felt like she might burst into laughter, yet tears threatened to spill.

Why was that? The past was just the past. Why did they keep getting caught up in the times they had already lived through?

The future was too uncertain to boldly forget and move forward, while the past remained vivid. She realized that memories she thought she had completely forgotten were merely lying dormant somewhere in her mind.

"About a long time ago..."

At that moment, unlike the boy who had once struggled, the man whose breathing remained perfectly steady broke the silence with a composed voice.

Instead of speaking, Delnia signaled her attentive listening by steadily tightening her grip on his shoulder.

"You often asked to be carried."

The back of Delnia's hand, clasping Roan's shoulder, stiffened slightly. She hadn't imagined the 'once upon a time' he referred to would be so distant.

As if by mutual agreement, the two rarely spoke of the past. Or rather, it was more accurate to say they couldn't help it.

The time they'd shared was drenched in pain more than happiness. Careful not to touch each other's wounds, they naturally avoided talking about the past.

And yet, the fact they were still together somehow felt absurd.

"That... happened, didn't it?"

Delnia, who had assumed he was still lost in nostalgia for those days alone, stammered out a reply.

"But, sometimes..."

His voice trailed off sharply, and in that instant, her head tilted slightly toward him.

"Do you remember... when I offered to carry you first, and you sometimes didn’t want it?"

Delnia swallowed involuntarily.

Yes, there had been times like that.

When her calves were swollen from the beatings her mother ordered. When even the slightest brush of clothing stung and hurt, and she refused his offer to carry her, rare as it was.

Those days spent desperately struggling not to reveal her pitiful, wretched state. Scars that had passed but would never fade.

She silently lowered her gaze. His jet-black hair swayed like dancing with each step forward. Delnia simply watched the back of his head as he walked on in steady strides.

Perhaps Roan already knew. About her situation back then.

She didn't know how he knew, or how much he knew.

"Is it... perhaps..."

"It's fine."

Delnia gently cut off the hesitant question that followed.

She didn't want to speak of what she had endured. It would betray the self from that time, so desperate to hide her shame.

“I'll run away with you.”

She had hoped he would understand her pain without her saying it, that he would rescue her from this place.

Yet she didn't want to turn away from the reason she never spoke it, that foolish, clumsy resolve.

Besides, now there was someone who understood without her saying it. The one person she had wanted so desperately back then.

"I'm fine."

Her sincere voice repeated. So he could hear clearly. Perhaps for her from that time too.

They probably could never truly escape the past. He could not undo the days he tormented her, and she could not reclaim the times she wasn't honest.

But perhaps the past wasn’t something to forget, but something to step over. It could become a stepping stone to a completely different future.

If only they choose to live that way.

Delnia now knew how to be happy even by his side. That alone was reason enough to stay with him.